Week Twelve

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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

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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.

 

Hello, Autumn

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Yes… it’s March 21st, which means Autumn can officially start… in the Southern Hemisphere, that is. The previous twenty-one days were just a warm up… seeings as in Oz the weather can never make up its mind. I’m really over Summer, if you can’t tell.

This post is kind of two-fold today, as there’s been quite a lot going on in the niche I carved out for myself in the writing world, as small as it is now, I’m hopeful it’s going to grow into something huge. A girl can dream, right?

organic-inkTwo days ago, I received an acceptance for my poem, Petals, that I submitted two weeks prior and kept it completely under wraps. I truly believed I sucked at poetry, because I don’t really get how to write it. Like, I’ve always felt there’s a right way and a wrong way to write poetry and its instilled in me this immense fear of getting it wrong. So, I’ve totally just steered clear of it. Yeah, so I totally jumped out of my comfort zone for this submission and its surprisingly paid off. So, that of course lead to me submitting another poem, because I hate odd numbers… suffice to say, my second poem, Darkness, will also be appearing in the Dragon Soul Press anthology, Organic Ink, Volume One. Which will be published later this year. I can’t wait!

In other news, I’ve also submitted a drabble to another online only publication. This time it’s for Black Hare Press. I’m crossing my fingers (and toes) that I hear back soon.

Finally, I’ve also done a soft launch of my Patreon, which I’ve been debating for a long while whether to launch and I decided last night to just go ahead and do it… so, if there’s any interest at all, I’d be eternally grateful. There’s three tiers at the moment but I’m hoping to find news ways to give back to anyone who champions my cause, no matter how small, when time permits. If you would like to chip in, the link is HERE.

I truly hope that the Equinox finds you well. I really do love this time of year.

 

 

 

 

Week Eleven

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

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

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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

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

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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.

 

January

So, January has drawn to a close and while it’s been a productive one it’s also been a little bittersweet.

Not only did I start the month with a rejection but, I’m ending it with one as well.

It’s okay though because I do have plans for the two stories that were rejected. So keep your eyes on my blog for an announcement soon.

And, somewhat surprisingly I’ve managed to write a massive 10,556 words. All of those words have been accrued through penning various short stories.

It’s actually nice to complete something for once. As much as I love working on my various novels, there’s a lot more involved in completing a novel.

At this stage I’m not quite sure what February will bring story wise but whatever it is, I’m looking forward to it.

What are you all looking forward to in February?

Week Four

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

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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

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.

Week One

I’m writing this retroactively, because it’s just ticked over to January 8th.

In December, I signed up for the 365 Writing Challenge. It’s something I’ve participated in for a few years now, but this year I’m determined to write every day. It’s something I haven’t quite managed to accomplish in previous years.

It’s the first week and I set myself a goal of 300 words a day. So far, it’s not going well. I wrote 1,296 words out of 2,100. But I did manage to write a little each day, so that’s a huge plus and ultimately what I set out to do. Write each day.

Fingers crossed I do better during week two.

New Years Eve

So, as 2018 comes to a close it brings with it an acceptance. My Drabble WINTER was accepted into Trembling With Fear and will be published sometime in the New Year.

The signed contract was sent off today, so now I just wait.

And… in other writing news, I’m almost finished with my third contest entry and have a flash fiction story half done. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a little in December and I think it’s paying off.

Bring on 2019 and more writing and submissions.

I can’t wait!

Oh and if anyone is looking for submission opportunities check out Iron Faerie Publishing‘s website for more details.

Happy New Year!

Letters from Emily Release Day

Letters from Emily by M.L. Pennock

 

When Emily Long agrees to be in her friend’s wedding, she doesn’t plan on backing out a few weeks before the ceremony and merely going as a guest.

Being charmed into a one-night stand with a flirty groomsman also wasn’t on her list of things to do. But the morning after the wedding, she finds herself hung over and wrapped up in Brian Stratford’s bedsheets.

Several weeks, a positive pregnancy test, and an ultrasound later, Emily finds herself on Brian’s doorstep questioning how her life ended up where it is.

As the new couple processes how to co-parent without loving one another, Emily’s fate takes a turn for the worst.

It isn’t until years later when Brian finds out what happened …

and that Emily left letters behind for the people she loves most.

emily

Links!

Universal Link: books2read.com/LettersFromEmily

Amazon US: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyUS

Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyUK

Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyAU

Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyCA

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyBN

iBooks: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyApple

Kobo: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyKobo

Add it on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/LettersFromEmilyGoodreads

 

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About the Author

M.L. Pennock is a former journalist turned author. She attended Alfred University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and communication studies, before going on to earn a Master of Arts in communications from SUNY College at Brockport. She lives in Central New York with her husband and three daughters.

M.L. Pennock is the author of the To Have series.

Visit facebook.com/mlpennock or mlpennock.com for more information about what she’s working on next.