 I'm posting a day early so I can say Happy Canada Day! July 1st is Canada's birthday, and the day is extra special to me because I became a Canadian citizen seven years ago today. Above is a photo of my citizenship ceremony. It was outdoors at a national historic site, and we were all eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was a good day nonetheless! The news crew had their camera pointed right at me during the ceremony, so I couldn't swat at the bugs, LOL. It makes me happy so see my kids growing up here on the west coast of Canada with so many opportunities and cultures to experience. They love their home as much as I do. I'm so grateful that my family and I get to live in this wonderful, beautiful country...the true north strong and free!  The awesome co-hosts for the July 2 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre,Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour!
July 2 question - Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it? Yes, there's another genre I plan to write. I have a first draft that's just over 50% right now. I'm hoping to publish in the fall, fingers crossed. However, I won't release this book under my existing pen name because doing so might alienate my current readers. I've talked about this before on my blog, so I won't go into further detail now.
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 The awesome co-hosts for the June 4 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Pat Garcia, Kim Lajevardi, Melisa Maygrove, and Jean Davis!
June 4 question - What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult? "Impacted" is probably understating things. Books were my lifeline as a kid. I grew up in a damp, dark, unfinished basement in the middle of nowhere. There was no cable TV or internet...or bedrooms...or even windows. What was supposed to be a temporary situation while our house was being built over top of the basement turned into years of substandard living conditions. Thank goodness for the public library. Each week, I checked out a big stack of books into which I could escape. I read every Star Wars title they had. My favourite was the Jedi Apprentice series by Jude Watson. It followed young Obi-Wan Kenobi during his time as Qui-Gon's padawan. I also devoured the Young Jedi Knights series by Kevin J Anderson about Han and Leia's children. Those books were so much better than Rey and Kylo! I read a lot of fantasy, including Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I read all of The Babysitters' Club, The Boxcar Children, I Spy, and the Mandy books. When I was old enough that my parents stopped monitoring what I was allowed to read, I jumped into Harry Potter with both feet. Twilight and The Hunger Games were some other faves of mine during my college years. I always had a good relationship with books, and I've tried to pass that on to my kids. So far, they love to read. I hope someday they'll want my old copies of Jedi Apprentice! The awesome co-hosts for the May 7 posting of the IWSG are Feather Stone, Janet Alcorn, Rebecca Douglass, Jemima Pett, and Pat Garcia!
May 7 question - Some common fears writers share are rejection, failure, success, and lack of talent or ability. What are your greatest fears as a writer? How do you manage them? Wait, there are writers who fear success? I fear failure, but success is the dream! I suppose I do fear friends and family reading my books and talking to me about them, so maybe that counts as fear of success. I don't mind strangers picking up my book, but with people I know, I feel the need to warn them off or apologize. I fear that any new idea or inspiration might have already been done. I hate it when I get an idea, run with it, and then discover an existing book that is eerily similar. I fear being accused of plagiarism! It's like that old adage: there is nothing new under the sun. Most of all, I fear that no matter how skilled I become, I won't be able to find readers for my work. Self promotion feels impossible, not to mention expensive! My kids are getting older, so I'll be going back to work soon. My writing time will run out, and if I haven't built a reader base, that will be it for me. This feels like a depressing way to end the post, but then, it's a downer of a topic to begin with. I look forward to seeing everyone else's answers, so I won't feel so alone in my fears!  The awesome co-hosts for the April 2 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe,Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre!
April 2 question - What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with? I decided to go with three answers that won’t get me killed. As much fun as Harry Dresden or a dragon would be, I’m sticking to safer choices. Fight: Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings I wouldn’t win, but he’s an honorable guy and wouldn’t kill me. He may even teach me a few sword fighting moves. Quest: Merry and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings We wouldn’t get much done, but it would be a good time! Beer: Hermione from Harry Potter She’s so knowledgeable, and I’d love to pick her brain on a thousand different topics. The awesome co-hosts for the March 5 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Liza @ Middle Passages!
I’m doing it! As promised, I’m finally revising my first book. The first chapter was even worse than I recalled, but I’m motoring along now. I’m going to feel so much better when my edits are done, and I can re-release! The next thing on my to-do list is going wide with my books. I’ve had them in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, but I plan to pull them out and list them elsewhere. To do that, I’ll need to purchase actual ISBNs instead of using Amazon’s. This has always been the plan, but it feels daunting. I guess part of me never believed I’d finish the trilogy and get to this point. I hope I can manage it! March 5 question - If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you. This is a tricky question because the possibilities are so broad. I guess I’d choose to be a large bird so I could fly for a day. Large so nothing would try to eat me! Maybe I’d choose a golden eagle…or a Canadian goose. They can be vicious! I’ve heard them called cobra chickens, which seems an apt name. The awesome co-hosts for the February 5 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler,Louise Barbour, and Tyrean Martinson!
