The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hi to the co-hosts: Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey!

I'm going to skip the monthly question because it assume I plan anything with my writing, and I YOLO it. The only exception is promotion and marketing because panstering that doesn't work too well. ?

I was a bit stumped as to what to write about today, but thanks to Chrys Fey, I'm going to share what I've learned about dealing with writing burnout, writer's block, and depression.

I've been burnt out and had writer's block before. It's not fun. The first time, I got really stressed about it. Why couldn't I write? Was I never going to write again? The catch-22 was stressing made it worse so it was a vicious cycle. Eventually, it lifted and I was writing again. What a relief.

Until it happened again.

Only since then I had learned an important lesson: Let yourself rest. Instead of stressing about not writing, I let myself relax. Writing would come back. It's okay to take a break. At times I still felt guilty, but it was nowhere as near bad as the first time I got burnt out and blocked.

It changed the answer I'd give about what advice I'd give to new writers. I now say it was okay not to write, that sometimes we need a break. We don't expect any other profession to work 24/7, so why are writers insisting that's how we work?

This is a realization that many can only learn through experience, but I want to reiterate here: It's okay NOT to write. Life gets in the way and there's no time. Sometimes we get burnt out and can't. That is okay. It doesn't make you less of a writer. It makes you human.

Catch the sparks you need to conquer writer’s block, depression, and burnout!

When Chrys Fey shared her story about depression and burnout, it struck a chord with other writers. That put into perspective for her how desperate writers are to hear they aren’t alone. Many creative types experience these challenges, battling to recover. Let Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer's Block, Depression, and Burnout guide you through:
·        Writer's block
·        Depression
·        Writer's burnout
·        What a writer doesn’t need to succeed
·        Finding creativity boosts
With these sparks, you can begin your journey of rediscovering your creativity and get back to what you love - writing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips on how to reverse writer’s burnout. https://www.chrysfey.com/

Ghosts span the globe, haunting every corner. You can't travel anywhere and not find a tale about a misty spectral that died tragically. Here are 13 ghosts from around the globe to keep you up at night.

1 Slit-Mouthed Woman
Usually seen wearing a mask over her lower jaw, this famous Japanese ghost targets children. Upon meeting a child, she removes the mask and reveals a sliced-up mouth. She then asks the child if they think she is beautiful. Say no, and she stabs the child. Say yes, and she slits their mouth just like hers. It’s a no win situation!

2 Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was one of Henry VIII’s many wives. The king divorced and beheaded her for not giving him a male heir. A bit of an overreaction in my opinion! Anne’s ghost is said to haunt the Tower of London. She does have her head. She is said to frighten passersby as she wanders the halls. On occasion she is seen in other historic buildings. Seeking justice perhaps?

3 La Llorona
La Llorona (Spanish for The Crying Woman) is always crying when you see her. Her tears are because she killed her children by drowning in a fit of rage because the man she loved would not have her. When he spurned her again, she realized the horrible thing she had done, so she subjected herself to the same fate as her children and drowned herself. Condemned to wander the world in perpetual grief, she is seen soaking wet, in all white, and crying. Some say she snatches young children as she walks, mistaking them for her own.

4 Kate Batts, the Bell Witch
The year was 1817 and a man named John Bell and his family began experiences ghostly happenings in their Tennessee home. The terrifying activity was thought to be the cause of a witch named Kate Batts, but in reality, the daughter, Betsy, was the one most likely causing the activity. Despite that, the Bell Witch lives on and has been inspiration in many stories, including The Blair Witch Project.

5 Dolley Madison
There have been many stories of ghosts in the White House. One such tale is that of First Lady Dolley Madison. She was known for her grace and charm, and she played a role in making the White House a social epicenter. After her death, it is said another First Lady attempted to dig up her beloved rose gardens. Dolley was having none of that and her ghost showed up to frighten the gardeners away. To this day, the roses are still there and blooming.

