Showing posts with label Yvonne Ventresca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yvonne Ventresca. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

A Flashback and Perhaps a Reveal


Where has this year gone?  It seems like mere weeks have passed since the Insecure Writer's Support Group announced the winners of the 2019 Anthology Contest, not a year ago.


Credit: wescreenplay.com


Flashback to December 4, 2019: 
Coming May 5, 2020 - Voyagers: The Third Ghost 
Middle grade historical/adventure

Featuring these stories and authors:
The Third Ghost – Yvonne Ventresca
Winter Days - Katharina Gerlach
Feathered Fire – Roland Clarke
The Ghosts of Pompeii – Sherry Ellis
Dare Double Dare – Louise MacBeath Barbour
The Blind Ship – Bish Denham
A World of Trouble – Rebecca M. Douglass
The Orchard - Beth Anderson Schuck
Return to Cahokia – L.T. Ward
Simon Grey and the Yamamba - Charles Kowalski

That was certainly a thrilling day for each of us ten authors featured in Voyagers: The Third Ghost!

I hope that the winners of the 2020 Anthology Contest will be revealed tomorrow on IWSG Day.  But like everyone else, I'll have to wait and see.
I'm out of the loop this year.





If the winners of the 2020 Anthology Contest are announced tomorrow, 
I'll come back and add them to this post.

Meanwhile, as blog coordinator for the 2019 winners, I'm giving my fellow authors a last twirl or leap in the spotlight.  They are a wonderfully diverse and talented group, and I am honored to be included among them.

Credit: cheezburger.com


One of the pleasures I have enjoyed most during this past year has been reading books published by the Voyagers authors.  If you, as a reader, have not treated yourself to the Voyagers stories or published books by these authors, you are missing out.

Here for a final bow are the ten authors who showcased their talents in the 2020 Insecure Writer's Support Group anthology Voyagers:  The Third Ghost.  Their juvenile fiction stories that earned them a place in the anthology are exciting, suspenseful, and surprising, and they range throughout time and place from from Hoboken to Pompeii, Port Royal, and Cahokia.






Yvonne Ventresca
"The Third Ghost"













Yvonne Ventresca is the author of the award-winning young adult novels Pandemic and Black Flowers, White Lies. In addition, Yvonne has written two nonfiction books and several stories selected for collections, including the previous IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can learn more at YvonneVentresca.com, where she features resources for writers.









Katharina Gerlach
"Winter Days"













Although Katharina Gerlach was born in the late sixties, she’s still a child at heart. She inherited her love of fairy tales and words from her mother, an ex-secretary and avid reader, and her love of all things nature and science from her father, an ex-forester. Memories of her rather interesting life in Germany flow back at the smallest trigger, even though she tends to merge her three brothers into one when she tells stories about their childhood adventures. And more often than not, she recalls events truthfully. Supported by her husband and her three children and distracted by her dog and grandchild, she currently writes stories of varying length in fantastical and historical genres. She runs the Indie Authors’ Advent Calendar each year, a free for all story feast.  Learn more about Katharina at katharinagerlach.com.









Roland Clarke
"Feathered Fire"








After diverse careers, Roland Clarke was an equestrian journalist and green activist when chronic illness hastened retirement. But he hasn’t stopped exploring rabbit holes and writing - mainly mysteries and alternative history. Roland and his wife – both avid gamers - now live in Idaho (USA) with their four fur-babies, although their hearts are in North Wales (UK).  His equestrian thriller Spiral of Hooves is an engaging mystery.  Learn more about Roland  at roland clarke.com.









Sherry Ellis
"The Ghosts of Pompeii"













Sherry Ellis is an award-winning author and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin, viola, and piano. when she is not writing or engaged in musical activities, she can be found doing household chores, hiking, or exploring the world.

Ellis' books include  Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her website at www.sherryellis.org.









Louise MacBeath Barbour
"Dare Double Dare"












Born in Nova Scotia and raised throughout eastern Canada, Louise is a writer and blogger who now lives in Colorado.  She writes fiction and nonfiction with the encouragement of her supportive husband.  A passion for reading, photography, geology, and travel round out her enthusiastic embrace of life.  "Dare Double Dare" is her first published middle grade story.  Learn more about Louise at her blog Standing Into Danger.








