Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Masquerade Release Day and Announcing the 2019 IWSG Anthology Contest Opening

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.


The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca, and T. Powell Coltrin!

May 1 question: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

We have two amazing announcements today!

Just released:
Masquerade: Oddly Suited - An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
Young Adult Fiction: Romance - General/Paranormal/Contemporary
Print ISBN 9781939844644 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844651 $4.99

Find love at the ball…

Can a fake dating game show lead to love? Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince? Can a softball pitcher and a baseball catcher work together? Is there a vampire living in Paradise, Newfoundland? What’s more important—a virtual companion or a date to the ball?

Ten authors explore young love in all its facets, from heartbreak to budding passion. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Jennifer Lane, C.D. Gallant-King, Elizabeth Mueller, Angela Brown, Myles Christensen, Deborah Solice, Carrie-Anne Brownian, Anstice Brown, and Chelsea Marie Ballard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will mystify and surprise even as they touch your heart. Don your mask and join the party…

Find Masquerade: Oddly Suited here - Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Goodreads

You can find out more about the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited here.

And the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited are hosting a live Q & A session on Discord! Join them on Sat 11th May from 1:00 pm EST / 6:00 pm GMT to find out more about the anthology and the contributing authors and ask any burning questions you may have.
The Q & A will be held on Discord. Please follow the invite link: HERE


The 2019 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions!

Guidelines and rules:

Word count: 3500-5000

Genre: Middle Grade Historical – Adventure/Fantasy

Theme: Voyagers

Submissions accepted: May 1 - September 4, 2019

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your full contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges:

Elizabeth S. Craig, author and honorary judge
Elizabeth is the bestselling cozy mystery author of the Southern Quilting mysteries, the Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysteries, the Village Library Mysteries, and Memphis Barbeque mysteries for Penguin Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently. Follow her on Twitter where she shares writing links @elizabethscraig or at her blog where she offers tips for writers. She lives in Matthews, North Carolina with her husband and is the mother of two.

Dianne K. Salerni, author
Dianne K. Salerni is the author of the The Eighth Day fantasy series and historical novels, The Caged Graves and We Hear the Dead. The Roosevelt Ghosts, featuring young cousins Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt and a vengeful ghost, will be released in 2020 by Holiday House.



Lindsay Davis Auld, agent - Writers House


Lynda Dietz, editor
Lynda has been fascinated with the written word since her earliest years of reading the back of the cereal box at the breakfast table. She’s now a copyeditor who works with authors in a variety of genres, both in fiction and nonfiction. She’s had a blog for over six years, and shares writing tips from an editor’s point of view with a healthy dose of snark and silliness. She’s also an unapologetic—but always encouraging—grammar thug.

S.A. Larsen, author
S.A. Larsen is the international award-winning author of the middle grade fantasy-adventure MOTLEY EDUCATION and the young adult contemporary-fantasy romance MARKED BEAUTY. When she’s not chasing her characters around a graveyard or antagonizing them with young love, she can be found in Maine with her husband and four children. Visit her cyber home atS.A. Larsen Books.

Rachna Chhabria, author
Rachna Chhabria's imagination has taken her all over the world and introduced her to all kinds of creatures. She is the author of Festival Stories Through The Year, Lazy Worm Goes on a Journey, The Lion Who Wanted to Sing and Bunny in Search of a Name. A columnist with Deccan Chronicle and The Asian Age, her stories have appeared in Young World, Open Sesame, Tele Kids and Deccan Herald Student Edition newspaper, as well as in several school textbooks. She also taught creative writing in a college for many years. As a child she loved listening to stories, now she loves writing them.

Tonja Drecker, author
Tonja Drecker is a writer, blogger, children’s book reviewer and freelance translator. After spending years in Germany exploring forgotten castles, she currently resides in the Ozarks with her family of six. When she’s not tending her chickens and cows, she’s discovering new adventures, nibbling chocolate and sipping a cup of tea.

David Powers King, author
David's works include WOVEN, THE UNDEAD ROAD, and FULL DARK: AN ANTHOLOGY. He currently resides in the Mountain West with his wife and 4 children.




Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.

Our previous IWSG anthologies:
Masquerade: Oddly Suited
Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime
Hero Lost: The Mysteries of Death and Life
Parallels: Felix Was Here


Will you be picking up Masquerade or entering the next anthology contest?
We also need co-hosts for June, July, and August. If you can co-host, leave a comment or email us.

21 comments:

Patsy said...

Happy to co host again later in the year, but I'll be travelling those months and might not be able to get online on the right day.

nashvillecats2 said...

I'm sure the Anthology will seel well. Good luck.

Yvonne.

Michelle Wallace said...

Yet another anthology completed and a new one about to take off...
Happy IWSG Day!

Pat Hatt said...

One done and another to be spun. Wins indeed.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Patsy, if you want to wait and do it later in the fall, that's fine.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats to everyone in the anthology. And looks like you've got great judges for the next anthology.

Doreen McGettigan said...

I'm happy to co-host. It's been awhile!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'm looking forward to the entries.

The Cynical Sailor said...

Happy to help in July.

Yay for the Masquerade authors! Can't wait to dive into their stories.

cleemckenzie said...

Great line up of judges for the next contest!

Tyrean Martinson said...

So much good news!!!
I can co-host in August or September, but not until then.

Jemi Fraser said...

Congrats to the authors on Masquerade hitting the shelves!
Love the new theme!

L.G. Keltner said...

That's a great group of judges! I'm sure there will be a flood of wonderful entries for the next contest!

Fundy Blue said...

Hey, Alex! I already have an idea for a story for the anthology contest, and it has nothing to do with selfies or mermaids ~ LOL My life is in such upheaval right now, I don't dare offer to co-host. But, when these dates get closer, if I can, I'll check back to see if you still need help. Terry is flying right now to go check out more houses in Henderson. I passed on going ~ this time. I hope that you are having a great day! Sending you a shot of energy!

Lisa said...

Have my copy! Can't wait to read it...

Gwen Gardner said...

Congratulations on the release of oddly suited! It was an awesome anthology. The next anthology sounds really tempting too! I might have to think about it entering.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Woo hoo! I can't wait to read it!

Juneta key said...

Congrats on the anthology release. Wahoo! Happy IWSG!

Victoria Marie Lees said...

This is wonderful, Alex. Like everyone says: one anthology published, another one on the way. Bravo to all who submit and become published. All best to both judges and writers.

Jemima Pett said...

Great work by everybody. Just trying to work out what historical - adventure/fantasy means combined with Voyagers!

Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost said...

A question re: the manuscript.
I have some reference links. I'm guessing they get put on at the end and do not count towards the word count of the story. Or do you not want to see reference links at all?