Another day, another failure at blogging. In my defense, I had Alex’s birthday party to deal with. Not that I did much regarding that all day, but it meant having to build his new Lego with him after supper. The good news is he’s getting better at putting the pieces together by himself. He’s much more dexterous that he was a couple of years ago.
But I have been working my fingers to the bone, finishing a proofreading job and actually getting some time on my next book. It’s coming along well. I have my plot holes figured out, which is always a good thing. Plot holes tend to slow me down. Knowing they’re there prevent me from moving forward. Good news on that front … it’s all about the fingers. You’ll have to read the book to find out what that means. đ
The other thing that’s kept me occupied all day is Twitter. I seem to have figured out how to sell books from there, but it’s time consuming. It’s also free, unless you consider that time is money, at least from the perspective of a freelance editor and an author.
I’m still totally motivated, so there’s that.
I’m even thinking about doing NaNoWriMo this year. But only if I can finish my third book in my series before the end of the month.
The Magician’s Soul.
It’s gonna be different.
But the fact that I’m enjoying it means, I hope, that everyone else will too.
Guess what … It’s Friday! And it’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt time! SHHHH!! Stop yelling, Linda. I’ve got a headache. And apparently I’m talking to myself too. Here’s your prompt:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “bone.” Use it any way you like. Have fun!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our pretty SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what youâre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence â one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry â it doesnât matter. Just let the words carry you along until youâre ready to stop.
3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say âWrite about dogsâ; the prompt will be more like, âMake your first sentence a question,â âBegin with the word âThe,â” or will simply be a single word to get you started.
4. Ping back! Itâs important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youâre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personâs blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If youâre the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, âStream of Consciousness Saturday,â which youâll find below the âLikeâ button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youâd like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youâll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Hey there! It’s a bit late for a mid-month reminder, but I would like to thank all the people who have joined in so far in October. Call this an almost-done-month reminder? I’ll turn off the comments in this post and redirect you to the October 1st prompt to link your entries there, or you can wait until next week and link to the November 1st prompt.
Here’s what I’m working on this month. Not sure if I’ll get it finished, but I’m happy with what I’ve done so far!
Thank you to our members who have posted so far! Here they are:
Alex, my miracle baby, turned eighteen yesterday! Happy birthday, Alex!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the âOne-Liner Wednesdayâ title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday youâre pinging back to is this weekâs! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youâre self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. Itâs bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so thereâs no need to stick to the same âtheme.â
The rules that Iâve made for myself (but donât always follow) for âOne-Liner Wednesdayâ are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!
Can I catch a break? Seems not today. Dealt with a cold and bad behaviour from my kiddie who’s about to become an adult-ie. He was supposed to have his eighteenth birthday party dinner with the family tonight but instead he ended up going to his room for hitting me. He’s still only about 5 feet tall and not muscular at all (I can still pick him up), so he didn’t do any damage, but that’s not the point. He’s still at the terrible-twos-going-on-adolescent stage of his life.
But I did kind of catch a break. When you think of the brighter side, at least I didn’t have to get out of my pj’s today to go to the store and get a cake. And I’m feeling a bit better, so that’s something.
I suppose all in all I don’t have it that bad. I have a roof over my head and a way to communicate to the world. I have a little bit of an income, though that will have to change, again, since Alex is turning eighteen. I stand to lose a huge chunk of my income starting Tuesday. Like, about half of it. Wanna buy a book?
In all honesty, I’ve been working quite hard at marketing these last few weeks. It hasn’t got me very far, but I’m hoping it’s just a learning curve. I’ve been playing around with Canva–a free online graphics-making site. I made this tonight:
It’s fun to play with.
Can I get better at it? Sure I can. And I will.
I can also finish the third book in my series and maybe even write another book before the year is out. I’m incredibly motivated right now, and I’m itching to act like an author again. I feel like I can do this.
Which isn’t a good attitude to go to bed with, because I’m probably going to stay awake plotting a new book, or my life or something.
Where was I going with the title of this post? Oh yeah.
Can I admit something?
I always wondered if Cannes was where the can-can originated.
I can look it up.
But it’s late.
I used to be able to do the can-can. Now I can only do it with my fingers.
Hey! It’s Friday–who knew? So it must be time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Sorry I’m late today. I’m in a bit of a fog with a combination of a cold and allergies. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Here’s your prompt:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “can.” Use it any way you like. Bonus points if you start and/or finish your post with it. Enjoy!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our pretty SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what youâre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence â one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry â it doesnât matter. Just let the words carry you along until youâre ready to stop.
3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say âWrite about dogsâ; the prompt will be more like, âMake your first sentence a question,â âBegin with the word âThe,â” or will simply be a single word to get you started.
