gratitude – Page 4 – stacey jaine mcintosh

Week Thirteen and Fourteen

Posted on April 8, 2019April 11, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

Today is the end of the fourteenth week of the 365 Writing Challenge and I’ve managed to write 5008 words across fourteen days. Hard to believe, I know. This of course, doesn’t count the words that go into my blog posts, if it did, I can guarantee you the word count would be higher.

So, what have I accomplished in the past two weeks?

Let’s list it shall we and find out!

Started work on Of Blood and Fire – I’m 4,408 words into the short story which is centred around King Arthur and Camelot. Complete with dragons and… vampires. Yep! You heard correctly. Vampires!
Submitted a poem, Raven Queen to Dragon Soul Press.
Edited two short stories.
Edited 9,000 words worth of articles for a client.
Submitted my short story, The Drowning Pool to Pixie Forest Publishing’s anthology At Death’s Door.
Wrote a 600 word scene that will eventually be included in the WIP Eldritch.
Wrote two more poems
Wrote two drabbles

Of course, that list doesn’t include my work with The Horror Tree which can often be overwhelming or my work with Iron Faerie Publishing.

All up it’s lead to a very busy, but productive two weeks.

Until next week (or the week after that). Happy writing.

Week Twelve

Posted on March 25, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

It’s goodbye to yet another week of the 365 Writing Challenge and I’ve written a grand total of 2,200 words… which is slightly up from last week.

So much has happened this week, most of which I have already blogged about. So, I won’t go into it again. Suffice to say, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the poetry anthology from Dragon Soul Press that has my two little poems in it, when it releases in June.

I also received my copy of Spring’s Blessing in the mail, which featured my short story, The Dawning of Spring. If you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy you can do so here.

Well that’s about it for this week.

Happy Writing.

200 Followers

Posted on March 22, 2019 by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

Thank you all so much. You guys are beyond awesome! It’s been an incredible nine months since I hit my last milestone and so humbling to find myself at 200 followers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me.

I vowed back in June 2018 that I’d share more about my writing journey and my kids. I think I’ve succeeded in sharing more about my writing but not so much about my kids.

So, I thought I’d use this post to share a bit about the other side of my life, as a mum to four kids. Yep, four… crazy, right? It comes as a shock to some, actually. In fact, I’m asked a lot how I keep my sanity. Sometimes, I don’t. But sleep helps, that and copious amounts of coffee.

I love my kids to pieces, but they do at times drive me up the wall. My husband too, at times, but I guess that comes with the territory.

My eldest son is thirteen… a teenager, and it hasn’t sunk in yet. He’s outgrown me. (That hasn’t quite sunk in, either) I still find myself thinking of him as the same kid who surprised us all by reading at three and a half. He received Harry Potter at seven and devoured the books in quick succession. He’ll still pick them up and reread them to this day. He hates having to clean his room.

My daughter is quite a bit like me. She came into the world incredibly early, at not even a kilo and has left her mark every day since. At eleven she’s an absolute riot. Loves cats, horses and origami and hates the colour pink. Which according to her brother is the weirdest thing ever.

My next eldest son is ten and insanely smart and sometimes frustrating bundle of energy. I think he learnt to run before he learnt to walk, because he never stops. He loves Lego and minecraft and anything and everything space related and is slowly getting into fantasy books. He hates stir-fry and homework.

My youngest son is eight and has never quit trying to keep up with his older siblings. He loves trains, Peter Rabbit and Groot from the Marvel universe. His favourite colour is green. He’s broken bones and had stitches but I can’t think of a single thing he hates right now, when I do, I’ll be sure to share.

And that’s pretty much the snapshot into my kids and each of their very different personalities.

Week Eleven

Posted on March 18, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

Today is the end of the eleventh week of the 365 Writing Challenge and I’ve managed to write 2,100 words and get some editing done on a few of my short stories I wrote last month. I’m still waiting on my scores for Phase 4 of Fantasia Divinity’s Interpretations Contest, but I’m hopeful they’ll hit my inbox very soon.

In other writing news, I have four short stories awaiting completion so that I can submit them to various anthologies, plus close to a dozen drabbles to write for another submission opportunity.

