This is US!! → Introduction
It seems several of us oldtimers from 2010 have been thinking of our friends from this site and wanted to begin reviewing each other again. I'm so excited to get started. I missed reading your work and hearing what you had to say about mine. As I understand it, the goal of this group is to review frequently. Read everyone's WIP as often as you can, and post your own work to the group specifically. Does that cover it?
Meet around the virtual fire, drink virtual eggnog, send congratulatory cases of virtual champagne to writers every time they publish another book?
Exciting to have so many of us back again!
Hi guys!! Very excited to be part of this wonderful and talented group 
Hi Everyone! Good to be back! I originally joined in 2008 - wow, 10 years ago! I've been here and gone a few times. My wife is significantly disabled and in very poor health. Her needs take me away at times. But, I'll be here as often as I can. looking forward to it!
BTW, I have Focal Dystonia which makes typing a nightmare. So, in my reviews and replies you will often find typos. But in my postsed work, I do go back and try to catch all of them. FWIW.
Good luck to all,
Alan
Ah, HAH! I THINK I've got it now. I've been posting answers to the Messenger thread, but my guess is that all those bounced. So, here I am back again. Good to 'see' all your familiar names & faces again!
Alan, have you tried a voice-to-type program? I use Google Docs voice thingy when my carpal tunnel acts up. It's so frustrating to not be able to type what's in your head!
Good morning, everyone! I thought I'd stop by before heading off to work. Ugh! I do NOT like my job. Then again, it does pay. I guess. Don't mean to wax negative; I'm rather tired as I'm writing this. I'll try to visit as often as I can. Sometimes I'm off line for several days, or more, at a time. This is a GOOD group of people and I'm glad to have been invited!!
Mike
Hellooooo All!! Yay for us! I just wanted share that I've only smoked 3 cigarettes today! A bit of background - many, many years ago (Am I old? No, I swear I'm not!) I was a two pack a day person. I've cut that down a ton over time, and now I only smoke when I am at station #2. For those of you who don't know me, I'm in EMS/firefighting. Anyway, I need cigarettes at station #2, lol, but that's the only place. Both of my stations are very rural, and sometimes they stay quiet (fingers crossed) and that allows me to be here on line so much of the time. (Yes, I'm actually getting paid right now, and for 12 more hours tonight, as well!) But . . . only three cigarettes, people! I'm so happy to be here, and to have so many of you back, and today I feel really good about my writing again, and that's the goal, right?
Soooo, I am working on the 2nd version of my 2nd novel. I workshopped the first, Sowing Blind Faith, here on site, and eventually it was published by Rainstorm Press, under the title Sugar Man's Daughter, author name Lucy Crowe. That was a dream come true. But now I'm shooting for the stars, and I want to publish big. I lost track of most of you here, somewhere in the interim, but a while back, I got in touch with Bonnie and she just had a ton of fantastic suggestions. I'd finished book #2 and was querying like mad, and even had some requests from the Big Houses, only to be rejected. Bonnie got me back on track, and so far, so good. This new version is . . . wow, just that. Almost everything changed completely, down to characters and place names. But I'm feeling really positive! This is fun!
Anyway, I am so looking forward to working with you guys again! This was always such an intelligent, incisive group, and I know great things are coming!
Hey all, life has taken a huge turn for me over the last two years so I haven't had as much time to write. Due to a separation from my husband of 32 years, I sold both of my businesses, my home and relocated myself and my 93 year old mother (who I care for full time now) across the country. I'm currently "retraining" for a new career and hopefully once school ends and life settles to a dull roar, it will free up more evenings for writing once again.
My current wip, Sister Margaret's One Big Lie, is up in rough draft form on premium, but the first major edit is only about a third done so I haven't begun posting it yet. I'd love feedback on it, but I'm also very okay with waiting until the edited version starts going up instead. Until then, I'll start trying to get to as many of your works as I can that are posted here in our group.
HI, Ladies! I just posted the first few pages of my current WIP for your opinions. It's science fi & giving me a helluva time. Just please remember that it's only about the first third of the story.
I'm now off to see if I can track down the other group postings to review.
Hi, all! It's great to be back.
I've been out straight with family health issues for quite a long time now. My sister is in the end stages of colon cancer, so I spend three days a week taking her to all-day treatments, and I give her a massage on a fourth day. My dad was recently widowed, and he's not all that happy alone. So I renovated our house, got it sold, and my husband and I moved in with him.
It's an adjustment. In our old home, I had privacy and quiet. Now I have all-day loud TV and nowhere to escape. I may have to find a library to frequent.
