tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35890359731722907452024-03-15T15:26:05.306-05:00Melissa MaygroveWestern Historical Romance Author & Freelance EditorMelissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.comBlogger476125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-14185341025346635582024-03-06T01:00:00.672-06:002024-03-06T01:00:00.135-06:00IWSG - Rise of the machines<p> <span style="font-family: times;"><span>This is my</span><span> </span><b><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span> </span><span>post for March.</span></span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w174-h171/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="174" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="http://kristinaseyes.com/" target="_blank">Kristina Kelly,</a><span> </span></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://miffieseideman.com/" target="_blank">Miffie Seideman,</a><span> </span><a href="http://jeanddavis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jean Davis,</a><span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span>and </span><a href="http://middlepassages-lcs.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Liza @ Middle Passages!</a></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: times; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nE_WeVFU43yEEBRIDXGTmPi5v3fvtLr7v5vOQ9Srh9qpYlIT1lidKCw6lSw66IGqcwgPBxAM4j10qGDRXfa1NGVaI_7VZ6375Dyv8jjZuGH1WyF9nPDFjoDN0aR7f60nRaonZHSLpcIB-jvBtaMaqML5uiMBaWIvtdfLSgaWRenKc4nRww_h5YV0B4R2/s1000/Depositphotos_358458486_S.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nE_WeVFU43yEEBRIDXGTmPi5v3fvtLr7v5vOQ9Srh9qpYlIT1lidKCw6lSw66IGqcwgPBxAM4j10qGDRXfa1NGVaI_7VZ6375Dyv8jjZuGH1WyF9nPDFjoDN0aR7f60nRaonZHSLpcIB-jvBtaMaqML5uiMBaWIvtdfLSgaWRenKc4nRww_h5YV0B4R2/w410-h410/Depositphotos_358458486_S.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">[Image purchased from Depositphotos]</span></div><div style="font-family: times; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;">Believe it or not, I wrote this before Alex posted the March question. Imagine my shock when I went to get the names of the co-hosts!</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing?</span></i><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span><span>A few IWSGs ago, the topic was AI and whether it would replace writers. I posted, but I didn't know much about it at all. </span></span>Since then, I've dabbled a bit. Wow. *mind blown*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I'm going to pause here to say that AI is a <i>very</i> controversial and often divisive topic. AI bashing within the typically altruistic writing community has risen to a shocking and frankly saddening level. </span><b style="font-family: times;">If you comment, please treat me and your fellow commenters with respect</b><span style="font-family: times;">. My intention is to encourage healthy discussion, not start a war.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>For the record, none of my books have been written by AI, nor will future books be.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Good</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I haven't done more than play around with ChatGPT and DALL.E 3, but I've watched tutorials on programs, such as <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJVg09qsHeM" target="_blank">Sudowrite</a></b>. It's amazing what kind of assistance a program like that can provide! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Even a free program, such as ChatGPT, can offer topic ideas for blog posts and help you brainstorm plots, like a friend tossing out ideas. It can also write descriptions of just about anything. You don't have to copy the prose verbatim - in fact, you shouldn't - but you can read what it generates to get your creative juices flowing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Here's another tutorial video: '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlKEJLYTKLc" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">How to write a book with AI in 2024 (2 best methods)</a>' </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I'm not posting these links to push you to use AI; I'm posting them to show you how these tools work. The worst negativity I've witnessed is coming from people who are apparently uninformed. </span><span style="font-family: times;">AI doesn't churn out a complete novel from a prompt, or even a few prompts. It doesn't work that way.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Let me pause to pose a few questions about the chatbot/writing side of AI.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Have you ever skimmed the internet for party or event ideas? </span><span style="font-family: times;">I have. Most of us have.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">How is asking AI for a list of 10 icebreaker questions to choose from for a blog post any different?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">What about plugging a story description YOU wrote into AI and asking it to generate some tagline ideas that you can cherry-pick, refine, and use as ad copy?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">What about plugging YOUR story idea into AI and asking it to turn that into synopsis form? Then take that and turn into outline form? Is that wrong? Is that plagiarism?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">But AI learns from other books, you say. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">So do we.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">New writers are frequently given the advice to read good fiction to improve their writing skills. Just like AI, we are learning from other writers' work. We just can't do it with nearly as much efficiency or speed.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Unlike CPs, Chatbots never sleep. Wanna brainstorm at 3:00 AM? Go for it. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Another plus, </span><span style="font-family: times;">AI writing tools reduce the amount of typing significantly, which can be a career-saver for disabled authors.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Before you bash writers who choose to harness the power of AI, explore the things it can do and understand exactly how it works.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Sorry for digressing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Bad</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">AI is a polarizing topic, especially when it comes to its ability to create custom images. Graphic artists have had their livelihoods <b><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-creative-industry-negatively-impacted-generative-ai-william-poutu" target="_blank">adversely affected</a></b>, now that anyone can generate quality images tailored to their specifications and <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYaSOBx89bo" target="_blank">make book covers</a></b>. Some have said graphic artists should take the <i>if you can't beat 'em, join 'em</i> attitude, but it isn't that simple. There's the issue of copyright, and even copyright infringement if a trademarked image shows up in the mix.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Other artists are angry that their work is being used by companies to train AI. Some are <b><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/03/1210208164/new-tools-help-artists-fight-ai-by-directly-disrupting-the-systems" target="_blank">fighting back</a></b> with tools that contaminate and confuse AI systems.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Messy</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">As with any new technology, it takes our legal system time to catch up. It's my understanding that, currently, AI-generated images cannot be copyrighted, nor can books that have been largely or completely generated by AI. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">If AI only writes a small amount of the prose, the work is able to be copyrighted. (If it's somewhere in the middle, it's anyone's guess.) And using it to brainstorm, plot, and outline is acceptable, if a human author does the writing. All that said, <b><a href="https://creativelawcenter.com/ai-generated-content-copyright-registration/" target="_blank">the laws</a></b> are still evolving, so do your due diligence.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">The copyright<b> </b>office requires authors to declare if part of the work is not their own. Amazon also has <b><a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200672390#aicontent" target="_blank">policies regarding AI content</a></b>. You could lie, but AI detecting programs exist, some with over 97% accuracy. Integrity aside, do you really want to take that risk?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Bottom Line</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">AI images can be created with a single-sentence prompt. With novels, however, a human writer is needed to guide the AI at every stage and edit what's generated to turn out a quality product. Each author must determine the level of risk s/he is willing to take, but the potential these programs possesses to speed up the writing process is considerable.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">IMHO, any writer who is serious about earning a living wage would be foolish to ignore this technology. You don't have to let AI write your novels for you, but allowing it to aid the plotting and outlining process can shave hours off the time it takes to turn out a book.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Have you had any experience with AI that you're willing to share? </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">What are your thoughts on this technology?</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-15591510135279542522024-02-07T01:00:00.753-06:002024-02-07T09:11:06.568-06:00IWSG - Go Big or Go Home<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for February 2024.</span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w168-h165/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="168" /></a></div><span><div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://janetalcorn.com/" target="_blank">Janet Alcorn,</a> <a href="https://sewhitebooks.com/" target="_blank">SE White,</a></span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.victoriamarielees.