Announcement!

Ok peeps! Our anthology is eBook live. However the publishing platform that we used had a small snafu. The paperback edition has been delayed for a month. So we are offering the link for ebooks only at the moment and preparing for more fun until the paperback edition is published.
Also if you are interested in a signed copy it is $25 + $3(US only. Canada and international is more. Just pm me for shipping costs there) Shipping. Please let us know, so that we can order the appropriate amount and arrange for all of the signatures.

The buy link for the Ebook is http://www.books2read.com/underthemists

Creative commonality

When prowling through the interwebs and the dark reaches of social media, I have noticed something. Artists, authors, and other creatives all have certain traits.

1.) Self Doubt – Finding true confidence in any creative seems to be rare. Now I am not talking about the bravado that many of us put forth. That image of confidence that we want the world to see. Nope, I am talking about true confidence. That feeling that we are worthy, that we are enough.

2.) High Intelligence and Empathy – though there is a variance… I have seen those who are naturally creative as often being likely to be both highly intelligent and highly empathetic.

3.) Needs validity – Imposter syndrome is so common. That fear of failure. The fear of not being as good as others. So we seek the praise of those viewing the work we do.

4.) Searching – creative people search. For like minds. For a target audience. For ways to improve.

Those are a strong enough issue among us that it creates struggles and stigmas among the creative community. So I thought that I would touch on the topic and offer suggestions on how to overcome.

1.) Breathe – as cliche as it sounds… Stepping away from the issue and breathing may be just what you need. It allows for the work to be less of a focus and lets you look at it more rationally.

2.) Find like minds – Look for people like yourself. There are groups on social media. (Send us a message if you need help finding good ones… We can recommend some.) Or if you are not a joiner, find a select few who can encourage you and help with critique and feedback. This is how you improve.

3.) Self esteem building – there are so many possible options here. You can Google search for a few good exercises. You have to love you before you can love your own work.

I know that you have heard this all before. This is not new content. It is just my reminder to each of you that you matter. You are worthy. You are enough. You are bringing beauty into a world that needs it desperately. Please continue. And if you have that moment when you feel so lost… Reach out.

Post Launch and Future Plans

It is the day after release day of our first anthology, Under the Mists: A Dark Fae Anthology and we are already planning our second anthology. I’ll be posting a call for submissions on Monday. Anyone interested will have until end of January 2020 to submit their short story under the theme of Light Fae. More information will be posted Monday, July 29th so make sure to come back and check it out! 

Teaser Time

With today being Wednesday and so many doing Wordless Wednesday posts… We decided to let the teasers speak for the anthology.If you have not pre-ordered your digital copy, there is still time.

Author Spotlight Tish MacWebber

Today we are looking at the amazing author Tish MacWebber. A lot of what you need to know is in her bio.

” Tish Mac Webber’s writing is her purpose, creativity is her passion, and jewellery designing is her pleasure.
She is the author who is Always Thinking… the jewellery designer who is Always Blinging…and her superpower is always being full of surprises!

#Tishspiration, her latest creation, is defined as the art of surprising yourself. She is inspired by the ocean, especially where the Atlantic Ocean kisses the beaches of Cape Breton Island, where her own story began.

Tish MacWebber, Always Blinging… her jewellery designing hobby is the latest addition to her website. Her speciality is creating one of a kind, custom designs for her clients. She loves to delight her customers with her interpretations of what they order, staying true to her gifts of being full of surprises, and putting her talents to full use.

In October 2018, her first book, From Where I am Sitting… A Collection of Cat Tales was published and is available on Amazon. It will be accompanied by her Limited Cat Tales Jewellery Collection, which can also be found on her website. Tish MacWebber is currently writing her second book, in which she will explore her concept of #Tishspiration. You can find more information about these and other projects at https://tishmacwebber.com/

Tish credits the inspiration for her first book to a friend who passed away due to cancer. However, she has been writing since school. She writes song lyrics, poetry, and stories. Currently the endearing adventures of an adopted kitten, Jazzy, dominate her blog.

She has been blogging since 2017. She wanted to share her music, and hopefully inspire others with her writing. She is a creative soul, who is fond of beads. She designs cute jewelry and is learning cross stitch.

