2020 Rah Rah Rah! Plus Horror Book Review: 120 Days of Sodom & Zombie

At this time of year, I'm usually reviewing my goals from the previous year to see what I finished, what I scrapped, and what I need to carry forward. However, a lot happened last year that kept me from getting much of anything done, and I've decided it's not worth looking back on those goals, as it would just serve to make me feel bad about what I wasn't able to accomplish. 

Instead, I'm making some simple, but useful, goals, with the intention of setting up a base to grow from through the year. Basically, I want to get things done, but I also want to be kind to myself concerning expectations. This is a year of healing as much as anything else.

2020 Goals:

Write at least one day a week.

Stay on top of submissions.

Release a collection.

Blog at least twice per month.

Read two craft books.

Walk regularly.

Read a lot of fiction!

Take some fun pictures.

Of course, I can't do anything about the much loftier goals in my head, but whenever I look back at these goals, I want to feel like I'm doing what I expected, at least.

Moving on, I've got two best horror reviews to do, and I figured instead of doing those as individual posts as I've been doing the last couple years, I'll just add them to other posts. Before I jump into those, here's a snapshot of some of the books I've read the last couple months:

Ebooks I've read include: The False Inspector Dew (Peter Lovesey), Clowns vs. Spiders (Jeff Strand), Poisoned by the Pier (Ellen Jacobson), The Haunted Forest Tour (Jeff Strand), Creepers (David Morrell).

My favorites from the above:

Salvage the Bones - Jesmyn Ward

Gorgeously written, this book is set over the course of several days leading up to Hurricane Katrina hitting a small, rural town in Mississippi. As the storm brews and grows, so do the struggles of the main characters, siblings whose mother has died and whose father is sunk in his addiction, leaving them to fend for themselves. A story about family, relationships, deep poverty, and so much more.

Trevor Noah: Born a Crime - Trevor Noah

With his characteristic candor and humor, Noah talks about his youth in South Africa, where his very existence is a crime. His mother does her best with a child who's a bit of a troublemaker (but also charming, innovative, and deeply intelligent.) I was in turns touched, amused, shocked, and sad. I'd like to listen to the audiobook read by Noah, himself.

The False Inspector Dew - Peter Lovesey

This was the fluff book I read after FINALLY finishing The 120 Days of Sodom (review below). It was a light murder mystery, with some solid twists. A man takes on a false identity aboard a ship bound for America. The identity of a famous police inspector. When a body is found in the water, he's called upon to solve the crime. After all, that's his wheelhouse, right? Clever and fun, a delightful break I sorely needed.

Unbury Carol - Josh Malerman

This one is set in the old west, which is an era I love. Described as a thriller, it qualifies as horror, as well. A woman has a condition where she goes into a state that makes her appear dead. Her husband, knowing her condition, takes advantage when she slips into this state. She's got money and fame, and he's tired of living in her shadow. Interesting characters and a hell of a ticking clock. 

Poisoned by the Pier - Ellen Jacobson

Ellen's books are always fun to read. Great cast of characters, interesting settings. Good, clean mystery fun.

Some movies I recently saw and enjoyed:

Knives Out. This is such a witty and well scripted murder mystery. Vastly engaging and amusing. Twisty and well acted.

Incident in a Ghostland. A movie hasn't kept me this tense in a long time. Not for the faint of heart. This one's horror, and though it has plenty of flaws, the suspense is incredibly well done. I had to keep forcing myself to relax.

TV show I'd recommend:

My husband and I both loved Fleabag and are eagerly awaiting the next season. It's a dramedy, irreverent and often inappropriate, but also funny. The humor is quite dry, which I enjoy. You'll probably know within the first few minutes if this is the show for you or better avoided.

Okay, the part I've been avoiding: Horror List Book Review. I'm reading through three lists of best horror with two friends (DeAnna Knippling and M.B. Partlow), posting reviews as we go. (For more information, including a list of the books, see this post.)

I finished two recently--The 120 Days of Sodom, by the Marquis de Sade, and Zombie, by Joyce Carol Oates.

The 120 Days of Sodom - Marquis de Sade

I'm not sure I have anything good to say about this one. It was a struggle to read. Admittedly, I was curious to read something by Sade after having heard about him for so long. Partway through this book, I convinced myself he couldn't possibly be encouraging or supporting the horrific things happening in this book. I actually thought it might be a commentary on the elite of the time.

Nope.

I'm glad I waited until afterward to do research on him and realize I was giving him too much credit. It would have been even harder to get through if I knew what kind of person he truly was.

I really can't go in depth on this review, because of the subjects of the book. I described it to a friend as reading like it was written by a sexually deviant 8-year old with a feces fixation. There is extreme harm and mistreatment of children. Extreme. Sexual mistreatment, torture, etc. I'm going to need more distance before I can delve into what I needed to learn from this book. Do yourselves a favor: avoid this book and don't read the reviews on Amazon, because some of the readers are as bad as the Marquis. Disturbing.

Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates

This one was also deviant, but nothing like Sodom. It follows a man (I seem to recall he was 38 or so?) with a lot of mental issues. He wants to create a zombie lover by lobotomizing men he's interested in. The book is put forth in journal form. 

The writing is skillfully done in a way that brings the reader into the disorganized and frenzied mind of the killer. I imagine the writing style would drive some people crazy. Part of the horror of this book is how matter-of-fact the main character is about his plans and the results as he tries to figure out the right way to reach his goal.

CURRENTLY READING: Dave Barry's Greatest Hits (ebook) - Dave Barry

CURRENTLY WATCHING: Nightwatch Nation (Hulu)

Have you read any of the above books and/or seen any of the shows/movies? Did you set goals for 2020? Do you do long term or just short term goals? What book, movie, TV show, song, or other media would you recommend? What are you reading right now? 

