Blue Hearts

 I'm starting to see Blue Heart gifs everywhere. i think this is my favorite:  https://tenor.com/view/heartonfire-blueheart-gif-11948513

I think symbolism is important. I don't wear t-shirts with slogans. I don't wear buttons or caps with initials on them. But my politics are pretty simple and pretty straightforward. I'm for kindness. I'm for inclusivity. i read banned books. I watch more than one news station. 

But wearing our (blue) hearts on our sleeve isn't enough. There is so such going wrong--everything, everywhere, and all at once--that it's really easy to be overwhelmed. And it's not like you can hit pause on your life and devote yourself full time to solving problems. But there are things you can do. 

Check out the suggestions from the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom. 

Join Unite Against Book Bans to find out abotu the latest legal shenanigans

Check out these tips on how to get nvolved. And read these books. Buy copies ad leave them in Little Libraries. Give them as gifts. 

BE AN ALLY

Support LGBTQ rights.

Support social justice for all Americans. Southern Poverty Law Center.

Advocate for gun sense. 

Everytown for Gun Safety

Texas Gun Sense

Moms Demand Action

Gun Sense Voter

Students Demand Action

The Brady Foundation (Take Acton, Not Sides)

Sandy Hook Promise

Giffords Law Center

One Aim (Illinois)

There's a lot going on right now.

Pay attention.

Read everything you can.

And vote.

Castle of Shadows is up for preorder

 

As you know, I love my fairytale retrellings. I was very pleased to be selected to participate in the Castle of Shadows boxed set. My story is a retelling of the Snow Queen called, "The Ice-bound Heart."

Here's the blurb:

What fairy tales lurk in the dark? Are they good or evil? Who gets their happily ever after, the heroes or the villains? 

Grab your pixie-dust, hoist up your sword, spin some gold, and take a climb into this riveting limited collection of fairy tales!

This collection will leave you breathless with wonder, shower you with laughter, and might even bring on a spout of tears. But have no fear! These twenty authors will be sure to give you a story you won't soon forget. 

Because let's face it . . . Not all fairy tales are meant to stay under the castle's shadow.

Here's where to preorder it for $4.99. It will be FREE on KU. 

The Bachelor and the Geek...out now from Sofia Aves

His brand of grumpy sunshine clashes with her outer geek...on an international stage.

Silver fox and security firm owner Sirius Weston is the eldest of his band of bachelor brothers and feels some responsibility for his siblings’ security. Intent on leading by example, he lets himself be goaded into joining the cast of a reality TV show in an effort to boost his firm’s reputation and find himself some form of stability as a model for his brothers-in whatever form that might take.

Mousy brainiac Annie Pillingston is nothing like what he imagined, either in his bed or out of it. When he’s partnered with her for the duration of filming reality TV show Geekily Yours, ending in the biggest gala event of the year, he helps the chaotic and shy woman battle catwalks, heels and social awkwardness as she transforms from geek into gorgeous in her own way.

But there’s more fingers in the reality TV pie than either of them expect, from exes and interfering bosses to controlling fathers. Together they navigate the political landscape despite the risk of ruin for his firm’s reputation-and his own-until one secret too many threatens the trust they’ve built together. Though Sirius didn’t want to be on the show in the first place, he no longer wants to go home alone, though he might not have a choice.

Buy here for $2.99. It's the first in a series!

Check out USA Today bestselling novelist Sofia Aves:

Instagram: sofiaavesbooks

Amazon

Bookbub

Goodreads

Facebook

Stay tuned for the review!

New books for a new month!

 Who doesn't want to start the new month out with new books--free and priced at 99 cents? Check out this promo here.

Another short story collection

 

I turned my focus from short stories to novellas and short novels a few years ago, but over time, I still wrote the odd short story. And this month I realized...I'd written enough for a new collection. So here it is--dark fiction in short bites. Most of the stories were published in short-term anthologies that didn't get much circulation and collections that are now "out of print." The title story is new.

It's available free on KU. You can purchase it here. 

I am struggling with a story...

 I used to write a lot of short stories. Sometimes I was really lucky and they just unspooled like gifts from the universe. Generally,  I have a starting point and an ending point and that's all I need. But I've been struggling with a dark little story since October.  I want to finish it so I can complete a new collection of short stories. It's the title story, so I can't just leave it out.

But I've been thinking about how lucky I am that I can still write. I know a woman, multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, creative writng teacher, would-be novelist. She's younger than I am, somewhere in her early 40s,  I think, although she might be younger. She's got an eye for photography. She can paint. But since contractng long covid, she can't hold a thought in her head. 

She's extremely frustrated and has simply quit writing until she has her memory back. And of course, she has that niggling fear--what if I never get it back?

Keep writing until then. 

In the meantime, I have to wait until I'm out of Amazon pre-order jail (next month). Once I am, expect to see a lot of books coming up. 

This cold, wet winter has been good for hunkering down and writing!

I'm starting to have moments when I grope for words. They always come but what if, one day, the words DON'T come. I banish that thought as soon as it comes into my head because I have no plan B. Writing is it. 

Enter for a chance to win free books

 It's Women's History month. Enter for a chance to win these three books.