Charles Kowalski
"Simon Grey and the Yamamba"












Charles Kowalski invites you to read the full story of Simon, Oyuki, and their adventures through haunted Japan in Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts (Tokyo: Excalibur Books, 2019), and keep an eye out for sequels. In addition to middle-grade fantasy, Charles' thrillers for adults, Mind Virus and The Devil's Son, have won prizes and nominations including the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold Award, the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, and the Adventure Writers Grandmaster Award. Charles lives in Japan with his wife and two young Muses.  He invites you to his website simongreybooks.com.









Bish Denham
"The Blind Ship"













Bish Denham is from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where her family has lived for over a hundred years. The author of two middle grade novels and a collection of retold Jamaican Anansi stories, she says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book.”  Learn more about Bish at her blog bish-randomthoughts.blogspot.









Rebecca M. Douglass
"A World of Trouble"













Rebecca Douglass grew up in Idaho, Arizona, and Washington states, and now lives and writes in California. Her imagination resides where it pleases, in and out of this world. Her passions include backpacking, hiking, books, swimming, biking, and moderately adventurous travel. Rebecca has two grown sons and a husband with whom she travels. Rebecca is the author of the delightful Ninja Librarian books, as well as a picture book for outdoor families, a mystery series for the parents, and her middle-grade fantasy, Halitor the Hero. After more than seventeen years working at the library, she has retired still without learning all the secrets of the Ninja Librarian.  Learn more about Rebecca at her blog ninjalibrarian.com



       


Beth Anderson Schuck
"The Orchard"













Beth Anderson Schuck is a retired librarian who believes reading can take you anywhere. She writes historical fiction featuring willful female characters. Being in nature whether hiking, birdwatching or gardening makes her whole.  Visit Beth at twitter.com.







L.T. Ward
"Return to Cahokia"













LT hails from the Land of Corn, otherwise known as Central Illinois, where weather inspires her literary works. When not writing speculative fiction shorts and novels, she spends her days raising a brood of plague monsters (a.k.a. her children) as well as satisfying her never-ending thirst for knowledge through reading, meeting people, and first-hand life experiences.  Visit LT at Twitter: @Ltward






Till next time ~
Fundy Blue 





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Check out the holiday special of free books from our publisher 
Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.  You can buy a copy of Voyagers and get another book free:  http://www.dancinglemurpressllc.com/press-room




Buy 1 print book, get 1 print book free
Buy 1 eBook, get 1 eBook free
Buy 1 audio book, get 1 audio book free

Print & eBooks – must be purchased directly from Dancing Lemur Press’ website; free book must be same price or lower; when paying, note your desired free book in the comments section; free swag provided with print orders

Audio books – purchase from Audible, iTunes, or Amazon and send us your receipt stating your desired free audio book and we will send you a code for a free audio book; free audio book must be same price or lower
Inquiries AT dancinglemurpressllc DOT com

Offer good through December 10, 2020

Visit Dancing Lemur Press and explore our titles.





You can also order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 
at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic









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Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Yvonne Ventresca's Compelling Young Adult Novel "Pandemic," a Great Read for This Trying Time

Today our blog showcases Yvonne Ventresca, the author whose short story 
"The Third Ghost" won the top honor in the Voyagers anthology, giving the book its title and cover.  Yvonne is sharing the backstory to her award-winning young adult novel Pandemic.

Winner of the Crystal Kite Award
given by The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

 

Behind the Scenes:  Researching Pandemic Before the Current Pandemic

My young adult novel, Pandemic, is a contemporary story about a teenager struggling to survive a deadly flu outbreak. Although it was set in present-day New Jersey (before the current pandemic), I spent time researching the Spanish Flu of 1918 and used that disease as a model for the fictional one in my book.

Here are a few things I learned while researching Pandemic:

• The influenza pandemic of 1918 is commonly called the Spanish Flu, but it didn’t originate in Spain. In March of that year, known cases occurred among soldiers in Kansas. But in June, Spain informed the world of a new disease in Madrid, and the Spanish Flu was belatedly named as it spread worldwide. It killed more Americans than all of World War I. 

• The Spanish flu had a different mortality pattern than previous flu outbreaks, with the highest death rates occurring in adults between the ages of twenty and fifty. The reasons for that pattern are still not entirely understood, but according to the US websiteFlu.gov, the 1918 virus “evolved directly from a bird flu into a human flu.”

