PPW Authors featured in a New Anthology from Borogrove Press
By: Darby Karchut
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (Amazing Monster Tales #3) released February 7 from Borogrove Press. This anthology features fourteen amazing authors (a number of which are Pikes Peak Writers members): Travis Heermann (Member) · Rebecca Hodgkins (Member) · Charles Eugene Anderson & Jim LeMay · Meyari McFarland · Jason Dias (Member)· Debbie Mumford · Ron Collins · Shannon Lawrence (Member) · Jamie Ferguson (Editor and Author, Member) · Stefon Mears · Thea Hutcheson · Robert Jeschonek · DeAnna Knippling (Editor and Author, Member).
This is Issue #3 in the Amazing Monster Tales series. Check out the other books here and be sure to pick up your copy. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many independent bookstores worldwide.
ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY:
Hello my Earthling! Hello my starling!
Hello my space-time alien gal!
A baker’s dozen of tales about creatures from outer space who may or may not have boldly gone where they really shouldn’t have. Tales of aliens who test the creatures of Earth…tales of Earthlings who test the creatures from other planets…aliens who attack…aliens who defend…and aliens who are a little too close for comfort.
Prepare to discover realms at the furthest edges of human imagination.
From the depths of outer space…
To the depths of the sea…
To Portland…and beyond!
Sweet Success is coordinated by Darby Karchut who is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter. A proud native of New Mexico, she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. If you have a Sweet Success to share please contact her via email.
Audiobooks are a fast growing staple of the literary world. I myself devour at least three audiobooks a month. Readers still love the hardy feel and ink-stained smell of a good tome, but with streaming services, booming audiobooks are on the rise. They ease long drives, are great when walking the dog, out for a run or even while cooking. Especially now, as we are all stuck inside, audiobooks are a great escape, allowing people to still be productive while listening to an amazing story.
And it’s not just the Big Five publishers taking advantage of this growing trend either. With the launch of ACX, indie writers are now joining the game without breaking the bank. But this is a whole new construct from what we writers are used to, so I’m pulling in expert Sandra Murphy —AKA The Voice Mama—to dish on everything from her process to resources to how to find the right talent for your book.
Q: Sandra, it’s wonderful getting to connect with you today. Thanks so much for taking the time. First and foremost, how are you doing in this new world we’re all adjusting to?
A: My pleasure! The biggest change is that there is no quiet time to narrate which I would usually have when my husband was at work and the children in school. With the entire family home, we’ve instituted quiet hours when I record. I do my best to stick to that time frame and we converge as a family and make plenty of noise when I’m done.
Q: Tell me, what do you love most about narrating audiobooks?
A: I get to play ALL the characters!! There is no type casting in audiobook narration. As an actor, it’s so freeing to play fairies, ogres, Mexican hit men, Ukrainian circus performers – roles I would never be cast in on stage or on camera.
Q: Do you have a ritual or routine you do before sitting down to record the audio (such as vocal exercises or donning your lucky unwashed socks)?
A: Pre COVID-19, I’d head to the gym in the morning which would function to wake up my body, release tension, and get me in touch with my breath. After doing my vocal warm-ups and before heading into the studio, I always make a cup of apple cider vinegar and honey “tea” to have with me in the booth, which helps clear mouth congestion.
Q: What genres will you always say no or yes to, and why?
A: I will always say yes to books in the mystery genre – from cozy mysteries to police procedurals to thrillers – if there’s a dead body, I’m interested. I’m an active member of Sisters in Crime Colorado and love to attend events like “Night with a Coroner” or tour the CBI building to increase my understanding of the genre.
I will always say no to Erotica.
Q: What are some of your favorite projects you’ve worked on?
A: I love literature and good writing is what really pulls me into a project.
The Flats Junction series by Sara Dahmen is my first venture into historical fiction. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed narrating this series. In TINSMITH 1865, Marie Kotlarczyk must learn to become a female tinsmith in the Dakota Territories. In WIDOW 1881, Jane Weber, a proper Boston widow, must choose how she will truly reinvent herself and where she belongs. Two vastly different female protagonists, two different time periods, but both stories take place in the same frontier town of Flats Junction.
