Tag Archives: novels

This Week’s Insanity

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This week’s insanity brought to you by Wendy Howard

Happy Monday morning. Just a few quick items this week. Very exciting for me, the new book cover for The Courier is complete and here it is. Couple more weeks it’ll be available again.

Tim’s book, The Pumpkin Seed will be featured in July over at The Dark Book Club.

We’d like to invite in a few more bloggers to join us. If you’re interested, contact us. In particular we’re looking for creative people, which means you don’t have to be a writer.

This week over at Dark Media City:

  • It’s zombie month over at Horror Chat on DarkMedia City.
  • This month’s theme for Friday Frights continues with Science Fiction, the prompt being Apocalypse.
  • Over at The Dark Book Club we’re finishing up our June reads.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Twitt

This Week’s Insanity

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This week’s insanity brought to you by Wendy Howard

I’ve gotten away from writing in this blog again, primarily because I’ve been busy setting up the Visionary Press cooperative. Am back though and trying to do some regular posts. Even managed to get a Friday Fright out last week.

Anyways, we’ve got a membership drive going on over at Visionary Press. If you’re interested in community publishing, drop by the website and learn more.

I’ve got a new book cover in the works for The Courier and am hoping to re-release in a couple weeks.

Tim’s story, Invitation was published in Dark Media Magazine a couple weeks ago.

This week over at Dark Media City:

  • It’s zombie month over at Horror Chat on DarkMedia City.
  • This month’s theme for Friday Frights continues with Science Fiction, the prompt being steampunk.
  • Over at The Dark Book Club we started reading the following new books.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Twitt

This Week’s Insanity

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This week’s insanity brought to you by Wendy

I got away from our Monday posts because a lot of insanity happened over the past couple months. That’s all coming to an end and new and exciting things are happening. In my case I had to take a few steps back to be able to leap forward, so I’m certainly not sitting around pouting, that’s for sure.

Unfortunately, I had to unpublish The Courier, which is why you no longer see it on this blog. I’m starting a new cooperative publishing company, Visionary Press, with a few respected authors and artists, and The Courier will re-release later this year. Stay tuned. More on Visionary Press next week.

I’ve started doing wine reviews on Wednesday if you haven’t dropped by to read for awhile. Wine is a passion of both mine and my hubby’s, so I’m having a blast writing these reviews. Check ‘em out so far. Tim knows whiskey and I’m trying to get him to writer reviews. Cross your fingers.

This week’s Horror Chat on Twitter and Dark Media City is about David Lynch so everyone will have to endure my fixation with Eraserhead and Dune. In June, we start a series of discussions on zombies, YIPPEE, always a popular topic.

June also starts a month of Science Fiction for Friday Frights. This week we will release stories about aliens. We have been all moved into Dark Media City for the last couple weeks too. Now we vote weekly for the stories and our favorite is published in Dark Media Magazine.

The Dark Book Club, also on Dark Media City is now run by Visionary Press and led by Blaze McRob and myself. The club is really taking off and we’ve nearly doubled the members. Drop by and join or suggest your book.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Twitt

A Happy Bloody Valentines Day

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Welcome and Happy Valentine’s Day from W.J. Howard, R.J. Robyn, Timothy C. Hobbs and Randall Stone. I’m combining our weekly news with our drawings and giveaways for the Bloody Hearts Blog Hop, so read very closely so you don’t miss any of the drawings.

Timothy C. Hobbs 3 Novel Box Set

First and biggest news is Blaze McRob and I have conducted an evil take over of The Dark Book Club on Dark Media City. MWAA MWAA MWAA… Okay, not so dramatic. More like we’re reviving it.

Anyways, Mr. Hobbs latest novel, Music Box Sonata is a featured read in March. You can win this novel by entering his drawing to the right for all 3 of his eBooks or on his drawing page on the Vamplit Blog. Winner drawn this Wednesday. If you’d like to enter this drawing, but don’t want to enter via Rafflecopter, leave a comment below, telling us you would like to enter Tim’s drawing.

There is also a drawing for the anthology selection for the book club, Satan’s Toybox: Demonic Dolls, which I have read and is a GREAT book with some fabulous authors. So make sure you drop by the Angelic Knight Press blog to enter.

Blog Hop Trivia Game

The Good the Bad and the Ugly of Valentine’s Day Trivia Game ran on the hops facebook page to kick off the hop. It returns Monday and Tuesday. Be on the lookout for questions then comment and increase your score. Highest score on February 15th wins choice of a $20 gift certificate for Smashwords OR Drive-Thru Fiction, donated by all of us here on Minor Insanity.

