One of the methods I use of becoming more prolific in my writing is to use NaNoWriMo each November as a sort of spring board to get a good start on a novel, and hopefully, complete and publish it the following year. I’ve found it to be an effective way to help meet my writing goals. I have my own method of time blocking, which is more like grab every minute you can to write because I have a busy life, but even when I don’t reach my daily wordcount goals, I get on writing streaks where I more than make them up. And even in situations like last year, when my computer crashed with a week and a half left to go, so I was unable to make the 50,000 word goal, I come out with a healthy start to my novel, offering me a descent foundation to build on. (You can learn more about my NaNoWriMo strategies in my writing reference, The D.I.Y Author.)
This year is no exception and I’ve been busily outlining the sequel to The Rock Star & the Oulaw in preparation for next month’s NaNoWriMo challege to pound out at least 50,000 words of a new novel. Come next Monday, I will be up to my elbows in the writing of book 2, and I can already tell you, it’s going to be a wild ride. The ending of the first book was such that there has to be a second. My readers will be expecting and anticipating it. In this book, Amarylis will be expanding her horizons as she changes and grows, and my inspiration will expand beyond the music of The Pretty Reckless, which served as inspiration for her character in the first book.
I have most of my November blog posts written and scheduled, so my writing efforts can be focused on the book. The dark anthologies are launched in time for the Halloween season and their initial promotions have come to an end. In order to meet those daily wordcounts, I will be doing a minimal amount of promoting, so I won’t be as visible on social media as I usually am, and it may take me a bit longer to respond to email correspondence. The only promotions I will be making are my normal promotions of blog posts on Writing to be Read, and the 2024 Novel Writing Story Bundle, which includes The D.I.Y. Author and runs through the end of November.
The 2024 Novel Writing Story Bundle – Currated by Kevin J. Anderson
This year’s Writing Tools StoryBundle, curated by bestselling author and publisher Kevin J. Anderson, is another treasure chest of vital handbooks covering aspects of the writer’s craft, business, and way of life. We have thirteen titles on a range of subjects, plus a 12-month subscription to Indie Author Magazine, your best source to stay up-to-date on the industry.
On writing craft, there’s The Illustrated Super Secrets of Writing, Vol. 1—Wulf Moon’s award-winning system on how to write stories and does so with creativity, fun, and humor. Tara Grace Ericson presents Romance Character Tropes—far more than your average trope list; this is an encyclopedia packed with info to help you use and leverage each trope successfully.
Freelance editor Joshua Essoe teaches about Mood and Atmosphere in his series of special-edition writing guides, each examining the most-common issues he encounters from writers he works with. Word by Word by award-winning author Kerrie Flanagan, shows you how to unlock your creativity and transform your writing. This is an essential guide for writers that offers inspiration, genre-specific strategies, and practical tips.
Jana S. Brown gives you Steps to Self-Editing. You’ve finished your novel! Now learn the self-editing steps to smooth off the rough edges and really make it shine!
And in the new revised edition of On Being a Dictator: Revised Edition, by Kevin J. Anderson, Martin Shoemaker, and Greg Vose—available exclusively in this StoryBundle,—you’ll learn how to use dictation to increase your productivity. One of the foundational books on a popular writing method, On Being a Dictator will help you think outside the box and up your game in the fast-paced ever-changing world of publishing.
Now, on to the writing business. Dollar by Dollarby Kerrie Flanagan is a comprehensive guide packed with proven strategies to help writers boost book sales, increase income from writing, and succeed in both traditional and self-publishing. Mark Leslie’s Author’s Guide to Branding for Success shows you how to make your Author Brand into one of your best long-term Intellectual Property assets!
Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn provide guidance and inspiration to share your message with the world from the stage in Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker.
AndBooking the Librariesby Jessica Brawner is tailored for authors, speakers, storytellers, musicians, puppeteers, and all living-wage entertainers. This guide is your key to unlocking fresh markets, cultivating a dedicated fanbase, and revolutionizing your livelihood.
