It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.
To visit the IWSG website, click here.
To become a member of the IWSG, click here.
Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are
Stop by their posts and thank them for hosting.
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Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.
Remember the question is optional.
This month's optional question is:
Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?
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Happy July, Everyone!
I hope all is well with each of you.
I have never written romance.
I could write about sexual assault, but not romance.
I'd like to break through that barrier.
We shall see.
On an entirely different topic, I like to read books written by IWSG authors,
and I've read a fair number.
This month I've read two new books and reread a favorite.
The first is the short story "The Power of Touch" by Pat Garcia.
I may not have written romance, but I enjoy romantic stories,
and this one is refreshingly unusual.
For Gianluca Abate, "One single, gigantic blast
had blown up everything he lived for." (from "Power", page 3...)
But at a train station, he meets a stranger,
someone unlike the cold-hearted people in his life,
someone who might redirect his despairing course.
The second is the inspiring memoir "Determination: A Mother of Five Conquers College"
by Victoria Marie Lees, another longtime active IWSG member like Pat Garcia.
"Funny thing about dreams," Victoria writes.
"You can try to hide them in your heart, but they never truly die." (from "Determination", Introduction ...)
This determined woman finally sets out to prove to her children,
the naysayers, and herself that dreams can come true.
I connected with this memoir on so many levels.
It reminded me of my mother's struggle to earn her degree as a mother of five,
and of my own nontraditional path to my Masters degree and beyond.
by a second Pat, my friend and a fellow IWSG Admin, the irrepressible Pat Hatt.
Pat and I
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 27, 2024
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
"So what do you want to do with the rest of your life? ...
The Researcher patiently waited for my response."
"I'm going to continue my writing
and hopefully bring a little imagination back to the world.
People are stuck, unable to use their imagination because they lack it
or they are stifled by the big wigs.
I'd like to show it can still be used." (from "Imagine Hatt", page 103 ...)
I think those few sentences are the key to who Pat is as a writer and why he writes.
And Pat's imagination is in full use, as Orlin, the irreverent and funny cat,
erases his human's boring emails to a penpal
and replaces them with zany tales making fun of humans instead.
Even though the novel is funny, outrageous,
wildly original, poignant, and, in places scatologic,
I had trouble remembering that it was fiction and its characters fictional.
And it has changed forever how I look at planes flying overhead.
I'm the first to admit that this book isn't for everyone,
but if you're broad-mined, imaginative, and uninhibited,
you may enjoy it as much as I have.
Wishing each of you a great IWSG Day,
and a big thank you to our awesome co-hosts.
(I'm patting myself on my back, because I'm flying as I co-host.)
I'll share this and why not?
I've been listening to this as I write (over and over).
Here's a link to a classic guitar solo by Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin.
Jimmy's solo in "Stairway to Heaven" starts at 6:00 minutes.
English: Robert Plant (left) and Jimmy Page (right) of Led Zeppelin,
in concert in Chicago, Illinois, 1977
We've been in Las Vegas, a seven-day break from the renovation.
The end is really in sight.
I caught a favorite band, Alter Ego, three nights in a row on Fremont Street.
I do love great guitar playing.
This is Kevin Vecchione playing the lead guitar in the Eagles' classic "Hotel California,"
accompanied by Rick Embry on the acoustic guitar.
Alter Ego Performing on the 1st Street Stage, Fremont Street
Downtown, La Vegas, Nevada, UA
June 28, 2025
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Terry and I with Friend Janeth from Ottawa
Catching the Show "Maverick" in the Plaza Showroom
Downtown, La Vegas, Nevada, USA
June 28, 2025
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Have a healthy, happy, and creative July!
Take care!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Copyright ©2025 – All rights reserved.
My next post will be Friday, July 11th 🤞
