Mornings With Marie - February 2022
Good morning from GMT+8! 🍰☕️ (Yes, that’s my actual breakfast, LOL.)
My name is Marie, and it’s very nice to meet you all. I’m an accountant by day and a creative at heart — I mean, the first thing I learned in uni is that accounting is an art 🤣 — and a new fantasy author just learning the ropes of self-publishing… which actually involves a lot more marketing and finance than I initially realized! 😅
I’m here to share with you how my writing journey is going, what I’ve learned so far, and the crazy things I’ve been up to. Because sometimes you just don’t know how a thing’s gonna go unless you dive right in and take the plunge, right?
But first: have a puppy pic! This is Leo, my baby brother and favorite workmate. 😊 How about you, do you have any pets? I’d love to see pictures! 😍
Story of the Month
Remember what I said about being a newbie writer? Yeah, my timelines kind of got all jumbled up oops 😅 so I’ll be sending out this month’s free story along with a special deal on Valentine’s Day instead! Everything should then go as scheduled by March, but the story will remain exclusive until the end of that month, not February. 💋
Project Updates
I’m officially part of #MonThology! Bree Gary has herded such a crazy talented huge group to build a City of Monsters that would lead up to at least one anthology of monsters… and maybe even more. (Likely so much more, really. 😎) My monster is the Bulalakaw, which is our local term for shooting star, but don’t think for a hot second that we’re talking about cute fairy stars here! This is the version of the myth that inspired my version of the creature. ☄️
I’m also officially part of the RomanceClass x KOMIKET collab project to create Filipino romance comics! My story is a time travel romance entitled You May Now Chase The Bride, because of course time travel. 🕚
I’ve also joined the Seriality Fiction team as a romance/drama author! If you’re into serials, this could be a place for you. Seriality’s goal is to share stories through weekly updates, one chapter at a time — think Netflix for readers. 📖
And for Hotel Fen news:
Meri and I are still working our way through the first draft of the sequel, Monster Ridge.
Author, audiobook narrator and crafter extraordinaire Rebecca Lemke may or may not be working on something Hotel Fen related. Maybe. I mean, we’ve been tweeting about yelling in Norwegian… though idk maybe we’re just talking about Frozen reenactments. HMMM 🤭
Writing Opportunities
Syncopation Literary Journal Short Story Contest (Deadline: 4 April 2022)
They are seeking music-themed short stories. Submissions must be between 1,500 and 7,500 words, written in English, and cannot be previously published or under consideration by another journal, publisher, or contest. Winners will be announced on 2 May 2022. No fee to enter.Brilliant Flash Fiction's Welcome 2022 Writing Contest with Pamela Painter (Deadline: 15 April 2022)
No prompt or theme, no entry fee. Maximum 500 words, excluding title. Prizes: $200 first prize, $100 second prize, $50 third prize. Shortlisted stories receive $20 and publication. Results will be announced on 30 June 2022.Chicken Soup for the Soul: Cats (Deadline: 30 May 2022)
They want stories about your cats. True funny stories, heartwarming stories, mindboggling stories. What have you learned from your cat? How does your cat improve your life? What crazy things does your cat do? Has your cat ever done anything heroic? How does your cat warm your heart and make you smile?
Writing Resources
I learned from a fellow fantasy author, Teri Polen, that ProWritingAid is hosting a virtual Fantasy Writers’ Week from 28 February to 3 March — and it’s free! If you can’t make it to the sessions during the times offered, they’ll be available via replay for one week after the event too. Check out this page for more information.
Since TikTok is all the rage these days, this episode of Mark Dawson’s The Self Publishing Show talks about finding a reading audience on TikTok, and figuring out how TikTok drives book sales. There are other nuggets too, like the challenges of a writing partnership, and how readers are leading the way based on what they want to read. (If you’ve been successful with TikTok, I salute you! I can’t with that platform for the life of me 🤣)
And even more Tiktok: 21 Authors on TikTok to Follow for Book Promo Ideas (& LOLs) courtesy of BookBub.
That’s it for now! Thank you so much for your time, and I’ll see you all again on 14 February for some gifts 🎁 Have a great rest of your day! ☀️
xoxo, Marie