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times;">Victoria Marie Lees,</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">and <a href="http://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cathrina Constantine!</a></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I took a break last month to spend on goal planning for this year. (God is probably laughing at my plans, but at least I have them. 😄) For the sake of accountability, I'm going to tell you my goals for 2024 and give you a free author tool for reading this mile-long post! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">But first I'll answer the February question.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><i><b><span style="font-family: times;">What turns you off when visiting an author's website/blog?</span></b></i><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">Confusing or hidden navigation.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Headers so large they fill the entire screen. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Annoying pop-up 'subscribe' windows that overlay the content the minute the page loads.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">A site that lacks the basics.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">No 'about me' info. (Whose blog is this?) Bonus points for a headshot.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">No blog follow options, or they're hidden way down at the bottom.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">When I have to click a bazillion times to get to the posts. (<i>Case in point: if your blog is located on one of your website's pages, please use a link specific to that page for IWSG. Don't make me click through your home page to get there</i>.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Book info not laid out in logical/series order.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Shouting 'buy my book' all the time. Reserve that content for big news (sales, new releases, etc.) </span></li></ul></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">I promised you a free author tool. You can scroll down and grab it or keep reading, your choice.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDXQAzsMULjXizjb-6VW1o0RMhJXmS8-yCB_2n_9ZsnXasOmDt7Ogk4kV1_tQbl1GXTidQYN6qopwoTPZehnJGsoCfPECJtBiu1ah9Em7xGD74ur_K803FcBTEI-jnDdl0QxXyIcXjif775WiD4xtQ-SI_XO5F6qISYWyQn_myGbG84MZhu63Y66SxGTa/s1000/Depositphotos_681216318_S.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDXQAzsMULjXizjb-6VW1o0RMhJXmS8-yCB_2n_9ZsnXasOmDt7Ogk4kV1_tQbl1GXTidQYN6qopwoTPZehnJGsoCfPECJtBiu1ah9Em7xGD74ur_K803FcBTEI-jnDdl0QxXyIcXjif775WiD4xtQ-SI_XO5F6qISYWyQn_myGbG84MZhu63Y66SxGTa/w290-h193/Depositphotos_681216318_S.jpg" width="290" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDXQAzsMULjXizjb-6VW1o0RMhJXmS8-yCB_2n_9ZsnXasOmDt7Ogk4kV1_tQbl1GXTidQYN6qopwoTPZehnJGsoCfPECJtBiu1ah9Em7xGD74ur_K803FcBTEI-jnDdl0QxXyIcXjif775WiD4xtQ-SI_XO5F6qISYWyQn_myGbG84MZhu63Y66SxGTa/s1000/Depositphotos_681216318_S.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I told you last month that I have BOLD goals for 2024, and I wasn't kidding. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Getting a <b><a href="https://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2023/03/fixing-my-broken-heart.html" target="_blank">new heart valve</a></b> has restored my energy and sparked ambition to get serious about my writing. My health has improved, but my days are now literally numbered. My life expectancy is only as good as the life of my valve (there's room for a second one when this one fails, but probably not a third). So... </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Despite my mortgage going up $500 per month last spring (taxes) and the gut punch my finances took from the medical bills and lost wages, I've set my sights on reducing my job hours to part time and treating my writing like a business. There will be perks, such as more time with family and some travel, but there will also be work. I'm determined to replace a big chunk of my income with royalties.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I knew I'd have to get organized to make any significant progress. I perused several author planners, but every single one of them had features I'd never use.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I didn't let that stop me. I made my own. I printed it out, put it in a binder, then sat down and started filling out the 5-year plan. I'll refine it as I go, but if I don't aim high, my arrow will land in the dirt.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Over the next 5 years I want to...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">Replace at least 50% of my income with royalties</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Reduce my working hours from full time to part time</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Go from publishing one book per year to</span> ≥<span style="font-family: times;"> 4 books per year</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Improve engagement with fans via regular newsletters, etc.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Attend in-person events (book signings, conventions)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Create a beginner fiction curriculum & teach classes for aspiring authors</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Update the covers and interior files of my western series</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Goals for this year are...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">Publish book 4 in my western series by June</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Read at least one craft book or non-fiction diary/research book per month & make notes</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Develop a regular social media / newsletter schedule by March & send out 3 to 4 newsletters this year</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Reevaluate my social media activities and nix what isn't giving me something in return for my time (exception: worthy, altruistic endeavors, such as teaching new writers)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Plot an entire new western series and begin writing those books</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Work on plotting the next book for my other pen name</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">My planner has 5-year, 1-year, monthly, and weekly planning pages. There's a place for social media planning and word count tracking. It also has pages for monthly and yearly evaluations. After making it, I decided not to use the weekly planning pages for now. They'll come in handy later, when more of my work life shifts to writing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">If you use a planner, remember that goals need to be specific and measurable. You also need to jot down tasks and behaviors that will help you accomplish them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Some supportive behaviors I noted were...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">Find ways to streamline my processes; work smarter and faster, not harder</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Set aside blocks of time to generate content and pre-schedule blog posts and newsletters months in advance</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Read books on the craft & non-fiction books for research (I jotted the titles on the month-by-month grid.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Rebuild my savings and pay off debt so I can reduce my hours at work (That means working overtime shifts, which is counterproductive to writing. Ugh.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Draw a small amount from my retirement to bridge the income gap when I first go part time</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Go wide with my other pen name and look into direct sales, so my eggs are not all in Amazon's basket</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">If you'd like to download a free copy of my author planner, <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E62Mkahxi8-CCkXzheIm-BYBIQQVdANO/view?usp=drive_link" target="_blank">click here</a></b>. It's a printable PDF file.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">What do you think of the planner? </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Do you have bold goals for this year, too?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">If you had taken a course when you were a baby writer, </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">what topics would you want the instructor to cover?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div></span></div></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-13889359588163897482024-01-03T01:00:00.016-06:002024-01-03T01:00:00.147-06:00It's going to be a great year!<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy New Year!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhYA86mR9I5lOz3Ldq-pyafBXVLrx7vovHCKLTIBxSkXl3eTI09SB_NU167datLOGEEs_IPoh1wcxi29QyZT484ZTAB9PNBrfxGNtnZLTS-xhPnpozHTuwJR8juWHQgPoji7-ayie9Et6W9mp6xk1vCcpm82l4muLtVEmbkRwwONBS3bLaEkU62MWxRjJ/s1000/Depositphotos_681216318_S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhYA86mR9I5lOz3Ldq-pyafBXVLrx7vovHCKLTIBxSkXl3eTI09SB_NU167datLOGEEs_IPoh1wcxi29QyZT484ZTAB9PNBrfxGNtnZLTS-xhPnpozHTuwJR8juWHQgPoji7-ayie9Et6W9mp6xk1vCcpm82l4muLtVEmbkRwwONBS3bLaEkU62MWxRjJ/w640-h426/Depositphotos_681216318_S.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">I'm taking 2024 by the bal-- horns. </p><p style="text-align: center;">I have BOLD plans, so I'm taking a break to jot them all down.</p><p style="text-align: center;">See you next month!</p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-51835172995127287202023-12-06T01:00:00.250-06:002023-12-06T01:00:00.169-06:00IWSG December - If you can't say anything nice...<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for December 2023.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w175-h172/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><b style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="http://www.cleemckenziebooks.com/blog/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">C. Lee McKenzie,</a> <a href="http://www.jqrose.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">JQ Rose,</a> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="http://jenniferlanebooks.