My Baffling Brain

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. I only just realised I missed the last two weeks of this, my bad! I did have a good reason last week, though; unfortunately we lost one of our cats, Pookie. She'd been ill for a while, and last Friday morning she died. So, I wasn't really in the mood to celebrate!  This week I'm celebrating:  - that Pookie isn't suffering any more, and that my other cat, Misty, is healthy.  - that in a week's time all this craziness will be over! Christmas week is so hard when you work in retail. 

Today I'm hosting L. G. Keltner, who is here to promote her new novella. I’d like to thank Laura for hosting me today!  It’s great to be here to promote my Christmas novella Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family . I’d like to talk to all of you about fruit cake.  Poking fun at the ever-present fruit cake is a holiday pastime for many.  Clearly plenty of people must like it, because it continues to sell.  Businesses would stop making fruit cakes if they didn’t sell year after year. However, if you’re one of those who doesn’t appreciate this fruity bakery item, there are ways to use the fruit cakes that vindictive family members may gift to you over the holidays. Tip #1: Cut the fruit cake and dip the smaller pieces into melted chocolate.  Let the chocolate cool, then serve the treats on an attractive platter at any family or office gathering.  In my experience, when people see something covered i...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . So, in my last IWSG post, I said my goal for this month is to get some work done on my WIP. Well, I'm happy to say that I did get some work done on it; the downside is it was only one scene.  However, I'm counting this as a win, simply because this was a scene that I've been stuck on for weeks. Every time I've opened my document, I've just stared at the screen for a few minutes then closed it again.  The funny thing is, I actually finished the scene after I went back to work, rather than when I was still on sick. I think going back to work has motivated me, and made me want to do more. I wrote the scene on Monday night after work, so here's hoping it leads...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - Being back at work! I never thought I'd see the day where I'd actually miss work, but 8 weeks is a long time to be off! It's nice to be back.  - I made my own mince pies yesterday. I did use shop bought pastry and mincemeat, but it was nice to have a mince pie fresh from the oven. 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I got a big chunk of my Christmas shopping done this week, which is a relief! Not so good for my bank account, though... - I've been feeling much better this week, so I'm going to try going back to work next week. I don't think I've ever been so excited to work! I've had 7 weeks off, which is a long time to be sat at home! 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I got my $20 amazon gift voucher for being a winner of Spooktoberfest yesterday, and I managed to get three new books for my kindle with it. New books are always something to celebrate!  - One of my cats, Misty, had an accident on Wednesday; she got her claw caught in the top of the radiator. She was literally hanging by her foot, so I was worried that she would have done some damage to it. Thankfully she's not even limping anymore; healthy cats are definitely something to celebrate. 

It's time to reveal the cover for L. G. Keltner's new release. I love the cover, I think it goes really well with the idea of the story.  Dani Finklemeier has decided to write a self-help book about how to take over the world, but she’s not sure where to start.  After all, she’s only seventeen and looking for a better way to make money than babysitting.  She buys a self-help book that promises to teach her how to write a self-help book in the hope of getting the job done. Not that it’ll be easy to get any work done this holiday season.  Her family is staying at the house for Christmas, and fights break out almost immediately.  Dani also has to deal with the fallout from an unexpected kiss with her best friend Seth and the feelings that go along with it.  On edge around her family and unsure how to interact with the one person she’s trusted with everything in the past, she can only take what inspiration she can from the crazy circumstances surroun...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - Croissants fresh from the oven - yum!  - I gave up on the last book I was reading ( Pretty Monsters  by Kelly Link) - I got half way through before realising that I just didn't like the writing style. So then I moved on to another book, and finished it in a day! Saint Anything , by one of my favourite authors Sarah Dessen. I love her books.  - I saw the ENT specialist on Tuesday, and he reckons I'll recover from my inner ear problem soon. He's given me some exercises to speed up my recovery, so here's hoping they work!  - For everyone who wondered about the 4 hour cake last week, it's traditional here in England to have a fruit cake at Christmas. They take much longer to bake than regular cakes, and you have to make them a few weeks before Christma...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . First, an update on my health: I saw an ENT specialist yesterday, it's definitely an inner ear issue that I have, and he thinks I should recover soon. He's given me some exercises to speed up that recovery, so here's hoping I can get back to work soon.  While it's sucked being off work, it's also been good because I've been able to keep up with you guys, and I got some writing done. I entered into two Halloween blog hops, and I was one of the winners in one of them (to see my entry, click here ). I'm happy with the writing I've done this month.  My insecurity this month is that the only reason I wrote so much this month was because of the theme - H...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I posted my Spooktoberfest entry on Monday, click here  to check it out. It was more difficult than past years, but that just made it more fun!  - I'm still off sick from work, but the good news is I've been referred to an ENT specialist at the hospital. I have an appointment next week, so here's hoping it gets sorted out so I can go back to work.  - I made my first Christmas cake this week, and it turned out pretty good. It was a little burnt on top, but that's to be expected when you have to bake something for four hours!  - It's Halloween tomorrow! My mum's coming over to watch scary movies, which should be fun. 

