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We Have Liftoff!

November 15, 2024 by in category Writing

I’m thrilled to announce that my second book, Mac and Cheese in Outer Space is officially available! The book was published last week. Unfortunately, early November in an election year is not the greatest timing to be putting a new book on blast. On the other hand, it provided me more time for a soft-launch with family and friends. Big shout out to my Mom, whose quilting friends are purchasing the book in record numbers. You’re the best, Mom!

“Mac and Cheese in Outer Space”. A book by Renae Wrich.

I’m super excited to share this book with the world. It would not have been possible without my daughters, who also inspired my first book, Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please. Soon after MCPPP was published, they begged me to write a book about mac and cheese in outer space. I immediately blanked. How do I write a book about macaroni and cheese in outer space? In the years that followed I let the idea marinate slowly, visiting it like an old friend from time to time. It finally came together earlier this year and I could not be happier with how it all turned out.

I partnered with my previous illustrator, Winda Mulyasari, and I’m in so awe of her process and her ability to take my ideas and turn them into magical illustrations. Asking someone to illustrate the planet Mars holding a bowl of macaroni and cheese that looks like Flaming Hot Cheetos, is not for the faint of heart.

The planet Mars in “Mac and Cheese in Outer Space” by Renae Wrich

Wondering where the mac and cheese journey will go from here? My kids have already supplied the idea for the next mac and cheese book. Here’s a hint- Bring your sunscreen.

Mac and Cheese in Outer Space is available now on Amazon.com.

Please visit www.renaewrich.com to learn more.

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Loads of Writing Fun at ScrivCon 2024 Writers Conference

November 12, 2024 by in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as , ,

I just came home from the ScrivCon 2024 Writers Conference that was held in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This is the first official large scale conference by Scrivenings Press, who happens to be my publisher. I loved being able to meet my publisher in person and be able to meet fellow authors and build a camaraderie with them. I also thoroughly enjoyed all the sessions.

Denise Colby's badge from ScrivCon 2024 Writers Conference

Great Speakers At ScrivCon Writers Conference Means Active Learning

Angela Hunt gave the keynote, as well as our early-bird session. She shared many of her tips and experiences through her forty years of publishing. I especially liked her Plot Skeleton. It’s a simple way to figure out your basic plot and outline of your new novel. She also discussed her different drafts and what she accomplishes during each one. Now that I’ve published a novel, I feel like this content hits differently for me and is something I can relate to and apply to future manuscripts.

She’s produced several small booklets including one on the Plot Skeleton for writers. Others include Creating ExtraOrdinary Characters, and Evoking Emotion. Take a look. There are others. They may be a great new resource for you. It was super cool for me to connect the dots that she wrote the Tale of Three Trees. One of my kids favorite books we would read at Christmas and Easter.

Denise M. Colby with Author Angela Hunt at ScrivCon 2024
Denise M. Colby with Author Angela Hunt

Other topics at the ScrivCon 2024 Writers Conference included dialogue, productivity, setting, software, book marketing, and so much more. My brain is overflowing.

Fellowship At ScrivCon Writers Conference Builds Connection

Scrivenings Press holds monthly zoom meetings, which has been a great way to meet and learn about other authors and their projects. But meeting them in person has something zoom can’t provide. It was fun to meet face to face, share about our writing, discuss struggles, and brainstorm during the genre breakout one night.

A banquet was held on the last night, where awards for editor of the year, best book of the year, as well as the GetPubbed and Novel Starts contest winners. A fabulous way to celebrate a year of hard work.

Authors at the ScrivCon 2024 Banquet Gala including Denise M. Colby, Lori DeJong, Donna Wichelman, Teresa Wells, Lynn Watson

Explore and Learn About History

I love National Parks and Hot Springs has one of the smallest national parks in it. It’s related to bath houses and the natural springs that bubble up hot water. It was fun to walk on the promenade, explore the museum, and have a root beer float made with the natural spring water. There is also a gangster museum since Hot Springs is where Al Capone would go to hide out sometimes. Hot Springs apparantly has some baseball history as well, with several signs marking the spots for a walking tour related to the sport.

I can’t wait to jump in and utilize all that I’ve learned from this conference. And I look forward to staying in touch with all my new writer friends as well.

Denise loves to share about her writing journey (see all her posts here), including her word of the year (this year it is GROW), her debut novel When Plans Go Awry, and all the things in between. You can visit her at her website and blog at www.denisemcolby.com or on her facebook or instagram. Please note: some links include Amazon Associate links where Denise can earn from qualifying purchases.

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‘Sisters at War’ chosen for Sunday Remembrance Fiction at KOBO by Jina Bacarr

November 11, 2024 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , ,

I love this fabulous painting outside the Salvation Army Building in Tulare, CA re: the photographer © Karinoza – Dreamstime.com

.————–

Sunday in the UK was #RemembranceSunday.

According to Merriam-Webster, Remembrance Day is the Sunday closest to November 11 and in Great Britain is ‘set aside in commemoration of the end of hostilities in 1918 and 1945’.

I’m honored Sisters at War was chosen for #Remembrance Sunday Fiction on KOBO.

2 sisters at war with the Nazis… and each other https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/sisters-at-war-2  

from BoldwoodBooks

In my story Justine is the victim of sexual assault by the SS. ‘Sisters at War’ explores wartime sexual assault and how it affects the lives of Justine and Eve Beaufort in Wartime Paris.

——————–

Back in the day, I served with the U.S. Army Special Services in Livorno, Italy. My job was to make coffee and play pool with the troops, set up entertainment and gourmet restaurant tours.

And make cookies.

I whipped up hundreds and hundreds of cookies. Chocolate chip.