And finally, on the writing life, these titles will help you stay inspired and remain strong as a creative.
The D.I.Y. Authorby Kaye Lynne Booth shows you the ropes in the business of being an author.
Wit and Wisdom by Craig Martelle—exclusive first release in this StoryBundle—is chock full of quips and snippets to help authors stay focused on the right things to accelerate their business.
AndFalling to Fly by Todd Fahnestock is a deeply personal exploration into the creative process and the publishing industry. This is truly the book to read before you give up on your writing dreams.
In addition in this StoryBundle, you will receive full year’s subscription toIndie Author Magazine, your go-to resource for news, tips, and advice on self-publishing. Stay up-to-date on the latest trends in the industry.
A note on the designated charity for this StoryBundle, the Neil Peart Brain Cancer Research Fund from Cedars Sinai. In 2020 we lost Neil Peart, legendary drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush, to glioblastoma. He was my mentor, friend, and collaborator on numerous books, and his loss affected me deeply. Neil’s friends and colleagues and fans worldwide have contributed to this glioblastoma research fund in Neil’s name, and we are proud to add our efforts on this Writing Tools StoryBundle as well. – Kevin J. Anderson
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For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in .epub format—WORLDWIDE.
Romance Character Tropes by Tara Grace Ericson and Jessica Barber
Dollar by Dollar by Kerrie Flanagan
Essoe’s Guides to Writing: Mood and Atmosphere by Joshua Essoe
Booking the Library by Jessica Brawner
If you pay at least the bonus price of just $20, you get all four of the regular books, plus 9 more books, for a total of 13 (with 3 StoryBundle Exclusives), plus a year’s subscription to Indie Author Magazine!
Super Secrets: Illustrated by Wulf Moon
Falling to Fly by Todd Fahnestock
From Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker by Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn
A Writer’s Guide to Branding for Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre (StoryBundle Exclusive)
On Being a Dictator by Kevin J. Anderson (StoryBundle Exclusive)
Word by Word by Kerrie Flanagan
The D.I.Y. Author by Kaye Lynne Booth
Steps to Self-Editing by Jana S. Brown
Wit and Wisdom by Craig Martelle (StoryBundle Exclusive)
Indie Author Magazine: One Year Subscription by Indie Author Magazine
This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get a DRM-free .epub for all books!
It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
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, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource. 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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This post is sponsored by The Rock Star & The Outlaw and WordCrafter Press.
A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back.
In 1887, LeRoy McAllister is a reluctant outlaw running from a posse with nowhere to go except to the future.
In 2025, Amaryllis Sanchez is a thrill-seeking rock star on the fast track, who killed her dealing boyfriend to save herself. Now, she’s running from the law and his drug stealing flunkies, and nowhere is safe.
LeRoy falls hard for the rock star, thinking he can save her by taking her back with him. But when they arrive in 1887, things turn crazy fast, and soon they’re running from both the outlaws and the posse, in peril once more.
They can’t go back to the future, so it looks like they’re stuck in the past. But either when, they must face forces that would either lock them up or see them dead.
The audio book is AI narrated, but don’t let that deter you without giving it a chance. The female voiced narration is actually pretty good. And there’s a button where you can listen to a sample on the book’s page at Apple Books, so you can check it out before you buy. Above is the direct link, but it’s also listed on the book’s Books2Read page with all the other distributors where it’s available, so you can get it in digital or print, if you prefer.
Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
The Rock Star & The Outlaw Kickstarter campaign ending soon
There are just a few days left for you to join in on our campaign! The more we raise, the more rewards we can offer. With the campaign ending soon, it’s almost the last chance to show support for author and project. The deadline is 8/31/23, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to get an early digital copy of the book, a signed print copy, an interview with the author, posters and so much more, available exclusively through the campaign.
The Rock Star & The Outlaw won’t release through distributors until September 18, so it is only available through my Kickstarter at this time. So click on the Kickstarter to learn more about this rocking time-travel adventure.