May you find your Muse.

2019 Goal Setting and 2018 Review

Yay, it's the new year! I'm hoping, like many others, that 2019 goes a bit better than 2018 in every way possible.

When I do this post every year, it's really just to look forward and consider what I intend to work on for the year. The goals are fluid, and can be changed or replaced at any time. I don't believe in resolutions for the new year, so much as using this time period to narrow my plans.

First, my submissions for the year:

I submitted 51 stories.
I received 43 rejections.
I pulled 9 stories from submission for various stories (including magazines appearing to have gone under and no longer responding to queries.)
I placed 9 stories.
I released my first solo collection of short stories!
I ended the year with 9 stories still out on submission.

Apparently, the number for the year was 9. Here's hoping I beat that number this year.

My goals for the year were:

• Write a short story or flash piece each week (this is majorly pushing it for me, but I'm going to try.) hahahahahahahahaha!
• Read at least one book each week. Some weeks I got more than one in.
• Finish Novel #3. Not quite.
• Start Novel #4.
• Continue submitting short stories (aim for 100 rejections and 12 acceptances.) Marking it off because I did submit consistently, though I didn't reach the goals of 100 and 12.
• Write short stories in at least three genres.
• Write more nonfiction.
• Query craft book. Not yet. I've been debating self-publishing it instead.
• Self-publish short story collection.
• Evaluated Novel #1 to see if I want to pursue or trunk (though it's obviously trunked for now.)
• Take more pictures.
• Send workshop proposals to one conference new to me.

My goals for 2019 are:

• Finish novel #3
• Finish novel #4
• Make a decision on the craft book
• Write at least 1 short story each month
• Continue to explore other genres/styles
• Go to one new conference/convention
• Put out another collection
• Take more pictures
• Hike more
• Query novel #2

Now for links! Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Atlantean Publishing is seeking fantasy stories related to Clark Ashton Smith's writing. Pays one penny sterling per word. Deadline January 31. 

Nashville Review is seeking fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Up to 8000 words. Pays up to $100. Deadline January 31.

Freeze Frame Fiction is seeking flash fiction. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per piece. Deadline January 31.

Otter Libris is seeking stories for MCSI: Magical Crime Scene Investigation. 3000 to 10,000 words. Pays $25. Deadline January 31.

Flash Bang Mysteries is seeking mystery flash fiction. 500 to 750 words. Pays $20. Deadline January 31.

Death's Head Press is seeking stories about revenge. 3000 to 8000 words. Pays $10. Deadline January 31.

Atthis Arts is seeking stories of all genres for Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove. 1000 to 4000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 31.

Did you set any sort of goals or look ahead to your plans for the year? How did you do on last year's goals? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

May you find your Muse.

2018 Goal Setting & 2017 Review

I haven't had to date any checks yet, but the title of this blog post briefly threw me, so I'm expecting some incorrect dates coming up.

Now that it's a new year, it's time to review my goals for last year and see how I did. Much like last year, I set the goals then never looked back at them, so let's see how it went.

In 2017, I submitted 95 short stories.
I sold 6 short stories.
4 short stories were released.
I still have 12 stories pending that were submitted in 2017.
I withdrew 5 stories from consideration.
I had...are you ready for it? 80 rejections. Yeesh. Still not up to 100 rejections yet.

My goals for 2017, set back in January, were:

• Final revision on Novel #2
• Query Novel #2 in April at PPWC
• Finish Novel #3
• Write at least one new short story per month
• Finish current pending revisions
• Continue to book speaking/signing opportunities (so far, I have 1 definite and 2 possibles)
• Evaluate Novel #1 to see if I want to continue pursuing it or trunk it for now
• Continue submitting short stories - aim for 100 rejections and 12 acceptances this year
• Write for at least two themed issues or anthologies that are outside my normal comfort level

Not too bad! I not only finished Novel #2, but am currently querying it. I queried it at PPWC and got an ask, but I've never heard it back since submitting it, so that's a no. I wrote at least one short story per month, with one a week for a short time, and finished the revisions I had pending by the end of January.

As far as appearances, I ended up appearing at 7 events, all of them so much fun! I've booked one so far for 2018, with some additional possibilities. Though I did not reach 100 rejections and 12 acceptances, I made the effort. And I wrote several stories outside my comfort zone, both of which were accepted! One has already been published, and the other is coming out in the coming year.

That leaves the things I didn't accomplish: finishing Novel #3 and evaluating #1 to see if I want to trunk it or move forward with it. Those will continue as goals this year.

For 2018, I'm setting the following goals:

• Write a short story or flash piece each week (this is majorly pushing it for me, but I'm going to try.)
• Read at least one book each week.
• Finish Novel #3.
• Start Novel #4.
• Continue submitting short stories (aim for 100 rejections and 12 acceptances.)
• Write short stories in at least three genres.
• Write more nonfiction.
• Query craft book.
• Self-publish short story collection.
• Evaluated Novel #1 to see if I want to pursue or trunk (though it's obviously trunked for now.)
• Take more pictures.
• Send workshop proposals to one conference new to me.

Of course, these goals are all well and good, but they are also fluid. I'll see what continues to be realistic, and I'll allow life to change things as needed. And, hey, I finished the short story for week #1, so yay!

Now for links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing any of these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

The First Line is seeking flash and short stories that start with the line, "Leo massaged the back of his neck, thankful the meeting was finally over." Open to all genres, including nonfiction and poetry. 300 to 5000 words. Pays $5 to $50, depending upon story type. Deadline February 1.

ChiZine is seeking alternate history short stories for Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People. Open to all submitters. 500 to 15,000 words. Pays $.08/word CAD. Deadline February 4.

