Progress of the Right Kind

Back in May, I launched a blog with the primary intent of posting nothing but contests featuring book giveaways. I did this for purely selfish reasons: I wanted to know what books were being passed around the blogosphere, and I was losing patience with the fact that there didn't seem to be a dedicated book contest blogs.

With four other friends, I launched Win a Book.

We've since expanded the focus a little bit, posting about sales and freebies, along with great blog posts by or interviews with authors who are hot at the moment, or who are favorites in the giveaway arena.

It's a fun blog to maintain. I'm meeting some really great readers, people who are open to trying almost anything new when it comes to reading.

And now, I wanted to take a minute and brag. My Friend Amy truly is a friend to book bloggers. She declared September 15-19 to be Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and in anticipation of this first-ever event (that I know of, anyway), she asked her readers to nominate their favorite blogs in a number of categories.

Win a Book was included her in last-minute-creation of the "Most Altruistic Blog" category.

I am thrilled. I'm thrilled that the hard work we've put into this blog is being recognized. I'm thrilled that it's understood we're not doing this to get an in on contests, or to do nothing but promote our own blogs -- or books.

Anyway, I wanted everyone to know how well this small-focus blog is doing. I invite you all to stop in and check it out. And, of course, I invite you all to get involved in Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Head on over to My Friend Amy's site and vote -- I'll never know if you vote for Win a Book or not -- as there are many categories to vote in, and many great blogs that have been included.

My personal blog has been nominated for awards before, and every time, I've just been flattered that I've been thought of. Sometimes, the nomination truly is the honor.

Vote Via this link.

Visit Win a Book via this link.

And come hang out with those nutty rock bands at my personal blog via this link.

Thoughts on BookCrossing

I've lately been debating leaving BookCrossing.com, the website that was supposed to be a knock-off of Where's George. I say "supposed to" because it's much easier to pass dollar bills around among the population than it is to leave books out in random places for people to find.

Well, no. It's easy to LEAVE a book in a random place. What's harder is getting people to pick up the books and make a journal entry about where the book was found and what the reader thought of it.

So I began trading online, first through a community of BookCrossers. That was great because you knew the books would be journalled. The problem was that we were all so backed up with books we wanted to read that, all too often, the books would sit for a long time and then be passed along, unread, because the current owner had collected too many and it was time to pare some down. (this isn't a criticism, because I'm still reading books that have been here about three years now. And yes, I'm trying to read oldest-arrived to most-recently arrived. It's not easy!)

I miss hearing the thoughts that people have when they read something I've read. That's the part that really jazzes me, as a BookCrossing member. Yes, it's cool to be able to say, "A book I sent out into the world showed up in (insert name of country here)."

But it's even cooler to read someone's thoughts on a book.

I got notice this morning that one of my books had been journalled. I was one of three or four readers who really liked it -- but this recent reader found the main character annoying.

I had to stop and think about that. It had been awhile since I'd read the book (and many hundreds of pages since then) and I'm not as clear about things as I would be if this had been a book club discussion, for instance. But no, I don't remember the main character being annoying. In fact, I liked her and thought she was real.

I'm not going to say that this new person was wrong. Not at all.

Rather, I'm intrigued and fascinated by the thought that someone had such a different reaction to what I thought. I wish I could reach out through the computer and engage this reader in a long discussion about exactly what was annoying. I want to hear what she has to say. It won't be the first time someone's conflicting opinion changed my own reading experience.

I hope it won't be the last.

Thus, for now, I'm going to continue BookCrossing. All the books I continue to post at BookMooch or PaperbackSwap.com will be registered first.

Hopefully more people who come across a BookCrossing book will take a few minutes and record their thoughts on a book. For me (and for others, too), a large part of BookCrossing is hearing how books touch our lives. It's a great reminder for us writers when we get discouraged -- here's proof that what we do matters.

But it's an even better reminder of the power of a book.

A New Obsession?

Well, a new obsession for you, I hope.

With a bunch of friends, I've launched a new blog. It's an easy blog (I hope!), in that it's devoted to nothing but contests for books. Giveaways. You know: enter here and win a book. That's why I called it Win a Book.

There are other book contest bloggers out there. I'm not trying to knock them out of a readership or anything. Rather, I keep seeing many, many contests that otherwise go unreported. Maybe the contests' creators want it that way. I don't know; I've never thought to ask.