The Rock Star and The Outlaw is a story from my heart, inspired by the music of The Pretty Reckless, which is my favorite band. It’s a time-travel adventure. Amaryllis Sanchez is a rock Star in 2025. LeRoy McAllister is an outlaw from 1887. They’re both running from the law and other outlaws in their respective times and when they meet, it’s a non-stop adventure through time.
Check out the book trailer video on the Kickstarter page to learn more.
The Rock Star & The Outlaw Book Trailer
More About the Book
A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back.
LeRoy McAllister is a reluctant outlaw running from a posse with nowhere to go except to the future.
In 2025, Amaryllis Sanchez is a thrill-seeking rock star on the fast track, who killed her dealing boyfriend to save herself. Now, she’s running from the law and his drug stealing flunkies, and nowhere is safe.
LeRoy falls hard for the rock star, thinking he can save her by taking her back with him. But when they arrive in 1887, things turn crazy fast, and soon they’re running from both the outlaws and the posse, in peril once more.
They can’t go back to the future, so it looks like they’re stuck in the past. But either when, they must face forces that would either lock them up or see them dead.
About the Author
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is her passion. It is a very strange time indeed when Kaye Lynne does not have at least three WIPs, in addition to her other writings, teaching and other life activities. Kaye Lynne lives, works and plays in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.
Visit her author’s blog and website, “Writing to be Read” to learn more about Kaye Lynne Booth and her writing. https://kayelynnebooth.wordpress.com/
Release through distributors & book blog tour
If you miss the Kickstarter, The Rock Star & The Outlaw will release through distributors on September 19, 2023, and to celebrate, well be running a WordCrafter Book Blog Tour September 18-22.
Coming Soon: Midnight Roost
The 2023 WordCrafter Anthology, Midnight Roost will be scheduled for release October 17, 2023. This anthology of weird and creepy stories features works by talented authors including Zack Ellafy, Chris Barili, Joseph Carrabis, DL Mullan, Christa Planko, Paul Kane, Sonia Pipkin, C.R. Johansson, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Patty Fletcher, Keith J. Hoskins, Denise Aparo, Julie Jones, Rebecca M. Senese, Mario Acevedo, Kaye Lynne Booth, Michaele Jordan, Robert Kostaczuk. Midnight Roost also features the winning story from the 2023 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, “Red Door House”, by Isabel Grey. More to come in next month’s “WordCrafter News”.
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Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
Roberta Eaton Cheadle features a review of my short story collection, “Last Call and Other Short Fiction” on her “Roberta Writes” blog site today. Drop by and see what she has to say about the short fiction of Kaye Lynne Booth
What Amazon says
Six premium short storiesby author Kaye Lynne Booth. Stories in this collection has something for everyone witha mixture of time travel, suspense, humor, origins and speculative fiction.
Last Call- (Time travel science fiction) -Things aren’t going too good for Derek and he thinks his life is over, until he stops in for a Last Call. Will a bar in the middle of nowhere turn out to be his curse or his salvation?
Terror on the Mountain Trail- (Suspense) – It’s a perfect spring day until Kellie and Randy are attacked by a crazed man in the wilderness.
Earth Mother– (Origin Story)
A Turn of the Tables– (Speculative fiction) – Are vampires really invincible? One vampire is about to find out.
A True Hero- (Humor) – Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. This one is heroic indeed.
The Christmas Cruise, by Tammy Tate is a really cute romance story which could have been so much more. This story combines romance with science fiction when the two main characters, who are attracted to one another but won’t admit it to themselves, both happen to be swept from their Christmas cruise in the Burmuda Triangle onto a deserted island from the past.
It’s a good plot and it could work if the characters were more developed and didn’t just accept what was happening without a second thought. The story moves from point A to point B in a fairly straight line, at a fairly quick pace, lacking any real twists or surprises. Just the fact that they are the only two to be swept away gave me trouble buying in, and when they return without any logical explaination as to how it happened, it lost me totally.