Subprimal is seeking poetry and flash fiction. Word counts vary. Pays $20. Deadline February 15.

Electric Athenaeum is seeking sci-fi and fantasy short stories, articles, poetry, and interviews with the theme "For Future Generations." 3000 to 10,000 words. Pays 50 GBP/story. Deadline February 15.

Circlet Press is seeking erotic stories inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. 2000 to 8000 words. Pays $25 for the e-print, and a possible $25 later for print. Deadline February 15.

Any of these links of interest? Did you set goals for 2017? How did you do? How about 2018? Most importantly, are you working your dream?

May you find your Muse.

*New Year Flags by OCAL, clker.com
*Dart Board image by OCAL, clker.com

ShaNo Wrap-up

It's the last day of November. A day when frantic writers everywhere are pounding away at keyboards, scribbling away at notepads, chattering away at voice programs, all in the hopes of finishing those last few thousand words to declare themselves NaNoWriMo winners.

So it's time for me to revisit my ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo goals for the month. I don't do NaNo proper, but I set myself the following goals for the month:

1. Create a business plan and timeline for the next year.
2. Finish Nuts! (horror comedy) (about 20,000 words) (Wrote about 3000 words)
3. Edit three short stories currently pending edits.
4. Write two new short stories. (STARTED 4 new, but did not finish them)
5. Submit newly edited stories.
6. Outline craft book.
7. Get all rejected stories resubmitted.
8. Send five more queries for Wendigo Nights. (current novel on submission)

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good. I would have liked to have gotten more new words written, but what I got done helped a lot with things I was stressing about, and frees my time up for writing this month. I was having trouble writing due to being consumed by figuring out my business plan, etc. I also got a lot of research done, which wasn't on the list, but should have been.

So WOOT!

Link time! Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Pedestal Magazine is seeking poetry for their next issue. Submit up to 5 poems. Pays $40 per accepted poem. Deadline December 3.

Mslexia is seeking poetry and prose with the theme Bewitched. Up to 2200 words. Does not specify pay. Deadline December 4.

Mason Jar Press is seeking short urban fantasy stories for Broken Metropolis Anthology: Queer Tales of a City That Never Was. Queer perspectives. Up to 6000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline December 7.

Fantasia Divinity Magazine is seeking short stories for Out of Your Shadow Anthology: Empowered Sidekicks. 500 to 10,500 words. Pays one-half cent per word. Deadline December 10.

Eye to the Telescope is seeking poetry for Arthuriana. They want anything Arthurian and speculative. Submit 1-5 poems. Pays $.03/word up to $25. Deadline December 15.

Love & Bubbles is a Kickstarter project anthology. They're looking for romance under the sea (not ON it). Up to 5000 words. Depending upon the success of the Kickstarter, authors will be paid between $50 and $300. Deadline December 20.

So how did you do with your NaNo goals? Whether you "won" or not, how do you feel about what you accomplished this month? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

May you find your Muse.

2017 Goal Setting & 2016 Review

We made it through 2016, even if it came with some new scars. It was a year of craziness, as I imagine all election years are, but we survived. 

It's always fun to recap the year then look ahead to what I'd like to achieve. Setting goals helps me think through what I want to do and how I want to end the year.

I submitted short stories and flash fiction 77 times in 2016. This is not 77 stories, just submissions, since I turn the rejected ones back around. In 2015, this number was 60.

I had 4 acceptances in 2016. This is down from 9 the previous year. I know why, and I'll address that in a minute.

I had 9 stories published in 2016 (the 4 accepted, plus end of year acceptances from 2015.)

6 stories submitted in 2016 are still pending.

Which means I had 67 rejections in 2016. Not up to my 100 goal yet, but creeping that way.

And here's another stat to add: I had 4 speaking engagements in 2016. A standalone for Pikes Peak Pen Women, 2 workshops at Pikes Peak Writers Conference, 3 panels at Denver Comic Con, and 4 panels at MileHiCon. In addition, I participated in 5 signings. So cool!

Last year, my goals were:

• Finish first revision of novel #2 (UF above). Done!
• Do a second pass through on novel #1 (YA above). Done!
• Start novel #3. Done!
• Continue writing short stories, revising them, and submitting them. One per month would be fantastic, and give me time to focus on my novels, but we'll see. Nope (did not achieve one per month)
• Finish all short story revisions pending. Done!
• Submit those short stories once revised. Done!
• Have one of the novels (#1 or #2) ready by April, so I can query an agent at PPWC. Nope
• Continue experimenting with my writing and finding the joy in it. Done!
• Get back to my photography (what? I just slipped in a non-writing goal...) Sorta
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge Done!

Not bad! I mentioned above that I know why I didn't have better numbers. It's the same reason I didn't have my novel ready by April, and the same reason I didn't get more short stories written. I got insanely busy between two volunteer jobs, and it did not let up until the end of May. My writing suffered severely, which actually led to a mega bout of depression about having fallen behind in my writing, as well as destroying the progress I'd made the previous year. It wasn't until school got started again that I caught up on my writing, so we'll see what happens with these new stories I've got out. I've also pulled a couple to do some re-writes on.

My goals for 2017, understanding that I set goals knowing life is fluid, and that my goals and circumstances may change at any time, are as follows:

• Final revision on Novel #2
• Query Novel #2 in April at PPWC
• Finish Novel #3
• Write at least one new short story per month
• Finish current pending revisions
• Continue to book speaking/signing opportunities (so far, I have 1 definite and 2 possibles)
• Evaluate Novel #1 to see if I want to continue pursuing it or trunk it for now
• Continue submitting short stories - aim for 100 rejections and 12 acceptances this year
• Write for at least two themed issues or anthologies that are outside my normal comfort level

I think that's more than enough goals for now. Part of me wants to achieve one short story per week, but I don't believe that's realistic for me right now. 