March is beginning to feel just a little overwhelming of late, but I’m trudging through and I’ll make it through to the other end, hopefully unscathed. And who knows, maybe by the end of the month, I’ll have a couple of acceptances to add to my pile of ever growing acceptances.

Until next week. Happy writing.

10 Things You Don’t Know About Me

Posted on March 15, 2019 by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Stuff

So, in light of today’s events I thought I would post something more lighthearted and have some fun along the way. Maybe even manage to lift people’s spirits as well.

My heart is with New Zealand at this tragic time. May those who lost their lives find peace and those who are injured, recover.

And now without further ado, here’s my list:

1. I can play the piano.

2. There’s a replica of Excalibur sitting in my living room.

3. I don’t like beer.

4. I’ve visited Heath Ledger’s Memorial Monument at Heathcote Reserve.

5. I love Hawaiian Pizza. Pineapple is gold!

6. I’ve met Juliet Marillier, Claudia Gray and James Masters and have each of their signatures.

7. I have two tattoos. A Pegasus and a Leo sign

8. I think sloths are creepy.

9. I wrote my first novel, Charity, at eighteen and I’ve got no plans to publish it… ever!

10. I’ve never read Stephen King. I did watch the movie version of The Mist with my husband and handled it relatively okay, until the final scene.

Week Seven to Ten

Posted on March 11, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

And, I dropped the ball. I find it ironic that the last post I made to this series was on February 11th. Today marks the tenth week of the 365 Writing Challenge.

These last four weeks I’ve written roughly 8,796 new words, finished my Phase 5 short story for Fantasia Divinity Magazine‘s competition and started work on Le Fay, the prequel to Morrighan.

Lost, my collection of short stories, was published on March 28th on kindle and paperback.

If you haven’t purchased a copy, I’d love it if you would consider doing so.

Here’s the LINK!

Until next week.

I hope.

Fingers crossed.

Week Six

Posted on February 11, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

Today is the end of the sixth week of the 365 Writing Challenge during which I’ve written 3,199 words. It’s up from last week and actually feels pretty good.

I’m still chipping away at my fifth contest entry. It’s going slower than I would like because of the research. There’s not a great deal of information about my person of interest. Plenty of movies and tv shows but when you’re trying to get down to what really happened… it’s a little more difficult. Thankfully it’s not due til the end of this month, so I have time to get it finished. Hopefully, the judges like it.

All in all a good week, writing wise. I hope to be as productive next week.

I promise I’ll keep you all posted.

Week Five

Posted on February 4, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

This is the fifth week of the 365 Writing Challenge. I’ve written a grand total of 2,100 words this week and had one of my short stories that I subbed to Fantasia Divinity rejected. 😔

Lost, is however in the works, and will be released by the end of February.

I’m still hard at work on my fifth and final contest entry. It’s proving harder than I thought to get right, but I’m persevering.

Until next week.

Week Four

Posted on January 28, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

Today marks the end of the fourth week of the 365 Writing Challenge during which I’ve written 2,100 words, which is the bare minimum to get by. But it is words on paper so I don’t care.

I’m busy working on my 5th contest entry for Fantasia Divinity Magazine & Publishing and trying not to go stir crazy as I await scores from previous rounds.

All in all a good week, writing wise. I hope to be as productive next week.

I promise I’ll keep you all posted.

Week Three

Posted on January 21, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

This is the third week of the 365 Writing Challenge. I’ve written a grand total of 3,392 words this week and had one of my short stories that I subbed last week accepted for publication, I’m hoping I’ll hear back about the second one soon. It would be great to see both stories published.

As for what lies in store this week… we’ll work on my fifth contest entry is going ahead at a steady but slow pace. But some words are better than none, right?

Week Two

Posted on January 14, 2019April 8, 2019 by staceyjaine in 365 Challenge, Indie Author, publishing, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

Today marks the end of the second week of the 365 Writing Challenge during which I’ve written 2,878 words, which is a huge improvement on last week and I’ve even submitted two short stories for publication. Fingers crossed they’re well received!

I’m currently half way through writing my 4th contest entry for Fantasia Divinity Magazine & Publishing, which is proving to be an interesting little tale, just as the last three have been.

My scores are even half way decent and I’m holding my own quite well it seems.

All in all a good week, writing wise. I hope to be as productive next week.

I promise I’ll keep you all posted.

