Greetings from South Carolina!

 July has been a crazy month so far, and I am happy to be at my oldest son's house, looking forward to a week of spoiling grandchildren..

Sometimes you need a break. 

Don and I have needed a break for a bit now.  Last week kept us hopping dealing with various issues that cropped up and a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to attend a convention.  

Sometimes life hits you upside the head not once, but multiple times.  I dealt with it by doing my best to deal with what came at us and praying.  A lot of praying.

Things appear to be settling down and I pray for a bit of calm in our lives - or at least as much calm as can exist when there are a even-year-old and five-year-old in the house.

Hoping your month brings you some rest and recharging.

Talk to you soon,

Laura

Summer marches on...

 As I type this, I am between two trips.  Don and I got back from Shore Leave on Tuesday evening, and this upcoming Sunday I will be winging my way to Las Vegas for a writing workshop.  My suitcase has not been fully unpacked: I took out t-shirts and dirty laundry and added clean underwear and t-shirts about writing.  I'm a long way from pre-trip panic, but stay tuned.

Shore Leave was a great deal of fun.  Below is a picture of my table at Meet the Pros, where convention goes had a chance to meet writers and maybe even buy books from us.  I shared the table with my wonderful cowriter Rigel Ailur.

Looking at my calendar, if i continue to write at least 250 words/day, I will hit the 1,500th day on August 6th.  I am bemused at the fact I've kept this streak up this long.  It has meant writing when I didn't feel like it or I didn't have a lot of time or I was tired.  

I plan to celebrate somehow.  I will be in Vegas but will probably get some decadent dessert that night.

More on the workshop later this month.  Try to stay cool out there.

Shore Leave Schedule

 Shore Leave 2024 will take place July 26th-28th at the Wyndham Lancaster Resort and Convention Center in Lancaster, PA.  This is different from past years but I'm looking forward to checking out the new location.  Besides, Hershey, PA is in striking distance - what's not to like?

Below is my schedule for Shore Leave this year.  If you're in the area, come check it out!  I'd love to meet you.

We're nearing the halfway mark of 2024...

 Things are gaining steam here at the Ware household.  I am looking at three different trips this summer, two with my husband Don.

The first trip later this month will be to visit my most adorable grandchildren in South Carolina.  Don and I always enjoy the time with our oldest son and his family.  John and his wife Amanda are gracious hosts and the grandkids are a delight.

The second trip is about a month later and sees Don and I heading to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the convention .Shore Leave., a scifi/fantasy event that is a lot of fun.  Because I've written a Star Trek short story that was published in an anthology (Strange New Worlds 10) I am a guest author at the event.  I will be speaking on some panels and participate in "Meet the Pros," an opportunity for fans to say hi and maybe buy a book or two.  If you are in the area, I hope you come say hi.

Before leaving Pennsylvania, I will make a pilgrimage to the town of Hershey, as a good chocoholic should.

My last summer trip takes place in early August.  I will be attending a writing workshop that I am currently writing stories for.  The Anthology Workshop ran a number of years before Covid, and the creators have finally decided to bring it back.  It's fun and nerve-wracking all at once, if you can imagine having your work critiqued in front of over thirty other writers by eight editors.  I'm so looking forward to it and seeing old friends.

That's my summer.  What about yours?

Where Did July Go?

 I am having trouble believing we are now in August.  July went by way too quickly.

Two events in July: 

At the beginning of the month I attended Shore Leave in Maryland.  As always, a wonderful time checking in with fellow wordsmiths and meeting new people.  This year I brought books for the first time to sell, and actually sold two (that may not look like a lot but believe me it's better than zero).

At the end of the month Don and I took a trip to South Carolina to see grandbabies.  Lavinia, who is five, is set to begin kindergarten this month.  Again I ask, where did the time go?  

It was a wonderful visit despite the air conditioning in the house going out near the end of it.  We all took it in stride and still enjoyed the precious time we had with the family.

I have no trips scheduled for the next few months and I hope to use that time to catch up on stuff.  Believe me, there is plenty to catch up on!

Hope you had a great July.  Let's see what August has in store for us.

The First Half of the Year is Done...