6 The Gray Man
The Gray Man is a ghost of Pawleys Island in South Carolina. Sometimes he is described as having no legs along with no face. Whenever a hurricane or other sever is storm is about to hit and you see him, you will be protected from the storm. The story of his death is he was a guy traveling from Charleston to see a young lady. His horse got sucked into the mud of South Carolina’s marshes. Since then, he’s seen roaming the coastline, looking for love, and helping people avoid weather disasters.

7 Cottage City Poltergeist
You may not know the name Cottage City Poltergeist, but you are familiar with it as it was the inspiration behind William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist. A real-life case from 1949, it centered around a 13-year-old-boy from Cottage City, Maryland. Shaking beds, weird noises, and sheets pulled off the mattress were just a few of the weird occurrences that happened after the boy played with an Ouija board. The boy was moved to a hospital in Saint Louis, where an exorcism was performed, and curing the boy.

8 Abraham Lincoln
Since Lincoln’s death in 1865, his ghost has popped up in many different locations. He is most commonly spotted in the White House, including the Lincoln Bedroom. Numerous heads of states has be shocked by Abe, including the queen of the Netherlands. She opened a door to find Honest Abe standing there. It gave her such a scare she fainted!

9 The Buruburu Ghost
A Japanese ghost that feeds on fear, the Buruburu gets its name from the sound you make when you shiver. It is created whenever someone acts like a coward, who it clings to by the collar of their shirt and lightly tickling the back of their neck. This causes a shiver to roll down the spine and goosebumps. The Buruburu feeds on the fear.

10 The Greenbrier Ghost 
Zona Heaster married a drifter in the late 1800s who killed her. At first, her death was attributed to natural causes after her husband, Shue, scared the doctor away. An autopsy was preformed and the truth reveal because Zona’s mother, Mary Jane claimed to have seen the ghost of her daughter. She said Zona’s ghost told her Shue had broken her neck and proved it by turning her ghostly head completely around! During the trial, the prosecutor tried to keep Zona’s ghost a secret but the defense asked about it in an attempt to undermine Mary Jane’s credibility. This strategy backfired and Shue went to jail. Zona’s ghost was never seen again.

11 The Madonna of Bachelor's Grove
If you want to ensure you have a ghostly encounter then the place to visit is Bachelor’s Grove. Many report seeing featureless orbs, blogs of ectoplasm, as well as a spectral farmer and his horse. Other notable ghosts are a black dog and a ghost with two heads! The most famous ghost is call Madonna. On nights of the full moon, she can be seen wandering the graveyard and carrying a baby. On occasion, she is seen in full daylight.

12 & 13: The Girls In The Bathroom
I don’t know what it is about Japan and bathrooms, but their ghosts seem to love them. In one tale, if you go into the girls bathroom on the third floor and walk to the third stall you will find a little girl with a bob haircut. Her name is Hanako-san and she wants to play. Or drag you to Hell. We’re not sure. Depending on what part of Japan you live in, she may have a bloody hand to grab you with or be a lizard that devours you.

Hanako-san has become a fixture of Japanese urban folklore for over 70 years, but she is not the only schoolgirl haunting Japan’s bathrooms. Another young girl named Kashima Reiki was said to be cut in half by a train. Now, her disfigured spirit inhabits bathrooms, asking any who enter the stall where her legs are. If she doesn’t like your answer, she will rip your legs off! Answer wisely.

(Source, Source, Source, Source)

Which ghost was your favorite? Will you think twice about going to the bathroom in Japan?

The other week I embarked on the daunting task of reformatting all my books in paperback and eBook as well as rewriting all my blurbs. In the middle of it, I decided to give Leaves of Fall a cover make over, and I want to show it off.

Pretty snazzy, eh? I spent a long time messing with the color of the font because the first version I did had a different image at the bottom and the color was very flat.

I've also got new links for all my books thanks to Draft 2 Digital.