And doughnuts, too. I got help from the mess hall sergeant, a bespectacled guy from the Midwest who let me commandeer his big pots and huge ovens. Along with my Italian liaison, Maria, we’d cook up hot doughnuts and top them with powdered sugar we got from the PX, a sweet favorite with the boys.

Those were the days.

I’m proud of the time I spent with US Army Special Services — I made turkeys, fruitcakes, hot chocolate, and tons of cookies!

So on this Veterans Day here in the US, I think about all the Doughnut Dollies who help bring our servicemen and women a touch of home.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize the amazing effect my time with the service affected me. I had some difficult times, like being assaulted on the street by a thug and my pants ripped, also in an elevator (story for another time), but I had some heartbreaking and soulful times, too.

Like the sisterly bond I developed with another American girl on base that lasted far beyound my time there, the wonderful Italians I worked with who took me in like I was family and taught me about music and photography and how to properly eat pizza.

I drew on these experiences when I started a series of historical novels set in Wartime Paris about the brave women who fought in the French Resistance.

An actress, a parfumier, a Philly debutante and my 2-book Wartime Paris Sisters series SISTERS AT WAR and SISTERS OF THE RESISTANCE.

I want thank the brave servicemen and women who have served our country. If you were stationed in Livorno and dropped by the service club once upon a time and saw a girl with long hair from California handing you a cup of coffee, it was me. 

PS — For fun, I put on my old uniform with U.S. Army Service Clubs patch.

I lost the hat years ago somewhere in Italy.


Sisters At War:

US https://a.co/d/eZ25gZb      

UK https://amzn.eu/d/0LEWy2z

Who are the Beaufort Sisters?

They’re beautiful

They’re smart

They’re dangerous

They’re at war with the Nazis… and each other.

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Menopause Rage Can Be Funny by Kitty Bucholtz

November 9, 2024 by in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as , , , ,

A year and a half ago I finally found out what was wrong with me. Problem: middle age womanhood. Bigger problem: this part of life is apparently such a freaking big secret that no one except ONE friend bothered to say a word about it! Not my mom, not my grandma, not my older sister. I literally thought I was losing my mind. In fact, the GP I finally went to see immediately wrote a prescription for HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and another one to make an appointment with a head doctor.

Great. That’s just…great. I guess she was covering all bases.

I’m better now, but partly because now my craziness has a name. Still, I feel like a lunatic half the time. I don’t want to leave my apartment. I don’t like to go to church. (Used to be one of my favorite things, but now there’s just way too many people and too much putting on a smile when I want to say, “That song sucked,” because it probably didn’t suck and I shouldn’t rain on other people’s happy moment.) I do still like going to the library — whew! — but I’m eating too much and drinking too much and swearing way too much.

And even though my problem has a name and I’m trying to find better solutions for me, turns out a lot of my friends don’t have nearly as many problems as I do. That definitely makes me feel alone. And stupid. And like I’m not a nice person because I just want to yell F*** a lot!!

So when my friend and fellow author Maggie Nash told me about a new book that was on sale on Amazon for 99c (it’s still only $2.99!) about a woman going through menopause, I bought it without even reading the description!!!

I just finished it last night. It. Was. Marvellous!!! Even though I’m not divorced and don’t have kids, I felt like I completely related to the main character, Heidi, who almost gets herself fired in the first chapter! I normally don’t like many books with women my age as protagonists because their lives are so unlike mine as to have nothing in common.

But Hot (Not Bothered) by Harper Ford is a super fun book I think you might love!

One other book about a middle-aged woman that I immediately pre-ordered book two the minute I finished book one is Tess Gerritsen’s The Spy Coast. I don’t want to say too much but she’s a retired spy who gets sucked back in!

Some of my friends know I’ve been wearying of writing about 20-somethings falling in love. I’ll finish the two series I started, and maybe I’ll get my mojo/joy back as I do. But the two books above are making me feel like “people like me” aren’t at all boring, and maybe I should write something like that! I’d have to get a pen name if I want to write f*** half as much as I’ve been saying it lately, but it could be worth it!

I hope you check out both of these books! And remember, if you’re going through tough times right now due to brain and body chemistry, you’re not alone! Don’t despair! Talk to a friend, or even a stranger. I went off on a menopause rage rant about the disappearing messages at my credit union the other day and made the middle-aged woman answering laugh out loud, she told me in one of her replies. Yay! Two more women who know they’re not alone! Go read Hot (Not Bothered) and laugh instead of cry!

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How Do You Say Goodbye To A Series

November 5, 2024 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , , ,

I have been working hard to close out a series. It’s hard to believe my series The Good Girl started as a one off novella for a boxset. I had no idea this novella would turn into a six book series.

I am doing pre-edits on the six book and find myself in a position I’ve been dreading…saying goodbye…Au revoir to characters I love. Gabriella and Phillippe have had me on a roller coaster ride. Over the years this series has become classed as slow burn. As the story progressed so did my writing style.

Now I find myself in the position of a possible spin off. Although I tied up all of the lose ends, I left a few options for possible spin offs. If I do, I will find a way to include Gabriella and Phillippe because they are the main draw.

In addition to a maturation in my writing style, I also changed the original covers for the first two books. I opted for a more seductive style for the covers and steamy ads. Apparently, Facebook didn’t like the ad image and tag line and shut my account down. I completely freaked out. I did some modest begging and got my account reopened in time for the release date.

I also made the first book free as a way to draw people into the series. This move proved to be wise. The free book has been in the number one slot in a couple of categories several times. Has the read through been what I want? No, but I’m very grateful for the progress of the series.

Once some time has passed, I’ll look at the next ways to share these characters which will include audio, hard cover and special editions.

Here’s a question, How do you end a series?

The Good Girl Series

(Hover over the cover for buy buttons and click on the cover for more information.)

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

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THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

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THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE
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