Onto links! Bear in mind that I'm passing these along, not endorsing them. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Broken Eye Books is open for submissions to their anthology Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird. They want space opera combined with cosmic weird horror. Short stories of 3000 to 6000 words or flash fiction of up to 1000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 31.

The First Line puts out a quarterly first line, which acts as the prompt for a story. This quarter's first line is: "Eddie tended to drift into whatever jobs were available that would pay the rent." Story should start with the first line, which cannot be altered. 300 to 5000 words. Pays $25 to $50. Deadline February 1.

Skirt! Magazine is open for submissions to their January theme: The All In Issue - stories about going all in, taking risks, etc. Personal essays relating to women and women's issues. 800 to 1100 words. Pays $200. Deadline February 1.

Mofo Pubs is open for submissions to two literary erotica anthologies: Hotel and Sacrilege. The title is also the theme. 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline February 3.

Splickety Havok is open for submissions in the theme Tyrannosaurus Reads. Think Jurassic Park. 300 to 1000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline February 10.

Bundoran Press is open for submissions to a science fiction anthology entitled 49th Parallels: Alternative Canadian Histories and Futures. 1500 to 7000 words. Pays $.05CAD/word. Deadline February 14.

Contests:

Creative Writing Ink holds a monthly writing contest. Free to enter. Short stories up to 3000 words or poems up to 40 lines. Any genre/theme. Prize is web publication and £10 Amazon GC. Deadline January 31.

The Chicago Tribune is sponsoring the 2017 Nelson Algren Literary Awards. Fiction short stories up to 8000 words. Prizes of $500, $1000, and $3500. No entry fee. Deadline January 31.

Did you create goals for the year? How about last year? How did you do on those? Do you do resolutions or goals? How strict are you about your goals? Do you go beyond goals and make a plan to complete each item? Are any of these links of interest to you?

May you find your Muse.

What? I Set Goals Last Year?

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a pleasant kickoff to 2016, whether that meant staying in or going out. I stayed in, like last year. We were watching Walking Dead when the fireworks began on Pikes Peak. The kids were zonked out, but we woke them up so they could watch. My son just rolled over and went back to sleep, but my daughter watched them.

I inadvertently took a break for Christmas and New Year's. Despite the fact it was unplanned, it was nice to give myself time off, which not only included not blogging, but also included setting aside volunteer work for two weeks (for the most part.) There's been a lot going on, and I was reaching the point of being overwhelmed. A two week break was magical.

But I'm glad to be back!

I couldn't remember if I set goals for 2015, so I went back to January 2015 and checked it out. Lo and behold, I did! Not only that, but I did a fairly solid job of fulfilling the goals, even though I didn't remember having set them.

My goals for 2015 were:

• Finish revising my YA novel and get it ready for submission. I touched on it by post-outlining, but have done nothing more with this novel this year.
• Finish my Urban Fantasy novel. Did it!
• Revise my UF novel. Halfway through revising it.
• Continue writing, editing, and submitting short stories. I kicked this one's ass!
• Place several short stories for pay. Did it!
• Start working on articles again. Mmmm...not really.
• Journal. Nope.
• Continue to experiment and enjoy collaborations and projects to expand my horizons. I've done plenty of experimenting with my writing this year, and look forward to trying more.
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge. Still on it.

I feel pretty good about this! Not half bad. So I'm going to set this year's goals, which I will promptly forget, but hopefully magically manage to fulfill anyway. (Really, the goals I set last year were in line with what I wanted to do through the year, so I may have forgotten that I wrote them down, but I didn't forget I wanted to do these things.)

Last year, I mentioned that I set goals knowing things change, sometimes drastically, over the course of the year. Any goals I set are to steer me in the right direction, not to give myself another reason to stress out or beat myself up when I don't accomplish them. With that understanding, here are my goals for 2016:

• Finish first revision of novel #2 (UF above).
• Do a second pass through on novel #1 (YA above).
• Start novel #3.
• Continue writing short stories, revising them, and submitting them. One per month would be fantastic, and give me time to focus on my novels, but we'll see.
• Finish all short story revisions pending.
• Submit those short stories once revised.
• Have one of the novels (#1 or #2) ready by April, so I can query an agent at PPWC.
• Continue experimenting with my writing and finding the joy in it.
• Get back to my photography (what? I just slipped in a non-writing goal...)
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge

That's more than enough, BUT they're things I want to do this year, whether I write them down or not. My photography has fallen by the wayside. I haven't taken a photo just for fun (scenery vs. my kiddos) in months. So I'm throwing that in there, too. I figure exploring other creative ventures I enjoy is a good way to inspire my writing, as well.

What about you? Did you set 2015 goals? How did you do with them? Are you setting 2016 goals? Do you set them so they're hard to attain, or do you set them minimally to steer your year? Or do you skip them entirely? Most of all, what are you proudest of this year?

May you find your Muse.

Image by OCAL, clker.com

2015 Writing Goal Setting

clker.com, OCAL

Now that it's officially 2015, it's time for me to set some writing goals. I don't do resolutions, as such, but I do like to make work-related goals. Before I do that, Happy New Year! We stayed in and had a quiet New Year's just watching movies and relaxing together.  Last year, my husband was on a business trip for New Year's, so it was nice to be with him as we brought in the new year.We watched the fireworks on top of Pikes Peak, and the kids were still awake, so they got to see them, too. Other than that, there are no traditions we observe. I'd never heard of anything other than a toast and a kiss at midnight (which we do, so I guess we do observe that tradition.) I've heard of a lot of traditions now, courtesy of Facebook.

