Thursday, October 27, 2016

Release Schedule

Friends,

I've been working on my tentative release schedule for the next few years.  Yes that's right, the next few years. Now this is all subject to change, but it is my hope to get these released as planned. I’m very excited to bring to you my Wexford Sisters Series, each sister has her tale to tell and a love that awaits her. Next will be my Wedded Bliss Series. I love the changing of the seasons and with each season brings its own magical romance! I also will be bringing you a Christmas/Holiday novella from each series or a new stand-alone novella each Christmas season to add some special romance to your holidays!


Release Schedule For 2017
*Subject to Change*

May: The Wexford Sisters: Book One

August: The Wexford Sisters: Book Two

November: The Wexford Sisters – A Christmas Novella

Release Schedule for 2018

February: The Wexford Sisters: Book 3

May: The Wexford Sisters: Book 4

August: Wedded Bliss in Autumn

November: Wedded Bliss at Christmas

Release Schedule for 2019

February: Wedded Bliss in Winter

May: Wedded Bliss in Spring

August: Wedded Bliss in Summer

November: TBA


Thursday, October 20, 2016

Writing Craft: Part 2 - Online Courses: Part 1

Writing Craft: Part 2

Online Courses – Part 1

Friends, as mentioned before at this time in my life, I can’t go back to college due to medical issues to get an English and/or Literature degree, nor even take a creative writing course. So I’m doing my own self-study course. While cruising the net yesterday for writing information, I happened upon a website that offers online writing courses at very affordable prices. They even have a three-day course free of charge, to try it all out. In addition to books I’ve purchased on writing craft and online groups for writers, I think this is a wonderful resource and investment over time.

I think as future writers, it doesn’t hurt to learn as much as we can on writing craft, marketing, publishing, etc. So in the coming months, I will be taking these courses and sharing my experiences with all of you. I’ve already signed up for the free three-day course and have already found my first lesson to be beneficial. This free course is about Endless Story Ideas. For many authors, it may be difficult to come up with story ideas and this course gives plenty of advice on how to get our creative juices flowing and let those ideas come to life.

Website: Creative Writing Now


I hope some of you find this resource helpful and I’ll be back with information as I go through the courses.

Love,


Marie

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Writing Craft - Part 1: Facebook Writing & Critique Groups

Writing Craft: Part 1

Facebook Writing & Critique Groups

Friends, I’ve found some wonderful writing and critique groups on Facebook that I feel would be very beneficial to any blossoming or professional writer. I feel it’s very important, especially those beginning a writing career, to connect with other authors and individuals on the same path. We can share ideas, gain advice and especially a world of wisdom from seasoned authors. We also gain support and understanding from those who are walking the same walk. We can give encouragement to others and receive encouragement in return.

I also feel it’s very important to connect with a critique group and share those stumbling blocks and wobbly first steps of ones writing; you will gain a world of advice but also positive criticism. Let’s face it, friends and family are wonderful. However, in giving true honest opinions, they may be lacking, for fear of hurting our feelings or us losing heart and giving up our goals of writing. So getting advice from seasoned authors as well as those who are new to the field, but also outsiders who give fresh eyes to our work. Not family/friends, nor ourselves as we too are not the best critics of our own work. We get lost in it and overlook errors and also we either want everyone to love our work as much as we do and we see nothing wrong with it or we are so hard on ourselves, that we avoid seeing the good and ultimately the growth within our writing. If you are fortunate enough to find a good critique group in your local area, that’s awesome. However, if not, there are online groups that are beneficial.

The two groups I’ve found to be very helpful thus far in my writing are:

Writers United – Authors Club


About: (From their about section)

GROUP GUIDELINES FOR POSTING:

Welcome to the Author's Club! This is the place for writers and authors to get together to support one another, collaborate, ask questions, and to discuss just about anything writing related.

Please read the rules before participating:

***NO PROMOTION***

No promotions or selling of any kind. No posts highlighting your book title, no covers, and no sharing of excerpts within the main group. No links to your own work including novels, blogs, author pages, other groups, or any products/services with which you are affiliated. We want you to succeed in your writing but promos clog up the feed and hurt the overall focus of the community.

PARTICIPATE AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE -

Join discussions, ask questions, and give input wherever you can! Links to outside resources are welcome, especially if it is in response to a question. If you find a great link to an educational resource please share in a new post! In this group you may also share Calls for Submissions and Writing Contests being advertised online.

*Don't 'dump and run' when it comes to sharing links. Let us know what you think of the article and why you are sharing it with the group.

Youth Writers United – Author’s Club

A group just like the one above but for those under 18 years of age.



Writers United – Critique Group


About: (Taken from their about section)

Welcome to Writers United - Critique Club!

This group is for writers to share, get feedback, and ask questions on current Works in Progress (WIP), and practice the craft of writing.

Please read the rules before participating:

***NO PROMOTION***

No promotions or selling of any kind. No book titles, covers, or excerpts from published works. No links to your own work including novels, blogs, author pages or any products with which you are affiliated. We want your writing to succeed, but promos clog up the feed and hurt the overall focus of the community.

PARTICIPATE, SHARE, COMMENT-

We welcome excerpts from current WIPs, potential cover art of UNPUBLISHED work, and Poetry WIPs which have not been shared in completed form online elsewhere. We also encourage writing prompts/challenges for the creation or improvement of original creative works.

***We ask all members to reciprocate critiques. For each critique received, please seek out and critique a piece of that member's work. This way all members should get input on their work.***

*Please no serial posting one chapter after another. Absorb each critique and apply relevant suggestions to the rest of your WIP before posting another excerpt. Keep in mind this is a critique group, not an editing service.

*For privacy reasons, we no longer allow the uploading of WIPs through group documents. Please copy and paste all excerpts directly into a new post or as a Google Docs link. Try to keep excerpts below 500words (Remember: shorter excerpts get more response). If you have a larger excerpt, ask the group for Beta readers.

I hope that you enjoy the groups I’ve shared above and if you have any groups in mind, please comment or email me at authormariegreaves@gmail.com as I'd love to add them to this list.

Love,
Marie