It’s that time of year. Many of you have fingertips flying down the homestretch of NaNoWriMo. Some of you published authors are trying to close out the year with releases and sales. Other writers are revising and preparing to submit their work.
2020 has been a year like no other. That is why we are going to do something fun in the Writers’ Mastermind to go out with a bang.
Instead of releasing another masterclass, which I know all of us are overwhelmed as the holidays approach, we are going to create the first ever Writers’ Mastermind Read Your Story Mash-Up Challenge!
What is it?
Each member of the Writers’ Mastermind will read up to 5 minutes of their work on video. It can be a published work or an excerpt of a work-in-progress. Flash fiction, short stories, chapters of novels of any genre are all welcome (please nothing extremely graphic).
Recorded readings will be done on the live Mastermind Mash-Up Zoom call (date and time to be announced) or can be pre-recorded by the author and sent in to be added to the Mash-Up video.
Why do it?
Video is the best way to connect with your audience. They can both see and hear you and get to know your work on an intimate level.
Learning to read to your audience will prepare you for future publicity events (social media lives, book signings, etc.)
We know many authors feel uncomfortable putting themselves out there—not just on video, but in any form. By accepting this challenge with us, you will break the ice when it comes to promoting and sharing your work.
The mash-up will shared on our website, social media, and mailing list. It will also be advertised, giving you and your writing free exposure and opening you up to new readers, friends, and followers.
This is a great opportunity to have some fun, maybe step slightly out of your comfort zone, and become part of a collaborative project with all the other writers in the community.
Congratulations to Writers’ Mastermind member Charlotta Amato for getting her first short story published in Storgy Literary Magazine! We are so proud to have been part of her journey to becoming a published author. Let’s have a read…
Il Ragazzo by Charlotta Amato
It was a slow Sunday in late July in a small northern Italian town. The sun bullied its way through as I stood in the crowds of people at the tiny train station. The afternoon heat reached out, bringing forth the smell of the metal from the train rails. Unwashed hair is what it smelled like.
He was just lying there, the boy, on the tracks, but all I could think about was the smell of unwashed hair. Dirty hair. It made me sick. His body lay twisted and perturbed, but not in pain. His arm was outstretched, the elbow bent at an unsatisfying angle from his body. In his palm, he held a small silver chain, dripping red droplets of blood that seeped down through the tracks where they became a mixture with the rust and dirt of the ground.
I kept wondering how long before his skin would melt into the metal. Would it hurt? Even with his body splayed across the rails, he looked so incredibly peaceful lying there, a sculpture of flesh and fiery steel.
“Andate. Andate. Per favore.”
The police officer in his bright yellow vest had a hold of my shoulders, guiding me to the stairs that led out of the station.
“Vini. No sta bene. Murio. He dead. Il ragazzo. Si? You go.”
Before I turned away, I traced a cross over my forehead, my chest, each of my shoulders. Maria. Mary. Forgive me.
“Bene,” the police officer said. “God is here, God choose this.”
No, he didn’t, I thought. “But the train,” I said. “Il tren. I have to get on the train.”
“No. We mourn. He die. No train. Bus. Now go.”
My head was screaming. I couldn’t make out the next things the officer said. All I could hear was the shrill screeching of the brakes in my ears. Some of the people in the crowds joined the nuns in song of wailing, a sob so low-pitched that it made my insides vibrate. Il ragazzo mio the voices said, closing in with every short breath I managed to gasp. I followed the crowd of passengers that had gotten off the train, the one that was supposed to take me away from here…. Keep reading this story on Storgy.com
Charlotta Amato
Charlotta Amato currently resides in Norway, the land of Vikings and trolls, where she teaches high school during the day and spends evenings writing, painting, reading and doing yoga. She lives with her two teens, their crazy Labrador, Louie, and their reckless kitten, Romeo. This is her first publication.
Groundbreaking YA Fantasy from The Writing Collective
We at the Writers’ mastermind are celebrating the release of the first in what is sure to be an unforgettable series, Hecctrossipy Book One: The Legend of the Land. This genre-bending YA Fantasy is by Writers’ Mastermind founding member, Bia Bella Baker, and our community will agree that it has been inspiring to watch this culmination of her publication journey. Here’s a bit about this epic tale!