Okay, on to goal setting. To review the year, in 2014 I had the following accomplishments/progress:

• I made steady progress with writing short stories and submitting them, racking up plenty of rejections. Many of these came with positive feedback.
• I was moved to the second tier for an anthology. Though I ultimately got a rejection for it, I consider this an accomplishment.
• I consistently turned in stories to my critique group.
• I participated in the IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond and Of Mist and Magic (release information coming soon.)
• I made consistent progress in my challenge to read the best horror from various lists and write reviews.
• I achieved all of last year's writing goals except those related to my novels, which I chose to set aside.

I don't remember what else, but I'm looking at it as a good year. Hopefully, 2015 will be even better.

My goals for 2015 are:

• I set aside the novels until this year began, so they're back on the docket. I want to finish revising my YA novel and get it ready for submission.
• Finish my Urban Fantasy novel.
• Revise my UF novel.
• Continue writing, editing, and submitting short stories. (I'd set a number goal, but I feel like that would be a number I was pulling out of my rear just to do so, and it wouldn't represent realistic expectations.)
• Place several short stories for pay.
• Start working on articles again.
• Journal.
• Continue to experiment and enjoy collaborations and projects to expand my horizons. 
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge.

I think that's a good list for now. When I make a list like this, I do so understanding that my goals and/or circumstances might change during the year, but I like to have an idea of what I'm aiming for in the year to come. It always feels good to look back and see what I was hoping to do in the new year, and how much progress I actually made. And it's nice to have something to check in on from time to time to straighten myself out when I've gotten off the path.

Did you set work goals? Resolutions? What are some of your goals for the year, either personal or professional? Do you revisit those goals at the end of the year, or just continue adding to the list as you go? How was your New Year's Eve? Did you go to a party? Observe any special traditions?

May you find your Muse.

Repeat Reading, ShaNo Final Update, 2014 Goal Check-in, & Endless Blog Tour

Today's a busy day here on The Warrior Muse. Not for any particular reason. Just because I have bunches of things to talk about.

Repeat Reads

There was a post on Facebook the other day about what books you read over and over, and I was surprised how many people said they never read books more than once. Now, there are plenty of books I'll never read again, but I have several I've read over and over again. I'm curious about what others have to say. Do you read books over and over again? If so, which ones do you read most?

Some of the books I've read multiple times include The Hobbit, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Lord of the Flies, The Gunslinger, It, The Shining, The Stand, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter (though this one is only because I read it with my kiddos as they get old enough), The Secret Garden, and probably a bunch more I'm not thinking about right now. What about you?

ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo

Writing

Write 1 new flash fiction piece

Write 1 new vignette 

Write 2 1 new short stories (one down)

Write at least 5000 new words on WIP #2

Write at least 2700 additional words to the above goals (and then some)

Editing

Edit 2 flash fiction pieces awaiting editing

Edit 3 2 short stories awaiting editing (got one edited and submitted)

Edit at least 5 chapters of WIP #1

Submitting

Re-submit pieces currently awaiting submission

Submit newly edited pieces from above (Submitted the one short story and the flash fiction pieces I edited)

Re-submit rejected pieces

All in all, not bad. The goals I didn't complete will carry over into this month. I've got two other short stories on the cusp of being finished, so I'll have that done soon. I will be pushing off the novel/WIP goals above until the new year, which is when I intended to return to my novels to begin with. I'd like to have all the short works related goals done by the end of this month (and then some.)

2014 Goals--Checkup to see how much I need to do before the end of the year.

• Better self-discipline.
• Finish novel #2.
• Edit novel #1.
• Submit at least three short stories.
• Work out a better schedule (this is a perpetual goal...and one I never seem to achieve.)
• Spend more time writing.
• Do something writing-related that makes me nervous. Example: Submit to a pro-paying market I think I stand no chance of getting into.
• Write something different than what I typically write. For instance, a genre I don't dabble in typically. Romance? Erotica? Steampunk? 

The better self-discipline and better schedule are hard to quantify, but I do think I improved the self-discipline (in writing), but did not work out a better schedule.

I'm not aiming to finish novel #2 or finish editing novel #1, because after I'd set these goals I chose to set aside work on my novels until 2015 and focus on writing short form fiction so I could submit it to get publishing credits to my name and work on craft before jumping back into novels. Plus, I've been enjoying working in the short form too much, and I'd like to continue doing so for the rest of this month. Next year I'll have to figure out how to juggle the two.

Endless Book Tour

Author Name: Jaclyn Weist

Book Title:  Endless

Book Genre:  YA fantasy

Release Date: November 28th, 2014

Publisher: Trifecta Books

Tour Host: Silverbow Promotions

PURCHASE IT HERE

Synopsis:

Sydney lives her nightmares every night. While other teenagers are dreaming of boys or traveling to exotic places, she must run a staircase with no beginning or no end, or a terrible debt will never be paid.

Just before her seventeenth birthday, the dreams change. She is no longer alone.

But her nightmares don’t end when she wakes up. Her stepmother and stepsisters threaten to ruin everything she holds dear. She must protect the secret that both she and her father have magic or they will use it to their advantage.

As Sydney learns to control her magic, what seemed impossible before—escaping her stepmother and those ever-present stairs—is now at her fingertips. When she learns the ultimate plan of her evil captor, Sydney must stop her at all costs, or she will forever be trapped inside her nightmares.

Excerpt: 

Dad handed over the ticket and turned to us. He noticed me staring and glanced back to where the valet had been standing. “That's Luke. He’s the son of one of my partners.”

“He’s gorgeous,” Sarah said. “Do you think he’d go out with me?”

Dad laughed. “Maybe so. He’ll be coming to Sydney’s birthday party, along with a few other young men I think you would prefer over Luke. Dillon seems more your type.” He gestured toward another guy coming up to the restaurant with his family.

