come to the dark side

Make a Wish: an IWSG Post

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a judgment-free presence in your author life. Tell us about your doubts or fears, and how you have conquered them. Bring us in on your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who might be struggling. Visit and connect with your fellow writers. The group aims for a dozen visits each IWSG Wednesday. And make sure to return comments. This group is all about connection! The awesome co-hosts for the April…

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Friday Favorites Tunes

March 15 Favorites is all about the albums or songs I love listening to while reading Music, in general, is one of my very favorite things so this week is pretty much fantastic. Buckle up, bookworms. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole, in the immortal words of Dean Winchester. *Sorry there’s no album artwork, but I got a little nervous about the copyright infringement.* Blink 182-She’s Out of Her Mind Are we calling this alt rock? It’s alt…

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Friday Favorites Gives You a Show

March 8 Favorites: TV Shows to watch (when not reading). Bit of a puzzler this week. I . . . don’t actually consume much media other than my books. I am a book junkie. The husband mainlines Netflix shows, but it’s the way he GOES TO SLEEP, how can you possibly fall asleep with a show going and light and people talking and plots happening, WHO DOES THAT? If you quiz him about what happened in the show later he has…

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Friday Favorites Will Set You Up on a Date*

* A virtual date, with a fictional character. I mean date in the metaphorical sense here. Sorry. Didn’t want to get your hopes up to Match.com standards here. Look, I can barely people on the best days and setting other humans up with dates is WAY out of my skillset. I’m incredibly lucky to have a man who not only gets but encourages my crazy. (Give a mechanic a shot, they make pretty awesome partners, is my best real-life advice.)…

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Friday Favorites will Mentor You

Friday Favorites is a new weekly blog hop from Something of the Book.com. Come join in! Today’s favorite: Teacher/Mentor Characters Dimitri Belikov–Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead Let’s go ahead and lead off with my (probably inappropriate) love of May/December romances. Dimitri is EXACTLY what I want in my mentor characters. Grumpy, older, hot, with a sexy Russian accent, and an efficient killer instinct. YAS, PLEASE. There are some good vampires, Moroi, and bad vampires, Strigoi, in the book and a whole plot about…

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The Basics of Romance, for Your Author Toolbox

*Sings* Do you want to write a romance? If you do, you’re in good company. Millions of books published every year. Thousands of authors. HUGE part of the market share. But, where to start? How is a romance different from any other fiction novel? What defines “romance”? At the basic level: A romance novel tells the story of the romantic relationship evolving between people. That’s all. That’s it. When you get right down to the nitty-gritty center of it, this…

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The Insecure Writer’s Group Asks the Real Questions

Happy Holidays/Solstice/Yule, blessed be, and Happy New Year! You all should be in a nice vacation-induced stupor by today. Perfect time to get some Insecure Writer’s group in. I hope 2019 has started off nice and gently for you and you’re enjoying your time, wherever you are! The Co-hosts this month are Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi and Fundy Blue. Don’t forget to stop by and show them the love. And the question for January 2 – What are your favorite and least favorite…

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Reading Wrap-Up of 2018

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. But seriously kids, I’m watching you. The tip of Argentina is always a postal-service option. BEHAVE. ANYWAY. We were doing a grand book wrap-up for the year 2018. Let’s get down to business.…

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Top Ten Cozy, Wintry, Snuggly Books

It’s currently snowing and you know what? Watching the flakes drift down, inhaling the steam from my spicy orange tea, it’s the perfect time for a cozy read. Yes, please. These ten books are all tried and tested favorites. They usually only come out when life is sucking major donkey balls, I’m sick, or it’s a snowy day like today. I can guarantee you that after creating this list I’m going to sit down with one or five of them…

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The Writer’s Tag: Look I’m Legit With Tags and Everything Now!

In which the author, who is not crazy, interviews herself and the voices in her head. Should be fun. The tag was created for authors by Lorraine Ambers and Ari Meghlen as a fun way to connect with other writers, and help us all get to know each other better. I’m participating in this tag thanks to the wonderful GJ Stephens, who is releasing his first novel on Friday! (30th November) He is one of the kindest people, with a genuine wish to reach out…

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