How did this happen? I always have my posts scheduled ahead of time, but today’s post snuck past me. What to do? I guess I’ll have to wing it.
I can start by telling you that I once again have a day job, which is probably why this post got by me. I’ve been training for the past two weeks. You don’t know how relieved I am to know I’ll have steady money coming in once again. It’s rough trying to survive off just my books and my writing. Maybe this is why many authors still hold day jobs. I know trying to manage for the past year without one has been rough. Maybe now I can start putting my writing monies back into the WordCrafter business. So, that’s my big and exciting news.
While not employed elsewhere, I’ve been busy preparing for upcoming releases, including my kid’s book series, which releases the first three books July 16: Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans, and Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home. We’re launching with a book blog tour to send them off right, and to raise funds to publish each one in color print format, because black & white print won’t do for Robbie’s wonderful illustrations. I hope you’ll all join us for the tour to meet the My Backyard Friends characters and get a glimpse of those beautiful illustrations, and help support the color print publications.
I’ve also been combing through the submissions for two anthologies scheduled for this coming autumn. I announced the winner of the 2024 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest – M.J. Mallon and her story, “The Seagull Man”, and I’m geting ready to go through the by invitation submissions for the Dark Fiction anthology, that is as yet untitled. Once I’ve read them all and I have a better idea of the shape this short fiction collection, I’ll decide on the title. And I just finished editing the submissions for the Tales From the Hanging Tree anthology and sending them back to the authors for revisions. This is a themed anthology and it didn’t get a lot of submissions, so I’m writing a second story to be included to fill it out a bit.
Other than that, I’ve been getting my office set up, as best I can with what I’ve got, hanging out with my cat, Rowdy, taking morning walks and eating a lot of peanut butter, mayonaise and lettuce sandwiches. Maybe now that I’m working outside this little box I call an office, maybe I’ll be able to visit some of my favorite resturaunts and go visit some of my favorite places to camp this summer. There’s a book launch in Gunnison in July that I’d really like to attend and a few ideas floating around in my head for new projects. If I make it, I’ll tell you all about it. đŸ˜‰
Rowdy the cat in his bed in my office.
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About the Author
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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The first three books in the My Backyard Friends kid’s book series are available for pre-order in digital format now!
Don’t miss these fantastic new kid’s books inspired by the birds and animals which visit me at my mountain home, and brought to life in the vivid illustrations of Robbie Cheadle.
Meet Heather Hummingbird
Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend is a picture book with a message of friendship and cooperation. (Ages 3-5)
Heather Hummingbird and Ethan Eagle are two unlikely friends who discover that it is good to accept help from others and that is what friends are for.
Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans is a picture book with a moral message from a young turtle’s perspective. (Ages 3-5)
Meet Timothy Turtle, who has a sweet tooth. He eats too many jelly beans and finds himself in a pickle. His friends Katy Cat and Betsy Beaver try to help, and Timothy learns that you can get too much of a good thing.
Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home is a story of survival from a young bird’s perspective. (Ages 6-8)
Charlie Chickadee is happy with his family in their cozy nest. But whem the violet-green swallows thake the nest for their own, Charlie finds himself alone, seperated from his parents and on his own to face the dangers of the forest. His new friend Nicholas Nuthatch shows him the ropes and teaches him about the other birds and the woman who puts out food each day, and by a stroke of luck, Charlie discovers the perfect spot and builds a new nest that he can be proud of.
2024 promises to be exciting at WordCrafter Press and I am thrilled to tell you about it.
In January, book 2 of the Women in the West series, Sarah launches on Kickstarter and its going to be a good one. Rewards will include not only early digital and signed print copies of Sarah, but Special Edition Illustrated copies of both Sarah and Delilah, never before offered.
In March, Sarah will be released through distributors, and will be available at your favorite online retailers. I’ll be launching with a book blog tour and giveaway, so be sure and watch for that.
In April, Poetry Treasures 4: Natural World will be released through distributors. (The cover pictured above is just a fill in.) Featuring poetry written by guests of the 2023 “Treasuring Poetry” blog series with Robbie Cheadle. There will be a book blog tour for this book, with audio/video readings by the poets.
In May, my nonfiction writing reference book, D.I.Y. Author will be released through distributors, and will be available at your favorite online retailers. If you’re an author on a shoestring budget determined to find ways to write and sell books, this book is for you. Naturally, a book blog tour and giveaway will accompany this release.
In July, we have a Kickstarter campaign planned for my children’s book series. I’ll be releasing the first three books in the My Backyard Friends series, Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans, and Charlie Chickadee Finds a New Home. After a first illustrator experience which turned sour, these books have been awaiting an illustrator for eight years. But I finally found one, whose illustrations I am proud to have featured in my books, Robbie Cheadle. If you know her, you might be familiar with the wonderful illustrations she’s begun to do recently, and you’ll understand why I am so thrilled to have her as an illustrator. These stories feature animal and bird characters in tales that each teach a social lesson. With Robbie’s beautiful illustrations, they are not to be missed.
In August, the first three books in the My Backyard Friends series will be released through distributors, and will be available at all your favorite distributors. I’ll be launching with a book blog tour and giveaway.
In September, a by invitation only themed anthology, Tales From The Hanging Tree, will be released through distributors and launched with a book blog tour and giveaway, with audio/video readings by the authors.
In October, the 2024 WordCrafter anthology will be released. Each year I release the annual anthology in October, which is just a scary month. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love scary stories, and other scary stuff, so releasing in October is condusive to dark fiction. In 2023, we had a great line-up of dark and scary stories in Midnight Roost, so we’re going with a dark fiction theme again this year. It will include both by invitation submissions and contest submissions that are worthy, and feature the winning story from the contest. (See Call for Submissions below.)
WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services
I’m happy to announce that in 2024, WordCrafter will be adding Book Trailers to our list of quality author services. We will have three different trailer designers available to choose from: myself, Robbie Cheadle and DL Mullan, and they will be offered at affordable prices.
On Writing to be Read, 2024 promises more of the new monthly blog series, “POP with Jeff Bowles”, which has been well recepted. A blog series about all things POP, the first Wednesday of every month.
We also have a new addition to the WtbR team. Starting in January, DL Mullan will be bringing us another new blog series the first Friday of each month, “Undawntech: Technology and the Creative Arts”. Be sure to check it out and give Dawn a big welcome.
Call for Submissions – 2024 WordCrafter Anthology
It’s time for the Call for Submissions for the 2024 WordCrafter Anthology, which we’re calling “Dark Fiction” for now. Dark fiction is the theme: horror, paranormal, dark fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction. Any genre as long as it is dark or scary will do. I’m leaving it wide in the hopes of bringing in a diverse selection of stories that will keep readers awake at night.
Submission Guidelines
Genres: Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Dark Humor, Speculative Fiction any combination there of.
Length: up to 5000 words
Submission Deadline: April 30, 2023
Submissions open January 1 and close on April 30. Watch for the January 1 post for full submission guidelines and contest entry.
Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining
Writing to be Read 