The character development, character arcs, and conflicts in this series are masterful.
Q: A lot of authors don’t realize how long it takes to get their book babies into audio format. Can you talk about how much time it takes to produce an audiobook and how that breaks out? (ie prep, studio time, editing…)
A: The quick answer is 6-8 weeks. It takes roughly 8 hours of time – prepping, recording, editing, mastering – per finished hour of audio to produce an audiobook. So, for a 93,000 word book, which would be a 10 hour audiobook, 80 hours of time went into producing the finished product.
Q: When selecting a narrator, what are the top 3 things an author should do?
A: Define the Voice of Your Brand: When you select an audiobook narrator, you are choosing the voice of your brand. When talking about this topic, I like to give the example of the James Bond movies. Many different actors have played this role and they all bring something different to the character. Each narrator will bring something different to your audiobook. You know what your brand looks like since you worked with a cover artist to create your book cover. What does your brand sound like? Sophisticated, gravelly, prim, urban, etc. Need guidance? Check out audiobooks from other authors in your genre. If you can find one or two words that describe of the overall narrative tone you are looking for, it will help narrow down your search for the right narrator.
Do Your Research: Do your research and listen to the narrator’s audiobook samples. Do you like what you hear? Check their websites and social media presence. Will they be a good business partner? How are their reviews?
Trust the Creative Process: There is a point when the baton of creativity is passed from author to narrator. If you’ve done your research and found the voice of your brand, trust the audiobook narrator to bring their unique voice and creative vision to your work. Trust me—the voices will NOT sound like the ones in your head, no matter whom you choose. If you’ve chosen your creative partner correctly, they will honor your characters and your writing. You might even be pleasantly surprised to hear a different approach to your work.
Q: Where are the best places for an author to connect with a quality narrator?
A: If you are traditionally published and like a particular narrator, you can make a recommendation to the publisher.
If you are independently published, you’ll be looking on sites like ACX, Findaway Voices, or Spoken Realms for narrators. Listen to samples, look at reviews, check social media feeds, visit websites to ascertain a narrator’s body of work. Membership to the Association of Audiobook Publishers is a good indicator the narrator is committed to the audiobook narration profession.
If you listen to a lot of audiobooks and are a fan of a particular narrator, you can reach out to them and ask if they would be interested in narrating your work.
Q: How do audiobook narrators and directors decide what kind of tone to use for each character?
A: All of the clues to what the character should sound like are in the book. In THE WHISPERING PINES MYSTERY series by Shawn McGuire, the character of Morgan Barlow always takes the protagonist by the arm when she wants to talk with her. I stood in the booth with my arm in a similar manner to what was described in the book and when I said Morgan’s lines, her voice just naturally came.
Q: How do you connect with each character, theme, and emotion?
A: One of my favorite characters is the cantankerous Granny Apples of THE GRANNY APPLES MYSTERY series by Sue Ann Jaffarian. This character reminded me of Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies, so I used that as a jumping off point to create her voice. Granny Apples has a certain tilt to her head, facial expression, and twang for her voice to come out just right. Her spitfire personality is very fun to narrate but I’m glad people can’t see what I look like when I do it.
Q: Haha! Understandable, I make similar expressions when writing. If in a coffee shop, I probably look crazy. What is it like reading different characters’ dialogue lines?
A: It’s just two people talking to each other so you switch between voices.
Q: Do you ever laugh at yourself as you’re testing out voices?
A: Occasionally, a voice comes out that totally doesn’t work and I have to start over.
Q: As a professional voice actor are there special techniques you use to care for and condition your voice?
A: Hydration. Sleep. Wellness care. I drink a lot of water to make sure I’m hydrated – it makes a huge difference in your voice. Getting 8+ hours of sleep is essential as is taking very good care of yourself. I usually wear a scarf in crisp weather since the common cold can take my voice out of commission for a good 6 weeks. That’s a disaster.
Q: What audiobook do you love to listen to and what about that narration makes it special?