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Jennifer Lane,</a> </b><span style="background-color: transparent;">and </span><a href="https://worddreams.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>Jacqui Murray!</b></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="background-color: transparent; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">December 6 question: Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book reviews do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?</span></span></span></b></div><div><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">This one is complicated. Not only has my perspective changed, but being honest is going to reveal a side of me I'd rather not.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I became a voracious reader before I became a writer. I began leaving reviews that praised stories I enjoyed, but I wasn't shy about saying what I didn't like, if one didn't meet my expectations. As I learned more about fiction writing - about what authors *should* be doing - my negative reviews turned harsh. Too harsh.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">When I finally published, that created a huge dilemma. Not only did I learn what it was like to be on the receiving end of a negative review, my relationship to other authors had changed. I was no longer just a reader. They were my colleagues.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I fully realized the value of supporting them. I also realized that the average reader wasn't as picky as I am.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">That said, I still felt a duty to the readers who followed my reviews. If I suddenly began giving every book 5 stars, whether it deserved it or not, I'd let them down. But if I wrote an honest review of a lousy to mediocre book, I could harm another author, and possibly myself, if they or their fans chose to retaliate.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">For a long time, I stopped leaving reviews entirely. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings with a less-than-stellar review, or by implying I didn't like their book because I declined to leave one (the 'if I can't give 5 stars, I won't review' policy I'd considered). I was happy to announce new releases, etc., and celebrate publicly, but I shied away from commenting on quality. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I've continued this policy for the most part. </span><span style="font-family: times;">(If you want my honest opinion, you'll have to swap private critiques or hire me for an edit. LOL) </span><span style="font-family: times;">I'm not really sure how else to handle it. </span><span style="font-family: times;">I've begun leaving occasional reviews on retail sites, but they are few and far between.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">What about you? </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Are you published. Has that changed how you review?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-84314689433035490262023-11-01T01:00:00.038-05:002023-11-01T01:00:00.132-05:00No NaNo<p>I am skipping this month's IWSG due to work obligations </p><p>(annual skills fair + NICU re-designation, for those in the know - Gah!). </p><p>So, I will leave you with a link to a past post about speed writing. </p><p>Maybe it will help you NaNoWriMo.</p><p><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here to go to > <a href="http://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2013/11/speed-writing-eleventh-hour-help-for.html" target="_blank">Speed Writing (Eleventh hour help for all you NaNo people)</a></span></p><p>Thanks for stopping by. :)</p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-76531674204973171942023-10-04T01:00:00.177-05:002023-10-04T01:00:00.161-05:00IWSG September - AI is the new Murder Hornet<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for October 2023.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w185-h182/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.literaryrambles.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Natalie Aguirre,</a> <a href="http://kimlajevardi.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kim Lajevardi,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://fictioncanbefun.wordpress.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Debs Carey,</a> <a href="http://gwengardner.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Gwen Gardner,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twistingmyths.substack.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Patricia Josephine,</a></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;">& </span><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.rebecca-douglass.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Rebecca Douglass!</a></b><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="background-color: transparent; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">October's question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?</span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>I'm still learning about AI and forming an opinion, but I agree. From what I understand, it is not without significant limitations. It can't be trusted for accuracy, and asking it the right questions is imperative. This AI-generated image says it all.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Jesus flipping over tables at the temple."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEA0XEPCIVsL2-8LdTy3L-Zsbv7EKnE-IxZHXB2oh4wBi_k9tRsr78HebBG59qHoeuC-izObb3imYa8ZpuQPStqmUWO0hSk_Z8fnK1866cBRIWZN6-W8k6FluHK3STts7PmTkXBPEPJXUce-WbDR8H4E_dFVxjKC2hiQYqQntZ6_R7Ajkgz_k0PQFhU5Y/s1290/jesus%20flipping%20over%20tables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1290" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEA0XEPCIVsL2-8LdTy3L-Zsbv7EKnE-IxZHXB2oh4wBi_k9tRsr78HebBG59qHoeuC-izObb3imYa8ZpuQPStqmUWO0hSk_Z8fnK1866cBRIWZN6-W8k6FluHK3STts7PmTkXBPEPJXUce-WbDR8H4E_dFVxjKC2hiQYqQntZ6_R7Ajkgz_k0PQFhU5Y/w400-h390/jesus%20flipping%20over%20tables.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I don't fear AI. Honestly, it seems like a lot of hype over nothing. <span style="font-family: inherit;">I might let it help me brainstorm or outline a story, but I doubt I would ever let AI write a manuscript, especially considering it 'learns' from all types of sources (risks plagiarism, IMO). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We writers constantly battle all manner of others scamming the system, but readers will always appreciate professional-looking book covers and quality writing. If AI ever gets that good - and that would take a long time, assuming it's even possible - then we can worry. For now, I'll use my energy to write and turn out a quality product that leaves AI in the dust.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-39983480882695530192023-09-20T02:00:00.230-05:002023-09-20T02:00:00.145-05:00FREE BOOKS! Stuff Your E-reader<p><span style="font-family: times;">I have big news. HUGE NEWS! Today is STUFF YOUR E-READER day!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span>(</span><span>Actually today & the next two days, because the promo broke Amazon last time</span><span>.)</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2lH8CZN6M353Z5TqMKGWoJnQiplVeYTEJv5WD6MGTxxWTZhhM0qiWmfaXxBL7Q6Nxpc5bZ-AI8jYULnPZSXt1fiv8Wcu2H0dEUTdzphLZrPoz4FyL_NOlpuQ6IAvIL23gM-5TuCW2X4bBY3BIzz-mI5NaIIO5_baMXLq0QuLd80YxKxh0CflMmnRfsOw/s2000/StuffYoureReader_v2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2lH8CZN6M353Z5TqMKGWoJnQiplVeYTEJv5WD6MGTxxWTZhhM0qiWmfaXxBL7Q6Nxpc5bZ-AI8jYULnPZSXt1fiv8Wcu2H0dEUTdzphLZrPoz4FyL_NOlpuQ6IAvIL23gM-5TuCW2X4bBY3BIzz-mI5NaIIO5_baMXLq0QuLd80YxKxh0CflMmnRfsOw/w640-h425/StuffYoureReader_v2.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Hundreds of authors have come together for this event. </span><b><span style="font-family: times;">Over </span><span style="font-family: times;">2,400</span><span style="font-family: times;"> books are </span><span style="font-family: times;">FREE</span></b><span style="font-family: times;"> to anyone who wants them. Yes, you read that right. </span><span style="font-family: times;">2,400+ books</span><span style="font-family: times;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">All books are either romance or have a romantic element.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">All new! No duplicates! None have EVER been featured in this promo before.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">There's a large variety of categories and a range of heat levels.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeKXH0PNkVg7SDnUEJ3XgquMI7cSvKydWtqBUvQWSN80bfMN2rL9oHtRY0XOW__1E2T2smikCxbKpaYy4vLft6S0aXXbfL5XlAiN8KeGLskUqGIeq7bVtkd2gtqMV-e47auWbuQFCFhFyLa_a7PhmrRTa_bMe-iV49Ky4Ee42U0leluq-HpjZtTWIn-oh/s1372/Genre%20book%20stack%20zoe%20promo%20sept%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1372" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeKXH0PNkVg7SDnUEJ3XgquMI7cSvKydWtqBUvQWSN80bfMN2rL9oHtRY0XOW__1E2T2smikCxbKpaYy4vLft6S0aXXbfL5XlAiN8KeGLskUqGIeq7bVtkd2gtqMV-e47auWbuQFCFhFyLa_a7PhmrRTa_bMe-iV49Ky4Ee42U0leluq-HpjZtTWIn-oh/w573-h470/Genre%20book%20stack%20zoe%20promo%20sept%202023.jpg" width="573" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times;">The books are also grouped by author type, such as authors with disabilities, in case you wish to show your support.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">These books are genuinely<b> free</b>, not just free in Kindle Unlimited, so they won't count toward your KU limit. (<i>Check the price before clicking 'buy,' because glitches happen</i>.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">No Kindle? No problem. Many are available from other retailers. (You can also get the Kindle reading app for other devices.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Each book is listed with a brief story description and keywords to help you choose. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">But if that's still not enough, use Ctrl+F (Command+F for Mac) to bring up a search box. You can search author names or keywords, such as 'time travel,' to make it easier to find your favorites.