4. Ping back! Itâs important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youâre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personâs blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If youâre the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, âStream of Consciousness Saturday,â which youâll find below the âLikeâ button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youâd like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youâll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the âOne-Liner Wednesdayâ title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday youâre pinging back to is this weekâs! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youâre self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. Itâs bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so thereâs no need to stick to the same âtheme.â
The rules that Iâve made for myself (but donât always follow) for âOne-Liner Wednesdayâ are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!
One for the record books–the day I was a full hour and fifteen minutes late starting on my own prompt.
A few times today (yesterday) I actually sat down to write this, but I got distracted. Pulled away, or at the very least had the feeling that if I started, I wouldn’t be able to finish.
Which is my most-used excuse for not writing fiction.
So I’m sitting here now, in the wee hours of Sunday morning with my cup of peppermint tea, waiting for the Tylenol to kick in. And now, I will close my eyes and type.
How are our words precious?
They have such power. Our voices–the way we communicate, whether by voice itself or by written word–have the power to affect so much. So many others. It’s not the words themselves, but the way we choose to use them. Our expressions, our tone, our gestures … our voice.
Writers starting out are often confused over what we refer to as authorial voice. As an editor, I can see a writer’s voice as plain as day. It’s much like we speak. Because our thoughts drive both our speech and the way we write, they come out very similar in structure.
And those inner voices … Those, if we really pay attention to them, show the real us, if only to ourselves. Can you imagine if we said everything we thought? Ha! My stream of consciousness just went haywire. If only I could type as fast as I think.
But maybe I overthink things like this because I have such a passion for words. They have the potential for such beauty and such ugliness, all of which drive the human spirit–create our experiences of others and even ourselves. They can inspire us and they can scar us. Lift us up or drive us into the pit of despair.
Words are precious.
If we could all use them both wisely and with kindness and empathy, the world could be without conflict.
And I’d be out of a job.
(Because without conflict, a story is boring. đ )
Moonlight, Monsters & Magic has been my labour of love over the past six weeks. From writing what turned out to be a delightful little romance story about a Pixie who gets temporarily exiled, to copyediting an amazing collection of short stories … I can’t believe the day is finally here to share it with everyone!
You’ll find the link to purchase it from your favorite e-book distributor under the picture below, as well as at the end of this post.
I can’t wait for you to read it!
Moonlight, Monsters & Magic
A Paranormal Romance Sexy Shorts Collection
What do you get when you put 13 wickedly talented authors together in one collection?
MOONLIGHT and MONSTERS and MAGIC, oh my!
Find tales of shifters and witches, ghosts and mythical creatures, and even an angel or two in this supernatural anthology of paranormal romance stories, featuring award-winning paranormal romance author, Linda G. Hill.
With his life at stake, Comandante Julio Gomez arrives in the Philippines, hoping to reverse a century-old curse that a mountain nymph placed on his ancestor. Julio doesnât expect to meet the woman from his troubled dreams.
A woman whose fate is intrinsically linked with his. For in her hands lies his salvation âŠ
Or his eternal damnation.
Love Out of the Ashes by Tabetha Waite
For years, Markus Henley has been haunted by a recurring dreamâa sensual vision of a mysterious woman. He finally encounters her on a fateful trip, but not everything is as it appears âŠ
Tormented by a terrible tragedy that has broken her spirit, Laura Tipton feels she has nothing left. Then Markus arrives to awaken her spirit. In more ways than one.
Honey and her Grumpy Bear by Taylor Morgan
Someoneâs been sleeping in my bedâŠ
Everettâs spent his life mistrusting humans. The last thing this shifter needs is a week with his sisterâs sweet-as-honey best-friend underfoot. As his desire surges, he resolves to push Honey awayâfor good.
When this bear reveals the truth of his growly nature, will Goldilocks run away?
Swan Song by Everleigh Allen
During Liahâs once-in-a-lifetime trip to Ireland, things begin to get weird. Even as she becomes more isolated, a magical world opens up to her.
Torn between Fiachra and his mesmerizing voice, and the mysterious and handsome EĂłghan, Liah finds herself seemingly trapped in a world where nothing makes sense.
Meanwhile, someone is out to get her. But who?
Heart of Stone by Emmaline Warden
As a ladyâs maid, Annie craves stability and security. But she knows her destiny is greater than her reality.
When Theo approaches her, claiming to be her soulmate from a past life, she is left questioning and afraid. Can she accept that there is a world larger than her own guiding her existence? Will she take the leap of faith and believe in the magic that made Theo appear?
The Secrets of Hickory Hollow by Belle Langtree
A royal warlock and his playboy minion need the help of two sisters in order to save their clan from a wretched curse. Through true love, rooted in two separate worlds, a magical prophecy unfolds.
