Category Archives: My musings

blog, Book planning, Book Promotion, My musings

Want to read Vella for free?

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Hey, guys,

Happy Fall!

It’s been a while since I updated my website. I am suffering from “Too many irons in the fire” syndrome. That should be a thing, right? TMIITF syndrome. Bet some of you feel the same way.

Anyway, one of those irons in my next book release and it’s waay behind schedule. But I still hope to get it out before the end of the year. It’s the 2nd book in the O’Ceagan Saga series, and I’m really happy with the story, but still need to edit.

In the meantime, I have a story running on Vella. If you’re not familiar with it, the stories on this platform are serialized, so most of them are around 1500 to 2000 words per episode. Some are a little longer. The first three episodes of any story are free to read, then you pay for each episode as you read it with tokens you purchase from Amazon. Vella is intended for quick reading on your telephone and formatted for it, so it’s easy to squeeze in an episode at lunch or while waiting for a bus.

Anyway, until Oct. 11th, you can read any  Vella episodes you want during this Amazon promotion. So, if you’d like to read my serialized story, Cynara’s Destiny, the first season is complete at 34 episodes and available at: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B093BJMBJ4

I’d love it if you’d give it a read and give me a thumbs up if you like it. A review would be awesome, but not required.  Feel free to tell others.

Also, in the news, my Time Threads series book, Splintered Time will be going to wide distribution in the next few days. Once I have the universal link for that, I’ll post it here. I’ll begin working on the third and final book next month as my NaNaWriMo project, so that one will be out in 2023.

Happy Fall, enjoy the cooler weather and luscious autumn colors coming our way. If you’re below the Equator, spring is just beginning to bloom for you. Warmer weather and fun ahead.

Next time, I’m to start a new feature and begin by reviewing a couple of books I am reading.  Check back for that!

Thanks for reading and hopefully checking out my books. I appreciate your support more than you know!

Lily

blog, Book Promotion, My musings

Virtual Con Going and a Reminder

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Here we are – almost to the end of August. And I still don’t have the editing to Splintered Time done! One thing after another has gobbled up my time. So, it’s delayed a little longer, but I do want it to be the best I can make it before I release. New target is mid-September. Fingers crossed (but it’s hard to type that way, so just imagine they are!) If you haven’t checked out the first book of the series, Time Walker, you can find it here.

Convention Going in the Covid Era

One thing I did this weekend was to attend the Highlander Convention hosted by Highlander World Wide. Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m a huge Highlander the Series fan. Yes, I did like the movie, but I really fell for the TV series. I loved the actors, plots, and the flashbacks, yet the heart of the episodes were often the moral dilemmas Duncan MacLeod faced from week to week.  The stories made you think and in the HL fandom,  that meant a lot of online discussions.

I was fascinated by the Methos character, a 5,000 year old Immortal who  looked like a young, hip college student as played by Peter Wingfield. So, I started going to conventions and I eventually became president of Peter’s fan club (under another name). This led to a twenty-plus year friendship with lots of the members as well as Peter. Sadly, Peter wasn’t at the convention this weekend. He’s now a doctor in Los Angeles, so he couldn’t get away from work to make the event. But just about everyone else from the cast and key crew made it. What fun to talk about those episodes again and learn the backstories and other tales of filming.

This was hosted on an interesting platform called Floor, which Adrian Paul uses for his Sword Experience. When you enter, it’s set up with a lobby, then places to click for the stage, lobby, lounge, and vendors. After using Zoom for meetings for the past year, this set up really impressed me. If I were to have a big meeting, I’d definitely consider using the Floor platform.

Reminder about the August Vella Promotion

In case you haven’t had a chance to check out Vella yet, there’s still time to get over and look at the great episodic sci-fi and fantasy stories my fellow authors and I have running there. You can read the first three episodes of any or all of them for free, then Amazon gives you 200 token if this is your first visit to use to unlock additional episodes.

Please check it out by clicking this link. (Feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested.)

I just released episode 10 of my story, Cynara’s Destiny and plan to release episode 11 this coming Friday. So check it out.

This is an adventure story set in another solar system as a young sorceress struggles to control her powers when an outside force threatens her worlds.

 

That’s it for this month. Enjoy the rest of summer.  Look for the release of Splintered Time soon!

