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.
The awesome co-hosts for the September 7 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Olga Godim, Michelle Wallace, and Louise - Fundy Blue!
September 7 question - What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?
Romance would probably be the worst. Just not my thing. Especially if it was erotic. Not going to happen! Mystery would also be challenging as my mind just doesn’t work that way.
However, today is about romance and the release of the IWSG Anthology!
First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
The sweetness of first love…
Could a fiercely independent cop’s heart be stolen by the guy who makes her favorite doughnuts? Will a maid who used deceit to snare a mail-order husband get a dose of her own medicine? Can her handsome neighbor rescue a modern-day “princess” from a tenacious ex-boyfriend? Can two strangers in a rideshare be honest enough to fall in love for real? Can you remember your first love? How about your second? Third? Fourth?
Featuring the talents of Linda Budzinski, Melissa Maygrove, Michael Di Gesu, Sylvia Ney, Katie Klein, Kim Elliott, Templeton Moss, S.E. White, Denise Covey, and Sammi Spizziri. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will touch your heart and rekindle lost feelings. Prepare to return to that first love…
Print ISBN – 9781939844880, $14.95
eBook ISBN – 9781939844897, $4.99
Romance - Clean & Wholesome / Contemporary / Historical
186 pages, Freedom Fox Press, an imprint of Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.
Find First Love on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Scribed, and Goodreads
“…a refreshing read! This is a gem of a book that I highly recommend.” - Rebecca Boerner M Ed., reviewer
“…this collection nailed the little bites of cute romance… recommend to anyone looking for an uplifting collection of sweet romance to fill an evening.” - Hayley Reese Chow, author
“This was a sweet, warm collection of love stories.” – Angie Titus, author
Here are the book selections with the IWSG Goodreads Book Club for September:
Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life IWSG Anthology
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
RiffTrax: Live – Return of the Swamp Thing
Just what a bad movie like The Swamp Thing needed – a sequel! But fortunately, it’s just bad and watchable enough that it was perfect fodder for RiffTrax. Absolutely hilarious. Plus there was a terrible short about teeth with marionettes before that. Another great evening – now, enjoy the slides!
September Movie Preview
Here are the theatrical releases for September. Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.
8 –
Medieval
Director – Petr Jákl Stars – Ben Foster, Sophie Lowe, Michael Caine
The story of fifteenth century Czech icon and warlord Jan Zizka, who defeated armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire.
Michael Caine is going to get medieval on your ass!
14 –
The Retaliators
Directors - Samuel Gonzalez Jr., Michael Lombardi, Bridget Smith
Stars - Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt
An upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder.
If you don’t find the trailer disturbing and depressing, might I suggest therapy?
30 –
Vesper
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed father, meets a woman with a secret who will force her to use her wits, strengths and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of having a future.
Directors - Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper
Stars - Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Marsan, Rosy McEwen
At first I thought this was a film about a small Italian scooter…
What genre won’t you ever try? Picking up First Love? Did you see RiffTrax: Live? What movies catch your attention this month?
HUGE congratulations to all those included in the latest ISWG Anthology.
ReplyDeleteHi Alex - congratulations to all authors included in the anthology ... and I just couldn't write a book ... movies not my sort, but I've seen a few different ones recently ... but I did see a swamp one 'Where the Crawdads Sing' - which I thoroughly enjoyed ...
ReplyDeletecongratulations to all the co-hosts for these monthly IWSG posts - cheers Hilary
The anthology looks great!
ReplyDeleteVesper looks like an interesting movie.
Congratulations to the authors!The stories in the anthology are ones I will enjoy. Now I have to write my blog for IWSG. I'm late because the Monday holiday messed me up. Happy IWSG Day!!
ReplyDeleteHooray to all the anthology contributors. Looks like a "sweet" read. Had to stop and read hard about Vesper...which was the name of my late husband's boat. An Italian scooter is Vespa, I think. Vesper is an evening star...and also a James Bond martini!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the anthology winners!!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see Vesper.
Teresa
It's romance for me too. I think it's the hardest genre to write in! I'm in awe of people who can write it.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the authors!
I appreciate your choice not to write romance and supporting today's release of the IWSG romance anthology.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the anthology contributors!
Hi Alex didn't realisse in was the first Wednesday of the month.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post very much....... hope to take part next month if I'm still on the list.
Thanks for everything.
Yvonne.
Not sure why my comment didn't post. My answer was romance too. Congrats to all the authors in the anthology.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the authors! I wouldn't know the first thing about writing a space opera. :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the anthology authors!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy the snarky movie comments! Especially since I've been in a movie/TV watching funk lately. Nothing is catching and/or holding my interest.
Isn't it wonderful that we now have SO many genres to chose from that you can always have way too many books calling for your attention. I've tried them all and narrowed it down, as time allows, to the ones that hold my attention hostage.
