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Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Book 2 is out as promised! Giving the final touches to Book 5 so it will be ready for the November release… The series page is growing everywhere there is a series page (publisher, Amazon, Smashwords)… but unfortunately the Kobo promo in certain regions for Book 1 is over.

Last week I wrote 415 words in English then started thinking about the next project that will for now be in Italian. But I’ve discovered I don’t really want to translate my own works anymore, so from now on I’ll probably have different titles availabe in the two languages.

Although I might write another book on the same topic in English, eventually. I’m back to sci-fi for a couple of months, also to honor the Heroines of Space Opera bundle of which I’m part. I haven’t had time to read any of these books, but I hope to catch up on some fiction reading in the coming months. If you like SF, don’t let this bundle slip away, though!

The newsletter with a free story is going out soon, and you still have time to subscribe on the publisher’s site. Just enter your email, it’s a two-step process, so if you don’t confirm, you won’t receive anything. It’s bi-monthly, so it won’t encumber your inbox very often! 🙂

More changes coming to FB Pages (and we came a long way since Fan Pages already), so maybe I should write about a world without disruptive tech, LOL! But I decided to be optimistic despite the apocalypse going on around us and to write about a technological future (since the untechnological post-pandemic Earth is already featured in the Future Earth Chronicles).

After 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and Homo Deus, I’m going through Enough – Staying Human in an Engineered Age which was published in 2003, and some things are already happening… so Human Beware! 🙂

That’s all for today! September is over already… Have a great week and read through the apocalypse! 😉

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by Barb on 28/09/2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 28/09/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/09/28/wednesday-weekly-roundup-155/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


COVER REVEAL!

Here are the covers of the upcoming new series! An exciting, new, wondrous fantasy world of dragons and magic! Book 1 will be out in two weeks, so coming real soon… 🙂

Last week I wrote over 12K, most of which on book 5 – still tinkering with the rest. This week I won’t be writing at all, but hopefully next week I’ll reach 350K for the year. And I still don’t know which project will take me to the end of the year, LOL!

Anyhow, I’m taking this week off writing – yes, another one! Its the third this year, sheesh! But this time it’s for a vacation, not for wearing the publisher cap, I swear! 🙂 I badly need to recharge the creative batteries!

Which doesn’t mean I will not write at all. I may do some new vignette or jot down ideas in my notebook. We’ll see. I guess a creator’s mind is never on vacation anyway! 🙂 But I’m sure even Laptop will be happy to be switched off for a week.

I hope to be able to catch up on some reading this week, and if I read something I like, you’ll see it on Bookbub, as usual. Because y’all are following me on Bookbub, right? I hope to fill that 2-month gap since last recommendation soon, promise!

That’s all for today… have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 31/08/2022  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, real world inspiration, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 31/08/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/08/31/wednesday-weekly-roundup-151/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote 10K… and discovered I need to write another short novel in the next project, LOL! I will still start publishing it mid-September, one title every two weeks, which will take us to November – so the Fall, or Autumn, as expected.

It will be five novels and a collection of prequels/shorts about secondary characters in the novels that can be read as standalone and as introduction to the series. Cover reveal coming up next week. Hopefully I’ll manage to write that fifth book for my September editing bracket, if now I’ll ask Mighty Editor whenever she has another week, but I should still be on time for a November release.

August 25% Off Boxset Sale started on 19/08/2022 in the following regions: Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand! It will last until 29/08/2022. My box set Books of the Immortals is included. Visit the following link(s) to see the promotion: https://kobo.com/p/boxset25!

Check out this Kickstarter if you love fantasy. “Angels, demons, & humans collide on a low-budget reality TV show. And the stakes are much higher than a game of matchmaking.” Among the rewards, you can get a postcard from Lucifer himself (admittedly for the American Holidays and your birthday)! 🙂 And we’re getting closer to the second stretch goal, which means… more books for everyone! Win-win! 🙂

Also, if you’re a writer, the good people at WMG are doing another sale for their workshops. I’m currently finishing my latest, but they’re all great, both the craft and the business workshops – I can tell after doing 6 workshops + 12 Pop-ups! 🙂 And there’s their Kickstarter free workshop too… so check them our! 🙂

And again, if you’r a writer and look for visual writing prompts that are not Midjourney generated, I’m having fun with a challenge of Photomanipulation and posting the results on my Facebook Page. Will I write all those stories myself? Probably not! 🙂

But who knows… when I’m done with the current projects, maybe… That’s all for today! Have a gret week!

by Barb on 24/08/2022  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, real world inspiration, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 24/08/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/08/24/wednesday-weekly-roundup-150/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Rome August average temperature 31°C, Cornwall, England 24°C – looking forward to going north and a cooler climate!

