Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology Contest! Plus September Movie Preview, Ninja Around the Web, and New 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 co-hosts today are Tyrean Martinson, Tara Tyler, Raimey Gallant, and Beverly Stowe McClure!

September 6 Question: Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing? For example, by trying a new genre you didn't think you'd be comfortable in??

I’ve always written science fiction. Blogging taught me how to write articles and guest posts and such. But a submission to Geekdom House and their magazine sent me in the direction of contemporary fiction.
And you know what? It was kinda fun.

Don’t forget the Show Your Writer Insecurity Contest is October 4! See the site for details. Cool prizes.



September marks six years for the IWSG group and four years for the website. You know what that means…

The annual IWSG Anthology Contest!

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 3500-6000

Genre: Mystery/Crime/Thriller

Theme: Tick Tock. The story revolves around a clock, is time sensitive, or has something about a specific time. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.

Story deadline: November 1st 2017

How to enter: Send your polished, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please format double-spaced, size 12 font, and no headers or footers. Include your contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges:

Elizabeth S. Craig writes cozy mystery series for Penguin Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently. She curates links on Twitter as @elizabethscraig that are later shared in the free search engine Writers Knowledge Base.

Anne Hawkins is a partner in John Hawkins & Associates, Inc., New York. Founded in 1893 by Paul R. Reynolds, it is the oldest literary agency in the country. She works with mainstream literary and commercial fiction, including mystery, suspense, and thrillers and a wide variety of serious non-fiction, particularly history, politics, biography, science, and natural history. A number of her books have gained distinction through award nominations, book-to-film contracts, significant foreign rights sales, major book club selections, or placement on the New York Times bestseller list. Anne Hawkins is a member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives.

Candace Havens is the Editorial Director of Covet has written multiple novels for Berkley, Entangled and Harlequin. Her books have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion and Write Touch Reader Awards. She is one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists, runs a free online writing workshop, and teaches comprehensive writing class.

Author, Public Speaker, and Executive Producer, Lynn Tincher was born just outside of Louisville, Kentucky in the beautiful city of La Grange. She has written four books, with the fifth one currently in the making. Her first book, Afterthoughts was optioned for movie production by Kilted Pictures and Dancing Forward Productions in Los Angeles. It is currently in pre-production with plans to shoot in Louisville, Kentucky very soon.

Ion Newcombe is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia's longest running online speculative fiction magazine, regularly issued since January 1998. His qualifications and employment range from horticulture through electronics into literature and communications.

Patricia (Pat) Stoltey is the author of four crime fiction novels published by Five Star/Cengage including a historical mystery called Wishing Caswell Dead (https://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Caswell-Dead-Patricia-Stoltey/dp/1432834401/) (December 2017). She lives in Northern Colorado with her husband Bill, Sassy Dog, and Katie Cat. To learn more about Patricia and her books, visit her website/blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Mason Canyon had a love of books since childhood encouraged by a mother who loved to read. A 30+year career in journalism fueled her desire to know what a story is all about. Blogging at Thoughts in Progress since 2009 and operating MC Book Tours for over a year. Loves to read and share great stories with others. MC Book Tours

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.

We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!

Ninja Around the Web

I have a special feature involving the song that inspired Dragon of the Stars at West of Mars.
Feature Opportunity West of Mars - Susan Helene Gottfried is looking for new books to feature! See her guidelines for a Feature Opportunity West of Mars.

The Kindle Book Review’s September Author Meet & Greet Giveaway is open until the end of the month.
Dragon of the Stars is one of the books involved in the Meet and Greet.
You could win the “Ultimate Reader Gift Basket” ~ A 7″ Kindle Fire HD, a $25 Amazon gift card, and a bottle of wine.
Multiple ways to enter! And you can enter every single day. Visit September Author Meet & Greet Giveaway to enter.

New releases!

SIX STRINGS - SEASON 2: ISSUE 5 is now available!
Put together for Howling Wolf Records by Jeremy Hawkins, is packed with cool stuff.
10 Years working with "LORD OF THE RINGS: ONLINE"
INTERVIEW WITH COMPOSER "CHANCE THOMAS"
And more! Download your free copy of SIX STRINGS - SEASON 2: ISSUE 5.