She chose to be an indie author because it would allow her complete control over her work. She has found that there is a lot to learn about the process. She recommended finding writing support groups/communities either locally to meet your peers in person, or online to find others who can help you to achieve your goal of writing a book, if you are an aspiring indie author.

Her first book “From where I am sitting” is a collection of cat tales told by the cats. I found it to be so very fun to read. I think that you would as well. Tish will have a story in our anthology releasing soon, Under The Mists.

*Edit: Tish pointed out a small error on my part. She has been doing cross stitch for some time all ready. And the Jazzy chronicles are over on the coffee house writers blog . We are so very glad to be working with Tish. Show her love!

Winter Whimsy by Serena Mossgraves

Ever wonder where snowflakes come from? The faeries have a history for all of the first events, even the first snowflake. History has a mischevious little frost faery making much of what is now winter standard.

She was created from the ice that ran down the mountainside. No other was like her, as winter was quite the desolate time. Dreary cold and ice had everyone else just hiding inside. She was named Snow after the mountain ice she came from. Oh the mountain snow was beautiful, just didn’t have the individuality we know today. The faery was gorgeous, tiny with skin like porcelin, eyes of the clearest blue. She was stunning to behold.
Snow was unlike any of her kind who had been made before. Most frost faerys were cold in nature, purposeful and driven to do what frost does…Snow was not. She was whimsical, and enjoyed fun things. She was creative, with a mischevious streak. This led her to get in a lot of trouble with the other fae.
Snow would lay traps, build statues from ice, and generally do things to have fun. Nothing harmful, just all in fun. She found the snow too hard to use in her jokes, so she looked for a way to soften it. She wanted to throw it at people, in balls to see the look on their faces. At first she tried to heat it, hoping it would soften. To her dismay, the ice melted, creating a slush that only got in the way. She decided that the heat was not what she needed, but was not sure what she did need.
Next, in her search, Snow thought perhaps a hammer! Let us shatter the ice to make it softer! The snow shattered, but it was sharper and made it more difficult to use for her pranks. She didn’t want to hurt anyone after all. She needed to find a way to soften it so she could throw it easily. She searched feverishly for a way to work out this problem.
Snow tried using magic, and found that the snow went white, and opaque. Though she found it to be more lovely, it was still too hard. She tried to use an axe, to find it did the same as a hammer. Frustrated, Snow sought out the wise owl of the forest for advice. She wanted to see if he could solve the dilemma that she faced. She was determined that she must find a way to soften the snow. She felt desperation, and it confused her. Faeries were rarely desperate. Nature kept faeries doing what they were born to do. Snow was an aberration. She was a frost faerie with a warm personality and a Whimsical sense of humor.
Not that being an aberration was really bad. It meant that she was unique, and special. Though each faerie was unique, so many were so similar that being this different was enough to create a feeling in her of being alone. The trip to the great owl was a scary one. Snow was small, and everything around the forest was so overpoweringly big. His home was in the great oak in the center of the forest, where even the sun had trouble being seen.
All of the faeries knew that the old owl was great and wise. He was ancient like the trees he lived in. His feathers were all gray with the years he had lived. Faeries lived short little lives, so many did not understand age, nor the wisdom that went with. Snow understood that the owl knew things she could not. He would, she hoped, be able to tell her how to make the snow soft. She wanted to throw it. She thought it might be fun to play in.
Snow felt like the faeries were too serious. None of the other frost faeries seemed to want to play. She felt like she could bring joy by teaching them how to play. For such a young faery Snow had a definite ideals about what was good and bad in the world around her. She saw it as a reason to be silly.
The owl was walking onto the outside branch of his home as Snow flew up. He ruffled his feathers as he settled onto the branch. Seeing the excitement in the young faery, he knew his hunt for the night would be postponed for a while. “Who are you? And why are you here?” He hooted at her.
Snow did an overbalanced curtsy that nearly had her falling from the tree. After she caught herself and got situated on the branch, she answered the severe old owl. “I seek your wisdom, Old master owl. I am the frost faery named Snow. I want to use the snow for fun and for play. I have tried to soften it in multiple ways. Heat only made a slush, which wasn’t fun with which to play. Hammers sharpened it, cutting anything that touches it. All then becoming too uncomfortable with which to play. I tried my magic, without hesitation or delay. It colored white, and appeared quite opaque. Still, too hard with which to form and play. Please, master owl, what advice have you?”
The Owl studiously fixed the young faery with a glare. Watching as she squirmed he answered with a knowledgeable air. “Your magic you tried, on the outside it’s true. Try it again on the inside won’t you? Add little holes throughout the solid snow, and then I think you will find it soft enough indeed.” With that statement, he flew off into the night. Quickly Snow found that he was nowhere in sight.
opaque. Still, too hard with which to form and play. Please, master owl, what advice have you?”
The Owl studiously fixed the young faery with a glare. Watching as she squirmed he answered with a knowledgeable air. “Your magic you tried, on the outside it’s true. Try it again on the inside won’t you? Add little holes throughout the solid snow, and then I think you will find it soft enough indeed.” With that statement, he flew off into the night. Quickly Snow found that he was nowhere in sight.
Stunned, she mummered to herself. “Magic the inside, indeed. I should have thought of that all by myself. The old owl’s wisdom that was rumored has been proven true.” With that thought, Snow flew off herself. To the mountain she flew, high into the clouds. She settled herself where the snow she was named for lay about the ground.
Snow cast her magic, to poke little holes. The white ice shattered into flakes of soft and white. Making it perfect to have a snowball fight. She taught the faeries winter play, and is the reason for the snowflakes that we see today.

