Tag Archive | Writers

Fast Five: SJ Tilly’s 1st POV

Nov23

Hello my lovelies! How are you today? I’m reading the third book in S.J. Tilly’s Mountain Man series and I have to share some thoughts about Tilly’s use of Alternating 1st Person POV. These books are Romance, so some of these comments are going to tie specifically into that specific genre.

  1. Remember how the old romance novels used to slip between perspectives, especially in the spicy scenes? Making the scene well rounded on both sides of the relationship and keeping the pacing? She is able to do this…. How? Well…..
  2. Chapters vary in length, some only a few paragraphs (I want to say one was only a sentence, but I could be wrong.)This tightens suspense, especially in a predator / prey or romantic chase  type of way.
  3. In the shorter chapters, the sentence length changes as well, leaving the reader slightly breathless. It makes the pacing completely on point for spicy scenes.
  4. In the longer chapters we get more depth– varied sentence length as well as the gamut of emotions– heart break to hilarity. These books have both made me laugh so hard I cried, and just ugly cry for the character.
  5. I don’t really have a 5. I feel in love with the way she uses the structures of writing to help tell the story, both in chapter and sentence lengths.

Have you read anyone lately who makes you think about writing a little differently? I have a few more books to review through the lens of how’d they do that writing edition LOL. So I’ll see you very soon!

Getting the word out

Jul28

Ari Wright’s Once Upon A Pack

Ari Wright is releasing the Audio Book for Once Upon a pack, and it has me wondering: what methods do you find work best for getting the word out on new releases (E-book, print or audio)?

As a baby writer (nothing huge published, mostly short stories and a couple of poems) I will send information to those I think might like the story. I use either email or text as I don’t post on social media.

As a consumer, I have 4 main ways of finding books.

  1. Recommendations. Friends, family or even KU. I actually found Ari Wright through a Based on your other books…. Recommendation. She’s one of my favorite authors and an auto read for me. Goodreads– i use it to log my books but don’t really get recs there.
  2. Newsletter. Author newsletters are awesome. I especially like the ones where they share this it’s of what’s going on with them. Maybe a photo of their work desk, or what they’ve been up to. And of course the new releases! As an author, you have to walk a line with the newsletters. Readers want to know about your upcoming and new releases, but not to be inundated by a sales pitch constantly.
  3. Social Media Ads. For me, mainly TikTok and Instagram as those are the two I scroll most. I will say as a reader I prefer Instagram as the link goes directly to the ebook link. I don’t know what’s going on with people, but the amount of TikTok ads for books that FORGET to give the title and/or  author name is ridiculous. I’m also not going to buy off the Tok shop.
  4. Social Media Groups. I belong to a few groups for readers of an author, but also some for specific types of romance. This is where you cannot only get a rec, but also find out what that book you read three months ago with this particular scene was. Life-saving! Or sanity saving.

So– how do you advertise for your writing? If you’re mostly a reader, how do you find the books you read?

Summer Check In: Fast Five

Jul14

Summer is here and the air is sticky! Life has been lifing. Some great, lots of ok and some terrible. But that’s life, right?

Here’s my Fast Five for July (so far)

  1. Writing has fallen off since about Fathers day. Not even a poem a day. I’ve written two in July. Working on getting back on track.
  2. Still reading! Currently I’m reading book #241 of the year. This doesn’t even include the re-reads I’ve done.
  3. I am still circling writing an Omegaverse romance. Part of the problem is that I’m so uncomfortable with writing traditional sex scenes. Almost all of the ones I’ve started and stopped all happen in the same “world”. The book I’m currently reading? #241 above? It’s in the same subgenre (Reverse Harem Omegaverse) and … It’s rated G. It’s building a relationship. I love it!!! I do think the author needs to promote her books as G/PG rated (a lot of her reviews center around that. But they still read it!)
  4. I love fireworks but not masses of people. I am happy to report that I can watch fireworks from my back porch. If I walk down to the back of my property, I can watch two different shows! One on the left (visible from porch) and one in the right (obscured by tree unless I walk down to the alley).
  5. Got the AC in my car fixed (Thank you T-Bo!!)  and went on a mini adventure with my sister! It was so awesome!  So many more that I want to go on. We went to a city about an hour, hour and a half away and visited 2 bookstores (one was a dud one was AH-MAZZING!) Had a wonderful lunch in a Cafe / bakery and LOTS of sister binding time!

That’s all from me for now. I’ve got 9 minutes left of my dedicated writing time, so I think I’m gonna Ng to go okay in my #fafo world.

What fun or interesting things have you done this summer?

