A First Wednesday Post
The Insecure Writers' Support Group Hop
The Cover Sheet for my next book is done and sent. The edits from the publisher should be coming in a few weeks. These usually take a couple of rounds before we say, “It’s a wrap!”
The best part of this stage in the publishing process is getting the cover art. That is always exciting. There’s something about seeing another person’s idea about my story in a different medium. Most of the time the artist gets it in the first or second round. I only had trouble communicating what I thought would work best one time. Then I made a HUGE mistake and didn’t pay attention to the artist. I’ve regretted this cover ever since the book came out, and it was all my fault. The story is solid, but the cover is not. :-)
He’s not guilty, but can he prove it?
Excerpt: Like Dad always said, almost everyone in Polk owed their land, their houses, the clothes they wore to a dark-green thistle called the artichoke. The mild winters and cool, foggy summers produced the biggest and best of those thorny vegetables.
The Sturgeses’ farm stretched along the edge of the highway and down to the cliffs that sheered straight to the beach below. Devon slowed at the Artichokes sign and turned down a dirt road. On either side of him, plants leafed out and were topped with green globes of layered artichokes that poked their heads up to the sky like small armadillos.
About half a mile later, the roof of a barn jutted above the vegetation. In a few more yards, he made out the house next to it. A couple of trucks were parked in front. Two men stood next to them. One man wore a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, the other a baseball cap.
Devon slowed and then braked to a stop. Would he get the chance to talk to Bobby and not have another run-in with that family? He thought about backing out when a horn honked behind him. He looked up to find the camouflage Jeep nosed against the rear of his Mustang.
An army of artichoke plants on each side of him wasn’t going to let him escape across the fields. JD didn’t budge behind. The only way was forward.
How true, Devon thought as he put the car into gear and pulled up in front of the house.
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia!
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
April 3 question - How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?
My publisher made me do it! It was 2009 and my first book, Sliding on the Edge, came out. Before I knew it, my publisher had set up a Facebook page and insisted I create a webpage. I didn’t take easily to blogging or FB (later Instagram/TicToc? Hell no). I’m a fairly private person, so putting things online about myself felt very uncomfortable….still does. Also, I’m not good at trying to make people look in my direction with Buy My Book over and over. I’ve been published 25 times (this includes anthologies with short stories and a lot of children’s online stories in Stories for Children and Crow Toes Quarterly), so I’m still online, but still reluctant to be here. I see myself as a failed promoter, but I’ve stopped fretting about it. Quoting from Gone With The Wind, “Frankly…I don’t give a damn!” :-)
Quote of the Month: "Failure is success in progress." Einstein (Maybe I’ll see if he was right.)
That's awesome about the next book!
Sorry one cover didn't rock it.
You got into blogging the same way I did - with a push from my publisher.
And I updated your link on the master Linky List so it goes straight here.
Great excerpt! I'm familiar with artichoke country, and I love how you gave the end of the scene a claustrophobic feel. Hemmed in by artichokes! (and a mysterious guy in a Jeep)