When the doubt monster steps in (IWSG)

Thank you to Alex and his wonderful team of co-hosts for all that they do. You guys are super amazing. 

As artistic individuals, we live a tortured life. We create wonderful pieces of art, composed of the written word and most of us are at our happiest doing that. But then…there comes a time when we need to share our work with others, to get the exposure we require to give our work the attention it deserves. That of course is the most difficult part, when we start comparing our work to that of others, wondering whether our creations are good enough and we end up seeking the approval of our peers to validate the success of our creations.

The life of a writer is never easy. We go through this rollercoaster of emotions, feeling happy about what we created, doubting ourselves and feeling insecure and then we start hating what we had created. It is a vicious cycle that most of us are always on, sometimes all in a matter of days.

My cure? I think we should have a great support system. Whether it is a family member, a good friend or a fellow writer that will step in when you are on the negative side of that emotional rollercoaster. It should be someone that will keep you on course and focused on what matters most. Someone who can make you smile even when you want to cry. Find one of those people and your creative journey could be a lot less lonely and stressful and who knows, maybe it could even be more fun.

The Insecure Writers Support Group was created by the wonderfully talented Mr Alex J. Cavanaugh, so that writers could talk and communicate to others about the fears and insecurities that they might have. You can visit Alex Here, or if you want to join us in discussing our insecurities on the first Wednesday of each month, you are welcome to join by going Here.

I am just hopeless

This might sound strange, but I am really bad with technology. New social media types especially. I tried to use linky tools last week and those of you who use it will know you get step by step instructions and a demo on how to use it right? Well, I still messed up and I drove myself crazy with one thing and before I knew it, I made a complete mess of my blog layout. It took me an hour to get everything back the way it was. Needless to say, I closed my linky tools account because I am just an idiot who will stick to blogging. How I figured out how to blog is beyond me.

Why use linky tool in the first place? Well, I noticed that I have a lot of people who follow me through other blogging sources beside blogger, which I have a hard time following back, because they do not have Google+ or Google Friend Connect. So I wanted to find a way to follow them back and it backfired. But I should mention, I always follow back and if I somehow missed following you back, please let me know and I will correct it. Another thing, if I can't follow someone the normal way, I always add your blog to my blog list on the right and read and comment on your blog that way. Also, I sometimes find that people tend to follow me, but have no link for me to follow them back with. If you leave me your link, I will gladly follow you back.

I sound stupid, I know.

CassaStorm, That Sadie Thing and Polar Night

The wonderful and totally awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh's book CassaStorm is out now. It is part of a series that I am going to get my little hands on soon. You guys can get your copy here:

Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Amazon Kindle
Goodreads







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That Sadie Thing by Annalisa Crawford is finally in paperback. Another book I want to get my greedy little hands on. You can check it out here:

Goodreads










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Polar Night by Julie Flanders is also available now and it is 10% off if you buy it from Smashwords up until 6 October 2013. I need to get this book too. You can purchase a copy here:

Amazon
Amazon UK
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Sony
Kobo

Low profile

I read somewhere that you shouldn't blog when you don't really have anything interesting to say. Which is why I haven't blogged for a while.

I went for a job interview on Thursday and I have mixed feelings about how it went. The position was for a copy writer/blogger and when asked what I possibly knew about blogging and writing, I mentioned that I was a blogger and that I had done freelance writing before. Somehow they ended up making me feel like I was not pretty enough or smart enough to work for their company. It is strange though, I went in feeling so confident and ready, but left feeling worried and sad. I did my best anyway, but they said they will let me know if I got the job this upcoming week. They even mentioned that they had several other candidates to consider, along with myself.

I am still not doing much writing at the moment, though I have been catching up on my reading. Three of my family members have been home sick with the flu and I am trying desperately to avoid them and getting sick myself. I had the flu a few months back and apparently, I can get it all over again. I thought because I already had it this year I would be done.

All in all I am just keeping a low profile. Not doing much, just hanging around at home, trying not to drive my mother crazy.

The Faerie War sign up and BookFish Books LLC seeks submissions

Hey guys, Rachel Morgan is releasing another book, The Faerie War on the 21st of October and she needs people to help her spread the word about the release, or write a review for the book. If you are interested, you can sign up Here.





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Did you know that there is a new publisher out there called BookFish Books LLC? Well they are currently accepting YA works and do you know what makes them so great? The agency was founded by writers and one of them is T.C. Mckee, one of our fellow bloggers. This agency helps writers who would like to pursue self-publishing. I should mention that their awesome logo above was designed by the talented Michael Di Gesu, also one of our fellow bloggers.

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I don't know what it is but lately I have been finding it hard to sit still and just be. I feel all jittery and annoyed. Could it be that I have sent out more query letters to agents and not heard anything back? Or could it be because I have not had the urge to write anything lately?

These days I am doing a lot of dishes and I don't even like doing dishes. I think I need to look into buying a dishwasher when I get a job.

What are  you up to?

Insecure IWSG

The Insecure Writers Support Group was created by the wonderfully talented Mr Alex J Cavanaugh, so that writers could talk and communicate to others about the fears and insecurities that they might have. You can visit Alex Here, or you if you want to join us in discussing our insecurities on the first Wednesday of each month, you are welcome to join by going Here.

Congratulations with the 2 year anniversary Alex! Thank you for giving us writers this outlet. I bet you must be so happy and proud. It has been really fun and therapeutic to get all my insecurities out there. 

I must say that though it has been two years, I still feel insecure about certain things, but I think that is normal. I don't think that if you are a writer that you ever stop feeling insecure about your work or any of the writing processes. But I am less crazy about it all. I know I have to work on sharing my work. I always fear posting any of my writing on my blog. I fear my peers. I fear being ripped to shreds. But that kind of feedback would probably be very useful. I guess I am just secure in general. 

How about you? How is your insecurity level this month? 

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I want to thank Deanie from Thoughts and Ideas of Deanie Humphrys-Dunne for tagging me. She is super nice and if you have the time, please pay her a visit. She can really do with a few more followers and blogging friends.

The rules

Answer the 10 questions and then tag 4 other people

The 10 Questions

1-What is the working title of your book?
The Amaranthine

2-Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was just in a really bad place in my life and I needed some cheering up, so one day I woke up with the idea in my head about Immortals and how I had a story that needed to be written. I liked the idea of living in a different world.

3-What genre does your book fall under?
Romance, but more specifically, paranormal romance. 

4-Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
For my main character, Claire, I would say a 23 year old Salma Hayak. As for her soul mate and love interest...I have not yet seen an actor that has Alex's dark and handsome features.

5-What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Claire soon finds herself drawn to the immortal world after meeting the handsome Amaranthine warrior, Alex. 

6-Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Hopefully it will be represented by an agency. I am in the process of looking for someone to buy or represent this book. 

7- How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took between two to three months. 

8-What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I would say The Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter and Jacob by Jacqueline Franks. I read both these books afterwards and loved them. 

9-Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I deep need to create or temporary live in a world that I wished I could belong to myself. The real one was not working out so well for me at the time. It still isn't, which is why I still end up running off to my imaginary worlds whenever I can. 

10-What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
My main character, Claire, is easy to relate to and the themes about the underdog saving the day and good triumphing over evil really comes through. That is if you like that sort of thing. And then there is the other theme about a soul mate being out there for every one, no matter how messed up you are. 

I am tagging
Katie KCross Writing

Julie Julie Flanders

Carole The adventures of a children’s author

Crystal Crystal Collier: Young Adult Author

If you don't have a project at the moment, you can talk about a past project or any other project you like. Enjoy!