Two Princesses by Tara Tyler 
Toss together two troubled princesses from feuding families, and see how well they work together to make their own happy endings. 
Find it on Amazon and Lulu
 

Dread by Shah Wharton

September Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for September! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

8 –

It
In Derry, Maine, seven friends come face-to-face with a shape shifter, who takes the form of an evil clown who targets children.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis
It has potential. It looks good. I might see It. I hope It doesn’t suck…


15 –

American Assassin
A story centered on counterterrorism agent Mitch Rapp.
Director: Michael Cuesta
Stars: Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch, Scott Adkins
He’s an American, she’s an assassin. Together, they just might learn a thing or two about each other…and love! Wait, that might not be the storyline…

Kingsman: The Golden Circle
When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, the Kingsman's journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US. These two elite secret organizations must band together to defeat a common enemy.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Stars: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Channing Tatum
Not sure if it’s appealing or not. (Also Golden Corral’s new slogan.)


29 –

American Made
A pilot lands work for the CIA and as a drug runner in the south during the 1980s.
Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Wright
Combine it with his last lame film and you have American Made Mummy…

Flatliners
Five medical students, obsessed by what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods, each triggers a near-death experience - giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife.
Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Stars: Nina Dobrev, Ellen Page, James Norton, Diego Luna
Here’s a twist – instead of remaking films you loved as a kid, Hollywood is now remaking films you didn’t care about in the first place.

Submitting to this year’s anthology? Ready for the Writer Insecurity contest? What surprised you as a writer? Want to win a Kindle Fire? (Or a bottle of wine?) And what movies have your attention this month?

Be sure to visit my feature at West of Mars and enter the September Author Meet & Greet Giveaway!

RiffTrax: Live Summer Shorts Beach Party! IWSG Best Writer Site! Plus New Releases and Ninja News

RiffTrax Summer Shorts Beach Party

Another fun show!

Mike, Kevin, and Bill kicked off the party with a short involving street safety with a raccoon that everyone kept calling a bear. This short was actually funded by the Department of Transportation. Scary!

Bridget and Mary Jo tackled one about a griper while Trace and Frank got one about office etiquette.

Special guest Paul F. Tompkins joined the guys for one about magic. No wait, it was about 1961 cars. No, it was about futuristic appliances. I still have no idea what it was about.

The street safety raccoon was outdone by a short on rhythmic ball skills featuring a group of kids. Drop-catch. Drop-catch. Drop-catch. Those poor kids were craving a history test after that ordeal.

The grand finale was with everyone and possibly the oddest short/story/thing they’ve ever done. It was about bags. A guy steals two burlap bags and throws them in his pickup only to have them come to life and run off. Or rather hop. Picture a bag race with the person completely inside the bag. He chases them all over town. Really! You’ll have to catch the hilarity when it’s available for purchase.

Not the funniest one I’ve seen, and Paul seemed a bit out of his element, but still a thousand times better than suffering through a Transformers movie.

Now for some pre-show screen shots: 

Don't miss RiffTrax Live: Doctor Who – The Five Doctors on August 17!

IWSG Best Website for Writers!

The big news today – the Insecure Writers Support Group site made the Writer’s Digest 19th Annual 101 Best Websites for Writers!


This is huge – and it’s been my goal with the site ever since we launched it almost four years ago.


Big thanks to all of you who have supported the group and its site over the years. We couldn’t have done it without you!

New Book Releases

Purr Empire by Pat Hatt
Cassie, Orlin and their crazy human Pat are once again up to their eyeballs in scat. In the fifth go around, walking, talking animals are found. Duke Drazin does not think much of any of it. He's also back to throw a fit. Who's fault is it this time? Why are humans no longer in their prime? All that and answers you never want to know surely will show.
Find it at Amazon

A Glowworm by Tonja Drecker
This is a UBook. It plays out, sentence by sentence, on a video, while music, which has been composed specifically for the book, plays in the background to help create the right atmosphere.
Pick it up at Black and White Publishing Company.