No Kings

Jun14

A poem in progress

No Kings

Our military does not vow
To protect Kings nor Queens
Instead their vow belongs
To the Constitution
Which exists to blanket
(US) us in safety.

And should an enemy come
Forward and make complaint
Against the words,
The very page and ink, that
Forged a nation under God
Then shall they raise
Sword and shield to defend.

Lady Liberty will keep watch,
Her flame burning bright
Watching as her sons and daughters
Defend the rights
Laid down by our forefathers.

Angry Readers: Fast 5

Jun11

OR: How to anger your readers before even writing a word

  1. Constantly shifting publishing dates. Let’s be honest, we as readers don’t care if the date comes quicker. But if you leave us hanging? And then do it repeatedly? Some readers might lose their desire to read your work. Some might even, gasp, forget about it. Give yourself a cushion. We love happy surprises like a fav author publishing a book ahead of time
  2. Having a release coming up and then…. The title and you disappear. Now we all know, stuff happens. But as an author, you should at least apologize on your socials, or somewhere your fans can find it. If you’re ok, that is. At this point, some fans are wondering if you are ok.
  3. Stop writing in the middle of a series that has to be read in order. Looking at the fantasy genre here. I wait now, until all books are done and able to be bought. I do the same with duologues. If there’s a hint of a cliff hanger, well. I’ll wait, thank you.
  4. Don’t change the way you send out ARCs without letting the readers who get them know. It’s a wonderfully quick way to sow discontent around your new release. Wanting to send to only people who hype the pre-release on socials? Go for it. But make sure you let the people who you told reviews on blogs, Amazon and Goodreads were great that they aren’t getting said release. You are a writer. That kind of stuff should have been clearly communicated via email (since you have their emails).
  5. Don’t write a book you don’t love. Trust me. We the readers know when you are writing something and you don’t love it. We might not be able to say exactly what’s wrong with the story, but for your fans? It’ll be an irritant at the least. And when it’s really bad? We, the readers, will DNF.

That’s my fast five for pissing off your readers. While authors who committed the above have come across my TBR pile, and may still remain… Those things do impact how your work is seen when it does, finally, come out

What do authors do to annoy you,, other than the actual writing?

Fast Stats

May23

Ah, we’ve almost made it to the midpoint of the year. Hooray! I’ve been doing pretty good with keeping up on my reading and writing goals.

Ready? Set? Here we go!

  1. Since changing up my prose writing away from trying to do a novel I’ve not only written but have also submitted a few short (flash) pieces. I think I’m up to 4 submissions, with 2 more in the wings. One I’m waiting to open up and the other I still need to write.
  2. I’m still (mostly) writing a poem a day. There’s maybe a  few days when that didn’t happen, but there are also days when I wrote more than 1. I’m pretty sure that it will even out in the end.
  3. On my reading goal, so far I’ve read 194 new books. This is not counting all the re-reads I do. I enjoy reading 😃. Most of the time, the television is background noise.
  4. This is just an odd stat: I’ve DNF’d almost as many books as I finished. 132 to be exact. I just thought it was funny.
  5. I have been participating in the Ladies of Horror flash challenge and loving it. My most recent submission can be found HERE

That’s it for today, my Lovelies! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Checking In: Fast FIVE

Apr10

Oohhhh here we go! This fast five has to do with me, Myself and I. Lol. Just a quick check-in on how the writerly and readerly things are going

  1. Still reading an absolute MONSTER amount of books. Instead of constantly adding to the books read total, these past few weeks I’ve been rereading old favorites. At 140 out of the 350 I put on the 2025 challenge– I think I’m gonna be ok.
  2. I am currently grooving on the Ladies of Horror flash project. You can find it HERE. It explores a darker side that I find I really like. It makes it easier to explore some things– whether social or emotional. You should go and read all the fabulous poems and stories that are over there!
  3. Still doing a poem a day and making it to my 4pm writing date with the absolutely fabulous Rie. She has a substack where she does many types of poetry things. Here is a link to her post about one of my favorite things to hoard– blank note books!
  4. I’m getting better… I’d had a brutal  case of bronchitis and am slowly getting everything back on track. I’d let a lot of things slide while sick: housework, writing, all the stuff.
  5. Including my OTHER creative outlet– the planner journals. At first I started writing it in a journal but then stopped that too. And I’m not starting back up because it seems like so much work to back plan a MONTH. Maybe though… Maybe I should do what I do with my writing. Give myself a little bit of grace and start where I’m at. I can always go back and do the other weeks with my journal…

So there’s my current Fast Five. What would your current Fast Five include?

Not gonna lie…. Almost did a 6 but there’s nothing sinful to put on the list!