If the author had taken the time and effort to expand the plot, and portray believable reactions to absurd circumstances, The Christmas Cruise could have been a really entertaining story. As it is, it lacks depth of character and is difficult to swollow. I can only give it three quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Doomed to Repeat is author Tim Baker’s latest crazy crime novel, complete with his usual cast of lovable characters; Ike, Brewski, Ralph Donabedian and the Golden Lion Staff.
Ike and Brewski get a blast from the past when Nazis with amnesia show up in Flagler Beach. As they work to unravel the mystery of how they came to be in this time, while trying to stay one step ahead of the white supremicist who is trying to muscle Ralph Donabedian and the other Flagler Beach business owners into selling all of their properties, they learn their new found friends may hold the evidence to prove two great historical myths to be truths. But, with the bad guys, the C.I.A. and the Russians all closing in, can they save their new found friends and the secrets they carry with them without getting themselves killed or letting their secrets fall into the wrong hands?
When you pick up a novel set in Flagler Beach, and find Ike and Brewski sitting in the middle of it, you know the story will be entertaining, and Doomed to Repeat does not disappoint. I give it five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Time. It fascinates us, captures our imaginations with the possibilities of time and time travel, so much so that our literature and the entertainment industry are filled with stories and songs which follow that theme. There have been countless movies on the subject: the Back to the Future series; Time Cop; The Terminator; Groundhog Day; Planet of the Apes; Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey; The Butterfly Effect; Land Before Time; and Timestalkers, to name a few. And of course, television series: Dr. Who; Quantum Leap; Sliders; Time After Time; Outlanders – not to mention series with one or more episodes that involve time travel. Books and stories about time travel include: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain; The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells; Rip Van Winkle, by Washington Irving; A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens; “The Langoliers”, by Stephen King (Four Past Midnight); Timeline, by Michael Crichton; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowlings; The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger; and more recently, All Our Wrong Todays, by Elan Mastai. Even the music industry has gotten in on the theme: Fleetwood Mac can’t stop thinking about tomorrow; Tim McGraw deals with it in segments, so he only worries about the next thirty years; Bad Company is ready for love and figures better things are bound to happen looking forward; Jim Croche wants to save it in a bottle; Cindy Lauper comments on the repetitiveness of it, as things tend to happen time after time; and Stevie Nicks would do it all again, even though it’s not always a breeze. These lists don’t even scratch the surface. So, why is it that time so fascinates us?
I had a little Australian Shepherd named Dorchester. I got her when she was a pup. When she was young, she was agile and fast. Man, was she fast. She could smoke both the male Blue Heelers she grew up with to get a Frisbee. Then, she’d run off with it and wouldn’t give it back. She never was much for playing by the rules. But, as she got older, of course, she slowed. Age affects dogs in many of the same ways that it affects people: it gets harder to get up and down; movement is slower, more careful; the senses are not as accute as they once were, etc… Dorchester began to lose her eyesight first, even before her she lost her speed and her agility, so I had to become her seeing eye person. I began carrying a walking stick on our walks, thunking it down firmly on the ground with each step I took, so that she could hear where I was and follow. We walked this way for several years until eventually she was no longer able to go on walks with me anymore due to poor eyesight and other effects of aging.
Dorchester isn’t with me anymore, but I still go on walks with both of the Heelers. We all walk a little slower these days. Our walks are shorter and there’s not a lot of rabbit chasing anymore, but they are are enjoyed, never the less. My son’s dog, Zaar, was Dorchester’s mate. They were the same age, each joining our family at about the same time. As Zaar ages, he is not only losing his sight, but his hearing, as well. He is very frightened of thunder and storms always gave him major anxiety attacks, so his not being able to hear so good hasn’t been a totally bad thing, but it does pose new problems on our walks. Zaar grew up walking on our property, so he thinks he knows where he’s going and doesn’t always pay attention to where his walking companions are headed. He gets into ‘the zone’, nose up, sniffing th air, and no matter how loud I yell, he doesn’t hear me, causing me to have to chase after him, touching him to get his attention and get him back on track. Zaar was also raised around a Heeler who was deaf, so he learned hand signs and once I have his attention, he will follow, but it’s getting his attention that’s the trick.