The Courier Drawing & Giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

And on to another drawing for a 1 year subscription to The Courier. I’m playing with Rafflecopter on this, so you can enter by following us on Twitter or liking our Facebook page. You get 3 points for each entry, which I’m guessing gives you more chances to win? I guess I’ll see when I draw the winner, or I could go read the instructions. NAH…

Also, everyone who leaves a comment gets the first episode of The Courier, Bid for Obstruction. It’s redeemable until March 1st.

Other Bloody Hearts Blog Hop Stuff

Other than that, I’ve been so busy with the blog hop that I haven’t gotten anything else done. Next year we’re renaming it a horror hop because it has evolved in just the first year into more of a showcase of all things horror. I have met some really wonderful people that I really look forward to working with on other projects.

This Week’s #Horrorchat & #Fridayflash

We’re discussing Women in Horror this week for #Horrorchat and Little Shop of Oddities for #Fridayflash. Very sorry my #Fridayflash was missing this week. Blog hop kicked butt, but I do plan to release 2 parts this Friday. If you missed Tim’s story last week, it’s Transference and you can read it now.

Twitt

Welcome Timothy C. Hobbs

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Posted by W.J. Howard

At the top of a steep cliff a derelict church serves its congregation of dust, cobwebs and birds roosting in the rafters. One human occupant lives there hidden in the cellar. He is cursed never walk in the tortuous sunlight, but to roam the woods on the cliff at night in the form of a hideous beast struggling with the violent desire to kill while striving to preserve remnants of his own humanity.

It’s Halloween in Jasper, Texas and Butch and Suzy are driving with their dad to trick or treat at the strip mall and the local churches. They didn’t count on the truck breaking down, getting lost in the woods, or coming across the ordinary old cabin, but there’s nothing ordinary about the tenents – two spinster sisters who have been waiting eternally for children to call their own.

“I am a drinker of human blood and an eater of human flesh, a monster dressed in the skin of a man.” So states Charles, the main character of the novel, after being infected with a virus transmitted by an insect vector. The horror is set loose on the world by a man driven mad by injustice and oppression. In a novel spanning three hundred years the vampire is both killer and victim of humanity.

Just a quick post, folks. We have a new blogger joining us. Timothy C. Hobbs is another Vamplit author like myself. I’m very excited to have him join R.J. and I. He’s been with Vamplit from the very beginning and has three books available, which are listed to the right. I just happen to be one of his biggest fans, LOVING his ability to weave amazing horror tales. Tim writes #fridayflash as well and will post along with me starting this week.

I pulled this bio about him from Smashwords so you can get to know him better. You can also click on his books to the right if you would like to purchase one of his titles.

Timothy C. Hobbs is a 59 year-old retired Medical Technologist living in Robinson, Texas. He wrote his first short story in the sixth grade and at the time I believed the title of The Vampire of England to be quite original. The main character, Alucard, was Dracula in reverse. He still has that penciled, long-hand manuscript.

The year 2005 was his first actual money sales experience. He sold a short story and a flash fiction piece to Dark Tales (Autumn 2005 Issue#7 and Autumn 2006 Issue#9) a U.K. publication, and a short story to spinetinglermag.com (Fall 2005 Issue#4) a Canadian on-line publication. He has published short stories and poems in New Texas, an annual literary journal in 2000, 2001 and 2003. A collection of his short horror fiction, Mothertrucker and Other Stories, from Amazon.com.

The Pumkin Seed published by Vamplit Publishing in 2009 was Timothy Hobbs first published novel. He is now working with his editor at Vamplit Publishing on a collection of stories based on popular fairytales. The Smell of Ginger is the first to be produced as an eBook. The whole collection will be published together under the title Once Upon a Time in Texas some time in 2011.

Timothy C. Hobbs is a consumate horror writer and his stories are both horrific and beautifully crafted.

Twitt

Back to Blogging with a Goals Check-In

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It’s time. My plan was to start blogging again June 1st and here I am. Considering we’re closing in on the 2011 halfway point, I thought I’d start with a goals check-in.

What have I been up to? Lots and lots of writing and editing, and I’m too excited to report that I’m over my target word count for both so far this year.

