Reading – Page 22 – Writing Wrongs

Weekly writing check-in: the one with a stretch goal

ProudtobeVol3

Oh, but it’s cold out there, what we call real writing weather. Because what else are you going to do but stay inside and write? (Or read–that’s acceptable.)

My submission tracker is looking mighty thin these days. That being said, I have made fifty submissions so far this year, so that’s not exactly slacking. As I mentioned in last week’s post, I concentrating more on longer works or ones that don’t quite fit with the short story market, and I will find other ways to send them off into the world.

Still, I’d love to get a few more submissions out this year, and I have a couple of stories that need a once-over before I send them out the door.

In other news, Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Volume 3 is out. It’s in paperback only. I wish they’d publish an electronic version as well (I bet they’d sell more copies that way).

Looking at my writing this week, I realized that I’m 14,000 words away from 250,000 words written this year. New goal! Dare I add a stretch goal of 300,000 words? Maybe … maybe I will.

Writing Work:

Writing ~ 8,500 words

Submissions:

None

Rejections:

Abandonment Issues

Acceptances:

None

Publications:

Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Volume 3

Veteran’s Day 2014 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

Today’s the day! You can read more about the challenge below and follow the link to see all the books available. Get a jump on your holiday shopping!

Below are the links for The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet. I’m donating royalties from all sales, print, e-book, and audio, so buy early, buy often. I will be donating to Veterans in the Arts, a local organization.

Plus, if you buy the print version via Amazon, you can pick up the Kindle version for 99 cents.

Print, Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo

Audio: Amazon, Audible, iTunes

Veterans Day 2014 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

On Veterans Day 2014, 50 veteran authors will pledge 100% of their print, e-book and audio book royalties to their favorite veteran’s charity. In most cases, these are organizations that assisted the authors personally and they are trying their best to give back.

Veterans from each service branch and every conflict period, from Vietnam to even one author deployed to Afghanistan at this moment, are pledging. This diverse collection of works includes New York Times and USA Today Bestsellers and covers most genres. From romance to action-adventure and everything in between, there’s something for every taste here!

The ultimate goal of this event is to raise at least $10,000 for the 15+ veterans charities they’re supporting. If you aren’t interested in any of the books available, they have a page set up ranking the money raised for each charity and spotlighting bonus donations here. Whether you contribute to the best performing or the least performing, either way your donation will be put to good use!

The complete collection of participating books and charities can be found here:

Veteran’s Day 2014: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with an upcoming charity drive challenge

14poster_lowres It was one of those weeks where, when I sat down to write this check-in, I had to think to myself:

Did I get a rejection this week?

Maybe I did.

As it turns out, I didn’t. But I had to check. This is the beauty part about keeping your head down and writing and submitting–you end up forgetting about the rejections. Really. I mean it. True, I haven’t submitted as much this year, mainly because I’m writing longer works that aren’t suitable for the short story market.

I do have a couple of things I’d like to get out before the end of the year. Then, of course, finish up my Coffee & Ghosts serial.

So many stories. Not enough time.

Be sure to stop back on Tuesday. I’m taking part in a charity drive challenge (more details below).

Writing Work:

Writing ~ 7,900 words

Submissions:

None

Rejections:

None

Acceptances:

None

Publications:

None, but! Stay tuned. On November 11th (Veterans’ Day), I will be participating in the Veteran’s Day 2014: Gone, but Not Forgotten! charity drive challenge.

I will be donating all royalties from The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet (print, e-book, audio) to Veterans in the Arts, a local organization that helps veterans to express themselves in a variety of art forms through a progressive program of supportive instruction and collaboration.

Stop back on Tuesday for links (because I don’t want you to buy anything now, naturally). Or bookmark Veteran’s Day 2014: Gone, but Not Forgotten! for even more books to buy and organizations to support.

Free time? How about a free read?

Need some free time? Need to learn how to steal time? Well, maybe I can help. Or not. What I can do is give you a free read.

This week, Just a Matter of Time will have a free run on Amazon, Monday through Friday. Grab it while you can! Want to know more? Keep reading:

Sadie Lin: High school junior Sadie is desperate–to maintain her GPA, to score high on the SATs, to see her dad return from Afghanistan. Time crawls and slip through her fingers all at once. She thinks it’s all in her head.

It’s not.

Gordon Bakersfield: Gordon–Sadie’s ninth grade epic crush–has plenty of time and knows where to get more. He knows someone has been stealing Sadie’s time. And while he’s not sure how to make it stop, he’s hoping to try. But can Sadie trust him?

Only time will tell.

So … you want to read a bit about World War I?

So, I scanned my LibraryThing collection to see what I have read about World War I. It’s an eclectic mix. I did a fair amount of reading about World War I for the War Through the Generations challenge a few years back, and I’ve continued to read as books capture my interest.

Below are five of the nonfiction titles that I really enjoyed and recommend.

World War One: History in an Hour (my short review here)

The title says it all. World War I, in about an hour, so you’re not getting a lot of detail.

But it’s a good starter book if you’re dipping your toes back into the events of this time.

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 (my review here) by Adam Hochschild

This was one of my favorites from the World War I reading challenge. The author uses one of my favorite techniques for presenting history: providing an overview and then showing us the individual lives of the pairs he follows in the narrative. This makes for both effective and riveting reading.

Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics

Yes, I just reviewed this one, which you can read here. I won’t say a whole lot about it, except that I highly recommend it.

Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson.

What Hochschild does for the Western front, Anderson does in the Middle East. Want to understand what happened during WWI in the Middle East? Want to understand what the heck is going on there today? This is your book. Anderson employs a similar style as Hochschild by following four principal figures (T.E. Lawrence among them, naturally) through the war years in the Middle East. Again, highly recommended.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming.

A few years back, my son was fascinated by the end of the Romanov dynasty, the Russian Revolution, and in particular, if any of the Romanov children survived. I wish this book existed back then. This is young adult nonfiction, but it’s so engaging and informative, I recommend it to anyone who’d like to know more about the above.

For those in the crowd who have read extensively about the revolution and the Romanovs, you probably won’t pick up anything new. However, if you’re like me, and can read about these events over and over (and over) again, then I think you may enjoy this book as well. I know I did. Actually, it reminded me of all the topics I wanted to read more about that had simply slipped off my mental to-be-researched list.

There you go. Five books for the WWI centennial.

Published: The Trouble with Prom + a sneak peek

Sometimes the slipper just doesn’t fit

Two contemporary young adult short stories

Glass Slipper: What do you do when the boy you’ve known forever dumps you the day before prom with everyone in a packed cafeteria looking on? Stalk him in your pajamas, of course. For Mira, this is only the start of a not-so-Cinderella prom.

Breaking Plans: Constance has plans, ones that include leaving her small town immediately after graduation. Prom isn’t part of her agenda. Constance is proficient at breaking rules. But breaking plans? Never. Except that might be the one thing she needs to do.

Bonus Content: Get a sneak peek of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet

Buy now:

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords

There you go: Two stories plus a sneak peek at The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet (the first four chapters), all for less than a cup of coffee at most places.