Wednesday, August 03, 2016

The Insecure Writer's Support Group and Cover Reveals

It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

This month's question:
What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

Hopefully it’s turned to dust! It was awful. Inspired by all the angst that is 8th grade.

I wrote hundreds of short stories after that and still have all of my notebooks. They’re horrible, too, but there’s probably a couple good ideas in there. LOL Like I need any more right now!

What about you?


I’m also revealing two great covers today! (And yes, I’m biased.)


Cling to God
By Lynda Young
Print ISBN 9781939844279
eBook ISBN 9781939844286
Non-Fiction/Devotional

Cling to God is a book of devotionals for every day of the year. The aim is to encourage Christians in their faith, to help them think about their beliefs and learn more about God. The devotions are short and inspirational so that people with busy lifestyles will still able to spend time with the Lord each day. It will appeal to a wide Christian audience, to those new in their faith as well as those matured beyond milk and honey.

Release date - October 18, 2016 from Freedom Fox Press



The Remnant
By William Michael Davidson
Print ISBN 9781939844293
eBook ISBN 9781939844309
Science Fiction

Release date - February 7, 2017 from Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

59 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

I'm sure Diane deep down you hold affection for your first attempt at writing whether it's gathering dust or not. It was a start of things to come in the future.
GTwo excellent books mentioned here also.
Yvonne.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yeah, all too often our first attempts at writing are awful, but we have to start somewhere!
Thank you so much for sharing the awesome news about my book and I love, love, love the cover. In fact, I love the covers of both books!

Mason Canyon said...

Congrats to Lynda and William. Both books have very eye catching covers.

Thoughts in Progress
and MC Book Tours

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane - love the two covers ... I haven't written a book - other than a few books of posts ... but I can see my writing has evolved to the relaxed posts I put up today ... cheers Hilary

Tamara Narayan said...

I tried to write a horror/V.C.Andrews inspired thing when I was twelve. Got about 200 pages into it and quit. Thank goodness. It was bad.

Excellent looking covers!

Jemi Fraser said...

Good ol' elementary school writing! Glad it disappears too! :)
Great covers!!

Nicki Elson said...

Oh, pretty! These are both great covers - that so fit the genres.

When I was in 8th grade, the stories stayed only in my head. Sometimes I wish I'd have written the down...but most of the time I'm so, so glad I didn't, hehe.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, L. Diane,

I only wrote a bit of poetry in my early years, but they were fun.... My first REAL paper was in college. Which my professor lined up for publication. I never really pursued it because I had other aspirations at that time. Stupid me... lol.

But we learn as we age...

Chrys Fey said...

I still have all of my old notebooks from high school, too!

I'll have Lynda on my blog Friday. :)

And oh my gosh. The cover for The Remnant. It took me a moment to even recognize it. That cover is cool.

Bish Denham said...

I have quite a few things from high school, and several novels that will never see the light of day.

Wonderful covers! Congratulations Lynda and William!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Lynda, you're welcome, and I'm pleased you really like the cover.

Michael, we do learn.

Chrys, my husband did a great job with that cover and the author really likes it.

emaginette said...

Odds are, there are a lot more than one. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

Michelle Wallace said...

Hopefully it's turned to dust? No, Diane. It can't be that bad...
Though I have to admit I feel the same way about those angsty teen poems I wrote in grade 10. I think they're hidden deep in the cubbyhole of my mum's room. (Hopefully turned to dust... he!he!)

Two great covers!
Congrats to both authors!

Carol Kilgore said...

Congrats to both authors. Great covers!
I wrote all kinds of things in jobs I had before I started writing fiction, so I really don't remember the first thing I wrote as a writer. It probably got sent back more than once :)

Chemist Ken said...

My first piece of writing was absolute crap, a Star Trek ripoff where the bad guys were called Kosmons (instead of Klingons). Too bad I don't still have a copy of it.

Sandra Cox said...

Woo Hoo! Congrats to Lynda and William!

Pat Garcia said...

Hi,
Both covers that you revealed are great. Love both of them. As for your stories that you have hidden away, maybe there are one or two that are worth looking at and revising.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I didn't keep any of my writing from high school or college. I never thought about writing as a career then. The Remnant looks like science fiction. I want it.

Cherie Reich said...

Congrats to Lynda and William! I really love the cover for The Remnant!

cleemckenzie said...

Short stories are hard to write. You chose to tackle one of the hardest bits of writing there is. Poetry and picture books being next in line. But that's my humble opinion. I'll bet there are gems hidden in those stories, and you'll recognize them now if you go through them again with a more experienced eye.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I found an old manuscript yesterday in the basement. Dates back to 1992. Maybe I'll read it soon. Meanwhile, I doubt anything you've written isn't full of potential. And yeah, life is too short. But keep up the great work. You are an inspiration.

Haddock said...

Like Lynda said, our first attempts at writing are awful, and for some it takes off in a beautiful way.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Those are beautiful covers and they both sound like great books

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations to Lynda! And that other cover just rocks. I'll have to read it when it comes out.

Crystal Collier said...

Yay for Lynda!

I really like the cover fro The Remnant. Very cool.

Juneta key said...

Funny I told stories in my school days but more like a bard all verbal, only a few poetry type things got written in a journal. That is cool you still have yours. I lost all my old stuff in flood in 1989.