Last week I managed almost 15K, despite the above… and I’m past halfway writing that collection. I need to finish it before going to the cooler climate for a week, although I won’t have to send it to Mighty Editor until September 12, when I go back to DayJob. I need that extra week for other stuff, LOL!

It looks like writers aren’t on vacation! 😉 Check out this post by Chuck Wendig about AI art (and maybe write a flash fiction to his AI art prompts?) I don’t think I’ll ever use an AI to make cover art (especially since I do not write horror, LOL), but it’s fun to watch.

If you’re considering doing a Kickstarter, check out this post, including the comments! I probably won’t do another until next year, but I keep backing them and studying them (and my TBR pile keeps growing, waaah!).

And I like this idea of book binding POD books for special editions… I might do something like this in the future! 🙂 It would have to be a special title or something… mmm… so many ideas, so little time…

Anyhow, that’s all for today! Have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 10/08/2022  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, real world inspiration, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 10/08/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/08/10/wednesday-weekly-roundup-148/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote less than 5K, but managed to put out another Italian title. Also, my cousin’s friend helped me with the covers of the new project, since I’m very limited with what I can do on the writing computer! Still, the yearly total is over 300K, so I’m not complaining.

This week is starting slowly, but I managed to book a week of vacation when I’ll hopefully decompress. And see some new places. I’m currently not happy with the flights, but maybe we’ll be able to change them later… sigh!

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the free story in the newsletter! It goes out every two months, so I won’t really spam you! Feel free to subscribe, if you haven’t already! Eventually I’ll publish those stories, but at the moment I have no plans for them.

Now I shall go back to writing, and typing Italian stories (written in the 1990s) in the computer, and dealing with life in general, LOL! I wish you a wonderful week!

by Barb on 03/08/2022  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, the Human being
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Posted by Barb on 03/08/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/08/03/wednesday-weekly-roundup-147/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last day – possibly last hours for the Visions of the Future bundle! 🙂 Get it now before it’s gone forever!

Last week I wrote over 12K, despite a couple of days during which I didn’t write at all and did all the other stuff. The vampires will soon get their new covers and blurbs, meanwhile Future Earth Chronicles is updated! 🙂

When I’m done with all the updating, I’ll also update the header of the publisher’s site, but it will have to wait until possibly after the summer! 🙂 At least I updated this very blog’s header, and you can have a sneak peek of the new cover of Rajveer the Vampire… that kind of matches Brainwaves… which is good since eventually the two series cross over at some point, LOL!

I sent the first three books of the new project to Mighty Editor while I give a last pass to book 4. I’ll either send it later in the year, or next week, if she can do all four in my two-week slot. It’s 40K novels, but it’s still a grand total of 170K approximately!

I still have to write a collection to go with these four. You can expect publication of these titles sometimes in the fall. I’ve experimented with craft and had a lot of fun, so hopefully you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I’m enjoying writing them and making covers for them! 😉

I’m still tinkering with the Silvery Earth covers, trying to find a template that I like. Hopefully next weekend I’ll update the Vampires Through the Centuries, then we’ll see.

I backed to artists’ Kickstarters and both will deliver the art book or comic book in January 2023, yay! On paper this time, since the PDFs are nice and cheaper, but not as good as the actual book. You can still back The Art of Pascal Campion (already funded and headed for the first stretch goal), while Pixie and Brutus Gnome Sweet Gnome is probably over by the time you read this.