HECCTROSSIPY: BOOK ONE: THE LEGEND OF THE LAND
The alignment of the three moons is a sign of positive changes to come… But the moons never promised that such changes will happen to everybody…
On the pre-industrial planet of Velva Leena, two sisters eagerly anticipate the Hecctrossipy Festival, Continent 15’s yearly tradition that celebrates the victory over a legendary evil monster who had the power to manipulate the elements and create chaos.
Artheena is smart, talented, beautiful, and blessed with multiple gifted abilities. Mell May, on the other hand, is simple and average. Both are in love with Leeandro Paul, a celebrity heart-throb who has an intriguing way of turning the leaders of the land into his followers.
Artheena has a premonition of marrying him during the alignment of the three moons. While on her quest for true love, she gets caught up in unexpected adventures, embarrassing situations, and experiences beyond her wildest dreams, including an outrageous contest that challenges Continent 15’s strict, conservative social standards.
Through it all, Artheena and Mell May’s close bond is also challenged. When the festival comes, the sisters have the time of their lives… Until Leeandro Paul makes an announcement that shocks his fans, an unimaginable secret that might tear the two sisters apart for good.
What readers are saying…
‘Hecctrossipy marks the debut of a bold and distinctive new voice in YA fantasy. The fantastic adventures of Artheena and Mell, and their battle for the affections of the charismatic Leeandro Paul, will thrill fans of The Hunger Games and teen fantasy romance. This is all set within the impressive feat of world-building that is the planet Velva Leena and Continent 15, amid the feverish anticipation of the Hecctrossipy Festival, commemorating victory over a fabled monster who had the power to manipulate the elements and create chaos… I for one certainly look forward to the next instalment!’
Andrew Murray author of Shroom Raider
‘A bountiful feast for the senses, a stunning world building debut from a very promising talent – if you like your science fiction with a huge slice of teenage angst, and a cast of terrifically realised characters… look no further than Hecctrossipy – this is that start to what I can only imagine being a fabulous series!’
Much has happened during the past few months. We pray your are all safe and healthy and continue to be careful and resilient.
Luckily, we have only good news to share in this post.
May 2020
The Writers’ Mastermind cut the ribbon on the Founder’s Membership. Thanks to all the founders for making the dream of this online writing community a reality! Founders had exclusive access to the website 2 weeks before the formal launch date and also got locked in at the $9 a month lifetime price.
June 2020
The Writers’ Mastermind opened forSpring Registration with The Ultimate Author Planning Workshop, where we reverse-engineered our path to our dream lives as successful authors. We joined together for our first official mastermind call on Zoom and also started live Zoom write-ins, where writers have since accumulated tens of thousands of newly written words.
July 2020
The Author Platform Mastery workshop went LIVE this month, where members perform a branding, website, and social media audit to make sure their author platforms are tweaked to perfection and attracting new readers.
Writers’ Mastermind Member News
Our members have been accomplishing some incredible things. We invite you to join in and support our authors!
Joseph Sale
Joseph Sale has re-released several of his books, including his Black Gate Series in “omnibus” format (aka box set). I am a devoted fan of this series and I can tell you it that it will be something that will haunt you in the most profound and unexpected ways.
Black Gate: Omnibus (Nekyia Book 3)
For the first time, hold the complete Black Gate trilogy in one volume, including Gods of the Black Gate, Beyond the Black Gate and Return to the Black Gate. Follow the story of Craig Smiley, a merciless killer and servant of seven dark gods, on his quest for escape, revenge, and ultimately: redemption. Smiley’s journey will take him from the high-security prison facilities of Mars, to the wildernesses of Texas and Louisiana, and to fantastical worlds beyond imagination and horror. Described as “Barker-esque”, “Lovecraftian”, and yet “a genre all of its own”, experience this epic series in its entirety like never before.
Joseph Sale has also recently set up a Patreon account, where he is sharing never-before-seen writing and behind-the-scenes videos every month. The topics he covers are full of useful insights and hacks for every fiction writer. To sign up for your monthly goodies, CLICK HERE.
Ross Jeffery
Ross Jeffery demonstrates his versatility as a writer by following the publication of his weird, post-apocalyptic horror, Juniper, with his intimate, literary novella-in-flash, Tethered.
