New Release - Halloween Harvest: A Holiday Anthology

It's official! My very first sci-fi story (that wasn't fanfic) "A Place at the Table" was published in Halloween Harvest. If you like Alien or Pitch Black, this story might be up your alley.

The rest of the stories are pretty awesome, too. *grin*

You can purchase it at the following places:

Amazon, all countries
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
WMG Publishing

Studying Kickstarters

After years of funding other people's projects, I've been studying fiction Kickstarters for a while now as a new way to introduce my books into the world. Here's a couple I'm studying:

A friend of mine Matt Herron, aka MG Herron, has taken the plunge before me. His Kickstarter for his space opera trilogy, Relics of the Ancients has been been going like gangbusters. He's got some awesome things as rewards. Things I've considered like stickers, bookmarks, and t-shirts. And some things I haven't like little models of his series' starfighters. It's a super-awesome campaign, and you should check it out!

And once again, WMG Publishing is running a Kickstarter for a new Kris Rusch book. It's the first novel involving her Spade and Paladin characters. *SQUEE*

However, the better part are the classes WMG offers for writers as part of their rewards. The awesome part is a lot of these classes are aimed at mid-level writers, i.e. those of who have a novel or 60 out in the world and are trying to fine-tune their work. It doesn't mean newbies won't get anything out of these classes.

Anyway, both of them give me ideas on how to handle my own Kickstarter when I'm ready to dive in.

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 454 - Variants and Class Sales

33,518,669 known cases of COVID-19 in the United States and 603,410 known deaths. The numbers have slowed over the last month as more people get one of the vaccines available. But the danger isn't over. A variant out of India called Delta is currently sweeping through the UK. There's some debate if they will continue the current lockdown or raise the restrictions on June 21st as planned.

Despite the efforts in the U.S. to get back to normal, things are moving slowly.

Some people are like rabbits these days. They are poking their heads out of their burrows, noses quivering. Has the doggie danger really passed?

Other folks have been like squirrels this whole time. Cavorting about. Absolutely sure they can outrun any threats.

In the meantime, WMG Publishing is running ONE MORE 1/2 PRICE SALE! If you need to brush up on a technique or explore new genres, now's the time to do it.

I signed up for the Publishing Challenge during their first sale last year. It helped me keep my focus over the craziness of the pandemic. So sign up now if you're interested. The sale ends on June 17th.

Another Workshop Sale!

WMG Publishing is having yet another "Don't Catch COVID" sale. Go check out Dean Wesley Smith's website for more details.

For the TL;DR version, WMG is having a half-price sale on every class, challenge, pop-up, etc. they offer on Teachable. Use the code IN-BETWEEN. Sale ends on Thursday, May 4th.

Yeah, everybody's using Star Wars Day to get attention, including Darling Husband's company. *sigh* 

WMG Publishing Half-Price Classes!

WMG Publishing is have another COVID-19 stay home and learn half-price sale! All the details are on Dean Wesley Smith's website. The code for getting various classes and prescriptions at half-price is

AGAIN

There's a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines are being distributed as fast as they are being produced. The masks and social distancing has made a dent in both patients and deaths.

So, stay in just a bit longer, and use the time to study craft and/or business. You'll be glad you did.

Half-Price Classes!

WMG Publishing is having another class sale! Yep, you can get any or all of their classes, including the lifetime subscriptions, for half-price. The code for checkout is

HolidaySale

 

 

The code is good for as many classes as you want. For more information, go to Dean Wesley Smith's blog. The sale ends tonight at midnight PST.

The sale has been extended through 5PM PST on November 10th!

New Short Story Sold and the Fabulous Kickstarter That Will Publish It!

It's been a while since I've even sent a short story to an editor, but now that the contract has been signed, I can announce this.

Please check out the Kickstarter for WMG's Holiday Spectacular 2020! This is the follow-up to WMG's Holiday Spectacular 2019.

 

The difference this year? They've included two more holidays to the Spectacular's schedule: Valentine's Day and Halloween!

And if you're one of my long-time readers, you already know where my story landed. That's right. "A Place at the Table" will be in the Halloween Harvest collection.

This is an awesome way to have stories delivered to you daily via e-mail during your favorite holiday season, or all of the holidays if you choose. So many people loved last year's Spectacular, the Kickstarter funded in its first four hours!

But there's plenty of stretch goal prizes to go! So if you want some excellent reads during the cold, dark days of winter, donate to the Kickstarter now!

How do I know these are awesome stories? I've already read most of them. *grin*

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 117 - Staying Safe While Learning

Most writing conferences and classes have gone virtual during the current pandemic if they haven't been cancelled outright. If you're having a hard time working on your wip, maybe now's the time to join with some fellow writers or take a class in order to get your mind off the news.

1) Camp NaNoWriMo

July is the second camp of the year from the people who bring you National Novel Writing Month. If you don't know anybody to join up with, my old RWA chapter Northwest Houston is holding a virtual write-in in relations to Camp NaNo. The cost is $10 for non-members, but they are a sweet, encouraging group of people, especially if you're a newbie.

2) RWA Conference

Whereas, most of the individual RWA chapters are pretty awesome and inclusive, the national organization is still trying to get its shit together. It may a good thing this year's conference is on Zoom. I mention it because I got some good advice and information from its panels back in the day, and it's one of the few national writing organizations that allows non-members to attend for a higher fee than members.

3) NINC Conference

The Novelists, Inc., Conference is a popular one among published authors of all genres. As of this writing, it is still scheduled to start September 23, 2020, in St. Pete Beach, Florida. However, the NINC will be issuing a statement next week on whether the conference will continue given the current COVID-19 spike in the state. It may be cancelled or have fewer speakers due to the travel restrictions between the U.S. and Europe.

4) WMG Publishing

With the record spikes of COVID-19 across the south, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch are offering half-price classes, lectures, and subscriptions for the third time this year. The sale ends tomorrow night, Tuesday, July 7th. I've taken a few over the last couple years and found them valuable. Just a warning: most of them come with homework that makes you exercise your writing muscles!


At the rate things are going, those of us in the U.S. may find ourselves stuck at home for the rest of the year for safety's sake regardless of what our government says.

Hang in there! Write, study, watch Hamilton for the umpteenth time. Do whatever you have to in order to stay sane during this pandemic.

We really are in this together.

Take Advantage of Learning Opportunities

With everyone's restricted movement during the lock-downs, now's the time to pick up some learning tools.

Currently, WMG Publishing (i.e. Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch) are running a half-price sale for all their courses, including the big lifetime courses!

Just a little tip, their website doesn't have a shopping cart so you need to buy the courses one at a time if you want all of them.

When you hit purchase, make sure you enter the code, SummerLearning2020, at the top of the page in order to get the discount!

This sale expires on Friday, May 8th.  The sale has been extended until Sunday, May 10th!