The awesome co-hosts for the June 7 posting of the IWSG are Patrcia Josephine, Diedre Knight, Olga Godim, J. Lenni Dorner, and Cathrina Constantine!
June 7 question - If you ever did stop writing, what would you replace it with? I started writing because I couldn't not write. I needed an outlet that was just for me. Writing is my selfishness. The thing that could stop me is the word Yes. There's daily pressure to do more... take on more... give more of one's time and energy. School, church, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, random strangers--everyone asks for time like it's no big deal. Sometimes they ask politely. Sometimes they ask in a way that tells rather than requests. They imply our time is owed. That we're not doing our part. Sometimes my No is firm. Sometimes it's whispered. No makes me feel guilty. One day, I might give a reluctant, defeated yes. That weak yes will get a training montage where it gets stronger, better, and faster. Saying No will get harder. It's tricky to turn a Yes back into a No. So, to answer the question, obligations are what might replace writing. Groups like the IWSG remind me that writing is a valid use of time and shouldn't require excuses. To anyone who's reading this, thank you for your support. Even if reading my blog doesn't seem like much, it really helps. Love you guys, and long live the IWSG!
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The awesome co-hosts for the May 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Diane Burton, Victoria Marie Lees, and M Louise Barbour! May 3 question - When you are working on a story, what inspires you? When I need inspiration, I look to my characters. I mean, I really look. I cast the roles in my head and visualize a real person speaking every word, doing every action, and making every facial expression. If I can't picture the actor saying the line, I can't write it. Visualization is what helps me overcome writer's block and inspires me with ideas. So, just for fun, here are some of my imaginary cast for my Blue Nova trilogy: Mayor Hubble: Brian Blessed With his booming voice and grandfatherly look, he fits Mayor Hubble to a T. Jess: Rachel Zegler This isn't the greatest photo, but it's the only one I could find. Jess goes through many changes throughout the series, but I think her metamorphosis could be captured by the actress who played Maria in West Side Story. "File:(2015-11-21) Fire & Ice - Danielle Panabaker & Robbie Amell 07.jpg" by Heroes & Villains is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped. Dr. Vile: Robbie Amell One reader told me she pictured Jason Momoa in the role. To each her own, but I think Robbie Amell would be a better fit. I can picture him as every version of the character, and he's got that longing look down pat (judging from his role as Nathan on Upload). "Anthony Field (6640182481)" by Eva Rinaldi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped. "Hugh Jackman" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped. Garrett: Hugh Jackman and Anthony Field (AKA Anthony Wiggle) This is an imaginary casting, so there's nothing to stop me from merging two people into one. Superheroes are science fiction, after all. I picture Garrett as a combination of these two talented Aussie actors. Strike: Evan Peters This actor is already associated with an X-Men superhero, but I still see him as the young, outspoken, and sorta goofy Citadel trainee introduced in Heart of a Hero. Evan Peters is a bit old for the role now, but I picture a younger version of him as Strike. Gale: Anya Taylor-Joy Couldn't you just see her floating in the air as Gale, then primly landing to look down her nose at you? She'd be fun once you got to know her though. Akio (Shatter): Ken Watanabe He's amazing in every role, and I can't help but hear his voice whenever the telekinetic supervillain speaks. "File:Joel Kinnaman 2014.jpg" by Sandra Birgersdotter is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Commander Clash: Joel Kinnaman Stern and commanding, he's perfect to portray the powerful superhero in charge of the Citadel. I've loved watching him play Ed Baldwin in For All Mankind. Omni: Taika Waititi This choice may seem odd since the actor plays humorous characters, but hear me out. There's a darkness to his role in What We Do in the Shadows. I think he could tap into that darker side and be a good fit for the all-powerful, mass-murdering supervillain. (There may also be more to Omni than pure evil, but you'd have to read book three to find out.) "File:110818 Gemma Chan in an interview for Collider Video.png" by Collider Video is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Duchess: Gemma Chan I love Gemma Chan in everything she's done. The Duchess character won't be seen until book three, so I'll just say that she's a straight-laced villain who has no problem calling the shots in the League. Étoile: Danai Gurira You haven't met her yet, but when Étoile is introduced in book three, she'll be important to Jess's story. I wonder if Danai Gurira can do a French accent? Aubree (Blue Nova): Kiernan Shipka? I saved my main character for last, because I struggle most with casting her. To me, Aubree is the illustrated version of herself that's on the book cover. I keep her vague in my mind, but for the purpose of this blog, let's cast her as Kiernan Shipka. Final Thoughts
I've been meaning to share my dream casting for a long time, but I've been nervous about including images. Legal stuff is so stressful to decipher! I found these photos through Creative Commons. The images there are labeled with the info needed to correctly attribute and use them. For anyone curious about Creative Commons, here's a link: https://creativecommons.org/about/ The awesome co-hosts for the April 5 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Nancy Gideon, and Natalie Aguirre!
