A book signing!

 I will be joining other local writers in the area for the Spring Book Binge, hosted by Emeralddragun Studios on Saturday, March 29th, at the Avon Park Community and Cultural Center (310 West Main Street, Avon Park, Florida).  There will be books available for purchase and we'd be more than happy to sign your book for you.  Please come and support local artists!

Projects! Projects!

 I am currently working on THREE - yes, three - projects, not counting the possible novel I'm writing on.

There is a Kickstarter I'm planning to (hopefully) launch next month. "Oracle of My Enemy" is a romantasy (Romantic fantasy) about an elven woman destined by the gods to serve whom they choose and the human man they send her to.  Given there's great tension between elves and humans, bordering on war, this is not the most comfortable arrangement.

Once I have the cover finalized I will share.

Another project is (tentatively) titled "Walking the Walk." It will be a collection of short stories about people living the Christian life and the challenges they face.  Once again, when I have a cover I will share.

Last, but by no means least, is the second volume of HERitage, an anthology of alternative history fiction focused on women and how their lives and situations might have changed for the better if history had turned out differently.  In this volume I focus on Harriet Tubman, the brave woman who led slaves to freedom.  The change I focus on?  What if she had learned to read?  What doors would have opened for her?

You can check out the Kickstarter here.  Please, take a look and support it if you can.

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.

A Quick Update

 I meant to post here last week, but I've been dealing with some minor health issues that have made it harder to get things done.  I'm hoping for a resolution soon.

I also want to take this opportunity to let you know that I will be on the "D&D Live" radio show tomorrow (12/8) at 8:30 am (EST).  If you live in Highlands county, you can listen on am 730 am or 95.3 fm.  If you don't live there, you can still listen online at https://www.newstalk730am.com/.  I'll be talking about the latest column collection and whatever else comes to mind.  

Hope December is treating you well and you are finishing out the year strong.  I'll talk to you again soon.

It's alive!

 I'm delighted to tell you that "Laura's Look One Hundred" is LIVE on the ebook side.  The print book will be out on November 20th.  You can check out the book on Amazon here.

The columns range from funny to serious, news of the day to news of the weird.  With one hundred columns to choose from, you're sure to find one that speaks to you.

Fall is here...

 ...unless you live in Central Florida, where today it was in the mid-eighties and fall has not yet made an appearance.  When it finally does, it may well be a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of thing.  Summers are long around here, part of the price we pay for being able to go outdoors in February and not freeze our noses off.

Last post I said I needed to send out stories.  Last week I managed to get three sent out before a looming September 30th midnight deadline.  I have no idea how these stories will fare at the markets I sent them off to.  But time will tell.

I am currently finishing up a short story I will submit to an anthology magazine called Thrill Ride.  Below is a picture of me holding the latest issue, called "No W.W.M. (White Western Males)".  My story "One More Time" tells the story of a former female hacker dying of breast cancer who is persuaded to do a final job.

You can click here to see where to purchase your own copy.

I've still been writing every day but September seemed to be a light month for that.  But now we have a new month and I'm looking forward to getting words done and out.

Talk to you in a couple of weeks.  Hope you have cool weather to enjoy.

Only a few days left...

 Hey all.  My Kickstarter funded!  This means I will be able to get my column collection put out for you to read.

I'm excited about this project.  It has let me relive a number of times in my life.  I think the columns I've chosen are a good representation of "Laura's Look" across the years.

The Kickstarter will end September 7th.  There is still time to be a part of it.  Would you take a moment and check it out here?  I'd appreciate it.

My Kickstarter is LIVE.

 Hey all.  Hope you're having a great rest of the summer and managing to stay cool despite the weather almost anywhere in the United States.

I'm thrilled to announce that my Kickstarter for my upcoming column collection "Laura's Look 100" went live early this afternoon.  As I type this, it's at $193 - just over $100 away from funding.  

If you like reading columns written with a warped point of view, this collection is worth checking out.  Go here to see it for yourself.  And below is a picture of the front cover of the upcoming book:

I hope you'll check it out.  Thanks for reading.  See you next month!

Blew Past a Couple of Milestones...

 At the end of June I hit two milestones and forgot to mention them.

