Insecure Writer’s Support Group – Energy!!!!!!!

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle36 Comments

InsecureWritersSupportGroup

It is the first IWSG under the new site. Congrats to the new Insecure Writer’s Support Group website. Our host for this month, CD Coffelt, Tina Downey,Isis Rushdan, and Michelle Wallace! Thanks to you all.

There is this quote I heard from the rapper Ludacris that said, “passion is energy.”

I’ve also heard that when you’re searching for your passion, “You should do the thing that gives you energy.”

Most of the time I feel this way about writing, but somedays, not so much. Take today for example:  The plan was to get off of work early and make it to the library by six in order to have three uninterrupted hours of writing. I managed to get off on time, but first I had to drop a package off at the UPS Store. I went to three UPS Stores before I found one open and the traffic to get to that one was a beating. By this time I was starving. Instead of a nice energizing meal, I grab and chicken sandwich and fries from Wendy’s and eat it in the car while trying to avoid hitting anyone.  By the time I made it to the library, I was exhausted, frustrated, and full. I wanted to lay my head down and take a nap. 

Instead, I flip through my scene list and found the first kiss scene, one of my favorite scenes to write in a book and proceed to plow through it.  When I looked up two hours later I got 1700 words in and it came out pretty good for a first draft.

The library is kicking me out with this annoying song they play, but I wanted to ask: What do you do to energize yourself when your exhausted, but still need to write? Do some scenes energize you more then others? 

A big thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, J.L. Campbell, Susan Gorley, Joylene Nowell Butler, Michelle Wallace, L. Diane Wolfe, and Lynda R. Young for their work on the IWSG website. I is a sanctuary for writers. Thank you!

My Weekly Update – It’s Back

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle7 Comments

All I want for NaNo Bloghop

nanobloghop

J.A Bennett and her friends created this anthology with all proceeds going to NaNoWriMo. The Spirit of Christmas is now available for purchase. Make sure you get your copy here!

To celebrate, me and my co-authors Jessica Salyer, David Powers King, Kelley Lynn, andCassie Mae are doing a bloghop.

My NaNo wish? All I want for NaNo is a few “in the zone” writing sessions and a completed first draft. That’s not to much to ask.

NYC Midnight – 2013 Flash Fiction Challenge

This has been a really cool contest. I placed fifth in my group in the first round. I was given the prompts of wrote a humorous story, located in a rain forest and had to mention a water balloons. Kind of random, right, but I wrote a strange, but amusing story about a robot and his crazy master. I will post it once I receive the feedback. They combine the scores for round #1 and #2 and round #2’s prompts – Horror, Tattoo Parlour and a pair of high heels.  My mind is already racing.

#NaNoWriMo 2013

In case you haven’t heard (haha), NaNoWriMo has official begun. This is year number two for me and I had a great first three days. I also had the opportunity to do a write in. Something I missed from my previous WriMo. It’s fun to hang out with other writers, and share this crazy experience. Here is one of my #NaNoWriMo Daily Journal from last week.

Date: November 2, 2013
Word Count:  1737
Observations:  I missed out on a write in at a local Irish pub, it’s to early in nano for life to get in the way.  Still, I was able to meet the Nano daily goal. A little less then my personal goal, but I also finished my outline and had to write my short story for the Flash Fiction Challenge Round #2. All in all, a productive day of writing. Working on the outline, the story went in a slightly different direction then I had intended. The absolute best reason why outlines are the way to go. The story didn’t quite work the other way, but now it’s more interesting and I created more tension. The scene I wrote today included the moment when the guy sees the girl for the first time. I’ve never written first person guys POV. It’s  a challenge. What does a guy say to himself when he sees a beautiful women for the first time? Is it all about sex. Would a guy describe how her smile warms his heart? I have no idea. Might need to do some male research. I also talked about how her perfect ass made him want to grab it. Maybe a mix of both will work. It helps that my guy has mommy and daddy issues. Allows me some leeway in the emotional department. 
 

Sports Updates

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox – 2013 World Series Champions.

NHL season started a couple of week. Go Stars!!!

NBA season started this week. Go Mavs!!!

I have denounced my citizenship to Cowboy Nation, but my sweet Peyton is having an amazing years, so I am officially a Broncos fan. I lived there for two years, so I’m allowed.

What do you want from NaNo? Do you ever join these type of contests? Have you ever won? What is your current word count? Have you ever given up on your favorite team? 

Game On Bloghop! – Sports Crush

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle15 Comments

No big surprise, I am a sports fan and I have talked about my sports crush here, and here. A small mention here and here, and even here.  So, Mr. Aikman has been covered on sydneyaaliyah.com.

But, I guess I could pick another crush in order to support my friend Kyra Lennon on the release of the 2nd edition of Game One and the new covers for the series. As someone who appreciates the romance surrounding the world of sports, I was excited for this Bloghop. First, Bloghop Rules!GameOn Bloghop

The Game On Series is centered around a soccer team in the U.S, and those of you who have already read the books will know the hottie of the series is Radleigh McCoy. Between October 28th and October 31st, I want to hear from you about your sporting crushes!

Does David Beckham do it for you? What about swimming sensations Michael Phelps or Rebecca Adlington? When did you first notice your sporting crush, and what do you like best about them? Have you ever been lucky enough to see them in action? Please keep posts to a maximum of 500 words.

Another one of my sport crushes:

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 

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I love his North Carolina accent and his laid back personality. I love that he loves Jay Z and Elvis Presley, equally. Check him out in Jay Z’s, Show Me What you Got Video.

I never meet Dale, Jr., but my mother did. She went to a banquet where he was honoring her boss along with some other important people.  I was supposed to go, but couldn’t get out of a work trip.  He signed an autograph for me, though. It said, “Hey Syd., Can’t believe you’re not here. Next time. Dale, Jr.” – SWOON!!!!

Now it’s your turn, tell me about your sports crush? 

Fractured Legacy by Skye Callahan – Character Interview

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle4 Comments
Cole, thanks so much for your time. I am excited to get to know you better.Hi Sydney, nice to meet you!
 
Tell me a little about yourself. Well, my name is really Nicole but I’ve gone by Cole since elementary school—the name still tends to throw people off. When clients are told to expect Cole Anderson, they don’t usually expect a girl to show up. I work for a research organization called Aicil and we specialize in paranormal activity and artifacts.
 
You are Kaylyn’s younger sister, but you kind of baby her, why is that? Kaylyn can be…flighty. I love her to death, but it’s hard to keep up with her. Half the time, I don’t even want to know how her mind works. She can be brilliant, but that also means she gets bored easily, and when Kaylyn gets bored, oh Lord, can she get into trouble… I probably understand her better than most people do, but that isn’t saying much. 
 
How did you two get along as kids?Pretty much the same as we do now. Except back then, we hunted down imaginary bad guys on bicycles that were horses one day and motorcycles the next. We argued over which Power Ranger was the cutest and chatted around bonfires as often as possible.
 
You have a very unique and some may say unbelievable job, how did you get into this line of work? Kay and I were always into weird stuff, hanging out in cemeteries, reading ghost stories, researching strange myths… But we have an uncle who works as a bail bond recovery agent, and we always wanted to work with him. We learned self-defense and bow to handle guns before we learned to drive, and after I turned 18, we spent a year working for him. One day we were approached by Carlisle who wanted us to handle a private case—which all turned out to be a test to see if we were fit to be paranormal investigators. And that led to our employment with Aicil.
 
Do you have to have some paranormal sixth sense to do this kind of work? No, you just have to be willing to see things that most people overlook. We all have our strengths, and some do have a kind of sense for paranormal beings, but we rely on instinct and each other to get the job done.
 
Do you enjoy working with your sister? Sometimes, but I’m sure that would be true of all siblings. Our relationship gives us some advantages—we know how to read each other and our relationship makes it easier to be open and candid with each other, most of the time.
 
Kaylyn doesn’t seem to have very good luck with men, how is your love life?I’ve been with Dan for about two and a half years, but we’ve known each other since high school. It is hard when I can’t tell him exactly what I do for a living, but I think we’ve built up a good foundation of trust, so he doesn’t really push when I tell him I can’t talk.
 
Do you offer Kaylyn relationships advice? How does she take it? Kaylyn takes relationship advice about the same way she takes any advice–with snarky comments. She’s stubborn beyond all reason.
 
