Melissa Maygrove

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for November 2025. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw,  & Me! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 Before I dive into my IWSG post, I want to link a post I made a few days ago , in case you missed it. It's an update on reformatting book 1 and the effect it had on series read-through. #datajunkienirvana November 5 question - When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way? I love this question! I look forward to blog-hopping around and reading other people's answers. As a kid, I jotted a few short stories for fun. Then I set writing aside for decades. Flash forward to my 40's. A popular series got me hooked, and I became a voracious reader. That made me decide I wo...

Last month, I posted about reformatting my debut novel, Come Back .  As part of the glow-up, I added a series link in the back matter, plus a QR code for the paperback, and a couple of sentences that told the reader which books contained stories of supporting characters (books 2 & 4). My goal was to improve series read-through. The e-book interior was updated September 12th and the paperback September 16th, so, the backmatter changed roughly half way through the month. I compared both Kindle e-book sales and Kindle Unlimited page reads by looking at total sales and page reads for each of books 2-4 and calculating what percentage they each were of the sales/reads of book 1. Ex: If I sold twenty copies of book 1 for the month and ten copies of book 2, read-through for book 2 would be 50%.  Of course, I have no way of knowing whether the same reader bought all four books - or in the case of KU, whether customers were reading the entire series or even the entire book - but th...

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for October 2025. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:     Beth Camp, Crystal Collier,  & Cathrina Constantine! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 October's question -  What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not, and why? That's a tough one. The first novel I ever wrote will always be dear to my heart. But, after reading through it and my debut novel when I reformatted them recently, I'd have to choose my debut, Come Back .  (Cover by Carrie Butler) I spent a lot of time writing and polishing that one, and it shows. It has several scenes that evoke strong emotions. I still tear up when I read them, even after all these years. Following up on my post from last month... I finished reformatting Come Back and uploaded the revised version to Amazon. I gave the book a general glow-up, but the main change was updating the back matter. I...

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for September 2025. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Kim Lajevardi,   Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon,   & Diedre Knight! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 The  scare Amazon gave me  in July was a huge motivator. I've been a very busy bee. 🐝 There's a progress report after this month's question.  I've included pictures for your enjoyment, but it's long.  Feel free to read on the diagonal. LOL September question - What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines/beats? I'm still deciding how I feel about AI and where the boundaries should be. I might use it in the planning stages (ex: to brainstorm or turn my synopsis into outline form), but sinking into fictional worlds and crafting stories is my therapy. I won't give that over to a com...

The first book in my new series is almost here!  I'm giving the interior files a last onceover before uploading them and sending the final page count to my cover artist. Sqwee! In the Wake of Honor is launching sooner than planned. Release day has been moved to  August 29, 2025,  a whole month early!  And, as part of a limited time special pricing event to celebrate, the Kindle version is available for just 99c! ( Don't worry! If you pre-ordered before the price drop, you'll still get the deal .) In the Wake of Honor is a sweeping tale of love, sacrifice, and second chances.  Book page (universal link)   Series page (universal link) Preorder book 1 now and lock in your copy before the price goes back up. Don't wait - this offer won't last past release day!

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for August 2025.   Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Natalie Aguirre, Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, and Olga Godim! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 August 6 question: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? Hmm. I'd probably put predatory publishing at the top of the list. Next would be letting AI bots operate without human review and interfere with people's livelihoods. Sorry for the long post, but T he Zon really shook me up last month, and  I need to vent. All my westerns are currently in KDP Select. I'm exclusive to Amazon, and I make about 75% of my royalties from Kindle Unlimited page reads.  To truly appreciate this story, you should also know I had just contracted a graphic artist for 16 book covers, launched the new series (also in Select), and purchased 100 ISBNs from Bowker. Anyhow, I check my ser...

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for July 2025. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre,   Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 July question: Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it? I have a dystopian on the back burner that's still in the plotting stage. I remained frustrated for years that I didn't have time to work on it, but now I'm glad I put it off. Living through a pandemic has lent me valuable perspective . As far as genres I haven't tried at all, mysteries are tempting. But I'm not sure if it's the genre itself that draws me or simple curiosity over learning the trick behind crafting a whodunit plot. In any case, I eventually want to write more books for my other pen name, and that dystopian would be a great fit. Wishing everyone a fun, safe 4th! ❤❤❤❤❤...

Book one in my new series is up for preorder! When duty called, love paid the price. Former Union Army lieutenant Jackson Maguire returns to his war-torn hometown wounded, weary, and ready to claim the woman he loves, if she’ll have him. But before he can seek permission from her father, a crisis of honor obliterates his plans. Caroline Bennet has loved Jackson Maguire for as long as she can remember. When he shows up with eyes full of longing and devotion, she’s certain he’s about to propose... until he takes her sister as his wife instead. Jackson departs with his bride for a new life in Nebraska, leaving Caroline to soldier on in a suffocating fog of betrayal. Fate eventually reunites them, but will Jackson’s repentance and confession of his motives be enough to heal Caroline’s shattered heart? ### Sagebrush Springs will feature a long series of closed-door, western historical romances that are set post– Civil War.  To preorder In the Wake of Honor , click this  ...

I'm at IWSG today, guest-posting on the topic of Amazon ads.    Click on over and join us!

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for June 2025. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  PJ Colando,    Pat Garcia , Kim Lajevardi,    Jean Davis ,  & me! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 Indulge me a short progress report before I answer June's question. As I mentioned in May's post, I took part in the May I Write a Novel writing challenge. I had never done one before, and I surprised myself. I only reached my daily goals a handful of times, but I wrote more in one month than ever before, and I learned what I'm capable of when I really push myself. My goal was 35k for the month. I wrote 28k+ (80%) of that and almost finished the draft of book one in my new western series. May will be reserved on my calendar every year. 😊 Update on my German ad: I began running a single Amazon ad in Germany for Come Back  (book 1 of my series, both e-book & paperback included) in early Ap...

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for May 2025. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Feather Stone, Janet Alcorn,   Rebecca Douglass,   Jemima Pett,  and Pat Garcia! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you . 💻💻💻💻💻 Before I answer May's question, I'd like to post some information about Craig Martel's 'May I Write a Novel' writing challenge. NaNoWriMo is apparently no more, so Craig stepped up and created this. I've set a bold goal for myself - 35,000 words in 31 days. That means writing 2,000 words/day on my off days to make up for the days I work or have something else scheduled. So far, I've met my daily goals all but once, but it pushes me to the limit. I might not be able to keep up this pace. However it turns out, I'm learning a lot about myself and my writing abilities. We're already a week into it, but jump on in. Each person sets his or her own goal, so join us and adjust yours accordingly. Excerpt of Cr...