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 Cavanaugh are Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey.
I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
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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.
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 featured question is:
"Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don't write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to be."
Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?
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Happy August, Everyone!
Wherever you are, I hope that you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and happy.
With regard to this month's question, I have always chosen a form/genre in advance.
Amen. Full stop. Period.
However, whatever I am writing, I always write from my heart
which is my preferred way of saying that I write my truth.
My truth? What exactly does that mean?
When I tried to articulate this, I found it hard to put into words ~ Ironic for a writer, isn't it?
"What do you believe? What, on a broad level, has your experience been as a human being in your community or country? What universal struggle have you experienced or witnessed? And what is your response, your gut reaction, your belief concerning your experiences?"
That works beautifully for fiction, but I primarily write non-fiction.
When I write non-fiction, my guiding principal is to write the truth.
For me that means verified facts, accuracy, and honesty.
I work very, very hard to do this to the best of my ability.
If I can't write with integrity, then why write?
* * * * *
On a completely different topic,
that of giving back to the IWSG and its wonderful members,
today I am reviewing a trilogy, recently completed by one prolific and cool cat
who does a great deal for the IWSG and its members.
Any guesses?
My Kitty Looking at a Very Special Kitty
Aurora, Colorado, USA
July 21, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
If you guessed Pat Hatt, you are right!
I recently completed Pat's Disconnective series which was released over several years:
The Connective, 2017, The Disconnective, 2018, and The Elusive, 2020.
Pat's Disconnective Series
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 4, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I've read each of these books at least twice,
and the last time was a three-book marathon from beginning to end.
Guaranteed, when you read Pat's novels you are in for non-stop adventure.
And the Disconnective series certainly delivered!
By the time I finished the three books back-to-back long after midnight recently,
I was wiped out, and it was not from the late hour.
My brain was in overdrive from the scope of the story
that raced through almost nine hundred pages like a go-cart
without brakes flying down from the summit of the Pikes Peak Highway.
And the next time I'm on Highway 103
driving along the South Shore of Nova Scotia,
I'm going to be torn when I approach Exit 19.
Should I exit the highway and visit the town of Milton,
or should I floor it and get the hell out of Dodge?
The Mersey River at Milton
Photo by Sara Star
Sally and Travis take Exit 19 with their mother Maggie,
never suspecting that they are about to be caught up in
a dangerous quest that will carry them into adulthood.
A car accident has killed their father, and their mother Maggie has decided
that a new beginning in a sleepy rural town will help them heal as a family.
Unfortunately Maggie chose the wrong town.
On their first evening in their new home,
a pudgy short neighborhood boy named Billy warns the kids,
"Get out now. Go back to where you came from.
Go before The Connective makes you a part of them."
When eleven-year-old Travis wakes up the next morning,
he finds seventeen-year-old Sally and their mother behaving strangely.
He quickly learns from Billy, who is in his sixth grade class,
that his mother and sister have become part of the sinister Connective.
And so the quest begins, as Travis tries to save his sister and mother,
and it quickly spirals downward as he battles an ancient evil
in mysterious Milton and surrounding Queen's County.
I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say
that Travis's quest carries him far beyond Queen's County in The Disconnective,
and even beyond the planes of the living in The Elusive
as he fights terrifying foes in his struggle to vanquish evil and find his way home.
Pat with Kitties Orlin and Cassie
There are three things I want to say about The Disconnective series.
The first thing is that this series is surreal, and you have to suspend your disbelief.
Forget about critical thinking and logic, just let go and hang on for the ride.
It's a wild and enjoyable one.
As I was reading the third volume, I kept thinking,
How do Travis and his companions keep going and going?
I would have curled up in a quivering ball of terror and said,
"Just kill me. I can't do this any longer. Just kill me and get it over with!"
I also was thinking, How does Pat come up with all of this?
His imagination truly has no boundaries!
I enjoy speculative fiction, and I certainly enjoyed the Disconnective series.
The second thing is that it was fun to see Pat grow and improve
as a writer throughout the series.
In the first book there were some spots where I wanted
to take out my teacher's red pen and edit, but I resisted.
My fascination with the story kept pulling me forward.
By the third book, I had long forgotten about that pen.
What intrigued me was that in the middle of all the adventure
certain themes were emerging:
courage, persistence, loyalty, and the importance of family;
and a question, "What would you do to survive?"
The third thing is a heads-up.
The series does contain violence and has mature sexual content.
I've lived long enough to know that some people might appreciate
knowing this up front, especially parents of precocious readers.
As for me, I enjoyed Pat's humor, particularly his irreverent take
on some aspects of human history and culture. I found it deliciously funny.
If you like speculative fiction, have a zany sense of humor, enjoy a wild ride,
and appreciate an unbounded imagination, then you'll enjoy the Disconnective series.
A Selection of Pat Hatt's Books
Aurora, Colorado, USA
July 21, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Happy writing in August!
Fundy Blue
Waiting for the Ferry to Tiverton
Grand Passage, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada
July, 2016
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
The post today is Catch Some Writer's Sparks and Fuel Your Creative Fire!
TaDa! Only until August 8th!
Voyagers, as an Ebook is on sale!
Voyagers is $2.99 on Amazon from August 4 through August 8.
Here's a link to a great price:
You can order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost
at the links below.
Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic
