Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner? An open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Are you a breakfast, lunch, or dinner person? What does your ideal meal look like?

_________________

What can I say? I like to eat. I can be very happy with any of these meals. Or tea. Or a snack. Or one of those in-between meals like brunch or lupper. 

I do especially like to be taken out to breakfast because I struggle to make myself eat in the morning and really need to in order to keep my blood sugar on an even keel. Going out to breakfast feels like a treat, so it's not as hard to convince myself to do it. 

For all my meals, I'm looking for different things on different days. Sometimes, I want the homey comfort of something I've enjoyed again and again. Sometimes, I want novelty and am thrilled to try something I've never tried before. All meals are made better with good company and pleasant atmosphere, too. 

 I enjoy cooking, and one of the ways I stay interested in cooking is by making new things. Just this week for example, I tried out two new recipes. (and both were hits!) I also enjoy it when someone else takes on the labor and I get to just show up and eat.  

 The most important thing is that I eat on a regular schedule. You wouldn't like me when I'm hangry.  

image source

 How about you? Got a favorite meal? What are we having? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

It's All on Me, It's Scary, and I think I love it, an IWSG post

 

      

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the August 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Natalie Aguirre, Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, and Olga Godim!

 August 6 question - What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? 

___________________________________

I'm ignoring the optional question this month because I want to talk about my adventures in indie publishing so far. See, though I've considered myself a professional writer for ten years now, I'm a complete newbie in indie publishing. All my previous work was trad-published by small publishers. 

My decision not to indie publish up till now was not about snobbery, or even need for validation, but about time. I looked around, saw what all I'd need to handle, got overwhelmed and decided to try for traditional publishing first, so that someone else could handle my editing, layout, cover, etc. 

That experience has bruised and buoyed me in turns. Some of it has been fantastic, and some of it felt like it might be fatal. But that's the way of a life in the arts, methinks.  

But a lot has changed in the past ten years. 

My children are both legal adults now if not fully launched yet. I left teaching, that abusive spouse of a job, for something less soul-swallowing that pays better. 

So I have more time and (a little) more money. 

I've spent ten years learning from the wonderful community of writers, editors, and publishers that surrounds me.  So, I've probably gone from "You know nothing, John Snow" to knowing just enough to be a danger to myself and others. 

So my next project is a trio of short romance novels, all featuring GenX characters, and I've decided to go all indie with this one.  

image source

As of this writing, I'm in process on all three of them. I've contracted an editor and cover artist for all three and I'm working towards spring 2026 for their release, bringing the first of the three out as a birthday gift to myself.  

So far, I've spent about $200 on editing of the first book (I got a friends and family rate--she's worth more than she's charging), $400 on the first book cover, and $250 buying ISBNs. So, $850 so far, and I anticipate at least $700 to get each of the other two books this far. That's no small change, at least not at my income level, but I feel strongly about hiring editing and a cover artist to ensure the best quality book I can produce. 

My intention is to "go wide" by which I mean publish the book through Ingram so that I am not tied to any one particular bookseller like Amazon, Kobo, B&N, etc. Amazon and I are going through a long and protracted divorce because of some of their business practices, so while I do want to make my books available there, I don't want to be trapped into exclusivity with them. Working with Ingram makes my book accessible to libraries and bookstores as well, and that's a serious boon. 

Being in process on all three books at the same time is a little scary, but also pretty exciting, because there's always something I can make progress on. 

I'm finishing drafting the third book, while the second book is out for beta reading and waiting its turn on the editor's desk. Meanwhile, I'm working with the cover artist on the cover for the first book and figuring out all the formatting stuff. There's always something I can move forward on and that's pretty amazing given how much traditional publishing is a waiting game of one kind or another.  

image source

 

All this doesn't mean that I won't traditionally publish anymore. Several of the publishers I've worked with are people I would happily work with again and if a big five publisher wanted to give me a shot, I'd take it. But at the same time, doing this all myself feels like a level-up and I'm really energized. 

This feels like the right time of my life to become a hybrid author. I've got more time than I've had previously, enough money for the initial investment, a good base of knowledge about what's actually required (I'm sure there will still be surprises), contacts and a support network when I need advice, and a little footprint out there already from my traditionally published work that might help my visibility.  

I guess we'll find out a few months from now how and if the books sell and how I feel about it all on the other side of things, but it seems a risk worth taking.  

Next, I need to figure out audiobook versions, but I don't think I'm quite ready for that part yet. 

If you're writing with intentions to publish, or already publishing, what route is yours? Why? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!  

 

 

 

 

She works hard for the money, an open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Continuing on the topic of money what is the hardest thing you have done to earn money?

_________________

Most of the hardest work I've done in my life, I did not get paid for: raising children, medical support, home renovation, clean up after a disaster, etc. Free labor for and with the people I love, paid only in love and appreciation, maybe with food. 