And, I moved away from my in-person crit partners. I miss them in a big way.
I've been asking myself whether I want to write strictly for fun, occasionally self publishing, again, for fun, but not bothering with marketing or caring about sales... just keep it a fun escape.
Or do I want to take this seriously and go for an agent?
I think, if I do the latter, I'll feel more justified in carving out time for myself. Right now, having closed my massage practice, I'm way too available to everybody, and boy, do they take advantage. (I'm not talking about my sister. It's one of her adult kids who could maybe expect less of me.)
I have two mostly completed manuscripts. I'm running through Marley's Ashes, my latest, tweaking madly. I also have The Girl with Green Hair, something I began on this site a long time ago. I'll likely pull that out once I get through this one.
I don't expect anyone to keep up with what may become overenthusiastic posting. I'm just happy to be focusing on writing, so I'll shove stuff up whenever it's ready. If I haven't kept up with you, please poke me. Ideally, give me a link to whatever you most want reviewed. Poke me again if I forget.
Welcome, Nancy! So glad to connect with you here again! I'm happy to read whatever you post and take whatever feedback you can give to me. Sounds like writing could be a haven for you at this time in your life. <hugs>
Hi Nancy! So thrilled to have you back again! Sounds like your writing is a much-needed outlet, as it is for so many of us. Maybe, if we learn to look at it that way, we'll take it seriously no matter the end-goal!
It's been a number of years since I was active on TNBW so I figure I ought to bring my background up to speed. In the past few years, my novel Home World won the Evvy award in SF. My short story 'A Hot Day on Titan' was nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award'; my novella 'Liquid Gambit' was a Reader's Choice award. I also finally put my training in story structure & development to work by launching my own editorial service (www.bonnie.milani.com). Between times I've been ghost-writing screenplays & TV pilots for my Industry clients who have great story ideas but no idea how to write them. Last year (2017) I ran break out editorial sessions for the Dublin Writer's Conference (yep, in Dublin).
AND - just this past week a flash fiction piece story "The Good Old Days" was featured on Dave Core's podcast 'Thrills & Mystery". You can listen right here on either of these links.
Here's a link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/thrillsandmystery/S5_E_10.mp3
Here's a short link: http://bit.ly/2GZ7b9Y
Think that does it.
The link to your editorial website isn't working. I get error 403 - Forbidden.
I had no trouble with the link--you must have fixed it. Enjoyed the story. Nice twist. JP
Hello, ladies and gents. It has been years since I've been a member, but here I am again. Looking forward to reading and reviewing as I'm starting a new book and thought I could use some eyes other than my own before I go much further.
Not sure who is writing now, but I'll hop around and familiarize myself with the site.
Hello, ladies and gents. It has been years since I've been a member, but here I am again. Looking forward to reading and reviewing as I'm starting a new book and thought I could use some eyes other than my own before I go much further.
Not sure who is writing now, but I'll hop around and familiarize myself with the site.
Hi, wordsmith!
It's good to have you back with all us 'oldies but goodies.' Can't wait for your new postings. I always enjoyed everything you wrote. Glad you're here!
Cheers,
MJ
Hello, ladies and gents. It has been years since I've been a member, but here I am again. Looking forward to reading and reviewing as I'm starting a new book and thought I could use some eyes other than my own before I go much further.
Not sure who is writing now, but I'll hop around and familiarize myself with the site.
Hey Joy, welcome back. Can't wait to read your latest WIP. It's great to have the old gang back together and you were an integral part of it 
wordsmith wrote:Hello, ladies and gents. It has been years since I've been a member, but here I am again. Looking forward to reading and reviewing as I'm starting a new book and thought I could use some eyes other than my own before I go much further.
Not sure who is writing now, but I'll hop around and familiarize myself with the site.
Hi, wordsmith!
It's good to have you back with all us 'oldies but goodies.' Can't wait for your new postings. I always enjoyed everything you wrote. Glad you're here!Cheers,
MJ
Thanks so much, Marilyn.
wordsmith wrote:Hello, ladies and gents. It has been years since I've been a member, but here I am again. Looking forward to reading and reviewing as I'm starting a new book and thought I could use some eyes other than my own before I go much further.
Not sure who is writing now, but I'll hop around and familiarize myself with the site.
Hey Joy, welcome back. Can't wait to read your latest WIP. It's great to have the old gang back together and you were an integral part of it
Thanks so much, Jeanne. I look forward to jumping back in.
This is US!! → Introduction