Stay safe, stay well. All the best – Lily

 

 

 

blog, My musings

Book Update and Another Group Giveaway

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Wow! Things have been busy the past couple of months, but unfortunately, the activity hasn’t included working on my sequel to Time Walker. That is still staring me in the face and saying that spring release is getting closer and closer. I’m still hoping to get it done by the end of Spring, right around June. The book is written, but it needs some heavy-duty editing and I’m trying to get it done.

While the weather in Reno has been pretty nice during the day, the nights have been cold, and our furnace died two days ago. Looking for someone to either repair or replace it. I suspect the latter will be the result.

And I have been working on putting together a small convention that will be happening next week in Los Angeles. Once that is done, I think I can settle down to work on Splintered Time, which is the sequel book.

Sci-Fi Giveaway

In the meantime, I put O’Ceagan’s Legacy out into a group giveaway of science fiction and fantasy books. If you’re looking for some new reading, maybe discovering a new author or two, then check it out. Just click on the image below to go to the giveaway page on Prolific Works.  This promotion is running through March 4th. My book is a several chapter sample of the novel. Now through the end of the giveaway, it is for sale at half the price in e-book at $1.99.

 

 

 

 

Book Sniffer App

You might have seen an ad for this new app posted on Facebook, which is where I found it. It sounds like a pretty good deal for both writers and readers, so you might want to check it out.

I’ve  added my name to the Book Sniffer family, a great new way to keep up with your favorite authors (once they register on the site) and to find new books and authors.

To add me to your authors, just use this link:  android.bksnfr.me/Lillian_I._Wolfe 

That’s all for this update.  Hope everyone is having a safe winter and not getting too blasted by the weather. Stay warm. Stay safe.

Lily

blog, My musings

Reflections on 2017

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As 2017 draws to a close, I’m taking a little time to reflect on the positive aspects of a somewhat disturbing year.

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has read my books, posted comments or reviews, and given me encouragement over the past few years. A pall settled on the creative energy early on and at times, writing proved to be a struggle rather than the exciting, energizing activity it usually is. Your encouragement kept me going. So, once again, my deepest gratitude.

My goals were loftier than my accomplishments, but I am proud of what I did manage to achieve. While I had hoped to release three books, I only managed to edit and publish one of them, Funeral Singer: A Song of Betrayal.

My YA book, Dew Dropping Hour, an urban fantasy novel,  is still in rewrite phase as I am not happy with the pacing of the book and putting it through my critique group is a slow process. But I’ll rework it until I’m happy with it rather than release something that isn’t the best it can be.

The third book I’d hoped to release is in the O’Ceagan Saga universe. I wrote the draft in November 2016, but haven’t touched it since. That’s now on my list for the current year. It’s actually an interim novel that features the puca rather than the O’Ceagan characters, but they are in the story.

Also on the schedule for this year is the fourth book of the Funeral Singer series, which is written and awaiting editing. I plan to have that released in the spring and if all goes well, the last book in that series will be out in the fall. Of course, my schedule is always subject to the whims of life.

To top it off, I just purchased a new cover that caught my eye. So many talented artists are making gorgeous covers that I need to restrain myself. But this one called out to me and I couldn’t resist. All I can say is that it appears I will be writing a time travel and/or  steampunk novel in the near future.  Not the first time I’ve been inspired by a cover.

Along with author Margaret McGaffey Fisk, I did an Earth Day Fair in the spring and a small Comic-Con in Reno, Nevada to meet people and peddle books. Margaret, her husband Colin, and I comprised a panel on Immortality as seen by Hollywood. That was fun and drew a few more people to our table.

On the personal side of life, I did a little traveling and relaxing. In February, I met my brother and his wife in Cancun, Mexico to celebrate his birthday. Great fun, warm, and so beautiful.

Cancun to NYC theater to LA Highlander Convention – great memories…

In April, I enjoyed a trip to New York City, met with a couple of friends, and  saw three Broadway musicals. We took in “Come From Away”, “Natasha and Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” with the amazing Josh Groban, and “The Bandstand”, a new American musical set just after World War II and featuring swing music. Awesome theater!

In October, I had a great time in LA at a Highlander the Series Convention with many of the actors, directors and other creatives from the series. Wonderful to catch up with everyone, old friends and new.