Sarah wrinkled her nose. “No, he’s more Kaylee’s type. Oh! Here’s Luke with the car.” She hurried forward so she would be standing in front when he opened the door.

I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Kaylee. She was too busy staring at Dillon to notice me. Sarah was right, I guess. I climbed in the other side of the car, hoping to avoid the embarrassment of Sarah throwing herself at Luke.

Dad climbed in right after. “You don’t want to meet him?”

I shook my head. “No. Not right now, at least. Dad, that feeling is here. Someone’s here that shouldn't be, and I don’t know who. What if it’s Luke?”

“You felt it too, huh? There’s a bad feeling here, but it’s not him. His dad—” He stopped when Julie climbed in.

About the Author: Jaclyn is an Idaho farm girl who grew up loving to read. She developed a love for writing as a senior in high school, when her dad jokingly said she was the next Dr. Seuss (not even close but very sweet). She met her husband, Steve at BYU and they have six happy, crazy children that encourage her writing. After owning a bookstore and running away to have adventures in Australia, they settled back down in their home in Utah. Jaclyn now spends her days herding her kids to various activities and trying to remember what she was supposed to do next.

Follow Jaclyn . . .

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

What do you think of the Endless cover? The excerpt? Do you read books multiple times or only once? Which books do you repeat read or have you read more than once? How did you do with NaNo? Your personal goals? Are you on track for your 2014 goals? Do you review your goals before the end of the year to catch up?

May you find your Muse.

ShaNo Update, Week 3

Hey, hey, hey, it's the end of the third week of ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo! One more week to go. This is where I stand on my goals:

Writing

Write 1 new flash fiction piece

Write 1 new vignette (still trying to fully figure out the form)

Write 2 new short stories

Write at least 5000 new words on WIP #2

Write at least 2700 additional words to the above goals

Editing

Edit 2 flash fiction pieces awaiting editing

Edit 3 2 short stories awaiting editing 

Edit at least 5 chapters of WIP #1

Submitting

Re-submit pieces currently awaiting submission

Submit newly edited pieces from above (Submitted the one short story and the flash fiction pieces I edited)

Re-submit rejected pieces

I added two goals: Write at least 2700 additional words to the above goals and Re-submit rejected pieces. I've completed the re-submission, but that goal will open back up if I get any rejections this week. And yes, the one I was so sad about on Wednesday was among those re-submitted. The 2700 words additional are because of a meme I posted on Facebook this week. 100 words per like, 27 likes.

As you can see, I have a lot of goals remaining for completion this week, but the kids are out of school, so my time available could go either way. I don't have to play chauffeur all week and I have no events other than some write-ins. Then again, I have a few things I want to do with them over the break, so we'll see. 

My writing goals were on top of a bunch of to-dos not related to writing, so I've had to balance them. Anything remaining at the end of the month carries over into December. I do this each year to get back into better habits, not to add stress onto the holidays, and I'm happy with what I've accomplished, so far, and hyped for the rest of it. 

Next week I intend to let you know how I did in closing out ShaNo, then review what I need to do to complete the goals I set for 2014 last December, so I can hopefully close out as much of that as possible before the end of the month. 

How are you doing with NaNo, your other goals, or with your overall writing for the month? Kicking butt and taking names or taking it easy over the holidays? Have you reviewed your annual goals to see how you've done? Do you plan on doing that? Do you set annual goals?

May you find your Muse.

ShaNo Update & The Attic of Sand and Secrets

Last Monday, I posted about my intentions with ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo for this year. Of those goals, I wrote one flash fiction piece and started one short story that isn't yet finished. While I'd like to be making more progress, I've at least started!

#

Today, I'm welcoming Medeia Sharif, whose new middle grade novel, The Attic of Sand and Secrets, releases this month. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post! If you haven't visited Medeia's blog before, you can find the link below. She does great brief book reviews, and I've found quite a few books to add to my TBR pile via her reviews. 

THE ATTIC OF SAND AND SECRETS 
by Medeia Sharif

Amazon | Featherweight | OmniLit

Vendor links will be updated on Medeia’s site.

Middle Grade Historical and Fantasy, Featherweight Press, November 2014

Lily, a learning disabled girl, attempts to unravel the mystery of her abducted mother using supernatural clues from an ancient stranger, even when it means posing a danger to herself.

Learning-disabled Lily desires to prove herself, although her mind freezes when presented with big problems - such as her mother's abduction. With a French father and Egyptian mother, Lily worries that her mother hid her ethnicity from her French in-laws. However, there's something deeper going on. Lily finds a way into an attic that's normally locked and encounters a mysterious, moonlit Egyptian night world. There she finds Khadijah, an ancient stranger who guides her to finding clues about her mother's whereabouts. Lily becomes a sleuth in both the real world and magical desert, endangering herself as she gets closer to the kidnapper.

The book takes place in 1976. Every host for this book blast is going to post one fun fact for that year. For some of you, this will bring back memories. For younger blog readers, you'll learn something new.

My Fun Fact: Frampton Comes Alive!, a double album, was released.

Find Medeia – Multi-published YA and MG Author

Blog   |   Twitter   |   Goodreads   |   Instagram   |   Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thank you for stopping by on your blog tour, Medeia! And good luck with your book tour and release.

What do you guys think of the cover? Lovely, isn't it? Have you seen Medeia around the blogosphere? How are you doing with NaNo or your own personal goals this month?

May you find your Muse.

ShaNo, Not NaNo

For the last couple years, I've made my own goals for November, riding the energy of NaNoWriMo, while not setting everything aside to reach someone else's idea of a goal. I thought I'd continue that this year. So welcome back to ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo.

What's that, you say? What the heck does that mean?

