#IWSG for July 2017: Excited

Once again, it's the first Wednesday in the month and time for a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

The last two months have been hectic but I finally got my cataract surgery done on both eyes and now am looking forward to getting my permanent glasses. I can see distance very well since my nearsightedness was corrected with the lens implants, but now I'm very farsighted. I am using +2.50 reading glasses to even see what is in front of me to eat. LOL!

This month I'm going to use the prompt shared by our hosts at the Insecure Writer's Support Group because it fits what has been at the back of my thoughts these past few months.

Last month we talked about quitting.
This month, the excitement of writing has set back in.

I managed to get my middle grade fantasy short story compilation, 7 Days of Seven, loaded up to Amazon. Phew! Although I had no deadline for this, I am glad to finally get it done.

This sets me up to start back on my WIP, Paradise Dead, novella two in my Lei Crime trilogy. I have a personal deadline of August 1st and a hard deadline (final publication date) of August 15th. I feel confident (and excited) that I will make it this time. I hated missing the last deadline.

I would love to be working on the edits for book three in my Klondike Mystery series, Almost a Touch, in August with September as my target publication date. Fingers crossed!

Once that is done, I'll tackle the finally novella in my Lei Crime trilogy, Paradise Drift. November first is my target date. Phew!!

I'm full of excitement!!! What's got you excited?

#IWSG for June 2017: Quitting

Once again, it's the first Wednesday in the month and time for a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

If I thought April was crazy, May was just as bad. Full of medical appointments, a family wedding, catching up with family and friends here in Maryland, lots of rainy weather to keep us housebound and more.

This month I'm going to use the prompt shared by our hosts at the Insecure Writer's Support Group because it fits what has been at the back of my thoughts these past few months.

Did you ever say “I quit”?
If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

I haven't quit writing - yet. But I have been considering it. I turn 70 this year and I find myself treasuring my time with my husband as well as pure "me" time. When we first got together back in 2008 and on through 2012, I wasn't writing (other than a blog or two). We spent a lot of time doing things, seeing things, riding through beautiful scenery and more.

Since I took up writing, other than our two years in Ecuador, I find I have to schedule time off. And at 70, time is getting shorter. I am finding it harder and harder to choose between family time and writing time. So I hibernate, getting/giving too little to each.

I am committed to finishing and publishing two novellas in the Lei Crime Kindle World series, the third book in my Klondike Mystery series and one children's short story compilation of fantasy stories.

Once that is done, I think I am going to quit....

What about you?

Old News & New News

Just a short update - really no new news. Sorry! Due to my impending eye surgery, I haven't been writing or editing.  Yes, I'm falling way behind but once July hits and both eyes are healed, I will be able to really tackle my backlog.

Here's my current WIP list, in order of projected completion and publication:

• Paradise Dead, novella two in my Lei Crime Kindle World trilogy - writing first draft
• 7 Days of Seven, compilation of middle grade fantasy stories - final edits
• Almost a Touch, book three in my Klondike - starting edits

My goal is to have all the above live on Amazon by early fall. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Once these are done, I will be tackling the third Lei Crime Kindle World novella, Paradise Drift, which I hope to have out by early November.

At that point it will be holiday season as well as the time of year when we move our rolling home from our house in TN to our RV lot in Florida. At that point, I will be deciding if I will continue writing (other than my blogs) for publication. So I guess that's the new news, I may retire from writing after this year. Not definite, but under consideration.

2017 - HaPpY NeW YeAr!

First, I'd like to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Whether last year was good or bad for you personally, it's always fun to look forward to a new beginning.

I've been very busy personally - cruising and then spending Christmas at Disney World here in Florida. We also are in the process of buying a house in Tennessee and next week we will drive up to close and get the house set up. Yes, a new adventure!

I also wanted to pass along a nice author interview at Book Goodies, it's a fun way to learn a little more about me.

Writing? Well, I am over half way through the first draft of Almost a Touch. I got sick for the entire  two weeks of our Hawaii cruise so didn't get as far as I'd hoped. I have gone through two edits on my compilation of children's fantasy short stories, 7 Days of Seven. I hope to have that published by the end of January.

Curious - do you make new year resolutions? Are they ever successful? I try to set goals and manage maybe a 50% success rate. Here's to 2017!

Rolling along....

Yes, life has been busy. Just how busy? Take a peek at my personal blog post about the last month!

While I am on the cruise, I am trying to edit my middle grade fantasy short story series. I've decided to put them all in one book. Hoping to get that done in the next week or so. Watch for the announcement about "7 of Seven".

Update and Ramblings

It's been a hectic couple of weeks. As I posted a month or so ago, I finished my series of seven middle grade short stories. They are now printed and hubby is doing a first draft read. Normally I would do a first edit before that but....

....I needed to get writing on my first novella, "Whispers in Paradise", for author Toby Neal's Lei Crime Kindle World. That first draft is done, printed and hubby will be doing a first draft read of that as well. Normally I would do a first edit before that but....

....I needed to get started writing "Almost a Touch", the third book in my Klondike Mystery series, for Camp NaNoWriMo. After finishing the novella, I was starting over a week late. Then life happened....

....Fatigue, back pain and too many every day chores and errands assaulted me. One biggie was moving from our rented site in the campground to our personal site (effective Feb 1st but we had renters committed till mid-April). So last Sunday we made the move! It went quite well considering we had been in one spot since mid-October! The rest of the week disappeared in a blur of getting outdoor things set up, getting pavers added to our lot to extend the usable space and buying both a propane fire pit and a small seating set.