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/About-Us-Second-Chance-Novel-ebook/dp/B084SP8KF1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="938" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6kFTYf5VINqlWT5fQRkmOnebG-k0t4NQR92v7bRYm-2cdqWSX6jGuKFltFLwo07OTHGF5g0LvUozwqgeVlKxrQf32w-KGVAyAUDGWV_ZTXQjgN6_uH55OU1Uub9NO2-fUn9veU_nIsxnQ9JsSBrTfWYp65iQ-ArCDGD2dfSyDizBiabJ1WgpUq8t0TU1/w155-h248/About%20Us%20free%20book.jpg" width="155" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br />One free book that didn't make it into the promo is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/About-Us-Second-Chance-Novel-ebook/dp/B084SP8KF1" href="https://www.amazon.com/About-Us-Second-Chance-Novel-ebook/dp/B084SP8KF1" target="_blank"><strong><em>About Us</em></strong></a> by Elizabeth Seckman. </span><span style="font-family: times;">It's a great read, so grab it, too!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Ready to download free books to your heart's content?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">You can find the list on <a href="http://romancebookworms.com" target="_blank">romancebookworms.com</a>. Anyone can take advantage of this promotion, so tell your friends!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">💗💗💗</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-35973217371213929942023-09-06T01:00:00.004-05:002023-09-06T06:27:24.069-05:00IWSG's 12-year Anniversary - Looking Back<p> <span style="font-family: times;"><span>This is my</span><span> </span><b><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span> </span><span>post for September 2023.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w200-h197/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><span><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><b style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="https://soniadogra.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sonia Dogra,</a> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="https://jlennidorner.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">J Lenni Dorner,</a> </b><b><a href="http://www.patgarciaandeverythingmustchange.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Pat Garcia,</a> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="http://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen,</a></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;">and </span><a href="https://authormekajames.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>Meka James!</b></a><br /></span><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>September 6 question: The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?</b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Goodness! Has it been 12 years? I feel old.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><span style="font-family: times;">You are old, Melissa.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">I had trouble locating my first IWSG post. But that's probably because I signed up, forgot to post, and got kicked off. Alex was gracious enough to let me try again.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Since then, I've left the hop and rejoined, as life and blogging time allowed. I enjoy touching base with my cyber-friends, and I find comfort in knowing other writers struggle with the same things I do. I've also learned a lot over the years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">My August 2012 post on the almost-<a href="http://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-five-stages-of-fiction-writing.html" target="_blank">one-year anniversary of IWSG</a> was one of my funnier ones. Click if you need to lighten up and have a laugh.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">The <a href="http://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-plot-thickens.html" target="_blank">true one-year post</a> was about plotting. I used color-coded scene cards. You might find it interesting.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span>Occasionally I've opened up about my <a href="http://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2013/11/iwsg-november-me-i-dont-let-you-see.html" target="_blank">struggles</a> and insecurities. That's the nice thing about this group. We can be real. </span><span>We can also celebrate our </span><span>successes</span><span> with each other.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">When I have time for extra visits, I go to the bottom of the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">sign-up list</a> to connect with new writers, in hopes of paying it forward. Sometimes I find one or two.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Gone are the Platform-Building campaigns. The number of blog comments is down. The blogosphere is not what it used to be, and that makes me sad. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">All the more reason I'm grateful that IWSG is still around, and I'm in awe of Alex and all he does for the writing community. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-69213122591920801442023-08-02T01:00:00.570-05:002023-08-02T01:00:00.151-05:00Who's afraid of the Big Bad Editor?<p> <span style="font-family: times;"><span>This is my</span><span> </span><b><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span> </span><span>post for August 2023.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w171-h169/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="171" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><span><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"> <b><a href="http://katelarkindale.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kate Larkinsdale,</a> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><a href="http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Diane Burton,</a></b> <b><a href="https://janetalcorn.com/blog/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Janet Alcorn,</a></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">and <a href="http://thewarriormuse.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>Shannon Lawrence!</b></a></span></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">I had planned to skip this month's question, but my answer is short, so I changed my mind.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: times;"><b>August 2nd question: Have you ever written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let it stay as it was, take it out, or rewrite it?</b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">I don't shy away from strong emotion or vivid descriptions when I write, if it's appropriate for the story. IMHO, novels should evoke strong feelings of all kinds. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">On a micro level, I have chosen to redo portions of scenes - usually so I don't go too far for my audience or have extremely dislikeable MC behavior - but I can't recall making any changes on a large scale, such as nixing an entire chapter or story.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">###</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;">Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Editor?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1T2k9odgUK9Fvh8B3Rl45bH2jb5BFR38j1mjnvU1Db2V7YDEw4nsz3kbZA4sXOwZYCyB6GIM2IwNnlal9LOaYC4vHCm6dzPhJ14XmKh8tAX73dqagB6wYjTiBmxteVtiBtTkB19NqL766mCUGaDoc7sfJ1iuLIqs-sG9zEId5Y4a04oQPSG7zPTJJr-H/s1000/mean%20editor%20teacher%20no%20stick%20Depositphotos_29175555_S.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="681" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1T2k9odgUK9Fvh8B3Rl45bH2jb5BFR38j1mjnvU1Db2V7YDEw4nsz3kbZA4sXOwZYCyB6GIM2IwNnlal9LOaYC4vHCm6dzPhJ14XmKh8tAX73dqagB6wYjTiBmxteVtiBtTkB19NqL766mCUGaDoc7sfJ1iuLIqs-sG9zEId5Y4a04oQPSG7zPTJJr-H/w140-h205/mean%20editor%20teacher%20no%20stick%20Depositphotos_29175555_S.jpg" width="140" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times;">Finding and hiring and editor is a daunting task, especially for new writers. Not only can it be expensive and risky, but having someone scrutinize every single word in your story is right up there with having a root canal - on ALL your teeth at once.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Edits can be painful. They can also be extremely beneficial, so I decided to list some tips and give some encouragement in my post today. Having your story edited requires willingness to take constructive criticism, but it can be a great learning experience and help you turn out a polished, likeable product.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">(<i>Caveat #1: Some of the following information can benefit authors seeking traditional publication, but this post is largely aimed at indies. Caveat #2: I freelance as an editor</i>.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">There are three basic types of edits: a developmental edit, a line edit, and a copyedit or proofread. Some people interchange terms, so be sure you understand what you're getting before you buy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">A developmental edit deals with broad issues, such as plot and overall story. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">A line edit typically includes a proofread, but it also catches other things, such as POV and plausibility errors, word overuse, and info dumps.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">A copyedit or proofread simply marks misspellings, grammatical errors, and punctuation errors. It's a final polish that assumes you've already dealt with all the other story stuff.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Things to do before you even think about hiring an editor:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">If you write genre fiction, understand your genre. Make sure your story meets reader expectations.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Learn all you can about fiction writing. Seek out critique partners (free critique swaps), read blogs and books on fiction writing, and improve your craft as much as possible.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Consider your budget, decide what type of edit you want, and get recommendations or find an editor who offers a sample edit for no or low cost.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Plan to do the proofread last. (If you get a proofread first then make sweeping changes after a developmental edit, you'll need another proofread.)</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">What to expect when you hire someone:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">Good editors typically have waiting lists. Don't leave it till the last minute to hire one.