• In 1918, sanitation measures included wearing face masks, blow-torching water fountains, hosing down streets, and locking public phone booths. 

• In a time before technology, colored ribbons were placed on doorways to indicate a flu death in the household. The color of the ribbon indicated the age range of the dead. White, for example, was used for children.

• Katherine Anne Porter’s short novel, Pale Horse, Pale Rider, is set during the 1918 Influenza. It’s a work of fiction (published in 1939), but was no doubt influenced by Porter’s memories of the pandemic and her own illness. The tragic story provides a sense of the war, the disease, and the desperation of that time.

Beds with patients in an emergency hospital in Camp Funston, Kansas.
The flu struck while America was at war, 
and was transported across the Atlantic on troop ships. 
Date: circa 1918 
Wikimedia



Excerpt from PANDEMIC:

At this point in Pandemic, there have been local cases of the Blue Flu, including one death. Lil visits her best friend, Megs, who is getting dressed to meet a boy she has only corresponded with online. This scene is a snapshot of both the mundane aspects and the very deepness of their friendship.

—

I found Megs surrounded by a dozen shirts heaped on her bedroom floor.

“What should I wear?” she asked. “I need something to go with my favorite jeans.” She plopped on her bed, face flushed.

I hesitated, torn between worrying about her safety and wanting to support her romantic longings. “You’re sure you want to go through with this?”

She nodded.

“Then don’t worry, we’ll find something. You have great clothes.” I glanced at her alarm clock. It was 6:15.

She followed my eyes. “I’ll be fashionably late.”

I pulled out a turquoise blouse that had fabric cutouts in the back.

“I need to look good from the front, not when I leave,” she said.

“Right.” I told her about Ethan while I searched her closet for something better.

“Are you sure you want to start with him again?” she asked.

“I don’t know. He made it sound like, how could I not give us one more chance?” My phone pinged. “Ugh.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Ethan’s already texting me.” I sighed. “He’s looking forward to tonight.”

“Ah, it’s nice to see he hasn’t lost that stalker-ish quality.”

I glared at her.

“Lil, you know I’m right. If your heart’s not in it, don’t go.”

“I miss my old life before . . . everything.” I kept flipping through her closet.

“But dating Ethan again won’t magically turn back time. It won’t make the other stuff vanish.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said.

“Hmm . . . at least we both have dates tonight.”

“It’s not a date. I’m going over to his house.”

“I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about tomorrow,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting him.”

Near the back of the closet, a black top with three-quarter sleeves was lodged between two camis. I didn’t even take it all the way out before Megs shook her head. Her face was shiny and I realized she was sweating. “Are you nervous?”

“A little. I’m not feeling great. I think it’s all the excitement.”

“You shouldn’t go if you don’t feel well.”

She scowled at me. “I have to go. I can’t explain it. It feels like part of something bigger, like destiny.”

I pursed my lips together to keep from spouting my opinion. After pulling out a pale blue shirt, I held it against her. “This will look good with— ”

My fingers brushed against her arm. She was burning hot. I put the back of my hand against her forehead the way Mom always did to me. “You feel feverish.”

“I’m fine.” She swayed as she tried to stand.

“Megs, you’re sick.” Fear made my voice quiver.

“You can’t go. This is crazy.”

“It’s too late to cancel.” She sank onto her bed, coughing. “Can you get me a glass of water while I change?”

“Sure.” I hurried to the kitchen. Mrs. Salerno sat at the counter, a newspaper spread in front of her.

I had to tell her about Megs. She’d forgive me for missing her date, eventually. “Mrs. Salerno, I . . .”

She looked at me, waiting.

Then we both heard it: the crashing sound from Megs’s room.

We raced up the stairs. Megs lay sprawled on the floor next to her toppled bedside table.

“I felt dizzy, and then . . .”

Mrs. Salerno scooped her up and laid her on the bed. “Let me get the thermometer.”

After her mom left the room, Megs looked at me, pleading. “I need you to do me a favor.”

I knew what she was about to ask. “No way.”

“Please? You don’t have to talk to him. It’ll be crowded, so he won’t notice you. Look for the guy carrying a book, something that would have meaning to me. Then I’ll tell him later how sick I was, that I couldn’t make it.”

“I’m supposed to meet Ethan soon. And a crowded shop mean germs.”

