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Wednesday Weekly Roundup


So last week was the second and last non-writing week of the year, although I did write a prologue for the current project – longhand, so it will be counted with this week’s wordcount. I visited Vienna and Budapest, and I’m still recovering, so you’ll forgive me if I keep this short.

Monday was spent catching up on everything, and only yesterday could I get back to re-writing and throw away most of what I had before I left, LOL! Seems like I’m taking a lot of wrong turns this year, but it doesn’t matter, as long as the story come out in the end.

Again I have loads of notes and pictures to check and order, so I might be slower this week… but I will catch up! Now I better go back to writing… last note: there’s a Kobo promo for people in Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand! Check this out to see the promotion: https://kobo.com/p/june-vip!

My collection “Lands of Wonder” is included… Have a great week!

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by Barb on 07/06/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 07/06/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/06/07/wednesday-weekly-roundup-191/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week, after a kick in the pants from the workshop I’m taking, I managed over 12K and finished whatever I was working on, despite not writing every day. This week I’ll try for a short story and then we’ll see. Maybe two short stories if I manage to keep the wordcount high! I mean, I do want to reach pulp speed (i.e.1million words per year), so I better start worning on it! 😉

I got the email from KDP that they’re raising the paperback prices. With hundreds of books to update, I will take advantage of their bulk update, but not until mid-June, so if you’re a paperback lover, go grab ’em now! Other authors who have already sent the bulk update mentioned it takes time, but just to be safe, order now.

I ordered some paperbacks myself for future comic con, since they will cost more for me as well! They’re mostly in Italian, since I don’t plan on going anywhere this year. Worldcon is in China, and since I didn’t make it to Chicago, which I love, imagine if I want to embark on a trip to China! 😉 Next year it’s in Glasgow, so we’ll see…

Speaking of Worldcons, I finally read a paperback that I got from the author at Loncon 2014… yeah, I’m ashamed to admit that’s how much it took me to get to reading it. And since he’s not on Bookbub, but he’s a Goodreads friend, here’s the link to his book (although I have a different cover).

Do I recommend it? Yes, if you like historical time travel! I read the short story back then, so I don’t remember it at all (it’s still on K.K. though), therefore it was totally new and rather interesting. I mean, historical time travel and alternate history, what’s not to love? Check it out!

I see he has written other books since, although we haven’t been in touch… but my TBR pile is still quite high, so I’ll have to postpone checking them! I might go back to reading on Kindle soon, still plenty of Kickstarter books to read, sigh!

Above it’s Peter&Barb at Loncon 2014, and yes, he’s holding the book he gave me (and I’m holding my copy of Star Minds the Trilogy)… While looking for that picture in the dashboard, I cleaned up the old posts – mostly of my own drawings, all the guest posts still have images – to get more space in the media library… And that’s all for today! Have a great week!

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by Barb on 24/05/2023  •  Permalink
Posted in reading, real world inspiration
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Posted by Barb on 24/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/24/wednesday-weekly-roundup-189/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 10K, and two stories. This week I shall start by checking Mighty Editor’s proofreading and send out a couple of stories on submission, then I can dive in a longer project that I started last year, but couldn’t bring myself to finish. I will, now, and hopefully you’ll see it before the end of the year.

After reading Kris Rusch’s post on Amazon, I decided not to renew the three titles I currently have in KU, especially since they never brought in any revenue. I won’t upload them everywhere, since they’re already available in other forms, but if you’re a KU reader, check them now.

The short story Lisa’s Odyssey will be in KU until the end of the month. It’s available everywhere in the collection Future Earth Chronicles Shorts. The other two are the collections of novellas, one from the Star Minds Universe, the other is Going Into the Future, because of the paperback. Those will both expire in June.

The ebooks will stay on Amazon, but not elsewhere, since they’re “duplicates” – an experiment that didn’t work any time I tried it, so I’m sorry, but I won’t put my books in KDP Select anymore. The collections of novellas include titles that are sold separately everywhere, I combined them only to make thicker paperbacks.

