I love you guys!

No, I'm not drunk!

Thank you so much for your kinds words about my puppy. I haven't had that many comments in quite a while, and I was feeling the love... I guess love is in the air -- Happy February!

And happy Feb IWSG

Not much to report this month - just a couple of announcements:

1st - Though the IWSG Anthology contests are discontinued for now, we are still hoping to keep the IWSG Anthology blog going. We will be contacting the authors of all the anthologies to beg ask them to write posts once in a while -- offering advice, checking in, and snippets of writing.

If you are one such author and you're interested in contributing, let me know!

2nd - As in Feb 2nd! Happy Groundhog Day! 

Do you have any predictions on how much longer we will be smothered in cold weather?? Will that silly critter see it's shadow? Guess we will find out tomorrow

Thanks for stopping by - I will try to make my rounds this weekend

via GIPHY

Here we go again

Happy New Year, take 2023!

Welcome to IWSG Jan 2023

How many times have we gone through the motions of vowing to change in the new year? Too many to count, for me! But the change in year does remind me to try harder or resolve anew, as it were... I always have big plans, lofty goals, and personal growth promises that inevitably fizzle out. I realize now, that when I plan these things, I'm at the end of my holiday break from work. It's easy to reach for high hopes and dreams when you have a ton of time on your hands!

So this year, I'll be more reasonable. I'll go easier on myself. I'm going to keep up with the Blogging at least once a month for IWSG -- your voices are what keep me chugging along on this writing journey and expressing my thoughts is wonderful therapy! Eating better and exercising more gets a jump start when I go back to work and get away from sedentary-dom, eating out, and extra sweets with company and the holidays! Not that I didn't love every minute of it! 

And Writing more. I really want to work on this. It was so much easier to begin the process. We start out bright-eyed and hopeful. Sure there are many obstacles along the way: will anyone like our writing? will we ever get published? will anyone buy it? -- some of you are in these stages now! But once you've been through those, the harder challenges arise: critics, marketing, failed publishers, and pandemics! Well, I'm over it. I have to make a plan, plotter that I am, and stick to it. If I want to call myself a writer, I need to keep writing, right? (haha) And that means I need to keep working through all the hard stuff that goes with it. So that's what I would like to do. We'll see how it goes...

Thank goodness I have support from you all! And I want to jump back into our weekly WRITERS CHAT! TUESDAYS @ 7:30 PM (EST) It is time.

We use Discord - a private chat group website. Please join us if you can!

And lastly, a piece of my heart is missing as we said farewell to the sweetest dog in the world just before Christmas. Comet held on long enough for our middle son to come home and say goodbye. Having my family fill my house, I was able to make it through the difficult time. And now that they're gone and I'm taking down the Christmas decorations, the house is even emptier, deafeningly quiet. I need some time to heal before I make him a scrapbook - so many tears. Dogs are the best, we don't deserve them.

I hope you enjoyed your holidays and are looking forward to a jamboree for 2023!

via GIPHY

The Holidays are Exhausting!

I'm a little late posting for IWSG today... but I'm happy I made it! I'm keeping up with my holiday to do list by the skin of my teeth. And it's draining my energy! I hope you are getting the most out of these shorter days and fitting in time for you as you search for gifts and stocking stuffers and prepare for company or travel. I'm very excited to see my boys as they continue their adventures through life.

One great thing about the holidays is they always bring out stories--reminiscing over fond memories and creating new ones. Do you ever get inspired to write a holiday story? What are your favorite books and movies to enjoy at this time of year? Harry Potter is one of my holiday faves in addition to some fun Christmas specials. And I love relaxing with the family under the glow of the tree as we watch together.

Though I haven't had much time to write lately, I am very excited to be a part of a Christmas anthology with a short story about my Pop Travel main characters, Cooper & Geri that I wrote this summer.

MAGICK & MISTLETOE

by Dragon Soul Press

my contribution...

A Cold Case for Christmas

by Tara Tyler

Though Geri is a tough FBI Agent, she's nervous about going home with Cooper for the holidays to meet his parents. When she arrives, her trepidation is magnified by a cloud of mystery hanging over the  cozy, old farmhouse that no one wants to talk about. She vows to fight back her urge to investigate so she can make a good impression, especially for the beloved, spooky, and judgmental cat. But as the clues pile up, her nagging need to uncover the truth might spoil everything.

Pre-Order Now!

Available Dec 20

I'm excited to read the rest of them!

I hope your holidays are warm and cuddly and full of magical moments!

via GIPHY