“Could you tell him you’re running late? It wouldn’t take much time. If you walked in and out, it’s like two minutes of exposure.” She widened her eyes, pleading.

This was important to her, no matter how much I disapproved. I considered it. For my best friend, I could probably handle a few moments in a public place.



More about Pandemic:
In Pandemic, only a few people know what caused Lilianna Snyder's sudden change from a model student to a withdrawn pessimist who worries about all kinds of disasters. When people begin coming down with a quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat, Lil’s worst fears are realized. With her parents called away on business before the contagious outbreak, Lil’s town is hit by what soon becomes a widespread fatal illness. With friends and neighbors dying around her, Lil must find a way to survive not only the outbreak and its real-life consequences, but also her own personal demons.

To connect with Yvonne: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter 
To buy Pandemic: Indiebound | Amazon 







More about Yvonne:
Yvonne Ventresca is an award-winning author dedicated to writing suspenseful stories that readers can’t put down. Her Crystal-Kite-winning YA debut, Pandemic, continues to be a timely read about surviving a widespread deadly virus. Her second novel, Black Flowers, White Lies, explores toxic relationships and won a Gold “IPPY” for best YA fiction. Her latest short story, “The Third Ghost,” is now featured in the latest IWSG anthology, Voyagers: The Third Ghost, a collection for nine to twelve-year-old readers. For more information, and for free resources for writers, visit her website at YvonneVentresca.com.




A 2017 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal Winner!



A Last Word:
Over the past two nights I was up very late devouring Yvonne's book Pandemic.  
It was a strange feeling to be reading about a pandemic while in a pandemic.  
What I kept thinking over and over was how eerily prescient the novel is.  
Yvonne's portrayal of an epidemic is vividly real, and I liked the juxtaposition 
of Lilianna's story with the objective quotes of officials on the Blue Flu 
pandemic at the beginning of each chapter.  Lil's voice is authentic.  Her 
experiences put me right back into the angst of being in high school, the 
rollercoaster ride of young love, and the drama of close friendships.  I'll join 
Booklist, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews in recommending this 
fast-paced apocalyptic novel.  It touched me deeply, and I will not forget it.      

I'll be back on October 28th with another post.   



Till next time ~
Fundy Blue 






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If you haven't read Yvonne's short story "The Third Ghost" 
in VOYAGERS:  The Third Ghost, you can find it here.




You can order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 
at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic













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Wednesday, August 12, 2020

"Voyagers: The Third Ghost" ~ A Great Book for the Middle-Grade Classroom!

If you cannot read fluently and with comprehension, you will have a tough time succeeding in today's world.  This fact drove me as a teacher throughout my twenty-five-year career in the classroom.  My constant goal was to improve the reading skills of each student I taught.  To accomplish this, I knew I had to hook each of them on reading, and my best lure was great books.

If I were not retired, I would choose Voyagers:  The third Ghost for my classroom with enthusiasm!  Please put aside the fact that I wrote one of the stories in this anthology.  I am wearing my teacher's hat and looking at the book objectively. 

I always filled my classroom with the best books I could find, every genre, every reading level, every subject.  I hunted for appealing books that supplemented the content of our curriculum.  I chose books to read aloud to the class, for the class to read together, for small group instruction, for buddy reading, and for silent reading.  I searched for books that matched the interests of my students; and if I found one that piqued the curiosity of a reluctant reader, I was thrilled.


                     The Anthology Containing My Short Story
                     "Dare Double Dare"
                         The IWSG on Instagram 
                         Background Photo by Louise MacBeath Barbour
                                     

Voyagers checks off each item on my list of criteria.  This collection of ten middle-grade stories is so varied!  Written for kids between the ages of eight and twelve (Grades 3-6), each story in the collection centers on a voyage that leads to a historical adventure.  Some stories will fill your heart, others will make you laugh, some will give you a chill, and some may introduce you to an unfamiliar place or time.
  
The stories crisscross the globe, cultures, and time.  There is something for everyone, and the possibilities for connecting to middle-grade subjects are numerous.  More importantly, the stories tackle some difficult topics with sensitivity and have an emotional impact.

As a teacher I could use this book so many ways.  I would chose a story to read aloud to the class, select other stories for small reading groups, pick another one or two to tie into curriculum subjects, and choose another for classroom discussion.  I could team my class up with a class at a different grade level, share a story, and do some fun activities together.  There is rich material in this book for lively discussion and debate, and the stories can be a jumping off point for all kinds of writing.  

