Quote Wednesday: Beneath Me by S.E. White
0
Read More
When I Said I Wanted Critique: Feel That Author Pain
The stages of accepting constructive criticism, as told through gifs. We all can agree that beta reading is crucial to the success of a story. Having other eyeballs touch your story, pre-publication, is one of the necessary steps a book goes through. Whether it’s a kind friend who volunteers, a writing group, or a professional editor — the link goes to a good post by author D.E. Haggerty on why she uses editors vs. beta readers — you will be…
Blog Problems: Oh Joy
It took me a long time to figure it out, but it appears that comments have stopped working on the blog. If you’ve left a comment on the last three posts for me I apologize! It’s not that I’m ignoring you, it’s a technical problem. Of course I figured out what was happening on a holiday weekend, which means my support request to WordPress is going to take longer. And I’m definitely not smart enough to fix the issue myself.…
Book Tropes: A Mail-Order Happily Ever After
Another trope rec post! This time the specific mood I’m in is that carefully arranged, sometimes mail-ordered happily ever after. I’ve always loved mail-order bride books (despite knowing arranged marriage is much more complicated in real life). This isn’t reality, this is fiction, and in fiction picking a partner like you’re ordering an entrée from a menu ends perfectly every time. For this list I’m focusing on the mail-order trope but including some of the more standard arranged-marriage books because…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Wants to Know: When Do You Drop The DNF Hammer?
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. You can find the group on social media with #IWSG. Every month a group of wonderful co-hosts steers us all towards meaningful discussion. We owe our January thanks to Ronel Janse van Vuuren (Hi Ronel!) J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner Sandra Cox, and Louise – Fundy Blue! January 6 question – Being…
The Great Reading Wrap-Up of 2020
In the grand tradition of December, let’s do some wrapping up. Wrap some presents. Wrap-up your holiday shopping. Write lots of wrap-up lists. Wrap-up small, misbehaving children Krampus style to mail to . . . haha . . . ooops. Don’t do that. Got carried away there. Number Of Books I Read: 265 Left unsupervised again. Plus, worldwide pandemic, quarantine, and stress-reading to the maximum amount possible. I’m talking reading a probably unhealthy amount from March to May. Number of…
A Happy Holiday Post From Me to You
No matter where you are or what you celebrate, if you’re reading this we’ve made it through 2020 and we collectively as human beings celebrate that. We’re still here, regardless of everything the last twelve months threw at us, and we will keep going. Whatever nasty things 2021 throws at us will at least be part of a new year and that’s (very slightly) comforting. Know that I genuinely wish you and your loved ones a happy, joyful, peace-filled winter…
The Great Blogging Wrap-Up of 2020
Alright, friends. Let’s get to some numbery maths for the year. I’m still at the point where I genuinely enjoy blogging (LET IT NEVER END) and I have a lot of fun breaking my year down in stats. If you’re interested the 2019, 2018, and 2017 breakdowns are linked. Just as a note: I’ve spent zero pennies on marketing of any kind since I started this blog in November 2016. Instead, I’ve focused on blog-hops and building relationships. That means…
Book Tropes: Beauty and the Beast
Yep, it’s time for another trope recommendation post. This one is my very, very favorite, ride or die, auto-buy trope, so this will be a very long rec post. Be warned! Do I know there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of retellings of this fairy tale? Yep. Does that stop me from buying them and hoping more come out? NOPE. Something about seeing through outward appearances to the genuine, worthy, real person within has always caught my attention. You know that…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group And Writing Slumps
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is the online place to discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. To join the group yourself, click here and get ready to sink into a warm, comforting bath of support. The awesome co-hosts for…