A: Johnny Heller is one of my favorite audiobook narrators because of his creativity and commitment to any project. His narration of the evil genius guinea pig, Gizmo, in the WEDGIE & GIZMO series by Suzanne Selfors always lifts my heart and makes me smile.
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to become an audiobook narrator?
A: Audiobook narration is first and foremost an acting profession. Just like acting for stage or film, one should start by taking acting and improv classes. The more you understand the foundations of acting and how to break down a scene, the more successful you will be as an audiobook narrator.
Q: Okay final and most important question! Where can our readers find you and your work?
A: On my website at www.voicemama.com you can sign up for my newsletter or type my name in the Audible search engine to find my audiobooks.
Sandra Murphy, the Voice Mama, is an award-winning audiobook narrator known for her compelling, sophisticated narration and sarcastic female protagonists. Fictional characters include an uptight lisping beaver, Ukrainian circus performer, Polish settler, snarky female detective, and a whole host of Mexican hit men. Non-fiction narration includes parenting and women in leadership titles. Sandra provides entertaining workshops on audiobooks for self-published authors. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Jennifer Wilson is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of the young adult New World Series. The gripping trilogy spans Rising, Ashes, and Inferno. Jennifer is constantly on the move, always working on her next story line and drinking way too much coffee. When not writing, she is enjoying life in Colorado, rock climbing, camping, exploring new foods, playing with her golden retriever, Duke, and sharing life with her heroically supportive hubby. You can connect and nerd out with Jennifer on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on her website.
Congratulations to PPW member Pete Klismet on the release of his latest book: Profiling Violent Crimes: A Behavioral and Forensic Approach by Peter M. Klismet and Dr. Clarissa Cole
About the Book: What do you get when you combine knowledge from a veteran FBI profiler (with 30 years of hands-on experience) and a PhD psychologist who has evaluated hundreds of violent offenders in 10 years with the California Department of Corrections?These two experts have teamed up for a one-of-a-kind textbook – which is suitable for all readers. Already the reviews have been outstanding.
Students and readers will learn what it’s like to be on the ground as an FBI profiler, dispelling myths and detailing the actual process. Subsequent chapters detail crime scene analysis; determining of the type of offender who may be at work; the fascinating interplay between mental illness and criminality; and breakdowns of the various types of criminal offenders including stalkers, murderers, rapists, mass murderers, and serial killers. The book also offers multiple real-life case examples to shed further light into the mind of violent criminals.
About the Author: Peter M. Klismet, Jr. holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from California Lutheran University and another in public administration from the University of Southern California. He is a former agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was one of the first formally-trained psychological profilers within the Agency. He served in law enforcement for over thirty years before joining the faculty at Pikes Peak Community College as an associate professor of criminal justice, going on to chair the department. He is now the founder and director of Criminal Profiling Associates, a law enforcement consulting company.
Sweet Success is coordinated by Darby Karchut who is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter. A proud native of New Mexico, she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. If you have a Sweet Success to share please contact her via email.
This year I am kicking off a seven month series on the basics of writing diversity in your fiction. Whether you write dystopia or romance or science fiction. Right now, diversity in fiction is still a major issue. Over in Romance Writers of America, this very issue has led to a schism in that august organization. The question is why?
Like anything else, the question is never Why should we write diverse characters, but How do we go about it? How do I write diverse characters? How do I define the term? Where can I go for research? Once I’ve done the research and created an awesome character for my awesome story, how can I make sure I’m not offending anyone? Did I get it right?
These are all really great questions. They deserve sincere answers that can make navigating the waters of writing fiction at least clearer, if not easier. Well, fear not, gentle reader, I am here to help you. While I am no master at this craft, it seems to me that this is an obstacle that can be overcome with some patience, kindness, and honesty.
Topics in this Series
Here is how we will break down our topics over the next several months. Please be aware that this blog is only supposed to spark your curiosity and get you going in the right direction. It will not, nor can our conversation about diversity and representation be comprehensive. You have been forewarned.