Zharptica, the Mythical Firebird
in "Feathered Fire" by Roland Clarke
(The Second Sun by llifi-kei  Deviant Art)


To give you an idea of the variety and the richness of the stories in Voyagers: The Third Ghost, here is a list of the stories, with a brief description of their characters and historical settings.

"The Third Ghost" by Yvonne Ventresca:
Among the darkened, arson-damaged streets of Hoboken, New Jersey in 1981, Lewis stops to help two ghosts until he realizes his own family is in grave danger.

"The Ghosts of Pompeii" by Sherry Ellis:
Mount Vesuvius is about to erupt in 1944, and it's up to Bubba and Squirt to warn everyone, so they don't end up like the Ghosts of Pompeii.

"The Blind Ship" by Bish Denham:
Twelve-year-old Jacques experiences the impact of a highly contagious eye disease on a slave ship's cargo and crew as they sail from France to the Caribbean in 1819.

A Source of Inspiration for "The Blind Ship" by Bish Denham

"Dare Double Dare" by Louise MacBeath Barbour:
Sara and her brother Kelsey find themselves in dire circumstances at the Habitation in Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1605 after a rash "Dare" and "Double Dare."
  
"Return to Cahokia" by L.T. Ward:
Tonalli, a young Warm Weather God, embarks on a spring journey with her mother and siblings back to Cahokia in Pre-Columbian America.

"Feathered Fire" by Roland Clarke:
Two brave sisters Vasy and Kalyna, with the help of the mythical firebird, fight the Germans invading their Soviet motherland during WWII.

"The Orchard" by Beth Anderson Schuck:
Can Nels, with her magical connections to nature, and Della help each other survive in a remote area of Utah over a century ago?

Fruita Schoolhouse
 Capitol Reef National Park, Wayne County, Utah, United States.
Photo by Beth Schuck


"Simon Grey and the Yamamba" by Charles Kowalski:
Simon and his friend Oyuki try to escape a famous yokai monster on a mountain during their journey to Hirado in seventeenth century feudal Japan. 

"A World of Trouble" by Rebecca M. Douglass
Mattie and her friend Gordon get into serious trouble when they sneak off to the fair in Conconully, Washington to see an aeroplane fly in the early twentieth century. 

"Winter Days" by Katharina Gerlach:
On a Christmas visit in 1979, twelve-year-old Katie, whose father fled the German Democratic Republic 20 years earlier, fears her family’s arrest when a blizzard hits.

Border controls at the East German checkpoint Marienborn on December 1989
 Wikimedia Photo by Günter Mach ~ License


If you are looking for a great book for your middle-grade classroom or for a middle-grade reader in your life, check out Voyagers:  The Third Ghost.  You won't be disappointed!


Our next post will be on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. 
Stay healthy and well until then!




Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.  If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."
                                                 Albert Einstein






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Reviews of Voyagers: The Third Ghost:

1. Check out lots of reviews and ratings at Goodreads.

2. Excerpts from Amazon reviews:

"It's been a long time since I've read a collection of various genre stories that had me so overwhelmed with emotion at the end, and the fact that it's a middle-grade collection still boggles my mind."

"What do slave ships, ghosts, time travel, Pompeii, WWII, aeroplanes, and the Iron Curtain have in common? They all appear in this absolutely fantastic collection of short stories by the Insecure Writer's Support Group."

"The amazing thing about themed anthologies is that, while there's a single theme, the stories are incredibly varied. In the case of Voyagers: The Third Ghost, not only are the stories varied, but each is well-crafted and engaging... All take the reader on a short, but rewarding journey."



You can order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 
at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic




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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Favorite Online Writing Resources (Not the IWSG) ~ Part 1


Today, as writers, we literally have the world at our fingertips.  With our computers we can access resources on a level unimaginable a generation ago: the world's best libraries and museums, much of humanity's knowledge across every field, information about people, places, and events from the earliest times to the current moment.  If we need help, guidance, or mentors we can find them online.  Sometimes the most difficult part is deciding where to begin.

