Getting There, One Step at a Time

It’s been a busy and eventful two weeks on the writing front. About three weeks ago, a colleague recommended a writing competition called Ink and Insights and after checking it out, I decided to enter.

The contest asks for up to 10,000 words, which for me is the first seven chapters of my urban fantasy. This also meant editing those words again and fine tuning every sentence until I was satisfied.

Happily, manuscripts don’t have to be finished for this contest. All entries will receive feedback from judges who are interested in my genre (the organizers match you up with judges, based on genre). The top three placements will earn a trip to the agents round but that won’t be decided for some time. Yes, there’s prize money, but what excites me is that I’ll receive detailed feedback about my plot, setting, characters, and so forth from four knowledge people, for a reasonable fee of $40. This is the early-bird fee for entries submitted by March 31^st. My critique group’s been extremely helpful, but they are not fantasy writers, so it’ll be interesting to see what type of feedback I’ll receive. The contest is open until the end of May, and the fee is only another $5, I think, so if you’re interested in submitting your work, check out the link HERE.

The other exciting thing is that I’ve completed the suggested changes by beta readers and my editor for my Casey Holland mystery novella, so I’ve now hired a jacket designer who’s already sent me seven designs to choose from. I worked with this fellow a few years ago and liked his work. Although I also liked my previous designer, they’ve increased their prices and their timeline is usually about six months. So, things are moving ahead. I’ll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, Happy Easter, or Ramadan, or Passover, however you celebrate. Or just enjoy the long weekend 😊

January Exuberance, Who Knew?

Not quite that exuberant, but close…

A funny thing happened on Sunday night. I felt wildly happy, exuberant, in fact. The reason was simple. For the first time in years, I was ending the Christmas season without worrying about heading back to a day job. Fretting about the return to work, or in earlier days, getting the kids ready for school, or even my own return to school, always meant that the first weekend of a new year was a downer. Not this time, my friends. I tried real hard not to smirk over the fact that my hubby and son were returning to work on Monday. Of course, I failed miserably, but they understood.

I have no intention of shuffling my way into laziness this month, despite the dark rainy days. I’ve a fairly long to-do list in my planner this week, but it’s my choice as to how much time I’ll spend on each of these tasks. This year, I’m going to give myself more free time on the weekends to try new recipes, read more books, or go for longer walks.

I have two major writing projects underway, and a third, which I’ve put on the backburner but really need to finish. It’s a Casey Holland novella, which was written quite some time ago and has been edited at least ten times. I put it away last spring, but 2021 might be the time to get it publication ready. The first six books in the series had a serious tone, but the novella is a tongue-and-cheek look at the lighter side of Casey’s work as a transit security officer. Once I pull it out of its folder, I’ll tell you more.

It will be a work-filled year. My choice. Productive. Creative. Fun. Stepping outside into the real world might be a little more challenging until most of the population is vaccinated, but I’ll do my best to stay safe. But once they are, that’ll be a happy day!

Imajin Book’s Spring Sale!

April is here! If I can make it through the first three months of a cold, wet dreary Vancouver winter without disaster or perpetual moodiness, then the rest of the year is a bonus.

To that end, my publisher has launched a spring book sale on all Imajin Books titles. My two novellas, Dead Man Floating and A Toxic Craft are only $.99 US (which works out to about a $1.28 Cdn.) now until April 15^th.

Here’s the blurb for Dead Man Floating:

One wrong decision… 

Security guard Evan Dunstan didn’t expect to find a body floating in a campus stream. An empty vodka bottle nearby suggests that the highly despised George Krenn, head of the plumbing department, had drunkenly fallen in. Refusing to let the death of a vile man ruin his romantic plans, Evan decides to leave the body for the next shift to find.

One friend in trouble…

When it’s discovered that Krenn was murdered, Evan has a lot of explaining to do. So does his friend Sully, Krenn’s least favourite student. Evan uses his hacking skills and campus knowledge to keep them both out of jail, but the investigation forces him to question Sully’s innocence.

One mystery to solve…

Uncovering the truth proves to be more than challenging. It may cost Evan his job, his friendship, and his woman. Will Evan find the killer, or will the killer find him first?

And for A Toxic Craft:

A crafty senior…

Evan Dunstan’s spunky grandmother is giving him major headaches. As organizer for the seniors’ Christmas craft fair, Gran faces warring vendors and acts of vandalism that threaten to ruin the event. When nasty knitter Cora Riddell is knocked unconscious and her water spiked with a hallucinogen, Gran begs Evan to find out who’s responsible before more harm is done—or someone dies.

A daunting task…

In charge of the fair’s security, Evan faces a challenge that grows more difficult by the hour. His boss expects him to find the culprit before police are called in and Southwest Trades & Technology’s reputation as a safe campus is destroyed.

A friend or foe?

A search for answers reveals the disturbing possibility that even friends and coworkers hope Evan will fail. Is the culprit closer to him than he thought? Whose startling secrets must be exposed to find the truth?

If you have any trouble with the links, please let me know, and thank you!

http://getbook.at/DeadManFloating

http://getbook.at/AToxicCraft