First, "Laura's Look" is officially 25 years old.  That's a lot of columns and a lot of patience and grace from the Highlands News-Sun.  My thanks to them for continuing to run it.

I'm working on a special way to celebrate this 25th year.  Stay tuned for more information.  For now, if you'd like to read the earliest columns, you can pick up "Laura's Look: 1998-2000" at Amazon:

The second milestone has to do with my writing every day.  At the end of June I passed the three year mark.  That's three years of putting word down every single day, with no breaks.  I'm kind of proud of that streak and hope to continue it for some time to come.

I'm hoping to share some big news at the beginning of August.  Stay cool, stay safe, and I'll see you then.

A Book Signing

 On Saturday, May 6th, I will be at the Peter Powell Roberts Museum of Art in Avon Park, Florida (310 W. Main Street) from 2-4 PM.  The museum is on the second floor of the Avon Park Community Center and has elevator access.

I will be there to say hi and sign books.  Not only will I have copies of my latest novel, Death on the Air, I will have other books available as well.  There will be light refreshments served.

If you live in the area, I hope you drop by to say hi!

Quick update

 I just wanted readers of this blog to know I will be on a local radio show Friday, April 28th, at 8:30 am (Eastern) to talk about my latest novel, "Death on the Air."

If you live in Highlands County, Florida and wish to tune in, you'll find WWTK at am730 or fm 730.

Live outside of the listening area?  No problem.  Click here to listen online.

It promises to be a lot of fun.  Hope you'll give it a listen!

Grandbabies, Publications, and Writing Streaks

 Lots to talk about today.  

1) First, I had a WONDERFUL time in South Carolina near the end of March visiting my grandchildren.  Lavinia is going to be 5 in a few days and Matthias is 3.  They and their parents love having us visit and we made some good memories.

2) My latest novel Death on the Air is now available as an ebook and will soon be in print.  You can purchase the ebook from your favorite site by clicking here  (if your site isn't listed, let me know and I'll make sure it's included).  Here's a look at the cover:

3) On March 25th I hit a milestone - my 1,000th day in a row of writing.  That means I've made new words every day for nearly three years now.  It feels like quite the achievement, and now I'm looking to see if I can bump it even higher.

I'm hoping to launch my first Kickstarter this month.  Stay tuned for more information.

Hope you have a amazing April!

Publishing news!

 First, my short story, "The Jerusalem Plot," will appear in the premiere issue of Thrill Ride Magazine.  It's currently available for preorder here.  I'm excited about being a part of this and I hope you'll check it out.

Secondly, my Christian suspense novel Death on the Air will be coming out later this month.  Subscribers to my newsletter have already seen the cover (if you want to subscribe, there's a link on the left side of this page).  Here is the blurb:

Sandra Benson appears to have her life in order. A Christian with a popular talk radio show, she makes sure no one sees her struggles with alcohol and tries to tell herself it’s not a big deal. 

Then a caller who names himself “Lucifer” makes a startling statement - he killed a woman. Sandra is rattled by the call, especially when she learns she has a connection to the dead woman. 

As her life slowly unravels thanks to Lucifer, Sandra struggles to help stop him. Because he isn’t done killing - and she fears she may be next.

And I'm ending this post with a question for those of you who read my weekly column "Laura's Look."  Do you have a favorite?  I'd love to hear about it.  drop me a line at my email address laura@laurahware.com.  

Want to give a head's up...

 A friend of mine, Matt Buchman, an excellent writer and editor, is currently doing a Kickstarter for an action adventure/thriller quarterly magazine called Thrill Ride.  He's got nearly 50 stories lined up for the first year - two of them are mine.

I believe in this project and would like to see it happen.  If you are so inclined, could you click here and check it out?  I assure you it's well worth your time!

Writers of the Future

 Writers of the Future (https://www.writersofthefuture.com/) is a quarterly contest for writers of science fiction, fantasy, or horror short fiction.  

I hadn't entered in a while - I wasn't sure I was still eligible.  After my mentor assured me I still was able to enter I sent in a short story, not expecting anything.

To my delight and surprise, my urban fantasy "Wishing, Well" received Honorable Mention.

