Courage

Confronting the dragons
Overcoming the obstacles
Understanding the risks
Really living
Always believing
Going the distance
Expecting the best

Courage is not the failure to recognize fear, it is the refusal to accepts it's offer.

Don't be a hostage to yesterday, be in command of today.

Don't let fear stop you, it only means you're facing great opportunities.

Mystery Writers Wanted

Mystery writers of all craft levels and sub-genres are invited to join us at Mysteries in the Making. It's a new group dedicated to mystery writers with the goal of becoming the best writers we can while helping others become their best.

It's a private group so our rights are protected. To join, go to Zoetrope and become a member. Then click on Private Offices on the left side menu. You can either search the offices for Mysteries in the Making or use the search function. Then, just request an invite.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Why it's important to follow guidelines...

Love & Hate

I love spring, most of the time. The grass turns green, trees leaf out, flowers bloom and all is wonderful. Except for the yellow haze of pollen that covers EVERYTHING, the stuffy head, watery eyes and sneezing. But after spring comes summer. I love summer. The warm sun, cold lemonade, swimming in the pool, just being lazy. Those days totally make up for all the annoyances of spring.

Writing is like that too. I love getting ideas and plotting them out, seeing what happens. I love creating characters, getting to know them and then putting them through their paces to see just what they can handle. I love how they handle those things and how sometimes they surprise me.

I hate writing too. I hate staring at the blank page, trying to get that first sentence right. I hate struggling with my inner editor over each little word. And I hate going back and reading something I thought was decent only to find it really is dreck.

But...after all the hard work of writing, comes the love again. I love it when the battles with the inner editor have made the story stronger, tighter and more focused. I love it when a reader loves my story and when I surprise 'em with an unexpected twist or turn. All these, make the hard work worth it. And, these things keep me writing.

So, tell me what you love/hate about writing.

Remember to become one of our first 25 followers and win either an autographed copy of The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson or The Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing.

You can also get your daily writing or motivational quote by following me on Twitter. I promise not to tell you what I'm having for lunch, about the bluejay that crashed into my picture window this morning and startled me or how bad a hair day I'm having.

And, while you're at it...stop by Golden Visions Magazine and read my story Prey. If you like it, give it a vote shout out!:-)

Afraid by Jack Kilborn

The US government spends billions of dollars training soldiers to kill. Now they’re attempting an alternative approach. Instead of turning soldiers into killers, the military has trained five psychopathic murderers to be part of a classified Special Forces unit.

Codename: Red-Ops

They are the most fearsome weapon ever created, meant to be dropped behind enemy lines. Their goals: Isolate. Terrorize. Annihilate. Five Hannibal Lectors with Rambo training. But something horrible has happened...

Welcome to Safe Haven, Population 907

A tiny community of families, retirees, and artists, nestled between Big Lake and Little Lake MacDonald in the northwoods. One road in, one road out, thirty miles away from everything. A town so small and peaceful they don’t even have a full time police force.

Hell has come to Safe Haven.

On their way to a mission, the Red Ops helicopter has crashed just outside of town. The team is now roaming free in the wilderness, heading for the nearest lights. Heading there to do what they do best.

Soon the phone lines are cut, the cell phones jammed, and the road blocked. Safe Haven’s only chance for survival rests on the shoulders of an aging county Sheriff. And as the body count rises, he’s quickly realizing something terrifying—maybe the Red Ops haven’t come to his small town by accident...

Safe Haven, Wisconsin. Population 907. . . 906. . . 905. . .

Are you afraid of the dark? You should be. You will be.

I came late to finding J.A. Konrath's blog (A Newbies Guide to Publishing), but have grown to love it and when I found out he had a horror novel coming out soon, I just had to check it out. And after reading the excerpt, I was sold. I just had to read the book!

I didn't get in on the month long blog tour Joe/Jack carried out but I followed along and read the reviews, chuckled over interviews and became increasingly eager to put Afraid to the test.

You see, I'm hard to please when it comes to reading for pleasure. And as a kid, I used to read Stephen King under the covers with a flashlight so I'm darn hard to scare. Who of us can forget, Carrie, Cujo, Pet Sematary, Misery or even The Dark Half. Gosh, those bring back memories:-) But I have to say, move over Stephen, Jack Kilborn's come to town. And he's really creepy!

I love this book! I'd have read it in one sitting, which I haven't done in so long I can't remember but I'd been up since before daylight, driven about 8 hours that day and by 11, my brain just couldn't handle being awake.

The bad guys are really, really bad. The good guys are people I'd like to know and call friend. While I wasn't frightened by Afraid, I found myself thinking about different scenes during the next couple days. Especially the toe chewing off thing. That was just creepy...but creepy in a good way.

If you love horror, I highly recommend Afraid. It's fast moving, never boring and will be on my keeper shelf.

In fact, I'm going to be trying a couple of J.A.'s other books too. I think I've found a new favorite!

Writing Buddies

We all know writing is a solitary pursuit, at least most of the time. And that's great. But sometimes we NEED a writing buddy, someone who understands what we're going through as we travel the very bumpy road to publication. And, it seems to be getting rougher as we go along.

So, want a writing buddy? Need someone to hold you accountable for getting words on the page? Let me know. Need a place to hang your hat and put your feet up? Let me know that too. I've got a spot in mind.

Just let me know what genre you write and how experienced you are so I can pair you with the "right" buddy.

If you love to read or write mysteries, then I've got a special place for you. I've started a office called Mysteries in the Making over at Zoetrope, just for mysteries. It's private so we don't have to worry about losing rights of things posted there. You have to join Zoetrope and then "Zmail" me for an invite but it's easy to do. My hope is to create a place where we can help each other grow in our craft and become published if that's what a person is aiming for.

Also, remember become on of the first 25 Mysteries in the Making Blog followers and you'll be entered to win an autographed copy of The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson or The Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing.

I've also started Twittering and would encourage you to follow me there. I promise not to bore you with mindless twitters about what I had for lumch or how bad a hair day I'm having. In fact, you'll get a writing or inspirational/motivational quote. You can find me under jeanlauzier.

Mysteries in the Making "Office"

Happy April and spring.

As a way to help other mystery writers get their stories written, critiqued and out for the rest of the world to read, I've started a private mystery group over at Zoetrope.

You have to join the Zoetrope website, which is easy. Then go to the menu on the left of the page and click on Private Offices. That will give you a list of the 200 most active "offices" on the site.

Scroll down and look for Mysteries in the Making. Or, use the search function. Then you can request an invite. I'll be more than happy to have you join us there.

Here's a couple benefits.

The group is private. We can post our work there, get critiques and comments and not have to worry about losing our rights.

It's a great place to fellowship and socialize with other mystery writers. So, let your friends know about it.

It'll be a great place to share mystery markets or mystery focused contests.

So, stop on over, join and take part. Introduce yourself and let us know what you like to write.

Jean