If it’s Wednesday, then it’s IWSG Day! I’ve missed a month or two, but I’m back. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page. The purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage, and answer any questions new writers might have. Remember, there’s no such thing as a dumb question.
Our awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone,Patricia Josephine,Lisa Buie-Collard,Erika Beebe,and C. Lee McKenzie!
Our interesting optional question this month is: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?
A few years back, I was offered an opportunity to write a novella for Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll series published by The Wild Rose Press. My characters popped into my mind immediately. One character was so incredibly evil he surprised me. I had to research his kind of evil. I needed to find some way he would mark his family and I did. He branded them. To my surprise, people really brand each other and themselves. I’m not talking about tattoos. I mean like cowboys brand their cattle. I tip-toed in to communities where they discussed it and told what they used: keys, cookie cutters, wire, anything decorative that they could heat, sear and mark the skin. When I say I “tip-toed” in to these sites, I mean I peeked with one eye closed because I’m pretty queasy when it comes to any kind of pain and torture.
My book was called The Last Daughter and it’s a story very close to my heart. It’s about love and evil, and sincere, heartbreaking forgiveness. It’s out of print now and “waiting” for revision so I can republish under my own imprint. I hope in early 2020.
Today, I’m excited to announce my latest release called Christmas In Love. No evil here. Just love sweet love. I’ve coupled two of my previously published short stories with a brand new story that I’m pretty proud of. Take a look at my cover. Isn’t that hero yummy? I thank the multi-talented Heather K. Duff for finding him, designing the cover and formatting the book.
If you give Christmas In Love a try, I hope you’ll leave a review—good or bad. But, hey … if you leave a bad review, at least tell me why or what you didn’t like about Christmas in Love. It might be something I can fix.
I hope you’re all doing well, writing up a storm on NaNoWrMo, and that you have a very blessed Thanksgiving. See you in December!
Cookie cutters makes sense although I’m not into pain and torture either.
Christmas in Love sounds wonderful. Congrats, Jess.
Thanks Diane. My first venture into the world of Indie. 😳
Welcome back Jessica. What a sweet new release. Christmas love always makes me nostalgic. Happy IWSG Day 🙂
Thanks Erika! I’m getting in the Christmas spirit. 🎄
I don’t like the sound of that branding. The internet certainly opens our eyes to a whole new world out there. Congratulations on your new release!
Sounds painful, doesn’t it? Who thinks up that stuff? 😱
Ooooh, I feel like that little bit of information could come in handy for a future story. Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your most recent release!
Thanks Shannon. I think you could get a lot of stories out of that. It’s amazing what people have used to brand themselves. Of course sometimes they hVe to deal with infection.
Congratulations on your new book & Good Luck Jessica! I am adding it to my TBR.
Thank you so much! That’s so sweet of you. I hope you enjoy the stories. ❤️
Congrats on new book. People are crazy and weird. Finding stuff like that scares me about people, lol, so try not to think about it. Happy Belated IWSG!
Hi Juneta, I understand because knowing people do such things scares me too. How painful!
Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a very blessed Thanksgiving!