Forbidden by Feather Stone
Suspense/thriller, mystery, terrorism
Gunfire echoes within the walls of a Middle East police compound...
Find it on Amazon

Ninja News

Brandon and Bryan, those guys from A Beer for the Shower, have their own comic channel. Each week, something new to make you laugh.
Check it out on Tapas.

The latest issue of Six Strings is out.
Featuring interviews with composer Paul E. Francis, actress Dawn Cody, Actress Biana Allaine, director Amarish Olson, and much, much more.
Download your free copy here.

Stephen Tremp is putting together a special project that will launch very soon.
It’s a three eight-lesson courses to help writers and entrepreneurs to launch or relaunch their product service or cause.
Find out more at The Launching Pad

LG Keltner is part of an upcoming anthology.
The 2018 Young Explorer's Adventure Guide is composed of 24 stories written for middle grade readers.
The publisher, Dreaming Robot Press, just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help with publication costs. One thing they aim to do is donate copies of the book to libraries, and the Kickstarter helps make that possible.
Learn more about the Kickstarter here.

Submissions are open for The IWSG Guide to Writing for Profit. What are we looking for? Anything writing related – books, journalism, articles, whatever. What have you tried that was successful? What have you tried that didn’t result in sales or making money? We need to know what doesn’t work as well! Submissions are open to all IWSG members – monthly blog post members, Facebook, and Goodreads. Details here.

Finally, CassaStorm will be my publisher’s free audio giveaway book on Twitter from June 29 through July 5. Visit their Twitter and click the pinned Tweet to enter.

Anyone catch the RiffTrax shorts special? Do riffing Doctor Who sound more enticing? Picking up some new books? Following Brandon and Bryan on Tapas? Pick up Six Strings – it’s free. And are you working on your submission for the IWSG free guide? Do it!

See you next Wednesday, July 5, for IWSG post day!

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, MST3K, April Movie Preview, and Ninja News

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 Chris D. Votey, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Fundy Blue, and Chrys Fey!

April Question:

Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results?

My fourth book, Dragon of the Stars, was given a release date of April 7, 2015. Right in the middle of the Challenge. While it was a great opportunity to place the book in front of a lot of people, it was a really crap time for promotions or a blog tour. Everyone was participating in the Challenge (2000+ - the largest year ever.) How was I going to promote it effectively?

I started asking around for blog tour stops, offering to work into the letter of the day for the Challenge. To my surprise, people said yes. I set the whole week of the release with stops and three per week for the rest of the month, followed by every Monday for the two months after that. I also created a scavenger hunt, and on the day of release, twenty-five bloggers posted a picture of Mini-Alex with the book in a new location – commenters had to guess where.

The launch was successful and Dragon climbed the science fiction charts on Amazon. The continued exposure helped the book to continue to sell.

Would it work as effectively today? I’d really rather not find out…

Last month we launched the IWSG Goodreads Book Club and we’ve had a stellar turnout of members. The book for April-May is Chapter After Chapter: Discover the Dedication & Focus You Need to Write the Book of Your Dreams. Not too late to join and start reading!

MST3K!

The new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 debuts on NetFlix on April 14!

Set your DVRs.

And turn down the lights. (Where applicable.)

Ninja News

Dan Koboldt, author and founder of #SFFpit, will be visiting the IWSG on Monday. You don’t want to miss it!

CassaDawn, the prequel to my Cassa series, is now free!

You can download this short story at iTunes, Barnes and Nobel, Amazon Kobo, and Amazon UK

SIX STRINGS Season 2 Issue 3 is available now!
This free magazine is put together by Jeremy Hawkins and is packed with top-notch interviews. The site will continue, but the magazine might be ending. Time to get yours while you can and support this awesome venture! Download it for free here.

Available now!
Piper Morgan Makes a Splash by Stephanie Faris
Piper’s mom is helping out at a local pool shop, and the owner wants to shoot a commercial for his store. Piper thinks it’s the PERFECT opportunity to get in front of the camera and experience a little bit of showbiz. But will Piper’s contribution to the TV commercial make a splash—or will it go belly-up?
Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Indie Bound.

WEP challenge for April! 

See Denise Covey for details.

