It's that time of month again! (Okay. I just realized how that sounded. My bad.)

It's time for the Insecure Writers Support Group monthly post.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! This group is all about connecting!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the May 4 posting of the IWSG are Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove,...

Happy IWSG Day!

I don't know how it can already be February, but here we are, the first Wednesday of the month. And that means time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

I somehow missed the last two months of IWSG. I was out of town for November, and then I don't think I even received the email for December, but whatever! I'm back at it now.

What is IWSG?

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

You ready?

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

The...

Cari Z and I currently have THREE sci-fi books that are FREE through October 18th.

The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. The purpose of the group is to share and encourage one another. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post (but the question is optional). These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

The awesome co-hosts for the October 6 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, J Lenni Dorner,...

I've started a Discord server! Why? I don't really know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

For those who are unfamiliar with Discord, don't be scared! It's simple to use. Each server is basically a chat room with "channels" that can be used to streamline topics. They're also invite-only, so there won't be random people just popping in.

My server is HERE. I hope to see you there! 😁

Back in December, I contracted a company to rebuild my website. It didn't occur to me at the time how much I'd be losing. It wasn't until it was far too late to turn back that I realized the extent of what would be erased.

12 years of blog posts gone. Also, hundreds of supportive and positive comments left by readers over the years. Glowing reviews and questions about sequels and excitement over upcoming releases, all erased in the blink of an eye. I'm pretty sure I lost all my subscribers, too. 😕

It all just feels so empty and blank now.

Last night, I started reading Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. Chapter one talks a lot about the stress cycle, and how to break it.

Today is the first day of school here in our district, and so it seemed like a good time to check in and let everybody know what's going on with me.

The answer is... not much. I have been in a major writing slump for the past year. I haven't written a damned thing since wrapping up Lost Ship of the Tucker Rebellion with Cari Z last summer. I could blame it on Covid and my disrupted routine. I could say it's because my one big emotional outlet (live sporting events) did not exist last year. I could blame the general contentiousness of the world right now, and the overall nastiness of social media. I could say it's burnout, or laziness, or general apathy. I think every one of those things has contributed to my lack of productivity. But regardless of all that, my kid is back in school as of today, which means I have way too much time on my hands. It's time for me to get serious and either start writing again, or go get a day job.

Trust me, I'd definitely rather...

Saviours of Oestend is now available in audio!! I have waited years to be able to bring you this series in audio and with the covers they deserve. I could not be happier right now. I can't even tell you how much I love these boys. This is hands-down my favorite of my own work (for what it's worth).

And of course John Solo is brilliant.

Find it here.

RJ Scott has put together this HUGE promotion. It's so big, she had to break us into four groups.

As part of this March Madness promotion, Song of Oestend will be discounted on Amazon this week (a countdown deal, so the price will start at 99¢ and climb from there).

This promotion also includes prizes!!

One lucky winner will win a bundle of prizes including 3 x $5 gift cards, 9 x backlist ebooks, and 1 x audio code, from authors: Posy Roberts, Suki Fleet, Marie Sexton, Beth Laycock, David C Dawson, Pat Henshaw, Wendy Rathbone, Zoe Piper, Kindle Alexander, Teodora Kostova, Lillian Francis, Jodi Payne, and Grace Kilian Delaney

Browse the titles here:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/marchmadness2021/rmyfm6ic74

You can enter to win here:

http://bit.ly/MMRJGp4

The fine print:

(Starts - 11 March 00:00 GMT - ends 23 March 00:00 GMT - winner randomly selected...

There are currently two BookFunnel promotions featuring LGBTQ+ stories that can be downloaded FREE or in exchange for your email address. There is some overlap between them, but it’s still a lot of stories from a some great authors. One giveaway focuses specifically on romance, while the other includes a broader range of fiction (but still lots of romance as well). Find them here:

One Man’s Trash is FREE on Amazon from December 12th through the14th. You can find it here.

Just to repeat: the book is free ONLY from December 12th through the 14th. After that, it will be back to its regular price.

Between Sinners and Saints will be free on Amazon through December 8, 2020. You can also add audio for only $7.49!

Song of Oestend will be FREE on Amazon today and tomorrow (November 28-29). It will also be out in audio any day now (just waiting on Audible to approve the listing). You can find it here.

I have several book freebies and discounts scheduled over the next few weeks. A few will be on Amazon exclusively. A few will be available on other platforms. Some will be through Book Funnel. I’ll try to remember to post them all here on my blog, but I can’t make any promises. The absolute best way to stay up-to-date on all of them is by joining my Facebook group, which you can find here.

I’m thrilled to announce that there is now a new (and greatly improved) audio version of Promises! This is a narration of the updated, re-edited version of the book released in May 2019 and includes the prequel, Meant to Be. And best of all, it’s narrated by John Solo! You can find it HERE.

Need something new to read? I have two quick promotions to share with you. These are all for LGBT+ romances.

First, check out this list of contemporary and historical LBGT+ romance, which features a lot of names you’ll probably recognize.

Welcome back for part two of my three-part series on my favorite horror movies of all time! Today, we jump into the fun stuff. I have a lot of fun films to talk about, so let’s jump right in.

They’re good, but are they horror?

The quintessential defining question of horror has to be “is it scary?” These movies are all billed as horror and often found on “best of” lists. They’re movies I love and watch any time I have the chance. I’d even call them favorites! But I just don’t think they’re scary.

Jaws (1975)

Here’s the thing: I live in Colorado. The nearest ocean is more than a thousand miles away. Besides, I already think the ocean is the scariest fucking thing in the world, and not because of sharks. Is this one of the greatest movies ever? Absolutely! Can I quote every line? That’s some bad hat, Harry. But is it scary? Not for this land-locked movie-goer. Besides, all you need is a bigger boat.

It’s October, that spooky, scary time of year. (Although at this point, can Halloween really scare us any more than real life? No, but it might offer us a fun escape.) And I’m a writer with blog space who also happens to love the hell out of horror. So I thought I’d do a little series on my favorite horror movies of all time. And I’m breaking it into three parts because it was going to be one long-ass blog post by itself.

Favorite vs “Best”

Years ago, my brother and I had a friendly argument over whether disliking something necessarily means that “it sucks.” The topic arose because he said Linda Ronstadt “sucked.” I countered that while he might not enjoy her music, saying she “sucks” implies that she can’t sing, which is a ludicrous statement. I mean, have you even listened to White Rhythm & Blues? I can recognize that Bob Dylan is a songwriting genius even if I don’t particularly enjoy his music.

Likewise, a movie that may be one of the “best” may...