For the next six months I will focus on different kinds of diversity, giving a snapshot on how to approach each subject as you write. Here’s the list:
May ~~ Ethnicity
June ~~ Sex
July ~~ Gender
August ~~ Sexual Orientation
September ~~ Physical Ability
October ~~ Neurodivergence/Neurotypical
The great thing about diversity and representation is that you don’t have to do it all. Choose one and dedicated yourself to doing it really well and you’ll be farther along the game than a lot of other people. It may seem daunting now, but you’ll be a better writer at the end of the process.
A Note on offense and Outrage.
I’m going to be blunt here. Somewhere down this road of diversity and inclusion and representation you are going to offend somebody. It is inevitable. You’re going to use the wrong tone or the wrong pronoun. You’re going to disappoint some people and flat out enrage others. You’re going to get bad book reviews. People are going to call you names.
So what do you do?
You stop and you listen.
See, many of the groups we’re talking about have been so misrepresented that these marginalized groups are hypervigilant against being misrepresented again.
I teach a class at writing conferences called How to write authentic African-American Characters. After spending about half the class time going over the history of African-Americans in the United States, I talk about the stereotypes you see routinely in literature and film. None of them are negative or outright hurtful. All of them are one dimensional and antiquated. The process of creating authentic African-American characters requires people outside the African-American community to sincerely listen to us in the community in order to get better. All I’m asking is that you do the same.
Listen. Find sensitivity readers and get honest feedback. If someone confronts you about your story, listen to their concerns and promise to do better. The fact that they want to talk to you at all means that they believed you wrote in good faith. That is a compliment.
Are you ready? Good. Next month we’ll answer why we should do this kind of work at all. See you then and happy writing.
Jason Henry Evans
Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer; he just didn’t know it. After attending college and working in education, Jason’s life changed when he fell in love with the Fetching Mrs. Evans. After over a decade as a teacher in public and private schools, he discovered the wonderful writing community in Colorado, where he still lives. Jason is an educator, and a historian (as well as a bon vivant,) who is active in the Colorado writing community as a teacher and speaker. Visit Jason’s website for more about Jason and his publication.
Karin Huxman, writing as K.D. Huxman, is just tickled to announce that her teen non-fiction book, The Colorado Coal Field War: Massacre at Ludlow (Apprentice Shop Books), won a gold medal in the 2019 Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Awards and a bronze in the 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Huzzah! The book is available from Amazon and independent booksellers.
Karin Huxman is a children’s book author. She writes both picture books and books for young readers. Visit the author’s website for more information or follow her on Facebook and Twitter
Sweet Success is coordinated by Darby Karchut who is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter. A proud native of New Mexico, she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. If you have a Sweet Success to share please contact her via email.
Writing a novel—or a book of any
type—requires groundwork laid in advance. Last month we discussed how to
identify your topic, idea, or plot line; how to identify what you’re most
passionate about, which makes the project personal, relevant, and much easier
to write; and how that translates into a plot line or book subject. If you
missed that post, you can catch up here
This month, we’ll look at ways to
build on the foundation begun last month and identify which genre your book
fits into, and then which markets might be interested in your book.
Why is Genre Important?
— It tells your audience—agents, publishers, book distributors, bookstores, and readers—what kind of book this is. — Publishers fill slots in their publishing calendar based on that information. — Book distributors need it to sell your book to bookstores. — Booksellers need to know where to put the book on the shelf to recommend to patrons. — Readers look for books based on an expectation of the genre.
Genre Definitions
Romance – romance is the main plot element; many sub-genres, defined by the time period of the setting; heat of the romance; and subplots.
Mystery – solving of the mystery is the key plot line; many sub-genres; can be contemporary or historical.
Thriller & Suspense a.k.a. Action & Adventure – where the reader often knows who the villain is, and that person has somehow put either the main character or somebody important to the main character in danger; the main character has a limited amount of time to complete the assignment (ticking bomb) such as save the world, save himself or someone/something, or simply catch or stop the bad guy; many sub-genres.
Science Fiction – where the setting is a world constructed by the author which could be partly or wholly based in real science; many sub-genres.
