IWSG: I've Been Living Under a Writerly Rock!

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IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.

Welcome to mine!

Welcome May! Here is this month's question:

What are your writerly highs and writerly lows?

Co-hosts for May are Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, Lee Lowery, and Nancy Gideon! Thank you so much for your help!

My highs are delving into the characters' thoughts and navigating through their trials alongside them! Writing is my cathartic state of mind.

Mediamodifier@pixabay

Despite having stories published through these past few years, I am woefully out of touch. My writerly lows are the struggles of enduring a learning curve!

And a Book Baby is Born--Welcome CassaDark by Alex J. Cavanaugh!

I'm excited to welcome our newest book baby into the world! Congratulations, Alex J. Cavaugh!

CassaDark

By Alex J. Cavanaugh

His world is unraveling…

Bassan’s father is stepping down from command. His best friend almost dies when Bassan freezes. Now, he’s being sent across the galaxy to speak at an important conference. Despite saving the eleven races years ago, he’s paralyzed by fear and doubt. Could things get any worse?

Once there, new acquaintance Zendar convinces Bassan to visit his planet for a humanitarian mission. Bassan’s special connection to ancient technology is the key to saving Zendar’s people. One problem though—it’s a prisoner planet.

On Ugar, he discovers things aren’t so straightforward. As each secret reveals itself, the situation grows more desperate. If he can’t find the right answers, he might die along with Zendar’s people. Can Bassan summon the courage to be a hero again?

Science fiction - Adventure / Space Opera / Space Exploration
Print ISBN 9781939844842 $16.95

eBook ISBN 9781939844859 $4.99

“Cavanaugh returns to the world of his Cassa Series…for a fourth inventive space opera.” – Publisher’s Weekly

Alex J. Cavanaugh works in web design and graphics. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is known as Ninja Captain Alex and is founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.
http://alexjcavanaugh.com https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/

Links:
iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id1574189874
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0982FL3SH
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940164947033
Kobo – https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=9781939844859
Scribed – https://www.scribd.com/search?query=9781939844859&language=0
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58461762-cassadark

Ooh, a prisoner planet!  I wonder if it's a trap? Can Bassan's connection with ancient tech see past every dark secret? What is it that the people of Ugar face that is so secretive? I can't wait to find out more!

Guess what? It's now available!

IWSG: My Writerly Cave

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IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.

Welcome to mine!

Welcome to my March's IWSG post. I apologize for posting this so late. I've spent the past several weeks in my writing cave preparing an upcoming book for publication. Finally! I spend so much time writing and writing by the seat of my pants that when I look back at the mountain of edits, I realize I'm falling behind.

I've rewritten Darkspell. It feels cringeworthy at best. I also plan to update my website's tabs to include upcoming books as teasers. So much to do!

One of the methods I've recently incorporated into my arsenal of editing is the Reader tool on MicrosoftWord. I've been listening to my computer read back every paragraph. I'm doing my best to rewrite the words so that it reads smoothly--I must be at my best for listening to cadence anomalies.

I'm in the process of trimming down overused words according to an editor's worksheet list--some of the things she has in there are crazy. For example, "in", "to", and "not". I was relieved that the words "and" and "the" weren't included. I'm breaking out into a sweat as it is with everything else!

I'm just about done and will send my current story to my beta readers!

I'm aiming to release it on Independence Day as a way to honor freedom and free will, which is the premise of my story. It is a SciFi Romance Here is the blurb:

Balance. Peace. Order.

Everything N'reena has lived for shatters the moment an accident nearly takes her life. If it weren't for Daemos, she wouldn't have ever tasted a kiss, felt a touch, or experienced love—

She especially wouldn't have unveiled what lurked right in front of her home these many centuries…

I'm done illustrating the book cover. My muse directed me to use the anime this time, an interesting turn to be sure. Would you like a sneak peek? Here it is:

I plan to include a glossary at the back of the book and a few bonuses, though I'm not exactly sure what!

What is your process for finding overused words? Do you have pet words? What do sort of bonuses do you look forward to when you read a book?

#IWSG: Battling the Beasts of Life, a mom lecture

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IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.

Welcome to mine!

Thank you, Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery for hosting this month's IWSG!

February's question is: Is there someone who's supported you that isn't in your life anymore that you miss?

Thank you for the prompt, but I will write on dredging up creative intuition today.

The other night, one of my children lamented how they were unable to create fantastical depths compared to the authors they admire. To their frustration, they've worked on the same novel for over four years. They're frustrated as to why they struggle to move forward, why they're constantly rehashing the same scenes.

IWSG: Regrets in my Writing Career

click on image to join other IWSG writers!

IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.

Welcome to mine!

Thank you for co-hosting January's posting: Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken!

The question of the month is: What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?

My career has been all over the place. When I first started out, I was full of eagerness and enthusiasm. I participated in book signings, writer's conferences, Q & A panels, critique groups. 

Despite my involvement, I faced so many obstacles. The further I trod, the more resistance I faced: from my connections to the publisher I was with (it had cut so many corners that I lost confidence in their way of doing business). I was so discouraged that I hired a copyright attorney to end my contracts with said publisher and took a year-long break.