Rather than write another novel or two this year, I decided instead to focus on short stories. So far I’ve written 15+ new rough rough rough shorts, most still in my journal. Some of the stories are part of a whole vampire fairy tale series, just like I’d hoped to write this year. None of the stories will sit in my journal for too long. I’ve joined #fridayflash, a weekly Twitter group at http://fridayflash.org. This friday is week 4 for me, and I’m hooked. I might even write two a week, considering all the material I already have. I’ve been releasing the stories here and on the Vamplit Blog. Even submitted one of my stories to their second print volume. I also have plans to submit some of the others to online and print magazines and anthologies.

I’ve been pulling my hair out, trying to think of regular things to write here, but haven’t come up with much. Yesterday they opened registration for the 3-Day Novel Contest, which is another goal for this year. So I’ve added a once a week post about preparing for the challenge to the agenda and will blog through the contest like I did last year. I also enjoy writing wine reviews, so I’m kicking around the ideas of sharing our favorite varietals once a week. All my other blogging will be posted on the Vamplit Blog. In fact, I’ve already started over there with #fridayflash, and Vamplit’s #humpday #horrorchat, a weekly chat about all things horror we do every Wednesday on Twitter. All the directions you’ll need to join us available from the link. We’ve got a whole bunch of other stuff planned over there and will let you know as we implement it.

Oh, and I’m still ripping through The Courier. It’s gotten tricky because I’ve moved it to Scrivener to track the entire series. Much better than my old system, but *heavy sigh* the series is getting more and more complicated, so maintaining all the background information is pretty time consuming. The entire plot for the 5th book is figured out and I’ve even found a way to entwine it with another novel series I created years ago. Oh, and I got tons of editing done during NaNoEdMo, although I fell off the blogging during the challenge and never mentioned the final result. It’s only getting better and is still on target to complete editing before the start of the 3-Day. That and I’ve done a ton of work on a couple versions of the synopsis, which you may have seen me complaining about.

We haven’t done much work on Bloodlegger’s :-( R. J. and I have been off doing our own thing but we’re writing book 1 together for NaNoWriMo this year, so we’ll get back on the outline wagon soon.

Now that I’ve sufficiently bored you about novel progress, I’m off to make some meatballs for dinner.

Twitt

Bad Start to a Challenge

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What a difference between NaNoEdMo and NaNoWriMo. There are so few participants, you can hear crickets over on the EdMo website. That and the site has been attacked by a spammer, which seems to be keeping people away. There’s no leadership and no one communicating to the group except for a few posts by the editing support staff. Still, I’m set on completing the challenge. I’ve even started some discussions in the Horror & Thriller and Colorado forums, where we have a total of 3 participants in each.

I love these contest challenges and wish I would have joined them years ago. Then again I’ve always enjoyed competing against myself, seeing how far I can advance passed a previous accomplishment. This has been a rough one to start though. Yesterday my health was crap, and I only got in 15 minutes of editing. Today was better though. I grabbed the paper copy of the manuscript and took the ‘start big’ advice that I read in the forum. Basically got through 40 pages in four hours, identifying major issues to fix first. Sure beats the 6 pages I got through Monday.

Warning: Fibroid Tumor Discussion

Here in the blog, I haven’t mentioned my health issues for quite some time because there came a point I felt they became me. Well, I’m breaking my rule today. Unfortunately, I started off NaNoEdMo with my fibroid tumors out of control. In fact, they’ve been a pain in my ass for the last 5 months. Yesterday, I got through 15 minutes of editing before I felt like another trip to the emergency room might be necessary. One gallon of water and a half gallon of orange juice later I felt I’d live through the night.

It’s mostly my fault I’ve gotten to this point though. Fibroid tumors are controllable via lowered levels of estrogen which includes a diet from hell, exercise, stress reduction, and progesterone cream. I’d had mine under control until the holiday season, when I’d let it all fall apart.

Here’s the real reason I decided to bring up the fibroids. I learned a week ago that fibroid tumors are seriously on the rise in women. One of the major contributors, plastic. Okay, I decided Monday to avoid foods and drinks stored in plastic. People, you have no idea how hard this is unless you take the challenge. Even organic health foods are packaged in plastic. ARGH!!

I’m so irritated by this vicious cycle we live in. In my case, increased hormones injected into animals and plastic containers that act to increase the body’s estrogen result in fibroid tumors that force me to seek medical treatment, including a $3000 trips to the emergency room. According to Western medicine, my only options: surgery to remove the fibroids which will likely grow back, loss of my uterus that will screw up my hormones worse and/or drugs that will make me sicker. The final price tag is equal to thousands and thousands of dollars, which really pisses me off.