I'm waiting for my certificate and will share it when it comes in.  And yes, I plan to enter this quarter as well.

Just goes to show it never hurts to try.

Great fun on the radio!

 On October 14th I got to sit down with Don Elwell of the "D&D Live Show" (his partner was out of town).  Don did his homework on me and we had a great time discussing my latest collection and other writing.  He said I can come back sometime, so I must have done okay <g>.

Want to Hear What I Sound Like?

 I'm going to be on the radio show "D&D Live" Friday, October 14th, at 9:05 am Eastern.  I'll be talking about my latest collection and whatever else they ask me about.  If you live in Highlands County, Florida you can tune in at 730 AM or 95.3 FM.  Not local?  You can tune in the livestream at https://www.newstalk730am.com/

A Milestone

 Today marks a special day in my writing journey.  

Today is the 500th day in a row that I've written either fiction or creative non-fiction (column is one example).

To my knowledge, this is the longest writing streak I've ever maintained.  It has meant writing when I was tired, writing when I was grieving, writing when I wasn't feeling well, and even writing when I just plain didn't feel like it.

I've written on vacation.  I've written well past midnight some days.  I've written during the day.  I've written when I wasn't sure what the story I started would be about.  I've written when other things tried to tempt me away from the keyboard.

Currently my minimum word count for a day is 500 words.  Beginning next year I plan to up that to 750 words.  Later in 2022 my goal is 1000 words a day.  Baby steps.  But I'm getting there.

Along with this I've been writing a short story a week.  I'm up to 45 short stories done - the goal is 52, or one year's worth.  Seven to go.  I think I might pull it off.

But I admit I'm proud of that 500.  It represents a lot of words.  A lot of exercising my creative brain.  And while it hasn't always been easy, it's been fun.  And I've learned a lot from it.

So now?  Let's aim for 600.  Wish me luck.

Wow. It's Been Too Long

 It's been a while since I posted.  A lot as gone on.  Some good, some bad.  2020 was definitely one of those years.  

And here we are with over half of 2021 gone.  I need to make this blog more of a priority.  I hope you all would appreciate that.

So...here's some writing news to share.

1. On June 29th, 2020, I decided I would try to write every day.  Some days it was hard to pull that off (one day I only managed 69 words).  But I kept up with it, and last month passed the one-year anniversary of writing every day.  

The benefit of a streak is it presses you to keep it up the longer it gets.  Not sure how long this will last, but I wouldn't be against several years.

2. At the beginning of 2021, I started the challenge of writing a short story a week for a year.  Last Sunday I finished story #30.  

This is harder than writing every day.  Some weeks I had a real problem coming up with a story.  There have been Sundays I've burned the midnight oil to finish.  And I'm sure some of these stories are better than others.  But I haven't given up.  I'm more than halfway done.  And I'm determined to pull it off.

3. Five of the short stories I wrote were put into a short story collection titled FIVE FEMALE GUMSHOES.  The collection contains five stories, each featuring a female private investigator.  

I'm pleased with this collection.  If you want an ebook, here's a link to check out: https://books2read.com/u/31KPX7

And here's a peek at the cover...

I'll let you know when it's available in print.  That means I'll be posting again (hopefully) soon.  Thanks for your patience!

Some Updates and Publishing News

 Hoping everyone is surviving the insane times we're in.  Today my state apparently was hit with a little hurricane - in November!  Yes, we're still in hurricane season but come on now, this is getting ridiculous, 2020.

In positive news, today marks day 135 of writing every day!  I started at the end of June, attempting to get some words done every day.  In the beginning, there was no minimum - I just had to get some words down.  My record low was 68 words.  As the months went by, I decided to set a minimum of 250 words/day.  

This has been an incredible ride.  The writing is better, because I'm giving it the time it needs.  I feel better about it because I'm making it a priority.  And it's a lot more fun.

I also got a new short story out - my third in the Eli Leafrunner series.  It's in ebook form only, wherever you buy yours.  Here's the cover:

I hope you enjoy his latest adventure.

Will have more news soon - stay tuned.  And stay safe.

P.S. I'm involved in Nanowrimo this year - if you want to friend me, my username is bookwormlady.  See you there!