IWSG - THANK YOU!

The New Badge!

IWSG – February 2016

Despite reading that Cover Reveals are on their way out because folks are tired of seeing the same announcement numerous times (understandable) I ventured forth with one for my latest release.

I've waited for over a year to see Murder & Obsession hit the shelves, and I was beginning to believe it would never happen. But on Monday, the email arrived and the whole world changed. Murder & Obsession will be released on March 10th with new cover for all three books.

And then another email arrived and the IWSG Anthology Parallels: Felix Was Here cover was ready. My story Ever-Ton won a place. Wow, too cool. So while I still have insecurities galore - I'm celebrating good news.

I was over the moon by the response of blogging friends who wanted to help. Totally blown away! Therefore, this post is to say thank you to all of you for your amazing friendship and help in making the cover reveal the kind of announcement all writers dream of! Amazing!

THANK YOU!

Clare Dugmore  ~ Denise Covey  ~ Robyn Campbell ~ C Lee McKenzie

Stuart R West ~ Guilie Costello-Oriard ~ Chrys Fey ~ Ann Noser

Christine Rains ~ Lexa Cain ~ N R Williams ~ Stephen Tremp

Elephant's Child ~ Nilanjana Bose ~ Bish Denham ~ Alex J. Cavanaugh

Donna Hole ~ Tara Tyler ~ T B Markinson ~ Elizabeth Seckman

Nancy Lynn Jarvis – Julie Press Simmons – L G Keltner ~ Michael Di Gesu

Damyanti Biswas – Gary Pennick - Tyrean Martinson - Hart Johnson

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Almost forgot!

Be sure to thank the co-hosts

Allison Gammons, Tamara Narayan, Eva E. Solar, Rachel Pattison, and Ann V. Friend! 

&

Be Sure to Sign up and share your story.

Valentine

LOST & FOUND: BROKEN HEART

As Guilie Castrillo-Oriard tells us:

Love... Even the word sounds like a sigh. But is it a sigh of contentment—or of regret? If you've found it, the world shines in colors vivid. If you've lost it, life fades into grays and shadows. There's nothing quite as intense as falling in love. Or as the feeling of loss when it ends.

And today is the day to post your love story or a fictional flash in honor of Love – Lost or Found!

Your hosts are Guilie – Arlee – Alex – Denise – Elizabeth & Me!

Join us!

      BROKEN HEART

Beautiful painting. As always your work is meticulous. Your subject...the girl. Who is she?

Elizabeth Fisher.

Your girl?

No.

Can you introduce us?

Can't; she's dead.

When did she die?

Two days ago, the same day I finished the painting. Now her parents want it for her funeral.

So young, such a shame. What killed her?

A broken heart.

Don't be so melodramatic. Truly, what killed her?

I told you, she died of a broken heart.

How?

Years ago, her fiancé, Jake, went off to war. She waited, kept her eye on the horizon for his return, but instead, she received a telegram.

The message of death?

No, the telegram claimed - he was missing behind enemy lines, presumed dead.

And?

Lizzy was certain he was alive. . She knew he would come home. Never doubted. Even hired detectives to find him after the war ended.

But she was wrong?

No. She was right. He'd survived.

I don't understand. She must’ve been over the moon. Oh, I see. He came back injured – a different man?

No, he came back a healthy man. Well, mostly. He was concussed and suffered memory loss. A young woman and her family rescued him; they hid him and healed him. After the war ended, he had nowhere to return to so he stayed with them. He fell in love.

Cruel turn of events for Lizzy.

Even more so when he finally regained his memory and came home. He walked in the front door with his wife and two kids in tow.

What did he say to Lizzy?

He didn't recognize her. He remembered his family home, his mom and pop, but nothing about the war or his engagement to Lizzy. I was finishing this painting when he’d arrived. Lizzy ran to him. Her happiness brimming at his return. He looked at her with confusion. Asked if she was his sister.

What did she do?