The challenge is coinciding with the A to Z Challenge letter of the day to make it easy on participants.

Prayers for a Fellow Blogger

Michael sent me an email and posted about a fellow blogger.

Many of you remember Melissa Bradley and her blog, Melissa’s Imaginarium. She has been fighting cancer for the past few years and just recently went into hospice care. You can read the details at Michael’s blog.

Please send prayers for Melissa. Let her know she is loved.

April Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for April! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

7 –

Going in Style
Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
Director: Zach Braff
Stars: Morgan Freeman, Joey King, Ann-Margret, Michael Caine
George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg…crap, wait! That was the original 1979 film. Never mind.

The Void
Shortly after delivering a patient to an understaffed hospital, a police officer experiences strange and violent occurrences seemingly linked to a group of mysterious hooded figures.
Directors: Jeremy Gillespie | Steven Kostanski
Stars: Ellen Wong, Kathleen Munroe, Kenneth Welsh, Aaron Poole
If you don’t enjoy the movie, a full refund is available. Offer void in Utah.




14 –

The Fate of the Furious
When a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime and a betrayal of those closest to him, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.
Director: F. Gary Gray
Stars: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Scott Eastwood, Charlize Theron
I hope by Furious 20 they aren’t driving around in NOS-powered wheelchairs.

Have you used the A to Z Challenge for marketing? Joined the IWSG Book Club? Ready for the new MST3K? Downloaded CassaDawn and Six Strings for free? And what movies catch your attention this month? (I’m guessing not too many…)

Be sure to catch Dan Koboldt at the IWSG on Monday.

I will be offline the week of Good Friday but be back on April 17.

The Remnant, Blood Father Review, Future Earth Movie Trivia, Awesome Fans, Monday's Music, and Ninja News

The Remnant – Book to Film Possibilities

Today I welcome fellow Dancing Lemur Press author, William Michael Davidson!

As an author, I obviously think it would be pretty awesome if The Remnant was made into a film. I've always seen it more as something that would make a good television series or an original show on Netflix. Having said that, I know there are some pretty sensitive issues that The Remnant deals with such as faith, belief in God, and where our culture is at with those issues. Because of this, a part of me would be surprised if someone ever did make this into an actual film. And if it was made into a film, I wonder how watered-down the whole book would be to make it "politically correct." To be honest, I don't see the book as just a Christian novel. Yes, I'm a Christian. Yes, I wrote the book. But I don't see this book as having an agenda. Still, however, I think there is a message beneath the surface and I wouldn't be surprised if a filmmaker would take some of those ideas out of a movie version to make it more mainstream.

So, could I see something happening with a film? Yes. But I would worry about what the end product would be and how much it would capture the original "heart and soul" of the novel.

But don't get me wrong. If I received a call from Steven Spielberg and he wanted to make it into a movie, I would be last one complaining.

Author William Michael Davidson is on tour with MC Book Tours featuring his new novel, THE REMNANT, being released Feb. 7 by Dancing Lemur Press L.L.C. You can follow Davidson’s tour schedule HERE for reviews, excerpts, interviews, features, and a chance to win a copy of his book.


THE REMNANT
by William Michael Davidson
Release date: February 7, 2017
Science Fiction (FIC028000) / Christian Futuristic Fiction (FIC0402020)
Print ISBN 978-1-939844-29-3 $15.95
eBook ISBN 978-1-939844-30-9 $4.99

One nation, without God...

THE REMNANT is available to order in eBook form at the following sites: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes
The print format of the book is available at these sites: Amazon Barnes and Noble, Chapters-Indigo, Book Depository, Foyles, Mediander, and Fiction DB
Be sure to add THE REMNANT to your bookshelf on Goodreads.

Movie Review

Blood Father
An ex-con finds his lost daughter and has to protect her from drug lords who want her dead. Starring Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, and William H. Macy.
This film came out last year and I’d heard good things about it.
It’s a man search for redemption with his daughter. Gibson always plays the perfect hero, but here he is damaged, vulnerable, and looking to turn his life around. The interactions between father and daughter were great and some of the best moments of the film.
It’s not overly violent, but it is punctuated with extreme moments of violence.
While I did have problems with a couple small aspects, overall I really enjoyed the film.
Available on NetFlix – recommended.