Book Reviews

Posted on October 10, 2018October 10, 2018 by staceyjaine in Epeolatry Book Reviews, Indie Author, Reading, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, The Horror Tree

7E755D2F-CCE7-4A15-96B9-1F4B3E6ED016 Calling all speculative fiction authors!

I am the Review Co Ordinator over at The Horror Tree and I’m always on the lookout for new books to feature in the next Epeolatry Review.

If you have a novel or anthology that you think fits and would like to have it reviewed, drop me a comment below! You can also reach out to me at: sj_mcintosh@yahoo.com

I’d love to hear from you!

Birthday Giveaway

Posted on July 31, 2018July 31, 2018 by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh

9ADA5A6E-B733-487C-96C8-7E44C9DC4B23 As it’s my birthday in 2 days, I thought I’d celebrate by hosting a giveaway.

Up for grabs is the following:

1 x ebook copy of Twisted, featuring two of my short stories, Red and The Summer Girl.

1 x ebook copy of Twisted II, featuring my short story The Wild Hunt.

To Enter:

Like this post and leave a comment below to be placed in the draw.

Entries close at midnight (Perth, WA Time) 2nd August 2018.

Winners will be announced at random courtesy of random.org. by midnight 3rd August 2018.

100 Followers

Posted on June 26, 2018 by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates, Writing

OMG! Thank you all so much. You guys are awesome! I actually didn’t expect to reach this milestone so soon after I resumed blogging much more often in April. But I have, so thanks.

But, this is not just about the numbers, or the likes, comments or even the follows. It’s about community.

And while I know there’s a few of my followers that probably aren’t writers or authors or even artists, you’ve still taken the time to read my posts and follow me on my journey and listen to what I’ve got to say. And for someone who always hesitates to click PUBLISH every time I finish a blog post that’s a big thing. Huge, even.

So, THANK YOU.

When I started this blog back in 2013, I had a different path for it. I’d started it with the idea of just sharing my accomplishments as a writer and the odd stories about my kids. And while I know I should continue to perhaps blog about my kids, I do need to share my accomplishments and writing process more.

So, while their won’t be any less of the informative tidbits I’ve been sharing there will be more about me, my kids and my writing. I started publishing in November 2011, which oddly also coincides with when I started writing. I started my writing journey in November 1997. I still have the first story I ever wrote, miracle of miracles it survived to this day despite bad storage methods. Floppy Disks…! Anyone remember those? If you don’t, it’s okay. I’m in my 30s…

Anyway, enough rambling from me. I do hope you stick around though, and continue to enjoy my posts and maybe even find some useful tidbits along the way.

Simply Blown Away

Posted on June 12, 2018June 12, 2018 by staceyjaine in Indie Author, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Writing

EA001BD8-7D73-4A02-8BB4-52C7C290118C Wow! You guys… I’m in awe truly. Last night’s blog was written at the eleventh hour… stroke of midnight almost when I didn’t know what to write, so I just wrote off the top of my head. No plan, just freeform instead.

I’m thinking I might just keep it up, because it seems to be working.

So, I thought I’d start tonight with a heart felt THANK YOU because honestly, I’m still so new at this blogging thing. I’m still figuring out what people want to see and what they don’t.

When I decided back in April that I had to either get serious about my blog or give it away entirely I didn’t think anybody would actually want to read what I wrote. I guess now, I’ve just been proven wrong.

So THANK YOU – again – it’s humbling knowing that people are listening. I don’t feel quite as alone as I have felt on this journey from time to time.

Writing is by nature a solitary pursuit. I wouldn’t change it though. I’m feeling very optimistic about my first book that is currently in the hands of an editor. The first three chapters anyway. It’s a trial run but like I said last night I think I may have found my perfect fit editor wise. I hope so anyway.

My writing feels so personal at times that I struggle to share. Self doubt is a horrible thing.

If the edits go well, I think I’ll share the first chapter.

The story has been six years in the making. The first draft was written in six weeks, after I’d picked apart the bones of a previous discarded story. Which, I’m still considering bringing back to life at some stage. It’s got promise if I can do it justice that is.

Faeries are so diverse in nature. Even as I play in the Celtic and Arthurian mythos I find things evolving of their own accord.

It’s quite refreshing really.