February 5 question - Is there a story or book you've written you want to/wish you could go back and change? As I’ve said before, I want to re-edit my first book. I made rookie mistakes, and I know I can do better with the skills I’ve learned in recent years. I still plan to tackle it, but I need to use my old computer with MS Word for consistency. I’m afraid if I use my Mac I’ll accidentally have different formatting. It’s important to me that all fonts, spacing, margins, etc match perfectly with the other books in the trilogy. Using my old dinosaur computer is a pain, so I’ve been procrastinating. I’m in a bit of a transitional phase now. My to do list is: edit book one, try out some paid advertising on my completed trilogy, and then move on to phase two… Phase Two I’m writing something in a new genre that I plan to publish under a new pen name. I don’t think my current readers would be interested in my work in progress, and I wouldn’t want to alienate any of them. I’m going to go wide this time, not stick to Amazon. I intend to make my own simple covers and publish as ebooks only, no print versions. On that note, does anyone have a recommendation for a graphic design program? I like Canva because it’s free, but there are so many complicated rules about licensing. I don’t want to shell out money for Adobe Illustrator, but I’m looking for something like that where I can make covers from scratch. Has anyone ever tried starting over with a new pen name? I’m intimidated by the amount of work it will take, but I don’t want to write YA forever.  The awesome co-hosts for the January 8 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Beth Camp, Liza @ Middle Passages, and Natalie @ Literary Rambles!
Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays! My new year’s resolutions are to edit and re-release my first book and go wide instead of sticking to Amazon. Do you have a resolution? January 8 question - Describe someone you admired when you were a child. Did your opinion of that person change when you grew up? There were people I loved and respected, but I don’t know that I ever admired any real life person. All my admiration was saved for fictional characters. The one I admired most was Captain Jean Luc Picard. Open-minded, brave, and cultured, Picard represented the best of humanity. I wanted to be like him when I grew up. I already knew plenty of Shakespeare, I liked tea (earl grey, hot), and I loved the idea of exploring the universe. Being the captain of a starship…now, that was freedom! My opinion hasn’t changed. My life may look nothing like Picard’s, but inside, I’m still trying to become more like him. The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia,Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!
December 4 question - Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader? I don’t usually like cliffhangers, whether as a reader or as a writer. I feel betrayed, as if I were cheated out of half the story. The same goes for television and movies. If I know there will be a part two, I refuse to watch part one by itself. (Does anyone know if the new movie Wicked ends on a cliffhanger?) For books in a series, I expect loose ends, but the story needs to reach a satisfying stopping point, even if it’s not complete. It’s a difficult tightrope to walk, but I hope I accomplished this in my series! I just published the third installment of my trilogy, and it was satisfying to tie things off. Although, now I’m considering a re-edit of book one to bring it up to the standards of two and three. I’m torn between wanting to move on and feeling embarrassed that my first book was rough around the edges. What does everyone else think about cliffhangers? Are they frustrating or do you like that edge-of-your-seat feeling?  The Out of the Blue ebook is available for preorder on Amazon! The print book and ebook will be released on Monday, December 2.
The trilogy is nearly complete. Out of the Blue will be available for preorder soon. That means it’s time for one last cover reveal!  It’s hard to believe Blue Nova’s story is nearly over, but I hope everyone will be as satisfied with the ending as I am. I’ll announce when preorder is available, which should be within the week! Until then, here is the synopsis:
DON’T EXPECT TO SAVE THE WORLD… WITHOUT SACRIFICING EVERYTHING. In the months since Ultimid supers emerged, Aubree has infiltrated the League of Villains to forge alliances against Omni. Convinced that Clash’s quest for temporal powers is the more immediate threat, Dr. Vile investigates the commander’s secrets. At the Citadel, Jess trains relentlessly but struggles with control, hurting anyone who gets close and forcing her to question her purpose. All their plans seem in vain when Omni returns with a vengeance. His insatiable thirst for blood and pain leaves the world in tatters, and even the return of old friends can’t outweigh the climbing casualties. As the death toll mounts, will there be anyone left to save the world? And how much—and who—is Aubree willing to sacrifice for victory? |
Falling ForeverNothing fancy, just my thoughts on the writing journey, creativity, and life in general. CategoriesFalling for the VillainLike superheroes? Love romance? This novel is for you!
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