Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Happy Groundhog Day (#IWSG February 2023)
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Ho, Ho, Holy Crap It's almost Christmas (#IWSG December 2022)
It's holiday time! Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writer goals?
I don't do much writing over the holidays. Lots leading up to it, yes, but once my "Christmas Book" (the book I write every year for the kids/family) goes off to the printer, I'm pretty much done with writing until the new year. To many lousy movies to watch, cookies to eat, and Lego to build.
Despite starting to write it over a year ago, I was a week later than usual getting the book out this year. I hope it gets printed and back to me in time; I had to pay extra for rush shipping.
This one had ALOT of illustrations. I don't know why I keep making illustrated books. I'm not a good artist, I'm slow, and I'm never happy with how they turn out. And yet I put 100+ drawings in the latest book.
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
November? No way. Lies, I tell you. (#IWSG November 2022)
NaNoWriMo time!
Not for me, though. I don't NaNo. November's always a busy writing month for me already, but it's usually finishing/editing Christmas presents. I don't have time to write 50,000 new words on something. Fortunately I already have a first draft of this year's story, so I only have to finish the many (many) illustrations that need to go along with it.
October was crazy. The whole family came down with Covid, so that really threw us for a loop. Fortunately none of us were hit too hard, but the effects certainly do linger. The fatigue and mind fog are certainly real, and I hope there are no further long-term effects.
Didn't get much writing done in October, but there was lots of other creative stuff. The big thing was the annual haunted house that we did for the kids in the family. It took weeks to plan, involved painting the entire basement black, and then four more days to set everything up - but in the end we locked our kids and nieces in the basement and gave them 90 minutes solve an escape room and get out.
It was a lot of work but the kids had a ton of fun. I set up a camera so the adults could watch them, and I think we had even more fun than the kids! The story of the escape room was that a disgraced toymaker was luring children into his workshop to help him build toys, which were unfortunately murderous and the children rarely survived. They had to solve puzzles, decode riddles, cut open stuffed animals to find keys and clues, objects hidden in the ventilations ducts, plus a few creepy surprises hidden to give them a fright or two. There was also secret messages written on the walls in invisible ink, and a UV flashlight used to find them. It was all INCREDIBLY involved, and my wife and I swore again we won't do it again next year, but who knows...
I also took up painting gaming miniatures again. Tiny little figurines about an inch or so tall that requires a lot of attention to detail and a steady hand. Funny it was much easier when I was 25 years old... and didn't have Covid... But I do really enjoy it and have already spent too much money on paint and models and may have put a lot of research into getting a 3D Printer...
And of course I made the kids' Halloween costumes... and may have already booked myself to make my niece's costume for her next year...
Writing? What's that?
Hugs & Kisses,
-CDGK
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
The Genre Debate (#IWSG October 2022)
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Pack it up, Summer's Over (#IWSG September 2022)
All last week I kept telling myself, "IWSG is coming up, you should write a post," and I kept putting it off. I got up yesterday, it was the kids first day back to school, so I was determined to finally write it. Then we got a call from the animal rescue we work with, saying they had two new dogs that needed to be picked up. One of them had been bitten in the face by another dog and lost an eye. So needless to say, that has taken priority.
But I digress. Writing continues, though unfortunately not on Gale Harbour Book 3. It is well underway, it just got shuffled aside temporarily while I work on side projects. I hope to be back onto it really soon. I've also been reading about writing - finally got through Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody and The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne (it's very, very good and analytical, but probably a bit overly complicated). I've also been working on some marketing-related tasks. I can tell you that BookSirens is good for getting a few low-cost reviews, and Voracious Readers Only has been a great help to get my mailing list started (for free, no less!)
September IWSG Question - What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?
I'm pretty open to try anything, but there are plenty of obscure subgenres that I would probably struggle with (simply because I haven't read them). Like, if you asked me to write an Amish Romance or Middle-Grade Dystopian Chick-Lit tomorrow, I don't think I could write you anything worthwhile. It might be hilarious, but I doubt actual fans of the genres would appreciate it.
That being said, the hardest thing for me to write would be anything serious.
How was YOUR summer?
Hugs & Kisses,
-CDGK
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Unoriginal IWSG Post August 2022
Holy crap, I almost missed the IWSG post two months in a row! Please don't take me off the list, Alex!
Revenge of the Space-Surfing Butt Monkeys has been available now for three months. I had several stories about its launch I wanted to share, but the summer has been crazy. I've been travelling, and I'm actually writing this post from a hotel room on my phone to make sure I get it posted before Wednesday is over.
So those stories will have to wait. Instead, I'll answer this month's question:
When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original or do you try to give readers what they want?
I don't think I've ever set out to make something specifically "original" for the sake of being original. Usually I write stories that I find entertaining, which is often a twist on an existing idea that I myself would like to read.
I have, on occasion, explicitly strived to give readers "what they want." This is always however for a very specific group of readers. I've mentioned in the past that most Christmases I written a book or story for some of my family members, and they're always tailored to be something that those family members wanted. Some of my other writing projects are currently on hold, to tell the truth, as I work on this year's holiday story. I knew this one was going to be more ambitious than usual, so I started it early. Wish me luck.
Anyway, that's it for today. Hopefully I'll get back on track soon. How is everyone else's summer going?
Hugs & Kisses,
CDGK
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Butt Monkeys are Vengeful, Yo (#IWSG June 2022)
Holy Crap, it's IWSG day? Where did May go?
Actually, May felt a hundred years long. The release of REVENGE OF THE SPACE-SURFING BUTT MONKEYS feels like a lifetime ago. Sales were solid but not spectacular, however there's a been a steady flow of Kindle Unlimited page reads all month, which surprised me. I got more page reads in the last 30 days than I've received since I first signed up for Kindle Unlimited years ago. And not just from Butt Monkeys, either, but for all of my books. So that's an interesting phenomenon.
Reviews for the series continues to be solid as well:
"CDGK writes immaturity really well and injects a ton of humor into the action."
"Gallant-King handles the teen protagonists with such insight and tenderness."
"Even more so than in PHB, Revenge brings the heavy along with all its quirkiness and humor. "
"If you are looking for a fun read that is part Scooby Doo and part X-Files, and that has you longing for the days of landlines, Blockbuster rentals, and Super Mario World this will definitely be a good title for you."
You can read all the reviews at Goodreads, of course. And you can buy your very own copy at Amazon!
And hey, it topped the new release section in Horror for a couple of days, and made it to NUMBER TWO in its sub-category (Horror/Comedy), which is the highest I've ever reached.