Since this was the posting week for the WEP challenge, I shifted my update to Friday.

Before we get to the writer's update, how about some blog updates? Regular readers may have noticed that I'm not doing very many reviews anymore. (Actually, since I haven't all year, you may not remember I ever did). For some reason--travel, moving, writing novels, and too much social media--I haven't been reading as much this year. When I do, I often don't feel like writing reviews. So I don't, unless I've committed to do so (I have books from a number of you that I need to read and review, per my promises!).

For now, I'm happy to do occasional reviews, some photo posts, keep talking about writing, and maybe get back to writing flash fiction now and again.

Writer's Update:
With NaNo over, the temptation to just kind of stop is great. We have to resist! I have pushed on another two or three thousand words (which also involved deleting a thousand or so) to get a more or less complete draft of Death By Donut. That is to say, it's still 12K short, and has a bunch of things I need to fill in to make the story really work, but it has a beginning, middle, and fairly satisfying end. I've taken a few days off from that MS, to write my WEP story and to do final edits, format, and publish The Christmas Question. Oh, and to write the newsletter to go with that!

While I'm doing all this, we will be traveling from our low-key stay in Santa Fe to a kayaking adventure in Tampa, which will lead to even less work on anything. Sometimes, you just have to accept it's a vacation. On the other hand, I recently heard about a challenge--to write at least 100 words for 100 days. If I count my journal, I can probably do that!

Cool display at the the Santa Fe Folkart Museum--another distraction!.

And... Let's celebrate the announcement of the winners of the 2019 IWSG Anthology Contest! (Including, ahem, yours truly).


Coming May 5, 2020 –
Voyagers: The Third Ghost

Middle grade historical/adventure
Featuring these stories and authors:

The Third Ghost – Yvonne Ventresca
Winter Days – Katharina Kolata
Feathered Fire – Roland Clarke
The Ghosts of Pompeii – Sherry Ellis
Dare Double Dare – Louise MacBeath Barbour
The Blind Ship – Bish Denham
A World of Trouble – Rebecca M. Douglass
The Orchard – Beth Anderson Schuck
Return to Cahokia – L.T. Ward
Simon Grey and the Yamamba – Charles Kowalski

We’d like to thank our amazing judges:
Elizabeth S. Craig, author and honorary judge
Dianne K. Salerni, author
Lynda Dietz, editor
S.A. Larsen, author
Rachna Chhabria, author
Lindsay Davis Auld, agent – Writers House
Tonja Drecker, author
David Powers King, author

Journey into the past…

Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives? Can everyone be warned before Pompeii is buried again? What happens if a blizzard traps a family in East Germany? Will the Firebird help Soviet sisters outwit evil during WWII? And sneaking off to see the first aeroplane–what could go wrong?
Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke, Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski, Louise M. Barbour, Beth Anderson Schuck, and L.T. Ward.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting ride!