She wilted, like a dying flower. But for Jake, she smiled – told him she was a friend of the family. Said, "Welcome home, Jake. Congratulations on your marriage and lovely family." Then she walked out the front door.

Where'd she go?

To her parents' home. She died in her sleep that night.

A broken heart.

376 Words

Yolanda Renee © 2016

Read more fascinating love stories here!

WITNESS

FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER: WEEK #4- 2016

Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner is hosted by Roger Shipp. A weekly writing challenge designed for both the flash fiction newbie and the more experienced writer. An opportunity to clear the cobwebs from a more tedious and involved project. Please consider joining this new and growing writer’s community. It might be just what the doctor ordered to rejuvenate your writing juices.

These weekly challenge can now be found on TWITTER and on FACEBOOK. Check us out there.

This challenge is open until 11:00 pm Thursday night, January 28^th, 2016.

• The word limit is 200 wordsI've chosen to keep my contributions to 100 words.
• There is also a first sentence prompt with each photograph. This time the sentence was "Enough is enough."I ignored the first sentence this time. My story went in a whole other direction.
• Each flash fiction piece should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. No serial stories. It is harder to stay abreast of a serial story. (Please keep content PG-13.)
• Please post the picture and remember the copyright.
• Post your flash fiction response by clicking on THIS LINK. Follow the given directions.
• Please give feedback – all participants appreciate your reaction to their work.

Posted on January 22, 2016 by rogershipp

Copyright

WITNESS

"Blue and white tennis shoes," She whispered, as memories poured forth. "Jeans, light blue shirt."

"Go on."

Jenny sighed but put all her strength into answering. "Red eyes."

"Bloodshot?"

"No. Blood red pupils."

Detective Samples shook his head as he recorded her words. "Tell me about his hair?"

"Shoulder length, black, and wavy." Jenny grimaced.

He knew she was in pain, but he couldn't delay his questions. "Anything else?"

Her eyes widened. Her voice shook. "His fangs were bright white."

Jenny lost consciousness. The machines alarmed.

Detective Samples stepped back as doctors and nurses rushed in.

Fangs? She said fangs!

100 words

Yolanda Renee © 2016

*****

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO ADD YOUR STORY OR TOREAD THE OTHERS

*****

UPCOMING EVENTS YOU DON'T

 WANT TO MISS:

ELEVATE YOUR PITCH

Now till January 28, 2016

LOST & FOUND: VALENTINE EDITION BLOGHOP

February 1, 2016

WEP – VALENTINE CHALLENGE

 February 16 - 19, 2016

SON OF A PITCH

February 15, 2016 to March 7, 2016

The 2016 A to Z Challenge
Sign-up Begins today!







This year I'm participating and I'll be one of the Ninja Minions!

SON OF A PITCH

Are you sending out query letters? Have you sent to agents and publishers only to receive the dreaded rejection letter? I did the same for years, and then I entered a contest. Sharon Bayliss hosted that contest and I won – my full manuscript was requested by Curiosity Quills Press.

I'm proud to say Katie Hamstead Teller has asked me to be part of a similar opportunity for other writers. This time I'll be helping the entrants move to the final stage by hosting, critiquing, and voting.

Here is all the information you need to prepare for SON OF A PITCH!

Here are the basics:

Formatting:

Title: (Name of Manuscript)

Age and Genre: (YA/NA/Adult then Genre)

Word Count: (to the nearest thousand)

Query:

Insert query here. No bio please.

First 250 Words:

i don't care if this is from a prologue or chapter one. That's up to you.

Week 1 starts Feb 15, 2016:

A chance to refine your query and first 250 words. Post this on your blog then post a link in the comments of a post I will put up on my blog the week of Feb 15. Please leave feedback on a minimum of three other queries and first 250.