I'll tell you! It stands for Shannon's Novel and Short Story Writing, Editing, and Submitting Month.

I've fallen a bit behind from where I was a couple months ago, so I'm hoping the infectious spirit of NaNo will carry me along into reviving my writing mojo. My goals this month will be:

Writing 

Courtesy of Shiekh Tuyin and Iyo, clker.com

Write 1 new flash fiction piece
Write 1 new vignette (still trying to fully figure out the form)
Write 3 new short stories
Write at least 5000 new words on WIP #2

Editing

Edit 2 flash fiction pieces awaiting editing
Edit 3 short stories awaiting editing
Edit at least 5 chapters of WIP #1

Submitting

Re-submit pieces currently awaiting submission
Submit newly edited pieces from above

What are your goals this month? Are you doing NaNo or some form of it? If you were to make your own, what would you aim for? If you're doing NaNo, how many words have you written so far?

May you find your Muse.

The Sights of Home & Goal Setting

I read an interview with an author yesterday, and she mentioned a sight that lets her know she's home. For her it's a bridge. For me, it's Pikes Peak, the mountain that towers above our town. When we're able to see it, we know we're getting close, and it always rejuvenates us enough to get the rest of the way home after a long trip.

It got me wondering what that sight (or smell, or sound) is for other people. What is the sure sign that you're home, the thing that makes you feel at peace?

Now, that has nothing to do with writing for me. Not really. Although I do have a slight view of Pikes Peak out my office window, above the roof of the house across the street. I love that view.

Man Distressed Clip Art, clker.com

As far as writing, I've been trying to tackle some goals on a month-by-month basis. You see, I've mentioned the chronic migraines before, though I try not to do that much. The short version is that I've had a migraine for about three years now (yes, non-stop--even in my sleep). In fact, a little over. They did a two hour MRI on me to be sure I didn't have any brain tumors (I didn't), referred me around to various specialists, tried me on a few kinds of drugs, and I finally branched out on my own to find answers, because their drugs were only making things worse for me (not only in the lack of help for the migraines, but in the side effects that came with them).

During this same time, I've also suffered chronic fatigue, vertigo, depression, and anxiety. And the worse the migraines and fatigue got (because they're probably related), the worse everything else got. And the more useless I became. I stopped exercising, stopped getting things done, stopped doing as many fun things with the kiddos, etc. I've found improvement by juggling a variety of things that each help a little bit, and by adapting coping strategies, but it's still an uphill climb. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I crawled out of bed each day, but I did, and I forced myself to get dressed each and every single day.

Busy Mom with Child and Pets, courtesy of OCAL, clker.com

Now, with this improvement, I want to get back to being a real human being again. The common recommendation is that you shouldn't try to change too many things at once or you will fail at them all. Thus, my choosing one thing to focus on at a time. Last month, it was fitness. I worked out every single day.

Dancing Lady by OCAL, clker.com

As of today, it's a new month! So what am I working on this month? I'd like to continue working out every week day (down from 7 days per week, though I also intend to do something with the family that involves hiking or walking on at least one weekend day) still, continuing with my goal of physical fitness, but I'd now like to get into the habit of sitting down at my desk to work each day after I workout. So this month I aim to sit at my desk to write for twenty minutes each day (minimum) and to read a craft book. I'll be figuring out which craft book to read later on today. I've narrowed it down to two for the month, and I'll try to keep everyone updated. If I finish the craft book, I'll play catch up on the Writer's Digest mags I haven't read yet.

Computer by OCAL, clker.com

I'm also going to sit down and see if I can document the migraine journey in order to write some articles about it, perhaps. Migraines aren't uncommon, and I'd like to provide folks with an alternate view on how to approach them when other means are failing them or making them more miserable. Maybe something will come out of it, and maybe something won't. Perhaps it will just be cathartic to write it out.

One final thing on the writing, I've been updating my submissions status on IWSG  days, so I'll continue to do that. It will bother me to admit if I haven't submitted ANYthing since my last update, so it will keep me honest if I start to slack, which I did in the last couple weeks (though I've submitted to things this week.) That's not what the IWSG is for, really, but those details certainly tie in with my insecurities, and I like the accountability.

Summary of goals:
August-Exercise every day throughout the month. Done!
September-Sit down to write for at least 20 minutes each day on my desktop and read a craft book. Pending.
October-Undecided.

How do you know you're home (home being wherever you feel safe and happy, whether that's a house or elsewhere)? Is it a sight, a sound, a taste, a scent, or something else? How do you go about goal setting? Are you working on changing anything right now or establishing any habits? What have you found to be a successful way to change yourself when it comes to goals?

May you find your Muse.

2014 Goal Setting and Inadvertent Hiatus

Oh boy, it's that time again. Time to set some goals for myself. I hate to call them resolutions, but I do like to look at the year to come and consider what I'd like to accomplish before the end of the next year.

Before I do that, I wanted to say a belated Merry Christmas! I took a somewhat inadvertent hiatus last week. My laptop died. My NEW laptop died. Apparently, it has hardware issues. I had access to other computers, but knew I wouldn't be able to do the Wednesday links post or photo post (I have my photos on my laptop, as well as the spreadsheet where I list any links I come across that I want to pass along). Luckily, my superhero hubby was able to take everything off that hard drive, put it on a new one in a different laptop that is currently either a temporary loaner or just my new laptop until we get this all worked out. I decided it was a great reason to give myself a break for a week, and ducked out of work-related items, as well. It was a pretty good break, all things considered, but I stressed about the things I should be doing, so not as good a break as it could have been.

Anyway, I'm back! I hope your week was wonderful.

Back to goal setting.

What did I achieve this year? 