When you reflect on 2017, I trust your year has many special memories also. I hope the coming year will bring good times, memorable moments, and more happiness than trouble. Happy 2018 to everyone!

Lily

amused essays, blog, My musings

Winter Weather Woes

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I know it’s been a while since I posted anything. Like since the middle of November when I was heavily occupied with NaNoWriMo, which I crushed. Then the holidays came along and time skittered away from me like a leaf blowing in these high velocity winds that course through this wind tunnel of a valley between two mountain ranges.

Normally, I roll with whatever the weather might be. Rain, sunshine, snow, wind. It’s a constantly changing thing in this environment. In Reno, Nevada, that would be the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a spectacular spot with gorgeous Lake Tahoe nestled in the middle of them.

Tahoe2_1998
Lake Tahoe from the shoreline on the Nevada side.

After several years of drought, the lake’s level had dropped quite a bit and water conservation became the big issue in both California and Nevada.

Well, January 2017 set out to change all that. In the first one-third of the month, more rain and snow fell on the Sierras, and in both states, than we had seen in many years. In fact, January 2017 is on record for the most moisture in the past 108 years. The area has seen more rainy days than sunny ones since the end of December.  This much wet often gives me reason to rejoice because I like rain.

However, when it begins to flood and I need to get my Himalayan-mix cat to the veterinarian for a tooth cleaning and to check for something hurting him, it turns into a problem. Twice this month, I’ve scheduled Milo’s appointment, only to cancel it because I couldn’t get out to get him to the vet that’s only a few miles up the road.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Here’s the problem. Where I live is off a low-lying road near the base of the Virginia City (Yes, the Bonanza one) foothills where water runs downhill and into shallow ditches. With the heavy flow of water coming down the canyons and running through the inadequate channels, the road flooded. Then when it got colder and snowed, an ice layer formed under the snow and it became difficult to drive.

snow_2017
1st snow at the beginning of January, 2017. Doesn’t look that bad, does it? Until you try to drive.

Now, add to the problem a small pickup truck with only rear-wheel drive and nothing of significance to weigh it down in the bed. Honey, all it takes a thin bar of ice and the truck is stuck. A sheet of ice means I am not going anywhere. Again, not that much of an issue since I don’t often have to venture out. Except I have this darn appointment that requires the cat deposited at the office between seven-thirty and eight in the morning.

Now, I have a third appointment for Monday morning.

dragon 2017
My frozen dragon sentinel in the front yard.

Sure enough, the forecast is for at least six inches of snow on the valley floor. Sigh. Gut feeling is I may have to cancel another one. Maybe next month…

Still in all, I prefer this weather to the ice storms and deep snow that so many of you are dealing with this January of 2017. Wouldn’t even want to be in the towns surrounding Tahoe these past few weeks. Too much snow for this desert-raised girl.

In other news, I am currently working on the edits for a YA urban fantasy trilogy and it is coming along.  I have two other novels to edit and have started work on the next Funeral Singer novel. One of the edits is in the O’Ceagan Saga universe, so hope to have that one this year also.

cover
Download at Instafreebie

If you haven’t checked it out, I have a free short story at Instafreebie.com called The Wizard’s Gift.  All you have to do to download it is add your email to my mailing list at Instafreebie. I don’t send out spam or frequent emails, so it’s relatively painless. And you might win a free $25 Amazon gift card in my quarterly drawing.

In good-reading terms, my fellow Reno writer, Heather Petty, has a new Lock and Mori book out, Mind Games.  It’s an alt-universe young Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty adventure with a twist. The first book was a fun read, so I’m looking forward to this new one.

The fabulous YA urban fantasy author Annette Marie also has a new book out in her Red Winter Trilogy.  If you haven’t read her books, why not? She is a wonderful storyteller. One of my favorite writers. If you have Kindle Unlimited,, you can read her books for free.  And start with Chase the Dark in her Steel & Stone series. That was the one that hooked me.

You might notice that the link’s at Amazon take you to Amazon Smile, which is currently set up to donate to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Amazon Smile gives a portion of the money you spend at Amazon to the charity you chose. St. Jude’s happens to be mine, but you can select your own.

Happy 2017