Check them out, they’re both great artists, I follow them on Instagram and I’m very happy they committed their strips to paper! 😀 I guess that’s all for now! Have a great week! 😉

by Barb on 15/06/2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 15/06/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/wednesday-weekly-roundup-140/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote only 7.6 words but again, there was a break between two books – and the Kickstarter work of completing the campaign, so two days went with that and brainstorming the next book. My yearly total is over 150K, though, so I’m not complaining! 😀

This week I’m off DayJob, so I should be able to a) finish the Kickstarter work and send out the digital rewards; b) write the next book of the new project; c) edit the short stories I sent to Mighty Editor (by the way, if you want to laugh, last week’s strip was an actual conversation between me and her) and decide if I want to submit them or keep them for other purposes later on.

Some will need to be published this summer anyway. And during the weekend I’ll upload the first book of Otherside to retailers. Meanwhile I tinker with mock covers of titles that might never be published for various reasons, but since it helps me visualize the story better, I’m going to continue, LOL!

In case you don’t have a huge TBR pile, check these out: a kids friendly series with dragons is now on Kickstarter. If you prefer sci-fi, Celestial Sagas is now on Storybundle, with lots of great authors! 🙂 I’m still finishing the door-stopper Time Traveler’s Almanac (I got the paperback and it’s 900+pages long), and then I’ll probably check my copy of Crunchy With Chocolate, since I’m currently writing about dragons! 😉

Then I might go back to ebooks and switch on the new Kindle (although I still have unread stuff on KK, but it’s mostly non-fiction or classics), sigh. So not looking forward to seeing what they have changed! 😦 Like the KDP dashboard and the WordPress notifications and… ok, I’ll stop complaining.

Sorry, grumpy old spinster here! 🙂 Now I better go back to writing… have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 27/04/2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 27/04/2022

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2022/04/27/wednesday-weekly-roundup-133/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote only 8K, but most of the weekend was spent editing after getting the manuscripts back from the editor. I’m kind of in-between projects as well, wrapping up a story and not sure if I want to continue what I had interrupted or start something else.

And I backed another sci-fi Kickstarter! 🙂 Yes, I might end up writing more sci-fi this year, and it won’t be in the Star Minds Universe. Or Future Earth Chronicles, for that matter. I wrote a hard SF story (still doing the rounds at traditional magazines) and I might explore that sort of future during the year.

I also somehow plan to write less and read more, LOL! Unfortunately, when I write a lot, I lose reading time (did I mention I’m a slow reader) to going through my own manuscripts, so… I will have to find a new balance this year. It might have to do with last year’s mess or my ever-changing moods or I’m evolving again as a writer, but I’m going to take it easy.

And here I’m saring Angela’s Tips for a Happier Writing Life, see if anything applies to you! 🙂 Also, you might want to start thinking long term. I definitely won’t be here in 50 years, but, like my friend’s, my writing might still be. So, where do you want to be long-term, say in 50 years?

The ten biggest literary stories of the year – a reminder of what 2020 was like. And a reminder that we’re still in the Technological Era… after sharing articles on GPT3, meet its artist brother, Dall-E, the OpenAI’s image generator. Ain’t it cool? I hope to integrate some of this tech in future sci-fi stories! 🙂

Now, I did mention I gave up on Goodreads long ago. It seems like this year a ton of bots have joined, so I reinstated the challenge questions. Despite that, friend requests keep coming with that “hi 51XXXXX” I don’t know where they got from. Sorry, “friends”, if you want to connect with me, it’s not on Goodreads that you’ll find me.

I should probably clean my friends list over there like I did with my Facebook private profile, quietly deleting people I never hear from and not accepting new friends unless we met in meatspace. Except I can’t be bothered going on Goodreads anymore, so I’ll just leave those people hanging and ignore them. Sorry.

Follow me on Bookbub instead, and I might soon share a reading recommendation (if it’s in their system, since I’m not very good at adding books that are not mine on that platform, LOL!). If you’re still following Audiblegate because you have audio books with them, here’s an update. Wishing you a wonderful week! 🙂

by Barb on 20/01/2021  •  Permalink
Posted in reading, real world inspiration, struggles to get through
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Posted by Barb on 20/01/2021

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/wednesday-weekly-roundup-67/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


And it’s April already? Where did time go? Last week I wrote almost 12K but I also threw away 5K. By Thursday I realized I didn’t need to retell everything and decided to just skip to the almost new stuff. So 5K went in the trash bin, or in an “attempt” copy of the manuscript. Afterward I wrote another 6800words, though, and I’m back to 23K into the manuscript like before cutting out those 5K. Same but different is good, and these characters still have surprises, I’m happy they get the spotlight now! 😀

