IWSG June 2023

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Patricia Josephine, Deidre Knight, Olga Godim, J. Lenni Dorner and Cathrina Constantine.

I'm going to skip the question this month because I really have nothing to answer it! Honestly, it made me a little bit anxious. Instead, I'm going to talk about a subject I'm sure many of you can relate to: the jitters leading up to a book release. Any form of release will come with nerves, I know that, but with my first traditionally published book this feels different from self-publishing because there's a lot of other people invested in my book and its success. I don't want to let them down, but at the same time there's so much that feels out of my control: reviews, sales, events... it all seems pretty overwhelming. And I'm lucky that my publisher offered on my follow-up too. With this being a writer's group, what I want to explore is the impact all this has on my writing. You'd think I'd be more comfortable and confident in that area knowing that people are backing me. Instead, it seems harder than ever before to string together a sentence that makes sense. Can I deliver again? I don't know. Can I find the fun and joy in writing again without a lingering sense of pressure? Really hope so. Switching from a publishing/marketing mindset to a purely creative one means wearing two completely different hats and just putting one down and putting the other one on is no easy thing. I know this isn't groundbreaking news or anything, but I'm feeling it more than ever right now.

I know many of you will have been here, or are here. Grateful for any and all advice. I'm in a privileged position, and this isn't meant to be a whine. But I guess what I'm learning is there's no point or nothing that can happen that would make writing "easier" or less of an effort. But it's never meant to be easy, or ultimately the reward wouldn't be as good.

To find more posts for the IWSG, check out the list here!

IWSG May 2023

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Victoria Marie Lees and M Louise Barbour.

Apologies for getting here slightly late. I spent a very nice long weekend on a mini cruise with my other half taking in Bruges in Belgium and the island of Guernsey. We got back late on Tuesday so I was tuckered out on Wednesday. I only remembered IWSG when my wife reminded me! What would I do without her? Being a day late, I'll take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy Star Wars Day, and may the force be with you always.

OK, let's check out the question for May's meeting. A good one I think...

When you are working on a story, what inspires you?

This is such a multilayered question and there will be an infinite variety of answers. Of course, there's the multitude of elements that might possibly go into choosing what story to write (overheard conversations, news stories, memes, social media posts, TV shows, books, podcasts, the list goes on), but when working on the story itself... I'd say I'm inspired by trying to capture something, an atmosphere, something that might be about a totally different world but also says something about our current one. There is no shortage of things to comment on. Things that raise red flags. The rise of AI, rights abuses, human voices not being heard. Not that I'm setting out to create something worthy or take some moral high ground. I'm just as confused as things about anyone, and I'm trying to grapple with them through the medium of my characters. I'd like to leave readers with things to think about while also feeling like they've been taken on a thrill ride of twists and revelations. Quite a lot to pull off but it keeps me trying!

While I'm here, I'll just offer a brief reminder that the preorder campaign for my debut traditionally published book The Becalmer, about a girl who can resolve conflicts using her mind, is well underway. I'm offering signed copies for the first one hundred paperbacks, as well as a swag pack for those who leave a review. All formats available here.

Don't forget to visit other IWSG blogs here, and see you next month! 

Pre-orders for The Becalmer are live!

Happy Monday! I hope you've had a wonderful weekend, whatever and however you celebrate. I'm keeping the party vibe going today because I'm delighted to announce that The Becalmer, my first traditionally published book, is now up for preorder!

Blurb:

Harica is gifted with the ability to defuse conflicts using her mind. When she is recruited to assist in resolving a war via an arranged marriage, she discovers that the reluctant bride-to-be has similar powers. Princess Jasmila doesn't use her powers for good and when Harica arrives to help with the marriage arrangements, she fights back and sends Harica into a coma.

It is through this comatose state that Harica discovers a mysterious liminal space populated by others who share her gift. In this new realm, she learns to do things she never believed possible, but soon things spiral out of control.

In the face of a terrifying and seemingly unstoppable adversary, Harica wrestles with the decision to come to terms with the dark side of her gift. Will she take ownership of it or turn her back on it forever?

Release date: August 8, 2023

Publisher: Creative James Media

Genre: YA, Sci-fi

Universal preorder link

Add on Goodreads

Since signing the contract over a year ago, I feel like it's been a long road getting here but I'm grateful for the opportunity for a steady build-up. It feels a lot more real now and I'm excited for Harica to make her way into the world in just a few months. Have a great week!

IWSG April 2023

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Jemima Pett, Nancy Gideon and Natalie Aguirre.

There's a great question this month. It's: Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you're at the start of the journey, what are your goals?