Now it's time for one of my favourite Halloween blogfests, Spooktoberfest ! The goal this year was to include all 13 Scattergories; difficult, but I managed it!  Reunion A bat swoops down from the velvet black sky, shuddering as it lands next to a cauldron brimming with liquid. Suddenly the bat is a man, tall and pale, a dark cape enveloping him. He looks around, taking in his surroundings. Crumbling tombstones stand in the cracked soil at his feet, the bare limbs of trees moving in the frigid wind. A hearse pulls up at the ancient gate, and out steps a beautiful woman, a paper bag in one hand, a milkshake in the other. She approaches the man at the cauldron, sipping at her drink, a cat at her heels. “You’re late, Lila ,” the man says, checking his pocket watch . “Oh hush,” she says, pulling things from her bag. “There’s time enough, Isaac. I only just managed to get everything we need. A frog ,” she says, throwing one into the simmering potion. “Are you sure this will work?...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I posted my Halloween entry for WEP on Wednesday; click here  to check it out. I got some great comments on it, so thanks to everyone who stopped by for a look :) - I watched Jurassic World for the first time last night; I enjoyed it, it was a good movie.  - I noticed one of my cats hasn't been eating at the start of the week; we were really getting worried, but we've changed what kind of food we get now and thankfully she's eating again. 

For this WEP challenge, share a childhood fright that might or did turn into an adult fear, real or imagined. I think quite a common fear right now is of darkness; it was certainly one of my fears growing up. I think it's less the lack of light and more a fear of the unknown; what's hiding in that darkness. There was a house down my street growing up that all the kids were afraid of; a typical haunted house. We went one day to look through the window, and one of my friends swore she saw a face staring back at her. That, and my fear of darkness, are what gave me the inspiration for this story.  Haunted 884 words FCA I see them coming. They’re unsteady on their feet, the glass bottles they carry clinking gently. Every now and then they stop to peer at pumpkins and plastic ghosts lighting up windows all down the street. “It’s so warm,” the tallest boy says. “Isn’t winter supposed to be cold?” “Actually,” replies another boy, wearing glasses. “It is...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - I did all the planning for my WEP entry; I wanted to get the first draft written yesterday but unfortunately I wasn't well enough. I spent all day watching Pirates of the Caribbean instead! Feeling much better today so hopefully I'll get it done today. - It looks like I have an inner ear infection. Apparently they can take weeks to get over, which explains why I've been ill for so long, but at least I know what it is now! Hopefully I'll be able to get back to work soon.  - My boyfriend, Jamie; he's been so good while I've been ill, doing the household chores and sorting meals out so I can rest. I'm lucky to have him :)

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. Unfortunately I'm still off work, and I still don't feel any better, but there are still things to celebrate. Here's what I'm celebrating this week: - One of my favourite bands, Trivium, brought a new album out this week. I'm listening to it for the first time right now, and so far so good!  - I went out on Sunday for a meal with my boyfriend Jamie and my Dad, who I don't see all that often. It was nice to spend time with them both.  - I've done a little work on my WEP Halloween entry. I haven't started writing it yet, but I've got a pretty good idea of where the story is going to go. 

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . At the moment I'm off sick from work, which sucks, but I've decided to use all of the spare time on my writing and blogging. I'm off with dizziness and feeling lightheaded, so there's not really much else I can do! Even reading makes me dizzy, which is so depressing. All this spare time, and I can't use it to get through my to-read pile!  Thankfully, it's my favourite time of year for writing; I just love writing stories for Halloween. I've entered three blog hops ( WEP , Share a Scare  and Spooktoberfest ) and I can't wait to write the stories for them. I started planning for the first one last night, which is the most writing I've done in a while. ...

