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IWSG - Travel Writing & Future Retreats

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It's the first Wednesday of May, which means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! The IWSG was created to bring writers together to share their insecurities and lend each other support. Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh , anyone can join. Simply click on his name and add your name to the linky list, then post the first Wednesday of each month. The co-hosts this month are Jenni Enzor , Jemima Pett , Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun , and Kim Lajevardi . The optional question this month is: What was the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers? While I've had some really nice things said about my writing, in general, one of my favorite things is when I'm in an anthology with other authors and stories and my story gets called out as a favorite in reviews. To know one of my stories stuck out to someone feels great. I had a great time in the UK last month and fell even more deeply in love with the little...
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IWSG - Queries Off! And Knowing Your Value

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It's [past] time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! (I missed two months, sorry!). The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh to support writers and their insecurities. Anyone can join this monthly blog hop. Simply click on Alex's name and add your blog to the linky list and post the first Wednesday of each month. This month's co-hosts are: Melissa Maygrove , Cathrina Constantine , Kate Larkinsdale , and Rebecca Douglass . The optional question this month is: If you have a playlist (or could put one together) that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what is it? What type of music or what songs? I don't really do the playlist thing. I just play from my giant bushel of familiar songs, which ranges from musicals to hard rock to rap to electric to pop to whatever-the-heck-I-want. But I will punch it to a more appropriate song for dark or action scenes sometimes. I've never put together a playlist, really, so it won't sur...
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IWSG - 2026 Goals, Burnout, 2025 Stats/Accomplishments, & New Releases

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Yay, it's time for the first Insecure Writer's Group of 2026! Crud, I have to remember to write that on checks and medical check-in forms now. We'll see how many times I mess that up. Anyway, Happy New Year! The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh to provide a place for writers to air their insecurities and support each other. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name above and add your blog to the linky list. The co-hosts this month are Olga Godim , Jean Davis , Jacqui Murray , and me! The optional question this month is: Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025? Well, yeah! By virtue of having had a gazillion jobs at the same time in 2025, it was a crap year for me in writing. I've been frozen in burnout from having done that to myself since I finally got out from underneath the extraneous jobs, but this year, that changes. I intend to write more, submit more, to finish editing the curre...
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IWSG - New Releases, Auroras, & Podcast Appearance

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It's time for the December Insecure Writer's Support Group. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh to provide a place to discuss our insecurities and lend each other support. It occurs the first Wednesday of each month, and anyone can join. Just click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list. The co-hosts this month are Tara Tyler , Ronel Janse van Vuuren , Pat Garcia , Liza , and Natalie Aguirre . Optional question: As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you received? Man, I've received some great gifts, but my husband is probably at the top of the list as the gift giver. He made a giant book cover for me with velcro stick-ons saying "Signed by the Author" and "Now in Session Author Meet and Greet Book Signing" for my first ever book launch. He also got me my formatting software and installed it. For someone who doesn't enjoy reading, he is great at supporting me as a writer. Speaking of book launches, I released my ne...
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IWSG - Writing (Yay!) & Upcoming Appearances

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Yes, it's that time again! Time for another month of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh , the IWSG is a blog hop that gives writers a space to air their insecurities and to provide support to other insecure writers. Anyone can participate. Simply click on Alex's name above and sign up. This month's co-hosts are: Jennifer Lane , Jenni Enzor , Renee Scattergood , Rebecca Douglass , Lynn Bradshaw , and Melissa Maygrove . The optional question this month is: When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way? I had the same misguided optimistic idea of  being a writer, thanks to the movies, that most people go in with. My first professional writer's conference took care of that pretty quickly. Now that I've seen the realities (you probably won't sell your first book right away, you likely won't be a millionaire)...
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IWSG - I'm FREE!

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It's time for the September Insecure Writer's Support Group. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh so we writers can share our insecurities and support each other through them. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and add your blog to the list. Our co-hosts this month are Kim Lajevardi , Natalie Aguirre , Nancy Gideon , and Diedre Knight . The optional question this month is: What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or for creating outlines/beats? I have zero interest in using AI for any aspect of my writing or research. Aside from my personal feelings about using AI for writing, it's notoriously unreliable for information, so even for research I feel it's pointless. Plus, I love research and compiling information, in addition to writing. What I *want* is for AI to clean my house. Where's Rosie the Robot? I'd rather that over having my work stolen to feed...
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IWSG - Big Things to Come?

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It's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh , the IWSG provides space for writers to share their insecurities and to get and give support. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and add your name to the linky list, then post the first Wednesday of each month. The co-hosts this month are: Ronel Janse van Vuuren , Natalie Aguirre , Sarah - the Faux Fountain Pen , and Olga Godim . The optional question this month is: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? (I'll be skipping the question this month, because wow, I could probably just keep writing about it.) My insecurity this month is about some big chances I'm planning on taking soon. I've quit the job that has been basically killing my soul (sounds dramatic, but it's also true), and I have been setting up stuff in my office so I can hopefully make a triumphant return to creativity and writing in a way that I've been too mentally dead tired ...
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