Tethered Released
Tethered explores the fractured relationship of a father and son. Each story is told with unflinching and honest prose that is both hard hitting and heartrending.
These stories delve into themes of toxic masculinity, love, hope, despair, domestic violence, sexuality, weakness and overcoming oppression.
Tethered also asks the bigger question of ‘do we ever escape the harm our parents do to us; or do we go through life marred and influenced from our upbringing.’
‘‘Ross Jeffery’s flash fiction is immediate, visceral and real. To read his stories is to feel the understanding of a life lived through the eyes of a compassionate man. Always unapologetic, always raw, always true.’
Our resident Master-of-Writing-Resources, Dan Soule, released his new novel, Witchopper! We’ve all been anticipating this book and are celebrating its publication. What do people say about Dan Soule?
‘His stories aren’t just guaranteed to scare you, they’re guaranteed to devastate you.’ – Caitlin Marceau, editor Sanitarium Magazine.
Witchopper
If you see her, then you’re dead…
All Rob wanted to do was fit in at his new school after being torn from London so his parents could fix their marriage. But when Rob’s journalist father dragged him along to investigate the legend of the Witchopper for the local paper, her curse became their reality.
She was priestess to the pagan god of the wild wood, hanged by a rabid mob for her unspeakable crimes. Now, something far worse than the hell of high school is after Rob and his dad…
In the vein of The Wickerman and Midsommar, Witchopper is an epic ordeal of a father and son relationship, where past sins echo in the present. Dan Soule delivers another of his terrifying Fright Nights, with a tale of love, lies and truth that will leave you sleeping with the light on.
We are thrilled to announce that Charlotta Amato’s short story, Il Ragazzo, will be published by Storgy Literary Magazineon September 21st, 2020. This was her first ever submission and acceptance. Congratulations, Charlotta!!!
Tia Wojciechowski
Tia Wojciechowski’s first novel, Hectrossipy, is on schedule to be published with The Writing Collective later in 2020. She has just released this blurb so you can get a taste for what this twisty, epic, sci-fi is all about!
The alignment of the three moons is a sign of positive changes to come. But the moons never promised that such changes will happen to everybody.
On the pre-industrial planet of Velva Leena, two sisters eagerly anticipate the Hecctrossipy Festival, a yearly tradition that celebrates the victory over a legendary evil monster who had the power to manipulate the elements and use them for chaos.
Artheena is smart, talented, and beautiful. She is also blessed with multiple, special gifts. Mell May, on the other hand, is simple and average adopted sister. Both are in love with Leeandro Paul, a celebrity heartthrob who has an intriguing way of turning the leaders of the land into his followers.
When Artheena has a premonition that she will marry Leeandro Paul during the alignment of the three moons, her quest for true love takes a turn for the weird and crazy. Meanwhile Velva Leena’s conservative social standards are turned backward by an outrageous contest that will threaten the sisters’ close bond.
When the Hecctrossipy Festival begins, the sisters have the time of their lives… Until Leeandro Paul makes a choice that shakes up both their worlds and a twist of fate threatens to tear them apart forever.
The star reporter for the Beacon City Beam has a knack for showing up in the right places at the most opportune moments and a newsman’s flair for detecting a droplet of drama in a sea of dross and dregs. Accompany him on his nose-poking adventures, jot by jot, scribble by scribble—from his relentless search for an enigmatic fortune cookie to his visit to the Sociopaths Anonymous® weekly meeting to his bizarre correspondence with a pen-pal who claims to be the Devil. Beacon City Confidential offers a mole’s-eye view of American urban mythology run amok. Petty crimes and deceits, daily dissatisfactions and squabbles, puny triumphs inflated like hot-air balloons. Like our reporter’s notebook, the pages are crowded with events and outcomes, brimming with entertaining villains trying to survive the 21st Century by any means necessary. Less visibly, the real heroes, the joe-schmoes and who’s-thats, threaten to make their own stand, clamoring for their stake in the American dream and a taste of its pie.
Amazing things have been going down at Let’s Get Published.
We had our Mixer Parties and finally had a chance to speak with those writers we’ve been texting, commenting, and emailing for years.
It’s truly remarkable to see all the faces and hear the voices of writers and bloggers we’ve been following for so long. It’s been especially important to connect over something we love in these times of pandemic and quarantine.