Ninja News

The IWSG is honored to welcome an award winning screenwriter, Erik Bork!
Erik worked on projects such as From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers – you don’t want to miss what he has to say.

Jeremy Hawkins works hard to produce the free online magazine, Six Strings.
And today, Six Strings Season 2 Issue 2 is available! In it you will find:
Interview with Composer... Tony Morales "DISNEY'S: ELENA OF AVALOR"
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by: Michael Giacchino (Review) by: Kaya Savas
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS (What if) STORY! by: Jason Lee Knight
Interview with Composer... Jasha Klebe “PLANET EARTH II” [2017]
Interview with Composer... Jacob Shea “PLANET EARTH II” [2017]
Where is #26? Mammoth’s Best New Horror Goes Hardback By KC Redding-Gonzalez
Listening for Romance in Horror By: Christina Persaud
Interview with Composer... Andre Matthias "On the film “The Drummer”
The Monkey King 2 [2016] [Review] Music by: Christopher Young By James Southall
Download your free copy HERE and please help spread the word.

February is kick-off month for WEP (Write…Edit…Publish) where a friendly group of like-minded bloggers astound each other and their readers every second month with their wit, wisdom, talent, sincerity and dexterity. The February WEP challenge is entitled 'Back of the Drawer'. Everyone's welcome to have a crack at it. Join the fun. We accept flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photo essays, artwork...1,000 word limit (but who's counting?)
WEP (Write…Edit…Publish) is hosted by Denise Covey and Yolanda Renee

Valentine Pets & Kisses 2 boxed set
Including a story by JL Campbell
Pick up your copy for just .99 cents.


Heather Holden is hosting a special anniversary giveaway:
Echo Effect premiered four years ago this month! It’s also been one year since I first launched my Patreon page. To celebrate, I'm offering free, personalized ACEOs of my characters! (ACEOs are art cards measuring 2.5x3.5 inches in size. Mine, specifically, are created with watercolor pencils and ink.)

Don’t forget we now have IWSG Swag!

Mini-Alex is showing off his awesome new IWSG pens.

He’s ready to challenge anyone to a duel with his IWSG pens!

Who can possibly challenge him…?

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Hosted by Xmas Dolly.

Since it’s a freebie, I’m posting my favorite Haken song, Pareidolia. This band is my current favorite. (I reviewed one of their albums in December.) It’s a prog rock blend of sheer awesomeness!

When Fans Make Your Day

I want to give a shout out to two special ladies who made my day last week!

Tess Julia had this to say:
I also wanted to give a shout out to Alex Cavanaugh for his book CassaFire, which I finished reading recently.
I think I have a bit of a crush on the main character Byron, and trust me, if they ever made a movie based on his series I'd be in line to see it! Really well written, definitely on par with Star Wars and Star Trek. I'm not even a sci-fi fan but I enjoyed both books so far and will be getting the rest of his books.

Lauren Bambrey, who blogs HERE, sent out this tweet and reply:
@LaurenBambrey - re read CassaStar a couple of weeks ago. Still reduced me to tears 6th time through!
@AlexJCavanaugh - Sixth time reading CassaStar??? Oh wow. Thank you! Laura, you just made my day. Still sorry I made you cry though...
@LaurenBambrey - One of my faves; will be read many more times too! Crying is good- sign of writing a beautiful friendship!

Thanks, ladies! You rock.

Movie Trivia

In honor of William’s book, today’s trivia is all about films set in Earth's future. Guess the film from the actors.

1 – Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, John Ratzenberger 2008
2 – Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko 2013
3 – Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Conners 1973
4 – Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs 2002
5 – Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Ray Stevenson 2010
6 – Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan 1976
7 – Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis 2014

Answers next week!

Can you see your book as a movie? Or a world where belief in God is persecuted? Have you seen Blood Father? Going to download Six Strings or participate in WEP? Have you picked up your IWSG swag? (Mini-Alex is ready!) Has a fan made your day recently? And do you know any of the movie trivia?

Don’t forget to visit Erik Bork at the IWSG site!