writing interruptions

#KeepingHouseNovel #RainbowSnippets Eighty-Four: You Wanna Pull?

/ jlgfellers / 14 Comments

It’s #Rainbowsnippets Saturday, and I’m back! But first, a bit of good news: Keeping House will be released July 8th. Yes, that’s a full month ahead of schedule, but my publisher and I want it in readers’ hands ASAP. Yay!

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks, from making plans for upcoming knee surgery, to losing a beloved four-legged family member of over fifteen years, it’s simply been tough.  So difficult that I skipped last week’s Rainbowsnippet, something I seldom do.

But that’s okay, or it will be. My spouse and I are former military so we, as the saying goes, we soldier on.

This #Rainbowsnippets* is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

Cent, from Cleaning House and Mama etc. is the protagonist in my current #WIP, Keeping House,  and she’s butting head with another character, Dane Gow,  she-king of the Hunter Fey,  so you’d best pay attention to the king or you might get hurt. The Wee Fey have flown into the circle now, and they’re not one bit happy that Dane’s there.

This picks up right where things left off two weeks ago, and the first line, in orange, is Dane being her wonderful self. She’s referring to the Wee Fey and, yes, this is more than six sentences, but I’m running behind so bear with me, please.

     “Lemme drink this, and we’ll bag ’em up for the trip home.” Continue reading →

#writerslife #selfcare Writerly ways to Sever Toxic Relationships in Your Life

/ jlgfellers

NOTE: I am disabling comments on this post for a whole lot of reasons, but you can still like and share at will.

*see the bottom of this post for a disclaimer

We all have someone in our life who, even from a distance, is fully capable of sucking the life out of us. It’s more than a matter of keeping distance or holding your relationship at arm’s length. Rather, it’s your shoulders creep to your ears at their mere mention. You can’t deal with this relationship for whatever reason. It’s triggering, it’s hurtful, and you need to cut all the ties that bind you.

For me, it’s someone who, at my core, I love, but I simply can’t deal with them or get beyond their past behaviors. The trust is forever gone, and I refuse to give them the opportunity to do even more damage to me or to my relationships with others. (Note: I am using gender-neutral they here not because this person is nonbinary but because I’m keeping their identity unknown.) I will not be accused of dragging someone through dirt I’ve already slogged through, of doing harm in the name of my own healing. I will not trigger them or provoke conflict. It’s a waste of my limited energy and, sometimes, giving someone credit for their damage (this is especially true for someone w/ Borderline Personality Disorder) fuels them to continue their ways. It empowers them and gives them the attention they seek.

Those who know me will easily realize who I am talking about.

Continue reading →

#KeepingHouseNovel #RainbowSnippets Eighty-Three: A Mason Jar of Moonshine

/ jlgfellers / 11 Comments

It’s Saturday, time for #Rainbowsnippets, and I’m running behind for numerous reasons. Getting my life together before my first knee replacement surgery (probably within the next month). Because our house is/was disorganized. Because we’re trying to reduce food waste around here. Because I found empty soap containers in the bathroom cabinet that should’ve gone to recycling two years ago.

Reasons.

But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get my writerly duties accomplished. Better late than never, right?

This #Rainbowsnippets* is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

Cent, from Cleaning House and Mama etc. is the protagonist in my current #WIP, Keeping House,  and she’s butting head with another character, Dane Gow,  she-king of the Hunter Fey,  so you’d best pay attention to the king or you might get hurt. Things had taken a dangerous turn last week when Cent brought up weapons so let’s see how it’s going now.

This first sentence comes from last week’s snippet, and it’s Cent talking.

 …“This goes only if you and your men disarm too.”

 “Just checkin’.” Dane raised the edge of her kilt to show the Glock nine-millimeter strapped to her thigh. “I’m already grinnin’ like a possum about the next three months.”

Continue reading →

#WIPpetWed #AppalachianElementals 2/13/2019 The Problem With Half Magic

/ jlgfellers / 5 Comments

I ended up seeing my orthopedist again today (we’re almost on a first name basis) and, joy of joys, I need both my knees replaced. Yes, I knew this was coming because I’ve been bone on bone for a couple of years,  but I guess I hadn’t expected it yet. However, I’ve had real problems since December, the treatments we’ve been using have stopped working, and my knees have been swelling to triple their normal size, making them painful even to the touch. (These are not my x-ray images. While the bone on bone spots are identical, there are four-six bone spurs per knee and humongous swelling.)

