Contests

The Art of Making Doughnuts, An Interview

September 14, 2022 By C. Lee McKenzie

Amazon . Barnes & Noble . iTunes. Kobo .
Scribed . Goodreads

I’m excited to welcome Linda Budzinski, the author of the lead story in the most recent Insecure Writers’ Support Group Anthology. Thanks for joining us here today, Linda.

Lee:
What’s the greatest lesson you’ve learned as a writer?

Linda:
This is such a tough question because I’ve learned (and am still learning) so many!
Certainly one of the most helpful lessons has been that inspiration tends not to “strike.” It often comes slowly, through hours of toiling and noodling. Those hours can be difficult, frustrating, and even
painful, but ultimately they are what result in those fun flashes that make writing so rewarding.

Lee:
What has been the biggest surprise of your writing life?

Linda:
How incredibly supportive the writing community can be. I belong to a lot of writing groups on social media, and people are always so willing to offer advice and critique for those who ask, encouragement for those feeling discouraged, and congratulations for those with good news.
Writers by and large are just really kind people. (If only the rest of my social media would follow suit!)

Lee:
If you could choose a metaphor to describe yourself as a writer, what would it be?

Linda:
Ahaha, great question! I wish I could say I’m a spider meticulously weaving a web, but I’m more like a blind squirrel trying to find that nut. Every once in a while, I succeed!

That’s a great contrast in metaphors. Love it. Thanks, Linda.

https://www.facebook.com/LindaBudzinskiAuthor
https://twitter.com/LindaBudz

Linda Budzinski writes sweet YA and adult romance. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two rescue pups. In between creating meet-cutes and happy endings, she works in non-profit communications and outreach.

So what’s this story and this anthology about?

First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

The sweetness of first love…

Could a fiercely independent cop’s heart be stolen by the guy who makes her favorite doughnuts? Will a maid who used deceit to snare a mail-order husband get a dose of her own medicine? Can her handsome neighbor rescue a modern-day “princess” from a tenacious ex-boyfriend? Can two strangers in a rideshare be honest enough to fall in love for real? Can you remember your first love? How about your second? Third? Fourth?

Featuring the talents of Linda Budzinski, Melissa Maygrove, Michael Di Gesu, Sylvia Ney, Katie Klein, Kim Elliott, Templeton Moss, S.E. White, Denise Covey, and Sammi Spizziri. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will touch your heart and rekindle lost feelings. Prepare to return to that first love…

Release date: September 6, 2022
Print ISBN – 9781939844880, $14.95
EBook ISBN – 9781939844897, $4.99
Romance - Clean & Wholesome (FIC027270) / Contemporary (FIC027020) / Historical (FIC027050)
186 pages, Freedom Fox Press, an imprint of Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh and a Writer’s Digest Top Sites for Writers, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database; articles; monthly blog posting; Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram groups; #IWSGPit, and a newsletter.
https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/

I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Linda and finding out more about First Love: The Art of Eating Doughnuts. Be sure to get your copy, read it, and by all means, leave a review!

Amazon . Barnes & Noble . iTunes. Kobo .
Scribed . Goodreads

WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH!

June 2, 2021 By C. Lee McKenzie

I just flipped my paper calendar from May to June. It seems more important when I change the months on my colorful kitchen calendar than when I click on my digital Google one. So month six has arrived-June from the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and the well-being of women. I’m expecting a lot of good this month, but when I add up the + and -, it’s a wash.

In California, we get to unmask as the 15th! *Score one on the bright side.
Our vaccination percentages are still on the rise-over 55% *Score two.
We’re facing a major drought and already the farmers’ water allotment has been dramatically cut. Watch those food prices go up even higher. *Oops. Subtract one bright side for June.
We’ve been in the fire season since May, very early. *Alas, subtract another.