The exercise he gets from his walks is what keeps him healthy and mobile. As I watch him getting older, I feel a sense of urgency, knowing that time may be running short for our walks and I want to enjoy my time with him while I can. I guess I just don’t know how to be a seeing eye person for a dog that can’t hear. He doesn’t hear my stick. I must figure out how to adapt and rise to the challenge, because left to his own devices, Zaar would soon be lost, especially after dusk, when his eyesight is at its poorest. It seems none of us are as young as we used to be.
It’s easy to look back and see what we’ve lost. ‘Hindsight is better than foresight’, and all that. Looking to the past, all our regrets become vividly obvious, but we tend to embellish the good times, as well. I think happy moments may be remembered as euphoric, more so than what they actually were, because those are the times we wish to hold onto. When I look back, there’s a dividing line to my timeline, seperating my life before my teenaged son died, and post-death, signifying the time when he was no longer in my life. That’s my loss. The time when Mike was alive seems brighter, more vivid in my memories. He was my biggest fan, with aspirations and the ability to be a writer himself. He was a unique soul and a source of inspiration for me.
These days, I feel a sense of urgency to make this writing for a living thing work while I still have time to do so. I have certainly taken enough time making it happen. I was 52 when I finally earned my M.F.A. and 53 before I became a published author. I’m sure I have some good years left, but I have to wonder if there will be enough for me to realize my dream. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently, but of course that’s only possible in my fiction.
Now, with time travel, there’s the possiblity of doing things over, making things turn out different. Granted, it doesn’t usually turn out well when you go messing around with time, but things can, on occasion turn out better. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at MY time travel short, Last Call. Things aren’t going good for Derek, but he finds a way to make his life better. Maybe I could go back and get started on this career path a lot earlier in life. That’s not Derek’s solution, but it could work.
I don’t live in Derek’s world and there is no Last Call bar for me. I know I can’t just sit back and wait for things to happen, so if I want to reach my dreams while I’m still alive to see it, I have to take action. I must market what I already have published, but even more importantly, I must keep writing. So, my plan is to just keep at it. Eventually, my efforts will pay off. I have to believe that.
So what if I didn’t earn my M.F.A. until I was 52 and wasn’t published until I was 53? I’m not the only one to get a late start on their dream. After all, according to an inspirational Facebook post by Karen Caron, Stan Lee’s first big comic came out at age 40, Morgan Freeman had his first major movie role at age 52, and Julia Child didn’t make her cooking show debut until age 51. That puts me in some pretty good company.
Young or old, all we can do is look to the future. (There’s that time thing again.)
With that in mind, I’ve begun the writing and compilation of my memoir about my son’s life and death, finally, after nine years. I’ve decided that it’s time to reunite the two time periods that divide my life and my thinking. After his death, I wrote poems and stories about him, pouring my grief out onto the page. I compiled all the photos of him into a slideshow for his memorial dinner. In addition to that, I plan to contact some of Mike’s friends and request them to contribute writings of their own about who Mike was for them. It’s going to be a massive amount of work, but his story deserves to be told and there is no one else who can tell it. It will be my first non-fiction work of book length.
I’ve always said that I never have less than three works in progress. Michael: How my son became a teen suicide statistic, will make the third one, as I’m also writing the first draft of the sequel to my western novel, Delilah: The Homecoming and I’m revising the first book in my science fantasy Playground for the Gods series, The Great Primordial Battle. Writing is an integral part of my life, past, present and future. I may be an old woman, but there is no other direction in which my life can go. Mike would be proud of my accomplishments so far and I think he would be glad that his story will finally be out. After nine years, it’s about time.
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Now, with time travel, there’s the possiblity of doing things over, making things turn out different. Granted, it doesn’t usually turn out well when you go messing around with time, but things can, on occasion turn out better. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at MY time travel short, Last Call. Things aren’t going good for Derek, but he finds a way to make his life better. Maybe I could go back and get started on this career path a lot earlier in life. That’s not Derek’s solution, but it could work.