On the other hand, if I exercise, eat the right diet, and avoid plastic and stress, I’m healthy and it costs a little more for glass containers and $70 for the occasional massage. For me it’s a no brainer to go with this option, and It’s been pretty successful as long as I don’t fall off the diet.

Now consider this. I watched a documentary recently where a low-income family said they couldn’t possibly eat a healthy diet because they can’t afford low-fat meat and fresh fruits and vegetables. Surprise, surprise, they were all over weight. This is the same thing a friend of mine told me after he lost his job. He gained 40 pounds. So think about it. Someone with a low income is less likely to heal via natural means which is actually less expensive. My head’s spinning so fast I may fall off my soap box.

Twitt

1 Day Down, 30 To Go

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Yesterday was a mellow first day, editing The Courier for NaNoEdMo, just as I hoped it would be.

I’m taking a different approach during NaNoEdMo than I did writing 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo, hoping I don’t burn out by day three. When it comes to new stories, I can write like a crazed maniac for days and days. Editing is such a different process though. That approach would probably put me in an asylum by the end of week 2.

Prior to starting EdMo, my approach to editing could be described as “writer with Attention Deficit Disorder.” Today, I forced myself to edit in hour long increments, in between which I’d take a break for ten to sixty minutes. IT WORKED!!

Main obstacle I encountered was that dreaded perfectionist in me. I started editing a scene that is heated, action packed and a transition point in the story. Not a wise decision. I only got through six pages in 3 3/4 hours. YIKES! So my goal for tomorrow is loosen up and let the editing flow a little faster.

There’s one other thing that slowed me down. I recently read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. A book I wish I’d read before starting at my Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers critique group.  I absorbed some of the best advice I’ve read anywhere from this book.  I pulled out the checklists and am meticulously sifting through the draft, fixing text that strays from standard rules like show vs. tell, too many I’s, repeating words, inserting beats, just to name a few.

That reminds me.  Know about Wordle?  Found out about it in the EdMo forum today.  Nifty tool for writers that counts your word usage.

Twitt

NaNoEdMo Starts Tuesday

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It dawned on me an hour ago that it’s the end of February, and there are only a few days until NaNoEdMo begins. So I decided to drop by the NaNoEdMo website and check on a 2011 badge and add posts in a few discussions. Unfortunately, no badges and it looks like their forum has been invaded by those damn spammers. Also, and there are forum bugs because the site wouldn’t allow me to post until I logged out and logged back in. It’s obvious NaNoEdMo is a baby contest compared to NaNoWriMo, so I’m being patient. I’m even thinking of of helping them out…do I dare go there?

Still, I’m pretty psyched to get started on Tuesday. Figure I have to edit 2 1/2 hours a day if I only edit 5 days a week and that’s doable because I do more than that now. Well, most days of the week. My goal, edit 4 hours a day, six days a week, at lease.  Hmmm…that’s 96 hours. Cool, almost double the requirement.

Other news, I received a certificate in the mail for the 3-Day Novel Contest, pictured below. Put it on the cork board beside a picture on a Native American that reminds me of Oscar, one of the main character’s in The Courier. Threw me off when I received it in the mail. Brought a smile to my face though. Reminders of achievements are always welcome.

3-Day Novel Contest Certificate

Oscar and 3-Day Novel Contest Certificate

Twitt

Bloodleggers #3 on Blood Reads

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I owe everyone an apology for causing the delay of the next part of Bloodleggers.  A couple hours after I woke up on my birthday back on the 17th of the month I realized I’ve been dealing with writer’s block for quite some time.  I wrote about it in my blog in Okay, I’m Blocked…Now What? back on the 19th if you’d like to know more.

Anyways, R.J. had a part ready for editing while I was throwing my 10th draft into the trash can a few days before the part three release date on the 25th.  Hooray for responsible writers!  So we got to work last week on editing his part.  It was supposed to post yesterday, but I set the date to 2011 instead of the current year.  OOPS!

My family decided to spend another day in the mountains yesterday, so I didn’t realize until this morning I’d made a boo-boo.  Luckily, I took another look at the post because I’d also left in a three paragraph discussion between R.J. and I that copied in from the comments on the manuscript.

Okay…all is well now.  To read it, just click here.  Or use the link in the left column.  ENJOY!!

Twitt
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