True love is the cure for any curse. True love and tree nuts, that is!
Leaving Limbo by Lucinda Cox
Jaxx Carter, ghost hunter, needs a legitimate haunting to establish his career as an Internet star. Too bad he doesnât think ghosts are real.
Enter Burroughs Manor, an unexplored estate with ties to Jaxxâs family. A tall, dark stranger awaits him there, to give him a night heâll never forget.
The Doctor and the Wolf by Chele MacCabe
Jake Campbell knows at five years old that Ashley Jerome is his one true mate. When she leaves for medical school, he and his wolf are devastated.
When Ashley returns to open her practice, Jake makes up mysterious ailments just to see her. On the day she falls into his armsâwith the help of her best friendâJake and Ashley immediately make their first date.
But when the big and bads show upâwhat will a doctor and her wolf do?
White by Sera TaĂno
Thiago undergoes open heart surgery, but complications arise.
At the same time, Clara is involved in a catastrophic car accident.
What happens when you meet your soulmate on the brink of death? Hovering on the precipice, does love stand a chance?
Fortune Favors the Feline by Elizabeth Langley
What would you do if you got exactly what you wished for?
What if your best friend wasnât who you thought he was?
Olivia has looked for true love her whole life. She just didnât know it was always there, right by her side ⊠demanding to be fed.
When a birthday gift leads her in a familiar, yet different direction, will Olivia let down her guard and let love win?
Miss Carlisle by Emma Brady
On a pitch-black night, a country doctor comes across a place of mystery and magic. He becomes trapped inside a manor house during a storm with a beautiful young nurse he canât resist, and the troubled spirit of Lady Winship, lurking in the shadows.
The elements of horror and romance come together in a dark love story that will haunt you.
Saving Faith by Allegra Johnson
In a modern world where the Salem Witch Trials exist, Faith is a witch being hunted.
Gabe is an investigator sworn to hunt her down. Perhaps their relationship was doomed from the start.
But when Faith drinks her motherâs potion and disappears, Gabeâs true hunt begins, this time for love.
Pixie by Linda G. Hill
Merryn, a pixie temporarily exiled, wakes up to an unfamiliar world.
Ivy, a lonely young widow, has a decision to make concerning a suitor who misses the mark in every way.
When Merryn stumbles into Ivyâs life they dance around each other, knowing he will soon disappear.
Can they resist? Yes. As long as they never touch.
About the Authors
Zara M Baily writes multicultural romance short stories that are erotic, paranormal, fantasy, and perhaps also historical in the future. One thing is for certain: Zara doesnât do, and wonât ever do, sweet. Or clean. Her sexytimes may be dirty at times, but theyâre always, always consensual and responsible.
Tabetha Waite is the award-winning author of the Ways of Love historical romance series. She makes her home in Missouri with her husband and two daughters. She loves to hear from her readers!
Taylor Morgan has always had a penchant for fairy talesâand not the Disney sort. Currently, she is creating tales that feature heroes who are more likely to hide in the woods than ride off into the sunset, and the heroines who claim their hearts. Taylor lives in Alabama with her husband, daughter, and dog. If missing, sheâs probably holed up with a new book, a blanket, and a glass of wine or a Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Everleigh Allen writes creative stories with a mysterious, mythical, magical, and racy edge. Her tales bring her readers into worlds that she wants to visit herself.
She lives in Texas with her husband, three of her four children, and a zoo of animals. She is also a sculptor and artist in multiple mediums. A writer of fiction that has been featured online for years, the MOONLIGHT, MONSTERS & MAGIC anthology is Everleighâs first published work.
Emmaline Warden lives in Colorado with her husband, four Chaos Makers, and a menagerie of animals. Her love of romance began with an accidental copy of Susan Elizabeth Phillipsâs Dream a Little Dream, and a trip to D.C. When she is not writing, she can be found outdoors with her kids, at the dog park with âher boys,â or with her nose buried in a book.
Belle Langtreeâs passion for hot, sexy romance began in the late seventies, after reading The Flame and The Flowerby Kathleen Woodiwiss. Over the years, her book club friends encouraged her to write her own love stories. Belle lives in the great State of Michigan with her loving husband of fifty happy years and their wild and crazy rescue pup named Faith Fu Fu.
Chele MacCabe has spent the last several years learning to string words together to tell stories. After all that practice and playing with her favorite fandom, she is ready to share her imagination with the rest of the world. She lives in the mountains with her mister, the short and the medium sized ones, and the critters that have found their way into their lives.
