Masquerade: Oddly Suited Cover Reveal

It's time for a cover reveal!

Some of you may have seen a few puzzle pieces floating around on social media over the weekend. Now it's time to put them together and get a look at the bigger picture.

Doesn't that video look cool? You can thank the talented Anstice Brown for that one.

Now here's a still image of the cover so you can get a closer look.

Masquerade: Oddly Suited

An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
Release date – April 30, 2019
Young Adult Fiction: Romance - General/Paranormal/ContemporaryPrint ISBN 9781939844644
EBook ISBN 9781939844651

Find love at the ball…

Can a fake dating game show lead to love? Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince? Can a softball pitcher and a baseball catcher work together? Is there a vampire living in Paradise, Newfoundland? What’s more important—a virtual Traveler or a virtual date to the ball?

Ten authors explore young love in all its facets, from heartbreak to budding passion. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Jennifer Lane, C.D. Gallant-King, Elizabeth Mueller, Angela Brown, Myles Christensen, Deborah Solice, Carrie-Anne Brownian, Anstice Brown, and Chelsea Marie Ballard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will mystify and surprise even as they touch your heart. Don your mask and join the party…

We're arranging a blog tour to help promote this anthology, and there's a FORM for you to fill out if you'd like to be a part of it! You can choose from an author interview, a guest post, or a book spotlight.

That's all for now!

Celebrate the Small Things-January 25, 2019

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

We had a brief wave of illness hit our house. My husband and Zoe got it the worst, but they're both on the mend now. The boys and I only ended up having a bit of a cold. Still unpleasant, but it could have been worse. I'm definitely glad Zoe is doing better. She had a miserable couple of days where she was attached to my hip most of the time.

Winter finally hit us in full force. Between snow and intense winds that are resulting in wind chill temperatures of well below zero, the boys have missed three school days in the last week so far. One of the days they did have school ended with an early out. As of the time I'm writing this, I have no idea if they're having school today either. The wind chill could get as low as 30 degrees below zero overnight, so who knows? Why am I celebrating this? Well, we've had plenty of family time this week as a result, and we all stayed safe. That's the main thing.

I'd also like to celebrate cookies. I was badly craving something with chocolate in it, so I caved in and bought some. I'll blame pregnancy cravings for that one.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-January 18, 2019

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

The power cord for my laptop broke this week, but I was able to get a replacement for a reasonable price. Phew! When it first broke, I went through all kinds of stress and worry about what would happen if I couldn't replace it right away. Now I can relax and get back to work.

We're currently waiting for a snowstorm that's supposed to be hitting later today. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad since my husband has to work tonight, but we'll see how the weather goes. Iowa weather can be a tad unpredictable.

I'm hoping to get a lot of good writing done this weekend, as well as some reading. That sure sounds nice, especially since it's going to be a snowy and cold one outside.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-January 11, 2019

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

First of all, I finished the puzzle I set out to do last weekend. I won't admit how late I stayed up working on it. Apparently I can get pretty focused on a task and lose track of time. I definitely want to do another puzzle soon, but I may have to set strict limits about how long I spend on it at a time.

Anyway, here's a picture of the finished product. I apologize for the quality of the photo. I don't have a good camera right now.

The boys have a day off school due to a teacher in-service, so they're excited about a three day weekend. Who doesn't love a three day weekend? We don't have a lot planned. My husband has started working a new shift, so he isn't home on the weekend anymore. That means my weekend should be reasonably quiet. The good part of this new shift, though, is my husband is home during most of the week, so he gets to see the kids more than he used to.

I'm hoping to get a lot of writing done this weekend. Wish me luck!

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-January 4, 2019

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

I'm currently celebrating a return to normalcy. As much as I enjoy the holidays and having my kids all home with me, it's nice to have a slightly quieter house during the day. The boys were also eager to get back to school and see all their friends again.

The weather here is currently much warmer than we could typically expect for January, and I have no complaints about that. I'm sure we'll pay the price for it somewhere down the line, so I intend to enjoy the warmth while I can.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home. As much as I enjoy getting out and doing new things, there's something to be said about staying home and taking it easy. I'm hoping to get some good writing done, and I've also been working on a jigsaw puzzle. That sounds just about perfect to me right about now.

And finally, I'm celebrating having the top story in the IWSG anthology contest. If you haven't had the chance, feel free to pop over and see who the other winners are. I can't wait to read everyone else's stories!

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: January 2019

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time to convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group! Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has rounded up another great cohort of co-hosts for this month: Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue.

Today the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest are being announced, so you should definitely check that out at the IWSG website!

I'd like to start off by telling everyone Happy New Year! I hope 2019 holds many wonderful things in store for all of you. It's certainly shaping up to be an eventful year for me already. I'm expecting a baby girl in May, and I have a lot of writing goals for the upcoming year that I'd like to meet.

Another exciting part of 2019 is the fact that my short story "Oddly Suited" gets to be part of the upcoming IWSG anthology. Not only that, but it was chosen as the top story. This is the second time that's happened to me, which was stunning, to say the least. When I got the email about it, I was in shock. I had fun writing my submission, and while I felt good about it, I also knew how stiff the competition is. It took some time for the news to sink in. It definitely gave me a much needed boost of confidence where my writing is concerned.

Now let's move on to the question of the month.

The optional question for January is: What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?

This is an interesting question. I don't get a lot of questions about my writing, but when I do, they certainly follow a theme. I like it when people ask why I like to write and what kinds of stories I like to tell. These are subjects I could talk about all day.

One of the most unwelcome questions I get, however, comes after someone asks which genre I like to write in. While plenty of people love science fiction, I've encountered many others who thinks it's silly. I've also met people with good intentions who think it would be a better career move for me to write in a different genre. When people ask "Why don't you try to write this genre instead?" I tend to get a little bit defensive. I love the kinds of stories I tell, and I feel protective of them. It takes passion to tell a compelling story. If I don't feel excited about a story, then I'm not going to enjoy writing it, and that will show in the final product. Sometimes people don't understand that.

What kinds of questions do people ask you about your writing?