As members of the IWSG we can access information about most aspects of writing, publishing, and marketing, share our knowledge and experience, and encourage and support each other as writers.  This is an excellent foundation, but where do we go beyond the IWSG's resources?  This week and next the authors featured in the 2020 Insecure Writer's Support Group anthology Voyagers:  The Third Ghost are sharing some favorite online writing resources beyond the IWSG.  Jump in and discover what great online resources our Voyager authors have found!    








Favorite Online Writing Resources ...







Katharina Gerlach
"Winter Days"

















Online Writing Resources 
The most comprehensive site with tons of free resources, a free Flash Fiction course, and the only course on revision that I ever found useful is the one by writer Holly Lisle. Her free articles can be found here (https://hollylisle.com/articles/#writingarticles) and her courses are available here (https://hollyswritingclasses.com/). Her way of teaching resonates with me, she never tries to sell you anything (although lots of students are course collectors because the courses are so helpful), and she's often giving personal feedback in the form (which is the most writer friendly forum in the world).

Bio
Although Katharina Gerlach was born in the late sixties, she’s still a child at heart. She inherited her love of fairy tales and words from her mother, an ex-secretary and avid reader, and her love of all things nature and science from her father, an ex-forester. Memories of her rather interesting life in Germany flow back at the smallest trigger, even though she tends to merge her three brothers into one when she tells stories about their childhood adventures. And more often than not, she recalls events truthfully.











Sherry Ellis
"The Ghosts of Pompeii"

















Online Writing Resource
My favorite online writing resource is Jane Friedman's blog:  https://www.janefriedman.com/blog/. She shares everything from writing tips to marketing tips. 

Bio
Ellis' books include Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure. 

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her websites at www.sherryellis.org and www.bubbaandsquirt.org.











L.T. Ward
"Return to Cahokia"












Online Writing Resources
Aside from the IWSG for online writing resources, I like to hit up two additional places for writing connections and learning. The first for me is Twitter. Of course, there are pitfalls being that it is social media, but I have found many beta readers, publishing opportunities, as well as watched industry trends on the platform. The second is The Submission Grinder. It's a fantastic website that allows writers to search for different publications for submissions. As I love writing short stories, The Submission Grinder has been a wonderful tool in helping me learn of worldwide opportunities.

Bio
LT writes mostly speculative fiction shorts and novels while spending her days raising her children and satisfying her never-ending thirst for knowledge through reading, meeting people, and first-hand life experiences. She has publications with Dancing Lemur Press and Me First Magazine while querying her first novel and writing another. She currently volunteers as a social media coordinator and content provider for WriteHive, an online writers’ conference.











Rebecca M. Douglass
"A World of Trouble"












Online Writing Resources
I’ll just list one, which is The Story-Reading Ape blog. https://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/  Chris sifts through lots of stuff and reposts many helpful blogs. Sometimes it’s a lot in my feed, but I can easily find things that really help me out! In the past, I also got a lot from the weekly writing prompts Chuck Wendig posted (www.terribleminds.com). He doesn’t do it anymore, but finding a regular writing challenge that pushes you out of your comfort zone is a great way to grow as a writer!

Bio
Rebecca is the author of the delightful Ninja Librarian books, as well as a picture book for outdoor families, a mystery series for the parents, and her middle-grade fantasy, Halitor the Hero.  After more than seventeen years working at the library, she has retired still without learning all the secrets of the Ninja Librarian.











Yvonne Ventresca
"The Third Ghost"











Online Writing Resources
One online writing resource I highly recommend is Jane Friedman’s site, https://www.janefriedman.com/writing-advice-archive/. She offers a wealth of information about a variety of topics, such as author websites, online marketing, and book promotion. Her site also includes an excellent one-page summary of publishing options: https://www.janefriedman.com/key-book-publishing-path/. If you have questions about the business of publishing, this is a great place to find answers.

Bio
Yvonne Ventresca is the award-winning author of Black Flowers, White Lies (IPPY Gold Medal for National YA fiction) and Pandemic (SCBWI’s Crystal Kite Award).  In addition to her novels, Yvonne’s other work includes two nonfiction books and several short stories selected for anthologies, including the previous IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life.  She is currently pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can learn more at YvonneVentresca.com, where she features resources for writers.





Coming on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 . . .
Next week more of our authors will share favorite online resources beyond The Insecure Writer's Support Group.




Till next time ~
Fundy Blue 






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You can order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 
at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic









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