But one thing I've always wanted to do is more to help promote my fellow writers. Talking about books I've read isn't good enough. I read slowly these days, what with a blog to maintain (and write for), a book to market, another book to write, a family to raise, and other hobbies to give face time not nearly often enough. Yes indeed, I wanted to do more.

This seemed like an easy way to do it. To collect all the blogs and websites I can find that are holding contests and throw 'em up there on another blog. Dangle the name of a book, the name of an author, in front of your face and hope you'll see it enough times that you'll remember it. Hope that you'll win and be exposed to a great new author. Hope that if you don't win, you'll be interested enough in the book to buy it anyway.

There's not a lot of glory in it for me, to be honest. Sure, it bears the West of Mars name, but that's about it. I don't get extra entries in contests for mentioning it (I hope). Heck, I hope I don't get any entries, but if I wind up winning, I'll share the prizes with my co-authors. This isn't about personal glory.

It's about getting the names of fellow authors out there. Of helping them in their careers.

I firmly believe that getting people excited about books is good for every single person who writes books. It's good for everyone who reads books. It's good for the person who rarely reads but decides to see what the fuss is about, even if they don't get hooked on reading from the experience.

And I firmly believe in promoting literacy of all sorts.

This new blog is about putting my money where my mouth is.

I hope you'll add it to your reader and let the contests pop up and surprise you with how varied they already are. I hope you'll stop by and check out the contest-hosting sites that get a link in our sidebar. I hope you'll win a book or ten. I hope you'll support my friends who are helping me post these contests, and mostly, I hope you'll have fun with it.

Come on by.

WestofMars-WinaBook.

Dear Neighbor

Dear Neighbor:

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the woman who honked and yelled this morning when you pulled up your driveway, too intent on the conversation you were having on your cell phone to stop and look for traffic before pulling out into our street.

If you didn't like me yelling from behind a closed window, you're really not going to like what I have to say next.

You see, if I'd been on my bicycle instead of in my car when you charged up your driveway and into the street, I'd be dead.

Maybe you think that's being sensationalistic of me. That's probably because you don't know the things I do. About the twelve-year-old niece of an acquaintance who was killed while riding her bike last summer. Or about our neighbor who was hit by a car while biking, also last summer. He required neurosurgery, you know. He almost lost his own career as a surgeon. Oh, he's fine now -- or as fine as you can be once you've gone through an experience like that.

The irony in this situation is that, foiled by a phone call, the neighborhood school bus and a moving van or two, I missed the class at my gym I had been intending to take. Instead, I was coming home to grab my helmet and jump on my bike for a spin around the neighborhood and, perhaps, the industrial park that borders our homes.

Study after study has shown that those of us who ride our bikes, who jog, who walk our dogs or simply go outside and take a stroll have an impact on road safety. A positive impact. The more of us there are out there, the safer we all become.

Yet I took the wimpy way out and rode my other bike, the one that has spent a portion of the winter mounted to a device that allows me to ride in my basement as though it's a stationary bicycle. After all, I was a bit shaken up after almost being broadsided by you. And, too, I had a feeling you were still out there on the road somewhere, probably talking on your cell phone as you drove without watching traffic.

I doubt you took anything away from our encounter other than outrage at being stopped and seeing a stranger yell at you. But I'd like you to think about something else:

Maybe next time, it won't be me in my car. Maybe it won't even be me on my bike. Maybe next time, it'll be my seven-year-old son, leading me up the street on our way to his friend's house, the next neighborhood over. Maybe you won't stop in time.

Can you live with that? Because, I have to tell you, I'm not going to stop riding my bikes. Rita's Italian Ice tastes awfully grand once you've ridden the just-over-a-mile to get there. Kids are glad when their friends show up with bicycles; it gives them a reason to turn off the video games and get outside. Biking's a great way to combat rising gas prices. It's a fantastic way to get in shape, raise your fitness level, decrease your likelihood for many common diseases. It's a nice way to familiarize yourself with the critters who live in our shrubs and the trees behind our houses, who seem to think that our flowers are their gourmet meals.

You should try it; I'd be glad to ride with you. You see, riding is important to me. Not only do I dream of being able to ride one hundred miles around Lake Tahoe one day as I raise money for various charities, I ride because having my two children destroyed me, physically. Riding a bike, for whatever reason no one really understands, eases the perpetual pain in my back and hips. It allows me to escape and feel whole again.