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">There's usually some type of contract that states what you get and what it will cost. Fees are usually based on number of pages / word count (typically 250 words = 1 page).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Some editors charge half up front and half when the edit is done. Some get paid at the end. If an editor wants the entire fee upfront (some do), make sure you vet them well before handing over your money.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">Put on your rhino skin when you read the feedback. It might make you ugly-cry, but chances are the changes will help your story.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times;">That said, if you truly think the editor isn't a good fit, they might not be. Run their suggestions by a trusted, experienced CP or two and see what they think.</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Objections and obligations:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">"I'm too embarrassed for someone to see all the mistakes I make. The editor will think I'm stupid."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">First, you should be more embarrassed for readers to see them. Second, that's what you pay an editor to do. We know authors are focused on a million things when writing a novel, and your eyes gloss right over mistakes. If it makes you feel any better, an experienced editor can tell the difference between a mistake made by someone who doesn't know grammar vs one that's merely a remnant from a revision.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">"I don't think I can handle the criticism." </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Or "I'm happy with my story the way it is. I don't want to change it."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">To the former, I say give it a try. You might be surprised. A good editor will include positive comments to cheer you on when you do something well. If you still can't handle it, you're in the wrong business, and probably so is the latter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">"I can do my own proofread."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">You can, but you'll miss stuff. Your eyes will skim right over mistakes, because you wrote it; you know what it's <i>supposed</i> to say. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">If you don't believe me, send your manuscript to your e-reader and use the text-to-voice feature to read it back to you. You'll find at least 10 mistakes in the first chapter alone.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">"I'm too busy/tired/(insert adjective) to make a polishing pass on my manuscript. I'll just leave it messy. My editor will clean it up."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Your editor is not your maid. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Editors are paid to find and fix mistakes, but don't abuse us. If you have the ability to fix mistakes, do so. (If Word has flagged a misspelling, and you leave it, I will roll my eyes and take your name in vain.) But seriously, the more mistakes you leave for your editor, the more likely s/he is to miss stuff. It also increases turnaround time.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">"Editors charge too much!" </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lousy or greedy ones might, but good ones don't. I spend several 8- to 10-hour days scrutinizing a manuscript, making corrections, and typing feedback. My fee averages out to around $10/hour - considerably less than what I make as a nurse.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"I can't afford an editor."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Maybe not, but it's one of those <i>Catch-22</i> situations. If you don't put out a quality product, you'll never make enough money to afford an editor.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Save as much money as you can then polish your story as much as you can on your own. You can accomplish this via free swaps with experienced CPs. A fair amount of free proofreading can be gained, too, if you have a CP who's good at grammar. Once you've polished your story as much as you are able, hire the best person you can afford to take it the rest of the way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Have you ever hired an editor?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Were you glad you did?</div></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-53763485476221126512023-07-04T09:31:00.000-05:002023-07-04T09:31:56.573-05:00Happy 4th<p><span style="font-family: times;">I hope you all have a happy, safe holiday.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">I'll be spending mine with the preemies.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX4dr010WWihqcLrlNfHbwNxVxG-Lf581K8RwnXHZYBtnwPrPv7euwT6u6NIT_QzEYWU52JK0WCmgvTXlQEdK8dGjs7q19rA8JlLoTduSGwSDcLwz8SG1EyZwDZYzZsUwjUV74ZYmH3TBc0jk5GXwt648y4c-fNLVoTq9jliGhb7f4FHx7IfB-HgP6uT8/s4254/Depositphotos_11524987_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2808" data-original-width="4254" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX4dr010WWihqcLrlNfHbwNxVxG-Lf581K8RwnXHZYBtnwPrPv7euwT6u6NIT_QzEYWU52JK0WCmgvTXlQEdK8dGjs7q19rA8JlLoTduSGwSDcLwz8SG1EyZwDZYzZsUwjUV74ZYmH3TBc0jk5GXwt648y4c-fNLVoTq9jliGhb7f4FHx7IfB-HgP6uT8/w609-h402/Depositphotos_11524987_XL.jpg" width="609" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">To any IWSGers who stop by, sorry I missed you. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">See you next month.</span></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-72831520188132600662023-06-07T01:00:00.131-05:002023-06-07T08:59:04.840-05:00IWSG - Never would I ever<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for June 2023.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w209-h205/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.patriciajosephine.com/blog" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Patrcia Josephine,</a> </b><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://pensivepenspost.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Diedre Knight,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://olgagodim.wordpress.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Olga Godim,</a> </b><a href="https://jlennidorner.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>J. Lenni Dorner</b>,</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;">and </span><a href="http://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>Cathrina Constantine!</b></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">First, a quick post-heart-surgery update: </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My check-up with the surgeon went well, and I saw my regular cardiologist yesterday. He gave me a clean bill of health, so it's back to work for me. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I told my boss it won't be the walking that gets me (I can walk two miles without stopping), it'll be all the things I have to do with my arms. This whole open heart surgery experience has gone better than I thought it would, except for the pain I still have from doing everyday chores. Ouch.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the writing front: </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once I felt clear-headed enough (read: once I got off the muscle relaxers. LOL), I started writing my next western historical novel in the Forging America series. Some days I feel good about my story. Other days I battle the dreaded imposter syndrome. <i>This is crap. This is boring. Nobody is going to want to read this</i>. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I remind myself that it's just the first draft. Sometimes that helps.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>###</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>June's question is:</b> If you ever stopped writing, what would you replace it with?</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't see myself stopping anytime soon, unless some kind of disability put an end to it. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hobbies I would like to add or resume once I retire and have time to write AND do other preferred activities are: sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, and traveling the United States in an RV.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about you?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-70987813944559088572023-05-03T01:00:00.062-05:002023-05-03T01:00:00.140-05:00IWSG - What lights your fire?<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for May 2023.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w200-h197/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://joylenebutler.com/blog" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Joylene Nowell Butler,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/blog/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Ronel Janse van Vuuren,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://authormekajames.wordpress.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Meka James,</a> <a href="http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Diane Burton,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.victoriamarielees.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Victoria Marie Lees,</a></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;">and</span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="http://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>M Louise Barbour!</b></a><br /><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>May 3 question - When you are working on a story, what inspires you?</b><br /><br />I write historical romance, so I do a lot of research. Some of my best scenes were inspired by non-fiction articles or books I read during the planning and plotting phase.<br /><br />Pictures also inspire me. I'm a visually oriented person, so I often print out images that match my vision of the story's main characters, as well as landscapes of the setting, to help me describe them when I write.<br /><br />I would post a sample, but because they are for my personal use only, I don't limit myself to images that are royalty free. Sorry...not going to risk getting sued over a blog post.<br /><br />What about you? What do you do for inspiration?