Horror – where the prime purpose of the story is to evoke a strong emotional reaction of fear, and keep the reader immersed in the story through that fear; can be physical, psychological, and/or emotional fear, for the character, someone they care about, or a larger societal notion such as justice, freedom, or equality.
Fantasy – where magical, supernatural, or demonic forces act on the characters, either to their benefit or detriment, and where the main character couldn’t achieve their goal without it; many sub-genres.
Where Does Your Book Fit?
Setting – historical, contemporary, futuristic,
time-slip (where the story starts in one time and ends in a different one);
Primary Plot – romance, mystery, thriller, and
so on
Secondary Plot
Level of intimate contact on the page – from
sweet to erotica
Markets for Your Book
What
agent might represent it?
What
Publisher will publish it?
— read the guidelines carefully – see the resource list at the end — if they say they don’t represent your genre, don’t send it to them — don’t choose the first agent or publisher who shows interest without checking them out first: check out their websites. Talk to friends. Contact the authors listed on their website. — Don’t respond to unsolicited emails offering you a contract. — Don’t agree to pay even one cent to an agent—not only is it simply not done, it’s illegal and predatory. — Consider carefully any publisher offering a contract that requires you to pay money up-front. There is nothing wrong with publishing with a self-publishing company, but just understand you might well end up paying for additional services, such as editing, cover design, and marketing.
Your publishing model choice comes down to deciding: — how much time and effort you want to invest in the process of publishing your book — how long you might be willing to wait to see your book in print — your level of expertise when it comes to the production of your book.
Sources of information on agents and
publishers
– writer’s market guides – often found in libraries – writing magazines – subscribe to at least one writing magazine and share with friends – writer’s websites and blogs – search online – word of mouth – ask a represented or published author friend -books in bookstores – find one like yours and look for the publisher’s name. Often the agent will be listed in the Acknowledgements or Dedication
Next month, we’ll
discuss the process of building believable characters, so hope to see you back
again.
Donna Schlachter writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been published more than 30 times in novellas, full-length novels, and non-fiction books. She is a member of ACFW, Writers on the Rock, SinC, Pikes Peak Writers, and CAN; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. Find her on: Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Smashwords, Etsy,
Covid-19 has everyone staying at home and most writers I know are in introvert heaven. Stay home? Sure thing! Most of us do that anyway. But even though the stay at home order doesn’t affect us the same way as others, it does affect us.
We feel the stress of others. Having this pandemic and having stores, restaurants, and schools closed makes many of us think about the economy. How will these businesses survive? I work at a movie theater for my day job and there are news articles saying that my particular company may not survive this shutdown. How will restaurants survive? The small businesses survive?
We have our own stressors, too. Everyone panic-bought toilet paper and canned foods. Where are we going to find these items for our own family? How do we keep ourselves safe?
With all this going on I know of many writers who just had no motivation to write. Too busy worrying about everything else to even think of writing. So how do you get that motivation back to write again?
Have A Purpose
When the governor first declared the stay at home order, I thought Cool, I can get a lot of writing done now that I don’t have to go in to work. But, as the reality started to sink in, I had no motivation to do anything creative. I couldn’t edit, I couldn’t write. I thought about my job, now closed, and the economy. How are these places going to survive? How are we going to survive?
Luckily, April is Camp NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I had been planning out what I was going to write (funnily enough, about the pandemic) and had my outline written. I was excited to start writing it, and in fact, wanted to start before April 1st. But I followed the rules and started on the first day of Camp NaNo and wrote 1,347 words that first day!
Writing As Therapy
It was actually therapeutic for me, in more than one way, to write out what was going on. It helped to write out my feelings about not being able to find toilet paper (since I didn’t get the memo to buy a ton of it), and also helped me to focus on something other than this pandemic. I was able to think as a writer as I wrote, kind of detaching myself from the issue, but in a way also think as a person, and trying to make sense out of it all.
Take Your Time
Let yourself feel what is going on around you. Don’t try to ignore it, or it will creep up on you and mess with your head. Once you work through what you’re feeling, even just by writing it all down in a journal, you can finally start working on your stories again.