Week 2 starts Feb 22, 2016:

This week, published authors will give you feedback. The Son of a Pitch team, who are all published, will post your emailed in queries and 250 words on their blogs. Please use the formatting above and email to:

sonofapitchcomp@yahoo.com.au

Incorrectly formatted emails will be kicked off the island. The team will vote for their favorites to go onto the final round. They will cast five votes each, anywhere they want, and the top 20 will go onto the next round. Feel free to coax judges your direction however you want! But please, only you and the judges can comment on your entry, or the comments can get confusing for tallying votes at the end. Votes will close on Thursday 11:59 p.m. MST. To stalk the hosts/voting authors, click Here.

The first fifty entries will go into this round. So get your clickers ready to email at precisely 10 a.m. MST on Friday Feb 19th.

But don't be discouraged! You will get good feedback to help you even if you don't make the top twenty. So please go and query elsewhere afterward, and let us know your success story so it can be shared on the blog.

Week 3 starts Feb 29, 2016:

We have a fantastic line up of editors, publishers, and agents. They'll swing by the final contestants to try to bribe you into subbing to them. The final Twenty will post on Katie's blog, where agents/editors will come and make requests for you. If you make the top twenty, you will be emailed on Friday 26th, and all updated entries sent to the email address by Saturday 27th 11:59 p.m.

MST. If you don't make the deadline, the next highest voted entry will be emailed, and will have 24 hrs to get the entry into the inbox.

Feel free to email any requests made whenever you feel like it, but note that the agents/editors are allowed to give feedback on your entry. Also, make sure to include that your query to them is from the comp by putting Son of a Pitch Request in the title.

Twitter Pitch: Mar 7, 2016:

And finally, we'll have a free-for-all twitter pitching opp under the hashtag #sonofapitch

Rules: Makes sure to include #sonofapitch and your genre/age category with the tweet. You can tweet any number of manuscripts, but only once every hour each.

It will open all day, but since I'm in Arizona, I won't be monitoring the earlier stages since that's like 5 in the morning here.

Here's the list of Publishers participating in SON OF A PITCH:

Follow the links to learn more about each.

ANAIAH PRESS

BLAZE PUBLISHING

BLOOMSBURYSPARK

BOOKFISH BOOK

CURIOSITY QUILLS PRESS

CARINA PRESS

CITY OWL

ELEPHANTINE

FUTUREHOUSE

JOLLYFISH PRESS

LOOMISPARK PRESS

OMNIFIC PUBLISHING

REUTS

SOUL MATE PUBLISHING

THREEWORLDS PRESS

TIRGEARR PUBLISHING

Here is a list of Agents participating in SON OF A PITCH:

  DAWN AND JENNIE FROM RED SOFA LIT

For the second round, published authors will be swinging around to critique queries and first 250 words posted on three blogs, as well as casting votes on who will make the final round.

Follow this link to read about those authors!

Samantha Bryant

Ayden Morgen

Elsie Elmore

Leigh Statham 

Mara Valderran

Stacey Nash

&

Me!

This is a great opportunity. I hope you'll take it, and if you're not ready please pass the information on to other writers.

Tweet One of These

@KatieTeller1 Son of a Pitch is the opportunity to get your manuscript noticed by agents and publishers. http://kjhstories.blogspot.com/2016/01/son-of-pitch-entry-information.html

@KatieTeller1 Have your query read and critiqued by other writers and win a chance at publication. http://kjhstories.blogspot.com/2016/01/son-of-pitch-entry-information.html

@KatieTeller1 Feedback on your query and a chance for publication, get the details here. http://kjhstories.blogspot.com/2016/01/son-of-pitch-entry-information.html

*****

UPCOMING EVENTS

YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!

Elevate Your Pitch

Lost & Found: Valentine Edition

WEP - Valentine Challenge

DOPPELGANGER

FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER: WEEK #3- 2016

Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner is a weekly writing challenge designed for both the flash fiction newbie and the more experienced writer. It is the desire of this challenge to allow writers the opportunity to clear the cobwebs from a more tedious and involved project. Becoming a part of a new and growing writer’s community might be just what the doctor ordered to rejuvenate your writing juices

The opening sentence for the January 15^th Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner:  ” We were within a mile-and-a-half of the service roads when we found it.”