My personal half-year recap:

I’ve just signed a contract to publish a new book, so to celebrate that I’ll be doing a special GIVEAWAY. To win a signed copy of this book, you can follow my Weekly Wednesday posts here and on Facebook starting this month about the characters you’ll meet in the story. I’ll give a book to anyone who comments (50 book limit) and answers a simple question that will be at the end of each post. Hope you’ll join in and play the game. I’ll try to make it fun.

And now for the rest…

Carmel Beach Walk

After I finished my round-trip from San Francisco to L.A. (mileage count, not a real trip) I kind of flaked for a few weeks, then started walking again. I’m not as rigid in my 4 miles/day anymore, but sometimes I walk longer. My longest day walk so far is 10 miles.
I’ve received a lot of feedback on one of my WIPs, and I’m going through the comments before I tackle my next edit on that manuscript.
I finally chose to get vaccinated. There are a lot of things I want to do, starting this month, and to do them, it’s easier with proof of vaccination.
Maybe the big news is my cherry pie success. The cherries are here after a long winter wait. My mouth watered for a fresh-baked pie, so I made one. Here are my Before and After shots. I intend to eat it all.

Now for the First Wednesday of the Month News!

Submissions are open for the Seventh Annual IWSG Anthology Contest.
SWEET ROMANCE

For submission guidelines, list of judges and their bios, click HERE.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Remember, the question is optional!

June 2 question - For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

The awesome co-hosts for the June 2 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner,Sarah Foster,Natalie Aguirre,Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!

I’m afraid I don’t have a great answer to this month’s question simply because I don’t know the answer. Some first drafts sit on my C Drive for years, others a few weeks. My writing experience doesn’t seem to help me out in deciding when to re-write. Wish it did.

Thanks to Chrys Fey and her mom Elaine Kaye, my adventurous boys are going to the MOON!

Another special thanks to Susan Kaye Quinn for her exciting and unique idea that has engaged so many authors and will send their books on a fabulous journey.

Quote of the Month: “How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness, how the time has flown. How did it get so late so soon?” – Dr. Suess

The Great Conjunction

January 6, 2021 By C. Lee McKenzie

There wasn’t a lot to be excited about in 2020, so to make up for Covid arriving at our doorsteps, the skies treated us to a once in a lifetime spectacle. Yep. Unless you were here 400 years ago, you never saw Saturn and Jupiter so close together (a 10th of a degree apart) in their orbits around the Sun. They seem to catch up to each other about every 20 years, but they’re not this close and the event often happens during daylight.

Because I couldn’t miss something this fantastic, I sat outside, huddled against the December chill, and gawked as Jupiter steadily gained on Saturn, finally passing it. How close they seemed, and yet they remained hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. Watching the night sky, knowing I’d never see this again, trying to grasp the concept of just how immense our universe is was a humbling, but inspiring experience. Some things were as they should be, and that was surprisingly comforting as I got ready to say goodbye to a year in which nothing seemed to be as it should be.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Remember, the question is optional!

Being a writer, when you’re reading someone else’s work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people’s books?

The awesome co-hosts for the January 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner Sandra Cox, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

Of all people, I should be the last to point out “flaws” in other people’s writing. If I look at some of my work, I’ll find every one of these frustrating, book-closing examples. But here goes!

The first thing that stops me cold is a book that tries too hard. When I break this blanket statement down into descriptors the first on my list is the “unique phrase” strategy. I know every writer strives for a voice that’s his or hers, but it’s difficult for me to read on when instead of just telling the story, they reach for clever ways to do it.

The second descriptor is the “gore for effect.” I can read well-written horror, but like comedy, horror requires a lot of skill to pull it off. Give me a good stabbing or ghostly stalking figure, but give it to me with some nuance and some excellent prose.

“Clever attribution” might not make me stop reading, but it does annoy me. I guess I’m old-fashioned and I either like “he said” or some kind of action to make it clear who’s speaking. When people blurt, snort, guffaw, chortle, or howl I’m likely to start skimming.

“Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.” I have to admit that I read one book to the end so that I could complete my count of the word ceaseless. The writer fell in love with that word in the first chapter, and clung to it from then on. There was ceaseless love, ceaseless worry, ceaseless seas, ceaseless…well, you’ve probably already stopped reading.

Now, I’m off to edit some of my books and make sure I didn’t commit any of these irritations.

And here’s what we’ve been waiting for…the next IWSG Anthology!

An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

Discover dark matter’s secrets…
What is an AI’s true role? Will bumbling siblings find their way home from deep space? Dark matter is judging us—are we worthy of existence? Would you step through a portal into another reality? Can the discoverer of dark matter uncover its secrets?

Ten authors explore dark matter, unraveling its secrets and revealing its mysterious nature. Featuring the talents of Stephanie Espinoza Villamor, C.D. Gallant-King, Tara Tyler, Mark Alpert, Olga Livshin, Steph Wolmarans, Charles Kowalski, Kim Mannix, Elizabeth Mueller, and Deniz Bevan.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a journey across time and space. Prepare for ignition!

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database; articles; monthly blog posting; Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram groups; #IWSGPit, and a newsletter.

Release date: May 4, 2021
Print ISBN 9781939844828 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844835 $4.99

Science Fiction: Collections & Anthologies (FIC028040) / Space Exploration (FIC028130) / Genetic Engineering (FIC028110)

MEET THE WRITERS

Artificial - Stephanie Espinoza Villamor
Space Folds and Broomsticks - C.D. Gallant-King
Rift – Kim Mannix
The Utten Mission – Steph Wolmarans
Sentient – Tara Tyler
One to Another – Deniz Bevan
Resident Alien - Charles Kowalski
Nano Pursuit – Olga Godim
Resurgence – Elizabeth Mueller
Vera’s Last Voyage – Mark Alpert

What’s Next?

How to Pitch

Quote of the Month:

“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” | Stephen Hawking

October IWSG

October 7, 2020 By C. Lee McKenzie

Did you know this?

January of this year was the New York Public Library’s 125th year anniversary. Part of their celebration included a list of their most checked out books over the span of all those years. In the adult category they listed 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and How to Win Friends and Influence People. In the children’s category they listed thousands more. Only three in the adult and thousands in the children’s? That’s interesting, isn’t it? Also of interest is the fact that the most popular children’s book ever was not included on that list. Good Night Moon. And that was because it wasn’t acquired by the library until 1972, twenty-five years after it was published.

But why wasn’t it included in their collection? The reason was one woman, Ann Carol Moore. She didn’t like the book and gave it her infamous “Not Approved By Expert” stamp-the kiss of death, according to early children book writers. She nixed a lot of children’s books this way because if the New York Library didn’t acquire them, others didn’t either. ACM was a lover of fantasy and believed children, especially those inner city kids without a lot of resources in the home, needed escape, not reality. For years, she dominated the library’s book acquisitions, so books about garbage trucks or things kids saw everyday didn’t reach the shelves.

Now you might label her as a mean-spirited, cranky old librarian, yet ACM is credited with not only getting children into the library (they weren’t allowed until very late 1890s), but creating a special space for them. When they checked out a book, they had to sign a paper, saying they’d take good care of it and return it on time-a first lesson in citizenship. So while we can criticize her for her book bias, we have to acknowledge her contribution to early literacy.

Join Us Now

Well, it’s another first Wednesday and another chance to consider a writing-related question.
Remember, the question is optional!
When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

The awesome co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG are

Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner!

This is a complicated question, and by that I mean I’m not sure of the answer. I’m not a hobbyist, so rule that out. I’m still aspiring because I want to be better at my craft. If describing myself as a working writer means making money is my primary goal, then I’ll have to rule that out. It’s always nice when the royalties drop into my account, but I didn’t set out to make money. I set out to write the best book I could. In fact, each time I start a new project, that’s always my goal. I’ve never thought, “This one has to be a money maker.” I’ve always thought I hope it’s a story that people will enjoy or a least read and react to.