Serena Mossgraves

Today’s Author Spotlight is the talented Serena Mossgraves.

Serena

She is one of our darker authors, specializing in weaving horror and dark fantasy short stories and novels that will have you cowering under your covers at night.

She’s been writing for approximately four years and does so because she has ‘an urge to scare” and wants to “explore the darker side of human nature.” She chose to be an Indie Author because she doesn’t like being told she can’t do something, so she pushes herself to proves others wrong.

When asked if she has hobbies she told us this: “Yes. I enjoy crawling around on the interwebs looking for spiders to pet. I enjoy listening to creepy videos and horror memes. I enjoy chemical experimentation.”

She lives in the deepest reaches of the demonweb pits and when asked about family or pets, she said ‘Does the ghost chained in my attic count?”

As for dealing with any kind of writer’s block, she said “Just beat it with a hammer!”

She is published (look for her books here: Amazon ) and she has a website, which you can find here: Serena

I hope you all enjoyed learning about Miss Mossgraves and that you will check out her stories if dark and spooky is your thing!

Tune in tomorrow for our Creative Spotlight, and come back on Friday to read about our resident cat lady, Tish MacWebber!

 

Author Spotlight Cyndi Pilcher

Today we bring you our own Cyndi Pilcher. A wonderful writer good at telling tales of fantasy for the young and the young at heart.

She writes cute children’s books, and adventure filled young adult stories. Her blog, Redbird’s Storytime is a fun place where she shares updates and stories about her faeries.

She credits her eighth grade teacher Mr. January with her love of writing. She said that she chose to be an Indie author because of the control it grants her. She has quite a lot of experience writing, over 35 years worth! We look forward to reading all of the stories that she has to tell!

Patricia Harris

Hi everyone and welcome to our Author Spotlight! Today we have Patti Harris, who goes by Patricia Harris for her poetry and children’s books. She has been writing for 35 years thanks to her grandmother who started her love of storytelling and poetry.

She tells us that she chose to be an Indie Author because it allows her creative control and she has quite a few books published. You can find her work on Amazon and her blog: Pattimouse

When she isn’t giving us amazing thought-provoking poems or amusing children’s adventures, she makes resin and jewelry, she reads, she crotchets, and does beautiful digital art and paintings.

She lives in West Virginia, USA with her long term boyfriend and daughter and also has two sons, and two adorable grandsons.

We asked her if she deals with writer’s block and how she deals with it. She told us she does get blocked and she searches for prompts to get her juices flowing or she brainstorms with her friends.

I hope you all enjoyed learning about our amazing Patti Harris and make sure to get over to her blog and show her some love or even better, head to Amazon and buy her books!

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