<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-32327338516753934002023-04-14T10:44:00.001-05:002023-04-14T10:44:13.678-05:00Thankful, Grateful, Blessed<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUE4Uwrk5gpT28GtZyxX8lBY5pcC4wtmmeBE4UJkqRENz6gll5Nt4fw7KpMb5h2qi56wOZFG6JYktdovLdbGPA4DG96ueCpJu5wq9jnJyZbSbqLVLbFl3O3Nib8AGmR1jCNSR-d8IdxtsDwG_2hqNkWGt6rcgMF4qEnG_p2yAX8jnmu6tIDVSZgzO1g/s1000/Grateful%20thankful%20blessed%20heart%20Depositphotos_192850694_S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1000" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUE4Uwrk5gpT28GtZyxX8lBY5pcC4wtmmeBE4UJkqRENz6gll5Nt4fw7KpMb5h2qi56wOZFG6JYktdovLdbGPA4DG96ueCpJu5wq9jnJyZbSbqLVLbFl3O3Nib8AGmR1jCNSR-d8IdxtsDwG_2hqNkWGt6rcgMF4qEnG_p2yAX8jnmu6tIDVSZgzO1g/w320-h246/Grateful%20thankful%20blessed%20heart%20Depositphotos_192850694_S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I'm not ready to get back to a full blogging and writing schedule yet, but I wanted to pop in and let my followers know that the heart surgery went well, and I'm home from the hospital. God has blessed me in more ways than I can count.<p></p><p>I had changed employers in the recent past and didn't know as much about the facilities, doctors, and coverage, other than it wasn't the hospital system I'd trusted for 20 years, or the doctor I had formed a relationship when the aortic valve problem was discovered. </p><p>I was scared, so I asked my pastor to pray for me.</p><p>Shortly after that prayer, an unexplainable peace came over me. I was certain God was in control of my path, so I chose to turn my worries over to Him. At times, it wasn't easy. No one I worked with had even heard of the hospital they were sending me to, not even my director. </p><p>I later learned the facility had only recently been bought. The hospital where a family member had died from malpractice years ago is now a highly rated 'boutique' hospital that specializes in certain types of surgeries, including cardiac. </p><p>I was pleasantly surprised when I met the medical team, too. They had previously worked with the specialist I had originally been referred to and had split off to form their own group.</p><p>To make a long story short, I had wonderful care the whole way through, and, except for a fever that kept me in ICU a little longer than planned, I had no complications. I was released from the hospital on Good Friday and made it to church for Easter Sunday services, only 11 days after open heart surgery. </p><p>Belting out my favorite Easter hymns to exercise my lungs was way more fun than sucking on that dratted incentive spirometer. </p><p>God put many angels in my mother's path, too, as she navigated getting back and forth from the hotel to the hospital, alone, in a dangerous part of town. Sometimes you don't see the full magnitude of what He does until you look back in hindsight.</p><p>I hope this post finds you well. My next few weeks will be spent walking to get my energy back and taking it easy to let my sternum heal (no driving). I'm getting stronger every day and hope to resume writing very soon.</p><p>God is good!</p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-34174173407241489412023-03-14T10:33:00.000-05:002023-03-14T10:33:11.447-05:00Fixing my broken heart<p><span style="font-family: times;">Some problems have cropped up with my heart. I need a valve replacement, among other things. I'm not a candidate for TAVR, so it'll be open heart surgery. Previous heart surgeries (congenital) are complicating things. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">My heart can never do anything plain and straightforward. Oh, no. It's gotta be all fancy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">I'll be admitted into the hospital in a couple of weeks for more testing and a heart cath, then two days later, they'll do surgery. Predictions are that I'll stay there a week, followed by two months of recovery at home. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">My mom and daughter are coming to take care of me, and short-term disability checks will keep the mortgage paid. I'm very blessed. Now I just have to stay optimistic and not let my nurse brain run amok. I'm plotting my next novel with hopes I can write it while I'm out on leave.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">If you have room for one more on your list, I'd appreciate your prayers.</span></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-50953935347174716382023-03-01T02:00:00.337-06:002023-03-01T02:00:00.232-06:00IWSG - Spoiler Alert<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for March.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w200-h197/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><a href="https://pensivepenspost.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: left;">Diedre Knight,</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://www.bookwormforkids.com/" style="text-align: left;">Tonya Drecker,</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bish%20%20randomthoughts.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: left;">Bish Denham,</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/olgagodim.wordpress.com" style="text-align: left;">Olga Godim,</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">and </span><a href="http://www.jqrose.com/" style="text-align: left;">JQ Rose!</a><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><br /><b>March 1st question - Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've had many author envy moments over the years. A couple stand out. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Go ahead. Laugh at me, but I enjoyed the Twilight series. It was what spurred me to write my first novel, just to see if I could do it. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite all the criticisms of Meyer's writing, she kept readers reading, and gave science-loving me a moment of envy I will never forget. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This excerpt is from </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Dawn-Twilight-Saga-Book/dp/031606792X" target="_blank">Breaking Dawn</a></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, shortly after Bella becomes a vampire, and her senses are enhanced.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>Everything was so clear.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>Sharp. Defined.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>The brilliant light overhead was still blinding-bright, and yet I could plainly see the glowing strands of the filaments inside the bulb. I could see each color of the rainbow in the white light, and, at the very edge of the spectrum, </span><span style="font-family: times;">an eighth color I had no name for</span><span style="font-family: times;">.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">###</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Maybe that's not earth-shattering to you, but I paused and said </span><i>Ooo</i><span>, </span><i>kudos</i><span>.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another author who gets points for thinking outside the box is Autumn Dawn in her paranormal romance <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Words-Alone-Spark-Autumn-Dawn-ebook/dp/B002FDLNPQ" target="_blank">No Words Alone</a></i>. The heroine, Xera, an interpreter for a group of marooned explorers, marries Ryven, commander and veritable royalty of a human-like race.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this slightly redacted excerpt, Xera gets some shocking news when she and Ryven are eating a meal alone, at home.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">[Xera] was about to ask if Ryven knew how [the soup] was prepared when she caught him looking at her expectantly. "What? It's very good, if that's what you're wondering."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span>He grimaced. "I'm trying to be patient, but you're making it difficult."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> "About what?" she asked, all at sea.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> He seemed about to speak, then sighed and asked, "How do you like the house?"</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> Was that all he wanted? His look had seemed to ask more. </span>[...] "I love it. Did you think I wouldn't?"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> "No." He shut his mouth and applied himself to his soup. </span>[...] What are you waiting for?" he asked.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> What? This was starting to bug her. Why couldn't he just speak his mind. "What do you mean?" she snapped.</span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> He looked exasperated. "The baby! I thought you'd tell me by now."</span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> "What baby? I haven't been around any babies lately. [...] Is one of your sisters pregnant again?"</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> He stared harder at her, then blinked. "You don't know?"</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> "Know what? What are you...?" She trailed off as a thought came over her. "Wait a minute. You don't think I'm..." She laughed, but her humor was short lived. The expression on his face was too serious. The hairs on her neck stood straight up. "Not funny, Ryven."</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> His eyes moved to her middle and lingered. It was almost as if he could see... It hit her: "You can see in infrared. But...there should be nothing to see. I-I mean, there's nothing <i>to</i> see. [...] Look, I would know if something was up, okay?"<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> "Apparently not." He sat back, his eyes beginning to heat with amusement. "I thought you were only teasing me by not saying anything."</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> She took a deep breath. "Only a doctor would know this early in the game. I can't be pregnant!" [...] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> "You are. I can see the color markers."</span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>###</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Xera had wondered why all of Ryven's people kept looking at her and smiling when she passed by them. It was because of their infrared vision. In their world, pregnancy couldn't be hidden.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-3649681212540007192023-02-10T03:00:00.006-06:002023-02-10T03:00:00.210-06:00Cowboy Kisses & Hearts<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdln2oHUuaOtoVJc4FRCGfCNbxSfFSX8C3xCTZQ2rxv0P_i-W8qJFsnZNOulGS9o6PMLQe4ereSKynRC2vS2aCS9RRA68wNUJgxdFkcX0aKPLxxlho01Dwuvsw_ljRAHlu9Qvu2Vzw5xAwj1e4Fh5aHE5Em4jMoVhaHgImz_WtkOVK8HlPd1wHea6tBQ/s595/Cowboy%20crop%20Depositphotos_70991399_S.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="595" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdln2oHUuaOtoVJc4FRCGfCNbxSfFSX8C3xCTZQ2rxv0P_i-W8qJFsnZNOulGS9o6PMLQe4ereSKynRC2vS2aCS9RRA68wNUJgxdFkcX0aKPLxxlho01Dwuvsw_ljRAHlu9Qvu2Vzw5xAwj1e4Fh5aHE5Em4jMoVhaHgImz_WtkOVK8HlPd1wHea6tBQ/w174-h162/Cowboy%20crop%20Depositphotos_70991399_S.jpg" width="174" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><br />I am