As an SUV driver, you've got a certain level of power. You can ensure that I arrive alive, and you can do that by doing such simple things as being aware of the traffic around you. You can move over and share the road as you pass me. You can hang up your cell phone, as study after study shows that drivers on their phones are distracted drivers.

But mostly, you can remember to stop at the top of your driveway. I am glad you managed to stop before my car stopped you the hard way. Yet I remain wary. I may not have the visibility a car affords me, you may not stop, and we both may face a more haunting price than a simple raise in your car insurance rates.



A quick note from Susan: while I retain all copyrights to this piece, if you'd like to share it with someone who needs to see it, just make sure I get the credit for it. Let's not lose any more bikers this year! Particularly me.

In Good Company

I'm having one of those days. There's some personal stuff going on that probably won't get discussed with anyone but my best friend and my hairdresser. And then there's this.

It's stupid. So stupid I can't stand it. Someone judged a piece of my writing not on its merits or its content, but on the fact that I'd put a line on top to the effect of: This is for those who are over 18 only. The reason was that I had two characters engaged in an adult situation: the man (yeah, for you who know me, that'd be Trevor) sniffed the back of the woman's knee and a discussion ensued. That was it. Nothing explicit. Nothing overly titillating.

I have readers who appreciate those warnings. That's why I included it. They quietly skip those outtakes. Some loyal friends don't read most of my outtakes because they don't like the four-letter words that guys in rock bands are attached to. They simply show up and comment on choice things: my characters Chelle and Roadie Poet, or the not-fiction. But they don't judge the stuff they don't read.
That's what's sticking in my craw right now.


There's a bit of irony in this. At the same time my judgement was being handed down, Maxim magazine was being blasted by The Black Crowes (see? Once again, it all gets back to music! Books or music; it all gets back to one, the other, or both.). The magazine seems to have run a review of the Crowes' new CD. Problem is, it was a negative review.

Okay, negative reviews happen. But take a second. Think. How does this parallel my story?

Well, yeah. You've got it! The reviewer didn't hear the whole CD!


Am I really vain enough to compare myself to a Platinum-selling band? Looks like it, although I'm certainly not expecting the same uproar, outcry, and show of support. Too, the situations are different: the person in question in the Black Crowes bru-ha-ha was supposed to write a review. Judging something is part of being a reviewer. I know this; I write reviews, myself (albeit book reviews).

In the case I'm bummed about, I'd submitted a piece of my writing to someone who didn't have any stated content restrictions. I never received an e-mail saying that there was an objection; I had to initiate the discussion, and then, the resolution, such as it was, wasn't handled in a way I was overly pleased with. Nor was my piece of fiction read beyond that disclaimer at the top. Nope, the person in question stood by the first two lines of my piece.

Which is fine. That person made a decision and is standing by it. More power to him or her. It'd have been nice if some sort of content restriction was included in the submission rules, but not everyone operates on the same up-front policy that I do. Nope, apparently, this person would rather … what? Alienate the participants? Make arbitrary decisions based on partial information? Not bother to tell people that there are rules we should know thanks to the oh-so-dependable proceess of Osmosis Through Computer Screen?

Either way you look at it, this person looks as bad to me as Maxim Magazine does to a Black Crowes fan right now.

Of course, there are still people who will go buy Maxim Magazine. There are still people who will submit fiction and poetry to this person in question. That's fine; this is a great big world we live in and we're all free to make our choices. The fact that we all make different choices is part of what makes us unique and what makes us humans so fantastic.

Frustrating, too. Why have I been wasting my time with someone who changes the rules on a whim? Or who makes assumptions -- when asked, I was told that I'd written erotica. Given that my friends who do write erotica laughed hysterically at my self-imposed rating, I'm pretty sure they have nothing to fear from me. I'm even more certain, yet again, that my piece was never read by the person making the erotic assumption.

The Tour Manager tells me that my sin was in being my usual, forthcoming self. Apparently, "don't ask, don't tell" applies to more than the military. Yes, I've learned my lesson. Instead of acting to make sure I've covered my basis, I should take the wimp's way out and plead ignorance of my actions.

Because, you know, everyone else does.

