The Whimsical Ramblings of a Confused Michiganian

Deadlines and Doldrums

5/26/2023

Hello Friends!

I'd love to say that a lot has happened since Penguicon, and a lot has happened, just not a lot that is writing related. As many of you know, I'm also a beekeeper and the spring (particularly May and June) is a super beezy time. What I can report is that I've been working toward finishing my WHISPs series deadline of May 31st and that I'm still #writingwordseveryday Day 424. I will be very excited and relieved to be done with the WHISPs series and I'm anxious to finish up several other books that have been in limbo as I focused on WHISPs. Well, gonna sign off now because bees and words are calling.

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

Live From Penguicon, It's Friday Night!

4/21/2023

Greetings and salutations from the Westin Southfield where Penguicon 2023 has begun. So nice to see friends and fellow authors in the flesh and to catch up with what everyone has been up to! We were a bit late to the party and then a little too frazzled to attend many presentations or to do much socializing, but we did catch Guest of Honor Sylvia Hubbard's Streams of Income for Writers and Authors and Readers who love them. If you like love, romance, erotica, and murder, she's the author for you. One of her many valuable tips was to have a blog, so phew, one down! Also, it's all about the spiders! (If you know, you know.) One more tidbit, she told us to make sure we hashtag (tag) everything, so here goes...

#writingwordseveryday (day 391)
#penguicon2023
#jenhaeger.com
#WHISPS
#MoonlightMedicine
#MilesFromManistique
#ChristmasPlague

And remember:
Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

March of the Penguicon...Except it's April

4/7/2023

Well, March blew by and really just blew in general, sorry I didn't post. As I continue to ride the struggle bus, I don't have too much to report other than it's almost time for another Penguicon! Penguicon is a weekend sci-fi, fantasy, science, technology, open source, and general nerd convention that takes place in Southfield, MI at the Southfield Westin. This year the event is April 21st-23rd.

This con is the first convention we ever attended, so will always hold a special place in our hearts. We strongly debated attending this year, but finally decided that we couldn't miss it. I'll be presenting just a few times this year, but I'm bringing back Promtapalooza, a silly and hopefully fun writing prompt workshop. Hope to see you there!

Writing Words...every day

2/24/2023

Today is day 335 of #writingwordseveryday. Only a month away from writing everyday for a whole year, I'm proud of my accomplishment, but also humbled that I have the opportunity to do what I love every day. That being said, recently I've had a little trouble finding my words every day. Like many people, I suffer from a chronic illness that is mostly invisible and mostly manageable...except when it's not. So I apologize for being less present lately in person and online. I've been recovering from a relapse event and trying to more actively manage my condition. To all those out there also suffering who outwardly look healthy and happy, know you're not alone and that you can still achieve your dreams. It may just take more time than you want or expected it to. Focus on your good days, let go of the bad ones, and just learn to move forward every day even if it's only baby steps. Happy Friday.

Live From Avatar: The Legend of ConFusion, It's Friday Night

1/20/2023

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it...oops. I blame NaNoWriMo, holidays, and life in general. I'm coming to you live from ConFusion, the local SciFi Convention brought to you by the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association (AASFA). A great place to geek out and meet local authors. I've already run into P.S.T., author of Gate Crashers and Starship Repo, just to name a few and good friend and author of a soon to be published comedic fantasy called Promised Rewards and a children's book, You're Not From Around Here, Are You?, Clif Flynt. Also in attendance are Skeeter Enright, author of Carnival Charlatan and Deadly Sins author, Ericka Kahler.

There's also a host of other familiar faces and everyone is happy to once again be face to face at the convention. If you're in the Novi Sheraton area tomorrow, stop by and hear my talk on Squash Bees or Clif's talk on introducing music and songs into your writing. Until then, gonna sign off and be social. Cheers! :)

Autumnal Ode

10/30/2022

Weep Not for the Ephemeral Fall

Weep not for the ephemeral fall she said,
For the herald of the coming winter,
For the leaves of nameless colors,
Dancing on the chill autumn wind,
And carpeting the ground as a blanket.

Weep not for the ephemeral fall she said,
For the scent of damp leaves filling your lungs,
For the bounty of the harvest as the vines wither,
Drooping stalks and dying flowers,
Save the hardy few too bright in the somber landscape.

Weep not for the ephemeral fall she said,
For the delighted and terrified screams of children,
For the moans and creaks of skeletal trees,
Crunching leaves underfoot hiding life beneath,
And the sighing of the wind like a final breath.

Weep not for the ephemeral fall she said,
For the celebrations of death around the world,
For the spirits hung in trees and in the carvings of jack 'o' lanterns,
Whispering faces in the fog of morning and the misty dusk,
All beauty and horror alike must come to an end.

Looking for Your Next Great Read?

10/8/2022

Shepherd.com is a new website designed to connect readers with books, but instead of working through large lists of other reader's recommendations or just listing books by genre, Shepherd has asked authors to recommend five books with very specific niches. Looking for the best badass geology books? they've got you! How about the best dystopian books to devour your soul? Yep! Not to mention the best books for thinking differently about relationships.

You can still search for your favorite author or your favorite book and see what bookshelves and best book lists they show up on. For example, one of my favs, Brent Weeks, The Black Prism, matches the 5 bookshelves of magic-supernatural, colors, brothers, christian apologetics, and fairy tales. It also features in a lot of lists, including:

What was my list? I chose the best books with unique narration. Hope you like it!

Now On Audiobook!!!

8/5/2022

So pleased to announce that WHISPS Book 1: Whispers of a Killer is now available on audiobook!

CAUTION!!!!: DO NOT listen to the sample chapter unless you want to be majorly SPOILED!

I couldn't believe it, but the sample chapter gives away the ENTIRE plot! :(

Trying to resolve the issue with my publisher right now.

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

A Small Respite

6/24/2022

Today I'm pleased to tell you that I've finally finished the 1st draft of WHISPs Book 5, which, when published, will be my tenth published novel! But my relief and celebration will both be short lived as edits for WHISPs Book 4 are on my desk, and the deadline for WHISPs Book 6 looms in the not-distant-enough future. I have to say that I never thought I'd write more than 3 books in the same series, and don't know if I ever could again.

With each book in this series, I meant to compile a "WHISPs Bible" with names, descriptions, dates, timelines, and all sorts of important, helpful tidbits to both keep the series coherent and to have a flawless continuity. At this task I have miserably failed, but perhaps now that the final installment is in sight, I will have the motivation to do this to bring the series to a fulfilling conclusion. Wish me luck!

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

A Post for Future Me

6/3/2022

Today's post is really a reminder to future me: remember how stressed out you are right now before you sign your next book contract. So, I know, woe is me, I'm on the second book of a 3-book contract and most larval writers like myself would kill to have a 3-book deal. However, not only am I super stressed about my upcoming deadline, but I'm also chomping at the bit to write other books, but feel like I can't until these contracted books are completed. Definitely a case of be careful what you wish for. That's it for now. Also, I take it all back if this book series becomes a wild hit and gets turned into a movie or television series or a series of movies.

Oh, okay, one more thing. I promised an update on my Tik Tok account. All seems to be fixed now. Hoorah!

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.