This challenge is open until 11:00 pm Thursday night, January 21st .

This weekly challenge can now be found on TWITTER and FACEBOOK. Check us out there.

Posted on January 15, 2016January 14, 2016 by rogershipp

Copyright

DOPPELGANGER

 "We were within a mile-and-a-half of the service roads when we found it."

The birds circling overhead caught our attention. We'd hoped to find the hikers before sunset. We never imagined anything like this.

Eviscerated bodies. The birds and larger animals had already consumed their eyes and carried off most of their organs.

Two young men who went out for a day's hike had met a monster.

We called the police and CSI. Lights lit the scene and a tarp protected the bodies while five men gathered evidence.

At midnight, howls of an animal stopped us cold. The beast attacked. Somehow, I survived.

*****

"Well doctor, is he sane enough to stand trial?"

~~~~~~~~~~

100 WORDS

Yolanda Renée © 2016

CLICK HERE TO READ THE OTHER STORIES

I apologize for not being active these last few weeks. Life has a way of ruining changing plans.

It was a real pain in the ass chance to practice my flexibility.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Thank you for visiting, reading, and commenting. I will do my best to reciprocate.

*****

Have you checked out the new flash fiction challenges for 2016 

WEP- Write...Edit...Publish?

1000 words or less

POWER

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields @ Addicted to Purple. She has supplied us with a new photo prompt via Melanie Greenwood. To participate simply write a complete story in 100 words or less. 
As Rochelle says, make every word count!

FRIDAY FICTIONEERS

PHOTO PROMPT © Melanie Greenwood

POWER

Walking toward the plane meant freedom was just moments away. My shoulders felt lighter. Mr. Trump held no power over me. I'd won.

An agreement I'd made to fund my college education had turned into a nightmare. The man behind it decided he wanted me for his own. He even offered marriage. The gall of the man, apparently no one turns down his cash, the disgusting old coot!

Nevertheless, I'd refused, fulfilled my obligation, and in moments, I'd be taking flight to Australia. A new opportunity.

*****

An explosion of undetermined origin destroyed flight 11-08-16. Passengers and crew perished.

 100 words of fiction

Yolanda Renee © 2016

Participate by clicking the Blue Frog

*****

Looking for a few writing challenges? 

Here's two to consider.

Find out more HERE!

&

Find out more HERE!

IWSG - RESOLUTIONS

IWSG - January 2016

Hello all, I hope your holidays were fabulous and that the New Year brings you the fulfillment of all your dreams and desires. But today is the day for insecurities, and while they seem to come and go in regular cycles, it's now time for new beginnings.

C. Hope Clark said in her most recent newsletter that her New Year's Resolution is "to write more this year."

She then followed that up with, " . . . maybe it's time we quit thinking of crazy ways to sell 99 cent books and instead slow down and write great stuff!"

Now that is a worthy goal, to write great stuff – and I wanted to make that my ultimate goal too. But I do have another book coming out this year, which tempers that resolution because selling that book is also a goal.

The necessary evil – marketing – that dreadful task that depletes writing time. A book signing that requires swag, table fees, transportation, and time – with the result being maybe 8 to 10 books sold. Is all that time and expense worth it?

Daily online socializing – how much is too much?

How about you – is your plan to sell more or write great stuff? Is it possible to do both, or are the two diametrically opposed?

Be sure to visit Alex's Blog today, the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest will be announced.

Congratulations to all!

Especially the title winner

L. G. Keltner!

I'm thrilled to be included in 
such an amazing group!

____

Don't forget to give a special thank you to all the IWSG co-hosts:

L.G. Keltner  

 Denise Covey  

Sheri Larsen  

 J.Q. Rose  

Chemist Ken  

Michelle Wallace 

*****
Looking for a few writing challenges? 
Here's two to consider.

Find out more HERE!


&

Find out more HERE!