April 5 question - Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you're at the start of the journey, what are your goals? I definitely remember my first book! It wasn't too long ago. I started Falling for the Villain during Covid lockdowns. I wrote feverishly on my tablet every spare moment while my kids were distracted with TV or toys. The book was the first in a planned trilogy, and I thought I'd churn out books two and three quickly. That did not happen. Suddenly, my kids weren't so easily distracted anymore. They demanded to be entertained. While I wrote Heart of a Hero, I looked forward to them being in school a few hours a week...plenty of free time for mama! What a silly, optimistic person I was. In those tiny, minuscule hours, I'd sit down, reacquaint myself with where I left off, type a few pages, and BOOM, it was time for school pickup. If it’s possible, my progress on book three has been even slower. My revised goal is just to publish one book per year. That would be great. The awesome co-hosts for the March 1 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose!
March 1 question - Have you ever read a line in a novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy? Absolutely. All the time. But as I sit here grasping for examples, I'm coming up short. Off I go to Goodreads to gather quotes from my recently read books: "It had occurred to her that she smiled more often to preempt someone else’s displeasure than to express her joy." ― Evie Dunmore, Portrait of a Scotsman "Having regrets is the only sign that you’ve done anything interesting with your life." ― Lisa Kleypas, Secrets of a Summer Night "What part [of me] did you miss the most?" "Your mind," she said, and smiled at his expression. "I was hoping for a far more depraved answer than that." "Your mind is depraved," she told him solemnly. ― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas Honorable Mention: Every line from Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files inspired author envy as well, but it's been so long that I can't remember any examples! Plotwise, I remember feeling all kinds of things from the twists in Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. I wasn't an author yet at the time, but if I had been, I'd have felt envy. Books one and two in the Blue Nova Saga are BOTH on sale this week for $.99. If you've been waiting to read the ebooks, now is the time to head to Amazon! An arch enemies-to-lovers story with humor, epic battles, and twists you won't see coming! Book 1 can be read as a stand alone. Falling for the Villain established Blue Nova's super-powered world. Now, Heart of Hero reaches beyond River City. The world of heroes and villains is about to get a lot bigger.
The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!
