Wednesday Whittleings...and where those whittleings wander.

Wednesdays are my day to randomly babble. Sometimes about children's books, others about writing, and whatever else strikes my mind. Random thoughts...random whittleings.

I'm a horrible whittler. Honestly, I've never done much whittleing outside of creating pointed sticks to roast marshmallows on...(if that's not a worthy whittleing activity, though, then I don't know what would be!)  My co-author, however, is a whittler and is creating some of the characters from our book. I'll be sure to post pictures soon, so stay tuned for that!    (See, I'm getting you hyped for later!  ...ummm...and I haven't told him I'd like him to take pictures of them yet. So, if he's reading this, now he knows.)

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In other news, an awesome writing friend is celebrating the release of her new book in just TWO DAYS!!! I haven't read it yet...my 'to-be-read' pile has been getting the best of me lately...but I've heard so many good things about it and will be reading it. I'm a fan of her writing. So, I'm going to say...This Is A Must Read!

NOT GUILTY

by C. Lee McKenzie

Evernight Teen

YA Contemporary / Thriller / Mystery

A bloodied knife. One young man's word against another. A lifetime dream shattered.

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-guilty-c-le…/1133757423
KOBO https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/not-guilty-19
SMASHWORDS https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/959648

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Also, in the world of writing (is there another world?)

I'm going to be at the Barnes & Noble in St. Peters, Missouri from 12 to 3 pm this coming Saturday (October 26th.) They're planning quite the Halloween event (I've heard), and there will be an adult horror/thriller/spooky author there as well.

I've been told to come dressed for the celebration. I might have the perfect outfit.

So, stop by if you can. Plus, it's supposed to be yucky weather—a terrific time for a visit to the book store!

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The super-awesome, amazing narrator, Nance Weber, put together a short video to help tease the audio book version of Music Boxes. I'm still over the moon about this and love listening to how she reads the characters.

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And lastly...but not leastly...

Here's the on-going Tour line-up for the next week's stops and Music Boxes, conducted through Silver Dagger Book Tours.

There's a giveaway for a Music Box + Swag AND a $20 Amazon GC (2 separate prizes). Plus, there are guest posts, where I babble and babble and babble. Is there a prize for babbling?

Today, Wednesday:

https://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/

http://tometender.blogspot.com/

Thursday: 

https://4covert2overt.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ebookaddictsuk

Friday:

http://snoopydoosbookreviews.com/

Saturday:

https://www.drakosden.com/blog

Sunday:

https://mariacatalinaegan.com/

Monday:
https://introspectivepress.blogspot.com/
https://eileentroemel.com/category/book-tour/

Tuesday:
http://diaryofawannabewriter.blogspot.com/?m=1
https://cravinglovelybooks.blogspot.com/

IWSG and a ton of other stuff!

Every first Wednesday of the month, this group of writers come together to offer support, advice, encouragement or simply to let out frustrations and woes. Writing is a tough journey, and we don't have to go it alone.

Thanks goes to the brain behind this group, Alex J. Cavanaugh! If you want to join in or find out more (because there is so much more to this group) then head on over here.

Twitter is @TheIWSG and hashtag #IWSG

Special thanks goes to this month's co-hosts (and these are awesome co-hosts!): Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantine! 


Hello, October! I'm a huge Fall/Winter fan. So, I'm all smiles this time of year...taking walks in the leaves...enjoying mums and pumpkins...eating apples...apple cider...the cool breeze...

*sigh* Yep, life is good. (Well, as of tomorrow. We've been stuck in this weird heat wave the last few weeks).

Anyway....



I've got a lot to hit today, but I'll start with the question:

 It's been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don't enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?

Can a baker who's never tasted or smelled or touched bread bake? Maybe. But how are they to know if it tastes right, has the right consistency, or even resembles bread? Writing is a learned craft like everything else. You need to know how to write and see writing to become a writer.


Otherwise, I'm in the deep, dark editing cave right now and probably will be there until November or longer. I hope I brought along enough candles and snacks.

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And now, off to everything else!!!

I didn't have internet the last two weeks. So, not only did I disappear, but so much happened during that time!

First, I was blessed enough to meet two authors during my last signing. This is the first time I've actually come face-to-face with some of you, and wow! What amazing people, too!

Erika Beeba (https://erikabeebe.com/) stopped by. Some of you might know her as CloudNineGirl. And what a bright person she is!

I also met the talented Rosie Russell, who's not only brought out more than a few amazing childrens books but is also an amazing person to chat with.

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The audio version of Music Boxes is about to be released...

any day now!!!

To help spread the word and celebrate, Silver Dagger Book Tours is helping me run a month long blog tour. I have several guest posts going up (more secrets revealed about me?) and a giveaway for a music box as well as a $20 Amazon GC. So, if you get a chance, you might want to stop by and join in.

A list of stops can be found here.

This is where to go this week:
Oct. 2 - A guest post and excerpt at Silver Dagger Book Tours, Twisted Book Ramblings
Oct. 3 - The Sexy Nerd 'Revue', The Bookshelf Fairy
Oct. 4 - The Spooky Bookshelf, Java John Z's
Oct. 5 - A Pinch of Bookdust, Book Corner News and Reviews
Oct. 6 - A guest post at Readeropolis 
Oct. 7- Literary Gold, The Book Dragon
Oct. 8 - Speculative Fiction Spot, Scrupulous Dreams

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I have another book signing this month!

I'll be at the Barnes and Noble in St. Peters (St. Louis area) on October 18th from 10 am to 2 pm.

If you're in the area, feel free to stop by!

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What about you? Do you think reading makes it difficult to come up with original tales of your own? What do you take with you into the editing cave? Are you also suffering 90 degree temperatures when it's supposed to be cooling down???

How's your writing life going?