All the News!

by Bethany Maines

The last few years have been extremely busy for me in terms of writing and that means that in 2020 all of you will be seeing the results. So I thought we should do a little re-cap of everything that's happening.  Here is an update on all things Bethany.

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THE SECOND SHOT- Release Date: 10.24.19

My romantic suspense novel was named a Pacific Northwest Writer's Association 2019 Finalist in the Romance category! Although, I have to admit, my love story shares it's DNA with a mystery-thriller I'm extremely excited and proud of this award.  It was also featured in Frolic - the online magazine for people who love love-stories.  And it has made it onto the Goodreads "Most Anticipated Release for October" List.  This list is voted on by Goodreads readers, so if you're on Goodreads, please go vote The Second Shot!  AND, last but not least, there's a Rafflecopter Giveaway for a $25 Amazon Giftcard.  Entering is easy, just go click a few things and follow me on social media and you're entered!

•  Read the exclusive Frolic Excerpt Here >>>CLICK ME!
•  Vote for The Second Shot on Goodreads >>>VOTE HERE!
•  Enter to win $25 Amazon Giftcard >>>ENTER HERE!
•  Pre-Order on Apple iBooks >>>ORDER NOW!

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COMING 2020!

An Unfamiliar Sea - Book 3 of the San Juan Islands Mysteries will be released in January.  
Tish and Tobias Yearly are back to business finding bodies, solving mysteries and delivering death pie to the bereaved.
Shark's Fin & Peregrine's Flight - Book 4 of the Shark Santoyo Series, along with a Peregrine Hays centered novella, will be released in late April of 2020. 
Shark and Peri are finally facing down mob-boss Geier and no one is safe.
The Cinderella Secret - Book 2 of The Deveraux Legacy will be released in October.
Aiden Deveraux has a secret - he's not the Prince Charming he pretends to be and the Deveraux enemies are about to find that out.

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PENDING

Short Stories - I have two out on submission - stay tuned for whether or not they get accepted into their respective publications!
Galactic Dreams Volume 3 - After taking a hiatus for 2020, Galactic Dreams, the Blue Zephyr Press Sci-Fairy Tale anthology, will be back in 2021!

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she's not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Solitaire and Spider Solitaire - Trying Again by Debra H. Goldstein

Solitaire and Spider Solitaire – Trying Again by Debra H. Goldstein

Most of you know that I reward myself for getting words on the page by playing solitaire, spider solitaire and FreeCell.  You also know, I procrastinate when the words aren’t coming by playing solitaire, spider solitaire and FreeCell.  In the past, I played on game and if it didn’t work out, I’d play a new version of the same game. Recently, I’ve started hitting “Try Again” instead of “New Game.”

“Try Again” brings up the game I just lost. The challenge for me is to see if there is a different choice I can make that results in the game working out.  Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. When the “Try Again” is successful, two thoughts go through my head: “Yes, I did it!” and “Why was I so stupid before not to have seen how I should have played this?”

When I think about the evolution of my writing, I realize it is following the same path as my game playing. In the old days, a rejection meant I’d hide the piece away. Now, I examine every aspect of what I submitted. Was there a better way I could phrase something? Did I rush the story? Did I leave a word out? Should I leave words or paragraphs out? Almost every time, I revise and improve the piece. Often, the result, when I try to place it again is success.  If it is rejected again, I repeat the process. Although some pieces are too weird or not quite complete enough for a publisher to want them, most eventually find a home.  My reaction then is very simple: “Yes, I did it!”

If one is to survive as a writer, one’s skin must be toughened so that rejections become tools of learning rather than badges of shame. My heart can still be pierced, but I’m beginning to like the process enough to play less card games. What about you?

Why I Like the Word Send by Debra H. Goldstein

For a writer, “end” often is considered the most wonderful word. I prefer adding an “s” and changing “end” to “send.” Why? Because until a story is accepted and published, I don’t consider it to be a final piece. Rather, the story can be edited and improved.

Often, a writer thinks a story is ready for publication, but when it is rejected, the writer realizes there are ways to make it better. For example, I recently submitted a story, Day After Thanksgiving Soup, to an open anthology call. The story received fair consideration, but ultimately was rejected. After receiving notice of the rejection, I read the story again and several things jumped out at me. Even though I had thought the story was written and edited to perfection before I submitted it, I now saw several flaws. There was an instance of poor word choice and several places I could tighten the tale. I revised the piece and sent it to Mystery Weekly. A few days later, I received word Mystery Weekly wanted to purchase it. Last week, not only did Day After Thanksgiving Soup appear in the paperback version of Mystery Weekly, it was featured on the cover.

This isn’t the first time I’ve written a short story, submitted it, had it rejected, rewritten it and found a home for the “new and improved” version. In fact, in a few instances, the rejection step occurred multiple times, but the final published piece was always far better than the one I started with. The same has held true with my novels.

Whenever they were rejected or criticized by an agent, publisher, or beta reader, I carefully reviewed their comments and looked to see if there was a way to make the manuscript better. There almost always was.

Writing is an ongoing process. If one willingly revises and is flexible, one’s writing is going to improve. The consequence of improvement is more acceptances – even if it isn’t at the first point of submission.

How many times was your typed “end” really “send?”