I seriously can't believe it's October. Time moves so quickly! It's great though, I love this time of year.  Here's how I did with last month's goals: - Read two books - I completed this goal, yay! I'm out of my reading slump, thank goodness, although being unable to read last week while I was ill was a bit annoying. - Edit one chapter of my WIP - Unfortunately I didn't achieve this goal. I opened up my WIP a couple of times, but couldn't get into revisions. - Be more involved in the Blogosphere - I achieved this goal; I've been reading a lot of blog posts this month, even if I haven't commented a lot. - Buy a bookcase - Still haven't bought a bookcase! This is one of those things that I'd like to do with Jamie, but unfortunately our shifts are very different, so it's quite rare that we get a day off together. It will happen, though; I need a bookcase! OK, so here are my goals for October: - Write three awesome ...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - It's October! Officially the start of my favourite season.  - I've had to take time off work this week because I haven't been well, but I'm starting to feel better now. Thank goodness, I haven't even been able to read books so it's been quite boring!  - It's my boyfriend Jamie's birthday this weekend, so I'm hoping to take him out for a meal on Sunday, if I'm feeling alright. If not, I'll cook him something nice instead :)

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - There's a chill in the air, and we all know what that means! It's officially autumn (or fall) and my favourite time of year. Halloween is coming up, and then there's Christmas, which is my favourite holiday! - I've joined about three Halloween blog hops so far; I absolutely love writing stories for Halloween! - I finally finished the book I've been stuck on for a month; it's nice to be able to read something else! It wasn't a bad book, I just couldn't get into it. It wasn't too bad in the end, though. 

OK, so it's been ages since I did a proper monthly goals post, and even longer since I actually achieved all of the goals I set myself. Therefore, I've set myself tiny goals this month, with the hope that it'll be easier to achieve them.  Here are my goals for this month: - Read two books - ever since my mammoth readathon in Greece (7 books in 7 days, not bad at all) I haven't finished a single book. I think it's partly due to the fact that I'm not really into the book I'm currently reading, and partly because I've been so busy at work. So I've set myself a small reading goal for this month - just two books.  - Edit one chapter of my WIP - I haven't touched it since Camp NaNo in August, again because of being busy at work, but I'm determined to get writing again. Just one chapter, for now.  - Be more involved in the Blogosphere - I haven't sat down and read through all of your blogs in such a long time, and I really miss...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - Winter is coming...Over the last week it's gotten quite chilly here in England, and I'm happy about that; I've always loved winter, it's my favourite season, and I can't wait for it to arrive.  - I made a Victoria Sponge yesterday, and it tastes divine. I got an unexpected early finish from work so I decided to use the time to bake something, and I'm glad I did.  - I got some good feedback for my WEP entry, and I won a $5 gift voucher for Amazon!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . So my main insecurity at the minute is the fact that, for the whole of August, I barely wrote anything, and the only blog posts I've done are my Celebrate posts. I do have reasons; I spent 7 days in Greece at the beginning of the month, then ever since I got back to work it's been crazy; 12 hour shifts most days, and working my days off.  Despite this, I'm still disappointed; I had such a good month in July, what with Camp NaNo and everything. I'm not going to let it get me down, though. I will get back on top of my writing and blogging, and hopefully work will get a little less chaotic! There's no point beating myself up about what didn't get done this month....