Now, my new favorite author (sort of!) doesn’t seem to be on Bookbub, so to recommend her books I shall put the Goodreads link, but I’m not going to bother writing a review on that site. Through her Kickstarter, I got Hero De Facto, a fun romp of breathtaking adventures that both makes fun and follows the superhero trope. Check out the whole series, the first book is really a page turner! 🙂

Now I’m going to take a break from ebooks and fiction, and go through some of the books I bought in England last year! And that’s all for today… have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 10/05/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 10/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/10/wednesday-weekly-roundup-187/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


And with another 11K I wrapped up the short novel right on time on Sunday, and sent it off to Mighty Editor with the short stories I wrote in the first three months of the year. Next week I’ll have to go through the edits of a manuscript I plan on submitting, then I’ll probably write a few more shorts during the month of May.

When I’ll also start another online workshop, Making a Living with Novels, since longer stories seem to be better for me. Whether novellas or novels, I have more fun and write more than with shorts. Okay, I procrastinate less between projects since they take longer to write, LOL!

There are plenty more interesting workshops in that batch in case you’re interested. And speaking of those workshop assignments, I did the Depth workshop a long time ago, before it was on Teachable… And I was probably in that 1% who wasn’t negative on that assignment. Because either I don’t have grudges with exes, or because I’m not a beginner!

I did mention I’ve been married to Mr.Writing for decades, didn’t I? The interference of Mr.Publisher had kinda ruined the relationship, that’s why he’s been put in a corner this year. His assistant, Mr. Marketing, really got on my nerves. I’ll get back to them next year, probably.

I got more reading in, so check my recommendations on Bookbub. That’s all for today! Have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 26/04/2023  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, reading, writing projects

Posted by Barb on 26/04/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/04/26/wednesday-weekly-roundup-185/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 11K, then yesterday I took a break to go through the manuscript from the beginning, to make sure I tied up all the lose ends. No, it’s not done, but I needed to remind myself what I’d done. Also, it’s part of a series but standalone, and I haven’t decided yet if I should re-read the other books of the series or not.

Considering that I’m making some kind of progress on my TBR list (although I keep adding to it by backing Kickstarters, sigh!), I’m not too keen on going back to older stories, mostly because every time I do, I find typos and groan. Maybe I should just grab those paperbacks, go throught them and re-upload the corrected version.

I used to go through the paperbacks (when I could order proofs through Createspace) since on paper typos jump out better than on Kindle, but I haven’t done it since I was forcefully moved to KDPpring. I’m a slow reader, and I’m trying to take down my TBR pile (especially on Kindle, it’s invisible, but it’s still a two-column A4 sheet of titles, and then some), so if I use some of that limited reading time to re-read my old books, I’ll never get the reading done!

Anyhow, I’m still writing and still tinkering with cover art, even though I might end up not using them. They’re good for inspiration, though, so I’ll keep doing those mock covers until I get a new laptop and have to learn to use the new one with the digital pen and tablet!

That’s all for today! Have a great week!

by Barb on 12/04/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 12/04/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/04/12/wednesday-weekly-roundup-183/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 8K, but ended up with just a 6500 words story. Yeah, lots of false starts on that one, but eventually I wrote it, LOL! This week I’m off Day Job and going through the edited work as well as writing the last story of the challenge. By next week I should have a clearer idea of what I will be able to publish this year, if any.

Maybe I should just take a sabbatical from publishing while I try to figure out how to organize myself. Hopefully this year I’ll find a way to quit the day job I’ve had for 35 years – I mean, steady jobs are no longer an option and I certainly don’t cling to it like a madwoman, why can’t I get rid of it in a timely manner? Sigh.

I’m also trying to organize this year’s trips, but already I see trouble in that all the tours I wanted to do seem to be confirmed on the same dates – end of May – and “programmed but not confirmed” for the end of April. Unless I can do one in September or October, I guess I’ll have to choose which one is more urgent. Or safer, since there’s still a war going on in Europe and I’m sticking to Europe for now.