I’m curious about how others will answer this question, which BTW, is darned thought-provoking.

It’s time for another #WEP. This one should be a fascinating contest. Just look at the theme.

If you want to join in this month’s contest, check out the How To Join Page.

Available on Amazon

And because it’s my favorite month which has my favorite holiday, I’m going to run a giveaway for my Adventures of Pete and Weasel Series. If you’d like signed copies of these three books (all quite HALLOWEEN and KID (8-12 years) appropriate enter my Rafflecopter Giveaway. Sorry, but I’m going to have to keep this limited to the U.S. only.

Blurb: Pete’s always in trouble, and his bookish friend, Weasel, is always pulled into whatever mess Pete manages to stir up. Follow their adventures that start with Alligators Overhead and an alligator war in the Ornofree Swamp, then journey back to jolly old England when Queen Victoria is only 16 in The Great Time Lock Disaster. In Some Very Messy Medieval Magic, they’ll take you to the year 1173 to find a missing Time Traveler and save the world.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Quote of the Month: The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library. —Albert Einstein

IWSG Wednesday

September 2, 2020 By C. Lee McKenzie

I’d figured out a way to manage and even enjoy the quiet of the Covid 19 shutdown. My walking challenge carried me over 400 miles in four months. I discovered new trails, enjoyed beautiful oceanfront scenery, and did most of my errands around town on foot. I wore out one pair of shoes, and seriously broke in another. Life was working for me. I’d adapted.

But just when I thought I could see that circle of light at the end of the metaphor, life decided to seal off that promise and sent in her lightning brigade. There’s nothing like a 3 a.m. streak of fire across the sky followed by the sound of large colliding boulders overhead to pump up the old adrenaline. Then looking out the window to find columns of smoke across the canyon shifts you into Emergency mode like nothing else. Find the flashlight (obviously, there’s no power), get out the Must Take With Me list, open the gate and garage door for a quick getaway, turn on battery operated radio, then pace while listening to the emergency alert system. That sound alone can drive you mad.

I’ve been evacuated twice before, so I’m not a novice. Still when it’s dark, when the sky’s raining a billion volts of electrical power (did you know that?) all around you, and you’re thinking maybe Covid 19 isn’t that big a deal, it’s hard not to panic, and that doesn’t serve you well at all. When the sun came up (100+ degrees- thank you for that), I took advantage of natural light and loaded the car with important papers and some irreplaceables. I waited, keeping an eye on the ridge until the air became so thick I couldn’t breath-even inside-then I took off and headed south. Finally, the wind blew the fire and smoke away from my side of the canyon, and for the moment, I could return and stay sheltered in my place, like in the good old days when only a virus threatened my life.

I’m thinking of those who were caught in this maelstrom and hoping they can return to their abandoned homes, although I already know several friends who will be rebuilding or moving.

Life.

Unpredictable.

Challenging.

Fascinating.

Join Us Now

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Remember, the question is optional!

September 2 question - If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

The co-hosts for the September 2 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

Now that is a great question. And it’s so difficult to answer. If I choose one of those literary luminaries like Dos Passos or Faulkner (one of my favorite and most challenging authors) I know they’d chew up my prose and spit it out after the first paragraph. So how about Hemingway? I treasure his writing, but he shot animals to prove his manliness, not to mention his penchant for not being a very nice guy. So not him. Twain might work. Maybe he could teach me how to capture wit and humor in my writing, how to tweak noses without being pendantic. So moving on…Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver. I could learn so much from them, but, like the others, I would have absolutely nothing to suggest by way of improvement in return. A beta partnership has to be a two-way street.

I think I’ll have to set my sights on a writer who is still striving to improve their craft and who I see doing that each time they publish another book. I want to list my choices here, but sure as I do, I’ll leave out someone and regret this post, so I’ll just say there are a lot of writers I’m connected with who I admire for their diligence and determination. I’ll choose one of them.

