Celebrate the Small Things-September 28, 2018

It's Friday! Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain! I am her co-host.

I don't have a lot to report this week as everything has been relatively uneventful. Not that there's anything wrong with this. I'd rather that than have everything going wrong.

Since I don't have much to say right now, I wanted to spend this post celebrating humor. We can all use a good laugh every now and again, right? That's why I thought I'd share a few things I find funny to help put a smile on your face.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Celebrate the Small Things-September 21, 2018

It's Friday! Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain! I am her co-host.

First of all, it was recently announced that I am the newest member of the WEP team. I was honored when Denise Covey asked me to come aboard, and I hope I can contribute to this wonderful group and help ensure its continued success.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and as such, I've gotten into a bit of a writing slump. However, I managed to resurrect some motivation as the week nears its end, so hopefully I can keep my momentum up through the weekend.

I've been trying to eat healthy this past week, and I'd like to keep it up. I filled my kitchen with fruits and vegetables, which I love to eat anyway. The problem is that it's so much easier to eat the quick foods that aren't all that good for you than it is to prepare something healthy, but I'm doing my best to resist temptation. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Finally, I'm celebrating the successful launch of the Kickstarter campaign for the middle grade science fiction anthology Young Explorer's Adventure Guide Volume 5. 

I was a part of the last anthology, and I'm proud to be a part of this one as well. Few stories have been as fun to write as the one I wrote for this, and I can't wait for people to read it. If any of you would be willing to help spread the word about the Kickstarter campaign, I would really appreciate it. I composed a tweet you can copy and paste to help make that easier.

Help support a #middlegrade #anthology of #scifi stories that will appeal to all ages. Check out the @Kickstarter campaign for the Young Explorer's Adventure Guide Volume 5. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/815743020/young-explorers-adventure-guide-volume-five-sf-ant

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-September 14, 2018

It's Friday, so that means it's time to Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain. I am her co-host.

It's been a crazy week for reasons I'd rather not go into just now, but there are certainly positives to be shared.  First of all, my husband and I enjoyed our child-free evening away from home. We had a wonderful hotel room, and we went out for a nice breakfast the next morning. Still, I can't lie. I was so happy to see the kids again when we picked them up.

I took the kids to a book fair at school and let them select a few books. Jude picked out a cool build-your-own-telescope kit. We also picked up some model rockets last week, so we have a lot of sciency type building in our future.

Zoe has a new toddler bed, though we have yet to build the thing. That's a task for this weekend. However, judging by her reaction to the picture on the box, she's going to love it.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-September 7, 2018

It's Friday! Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain! I am her co-host.

First of all, I'm celebrating getting some new things that were desperately needed. Lyle got new glasses and we got a new dining set. Our old dining set was in rough shape. It's good to sit in a chair and not hear it creak and groan like it's about to break.

The boys are going camping with their grandparents tonight, and Zoe is staying with her aunt. Meanwhile my husband and I are going out of town for a wedding. We have a hotel room booked and we're eager for a little getaway. It'll be strange being without the kids, and I don't know how Zoe will react, but hopefully we'll all have a good time.

I also made a few more batches of bath bombs, the latest one being pumpkin spice scented. I'm still perfecting my molding technique, but I've been having a good time making and using them.

What would you like the celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: September 2018

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group.  Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has recruited another studious batch of minions for this month: Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coltrin, M.J. Fifield, and Tara Tyler.

Be sure to check out the IWSG website for lots of great support and writing advice!  The next IWSG Anthology Contest is also now officially open for submissions, so you'll definitely want to look into this great writing opportunity.

The optional question for this month is: What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why?

There are certainly more paths to publication than there used to be, and it means more authors can find an audience for their work.  I've had some experiences with both of these paths.  I self-published some of my novellas because a lot of traditional publishers won't touch works of that length.  There are some signs that's beginning to change, but self-publication still allows a lot more leeway in terms of manuscript length.  An author can tell the story they want without having to worry too much about it falling within a specific word count range.  Though I'm not the best at marketing my stories, I'm still pleased they found the audience they have.

I've also had some short stories published at small presses, and that's also been a great experience.  There are so many small publishers out there that are dedicated to producing quality books, and I'm happy to be a part of that.

What are my publishing plans for the future?  I'd like to try to get a novel traditionally published.  I'd try by querying agents, and if I didn't have any luck there, I'd move on to some smaller publishing houses and see if they might be interested.  Why do I want to be traditionally published?  It's just been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember.  Hopefully I can accomplish it.  If not, at least I know there are other avenues to explore.

What publishing path appeals to you the most?