 Where did the time go?  It feels like the past six months have flown by without stopping to catch its breath.  Yet here we are, the beginning of July.

Looking at my writing stats for the year so far, I managed to eke out 100,484 words.  That number could be better - I wanted to be at 150,000 by now - but it's still a respectable number for me.

Notice I said, "for me."  Not for you, not for Stephen King, not for any other writer.  Comparing myself to others on this and other aspects of writing would simply make me crazy and discouraged.  

I am going to try to push it some the second half of the year.  While I have trips planned, none are of the magnitude of the Hawaiian cruise.  I can goose the writing a little bit and get more done.

As far as the publishing side of things, I've gotten out a short story collection and two novels, one of which is book 5 of a series I cowrite with fellow author Azure Avians.  I'm sort of on track with this, wanting to get seven things published this year.  I'm currently working on a project for another column collection and have a couple of books I'd like to get published before the end of the year.

What goals do you have looking at the rest of 2023?

By the way, I will be attending Shore Leave in Hunt Valley, Maryland this upcoming weekend.  Below is my schedule for the panels I will participate in.  If you're in the area, I'd love to see you.

Shore Leave 41!

Once again, I will be traveling to Hunt Valley, MD to participate in Shore Leave 41.  Shore Leave is at the Delta Hotels Baltimore in Hunt Valley and will go on July 12th-14th.  Below is my schedule if you want to meet me and say hi!

Friday, July 12th:  

Other than Meet the Pros at 10 PM, I have nothing else going on.  Meet the Pros takes place in the Hunt/Valley corridor and goes until midnight.

Saturday, July 13th:

10 am-11 am: "The Worth of Workshops and Writing Classes" with Kelli Fitzpatrick, Jim Johnson, Derek Attico, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and Lorraine Anderson.  Derby Room.

11 am-noon: "Own Worst Critic or Greatest Fan?" with Aaron Rosenberg, Dayton Ward, and Dave Galanter.  Chase Room.

2 pm-3 pm: "Avengers: Endgame" with Rigel Ailur, Dave Galanter, Glenn Hauman, and Michael Jan Friedman.  Salon E.

3 pm-4pm: "Captain Marvel" with Rigel Ailur, Hildy Silverman, and Keith R. A. DeCandido.  Salon E.

Sunday, July 14th:

Unfortunately, I have to leave in the morning to catch my flight back home.  So I am not on any panels.  Will probably be busy saying goodbye to people.  :)

Hope to see some of you there!

Shore Leave!

Hey readers!  Letting you know I will be attending Shore Leave this upcoming weekend (July 6-8) in Maryland.  As a guest author (how cool is that?) I have a bio listed in the site here.  Below are the panels I'm a part of.  I hope I see you there!

Solo: A Star Wars Story (Fri. 7-8 pm, Salon F)
This prequel depicting Han Solo as a younger man hasn’t met expectations
at the box office. Why not?
Laura Ware (M), David Harten Watson, Susan Olesen

Meet the Pros (Fri. 10 pm - midnight, Hunt/Valley Hallway)

Avengers vs. The Justice League (Sat. 12-1 pm, Salon F)
It’s the end of the world. Whom do you trust to save it? The panel will cover comic books, cartoons and movies.
John Coffren (M), Peter David, Laura Ware, Derek Attico, Michael Jan Friedman, TA Chafin

Outside In by ATB Publishing (Sat. 2-3 pm Salon E)
Meet the contributors to these essay collections on the likes of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Buffy, and more.
Laura Ware (M), Bob Greenberger, Amy Imhoff, Derek Attico, Lorraine Anderson, Kelli Fitzpatrick, Joseph F. Berenato 

Heinlein's Five Rules of Publishing (Sat. 4-5 pm Salon E)
Robert Heinlein wrote five basic rules of writing that are easy to remember but hard to actually carry out. A discussion of said rules and their application.
Laura Ware (M), Phil Giunta, Jim Johnson, Lorraine Anderson, Dayton Ward

Indie Publishing 101 (Sun. 10-11 am Salon F)
The basics of indie publishing and why you should give it a go.
Jim Johnson (M), Laura Ware, TJ Perkins, Andrew Hiller, Valerie Mikles, Kim Headlee