I’m eager to see how others answer this question today.

The WEP had an awesome theme this month, so I entered because I love to do Flash Fiction once in a while. It gives me chance to “play” with characterization and dialogue in the short form. Here’s my contribution.

Submissions Are Still Open!

The entries for the IWSG Anthology Contest are coming in like crazy, and they’re good, so readers will be in for a treat when this one comes out.

Quote of the Month: “If you evade suffering you also evade the chance of joy.” Ursula K. Le Guin

The First IWSG Post for 2020

January 8, 2020 By C. Lee McKenzie

When I read a book, I often wonder if there’s a mini story tucked into the main one. And the reason for my curiosity is that I’ve been guilty of sneaking in some personal allusions in my books. I know I’m not alone. Even one of my writer friends included me as a character in her last book. Lee was a flower seller-a small cameo role-but a role nonetheless. She said it was her way of saying an additional thanks for my support. I loved it.

Not Guilty by C. Lee McKenzie

In Not Guilty, I wrote in a dog named Buddy. Buddy was a real dog. He had his own website with tales of his adventures and his favorite human, Mike. I was so sad when Buddy died. I felt as if he and Mike were good friends of mine. I asked Mike if he would mind if I paid my own tribute to his beloved Canine Couch Potato, and he not only didn’t mind, he loved the idea. Here’s the way I thought of Buddy.

From Not Guilty: By nature, Buddy was a people-loving retriever-mix who had come to him by some unknown chain of dog owners. He had a long history of being in and out of the pound. Their first day at the beach together, Devon found out why. Buddy hated water. He even hated wet sand under his paws. It took a lot of convincing to get Buddy on the sand that first day. Then they’d no sooner settled on the blanket when Buddy let out a yelp and hightailed it back to the asphalt. His leash whipped behind. People jumped out of the frantic dog’s way. Devon didn’t catch him until they’d run the length of Sugar Cove. Over the next few years, Buddy finally agreed to walk on the dry sand, but he never became the beach buddy Devon had imagined. And Frisbees could sail overhead all day without a single blink. He was a failed retriever, but he wasn’t a failed friend.

Join Us Now

Now moving on to the matters of the First Wednesday on the Second Wednesday. Here’s #IWSG!

THE BIG NEWS IS WE’RE ONCE AGAIN IN TOP 100 WEBSITES FOR WRITERS! CHECK OUT THE LIST ON THE WRITE LIFE.

This month’s optional question - What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just “know” suddenly you wanted to write?

The co-hosts for today’s posting of the IWSG are T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff!

A news article kicked off my writing journey-at least the one that led me to publishing my first book. The Sliding on the Edge by C. Lee McKenzie article reported that a high percentage of students on three Ivy League campuses admitted to some sort of self-abuse. I wanted to know what would cause a young, intelligent, and-to all appearances-successful person to cut or otherwise harm themselves. When I found out, I wrote Sliding on the Edge. This book was supposed to be my writing career- end of stories, but the publisher asked me for my next one, which I didn’t have, but I side-stepped that little problem and said I’d get back to them. I did, with The Princess of Las Pulgas. By then it was too late to stop, so I didn’t. I’m nine published books into this with three waiting on my C drive and one out to a publisher who asked for a full. I’ve promised to stop soon, but then I did that twelve books ago.

Many of you know about this contest, and we’ve announced the amazing winners, but here’s the cover and a synopsis to give everyone a better idea of what’s coming May 5.

Voyagers: The Third Ghost
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

Journey into the past…

Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives? Can everyone be warned before Pompeii is buried again? What happens if a blizzard traps a family in East Germany? Will the Firebird help Soviet sisters outwit evil during WWII? And sneaking off to see the first aeroplane – what could go wrong?

Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke, Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski, Louise MacBeath Barbour, Beth Anderson Schuck, and L.T. Ward.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting ride!

Release date – May 5, 2020
Juvenile Fiction: Historical (JUV016000) / Action & Adventure (JUV001000) / Fantasy & Magic (JUV037000)

Print 9781939844729 / EBook 9781939844736

I’d like to give a shout out to another anthology that features some of my writer friends. I’ve known Janet Gurtler since I first started publishing books and Cheryl Rainfield is another wonderful writer and human being I’ve had a long online relationship with. I read this book last year and loved reviewing it.
You Too? by Janet Gurtler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This collection of short stories reveals a sad truth about our society where young women are still objectified, and in some cases, abused. Each story is different, but there are underlying themes that run though many of them. “It’s the woman’s fault” is one, guilt is another, and shame. Some made me cry, some made me angry, but all of them made me aware.

View all my reviews

Quote of the Month: “The trouble with writing fiction is that it has to make sense, whereas real life doesn’t.” Iain M. Banks Scottish Sci-Fi-Fi author.

December’s First Wednesday & Holiday Treats

December 4, 2019 By C. Lee McKenzie

The last post of 2019 is rather nostalgic for me. So much has happened in these 365 days-some wonderful, some not so wonderful. This is my first full year living alone, and there were times when I thought, “Nope! Can’t do this.” And then, I did.

Traveling helped. I revisited Athens, and had my own Odyessy around the Greek Islands. Morocco was next, and I learned so much about this fascinating part of the world.

Kindle Cover

Not Guilty, my fifth contemporary/realistic novel was published. I didn’t think I was going to make it, actually. The acceptance from the publisher came about a week before I left for Morocco, and I didn’t have a clue how I was going be on the road and get ready to launch a book. Fortunately, I was smart enough to know I couldn’t do it alone and hired MC Book Tours. They did a great job, and the launch went off without a hitch.

The book’s out to good REVIEWS, of course, I could use more, but that’s a given. I wish readers understood how important reviewing really is these days. Some do, but many do not!.

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Join Us Today

And now to the Wednesday business! Be sure to check us out on Twitter. Remember the next Twitter Pitch is JANUARY 15! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSGPit.

DUE TO NEW YEAR’S DAY FALLING ON A WEDNESDAY, WE WILL BE POSTING JANUARY 8 RATHER THAN JANUARY 1!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. The co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG areTonja Drecker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nicki Elson, Fundy Blue, and Tyrean Martinson!

Remember, the question is optional!

December 4 question - Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

I have three more stories that I would like to see published. One is with my agent, one is sitting on my C-Drive while I decide how to manage it, and one is in draft form and out to a beta reader. If these books make their way into the world, I’m thinking it’s time to take more hikes, do more traveling, and maybe attend to all of those chores I’ve put off while laying down one word after another.

IWSG Anthology Contest 2019

Now’s the time for those Holiday Treats-the winners of the anthology contest. Here they are! Congratulations to all of them! The stories are awesome.

The Third Ghost – Yvonne Ventresca http://yvonneventresca.com/blog.html
A World of Trouble – Rebecca M. Douglass https://www.ninjalibrarian.com
Winter Days - Katharina Gerlach https://www.katharinagerlach.com
Feathered Fire – Roland Clarke https://rolandclarke.com/
The Ghosts of Pompeii – Sherry Ellis http://www.sherryellis.org/
The Blind Ship – Bish Denham http://bish-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Return to Cahokia – L.T. Ward
Dare Double Dare – Louise M. Barbour https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Simon Grey and the Yamamba - Charles Kowalski https://charleskowalski.com/
The Orchard - Beth Anderson Schuck https://twitter.com/schuck_beth

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Sign of the Green Dragon by C. Lee McKenzie

On my Email Connect this month, I’m giving away three signed copies of Sign of the Green Dragon and digital copies of Bouhaki, a bit of feline Christmas escape. Merry Christmas. If you don’t celebrate that holiday, then Happy Hanukkah or Yule or Pancha Ganapati or Bodhi Day.