Give yourself time to work through all that is going on around you, be it this pandemic, or any stressor that comes around. It is a stressful time, and if you can keep one aspect of normality in your life, you will be able to keep your sanity and have something to show for it later.
Here are some other inspirational posts to keep you writing:
Margena Adams Holmes was born in Bellflower, CA sometime in the 1960s. She has always had a love for both reading and writing, writing her first song/poem in 1st grade. Margena is a big supporter of indie authors and will read anything that draws her into the story. She is an observer of life, and many everyday things could (and do!) end up in her writings. Her publications are available through her author page. Contact Margena via email: jedi_anegram@hotmail.com.
In a writing
world where I’m surrounded by authors, I often know them by both their legal
and author names, or wonder when I “cyber” meet them if they’re using a real or
fictitious one. I often wish I had gone with a pseudonym, but by the time I
published, nine years after I’d started writing, people knew me by Donnell.
Besides, my editor at the Colorado Springs Business Journal had dibs on
the coolest name ever—Victoria Lipton Smythe.
I bring this
up because a few days ago on Facebook, a new Indy author was lamenting that she
was publishing under a pseudonym, but friends kept addressing her by her legal
name when they posted congratulations on her page. She very much wanted to keep
the two separate and was asking experienced authors how to address this
problem.
I thought
that an interesting conundrum and wanted to know more. Obviously, I get the
typical reasons of someone writing erotica, writing in different genres, or a
controversial topic might choose a pseudonym. But I wanted to dig deeper, so I
asked a few colleagues the following questions:
Do you use a pseudonym? Why or why
not?
Have you found it advantageous to do
so? Why or Why not?
If you publish under two names or
more, would you ever consider using . . . say Author X writing as?
Are there any legal ramifications
and/or protections to authors who use a pseudonym?
Do you have to post your legal name in the
copyright area?
Here are some
of the answers I received back. (I have tried to stay true to their statements,
while deleting names and reference points to protect their anonymity.)
Author A. I do, because I
was just starting to get some gritty short stories published as my husband
decided, late in life, to become a Methodist minister. I thought it would be
good to separate our names.
Have I found it advantageous to do so? Very much so! And in some unexpected ways. I found it convenient to use my legal name as my “company name” for my Schedule C on my tax return.
Then, after a few years of getting published, I ran into some scary people online. One got irate that I had not told her. In a personal email, I responded that I had assumed (at the publisher’s request) another pen name. My website clearly references each other, so I didn’t understand. But the all caps and dozens of exclamation points, plus the language, made me think this person might be violent. I was very glad she didn’t know my real name. And I’m careful not to put my address anywhere. I use a PO Box for my newsletter.
Author B: I have two pen names. The first I chose for professional reasons, and to keep my private life and my book business somewhat separate. I’ve never regretted that decision. And no, you don’t have to use your legal name to copyright something (in the U.S. at least). All my books are copyrighted under the pseudonym.
Author C: For my second cozy series, my editor wanted me to use a pen name. My agent said it was so I would look like a debut author to booksellers and readers, since the first series didn’t sell hugely well. It worked. My two series under my pen name are way more popular than the work I published under my legal name.
My (publisher/agent) never said I couldn’t link the names and I do, everywhere. I talk about my alter-ego and vice versa, and my copyright is always my legal name.
Author D:
I was a professor of Health and Exercise Science, publishing articles of
the credentialing of yoga teacher training programs, when my first book came
out. And I was also teaching a lot of first-year students who didn’t always
exhibit much maturity when they got low grades. I could imagine a one-star in
revenge for a D or and F. Or social media harassment. I was keeping my
professor life and writer life separate.
Author E: (finally, here’s an
author who uses her real name but . . . ) As you know, I use
my real name. People assume it is a pseudonym. The bonus is it grabs
attention. The downside I was put in Facebook jail until I proved myself.
My friends campaigned to spring me.
I enjoyed reading the various answers as to why authors use
pseudonyms and the benefits behind using one. These responses aren’t
particularly helpful to the author who would prefer people not to “out” her.
Perhaps a private message is in order to anyone who does.