He gave me a double-strength steroid shot in both knees to try to get ahead of the swelling. It’ll more than likely last a few days and then my knees will return to pontoon status. Joy.

Dangit. Okay. Yes, My ortho said it was more genetic than anything else, and I do have Rheumatoid Arthritis too. I see the surgeon on the 20th and will probably have the first surgery within two months.

More when I know more.

#WIPpet Wednesday*, a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress (WIPs).

This week I’m picking up where we left off in Chapter Two.  Cent’s getting to ready to leave, and the family’s gathering to say their goodbyes. Betty’s painting Cent’s nails as a special, protective treat as well. Oh, and this week you’ll get a reminder of what makes Mama (Cent’s mother) who she is.

Here’s my WIPpet math for 2/13/2019 – I’m taking the 2, 0, and 1 for 201 words from Keeping House, Appalachian Elementals #2.

Note: the section in orange comes from last week’s #WIPpet

     “We’ve got plenty ahead of us, hotcakes.” Betty set the polish aside. “And it was as much for you as it was practice.” Betty touched the back of Cent’s hand. “Switch out.”

     “Aren’t we done?” Cent glanced at the clock.

     “One more layer.” Betty looked to Pyre. “Stowne says they want you. They’re already talking to Exan.”

Continue reading →

Author #Selfcare: How not to be Triggered by the Crazymakers in “Safe” Online Communities

/ jlgfellers / 2 Comments

TW/CW: Emotional Abuse Discussion
_
_
_

CRAZYMAKER

Why am I sharing this experience? Clarity. My directly addressing what happened makes it easier for me to put aside.

So I admit it, I was recently triggered by someone online. It happens, particularly to people with PTSD like myself, but what slays me is that it happened inside what’s supposed to be an online “safe” space, a private, membership-via-application community.

My biggest trigger is easily crazymaking behavior. Why? Because it creates a no-win situation for the victim. I lived with that behavior from an ex for over a decade then again with an adult child who learned the behavior from said parent, and it taught me to doubt every choice I make, to self-blame, to doubt my own sanity.

Needless to say, neither of these people are in my life anymore. (Don’t judge where the adult child is concerned. When the abusive behavior of someone you love is making you physically ill, it often becomes a save-yourself-first scenario. It wasn’t an easy choice, believe me.)

Here’s a further explanation of crazymaking behavior from Psychology Today (link at the bottom of this post). Continue reading →

Author How-To: Book Promotion and the Disabled Author

/ jlgfellers / 2 Comments

First off, let’s change a word in that title. Let’s strike out disabled and replace it with differently abled because it’s not that you and I can’t, it’s more like we often need to go about things differently. Regardless, disabled is the more common term, so I left it in the title.

How do I, as a differently-abled author, handle book promotion? Here’s my go-to list along with some explanations and tips that I hope will help other authors long their way.