I do remember writing my first book. It was around this time sixteen years ago that I started writing it. It was meant to be some sort of psychological thriller because I was reading a lot of that sort of thing at the time. Mistaken identity and amnesia were involved, but I don't remember much more of the finer detail. I do recall it took me two years to write it and then a year seeking an agent, during which time I did no further writing. That was my first mistake because I've since learned you should always keep moving forward in your work while waiting to hear from any gatekeepers. Thankfully, it was not long after that I started a blog and joined IWSG and started up soaking up wisdom from legions of wonderful authors. That means you - I'm amazed that I've known some of you reading for over a decade now and I'm so grateful for that connection. I suppose when I started writing my first book I had naive ideas of doing packed book tours to adoring crowds and topping best seller lists. Through IWSG, I learned that writing is more about grafting and getting the next sentence down. After my first couple of books, I put my agent hunt on the back burner and pivoted to self-publishing, which taught me a lot about marketing and probably about what not to do as well. It was a lot of fun organising blog tours, cover design, ARCs. I was still interested in the traditional path and becoming a hybrid author and I started seeking a small press for the book I started writing during the first COVID lockdown. I thought it was the strongest thing I'd done and I wanted to seek other avenues for it and see where they could go. I believe the reason I was able to write a stronger book that a fantastic publisher was willing to take a chance on was because I'd picked up so much great advice from all of you over the years, not just about the writing itself but about ways to keep motivation going, as well as reading so many superb books you wrote as well. That's the best way to learn!

Whew! That got more emotional than I expected. Thanks for this question because it's definitely good to look back and see how far you've come sometimes. It keeps you putting one foot in front of the other. 

In terms of where I am right now on my journey, I just had my cover reveal for The Becalmer and preorders start in a few days, on April 10. Trying not to get too freaked out...

To read others' answers - and I'm sure there'll be some awesome ones - check out the IWSG list here. 

The Becalmer Cover Reveal!

A big day today as I get to unveil the cover for my forthcoming debut traditionally published book, The Becalmer! Really excited and I hope you love it as much as I do.

Title: The Becalmer

Author: Nick Wilford

Publisher: Creative James Media

Cover design: Dark Angel Graphics

Release date: August 8th 2023

Preorder date: April 10th 2023

Add on Goodreads

Blurb:

Harica is gifted with the ability to defuse conflicts using her mind. When she is recruited to assist in resolving a war via an arranged marriage, she discovers that the reluctant bride-to-be has similar powers. Princess Jasmila doesn't use her powers for good and when Harica arrives to help with the marriage arrangements, she fights back and sends Harica into a coma.

It is through this comatose state that Harica discovers a mysterious liminal space populated by others who share her gift. In this new realm, she learns to do things she never believed possible, but soon things spiral out of control.

In the face of a terrifying and seemingly unstoppable adversary, Harica wrestles with the decision to come to terms with the dark side of her gift. Will she take ownership of it or turn her back on it forever?

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If you'd like to sign up to receive an ARC of The Becalmer or join its street team, you can do so here. I'll see you on Wednesday for IWSG!

IWSG March 2023

Time for our next monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim and JQ Rose.

Sorry I missed last month's meet! It just snuck up on me for some reason. Leaving that aside, let's turn to this month's IWSG question, which is an interesting one: Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

I'm sure most writers have had that sort of moment where you think "I wish I'd thought of that" or even "I'll never write anything as clever as that." And probably on multiple occasions - I'd struggle to pick out specific examples. Envy is a strong word though and not one I'd probably use to describe that feeling. It's more a sense of healthy competition that spurs you on to do better. We're all learning all the time and probably every book we read has something to teach us. Envy doesn't go anywhere - it means we want what others have, but only that author could have written that book. By the same token, no one else could have written the books we write, either. So, be amazed, be inspired by others' accomplishments, and funnel that inspiration into doing what you do best!

In other news, I've got some slightly nervous insecurity as things will start to roll out for my debut trad pub release in August. I've been told my proofs are on the way, so I will finally get to "hold my book in my hands", and there should be a cover and blurb reveal in the next few weeks. It's a good kind of nerves, I suppose, there's just always that tingling anticipation at how it will all go down.

For more takes on this month's question and to see what other authors are up to, check out the list here.

IWSG January 2023

A brand new year and it's time for our first meeting of 2023 for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Hope everyone's excited and has great plans for the year ahead. Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre and T. Powell Coltrin.

January 4 question - Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? For instance, in 2021 my word of the year was Finish. I was determined to finished my first draft by the end of the year. In 2022, my word of the year is Ease. I want to get my process, systems, finances, and routines where life flows with ease and less chaos. What is your word for 2023? Why?

I had a think about this - I initially dismissed the question because I've never had a "word of the year" but on reflection it might be quite a nice idea. And a good word for my 2023 might be "present." No, it's not a hangover for Christmas, I'm not fixated on receiving gifts. No, I mean it would be a good idea to be present in the moment and receptive to opportunities, especially in the year when my first traditionally published book is released. It's about not second guessing things in terms of what could go wrong or right because it's easy to get into a tailspin that way. I'm not saying that nerves or anxiety about my work coming out on a particular platform are going to go away. I think those are ever present for all of us to a degree no matter where we are in our career. But it's about managing that and not letting it stop us enjoying special moments when they happen. Obviously, being present is a good motto in any situation - with family, for example. 

So, yeah, that's the word I'm going to take going forward for this year. What about you? See how others answered at the IWSG list here.