Just Write It: 5 on Just Drive

Apr4

I think I read somewhere that Devyn Sinclair wrote “Just Drive”” as a side story. A passion project, at least at first. A story she loved but wasn’t sure would sell. Was not sure it would resonate with readers.

I have reviewed maybe 2 books on Good Reads and Amazon. Possibly three. I leave a star rating but never a review. It has to hit me hard for me to leave a 5 stars and it has to hit even harder for an actual review. She got both.

Which makes a darn good argument to write what you are passionate about. The story you want. Because trends come and go, but staying true to you will bring the right readers to you.

Note: Just Drive is. RH Omegaverse Romance.

Here’s 5 things I loved about Just Drive:

5. The Formula. one racing. Do I watch racing? Nope. I’ve been known to watch it though, and it’s the only sport other than ice skating and gymnastics that I will watch. Fun fact: when I was a wee girl I wanted to race fast cars. Didn’t go further than checking out TONS of books at the wee little local library when I was younger and a little drag racing when a bit older… But. And there are specific racing details that made me SQUEEE.

4. Relationships & friendships outside the romance. A whole world was built, including both personal and professional relationships. And instead of having EVERYONE hate the new female driver, she did have professional friendships with other drivers.

3. World Building. This is set in an alternate universe. If she played with the rules Formula One racing in the story, it didn’t hit for this casual reader.  Which means short cuts were not taken. Sinclair obviously loves this subject and it shows.

2. Competition & Professionalism within the pack. Vanessa, our heroine is racing on a team with part of her pack and actively racing against another member. And while they are competitive– it’s in the right way. A way that doesn’t make it easy for either of them. They go balls to the wall racing each other, can be grumpy about losing and still celebrate a momentous win.

  1. Grandpa. I cried so hard. And we know, don’t we… That the good books, the great books, they help us. They entertain us. They teach us new things. And they give us a safe space to feel our feelings. I’m tearing up again (it would have been Pop’s 99th today) and we’ll, I’m probably gonna go back and reread so I have that safe space tonight.

That number one though, that’s why I write. While I generally work through stuff in my writing, that connection cannot be beat. It’s magic.

So what magical story have you been dying to tell? Don’t worry about markets right now– just grow your magic.

Ta, my Lovelies

5 Things to do when not writing

Mar6

So… There are lots of reasons why we don’t write. Sometimes it’s scary like a writing block (OH NO! Will I ever write again?). Oftentimes, it’s just life. You’re sick. You had to go to Aunties house for whatever reason. Sometimes, our brains just hurt. It’s easy though, while not writing to lose the habit of writing.

The following five help boost my creativity and still have an element to help with writing in them.

  1. Art Begets Art. I will die on this hill. Whether you go to a museum and view works of art or make your own– art helps us access our creative side. That goes for painting, drawing, music– all sorts. Want to exercise that writer’s brain? Write a story based on a picture. Or, write a rebuttal to a song. It worked for Miley.
  2. Read. This one seems like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised. But I’m not just talking about your own genre. Read non-fiction and learn something new. Read poetry that touches your soul. Read a mystery or a romance or a collection of humourous historical facts. What ever tickles your fancy. You never know what will spark.
  3. Go outside. This one is hard for me, personally. I’m an indoor girlie. But I feel better when I go outside. And Mother Nature? She knows how to soothe our souls. The peace that wishes over me in the forest, when I’m able to just breathe is precious.
  4. Play. Play a game. Seriously. Make it something fun, though. Enjoyable. Not a time waster. I use solitaire with a deck of cards and it allows my brain to empty.
  5. Write. Write letters. Write stupid poems or stories. If you go to the zoo, is that zebra kinda shady? How would a giraffe tie their bow tie? Write lists. Write in your journal.

What kind of things do you do to reclaim your creativity? Your writing?

Making Words Count

Feb28

Many times, people near & dear to me wonder where my fiction ideas come from. The stories that stick, the ones I finished.

Why are they different?

The easy and hard answer is that they mattered. They mattered to me. A humourous story about a young female wizard who gets things wrong? Came from a place of insecurity with my own voice. Another story was paranormal with vampires and witches and druids  and dealt with missing my friends, as well as how shitty it is to have a loved one with addictions. A dark fantasy where I dealt with having the same (non-cancerous) tumors as my mother, being a mother myself and knowing she died shortly after the surgery. (I made it.)

I’m all over the place. Both with completed and incomplete stories.  I’ve been bouncing from story to story lately, circling what I want to get out of me and into the world. Because that’s what I, personally, do. I work my demons out through writing.

Whether it’s funny or bittersweet depends on the story.

But writing stories is where I slay my demons.

I think I just forgot for a moment that my pen is my sword.

Let’s battle up!