ReplyDeleteYay for the anthology - looking forward to reading!
ReplyDeleteYou included a good romance thread in the Cassa series with Byron :)
I hope they'll have that Rifftrax to watch online at some point. Not really much coming out until the winter, I guess. I thought "Vesper" was some origin story to Bond's girlfriend in Casino Royale.
ReplyDeleteI'd struggle with anything historical. The research required to make sure things are correct for the time period is not something I have the patience for.
ReplyDeleteHappy release day!
Congratulations to all who has stories in this sweet Anthology!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all of the authors in First Love!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the authors! I definitely wouldn't be good at romance, but these authors are.
ReplyDeletecongrats to the anthology authors - sounds like another good one. I don't think I could do sci-fi - just not that creative or interested in another galaxy, etc. As for movies- they all sound so bad, your snark couldn't save them. Alas - been a bad summer, now into fall.
ReplyDeleteJQ, it threw me off as well.
ReplyDeleteLynn, I can support even if I don't write it.
Yvonne, just sign back up again.
Jennifer, then we each stick to what we like!
Jemi, I guess I did...
PT - funny!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all who are in the Romance Anthology and of course, I will get my copy.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Congratulations to all the Anthology authors. The book looks great. Alex, your books do have a mystery element to them. I didn't know what was going to happen next. Happy IWSG Day!
ReplyDeleteRomance certainly is one of those genres that makes me think you have to have a good grasp on how to do it right. I know I don't have that.
ReplyDeleteWoot for the anthology release!
May be a tough month for movies. Luckily, the Jimmy Chin series on NG is really good.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the anthology contributors.
ReplyDeleteRomance is a hard genre for me to write as well, even though I like reading it. I tried it once. It seems to work - my romance novella on wattpad attracts lots of readers - but even the readers don't inspire me to write more romance.
The Anthology looks like a delicious read. LOL...I haven't seen one guy on this blog who would tackle writing romance, but then I wouldn't want to tackle I Military stories.
ReplyDeleteI totally believe you about the romance. Most books have at least a romance element in the story. It can up the risk for the characters since they have more to lose. Your first book had none. Maybe that's why my hubby loved it so much. :D
ReplyDeleteBravo to all the authors of First Love. What a beautiful cover! All the luck with this new release.
ReplyDeleteAnother Swamp Thing?! Yikes! Nope, haven't seen any recent movies. I love my favorites; like, Ghostbusters and the Harry Potter series since Halloween is coming. Happy IWSG Day!
I'm on board with you as to writing romance. But I do love the looks of that jelly donut on the anthology cover. I've been craving jelly donuts of late and they seem to be hard to find where I am.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Have to say I really liked your snark on the movies . . . and agree completely re which genre I wouldn't like to write! Thanks for being our leader AND for promoting that latest IWSG anthology. Love? Love!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the Anthology winners. It's always nice to hear people winning I something they love to do.
ReplyDeleteI would have a hard time writing sci-fi. I am always in awe of someone who can write something futuristic I love those movie quotes. I think there is an original Swamp Thing movie that came out In the 70s. I have to look that up. I don't know of many movies that I would like to see. That's rare for me
I'd never try romance either. I can't even begin to describe how much I'd hate writing it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like everyone is saying romance as their lest favorite genre to write. Then again, maybe it just seems that way because I don't follow many romance writers.
ReplyDeleteCongrats for helping put together another anthology!
Congratulations to all the authors in the anthology!
ReplyDeleteWhat genre won't I ever try? Epic fantasy. Just not my thing. And I get you with mystery. My last book ended up being a mystery (even to me!) and I don't ever want to write one of those again. Too. Much. Work.
I'm glad you do sci-fi - and do it well - because I never will. While I admire the genre and all things space-related (Go Artemis!), this is a no-go genre for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for inventing and hosting this community of insecure writers, which I will always be...
Joylene, I'll take it!
ReplyDeleteDonna, maybe, and I'm glad he did!
Lee, just don't try licking the cover.
Beth, thanks for being a part of the group!
Stacy - funny.
PJ, glad you're with us!
The beginning of September is a very distracting time for me. Not only is it the start of a new school year, and my piano students come back, it's my birthday this week. It's always been my New Year. I almost forgot to post for IWSG day, again. Anyway, it's up now. I'd be terrible at Dystopian. Although, I do like reading some of it. My mind just doesn't go there on its own.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the anthology.
ReplyDeleteThe only movie I watched this month was Rambo Last Blood.
Howdy Captain!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to everyone involved in The Art of Making Doughnuts! It sounds like a great read; one that might get whisked off my cabin table and never returned ;-) Worth the chance, I think. Vesper sounds intriguing.
I think medical thrillers would be way out of my league, but I love to read them. Happy September!