Donnell
Ann Bell is a former editor of Writing from the Peak. These days she’s writing a cold case series, but hopes to
pop in with an article now and then because she misses her tribe. www.donnellannbell.com
Congratulations to Tena Stetler! She just signed contracts for manuscripts 12 and 13 with The Wild Rose Press! With a little luck and fingers crossed the books, Hidden Gypsy Magic (Book 3 in A Witch’s Journey Series), and Chocolate Raspberry Magic (book in The Wild Rose Press’s new fun summer series involving ice cream, One Scoop or Two, plus it’s book 4 in A Witch’s Journey Series, yep its doing double duty) should release by summer’s end 2020. For more details about her upcoming releases, as well as her other books, visit her website: https://www.tenastetler.com/books/
About the Author:
Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award-winning paranormal
romance with an over-active imagination. She wrote her first vampire
romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her
friends. Colorado is home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant
Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. Her books tell tales of
magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel,
adventure and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion
animals to round out the tales. Follow the author on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
Sweet Success is coordinated by Darby Karchut who is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter. A proud native of New Mexico, she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. If you have a Sweet Success to share please contact her via email.
There
is no denying the heartache felt around the world in this unexpected climate. On
a global level, we are experiencing a full-blown pandemic. With public health
in mind, quarantines have continued to spread, and many doors have closed. It’s
been a whirlwind of emotions. Or as we in YA like to say – “ALL the feels.”
But
there is a proverbial silver lining. While we practice physical social
distancing, the World Wide Web has allowed us to be alone together. Not to
mention the plethora of information it puts at our constantly typing
fingertips.
Let’s
get real, for all the good content out there, there’s a bazillion more not-so-great
resources to weed out. So, we’re doing it for you and bringing conference to
your desktop.
Now, enough of my words—let’s check out what PPW and the 2020 guests, staff, and colleagues have to share:
Facebook, Facebook, Facebook – No joke!
Use the Google machine to look up “Facebook writers groups for + your genre.”
You will be shocked by how many groups are out there. Start with Pikes Peak Writers! (FREE!!)
Manuscript
Academy –
Still
want to take classes, but quarantine got you locked down? The Manuscript
Academy offers online courses. Brace yourself, it’s a bit pricey for us
starving writers. But their free podcast has great insights and they occasionally
host free webinars. ($49 – $69
per month)
NaNoWriMo – Writing a
novel alone can be difficult, even for seasoned writers. NaNoWriMo helps you
track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers in a vast
community, and participate in events that are designed to make sure you finish
your novel. Oh, and best of all, it’s free! (FREE!!)
Pitch Wars – Pitch Wars
is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or
industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and
offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for an agent
showcase. (FREE!!)
Writers Club
Live
– Author, ghostwriter, and book coach Christine Whitmarsh hosts live virtual
workshops focusing on the art and science of writing your book. She’s even
offering structured sessions to provide ample collaboration and quiet work time
at a fair cost. ($19 – $29
per month)
Craft books?
Why, yes please! (PS many local book stores are delivering – don’t forget to support them too!)
True
to our 2019 conference slogan “It takes a tribe,” now more than ever, my
friends, is the time to #SupportEachOther. I hope these resources inspire you
to keep writing, keep pitching and keep going. Share these articles with your
friends and remember to thank the contributors on social media.
It’s
okay to lament the cancellation of the 2020 Pikes Peak Writers Conference. It’s
not often we introverts want to come out and play. Even though there will be no
hugging of old friends or toasting a long day over evening drinks this year,
PPWC is still here to help you further your writing skills and connect with
other writers in a safe way.
Stay
healthy. Stay home. Stay supportive.
For
the latest news on the Coronavirus, please refer to CDC.gov.
Jennifer Wilson is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of the young adult New World Series. The gripping trilogy spans Rising, Ashes, and Inferno. Jennifer is constantly on the move, always working on her next story line and drinking way too much coffee. When not writing, she is enjoying life in Colorado, rock climbing, camping, exploring new foods, playing with her golden retriever, Duke, and sharing life with her heroically supportive hubby. You can connect and nerd out with Jennifer on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on her website.