over at the <a href="https://cowboykisses.blogspot.com/2023/02/mended-hearts.html" target="_blank">CowboyKisses blog</a> today with a post that is apropos for national heart month. </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Cowboy
Kisses on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/993015697431197" target="_blank">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-43751643702646366702023-02-01T02:00:00.005-06:002023-02-01T02:00:00.224-06:00Taking a break<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XM-GOjgpM0Ry8zy52uCupN4tnc8clmSUfUMvpiidYHjAdhqG9FrarXAiUEP6fT3GIjVy_G7QZl3cypFlE2IgyhE4HdaZBbqZBFMNCabukCyyXhuEtdyIQu-QkNaUsh5bDwY6RD570BgC8Afes7iYWcHXZGGp8tpeGRiXyUt9gNIu0opf6OjVG18KAg/s1259/Depositphotos_174577372_XL%20Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1259" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XM-GOjgpM0Ry8zy52uCupN4tnc8clmSUfUMvpiidYHjAdhqG9FrarXAiUEP6fT3GIjVy_G7QZl3cypFlE2IgyhE4HdaZBbqZBFMNCabukCyyXhuEtdyIQu-QkNaUsh5bDwY6RD570BgC8Afes7iYWcHXZGGp8tpeGRiXyUt9gNIu0opf6OjVG18KAg/w348-h342/Depositphotos_174577372_XL%20Cropped.jpg" width="348" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;">I'm skipping February's IWSG. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">See you next month!</span></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-64625850357551837642023-01-04T01:00:00.145-06:002023-01-04T07:58:10.358-06:00IWSG January - WORD<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for January 2023.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w200-h197/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><a href="http://jemimapett.com/blog/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Jemima Pett,</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="https://fictioncanbefun.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Debs Carey</a>,<span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimlajevardi.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kim Lajevardi,</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="http://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sarah Foster,</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.literaryrambles.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Natalie Aguirre,</a> &<span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="http://journalingwoman.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0bc3; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">T. Powell Coltrin</a><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b>January 4 question - Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? What is your word for 2023 & why?</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>There are several, but if I have to choose one, it would be SUCCESS. And not in the way you might think. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure, I want to be successful at writing and selling books, but that's only one part. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to be successful at other things, too. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to stick to my diet and see results. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to spend more time with family, and not keep putting it off.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to get plugged into church, even though my job requires working every other weekend. (Gonna have to think outside the box on that one.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Basically I want to accomplish the tasks I keep telling myself I should be doing, while still finding time to rest and recharge, and write.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm determined to make it happen. I met my writing and business goals for 2022.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtro-DSZhACPbHELTLj2499yVrYjBfkiHmJ_-zGPw8PybwMY0HcZ0U6vNrL3M2qYYqByLJZatcnZkGOpp1axg4ateRDuK3dfvGybs_f_FaoSLxUq-NpGOdRM9DhSvULcW_voBEPq6DhxpPHlpmYAjLzcq1IlfkFM54IEA6irEr-cRzUpR8jzxnRLm_Q/s983/2022%20Royalty%20graph%20without%20dollars.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="983" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtro-DSZhACPbHELTLj2499yVrYjBfkiHmJ_-zGPw8PybwMY0HcZ0U6vNrL3M2qYYqByLJZatcnZkGOpp1axg4ateRDuK3dfvGybs_f_FaoSLxUq-NpGOdRM9DhSvULcW_voBEPq6DhxpPHlpmYAjLzcq1IlfkFM54IEA6irEr-cRzUpR8jzxnRLm_Q/w667-h198/2022%20Royalty%20graph%20without%20dollars.png" width="667" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I can do that, I can do this, too.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm calling it - </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">2023 is going to be a great year!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-62830760066655214702022-12-07T02:00:00.079-06:002022-12-07T02:00:00.214-06:00Merry Christmas<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am taking a break from IWSG this month. See you next year.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kHqYqVzFBIBwxGnfnTO9pxTVYPvUDGiXMvSCEhrEjpoTSW_a9oQTcm8tCPUBsW1vAh9bkwoGsbUCh8AgfFt9XsxSCuI8uHnvTnVkejzYi-TixsjSMbjcAWH-jcfVZB5LGx73C2-XkGCVdVWUFCtiVPnBLIGxB2H8QHVGpCpc5OWgONCAgP0ZXFRyJQ/s2000/Depositphotos_15822265_L%20Nativity%20and%20thorns.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="2000" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kHqYqVzFBIBwxGnfnTO9pxTVYPvUDGiXMvSCEhrEjpoTSW_a9oQTcm8tCPUBsW1vAh9bkwoGsbUCh8AgfFt9XsxSCuI8uHnvTnVkejzYi-TixsjSMbjcAWH-jcfVZB5LGx73C2-XkGCVdVWUFCtiVPnBLIGxB2H8QHVGpCpc5OWgONCAgP0ZXFRyJQ/w566-h377/Depositphotos_15822265_L%20Nativity%20and%20thorns.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;">For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6</span></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Merry Christmas</span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-85459719231308684062022-12-02T15:16:00.002-06:002022-12-02T15:16:39.733-06:00Christmas Cat<p>Our new rescue cat, Poe, has made himself at home under our tree. </p><p>Can you find him?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMXqaBxT0jZtYoA0m42lH7SZlFKbiQ1_PrYEYe18cveOZqA56-POcDglWndITgHR1N_qs1_iYmgfUIUp2ulYIlf1elrxq772AxzYvETv92ky4ZhZ9jaHlIfI0lrxVNX1BXSQqJzyZ41SdREL91MfZ6PE3DYk4jcy_ZbfTOrS77ahPbdEV2UXlbQ3-/s2048/Poe%20under%20the%20tree%202022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMXqaBxT0jZtYoA0m42lH7SZlFKbiQ1_PrYEYe18cveOZqA56-POcDglWndITgHR1N_qs1_iYmgfUIUp2ulYIlf1elrxq772AxzYvETv92ky4ZhZ9jaHlIfI0lrxVNX1BXSQqJzyZ41SdREL91MfZ6PE3DYk4jcy_ZbfTOrS77ahPbdEV2UXlbQ3-/w400-h300/Poe%20under%20the%20tree%202022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Poe has an easy gift idea. This is one of those buy-it-in-your-PJs kind of gifts.</p><p>Amazon chose <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K5C0PDA" target="_blank">COME BACK</a></i> for a month-long December Kindle deal. They cut the price in half! </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMLkxsZNZKixUNQw9MZt16_ryaQ10F3aHvDDMgsLWFCuoDwMOvCISJtTmzM5nxtwC0a0vYI1LGrYlnWrZ1jF0Oc95ICdRDic5XbQ0N5R2qqDuMGCtWcU13q_CN0UWoA5csdcUysVqdsIuVyeyoJnfIy7dd0moqH5aCRQXApWOT58ghIfCBI9XKhuV/s2560/ComeBack_2022_Ebook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMLkxsZNZKixUNQw9MZt16_ryaQ10F3aHvDDMgsLWFCuoDwMOvCISJtTmzM5nxtwC0a0vYI1LGrYlnWrZ1jF0Oc95ICdRDic5XbQ0N5R2qqDuMGCtWcU13q_CN0UWoA5csdcUysVqdsIuVyeyoJnfIy7dd0moqH5aCRQXApWOT58ghIfCBI9XKhuV/w250-h400/ComeBack_2022_Ebook.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8PmbrS3DSIyWJfgqmBjJXGsJyQdqZ2IwzDpac2Abdmdbx76DKELxFGCQLbXGIU4ENemhpDMAgiaxV2cucmsLd5TysdqclGJ30hof3ax5vOuBqSdq20kmDu72w4MQBsm_HfCMTc5MFXJnyFIzLknrhesOVTn5g4kdj3R-Aq289QBk8lpxPuplCiNs/s561/Kindle%20book%20gifting.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="339" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8PmbrS3DSIyWJfgqmBjJXGsJyQdqZ2IwzDpac2Abdmdbx76DKELxFGCQLbXGIU4ENemhpDMAgiaxV2cucmsLd5TysdqclGJ30hof3ax5vOuBqSdq20kmDu72w4MQBsm_HfCMTc5MFXJnyFIzLknrhesOVTn5g4kdj3R-Aq289QBk8lpxPuplCiNs/w193-h320/Kindle%20book%20gifting.png" width="193" /></a></div><br />Now's a good time to buy it for yourself, if you haven't read it, and gift a copy to the romance readers in your life.<p></p><p>A kindle book is one of the easiest gifts to give. And it won't be opened before Christmas unless you want it to be.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Stay safe and warm this holiday season!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRPz01ZlBx_VycZf5nuYCZLSHY4Uwmlfi2Q2roQPilvJhLCq9-Z8KqxvY_2AEINwuTFlerNWbSzXVkxM3iFvDWpFy1u1SsfYhZqs7rucer_4EtzzF7YQ7-1k1GsbG85rkirLkG-tMgBIK7Bc_ipRxe2n7vHXVcnBTGWDcwBZhOjShtvJeeZg0B2MF/s2400/Christmas%20card%20image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2400" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRPz01ZlBx_VycZf5nuYCZLSHY4Uwmlfi2Q2roQPilvJhLCq9-Z8KqxvY_2AEINwuTFlerNWbSzXVkxM3iFvDWpFy1u1SsfYhZqs7rucer_4EtzzF7YQ7-1k1GsbG85rkirLkG-tMgBIK7Bc_ipRxe2n7vHXVcnBTGWDcwBZhOjShtvJeeZg0B2MF/s320/Christmas%20card%20image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-26910958213152647442022-11-11T01:00:00.010-06:002022-11-11T08:19:20.518-06:00Cowboy Kisses - November<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdln2oHUuaOtoVJc4FRCGfCNbxSfFSX8C3xCTZQ2rxv0P_i-W8qJFsnZNOulGS9o6PMLQe4ereSKynRC2vS2aCS9RRA68wNUJgxdFkcX0aKPLxxlho01Dwuvsw_ljRAHlu9Qvu2Vzw5xAwj1e4Fh5aHE5Em4jMoVhaHgImz_WtkOVK8HlPd1wHea6tBQ/s595/Cowboy%20crop%20Depositphotos_70991399_S.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="595" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdln2oHUuaOtoVJc4FRCGfCNbxSfFSX8C3xCTZQ2rxv0P_i-W8qJFsnZNOulGS9o6PMLQe4ereSKynRC2vS2aCS9RRA68wNUJgxdFkcX0aKPLxxlho01Dwuvsw_ljRAHlu9Qvu2Vzw5xAwj1e4Fh5aHE5Em4jMoVhaHgImz_WtkOVK8HlPd1wHea6tBQ/w174-h162/Cowboy%20crop%20Depositphotos_70991399_S.jpg" width="174" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><br />I am