Link Call: Two things I like (and one I detest)

I was working on something to post here before the "I like" link call came out. Since that post -- about something I think I like, but I'm not 100% certain of yet -- isn't ready, I'm going to write this one for you, instead. It's about two things I like -- and one I absolutely detest.

Less than two months ago, on December 29, 2007, I stood by the side of a snowy road, dressed in three layers of pants, three layers of tops, my snowboarding gloves, and my boarding hat -- and the nifty new snow boots that were rated to -45 degrees… so long as you weren't standing mostly motionless by the side of a snowy road.

The scene was the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. I was part of a group of 27, including guides, and our mission that day was to find the famed wolves of Yellowstone.

We did.

We saw the new pack that's trying to form. Currently called the Silver Pack, they are made up of a breeding pair (the qualifications of a pack, I'm told) and a third friend. They are horning their way into territory between -- or maybe including -- that held by two others: the Slough Creek Pack and the Druid Peak Pack. They may or may not succeed.

Others in our group saw the Slough Creeks. I only got to see the remnants of an elk they'd killed, but our entire group spent a very long time watching the Druids. We watched two yearlings play with a stick underneath some nearby trees. We watched an intruder who'd been chased off and injured. We saw the Druid alpha female check on each member of her pack.

(click on the picture, and then once again to blow it up so you can REALLY see)

I like wolves.

That's why the article in today's paper has me outraged. Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana -- incidentally the three states that Yellowstone National Park straddles -- have stopped offering any sort of protection for wolves. They are fair game, and hunting parties are already forming. It's a new sport! Or a return to an old one; take your pick.

What's the offense of these wolves? They kill a few of the ranchers' cows.

Now, I'm not going to say that killing cows is a good thing. It's not. The ranchers lose money and have to be reimbursed by the Feds. The wolves learn it's an easy way to get food and some of their sharp hunting instincts are dulled. Their natural prey -- elk, for instance -- flourish. And as we've seen since the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone, the elk have a huge impact on the flora and fauna in the park. A negative impact, because there are so many elk and so few predators.

But killing wolves for being themselves is horrible, pure and simple. Surely there are other ways to manage the animals and keep them away from cows.

One solution isn't entirely practical, but allow me the pipedream, please. You see, I like bison, too. I like them more than wolves, truth be told. They are big, they are cantankerous, and they do whatever they damn well feel like and the hell with you if you don't like it. Plus, they taste good.

And therein lies the solution. Instead of eating cows, let's all eat bison. Lower in fat and cholesterol than cattle, they are higher in protein. And they taste better. South Dakota is brimming with bison farms, including the farm the Tour Manager and I buy our bison meat from. Run by Dan O'Brien, a writer who did his MFA at the same school that granted me mine (see how it all gets back to books?), these bison are turned loose in the pasture to graze and do their bison thing. When it's time to slaughter, O'Brien and company have a specially outfitted truck that they toss a food inspector into, and off they go. It's less stress on the animal. That makes them taste even better. And believe me, the Wild Idea bison are amazingly yummy.

Best of all in my plan, wolves find bison harder to kill than cows.

Like I said, this isn't a perfect plan. Not while cattle ranchers in Wyoming are killing bison that wander out of Yellowstone during the winters, in search of food. Their grounds for this needless slaughter is that bison might -- might! -- transmit a disease called brucellosis. Nevermind that the transmission can only happen during calving, which happens in spring. Nevermind that there is yet to be a recorded instance of this transmission happening.

Of course, if we get rid of the cows, we get rid of those particular fears.

Not everyone sees the eradication of wolves as bad. I know that. I get that. But from where I sit, having seen wolves in the wild with my own eyes, they deserve to be there, helping keep nature in balance.

That's what it's all about. Balance.

Surely, there has to be a better way to achieve this balance with our cattle ranchers. Killing for the sake of killing, to eliminate the things that might happen or to make sure that this wolf doesn't do what the other one did…

Surely, there has to be a better way.




If I may deviate to another thing I like, that's giving away books. I'm still trying to reach Paula, our own BRBer, who won my copy of State of the Onion. Paula, if you e-mailed me, I didn't see it. Can you try again, please? I'd hate to give this to someone else!

Come win a book!

Hey, Blue Ribbon Bloggers and our readers!

I am tickled to have the chance to give someone my reader's copy of the great new Julie Hyzy book, State of the Onion.