Social Media
  •  Website – If you’re an author, you should have an active website devoted to your work and writing in general, including cross-promoting other authors. If at all possible, create your own website, whether it’s a paid or free one is up to you, but if you can’t then get someone to help you
  • Twitter – The twitterverse is often a nightmare of conflict but, if you can stay clear of that, it’s a fairly good place to do a bit of promo. (Note: that does not mean I suggest doing paid ads there.) Here’s a link to a post that tells you how to create clickable images in tweets without creating or paying for an ad. And there are some excellent Twitter chats out there too. Investigate and see which one(s) might work for you. My regular chat is #writestuff at 9 p.m. Eastern. It’s a small chat that’s easy for me to follow via Tweetdeck, a social account platform that goes with Twitter. I don’t have multiple Twitter accounts, but it lets me isolate the chat from my general feed so I can keep up.
  • Facebook – FB, in my experience, is best for socializing with other authors more than it is for connecting with readers. I have a private page as well as an author page. The former is much more active than the latter. Like with Twitter, I am not advising you to use FB’s paid ads. In fact, I discouraged it. I’ve used FB ads and nothing came of it. Zip. It was a waste of money.
  • Instagram – If you take a lot of photos, this is great. I’m not big into Instagram because my hands tremor too much to take a decent photo. Some authors are, however, excellent at using Instagram, and if it’s your thing, then use it to your advantage. Yes, I have an Instagram account. No, I don’t use it like I should. (NOTE: My Instagram had an old password, meaning it was hacked and all my access was removed because foolish me hadn’t put two-layered authentification in place). Sigh. I have a new account, but I haven’t posted to it yet. If you come across the Instagram account jlgfellers – it’s the hacked one. My new Instagram is jeannegfellers.) I know nothing about Instagram ads, if there is such a thing.
  • Tumblr – I use my Tumblr repost my blogs. I don’t have a significant following there, but I haven’t really tried either. (Because of the Instagram scare, I deleted my Tumblr account.  It wasn’t worth the risk.)
  • Goodreads – Goodreads reposts my blogs too, and I get some feedback from readers via the site.
  • Youtube – if you like to vlog, this is a goldmine for you. If you make your own book trailers (most authors have little success doing them), then post yours there. I’m now using Youtube to share playlists for my Appalachian Elemental series, and I’ve had a nice response from readers. In short, they think it’s ingenious, and they really like it. (grin) I just think it’s fun. I’ve research Goodreads ads and they’re out of my budget, as is their book contests/giveaways.
  • Amazon Author Central – A must if you’re selling books on Amazon, even through a traditional publisher. Link your blog, post appearances, link your profile to your books. You can advertise with Amazon on a budget and it’s something I’m looking into.
  • There are lots of other social media outlets such as wattpad and Pinterest (the latter of which I plan on investigating for my writing). Search for what works best for you. I know nothing about advertising where these platforms are concerned.

Continue reading →

#CleaningHouseNovel Blog Tour 8/12 – 8/14

/ jlgfellers / Leave a comment

I hate to say this, but the Cleaning House blog tour is drawing toward its end.

Here’s a slew of posts, character info, and other material for Cleaning House including #Rainbowsnippets, #WIPpet Wednesdays, Character Profiles, and #1LineWednesday posts.

And here’s Cleaning House Chapter One in PDF format.

Oh, and here’s the Cleaning House YouTube Playlist – a chapter-by-chapter musical journey through the novel.

Amazon: Ebook  Print

Barnes and Noble: Ebook   Print

Kobo: Ebook

Overwhelmed yet? I know I am.  And tired. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.

***

BLOG TOUR UPDATE

Continue reading →

#WIPpet Wednesday #WW #WIP 5/30/18 Deep Peace and the Holy Spirit

/ jlgfellers / 8 Comments

Welcome to a soggy edition of #WIPpet Wednesday*.

It’s a raining here in Tennessee. It has been for almost two weeks, and I’m over it. (keeps her voice low just in case the imps of drought are listening) I’m ready for it to dry out, if even for a few days. That said, we were scheduled to begin building a handicap ramp onto our house today and, to my wonderment, the builders still showed up this morning and are working in the rain. Bless them. I really need this ramp.

Here’s my WIPpet math for 5/30/2018: I’m taking the 8 for eight paragraphs (minus the recitation) from Cleaning House – An Appalachian Contemporary Fantasy

The Setup: Cent’s gone to bed after a late night of remembering who she’s been, but now she’s having trouble staying asleep. Note: Remember that this story is set in modern Appalachia, where Scots-Irish, British, German, and Cherokee traditions and faiths have melded into something unique.

     [Cent] kept slipping into nightmares where a black, hulking form towered over her, lifting her between its gargantuan hands to squeeze her neck. She woke gasping each time but managed to find sleep again, only to have the process repeat. Each time, the choking lasted longer, each time it took longer for her to wake, until she finally woke screaming, bringing Aunt Tess to her room.

Continue reading →

#WIPpet Wednesday #QueerBlogWed I Remember

/ jlgfellers / 6 Comments

It’s been a busy week for contractors (new heat pump) and estimates (other impending improvements) at my home. I’ll spare you the details but having strangers constantly in and out of your house is stressful and distracting, especially when you’re accustomed to a relatively quiet house. That said, it’s Wednesday again, which means it’s time for #WIPpet Wednesday** and #QueerBlogWed*! While WIPpet Wednesday, hosted by the gracious Emily Wrayburn, features a diverse mix of authors, #QueerBlogWed is geared for, well, queer blogs, which this site certainly is.

Here’s my WIPpet math for 3/28/2018 Continue reading →