Bouhaki by C. Lee McKenzie

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Did you sign up for WEP? There’s still time, and this theme is ripe for some very special posts.

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One more bit of great news is from J.Q. Rose. Her latest book is non-fiction, and it’s a perfect gift for someone thinking of writing memoir. Your Words, Your Life Story will help you spark and share your memories.

And if you’d like to jump into this Advent Calendar Event for Writers, do it here. Some great gifts await!

Quote of the Month:

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” T. S. Eliot

YA Scavenger Hunt, Fall 2019

October 1, 2019 By C. Lee McKenzie

YA Scavenger Hunt Banner Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize-one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 120 hours!

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GO TEAM BLUE

YA Scavnger Hunt

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This bonus material is from my teammate, Roxanne Lambie. From an early age, this author fell in love with books and storytelling. Her work as a professional pilot kept her busy, but she never gave up on her dream of writing. It was the combined love of both that sparked QUANTUM, a speculative young adult book which might appeal to fans of IF I STAY and TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE. Let’s give Roxanne 3 cheers for being so talented.

FACTS ABOUT SETTING

Two settings make up QUANTUM: Bantry, Ireland and El Paso, Texas. Some of the major differences are highlighted here.

Writing with two different locations in mind was a great way to escape. I spent hours on YouTube “exploring” some of my locations so I would be able to accurately describe them.

It rains over 41 inches a year in Bantry with an average of 143 days of precipitation. El Paso gets about 9 inches a year with only about 39 days of precipitation.
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El Paso is a large city with a population of approximately 684,000. Bantry is a small town of about 2,700 people.
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Bantry sits right next to the ocean with many surrounding lakes, rivers and streams. El Paso is an eleven-hour drive from the closest beach, which is actually in California, not Texas.
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Spanish and English are both spoken in El Paso, while Bantry claims English and Irish.

Thanks, Roxanne for the interesting information about these two places where your story is set.

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When I signed up for the HUNT this year, I didn’t have a publication date for my next book, but a lot has happened since then. I now have a new book coming out October 25. It’s called NOT GUILTY. It’s now available for PREORDER on SMASHWORDS, BARNES & NOBLE, and KOBO.

Not Guilty by C. Lee McKenzie

In October I’ll be doing a special SPOOKY HALLOWEEN giveaway to celebrate the launch, but for this Scavenger Hunt, I’m giving a paperback of my book, DOUBLE NEGATIVE. I call this book a cousin to Not Guilty. You can sign up below to win. I’m offering a signed copy of Double Negative. Hope you’ll enter to win.

ENTER TO WIN A SIGNED COPY

Double Negative by C. Lee McKenzie

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you’re done here, and I hope you enjoyed your visit, please hop on over to my TEAM MATE, Amy Fellner Dominy, and see what’s happening at her place. Be sure to check out all of TEAM BLUE and the others that are in this hunt.

Mark Zuckerberg and Network Science

September 4, 2019 By C. Lee McKenzie

While I was stewing about my slow networking pace, I stumbled (literally because the History Magazine was on the step) upon an interview with Niall Ferguson, author of The Square and the Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power. His opening remark caught my eye. “Social networks weren’t invented my Mark Zuckerberg.”

So what has this to do with the writers’ world? Glad you asked.

For one, networking is a powerful tool for us. It impacts how our books enter the world and how they’re received by the public. That’s not surprising if we look at how social networks have significantly impacted world events. Look what happened in the 15th century-what Ferguson cites as the “first age of networking.” With the invention of the printing press, ideas spread more widely and more rapidly. The social networks that developed around these ideas took on a force for change. Enter the Protestant Reformation. From then on there was no stopping these powerhouse networks, and they resulted in major shifts like The American Revolution and the French Revolution.