I managed to finish and recommend a couple of books on Bookbub, so check them out! 🙂 And I’m continuing my “waves” on Instagram, presenting my series, and whenever I finish a series, I do a video for TikTok as well. If I’m not too busy decluttering the house, I might do a few more drawings this week as well.

And that’s all for today! Have a great week!

by Barb on 15/03/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 15/03/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/03/15/wednesday-weekly-roundup-179/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote a 5K story that was done by Thursday, and spent the rest of the week either drawing or pondering the next story. I should write a dystopia, but the current world events are so bleak, that it can only be something with a happy ending! 😉 Possibly something that helps me overcome this sense of dread (although I’m in a “lucky” country – think Ukraine, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan or any other country affected by war or climate change or Earth trying to shake us off her crust). We’re not doomed to fail! 🙂

So I’ll probably use my Future Earth Chronicles scenario, a little closer to the apocalypse and with no mention to Rainbow Towns, aliens or vampires. Maybe I’ll write a batch and will publish another volume of shorts. At the moment I’m tinkering with two ideas, but I’m sure I can come up with more.

I’m getting back to reading on Kindle, and hopefully I’ll be able to revew what I’m reading from now on! I didn’t have a favorite story in Space Opera Digest 2022: Have Ship, Will Travel but they were all good and helped me with another story/mini-series I’m pondering. So this is definitely the year of reading fiction to improve my fiction skills! 🙂

Also, if you’ve been wondering about taking online classes from WMG (which I do pretty often), here’s someone who breaks them down for you. I have taken only two in the list he mentions, but I’ve taken others, and will take more in the future. And there’s the free class for Kickstarter if you want to try them.

Even though I have the stories I wrote at the end of last year to proofread next week, I’m afraid I won’t publish anything in the first six months of the year. I decided I better concentrate on writing instead, but this means the second half of the year might have plenty of new books for you to enjoy and meanwhile you can catch up with the old stuff (make a Barbathon, like Tori calls them)! 🙂

Know that I’m still tinkering with covers and still thinking of publishing more stuff, but this might be a leap year in publication and I’ll restart again next year – possibly. Because I don’t have full projects in mind yet, but I might start to publish standalone books at the end of this year.

Meanwhile I better go back to reading and writing as much as I can! My yearly worldcount has probably reached 50K by now, and I shall keep trudging forward! Have a great week!

by Barb on 08/03/2023  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, reading, the Human being, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 08/03/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/03/08/wednesday-weekly-roundup-178/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote 7K, another story that turned out different than expected, but that’s the beauty of improvising from visual prompts! And since the elephant in the room these days is AI, here are a few opinions on how it can (or can’t) be applied in fiction. Chuck Wendig and Dean Wesley Smith both refer to Neil Clarke’s post about writers abusing it.

Joanna Penn, on the other hand, shows the ethical way of using this new and fast-evolving technology. Read also the comments on that one, interesting discussion. Actually, all have comments worth checking, especially if you’re a wannabe writer!

I have used description generators – which are a form of rudimentary AI – because I felt I needed help in the “setting” department and it didn’t come natural to me (for those who just joined, English is not my mother tongue). I’ve read a friend’s attempts with ChatGPT and other AI generated stories from other writers, as well as TikTok videos announcing AI will take over the world, but I’m not overly worried.

I have read Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari, and he says, basically, that humans are organic algorithms who can be manipulated, and what does it matter whether the algorithms are manifested in carbon or silicon?

Humans will continue to compose music, teach physics and invest money, but the system will understand these humans better than they understand themselves and will make most of the important decisions for them. (…) This is not an apocalyptic scenario. Algorithms won’t revolt and enslave us. Rather, they will be so good at making decisions for us that it would be madness not to follow their advice. (Homo Deus)

Yeah, it’s the apocalypse of western civilization, like I imagined in Future Earth Chronicles, and things can only get better for the survivors. I have high hope on the Alpha generation who seems very awake, unlike us all coots (I mean me and my fellow Generation X, don’t be offended if you’re a Millennial). Maybe even Dear Nephew, who is a Zoomer, might be able to take us to the next stage. Only time will tell!