The first part of this challenge requires us to choose a setting from a novel, poem or photograph that stopped our hearts. I decided to go with a setting from my favourite book series, which is Harry Potter. There were a lot of settings I could choose from, of course, but I decided to go with the church graveyard from Deathly Hallows, because that scene really moved me, and I think the setting was perfect.  Here are a few extracts that set the scene: "Then the little lane along which they were walking curved to the left and the heart of the village, a small square, was revealed to them. Strung all around with coloured lights, there was what looked like a war memorial in the middle, partly obscured by a windblown Christmas tree. There were several shops, a post office, a pub and a little church whose stained glass windows were glowing jewel bright across the square. The snow here had become impacted: it was hard and slippery where people had trodden on it all day. ...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - Bullet for my Valentine have a new album out, and it's awesome! It's been a while since any of my favourite bands brought a new album out, so it's great to have a change in music.  - The WEP Blogfest is back up and running! I haven't put my post up yet, but I'll definitely have one up before Wednesday (the cut off) - The Great British Bake-Off is back on TV - it inspires me to bake even more, and I love it! 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - Having a wonderful time in Greece. I went to Rhodes, and it was amazing; we spent the majority of our time on the beach, and it was bliss. It was our first time visiting Greece, and we'll definitely be going again.  - I loved it in Greece, but it's great to be back in England. I missed my boyfriend, who didn't come with us to Greece, and I missed my cat! It's taking me longer than it should to write this post because she keeps coming for snuggles. - I read 7 books in the week that I was away - definitely cause for celebration! 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I made it through Camp NaNo! 25,007 words altogether. There were a couple of days towards the end where I didn't think I was going to make it, but I got there in the end.  - I'm off work for two weeks now, and I'm going to Greece on Wednesday, which I'm really looking forward to. 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I finished the first draft I was working on for Camp NaNo (at 17,000 words, it was a very short first draft!) so I've carried on with the edits for the novel I wrote for NaNo a couple of years ago. I read through the rewrite's I've done so far, and I can't believe I've ignored this story for so long. I've only been writing it for the last couple of days, and I've loved it. I'm at 19841 words out of my 25,000 now - not long 'til finish! - My mum booked a holiday to Greece for us while we're off in August, and I can't wait! We weren't originally going to be going abroad this year, but I'm glad we are. I need a break from work! - I've been carrying on with my cooking from scratch, and I'm still enjoying it. It's...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - I'm still steaming along with my Camp NaNo writing; I'm halfway through the challenge now, and only 11,000 words left to write to hit my target.  - I went for Afternoon Tea with my mum yesterday, and it was lovely. Of course, neither of us could move once we'd finished!  - I've started cooking meals from scratch, rather than using ready made sauces and things, and I'm really enjoying it! I've always loved baking, but for some reason cooking things from scratch always seemed really daunting. I'm having fun so far, though.

Today I'm welcoming L. G. Keltner to my blog as part of the tour for her new release A Silent Soliloquy. I’d like to start by thanking Laura for letting me stop by her blog today! I thought I’d share another small excerpt of A Silent Soliloquy. I hope you enjoy it! * * * We were eye-level with a wrought iron circular table outside a coffee house. A blue balloon was floating serenely beside us, anchored to the world by our tiny fist. An old man approached, concern evident in his features. He knew TIPPIE was far too young to be wandering the streets by herself, and it was almost dusk. This mission took place years ago. TIPPIE as a young child made for the perfect bait when it came to capturing certain kinds of criminals. A large number of upper-tier children had reported being stalked by an unknown male and female. Police suspected they were from the lower-tier, but then again, the police always assumed that to be the case. The moment one of the children went missing a...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I'm getting on well with Camp NaNo - my goal is 25,000 words at 800 a day, and I've done 800 or over every day so far. I'm quite into my story as well - no writer's block so far. A good plan works wonders!  - I've got the weekend off, and I'll be spending tomorrow with my uni friends in Lincoln. We don't see each other all that often because we live so far apart, so I'm looking forward to that.  - My sister passed her driving test yesterday, so I'm really happy about that. Hopefully I'll be able to see her more often now that she can drive too. 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - A great start to Camp NaNo - by the end of the first two days I've written 2434 words, which means I'm a whole day ahead for reaching my goal. I'm enjoying writing the story, and getting into my character's heads.  - Yesterday was my first day off in seven days, and I got a lot of stuff done that needed doing. Mostly housework, but I managed to squeeze some baking in there too.  - The Write- Edit-Publish blog hop is starting up again! I loved taking part in this blog hop, so I'm glad it's up and running again. The first challenge is in August, and I can't wait to start writing my piece for it. 