• I sold my first paid short story (only to have the magazine tank). 
• I joined a critique group.
• I jumped into a fun collaborative writing project, and though it may never see a completed novel out of it, I don't feel like I wasted my time. It was a valuable experience.
• I un-trunked my first novel, because I decided it was worthwhile, and I have a plan of attack.
• I nearly finished my second novel. Soooo close now.
• I finished quite a few short stories.
• I participated in some great online projects, including the Tree of Life and Composers for the Philippines.

And I'm sure there are other things, but this is a good list for now, I think.


What would I like to achieve in 2014?

• Better self-discipline.
• Finish novel #2.
• Edit novel #1.
• Submit at least three short stories.
• Work out a better schedule (this is a perpetual goal...and one I never seem to achieve.)
• Spend more time writing.
• Do something writing-related that makes me nervous. Example: Submit to a pro-paying market I think I stand no chance of getting into.
• Write something different than what I typically write. For instance, a genre I don't dabble in typically. Romance? Erotica? Steampunk? 

Okay, enough goals for now. I wanted to make a do-able goal list. I'm tired of stressing myself out.

What are your goals for the year (or any time period)? Do you like setting goals for yourself, or would you rather avoid that whole rigmarole? When was the last time you did something in writing that scared you? What are your achievements for the year (I don't care how minor)? Do you keep your goals minor or do you like to use them to really stretch yourself? 

May you find your Muse.

How'd You Do?

It's December! Which, of course, means time will suddenly shorten, squish together, eat itself like the infinity snake. Cut everything you think you'll get done in half. Right? Okay, maybe that's just me. The craziness is already starting to smear itself across my calendar.

But December also means that NaNoWriMo has come to a close. Thusly, so has ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo.

How did you guys do? How many completed their goals for the month (whether NaNo or otherwise)? How many didn't complete their goals, but still feel good? How many are pounding their heads into walls right now?

Well, stop it!

If you got even one word written, one plot planned, one character created, pat yourself on the back. Beating yourself up will just make you have more trouble moving forward. No self-abuse or flagellating. The holidays can be stressful enough without beating oneself up.

As far as ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo, I didn't have any hardcore rules like NaNo, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. I touched base with my novel that needs editing, my WIP that I'm working on finishing, and I got some writing and editing done on short stories. Was I as productive as I envisioned myself? No. But I'm cool with it. This was a crazy month, and I knew it going in, so I told myself what I could do would be just fine, that anything accomplished was progress beyond what I had already.

I hope everyone's feeling good, or at least okay, with their progress over November.

And I hope Thanksgiving (or the weekend) were good to you, as well!

Are you setting goals for December? Or do you take the month "off" from writing pursuits? If you're setting goals, what are they? If you aren't, do you typically set yourself goals or go where life takes you? How was Thanksgiving?

May you find your Muse.

What Inspires You?

Different people are inspired by different things. One person's raucous ball game may be another person's rainbow. Some people love a rainy day, while others only bloom in the sun. Some people leave a party hyped up; others leave a party exhausted and unable to do anything else.

I would love to hear what inspires you. And I don't necessarily mean in writing. What inspires you overall? What makes you want to run out and do something artistic, or something you love? Does attending a musical make you want to write a song? Does a gorgeous sunset inspire you to go on a photo tour? Does going to the zoo inspire you to go out and help wildlife? Does a stirring speech push you to action? Does a movie with an awesome set of parents and kids involved make you aspire to be a better parent or to have more fun with your kids?

And, yes, I'd still love to hear what inspires your art, specifically, what makes you want to write, but I don't want to limit it to that. We're inspired to do a lot in our lives, and it isn't always about art.

On a side note, how are you doing with your monthly goals? If you're doing NaNo, how's that going? If you're not, do you have personal goals you're reaching for this month?

I spent Sunday setting up a new laptop since my old one crashed and burned a long time ago, requiring me to do a weird Twister-like contortion to keep the power cord from moving whatsoever so the computer wouldn't die on me. Plus, it would randomly stop reading the keyboard or the mouse (not at the same time, one or the other). It would overheat if I had to use the video card at all. It was a hot mess.

While getting my Outlook set up, I managed to hit a button that said "Delete All Emails in This Folder." Problem being, I didn't want to delete all the emails. I wanted to delete one email (it had imported all almost 8000 emails I hadn't deleted from the online Gmail version of the email), and I pushed the red "x." Only...I didn't notice it said it would delete ALL the emails. Yeah. Who knew that was even an option. Apparently, it just gives me that option while in the midst of importing with IMAP, because I haven't seen that button since then.

I had a bit of a heart attack, because those deleted emails didn't show up in any of the other folders, and when I logged in online, it showed that everything had been cleared out of there, as well. In short, I was screwed!

Many hours, rants, and borderline panic attacks later, my email made the sound that signifies emails received. When I pulled it up, those emails had magically appeared in the trash folder. It was insanity! Thankfully, it looks like everything's there, so it's just a matter of sorting through 8000 emails to get them reorganized. Totally doable compared to the horror of having lost all my emails.

So...I didn't get any writing or editing done Sunday. That was just one small part of the day, but it really signified the kind of day it was.

HOWEVER, I got writing done the two days preceding Sunday, and I'm not actually disappointed in not writing or editing yesterday. I don't have a 50,000 word goal for the month, just overall goals (you can see this post if you want to know what my goals are for ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo), and I'm doing just fine. Friday, I eked out a little time to add some wordage to Novel #2 (1230 words added) and to research some things for said novel. Saturday, I started a short story and got 2541 words written to it. I think I will add another 1000-1500 words to it before it's finished. Today, my goal will be to get some editing on Novel #1 or a short story.

So, what inspires you? How are you doing with NaNo or your monthly goals? What do you wish would happen to inspire you?

May you find your Muse.