Come on over to West of Mars and enter yourselves (if you qualify!) for a chance to win this great read. I know the chances of you winning are better if you don't help spread the word, but ... do a girl a favor, will ya? I can't have the same six people entering each time!

My favorite Post: Death By Cheese

With such a large body of work on my blog, it's hard to pick a favorite post or two. After all, most of my blog is made up of fiction and I wouldn't be posting it if I weren't proud of it.

Every now and then, this one pops into my brain and teases me. It's seriously underappreciated.

If you're new to the gang, this fictional outtake -- not really a short story but a moment -- features my wildly successful rock band, ShapeShifter, during their early days. Yep, four boys around the age of twenty... this is how it is...

(with apologies to Cheesy)


Mitchell kicked the pizza box out of the way and, with a burp that shook the room, stretched out his legs on the coffee table. It bowed under his weight.

"M, man," Daniel said wonderingly. He picked up a drum stick and scratched his back with it. "You just ate the whole thing. I thought you weren't going to do that anymore."

"I wasn't," Mitchell slurred. He laid his head back on the grimy dressing-room couch. "But I wasn't gonna drink this much anymore, either." He burped again.

Trevor held up a hand, all five fingers splayed. Slowly, he dropped each finger in turn, starting with the index finger. Just as he tucked his thumb in, Mitchell sprinted for the bathroom.

"Death by cheese," Eric laughed.

"Should we save the box as a reminder for next time?" Daniel asked.

"Dumb fuck," Trevor said, shaking his head and, for a few minutes there, feeling in tune with Daniel and Eric.

Funny? HA!

So it's been noticed that my presence here has dwindled, eh? And now you want me to be funny? So not gonna happen...

There's a good reason for it.

Almost three weeks ago, the Tour Manager got sick. Now, he's not named the Tour Manager purely because it's a good rock-and-roll term. No, this man usually acts like a tour manager, keeping me on the straight-and-narrow, organized and happy. He's almost like a wife, except no monthly mood swings (not that I have any, either. Nope. Not me.).

Being the kind man he is, he spent two weeks sick as a dog. He even missed work, and for him to miss work... the man's more devoted to his job than he is to me. I knew that from the get-go, though; he's been elbow-deep in computer guts since we met.

When we met, I was twelve. He was eleven.

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Going on about the kindness of my Tour Manager.

Which is why I sit here today, running a fever despite having taken Advil, unable to bring you the sort of funny I'm proud of.

Can I take a raincheck and get back to you when I'm healthy?

Pretty Please?

Whee! Books!

Over at BookCrossing, a vibrant community of readers, we have a term for what we call a Random Act of BookCrossing Kindness -- a RABCK.

Today, I received a RAPK -- Random Act of Promotional Kindness. And while I love RABCKS, I might just love this more.

You see, at the end of last year, I posted my year-end review of the books I'd read in 2007. You can read it here. I love doing these round-ups; I love to highlight the good stuff, most of which my regulars tell me they've never heard of, sadly enough. There's some really good fiction on the shelves out there. Trust me. I've been searching it out.

Linda Fairstein, author of the Alex Cooper novels, caught a glimpse of my mention of the spree I'd gone on with her books earlier in the year. All you mystery lovers, if you haven't yet, check this series out. It's innovative and based on Fairstein's years in the DA's office. This woman changed the world -- for the better.

Anyway, she left me a comment at the end of the post, thanking me for the kind words (hey, they were deserved; no thanks are needed!) and offering to send me a copy of Bad Blood, her 2007 release. Like I said, this was a small act of promotional kindness on her end. And being a sucker for books -- and especially hers -- how could I possibly say, "Oh, that's too kind, but no thanks" and not hate myself later for it? I mean, hello! This is Linda Fairstein!

Her tenth Alex Cooper novel, Killer Heat, will be coming out in March and like every other author out there whose name's not Rowling, Evanovich, or King, she could use an extra bit of attention for it. The book business is brutal these days. Trust me, but if you don't, read the end of the next paragraph.

Bad Blood was waiting for me in my PO Box today, along with an ARC of Julie Hyzy's new book, State of the Onion. I'll be reviewing that fun-looking book for Front Street Reviews, like usual. And, in case you needed proof of how tight publishing is, so were two rejections from literary agents I'd queried for Trevor's Song, my own novel that I'm positively itching to bring to you guys.

