Ready for your first science fiction convention of the year? So am I! May I suggest Capricon 41? This year the convention will be entirely online and the theme is Creating the Future We Want, so look forward to tons of panels and presentations on a brighter future. I will also be presenting a more series topic, Silent Spring Redux, a future without insects. Registration can be FREE! For more information, visit registration at capricon.org. Hope to "see" you there!

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.

Welcome 2021! Here's hoping we at least learned a thing or two from 2020. But just in case you need a little reminder or just want to read some really wonderful stories and give to a worthy charity of your choice, https://www.survivingtomorrowanthology.com/.

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.

NaNoWriMo2020 is almost over! For most, this means cheers of joy as they get down their last 57 words to hit that wily 50,000 mark. For others, comes the sorrow of realizing that they might not make it to the finish line this year. For those of us in the first group, I extend a hearty congratulations and woohoo! For those in the second group, I say this: make a new finish line. Whether you draw out the NaNo deadline another week to reach 50,000 words or switch the end goal to 30,000 words this year, make sure you reach a goal this year.

I think one of the biggest obstacles new NaNo's face is the fear of failure. What if I try this and I don't get to 50,000 words? I'll be a big failure and nothing good will have come from trying. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Do I think that you could've gotten to 50,000 words? Absolutely! Do I think that inside and outside forces conspire against you to make sure you don't get there? Absolutely! But NaNoWriMo should always be a positive experience. My first year, I finished on December 2nd. Did I feel bad about missing the deadline? Sure, but I felt awesome about reaching 50,000 words even if it was a few days late.

So what I'm trying to say is this. No matter what, find a way to make this year's NaNoWriMo a win. Even if you have to define that win differently than the win you had in mind at the beginning of the month. That way, when NaNo rolls around next year, you won't think, geez I totally blew it last year, do I even want to try this year? You'll say, hey I reached a goal last year, let's see if I can do even better this year. There are still 4 days left (counting today). Make the most of them!

Good 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.

So, it's almost two weeks into NaNoWriMo2020 and I only have one word for you. Gravy. And no, it doesn't have anything to do with Thanksgiving, though now that I think about it, maybe it does. Anyway, if you were following my NaNo journey in past years, you will know that "gravy" is extra words above the mandatory daily word count. Now, I know, I know, most newbie NaNoWriMo's are just thrilled if they can get close to that 1667 at first, but I'm telling you, now is the time for gravy. Try as hard as you can to start off with a surplus of words because even if you're only doing socially distanced turkey, the later the month gets, the harder it will be to find the time to write. If you start with a healthy ladle of word gravy, then those later days when you just can't get in all the words will be much less stressful. I promise.

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.

FREE BOOK! Okay, now that I've got your attention...

Join Scarsdale Publishing for their next Share and Tell Sunday October 25 7-9 PM of Whispers of a Killer by Jen Haeger. Readers who would like to read this edge-of-the-seat technothriller, can then join the author in a Facebook party Sunday, October 25th to meet the author.

Email them at scarsdale@scarsdalepublishing.com. to receive a FREE copy of the book. First come, first serve. The first ten readers to email will receive a complimentary copy of Whispers of a Killer.

Hope to see you there!

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.

Holy cow, where did September go?! Ahem, anyways, back to blogging with a friendly, public service announcement.

Want a writing workshop from the comfort of your own home to prepare for NaNoWriMo this year? Want that workshop to be free? Well, good news! The Writers of the Future folks over at Galaxy Press are hosting a FREE online workshop. The workshop includes 13 video presentations, 11 lessons with practical exercises, and a bunch of other "valuable tools for a writer of any skill." Register at WritersoftheFuture.com/writing-workshop.

And don't forget about the Writers of the Future Contest! Entry quarters are: Oct 1st- Dec 31st, Jan 1st - Mar 31st, Apr 1st - Jun 30th, and Jul 1st - Sep 30th. For more information, go to WritersoftheFuture.com.

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.

Whoops! Look like I missed a post or two, but I'm back with news. I will be hosting an all day Facebook Event on Thursday, September 10th with the High Society Book Club to talk about my detective techno-thriller series, WHISPs.

I'd love to tell you all the details, unfortunately, I'm not sure what they are. In any event, if you'd like to join me, please sign up to be a member of the High Society Book Club group on Facebook before September 10th, as your membership in the group must be approved. Hope to "see" you there!

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.

Free Promotion! Until Tuesday, August 11th, 2020, The Christmas Plague is free on Kindle!
Woohoo! Who doesn't like free?

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.

This is my new cover design! It cost me just over $60 on Fiverr. Notice the professional appearance vs the cover that I designed vs the standard KDP cover. I love the new cover! What do you think?

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.

Today I want to talk about the importance of a good book cover. News flash! Readers buy books based on the cover. If the cover appears photo-shopped and amateur, readers will assume the story inside is also amateur. I've had the benefit of my publishers coming up with beautiful and brilliant covers for me in the past, but with my self-published titles, I've struggled with the concept of paying for cover art. It really shouldn't be an issue for me because I'm no artist and I know how important a cover can be. Yet, I'm still resisting biting the bullet and actually shelling out the cash. WHY!? No idea. But, when I do finally cave, I'm doing the smart thing and going straight to Fiverr.com. This website provides artists and designers a place to show off what they can do and allows authors to choose how much they want to spend on cover design. I'll post the professionally designed cover for The Christmas Plague hopefully soon.

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.