IWSG - New Release, UK Travels, Upcoming Signing

And here we are, back at another new month. Time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG provides a place for writers to give and get support for their insecurities. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your name on the list.

This month's co-hosts are Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre, Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour. Be sure to stop by and thank them for hosting!

The optional question this month is: Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?

I've been wanting to play around with mystery. Specifically, I have an idea for an amateur sleuth series. I've tested the waters by writing two mystery short stories and submitting them, and both sold quickly, so I'm definitely planning on writing more.

Last month I updated with some new releases. Well, I had another while I was in the UK! It's free to read at Pulp Asylum. Let Us Prey is a horror short story about a couple with unusual tastes.

And I have some more information on the horror author signing I'll be taking part in later this month. As it shows in the image above, the meet & greet is July 26th, from 1-4, at the Creepatorium in Denver. I'm looking forward to checking out the space! Totally free to attend and you can grab books by some awesome folks. The event is to celebrate the release of Christina Bergling's new book, Red Walls, and you can RSVP here if you like.

I also finally got a rejection on the story that's been shortlisted for months. I love that little story, and I'm going to find a home for it. Just not at that market. 

My trip to the UK was fantastic! I'll write more about it in my next newsletter, so now's a good time to sign up in the box to the left here on my page. 

My first week was a writing excursion around Yorkshire, where we stayed in several cities, starting in York and ending in Harrogate. I got to climb through the ruins of a castle, an abbey, a monastery, and a walled town. Plus, plenty of places that were still standing, including a castle (that was really a manor) and York Minster, a giant cathedral. My traveling companions were a great group of people, and we had so much fun together. My husband came out to join me in Scotland for the next two weeks, where we visited both the Highlands and the Lowlands (Edinburgh, Stirling, Inverness). I visited Loch Ness and a still-standing historic prison and church, several kirkyards, plus more ruins!

The food was fantastic, and I got my fill of scones with clotted cream and jam (though I would have happily had more). If you haven't tried Yorkshire tea, you're missing out. I can never drink Lipton hot again. And we visited the famous Bettys tea room (no apostrophe there on purpose). I tried haggis, sticky toffee pudding, and potato scones.

Here are a few pictures (I took well over 2000):

On the old wall in York looking at Monk Bar

Clifford's Tower

York Minster

Steam Train

Whitby Abbey

Richard III's Castle

Viaduct

Monastery

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Highland Cow

Clava Cairns

Urquhart Castle

Kelpies

Holy Rude Church and Kirkyard

Wallace Monument

June submission stats:

1 acceptance

2 rejections

0 submissions

What did your submissions look like this month? Anything to share? What are your insecurities? What genre do you want to try out? Have you been to any of the places above? Where would you recommend someone travel to?

May you find your Muse.