What did you think of your new boss, Jonah, when you first meet him? I don’t know. To be honest I was more concerned with the trouble Kaylyn had already gotten into. I had a lot of other things on my mind, but I respected that he came in to do a job. A lot of what he told Kaylyn was exactly what I and her training partner tried to tell her for years. I think some structure will do her good.
And, no I didn’t fail to notice his dreamy accent, hazel eyes, or the way his suits kind of…never mind…
 
 You warned your sister not to do anything inappropriate with him, but you sounded kind of jealous, too. Am I reading that wrong? Well, it’s not like he isn’t good looking, but as I said, Kaylyn can be a bit flighty. Especially where relationships are concerned. After she dated my training partner, he transferred to an office in another country and I had to get a new mentor. I had been training with Rocky for a year and a half! Maybe it wasn’t her fault, but all we need is for her to have a fling with the new boss . . .
 
Without giving up to much, does what you find out about Kaylyn help you understand her better? Geez, I still haven’t figured out how to process any of that. Between dealing with that and my fiance and his family, we all have a lot of pieces to try and put together in some way that makes sense. I hope knowing the truth about her past inspires Kaylyn to open up more, but we’ll have to wait and see.
 
Thanks so much for your honesty, Cole and good luck. Thanks for having me! You remembered to sign that confidentiality agreement right? Aicil will kill me if any of this gets out. 
 

If you are enjoying Cole’s interview, that means Aicil didn’t shut me down for disregarding the confidentiality agreement. 

Fractured Legacy

Available on Amazon, October 22, 2013.
Fractured LegacyKaylyn Anderson’s fascination with abandoned places and dark creatures kindled her work as a paranormal investigator. But when dreams begin to distort reality, she questions what is real and pulls away from everyone she trusts. The opportunity to investigate the Teague Hotel–a long-abandoned landmark that has always piqued her curiosity–provides a chance to redeem herself. Unraveling the hotel’s secrets won’t be easy, but Kaylyn soon finds herself the target of a dark entity that has been trapped in the building for decades.
If Kaylyn stands any chance of defeating the spirit, she’ll have to accept that her fears are real and convince fellow investigators that she hasn’t lost her mind.
Goodreads |Wattpad

About the Author: Skye Callahan

Skye Callahan was born and raised in Ohio and has seen enough unbelievable stuff to feed a lifetime of paranormal stories. When not writing or working at the dayjob, she hangs out with her ethnomusicologist husband and pet ferrets, reads, and takes long walks through the cemetery.
Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

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Visit all 14 blogs to collect the words for the passcode to enter the Giveaway!
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Tour Schedule:
October 14- A Creative Mind
October 15-Sunshine & Mountains Book Reviews
October 16-My Beautiful NightMare
October 17-Room With Books
October 18-Ch’kara SilverWolf
October 19-Amber Daulton Author
October 20-All in a Book
October 21-Dawna Raver
October 22-Release Day BLITZ!!
October 23-Depression is my Illusion but Books are my Reality & Books A to Z
October 24-Once Upon a YA Book & Taylor Grace
October 25-Sydney Aaliyah & Because Reading is better than real life

Related Post:  Sydney Reviews Fractured Legacy by Skye Callahan

The Faerie War by Rachel Morgan – It’s a Book Blitz

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle6 Comments
Teaser 7
It’s party time!!! 

Today is the official online release of Rachel Morgan‘s third Creepy Hollow novel, The Faerie War. After that cliffhanger at the end of the second book, fans can finally find out what happens to Violet and everyone else in Creepy Hollow. If you’d like to get your copy, you can find it at the following online stores, plus a few others:

There are seven other teaser images displayed on various blogs today. Visit the other fabulous bloggers, below.

1. A Bookish Escape (1) 2. Cherie Reich – Author (1)
3. Refracted Light Reviews (1) 4. Second Book to the Right (2)
5. Alex J. Cavanaugh (2) 6. Jessica Loves Books (2)
7. The Peasants Revolt (3) 8. Ellie Garratt (3)
9. Queendsheena (3) 10. J.L. Campbell (4)
11. Cathy Keaton Writes (4) 12. Juliana Haygert (4)
13. Random Things In Action (5) 14. Some Like It Paranormal (5)
15. Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer (5) 16. In Between – Adriana Dascalu (6)
17. Annalisa Crawford (6) 18. The Book Hookup (6)
19. Sydney Aaliyah Michelle (7) 20. Krista McLaughlin (7)
21. Cally Jackson Writes (7) 22. The Rest Is Still Unwritten (7)
23. Author Jacqueline Gardner (8) 24. Tia Bach – Author (8)
25. Queekie Girl Reads (8) 26. Kittie Howard (8)
27. The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club (1)
And there’s a major giveaway going on!

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