I mean, with a title like "Donkey Boys..." are they surprised it didn't make it? Oy.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Alex.
Keep it all going and going well.
You're appreciated.
I would love to write a good mystery, but I don't think I could pull it off.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the authors (and the publisher:) on the release of the latest anthology.
Ooh, Michael Caine! I love him in almost anything. This one sounds promising.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to everyone included in the anthology!
It would be literary for me. Happy Writing.
ReplyDeleteWhat genre won't I try writing? Because reading, I'll try anything that piques my interest. And sometimes that's out of my usual. But writing? I don't know. If I get the right idea...
ReplyDeleteI couldn't handle romance, either. I would either be blushing uncontrollably or I wouldn't be able to resist the impulse to crack wise. Like, which is more objectionable? Farting or asking her to pull my finger (which would lead to farting) on a first date?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd be a train wreck.
I do a bit of clean romance in my cozy mysteries, but I could never to Suspense/Thriller or SciFi!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the anthology winners!
Congrats to all the authors and the IWSG staff for another wonderful anthology. Medieval sounds interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteI may pick up the anthology. It sounds like something I would enjoy. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHa ha, so we're the opposite. I've written short sci-fi flashes for WEP which was hard work, but I take my hat off to you writing several books! Thanks for the shout out for the new antho!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the anthology release. I love Story Genius!
ReplyDeleteI like how the genre you wouldn't write ties in with the ISWG's anthology. I do love mysteries, but I'm not sure I'm very good at writing them. I also don't think in a logical way at times. :)
ReplyDeleteMedieval's premise and setting are really intriguing.
LOL about Vesper... seriously had me laughing longer than expected. Congratulations to all of the authors of First Love!!!
ReplyDeleteHello Again,
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with you when it comes to romance -June, spoon, swoon... that is why I've played safe so far, preferring to write my older children's stories. I'm venturing into books for grown ups this year, but still keeping well clear of 'romance'. 😊
I'm like you. Although I have dipped my toes in the romance genre from time to time, it's definitely one genre that I can't write in. It's a genre that has some hard and fast rules that you can't violate, including it must have a HEA, no matter the level of sizzle.
ReplyDeleteSome of those movies do sound interesting though. I think for me Medieval would be the best of an interesting lot for me to watch.
Congratulations to everyone who wrote the anthology. Sounds very interesting, Alex. I've been meaning to watch Vesper, been hearing good things about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great hop!
ReplyDeleteSo excited about the latest anthology!
Thanks for sharing the book club selections.
Not sure I'm excited about any of the previews this month, but your snark is truly appreciated.
Hi, Alex!
ReplyDeleteThe First Love anthology seems like a fun read. The stories will trigger the reader's personal memories and bring back those old, perhaps forgotten, feelings. The Retaliators looks like my kind of story. I can't imagine trying to write a children's book because, even as a child, I was more interested in the trappings of adulthood.
Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Alex!
I don't do good with romance either. Maybe some mystery I could try writing, but I stay away from writing detective fiction. I explain why at my post.
ReplyDeleteVesper sounds like it could be could. I'd have to check out the trailer(s) first.
I'm with you on the Romance genre. Congrats to all the authors of the new anthology. I bet there are some great stories in it!
ReplyDelete(And thanks for the congratulations about my upcoming wedding!)
Mary, you have a great birthday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robyn!
Al, you would indeed...
Gwen, I'll write the science fiction for you.
Truedessa, you would! Some of the best entries ever.
Tyrean, I aim to amuse!
Toi, I will always give the snark.
Sherry, that's cool you are getting married!
Vesper...hahaha. Names these days:-) Hope you are enjoying September!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the authors. I like the story idea you mentioned of the cop being a woman and the person making the donuts being a man. I laughed at your comment on my Wordless Wed post. I did start all of my classes with no seating arrangement. Two of the classes just can't handle it though and I feel like the math guy in my picture trying to figure out the best place to seat some of them. :)
ReplyDeleteHooray for the new anthology!
ReplyDeleteA lot of people seemed to have picked romance. It's no easy task despite the bad rep it gets sometimes. I write short stories to try every genre, but I don't think I could write a historical novel. I would want to be accurate and get lost to the research! Congrats to all the authors releasing in the new anthology! That cover is great. Ooh, the Swamp Thing! That sounds like so much fun. My husband started to listen to the book podcast two of the RiffTrax guys put out, but it's not funny like the movie riffs. Have a great weekend, Alex! :)
ReplyDeleteI think anything contemporary I wouldn't try. Mostly because I find it boring to write. Give me vampires!
ReplyDeleteI started writing a few mystery stories and plays with my Atlantic City characters a good thirty years ago, when I was only twelve, but never finished any of them. It's just not my natural genre, and I didn't know how to write a proper mystery.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to everyone involved with the new anthology!