Ah, life is good! Oh, the book? I'm in chapter three now and have done a surprising amount of research. I doubt I will get my 50k words by the end of the month but I'm willing to try!

Done and Over With!

[cue cheering audience]

It's true, I finally finished the first draft of my 8-12 year old fantasy short stories in my "7 of Seven" series. A few quick edits and they should be uploaded to Amazon in the next couple of weeks.

And that means [cue dramatic drum roll] that I will be working on book three in my Klondike Mystery series, "Almost a Touch". I know my readers have been waiting way too long for this and I am looking forward to telling the story of how the police chief dies.

Book three takes place in Kalispell, MT but I will keep you updated on what is happening back in Klondike as well. Expect a few surprises, some new characters, more "whodunit" and hopefully a dash of humor.

Be sure to sign up for my free newsletter to stay informed of updates, new releases, sales and so forth. I promise to never spam you and will never share your email address with third parties.

GUEST POST: Character Interview by author Saoirse O’Mara

Hi Donna, thanks for having me over on my birthday. I’d like to give your readers the opportunity to get to know me a little better, as well as meet my two protagonists, Tayla and Govin, from my YA fantasy/mystery series A Rogue’s Tale. So here’s my very own little interview with the two of them. Enjoy!

Saoirse: Tayla, Govin, nice to meet you again. Tell me…why did you choose my head to appear in?

Tayla: Oh, I liked the chaos and the creativity inside. And I liked the little dragon that already lived there.

Saoirse: Dragon? Oh, you mean Miro? Well, yeah, he’s the protagonist in another series….

Govin: Once Tayla had chosen you, I thought, oh well, why not give her a chance. And when I started to tell you the first story, it was easy enough to get you to write it down correctly. So we stayed.

Saoirse: Hm, that explains it. So what is up with you and Tayla? Why did you two end up friends?

Tayla: He helped me escape although he didn’t even know me, and when he asked me for help later, I knew I owed him. And since then, I haven’t been able to get rid of him again.

[Tayla laughs.]

Govin: It just felt wrong to leave her in that cell. She has become a good friend in those first few days and I’m glad I met her.

Saoirse: What was the worst moment of your friendship?

Govin: When Tayla sent for me from the temple of Natifa, I was scared to death. I was really afraid I might lose her in that moment.

Tayla: Yeah, and after that, I thought you didn’t like spending time with me anymore because you didn’t want to investigate with me. I’m glad we got that misunderstanding out of the way. I really missed you.

Saoirse: Okay. But seriously, a member of the City Guard and a pickpocket...couldn’t you come up with an even more unusual friendship?

Tayla: Sorry, the friendship between dragons and humans was already taken.

Saoirse: Touché. Well, I’m looking forward to writing down more of your adventures together. Do you have more stories for my readers?

Govin: How much time do you have to write them down? We have plenty to tell.

© Saoirse O’Mara, Aug 26, 2013

You can find Saoirse's books at Amazon and Smashwords.

More About the Author:
Website: http://saoirseomara.wordpress.com
Twitter: saoirseomara

Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://aroguestale.wordpress.com

Oops, I did it again...another children's story!

I decided to participate in a writing challenge with several author friends. The result is book one of a seven book series. Written for middle school kids (ages 9-12), it uses their imagination and fires off their creativity.

Monday Midnight Madness
[Book One of 7 Days of Seven: Short Story Snacks]

When Bernie Bushkin, your every day 12 year old, goes to his first day of 7th grade he has no idea his life will change completely before he gets home that night.

Follow along with Bernie as he discovers the special powers passed down from his great-great-great grandfather to him. Powers that will let him save a land he never knew existed.

Selling for .99 regularly, it will be FREE tomorrow, 8/30. Snag a copy for your favorite youngster! Don't forget to watch for the next book in the series...

My first EVER children's book!

My first ever children's book is now available on Amazon. It's a rhyming picture book, What Do I Count, and is suitable up to age five. Good bedtime or anytime reading, teaches numbers. Great as a gift to/from parents and grandparents! {Please share the link with your family and friends.}

Kara Jaynes did an amazing job on the illustrations, making my silly words come to life.

This was my first time using the new, free Kindle Comic Creator and it was easy. Now to figure out how to translate this into an appropriate sized paperback book. Anyone know how to convert a .mobi to a .pdf with odd page sizes? ;)

Arrrgh!!!

I just can't seem to get organized lately. I have so many little things that need to be done and I'm working on that group, I'm struggling to get back  involved with my social media accounts (well, except Facebook since I'm on there WAY too much), and I still haven't started back fiction writing.

I had all these great intentions of doing an #IWSG post, um, yesterday? No, two days ago. LOL! Yup, missed it but I promise to do it in June. Honest!

I did one productive thing today. Some other authors mentioned that Facebook has an author app. How cool is that? I added it to both my pages, My Write Spot and Klondike Mysteries.

Another project that I've been pursuing is an illustrator for a children's bedtime rhyming book I wrote about 15 years ago. I plan to publish it and donate all the proceeds to two children's charities in Ecuador (50/50 split). The illustrator is Kara Jaynes. You can see her work as both an illustrator and author with her children's book, Peach and Plum Blossom.

On a personal note, we bought our tickets for our move to Cuenca, Ecuador today. Our date moved by one day for the best rate...we fly out on December 12th after returning from our 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean.

Okay...back to work!