I should have waited until next year, but well… this is just too good. April 1, 2011 also marks the publishing of my first novel, Books of the Immortals – Air. It’s its 9th bookversary, LOL! Since it falls on a Wednesday this year, I doubt next year it will be as perfect, so… I’ll celebrate now, hehe!

paperbacks of Books of the Immortals - Air

An extra happiness is…

I remember I made press releases, sent out 50 eBook review copies (and it still has less than 10 actual reviews on Amazon, so you understand why I stopped doing that) and even did a Goodreads Giveaway with the paperbacks I had left – I ordered 25 copies from Lulu back then. Then I did a new edition with Createspace, now KDPprint.

I did all of that only for that first novel. The rest just came out, announcing it on the blog and on Facebook and on Goodreads and that’s it. Because all that marketing effort had been close to useless, I stopped doing it. I kept doing guest posts and character interviews for a little longer, though… I stopped that too. I don’t think anyone ever bought one of my books because they read a character interview somewhere.

I might do more, eventually. I might do more Backstage Passes on the publisher’s page, or post something in my Facebook group. At the moment it’s hard enough to just write something new, without bothering with marketing stuff. I even stopped drawing (I’m falling behind with the latest strip, so I’ll probably use next week off day job to catch up and finish it, and I’ll do the paperbacks in May, when I doubt I’ll be able to do that trip I hoped to do) because it gives me time to think…

I know I’ll bounce back – I always do. Meanwhile, if you’re thinking of writing That Book, Kristen Lamb is back and she’s going to help you doing it! 🙂 Or you can take an online course or finally do That Thing you’ve always wanted to do, something creative you didn’t have time for so far… Or you can check the reprints from Kris Rusch’s Freelance Survival Guide! 🙂

Sunday night I had enough of writing and beta-reading, so I re-watched Kaabil. Next week I hope to watch something else, but being off Day Job I’ll have to schedule the week differently. Maybe I’ll even manage to finish Book 6 by Easter and move on to Book 7 the following week! 🙂

We’ll see. Meanwhile, stay home, stay safe and have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 01/04/2020  •  Permalink
Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 01/04/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/04/01/wednesday-weekly-roundup-26/

Writer Wednesday


Last week I wrote about 13K and wrapped The Wanderers at 93K. Now I’m going to leave it alone until Mighty Editor checks it, because I’m bored with it and think it sucks, haha. Besides, I’m reading a non-fiction book about medieval Persia, so it might give some ideas for the past of the southern kingdoms (since this story is set before the Quests).

The good thing about NOT having readers clamoring for more is that I don’t feel the pressure of writing the next book. The bad think is not knowing how I am doing, which makes me doubt myself and my skills. Yeah, my self-esteem is currently low, but I will bounce back, don’t worry! 😉

Anyway, I wrote 400K already this year, and even if I’m not sure I’ll write another 100k in the last four months of the year, I don’t care. I proved I can reach half pulp speed (500K) and stick to my own deadlines, now I can get back to having fun. Productivity was never my problem, was it?

If and when some series of mine takes off, I have more books to write. Meanwhile, I have some experiments to do to get out of this burn out. Currently writing shorts for anthos and trad mags, while coloring the Silvery Earth Kids strip (about 10 to color, then about 80 to letter) that I hope to complete by the end of September.

Then I’ll need to do a print attempt with Lulu so I can check it (my eyes don’t like staring at the screen, and printed out mistakes are glaringly obvious) and redraw whatever needs redrawn or adjusted. Not sure yet what my next long project will be. Possibly a contemporary story or maybe another historical fantasy. I did buy some books in Edinburgh! 😉

Still slowly tending the garden, and last week I resumed the Backstage Pass. And since I need to be gentle with myself, I won’t be posting weekly, but every other Sunday.

I’m working on the next instalment, but the topic seems hard to tackle. I do have some articles ready (meant for my never-started magazine or my aborted-Patreon), but I want to write something new that has been on my mind for months. So I will ponder it a little longer.

Meanwhile, there’s another free story up on the Infinite Bard, check it out! Have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 04/09/2019  •  Permalink
Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 04/09/2019

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2019/09/04/writer-wednesday-384/

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