We also had two pre-launch Writers’ Mastermind chats, where wait list members joined on Zoom to discuss Turning Fear into Fiction and Having Fun with Writing Again. Something magical happens when we put our minds together and combine our ideas.
It’s time to support your fellow writers
We’re proud to say that our writers are making things happen. Stories are being published, books are being released, writing wisdom is being offered, submissions are opening. Have a look below and see what piques your interest. There is something for everyone.
David Antrobus’s “Vacation” is published by Storgy Literary Magazine
Vacation by David Antrobus – “The moment he throws the first jab, he’s conscious of a songbird out in the yard. As he feels the jarring impact and at least one of his knuckles coming apart, he imagines the bird trawling the very latticework of spring for a mate, indifferent to this uncoupling of some other kind of couple….” Read the full story on Storgy
Joe Sale comes out in Burnt Fur anthology, offers Epic Bootcamp to writers
Burnt Fur: Twisted Tails of Horror
Sit. Roll over. PLAY DEAD…
There are no good boys in this anthology, only twisted, deviant, and burnt encounters with animals, humans, and creatures that blur the line between the two.
The Epic Bootcamp is a course to help you tell bigger and better stories. Like Virgil once guided Dante through the circles of Hell, Joseph Sale will be your guide through the pitfalls of storytelling on a grand scale. With over 20+ books published (fiction under his name, and many ghost-written books), and years of academic and editing experience, you could wish for no better guide.
Mr. Sale will teach you how to:
create epic protagonists your audience root for
scale-up your stories and add depth to them
create visions of hell and lead your hero through the
and most importantly, how to end your stories in a way that will haunt your readers forever.
Ross Jeffery’s “Tethered” Available for Preorder, “Juniper” Nominated for Award
Available for Preorder
Tethered explores the fractured relationship of a father and son. Each story is told with unflinching and honest prose that is both hard hitting and heartrending. These stories delve into themes of toxic masculinity, love, hope, despair, domestic violence, sexuality, weakness and overcoming oppression. Tethered also asks the bigger question of ‘do we ever escape the harm our parents do to us; or do we go through life marred and influenced from our upbringing.
Tia Wojciechowski Signs with The Writing Collective for Hectrossippy
My Zoom co-host and sister, Tia Wojciechowski (aka Bia Bella Baker), has just signed with The Writing Collective to publish her pre-industrial YA fantasy Hectrossippy to be released September 2020!
Susan Holt’s The Heart Casts No Shadow earning 5 star reviews
Will Rhonwyn free her heart and her people, or become the pawn of the most dangerous man ever seen?
When her skill at a complex strategy game gives her a way into the palace, Rhonwyn becomes the eyes and ears of the Resistance.
She’s there to help bring down the evil King Risick – the man who seized control and forced her people into his mines. The man who killed Rhonwyn’s father before her eyes, breaking her heart and fracturing her sanity.
Everything changes when she meets a vibrant man who’s also trapped in the palace. Rhonwyn’s not so alone now and her soul begins to heal. But his dangerous secret forces Rhonwyn to choose between the freedom of her people and the love she’s finally found.
Lilyn George from ScifiandScary.com announces opens call for new body horror anthology
ScifiandScary.com is the go-to site for Sci-Fi & Horror Reviews, News, and More. READ THE LATEST REVIEWS.
Twisted Anatomy: A SF&S Body Horror Anthology
Sci-Fi & Scary is pleased to announce that we are opening submissions for our first charity anthology, with a goal of publishing in mid-February, 2021. Proceeds will be split between the Pulmonary Hypertension Association and National Domestic Violence Hotline.
For the details of submitting to this anthology CLICK HERE.
Dan Soule’s Neolithica on Sale for 99¢
99¢ on Kindle
Some things should stay buried…
The discovery of a young boy’s body, brutally murdered and preserved for thousands of years in a Scottish peat bog, brings with it more than a find of a lifetime for archaeologist Mirin Hassan. After the death of her husband, Mirin wants life to get back to normal for her and her young son. But media attention and professional rivalries become the least of her worries. Something other than cameras followed the corpse back to the university. A malevolent force grows unseen. The weather turns biblical. Violence and death spread beyond the university. Could it be connected with the strange discovery? The city grasps for a rational explanation, but time is up. Chaos has arrived, as Mirin realises some things should stay buried.
