Insecure Writer’s Support Group, CassaDawn, The Dungeon at Annaberg, Luke Cage Review, Question of the Month, and Ninja News – Opportunities and Releases

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

My awesome co-hosts today are Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Viola Fury, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Angela Wooldridge, and Susan Gourley! Don’t forget the IWSG Anthology Contest is open – fantasy/hero lost is the genre/theme. We have changed the word count! It’s now 3000-6000 words. See the site for full details.

Today's question - When do you know your story is ready? My answer - when I start reverting back to what I originally wrote I know I've gone too far and I'm done.

Writing has ground to a halt. Too many plot holes in the outline I was working on, so I’ve chucked it. Which is weird for me, as it’s only the second time I’ve tossed an idea completely. (I wrote the ending for CassaStorm before I’d finalized the outline, and I eventually tossed it as it didn’t fit the story.) Not sure what I’ll try next, if anything.

However, I do have some cool book news!

First, the winners of CassaStorm on audio are… Sheena-kay and Crystal Collier Congratulations!
You’ll enjoy it, if only because the narrator put so much effort into the sound effects and voices. And although CassaStorm is the third book, you don’t need to read the other two to follow the story. Nor do you need to be a fan of science fiction! (And if you like middle grade, one of the main characters is Byron’s ten-year-old son.)
Find it on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible


Next, my publisher just reduced the price of Dragon of the Stars to $2.99 for the eBook!
Find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ITunes, and Kobo

Finally, a story I wrote last year for an anthology that was delayed many times before the publisher scrapped it will be available soon!

CassaDawn

A pilot in training...
Fighting the odds, Byron is determined to complete Cosbolt training. Poised at the top of his class, only one situation holds him back–his inability to work with anyone in the cockpit. Byron’s excellent piloting skills won’t be enough without a good navigator…

The Dungeon at Annaberg by Bish Denham

Thank you Alex for letting me usurp your blog!

The dungeon at Annaberg, a sugar plantation on St. John in the U. S. Virgin Islands, plays a small but important role in my story, The Bowl and the Stone. A little history might be interesting.

The factory building where sugarcane juice was boiled down. Imagine the hillside behind the building completely cleared, terraced, and planted with sugarcane.

Earliest records show the land was already under cultivation in 1723. By 1733 it was one of 109 plantations.

Annaberg soon became the largest sugar producer, adding to the 1.1 million pounds per year the island produced between 1820 and 1826.

Tucked away, out of sight, is a small room, no more than six-by-twelve feet. At one time heavy, wooden doors locked people in. High in one wall a small window with bars lets in the only light and air.

As I child I saw manacles still hanging from another wall. A prisoner would have had his or her hands shackled above the head.

The aura of lives spent time in the small space is still strong, for etched into the plaster are pictures. Look closely. A slave, perhaps with a rock, scratched out what Annaberg looked like at the time of his or her imprisonment. The wooden second stories are long gone.

And this one is even harder to see, but it's a ship, flying a flag. Perhaps it’s like a ship the slave endured during the Middle Passage, or a trading ship that plied the waters of the Caribbean. In my story The Bowl and the Stone, Sam and her best friend Nick, discover an etching they've never seen before.

It’s mysterious because it looks new; the scratches in the wall aren't dark with age, but white. Stick figures of bodies lying on the ground look like they’re being tended by someone carrying a bowl. Sam knows cholera, yellow fever, and small pox ravaged the islands. Could this be a scene from one of those epidemics? Who put it there and why? When the etching disappears, Sam and Nick know the ghost that's haunting them must be involved.

The Bowl and the Stone
Pirates. Explorers. And spooky ghost hunters.
Available at Amazon and Smashwords
Visit Bish at Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads

Luke Cage Review

This NetFlix series has a solid cast and the story seems to be meshing together well. I’ve never seen the lead in any other roles, but he’s been acting a long time – and he’s perfect as Luke Cage.
The music ties in well with show, which is very cool. In tone, it’s similar to Daredevil and lighter than Jessica Jones. And while the latter’s pace feels slow, Luke Cage’s story is developed faster.
Marvel has fully embraced its adult fare – this one is not for the kids.
I’ve only watched a couple episodes, but overall it’s a great start.

Question of the Month

Hosted by Michael at A Life Examined

“What’s a decision you’ve made in the past that you know, logically, was the right decision to make, but which you still feel guilty or regretful about?”

I really can’t think of anything. If I regretted it, that’s because it wasn’t the logical decision. And if it was, then I didn’t regret it. Sorry, just too narrow a focus for me to come up with an answer this month.

Ninja News

Take this survey to see what species of BEAST you are from BROKEN BRANCH FALLS by Tara Tyler.
I was Steve the Vampire. Which fits, as I’m pale and I like Batman.

New Releases:

I’m excited to announce this release from my publisher –

Bloodwalker by L.X. Cain

Lightning flashes. Another child disappears…
When Zorka Circus performs, its big top roars with laughter and cheers, but when it moves on, there are fewer children in the European towns it leaves behind.

Find Bloodwalker at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, BAM, and Dancing Lemur Press
L.X. Cain was born in the U.S. but now lives on the Red Sea and busily taps away at a laptop, coming up with stories to thrill and entertain readers. Contact L.X. Cain at: Blog, Facebook, and Twitter

Circuits and Slippers – an anthology
Featuring stories from LG Keltner and Leandra Wallace
Find it on Amazon

Opportunities:

The WEP Challenge this month:
You can respond to the CONSTELLATIONS challenge, or
you can respond to the HALLOWEEN challenge, or
you can be very clever and combine the two
We accept flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photographs/photo essays, artwork. Written work needs to be 1,000 words or under to help with reading time.
The list is now open. Visit Write…Edit…Publish to sign up or get more information.

Tell-Tale Publishing announced their annual Scariest Story Starter Contest. Prizes include Amazon gift cards and an opportunity to be published by Tell-Tale Publishing.
Last year, I had the opportunity to be a judge in contest. (I had to decline this year due to the timing.) The stories were great and it’s awesome to see the winners released in this year’s horror anthology, The Keeper’s Secret and Other Stories. (Available October 15.)

Jessica Therrien’s publishing company, Acorn Publishing, is now accepting submissions for the 2016 Author’s Circle Awards. There is a fee to enter but it is open to any author with a book release this year. (Or last year depending on the category.)

MJ Freiheit announced that The Great Flash Fiction War is now open! It offers cash awards to the top stories, including publication.
For more information, visit their site, sign up for the newsletter for a discount code, and follow on Twitter.

Yes, I had a good time catching up with family this past week – glad to be back though.

What’s your writing insecurity this month? Want to visit the Dungeon at Annaberg? Catch any Luke Cage episodes? Taking advantage of any of those opportunities? Think I could cram more into this post…?