Since I “claimed” the book on Bookbub, it wouldn’t let me leave a review, which is unfortunate, since it’s an anthology and my little story is probably the worst of the lot. I finally managed to read my copy of Witches – Cutter’s Final Cut – Issue 4, I can highly recommend it.

I loved all the stories, and my favorites (hard to pick, but definitely well deserved) were Blessed Particles by M.E. Owen and the powerful last one, Treasure Twice Over by Sonia Orin Lyris. Despite knowing most of the other authors, those two were new to me. You should really check this anthology out!

I also cleaned up the Other Publications page, adding the above pic with the latest paperbacks. As you can see, you have all kinds of anthologies with very different themes… Check them out!

And that’s all for today… Have a great week!

by Barb on 22/02/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 22/02/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/02/22/wednesday-weekly-roundup-176/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


The busy weekend started awkward on Friday, with a busy morning at DayJob, a rush home to grab my backpack and off to the train station. I had received an email from the hotel asking if I’d be there for the “second night” which had puzzled me. On the trin I discovered I had mis-booked the hotel (Thu&Fri instead of Fri&Sat)! 😦

I don’t know what else was happening in Milan besides Cartoomics, but when I got to the hotel, they were full on Saturday. They kindly called their sister hotels and found me a double room that cost me as much as the two nights in single (one of which I had missed). My mistake, I consoled myself with a 30euro dinner including wine! 😉

So Saturday morning I moved to the other hotel before going to Cartoomics… They kindly gave me the room like at 9.30am, so I dropped my backpack and got on the metro. The crowd outside the venue made me check – I needed to buy a ticked online and it was sold out.

Definitely botched trip, but at least the new room had a better bathroom! I went back to the center, bought some pencils in an Art Shop, then went looking for lunch, which I did at Five Guys. I was back at the hotel by 2pm, so at least I used that bigger room fully!

I hadn’t warned any of my friends in Milan, so I spent the afternoon writing and reading At least I had an early train on Sunday and by lunchtime I was back home. And surprise! They had broken into my apartment on the third floor, so the afternoon was spent cleaning up – the universe is telling me I need to declutter the house ASAP, or it will do it for me!

I did manage to write on the train back, though so by Sunday night I had my 10K down. I’m glad I havea few days off this week, so maybe I’ll manage that decluttering in a less traumatic way. And they broke the corner of the glass on one window, so some repairs are also in order.

Onward to another week of working, writing and reading! I hope to make my Recommended Reading List a little longer this year, with a preview in the newsletter coming out this week.

by Barb on 30/11/2022  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, reading

Posted by Barb on 30/11/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/wednesday-weekly-roundup-164/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


And the last title of the year is out! This collection of shorter stories can be read independently from the novels, but don’t skip the short prologue! 😀 The series is complete, although there might be more Immortaland books in the future – with less dragons, though.

So the next books will be in the same world but slightly different, like in the Star Minds Universe where there’s a “main series” and then the Lone Wolves. Definitely next year, though! 🙂

Last week I wrote 10K, including the last story for the workshops which might be incorporated in a novel attached to an existing series but standalone. So I might also reprise a couple of series next year. All fantasy for now – taking a break from space opera until the muse strikes!

The Happiness Is… on Instagram will end January 1st, so I don’t know what will happen to that account next. I don’t have any other strips or vignettes ready, nor the inspiration to draw more just yet, so we’ll see. Some say it’s the slow death of social media, but you can always come here to get news from yours truly.

This blog isn’t going away yet, even if it’s so 2010s. I’m considering making the newsletter montly instead of bimonthly, so I’ll send out a survey in the next newsletter to ask what people think. You can still sign up here, and next newsletter is probably going to be the last one with a free story, since only one person has bothered to download them so far.

In other news, I finally started using the new Kindle and added to it all the books I got from Kickstarters and bundles in the past year… I already sorely miss K.K. but it no longer supported the Kindle Store and I couldn’t add anything to it anymore. Sigh.

And that’s all for today! Have a great week! 😀

by Barb on 23/11/2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 23/11/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/11/23/wednesday-weekly-roundup-163/

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