I signed up for an account and after seeing how pretty they can make the final ebook, I decided to distribute my books through them and they gave me a handy-dandy universal buy link. It's so nice to have one link that can send someone to any retailer. I'm still using Smashwords and Amazon, but they allow me to add those buy links to the UBL as well.

This novella series consists of three men in unconventional professions: the stripper, the escort, and the porn star. All three covers were designed by Lilly Avalon herself!

Release Date: August 31st 2020

Carlie Coleman is not looking forward to her stepsister’s bachelorette party.

It was supposed to be a simple affair with a small group of Valerie’s closest friends at their parents’ beach house. Instead, the guests have tripled, there’s a fancy caterer, and at some point there will be strippers.

It’s going to be a disaster… until she meets the cute waiter.

Aiden Carter is sweet and she’s smitten. They can’t stop staring at each other from across the room. Their mutual attraction is undeniable. Before the night is over, she discovers something else.

The cute waiter is also the entertainment.

Release Date:September 14th 2020

Goldie Rivers needs a date… and fast.

She isn’t showing up to another wedding by herself. The incessant questions about why she’s still single, not to mention the men who won’t leave her alone when they find that out. What’s a girl to do?

Hire an escort, of course.

Gavin Pruett is sexy, confident, and definitely not coming home with her tonight. He’s only there to keep the questions and other men at bay. His company proves far more tempting than she could have predicted, things heat up.

Will Goldie be able to fight it or will she give in?

Release Date:September 28th 2020

Margaret Bloom doesn’t know why she’s at this party.

Recently dumped by her serious boyfriend, she would much rather be ringing in the new year at home in her pajamas. If she were there, she wouldn’t have to worry about the dreaded midnight kiss. She has to figure out what to do and time is running out.

Enter Phoenix Westbrook.

He’s sexy, he’s nice… and he’s a porn star? This information may have initially come as a shock, but just makes the idea of kissing him all the more tempting. They make a pact to share a kiss at midnight, no strings attached.

They didn’t count on the kiss leading them to other things.

Lilly Avalon is the thirty-something author of the RESIST series and other romance books. She started to pen her first erotica at twelve years old, but her mom found the "dirty story" and threw it away, which was just as well because it wasn't that good. At all. Luckily, she continued to write stories for years until she rediscovered her love of sexy tales in her late twenties.

Lilly currently resides in Ohio with her husband and pet rodents. Lilly Avalon is a pen name.

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The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hi to the co-hosts: Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Liesbet, Tyrean Martinson, and Sandra Cox!

July 1 question - There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

I have no idea how to answer this question. Stuff like that isn't something I spend a lot of time thinking on. I'm more of a roll with the flow of things type person, so whatever happens, I try to adapt and keep on trucking.

As for my insecurities... Well, I can't say they've been horrible. Most of June I felt some hopelessness about my writing. I didn't get much done because of health issues and the lack of energy which accompanied them.

It didn't help matters when I put Influenced up for pre-order, sent a newsletter about it and didn't get a single pre-order. I've heard people touting how wonderful newsletters are and the people on it are your true fans who want to support you and can't wait to read your books. I wondered what those people were smoking because I wasn't seeing it. I had to remind myself that my list is small and I'm still building it, and the people who are showing off their great stats have had theirs for a while. It takes works to find readers.

Strangely, despite all that, I didn't feel too guilty about my lack of writing in June. Probably because I know guilt won't get me writing sooner, and I can't push myself too hard or else I risk making my chronic illness flare worse. That only delays my writing. It's hard to get into my characters' worlds when my body is screaming in pain.

I'm hoping July will prove better for writing, that the changes I've made to my health will get the pain under control when it flares, and I can spend less time wondering why my body hates me so much and more wondering why my characters won't do what I tell them to.

How has your summer been going? What industry changes do you want to see? Want to help me out with release day for Influenced? You can sign up here.