Now I've got this conundrum. I've promised a review to Ms. Hyzy -- and to my editor at Front Street. And I'm trying to keep from salivating with desire on my new copy of Bad Blood. What do I do first? (the review, obviously -- it's sort of like behaving myself and eating dinner before dessert, although I'm quite famous for eating ONLY dessert.)

Then again... hmmm.... think my editor wants a review of Bad Blood? Two reviews instead of one?

Maybe I'll sweeten the deal with my editor and offer her the cool New York District Attorney's pin with Alex Cooper's name on it. The one that was in the package with Bad Blood.

Nah. The pin's mine. The book's mine. The pleasure to read both books (Bad Blood and State of the Onion) is mine.

I'll share the experience when I'm done. That way, someone around here gets to eat dessert only.

Seven Things Meme

First LA Day tagged me for this puppy. She tagged my buddy Lisa Andel for it at the same time.

Lisa was well-behaved and did it. And then she tagged me for it again.

These cross-tags remind me of inbreeding somehow... something about it feels wrong...

At any rate, since I've already done it over at West of Mars (the link will take you right to it), I thought I'd come over here and have some fun so that YOU guys can get to know me as well. Here goes:

The Rules:
Link to the person who tagged you;
Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours;
Post the rules on your blog;
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog;
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post;
Include links to their blogs;
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


1. My name is Susan Helene Gottfried. Really. That's what my birth certificate says.

2. I hate to follow rules. Thus, I'm not following all the above rules. Keep reading to see how and where.

3. This rule aversion I've got often makes me feel like a VERY square peg in a world of round holes.

4. It also quite probably is the reason why I'm still an unpublished novelist. I don't write novels that fit nicely and conveniently into the niches that agents and editors want their books to fall into.

5. They call this good business. I call it other things, none of which are flattering, so I won't mention them.

6. Yes, it's hard at times to be the sharp edges in a soft, rounded world. But someone's got to do it, and why not someone like me, who does it well?

7. Yes, it would be easier to suck it up and write something that would fit nicely into the existing niches, but for one thing, it wouldn't be very good. And for another, isn't being true to yourself what it's all about? Isn't that more important? I mean, if my groupies get loud enough and even more demanding, I can always turn to (gasp!) self-publishing and prove I'm right and it's good to not fit into existing niches. Especially crowded ones.

8. Breaking the rules often pays off.

Tags... well, let's keep it simple. Any of my fellow Blue Ribbon Bloggers want to join in on the fun?

Trying Something New: Sunday Best

When you were a kid, do you remember hearing about your Sunday Best? Or maybe you only read about it in a book; kids who had one fancy outfit they saved as their Sunday Best. Being Jewish, we didn't do this, but the idea was that you'd have one great outfit to wear to church.

If you hang out at my blog much, you'll note that I won't mention the titles of books I read but don't like (or don't finish). I try to keep things upbeat and positive.

And now, following in the wake of the story of the romance author who seems to have lifted passages of someone else's text and placed them into her novels, I want to highlight the good even more.

My intent is to highlight news about books and authors you may not have otherwise heard of, but that's not always going to happen. In fact, my first Sunday Best post this week features the Soup to Nuts Blog Carnival.

Come on over and check it out. Join the carnival if you're so inclined.

If you're even more inclined to highlight a Sunday Best, sign Mr. Linky so I can come check out what's bright and shiny in your world. It doesn't have to be book related, just something you feel deserves a bit of attention.

Let me say hello...

Looks like I'm not the only new face around here lately, although it's possible I'm the slowest to pop up and say hello.

You see, when I first saw the invitation to join this great group of folk, I thought for sure it was someone's sick idea of a joke. How's that for the famed Trevor Wolff self-esteem many of you know I can produce?

Despite what of myself that gets channeled into a fantastic fictional character, I'm simply a writer and, by definition, we writers tend to be an insecure bunch. That's probably due to the constant rejection we face and the sales numbers (for those lucky enough to get into print) that are never high enough.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be part of this group, and not just because there are some VERY cool people here. I'm excited to meet new people via the comments I hope you'll leave, and to share my fictional world with you, even though I'm hoping to channel my posts to this blog outside of fiction.

Of course, hopes are just that, hopes. As the reality unfolds around us, let's see what the future holds.

Stay tuned... it only gets better from here. That I can guarantee.