Sera TaĂno was born to Puerto Rican parents in New Jersey. She writes romances featuring the kinds of women she grew up around. Sera currently lives in Florida with her husband and two sons, and teaches English Lit by day. A voracious reader as well as an avid outdoors person, sheâs often torn between curling up on a sofa with a cup of coffee and a good book, and taking off for a long run on the trails around her house.
Elizabeth Langley has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Her love of romance novels started in her early twenties and has continued throughout her life. She is currently working on a few contemporary novels that she hopes to release within the next year. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, two children, one bonus child, three neurotic cats (one of which is probably an alien disguised as a cat), an energetic Corgi, and a homicidal rabbit.
Emma Brady is a mid-western author of historical romance, set primarily in the Victorian period. She loves Gothic stories and has always loved Wuthering Heights. Her favorite part of Halloween is getting to dress up and pretend to be anything she likes.
Allegra Johnson is an up-and-coming indie author who enjoys writing steamy love stories. She can be found stumbling throughout Romancelandia, figuring out this author thing one book at a time.
Linda G. Hill has been writing out-of-this world romance stories since she was a child. Living vicariously through the characters in her head, sheâs experienced the kinds of love that mortals only dream of. In reality, sheâs just a mom, an author, an editor, and a couch potato if there ever was one.
Lindaâs published works include the award-winning Gothic paranormal romance novel The Magicianâs Curse, and its sequel, The Magicianâs Blood, as well as All Good Stories, a romcom novelette, and several short stories published by Transmundane Press and The Phoenix Quill.
Hey there!! It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Well, I’m almost out from under the weight of too much work, too little time, so you might be seeing more of me soon. Yay! Here’s your prompt:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “precious.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our pretty, new SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what youâre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence â one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry â it doesnât matter. Just let the words carry you along until youâre ready to stop.
3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say âWrite about dogsâ; the prompt will be more like, âMake your first sentence a question,â âBegin with the word âThe,â” or will simply be a single word to get you started.
4. Ping back! Itâs important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youâre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personâs blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If youâre the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, âStream of Consciousness Saturday,â which youâll find below the âLikeâ button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youâd like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youâll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Zara M Baily writes multicultural romance short stories that are erotic, paranormal, fantasy, and perhaps also historical in the future. One thing is for certain: Zara doesnât do, and wonât ever do, sweet. Or clean. Her sexytimes may be dirty at times, but theyâre always, always consensual and responsible.
Taylor Morgan has always had a penchant for fairy talesâand not the Disney sort. Currently, she is creating tales that feature heroes who are more likely to hide in the woods than ride off into the sunset, and the heroines who claim their hearts. Taylor lives in Alabama with her husband, daughter, and dog. If missing, sheâs probably holed up with a new book, a blanket, and a glass of wine or a Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Emmaline Warden lives in Colorado with her husband, four Chaos Makers, and a menagerie of animals. Her love of romance began with an accidental copy of Susan Elizabeth Phillipsâs Dream a Little Dream, and a trip to D.C. When she is not writing, she can be found outdoors with her kids, at the dog park with âher boys,â or with her nose buried in a book.
Belle Langtreeâs passion for hot, sexy romance began in the late seventies, after reading The Flame and The Flowerby Kathleen Woodiwiss. Over the years, her book club friends encouraged her to write her own love stories. Belle lives in the great State of Michigan with her loving husband of fifty happy years and their wild and crazy rescue pup named Faith Fu Fu.
Chele MacCabe has spent the last several years learning to string words together to tell stories. After all that practice and playing with her favorite fandom, she is ready to share her imagination with the rest of the world. She lives in the mountains with her mister, the short and the medium sized ones, and the critters that have found their way into their lives.
Sera TaĂno was born to Puerto Rican parents in New Jersey. She writes romances featuring the kinds of women she grew up around. Sera currently lives in Florida with her husband and two sons, and teaches English Lit by day. A voracious reader as well as an avid outdoors person, sheâs often torn between curling up on a sofa with a cup of coffee and a good book, and taking off for a long run on the trails around her house.
Elizabeth Langley has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Her love of romance novels started in her early twenties and has continued throughout her life. She is currently working on a few contemporary novels that she hopes to release within the next year. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, two children, one bonus child, three neurotic cats (one of which is probably an alien disguised as a cat), an energetic Corgi, and a homicidal rabbit.
Allegra Johnson is an up-and-coming indie author who enjoys writing steamy love stories. She can be found stumbling throughout Romancelandia, figuring out this author thing one book at a time.
Linda G. Hill has been writing out-of-this world romance stories since she was a child. Living vicariously through the characters in her head, sheâs experienced the kinds of love that mortals only dream of. In reality, sheâs just a mom, an author, an editor, and a couch potato if there ever was one.
lindaghill.com 