In the interview, Ferguson comments on how influential Henry Kissinger was during the Nixon era. But why was he more powerful than any other person in during that time? That’s what Ferguson questioned. He came up with the fact that Kissinger was “the best connected person in the Nixon administration.” Using network science, he graphed Kissinger’s connections, and they far outstripped any other politician in the White House at that time. Ferguson did the same kind of graph for Paul Revere, and discovered that because of his “trusted” network among the revolutionaries, his warning of the approaching Redcoats, was believed and spread without question.

Well, this made me think about my own social network and here are the questions I asked myself:

Who am I connected with?
Are these people I trust and admire?
Am I a trustworthy person inside this network?
Will my network support me when I need it?
Will it provide me with the visibility I need to succeed in marketing my books?
How can I be a better/more effective person inside my network?

Any thoughts about your own network?

Join Us Today

As everyone knows this is the first Wednesday of September, and we are once again here to do a bit of networking-the best kind-the supportive kind. Thanks again, Alex for this brilliant networking idea.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Remember, the question is optional!

If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

The awesome co-hosts for the September 4 posting of the IWSG are Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner! Be sure to visit their sites and thank them for co-hosting!

I had to give this some thought. Finally, I came up with a lot of places around the world, and all of them would inspire me to write. Istanbul would probably make me churn out an exotic mystery set in the bazaar or in the shadows of St. Sophia Mosque. In London I’d definitely create a spy story with lots of fog and Big Ben looming in the background. And then there’s Dublin, and I start thinking romance and fern groves. No, let’s go to the island of Sifnos in the Aegean and have some kind of historical fiction story. On second thought, I’d like to write something mystical, so I’ll head to New Zealand and go out onto Doubtful Sound for that inspiration. If it’s going to a humorous and lighthearted tale, I have to buy a ticket to Cancun. But if I’m going for a ghostly tale I’ll drive up to Auburn in Northern CA. Well, there are too many wonderful writing locations to choose from and too many exciting genres to jump into. So, in the end, I’ll probably write where I often do-in my garden, by the pond. And I’ll probably write a contemporary/realistic young adult or an adventure/fantasy middle grade book. After all, there’s no place like home, and there’s nothing like writing what you love to write.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has taken an ARC for NOT GUILTY. If anyone else would like to give me hand with this launch, please email me at [email protected] I have a mobi, pdf, and ePub file. Here’s the blurb.

A blood-smeared knife. One young man’s word against another. A lifetime dream crushed.

The evidence points to Devon Carlyle. He was there when it happened. Everyone knows he had it in for Renzo Costa. And Costa says Devon was the one. In the judge’s rap of a gavel Devon’s found guilty of assault. The star of the Oceanside High’s basketball team loses his shot at the one thing he’s worked so hard for—the championship game where college scouts could see how good he is.

Now he makes his great shots in Juvenile Hall with kids far different from those that have always been in his life.

Angry? Hell, yes.

He’s bent on finding who did the crime. He’s bent on making them pay because he’s Not Guilty. But can he prove it?

Now speaking of writing…did you come up with a Flash Fiction piece or poetry or something that would grab the reader’s attention for the August WEP? I hope so because it’s a great way to meet new writers and stay connected with those you already know. Remember networking is key, and the WEP people are giving you a great opportunity to do just that. I’ve read the entries this month, and there are some real winners. Be sure to stop by the sites and let the writers know what you think. HERE’S the link to the sign up list.

Quote of the Month: “Networking is not about just connecting people. It’s about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities.”
― Michele Jennae, Author

The Power of the Written Word

May 1, 2019 By C. Lee McKenzie

The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca, and T. Powell Coltrin!

We need more awesome co-host for June, July, and August. Want to be one? Let us know.

This month’s optional question is “What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?”

It must have been when I first took the book away from my mom and started reading to her. Magic happened in that moment. I was inside a story and I could stay there as long as I wanted.

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