We’re getting ready to launch the Writers’ Mastermind, and as part of connecting our writing community, we’ll be sharing the latest accomplishments of our members.
Today, we share groundbreaking book releases and stunning art from our cadre of creatives.
***Do you have a book coming out? A cover reveal? Has a magazine published your short story? Have you landed and agent? What’s new with your other creative pursuits? Send your news to christa@letsgetpublished.com.
Juniper, the debut novel by Ross Jeffery
After a 7-year writing hiatus, Ross Jeffery is claiming his place on the weird fiction scene with his first book, Juniper. Truly weird and wild, Juniper will keep you rapt in morbid curiosity, even through the moments you want to recoil.
Ross Jeffery
Ross Jeffery is a Bristol based writer and Executive Director of Books for STORGY Magazine.
Ross has been published in print with STORGY Books, Ellipsis Zine 6, The Bath Flash Fiction Festival 2019, Project 13 Dark and Shlock Magazine. His work has also appeared in various online journals such as STORGY Magazine, About Magazine TX, Elephants Never, 101 Fiction, Ellipsis Zine, Soft Cartel and Idle Ink.
Ross lives in Bristol with his wife (Anna) and two children (Eva and Sophie). You can follow him on Twitter here @Ross1982
Juniper
Juniper is the first book in Ross Jeffery’s proposed trilogy: a post-apocalyptic horror about an insane American town seemingly at the edge of reality. As Juniper suffers from scorching drought and medieval famine, the townsfolk are forced to rely on the ‘new cattle’ for food: monstrous interbred cats kept by the oppressed Janet Lehey.
But there’s a problem: Janet’s prized ginger tom, Bucky, has gone missing, flown the coop. As Janet and her deranged ex-con husband Klein intensify their search for the hulking mongrel, Betty Davis, an old woman clinging to survival on the outskirts of Juniper, discovers something large and ginger and lying half-dead by the side of the road.
She decides to take it home…
Juniper is surreal, dark, funny, and at times: excruciatingly grotesque. Buckle up for a wild ride through the dust-ridden roads of a tiny, half-forgotten American town…
Charlotta Amato is not only a talented aspiring writer, but she also paints mesmerizing artwork—one of a kind, layers of color, life and livity all combined onto a canvas.
Her exclusive works are for sale. Learn more on her Facebook Page.
Save Game by Joseph Sale
Save Game is the latest novel from brilliant author, Joseph Sale. This book is a fully immersive page-turner, just like it’s subject matter. Most writers will relate to wanting to escape into an exciting imaginary world, never to return.
Joseph Sale
Joseph Sale is an editor, novelist, writing coach and co-host of Monaghan & The Mindflayer. He currently writes and is published with The Writing Collective. He has authored more than ten novels, including his Black Gate trilogy, and his love-letter to fantasy: Save Game. He grew up in the Lovecraftian seaside town of Bournemouth. He edits non-fiction and fiction, helping fledgling authors to realise their potential.
Save Game
Levi Jensen is, by all accounts, a loser. He failed sixth-form, never got to university, and works at a no-future fast-food restaurant. The only thing he’s good at is gaming. When his father starts dying of a new type of cancer, only treatable privately and at impossible expense, Levi’s one hope of saving him becomes the million-dollar cash-prize for winning the dark-fantasy video-game Fate of Ellaria. But Levi isn’t the only one with motivations beyond money for winning. And the price of success in Fate of Ellaria might mean the destruction of what little he has left in the real world.
Save Game is a heart-breaking story of an underdog against all odds, as well as a love-letter to the beauty of video-games. Inspired by the amazing and eclectic everyday people who inhabit the gaming world, and the pain of their real-world lives, Save Game aims to show the courage of those who feel they’ve got no place in reality.
Sandra Hould is a stay at home mom, environmentalist, karateka, artist, book addict and future writer. She is always exploring new ways to express herself creatively, no matter how difficult the quest may be.
My art will be raw, imperfect, unapologetic and real, just like life.—Sandra Hould
***Do you have a book coming out? A cover reveal? Has a magazine published your short story? Have you landed and agent? What’s new with your other creative pursuits? Send your news to christa@letsgetpublished.com.