February 1 question - If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover? I paid a graphic artist to design the covers for my self-published books. He is a friend whose work I've always admired, and I love the comic book vibe of his art. I sent him SO many reference photos for how I wanted Blue Nova, Dr. Vile, and the Citadel to look. Somehow, he amalgamated all my ideas into a gorgeous image that represents the book perfectly. Looking at the covers of the first two books inspires me whenever I hit writer's block. I know people say "Don't judge a book by its cover," but respectfully, that's nonsense. The cover is part of the experience. As a reader, I pause to glance at the cover repeatedly. It helps set the mood. Maybe that's why I'm not crazy about the clip-art-looking people on the covers of contemporary romance novels. Yes, the covers are discreet. And yes, Fabio was overused as a cover model. But dang it, I want something beautiful to look at, even if it's just the heroine's face and a bouquet of peonies! Anyway, I digress. With regard to my own covers, I'm hoping my designer friend will create one for the third book in my trilogy too. After my Blue Nova books, I think I'll try a different genre, possibly under another pen name. I'm considering self-made covers for future books, but it will depend on how good I can make them look. The only time I've made my own covers was when writing for Wattpad. I created them on Canva for free. It was fun and easy, but the result was far from professional. Canva also had licensing rules to consider. I believe it was fine to use those covers for up to 10,000 units (a number I'll never get close to, and even if I do, that's a GOOD problem). If Canva's rules are still the same, I might use it in future. We'll see how much of my graphic design class I remember from university! What about you? What skill level do you have for designing covers? What kinds of covers do you prefer on books you read? The awesome co-hosts for the January 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and T. Powell Coltrin!
January 4 question - Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? Just one word? That is a difficult thing to ask of a writer! ;) For me, 2022 was about completing and publishing book 2 of my trilogy, so 2023 will be about completing and publishing book 3. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to finishing this series. I keep getting so many brilliant ideas for other things to write, and it's hard to focus! I suppose that's my word for 2023. FOCUS. I must focus on finishing my Blue Nova trilogy...and finishing it WELL. After all the care I've put in, Blue Nova's story needs to have an exciting and satisfying ending. To that end, I have a few methods for maintaining focus: First, I keep a list of other ideas as they come to me. I'm allowed to jot down notes about those other stories, but I'm not allowed to write the stories themselves. Keeping that list lets me feel like those ideas aren't lost. I'll get to them eventually. Second, I keep myself excited about my current story and characters. I visualize how new characters will interact with the old. I think about what story lines will be most challenging to my main characters. I consider ways to force them to develop. The most helpful and stimulating activity is building my imaginary cast list. I love coming up with the people I'd want to play the characters. It's something a lot of authors (and readers) do. Maybe I'll post the list on my blog in the new year. It will be fun to see if anyone else agrees with my casting choices! What about you? What is your word for 2023? The awesome co-hosts for the December 7 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!
December 7 question - It's holiday time! Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writer goals? I don't usually set writing goals for December. I don't want to stress myself during a time when my kids are out of school and eager to do Christmas activities. We take our time putting up decorations, making Christmas crafts, driving around town looking at lights, buying gifts for loved ones, and baking tons of yummy treats. That's not to say I stop writing. I do what I can when I can, and anything that makes it onto a page is a welcome surprise. The past two years, I've published a new novel in the month of November, so the weeks afterward are focused on promoting rather than writing. The new year is when I will buckle down and churn out the third (and final) book in my series. I'm so excited to finish the trilogy next year and wrap up my characters' journeys! It's finally here! Heart of a Hero is now available for ebook, print, and Kindle Unlimited. To celebrate, the ebook version of Falling for the Villain is on sale for $.99 this week. You can take advantage of the limited-time deal on Amazon's US and UK marketplaces. Happy reading!
The awesome co-hosts for the November 2 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton!
November 2 question - November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not? I participated in NaNoWriMo last year and wrote the entire first draft of Heart of a Hero in one month. I was so proud of myself! I wrote one chapter per weekday, taking off weekends and holidays. It sounded good on paper to write 80,000 words so quickly, but it caused problems. When I read the completed draft in December, I realized how daunting my edits would be. There were big problems with structure, characters, plot, you name it. The pressure of NaNoWriMo caused me to push through when I should have paused to address the issues. Trying to edit such a mess of a manuscript was painful and took much longer than the slow-and-steady approach I used on my first book. The experience has made me swear I will NEVER do NaNoWriMo again. In the end, I did create something I'm proud of, but I wish I'd gotten there a better way. For book three in my trilogy, I want to try a two-month process. I'll alternate every other day between writing and editing. That way, I'll have breathing room to correct problems as I find them. After Heart of a Hero is released on November 7, I'll get started and see if my new approach works for me! |
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