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by  Alex J. Cavanaugh  as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit  here . There's only one thing on my mind this month, and that's Camp NaNo . My word count target for the month is 25,000, which means around 800 words a day. I chose these numbers because they seem do-able; I work 5 days a week, an average of 10 hours a day, so I didn't want to aim too high and then give up half way through. I'm determined to get to 25,000 words at least by the end of the month. Any more than that will be a bonus. 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I finished my Camp NaNo planning, which is great. It's the most detailed plan I've had for a NaNo project so far, so hopefully that's a good sign! I can't wait to get writing.  - My dad enjoyed the cakes I made for him, so that's good. I don't get to see him much these days, so it was nice to see him, if only for a little while.  - It's payday today! I've been a little short of money this month, because I got my laptop, so it'll be nice to be able to spend again! 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating:  - I finally signed up for Camp NaNo next month - I'm doing quite well with the planning for the novel I want to write, so I decided to bite the bullet and sign up. My word count target is only 25000 though - I'll aim to get more than that written, but I didn't want to aim too high.  - It's Father's Day this weekend here in England, so tonight I'll be baking some goodies to take to my dad when I see him tomorrow. I'll be making him two of his favourites; a Victoria Sponge cake and a Cherry loaf.  - The weather's been lovely this week, the only problem is the pollen count has been really high and my hayfever has come back with a vengeance! It does kind of make me miss colder weather (I'm a winter girl) but it is nice to see the sun shining....

Title: A Silent Soliloquy Author: L.G. Keltner Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian Length: 28,000 words Cover Art: Devross Release Date: July 6th, 2015 TIPPIE was created to be a weapon. By all appearances, she's an ordinary girl of 18, and she uses that to her advantage in her work for The Facility. What no one sees is that there's another girl buried deep inside. She can't speak or control the movements of the body she inhabits. As TIPPIE's silent passenger, she can only observe. She uses the details she learns from TIPPIE's work to reconstruct the stories of other people's lives. It helps her feel a little more connected to the world she can only watch. When TIPPIE's work leads her to David, a young man with a haunted past and information that The Facility wants, TIPPIE uses her skills to earn his trust. The silent girl beneath the surface knows that TIPPIE is only going to hurt him, but she can't help but feel for him. Those feelings only grow...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - I've done some planning for Camp NaNo this week - I'm still not 100% sure whether I'll be doing it, it really depends on how much planning I get done. It's nice just to be writing again!  - Heroes - I started watching it from the beginning again yesterday, and I forgot how good it was! It gets pretty crappy after the first couple of seasons, but it's great until then.  - I went for a walk with Jamie (the boyfriend) yesterday, which was fun - we got a little lost but we found some swings and indulged our inner children! 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop now hosted by Lexa Cain . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week, no matter how small. This week I'm celebrating: - I'm blogging again! I spent my day off on Wednesday going through everyone's blogs for IWSG, and I've really missed visiting other bloggers! I'm so glad to be back. - Hand in hand with this comes the news that I got my new laptop on Tuesday. I think part of the reason I wasn't writing or blogging as much recently is that my computer is upstairs in this house, and sometimes when I've had a long day at work I just want to relax on the settee. Well now I can do that and blog at the same time!  - The weather's been great here lately - it's lovely to see some sunshine. We're going for a picnic on Sunday, and I can't wait - it'll be nice to get out and about.  - It's amazing how one small change can make such a big difference -...

So the last time I wrote a goals post was back in March, and I barely completed any of those goals, so I'm just going to start again! So here are my goals for June: - To write and publish at least two blog posts every week - To read 4 books - To plan for next month's Camp NaNo For the last few weeks the only blog posts I have been putting up every week are my Celebrate the Small Things posts, and sometimes I didn't even manage to put those up. I'm looking forward to varying my blog posts again! The reading goal will be the easiest to complete - I'm reading a lot lately - but the Camp NaNo planning will be the hardest. It's been a while since I did any writing that wasn't blog posts or shopping lists, but I'm determined to get something done this month, writing-wise, and I really would love to be able to participate in Camp NaNo next month.

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . So, it's been a really long time since I actually blogged properly. The last IWSG post I wrote was way back in March! Sorry about the absence.  My new laptop came yesterday, so now I have no excuse not to get back into full-time blogging, and I've got to tell you, I'm pretty excited about getting back into it. I've really missed blogging. So, my insecurities this month? Same old stuff really; even though I have my laptop now, will I have the time to blog? Will it be enough to bring me out of my writing slump?  Well I'll tell you right now, I'm determined to get back into this. I will find the time to blog, no matter how many hours I'm at work, and ...