over at the <a href="https://cowboykisses.blogspot.com/2022/11/autumn-reflections.html" target="_blank">CowboyKisses blog</a> today. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I'd love it if you'd stop by!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Cowboy
Kisses on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/993015697431197" target="_blank">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-44792073110292161882022-11-02T01:00:00.097-05:002022-11-02T01:00:00.200-05:00IWSG November - NaNoWriMo<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for November 2022.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w200-h197/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span> are: </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://pensivepenspost.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Diedre Knight,</a><span style="text-align: start;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://douglasthomasgreening.com/" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Douglas Thomas Greening,</a><span style="text-align: start;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://nickwilford.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Nick Wilford,</a><span style="text-align: start;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">and </span><a href="http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Diane Burton!</a></span><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span>Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">November 2nd question - <i>November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not? </i></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">Nope. I'm one of those authors who wishes NaNoWriMo participants well then disappears for the rest of November. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">Why? I work full time in addition to my writing. And,</span></span><span style="font-family: times;"> because of the holidays,</span><span style="font-family: times;"> November and December are two of the busiest months of the year. There's just no way I could squeeze in writing a novel, so I don't even try.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">Honestly, I often shake my head at whomever chose November for this. Maybe it's because the kids are finally settled into school, and the weather is turning too cold (up north, at least) to be outside much, but I don't get it. </span></span><span style="font-family: times;">I might participate once I retire, but for now, no thank you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">For those of you who do NaNo, I offer my best wishes and this link: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><a href="http://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2013/11/speed-writing-eleventh-hour-help-for.html" target="_blank">Speed Writing (Eleventh hour help for all you NaNo people)</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div>
<p> </p><p><br /></p><br />Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-73594571837939112392022-10-29T01:00:00.030-05:002022-10-29T01:00:00.244-05:00FULL DARK - Creepy tales for a good cause!<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tomorrow is <i>FULL DARK</i>'s 5th anniversary!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you're looking for a Halloween read, this is it. It's not super scary, and the content is PG-13, so you can enjoy it with your school-age kids.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5As_LPTlJiQ7gve1fh3gcqdX6sAkODOhmyek7zHcHZX1d6w6uJUfsQlSRz0LJekABhYQVD7zUH6iRHULVRML2gSoYGwruXBjrlpWusVEX1m19cx5UtnUE9febDK8H_yAiU1bcYO5oFQbB/s380/031420_FullDark_Ebook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="238" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5As_LPTlJiQ7gve1fh3gcqdX6sAkODOhmyek7zHcHZX1d6w6uJUfsQlSRz0LJekABhYQVD7zUH6iRHULVRML2gSoYGwruXBjrlpWusVEX1m19cx5UtnUE9febDK8H_yAiU1bcYO5oFQbB/w400-h640/031420_FullDark_Ebook.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em style="color: #372416; position: relative; text-align: left;">What happens in the dark will come to light</em><span style="color: #372416; text-align: left;">.</span><br style="color: #372416; text-align: left;" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #372416; text-align: left;"> </span><br style="color: #372416; text-align: left;" /><em style="color: #372416; position: relative; text-align: left;">FULL DARK</em><span style="color: #372416; text-align: left;"> is a benefit anthology. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Gary Sinise Foundation, an organization that does many wonderful things for our country's active military, its veterans, and the countless first responders who sacrifice so much to keep us safe.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #372416; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #372416; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">###</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br style="color: #372416; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #372416; text-align: left;">Publisher: Obsidian Books</span><br style="color: #372416; text-align: left;" /><strong style="color: #372416; text-align: left;">Purchase links: </strong><strong style="color: #372416; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/FULL-DARK-Anthology-Melissa-Maygrove-ebook/dp/B076P2BFGF" style="color: #5199a8; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Kindle</a> ~ <a href="https://www.amazon.com/FULL-DARK-Anthology-Melissa-Maygrove/dp/0996039740" style="color: #5199a8; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Paperback</a></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;">Thanks for visiting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;">Hope you have a fun, safe Halloween!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #242222; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-7791930922269439462022-10-14T03:00:00.003-05:002022-10-14T03:00:00.208-05:00Cowboy Kisses - October<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJoWYYUQRJeLjfy5cOZlST7GEmk3jMGPs2DoNPIs4tIj44mA-_IPmFjlfc4QPmZis8RvdS3U36rDAs7VhvQSXF3m4i5P6cHf8juTflfSpGp_jarB9gJxt5fhI7YnQBErLfqhhfFCDwSfG4vqyjUhdTs5jvHwTcHDZNqJApG276JlWxn7BhEgn0DSD-g/s595/Cowboy%20crop%20Depositphotos_70991399_S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="595" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJoWYYUQRJeLjfy5cOZlST7GEmk3jMGPs2DoNPIs4tIj44mA-_IPmFjlfc4QPmZis8RvdS3U36rDAs7VhvQSXF3m4i5P6cHf8juTflfSpGp_jarB9gJxt5fhI7YnQBErLfqhhfFCDwSfG4vqyjUhdTs5jvHwTcHDZNqJApG276JlWxn7BhEgn0DSD-g/w179-h167/Cowboy%20crop%20Depositphotos_70991399_S.jpg" width="179" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am
over at the <a href="https://cowboykisses.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-black-cauldron.html" target="_blank">Cowboy Kisses blog</a> today. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I'd love it if you'd stop by!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Cowboy
Kisses on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/993015697431197" target="_blank">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589035973172290745.post-79973660098857978602022-10-05T01:00:00.113-05:002022-10-05T01:00:00.191-05:00IWSG October - The Best Part of WHR<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This is my</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">post for October 2022.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_765kIMgpefyhCQjRC7TPWWAOgTDZXtfZDexM_MyacZpEA9mAFCceT_6x833zxCksefOBzg7cZCBhAFfJn0ky-VpIEd8M6_sq-0gDP56D0DhEtrFs03k5BXX3MrzHwV-S_7eo7S8C6Cj/w200-h197/Insecure+Writers+Support+Group+Badge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Alex's awesome co-hosts this month</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> are: </span></span><br /><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bookwormforkids.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Tonja Drecker,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.victoriamarielees.com/category/adventures-in-writing/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Victoria Marie Lees,</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://playoffthepage.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Mary Aalgaard,</a></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent;">and </span><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sandracox.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0b0bc3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sandra Cox!</a></b><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Please stop by their blogs and say thank you</span>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">💻💻💻💻💻</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">October 5 question - What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?</span></b><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>My favorite genre to both read and write is western historical romance. I enjoy sinking into a book and experiencing life in the 19th century. It's interesting to compare the way common tasks were done back then to modern times. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>I also like the traditional values. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>The characters are typically hard-working, practical-minded people who aren't preoccupied with frivolous things and don't expect wealth and prosperity to be handed to them. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>The hero and heroine often meet under difficult circumstances, but going through those trials together causes them develop solid, lasting feelings for each other. WHR MCs <i>earn</i> their relationship - no instalove based on physical attraction alone. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, since WHR is a romance genre, no matter how rough the middle gets, readers are guaranteed a happy ending.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">###</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">Note: I had trouble commenting on blogs for a while. That has been resolved, but I'll be away from my computer for a couple of days, so I probably won't get to make return visits today.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #242222; font-size: 14.85px;">❤❤❤❤❤</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list</i>. </span><br /></div></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516493326566981116noreply@blogger.com8