A few days ago it was National Book Lovers Day. I had the intention of making a blog post to shamelessly self-promote myself, but as with all things, life got in the way and I failed amazingly well.
I did, however spend some time contemplating my writing journey, silly as it was. I thought about how The Code started as a silly project to help me cope with the challenges of life, and then somewhere along the way became firmly embedded as a part of me. I thought about the people who supported my GoFundMe so I could pay for my editor, and my managers at Chapters who have eagerly supported me by allowing my book to be on the shelves. I thought about my coworkers, who have bought copies and demanded I sign them, as if I were someone important.
As if the book has value beyond what I imagine for it.
And then, perhaps most importantly, I thought about my writing friends. No, not friends. Family. I thought about the people that are on the same journey, some ahead, some behind, some on a different path still leading to the same well. I thought about them and was immeasurably grateful for their love, support, and their insanity. And it occurred to me that while I’m not by any measure a particularly important person in the world of self-publishing, I do have a few people who glance at this blog. It would behoove me to share the accomplishments and sing the praises of the people I care about whenever possible. With that in mind… Meet my second family.
Ashley Whitt, who I met via kismet when myself and others were seeking critique partners on CC. Along with Lisa Reece, the three of us began the arduous task of sharing and exploring each other’s writing. She is in the query stage, and has had several requests for partial and full manuscripts of her speculative suspense novel, The Fairer Sex. What if men were no longer needed; what if women not only ruled the world but kept the men oppressed in camps? What if a woman saw a child – a male child – at a camp who looked remarkably like her own daughter? Samantha kidnaps the boy and, accompanied by a man, Jonas, makes a wild escape into a world that she is beginning to question.
I loved everything about The Fairer Sex. It was my first experience acting as a critique partner to someone, and the day Ashley gets the agent she absolutely deserves and sells TFS for a gazillion dollars, you can be damn sure I will be putting my Staff Picks sticker on it at work.
Amber Pierce (My Agent Told Me To Make a Blog) is the first of our little group to actually accomplish something in the vein of traditional publishing. She has an agent, she has an agent who is telling her what to fix in order to make Pull of Gravity the perfect piece to pitch to publishers. Like Ashley, Amber has worked her ass off to get where she is, and we’re intensely proud of her. Her love of science and dedication to her craft makes for amazing blog posts, which you should definitely check out! Alternately, go find her on Twitter.
Pat – Mr. P.A. Thompson – has more dedication to writing than I could theoretically muster in a lifetime. He goes to conferences, he rubs elbows, he makes it damn clear that he wants this, and his novel Dog Tags, is going to get him to the top. An emotional and physically defeated veteran has his life inexplicably changed when he finds a stray dog whose tags help direct him through life. I was pleased to assist in a small way when Pat asked me about living with chronic pain.
Sometimes we live vicariously through Pat, for those of us that can’t get to, or afford, writers conferences. He gets the info, absorbs it life none other, and graciously passes it on. We’d have no idea what those conferences were life if not for Pat. And now, just recently, he has become, and I quote “a real writer”, by receiving his first rejection letter. One of us, Pat. One of us.
Debbi Miller Gutierrez, aka Gretchen. She is, without a doubt, the mom of the group. She looks after us, an while her wit is absolutely biting, she can turn it off at a moments notice to offer advice. As long as that advice doesn’t have anything to do with how you plan to kill a dog in your book because she will literally eat your face if you even dare consider it. She is a dog-lover through and through. Her children’s books are charming and popular with the children of our group members. Gretchen may have been in a slump with her latest work, but over the last month she has been re-energized to take it on, and we can’t wait to see what happens next.
Keith McBride, parrot lover, Hugh Howey worshipper.
He’s in a band now. He also self-published Across the Chasm, a Kindle Worlds novella set in the world of Hugh Howey’s Sand series. Keith really, really loves Hugh Howey. His latest venture is a baseball novel, which is severely lack in explosions if you ask me. He is also the go to when it comes to cooking of any kind. He’s a joker, a smoker, but presumably not a midnight toker because he is also a family man. He introduced me to Maine Beer Company, which I can never forgive him for, given that it is very, very hard to find MBC in Calgary. Goddamit, Keith.
T.R. Calais aka Aries75. She has an image for everything; no matter what you have said, what you have commented on, within 30 seconds she will appear with a relevant article or image to make you laugh. She is a writer of contemporary women’s fiction, a genre that few of us dare tread. Still, knowing Aries75, The Best Bad Day (Coming soon!) is going to stand out among the rest with humor and contemporary relevance that is rarely seen in women’s fiction.
Linnea Ren, who abandoned us for a year to go to Asia and returned, remarkably, without any strange disease created through the combination of bat spit and lemur tears. I am in the process of beta reading her novel, Waking Immortal, which I will definitely get back to as soon as I finish this post. She is the youngun’ of the group, but not lacking in experience or knowledge. She is deeply passionate about her work, taking part in every pitch contest on Twitter, and constantly on the hunt to find another way to improve her query. Again with the dedication. It must be a writer thing that I just ended up missing out on.
A special shout out to David Fross, Dfross, who isn’t a writer but a graphic artist. He made my cover. He made Keith’s cover. I have no idea how he found our chat room or why he decided to stay, but he is a fantastic person and constantly… erm… challenges us with his viewpoints. You’re an okay guy, Dfross.
We all have so much still to learn about writing, but our combined experiences make us professionals. Well, professional assholes if anything. We goof around. We tease each other. We harass each other. We force each other to be better and question our decisions in our characters and plots. It is an amazing miniature family to be part of, and doesn’t even include the others who appear on the chat less often. I will forever be grateful for the help and love these individuals have shown me over the years, and I look forward to harassing them endlessly for many more years to come. If you are looking for hilarious Twitter feeds, informative blogs, or wonderful self-published work, I recommend taking a look at the links above. It won’t be a waste of time. Or maybe it will. I don’t know. Either way, at the end of the day we’ll keep doing the same old faffing about.
The Code Series 
It’s always great having a little family to bounce ideas around and all that fun stuff. 😊