Great covers. Congrats, Lynda and William.

Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Michelle, I have a lot of those, too, although I always thought of them as songs instead.

Ken, Kosmons - LOL.

Susan, it is! Very cool story.

Juneta, sorry you lost yours.

Jennifer Hawes said...

That devotional book looks amazing! Same for the Remnant. I still have a few stories I penned back in middle school. LOL

Loni Townsend said...

Great covers! And ha! You made me laugh with your wish for your story to be dust. :)

Karen Lange said...

Thanks for sharing the exciting news! Both books look interesting. Congrats to Lynda and William.

Anonymous said...

They are both great covers! Congratulations to Lynda and William!

I have a journal of some of my writing from first creative writing class. Now that's a hoot! I should dig that out one of these days. :)

J E Oneil said...

Ooh, eighth grade. Yeah, it's probably good that it never see the light of day. I don't even want to think about the things I wrote back then.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

It's fun and funny to read childhood writings, isn't it? I'm glad you kept them, even though you're embarrassed by them. They were the building blocks to the wonderful writer you are today.

Congratulations to Lynda and William!

Anonymous said...

I have to admit, I love the reveal for the devotional. I'm getting more and more into them truth be told. I received a copy recently of Daily Inspirations for the Purpose Driven and love it. Reading the Bible without help is confusing for me, so this would be right up my alley. A little bias never hurt, right? :) I'm going to add it to my purchase list.

Have a fantastic week! Hugs, Eva

M Pax said...

Congratulations to the two exceptional authors! Fabulous covers.

kimlajevardi.com said...

Middle school writing is indeed something that should never see the light of day. I did my share of that as well, and I'd be so embarrassed to see it reappear now.

Congrats to William and Lynda!

Kristin Smith said...

Congrats to Lynda and William!

Yes, mine are collecting dust too. Maybe I'll pull them out someday... ;)

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

It's kind of neat to look back at our early work and see how much we've improved. I cringe to think I actually sent some of them out.
Congratulations on the forthcoming books. Gorgeous covers for sure.

Sheena-kay Graham said...

We writers all started somewhere Diane. Nice double cover reveal. Cling to God looks beautiful and The Remnant looks amazingly foreboding.

Dean K Miller said...

Very nice covers! Oh, those first pages of written words...something we all remember and don't want anyone to read!

Jenni said...

I think I wrote a few angsty things in 8th grade too. Unfortunately, I got rid of almost all my teen writing, which I still regret. It'd be nice to look back on it and see how much I've changed.
Both these cover are so beautiful!

Elizabeth Alsobrooks said...

Great covers, and I wish I had kept my teenage writing too!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Those are excellent covers -- I especially like the green with white flowers on Cling to God.

Diane Burton said...

I remember 8th grade. Ugh. Thank goodness, we all move on. Great cover reveals. Thanks for sharing.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I've got all my old writing...scary to read it sometimes!

Love the covers. Remnant's robot looking off to the side is amazing.

Dihiwi said...

Nice name, by the way! I too like the covers - did you design both of them? I see you are with Dancing Lemur Press... I just joined the IWSG and love it! I'm #256, In my own words. WIP is a cozy mystery. Have a great weekend!

Denise Covey said...

L Diane, congrats on Freedom Fox getting these awesome-looking books out there. Hope the publishing business is doing well and your own writing too!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic cover reveals. I didn't keep anything from my middle school years.

Sandra Cox said...

They are great covers! And I'm excited to hear about Alex's audio.

Stina said...

When I was nine years old, my friend and I started to co-write a MG mystery novel. I think we only got to chapter 2 before we lost steam (we didn't plot or figure out our characters ahead of time). It is no more. I'm sure we chucked it way back then. lol

Sandra Cox said...

Enjoy your Tuesday:)

Nick Wilford said...

I bet that first attempt wouldn't seem so bad now if you got your hands on it. We've all got to start somewhere!

Congrats to both authors. Both great covers in different ways.

Anonymous said...

It's great that you kept all those old notebooks. You never know what hidden gem might be in there. Congrats to Lynda and William on their upcoming books! And I agree about the covers. Very nice!

Sandra Cox said...

My first novel is definitely collecting dust.

LD Masterson said...

I still have mine. A never quite finished novel I started in high school. I come across it from time to time and read a bit. Sometimes I laugh. Usually I cringe and shake my head. It was truly awful.

klahanie said...

Hi Diane,

Here's to Lynda and Bill having much success when their books get released.

My first story was about dust. Okay, I'm kidding. I was actually quite ambitious. At the grand old age of nine, I submitted a play to the Canadian Broadcasting Company. I was convinced I would win the mighty first prize of a six transistor radio! Alas, I never even go word back about my play. It was a spoof about Robin Hood and his merry men.

Wishing you a pleasant weekend.

Gary

Sherry Ellis said...

I still have my first manuscript from when I was eight years old. It was a fantasy story called, "Kingdom in the Clouds." It's not published, but it is fun to go back and read what my eight-year-old mind conjured up!

Unknown said...

I think my first pieces of writing were in school too, and thankfully long consigned to the garbage and forgotten. Yay for your new authors and their covers!

Sandra Cox said...

Have a great weekend, Diane.