 To earn a living, I've only had a few kinds of jobs: teaching, writing, librarian, secretary/receptionist, DJ, and my current day job as a content strategist for a big financial company. (If you're asking "what's a content strategist" here's how my Dad explains it to the rest of the family: "she listens to the business people and lawyers and translates what they said into regular English people can understand." That's not a bad explanation, honestly.)

image source

 Out of all those, the hardest was teaching. Physically, emotionally, and psychically demanding. I survived for 27 years before I finally left that abusive spouse of a career I was staying with "for the children" and found something more tenable and sustainable to finish my working years. 

I don't want to rehash all my concerns about the way American school systems exploit and abuse their employees. I'm sure you've heard them all before. But I will say, it's great here on the other side of the classroom door. I loved teaching, and really felt like I made a difference in the world when I was doing it. But, I eventually had to choose myself before it killed me. 

 How about you? What's the hardest work you've had to do? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Money or Fame? An open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

What would you rather have: money or fame?

_________________

Um. Money. That's not even a hard question for me. There's a lot I might accomplish given money, especially in copious amounts. Selfish things like taking time for travel and becoming a full time writer (no day job!). More generous things like paying off debts for people I love and Philanthropic things like giving scholarships and grants, supporting charities, endowing things, etc. 

 Fame looks to me like it comes with more trouble than delight. I don't need that kind of attention. I wouldn't know what to do with it, other than hope it would go away.  

 How about you? Do you want to be famous? How about rich? I'd love to hear your musings in the comments.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Bringing my Heroes Home

 It's official, y'all. With the release of the fifth and final novel, the menopausal superhero series is now complete!

 

This has been the work of a little more than ten years, and there's a lovely symmetry in that the first book came out in 2015, and the final in 2025. 

Origin story: This series started because I watched an X-men movie with my husband, and we were talking, as we often do, while we walked the dog afterwards. I was joking that the underlying message of X-men stories is always that hormones cause superpowers, and if that was the case, menopausal women should have the corner on that market!

image source

 

 He laughed and told me to write it down. So I did. 

And to my surprise, it was more than just a little joke--it was the opportunity to create a group of female characters finding community, purpose, and love while they deal with the changes wrought in the life by changes in their bodies. Metaphorical AF, right? 

The journey: Writing them was cathartic, joyful, and sometimes heartbreaking, bringing together my personal struggles and fears surrounding aging, friendship, and what perimenopause was doing to my body, my brain, and my life alongside my lifetime love of superhero stories. 

 

The shirt says "what doesn't kill you, mutates and tries again" 

I LOVE how I ended the series, and can't wait to share this with readers. 

The whole series is available direct from the publisher as an ebook bundle: 

buy here

 

You can also get it a book at a time from the Big River site, or request it from your favorite bookseller in paperback or hardback. 

The series in order:

 

 

Going Through the Change, where it all begins. Meet Helen, Jessica, Patricia, and Linda/Leonel and laugh and cry with them as they struggle with the sudden development of unusual abilities amid their busy lives, and find each other along the way. 

Part of what I wanted to explore is what a heroic life might look like for a woman with a grown-up life: a career, children, a household, a partner. Responsibilities. This book was the start of all of that.  

 

 

  

 

Friend or Foe, a novella, serves as a bridge story between the first and second novels, and a peek inside the mind of the mad scientist who caused all this trouble in the first place, Dr. Cindy Liu. 

This novella is also included in Agents of Change, which collects the novellas and short stories in a single volume.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Change of Life, the second novel in the series, all the characters are dealing with the aftermath of the events of book one: the affects on their relationships, families, jobs, and psyches. The plot centers around Patricia, the Lizard Woman of Springfield, and her quest for answers and vengeance. 

This book introduces Daniel Price, one of my favorite creepy villains. He's been body hopping for a hundred years in a a quest to extend his own life, with no regard to who gets hurt (or killed) along the way.  

 

 

  

 

 In Face the Change, our heroes come together to work for the Unusual Cases Unit of the mysterious Department run by the Director and learn about hero life in the spotlight. As they fight The Six, a mysterious group of psychic villains, they deepen their personal connections, finding strength in each other.  

An unexpected romance came into play in this one. I LOVE it when my characters surprise me. 

 

 

 

The Good Will Tour is another novella, which works pretty well as a stand alone if you want to try the series at low investment.  Jessica "Flygirl" Roark and Leonel (formerly Linda) "Fuerte" Álvarez set out to build community good will with a celebrity visit to the local hospital and end up needing to save the day when a desperate earthquake causing woman shows up demanding experimental treatment for her wife. 

This novella is also included in Agents of Change, which collects the novellas and short stories in a single volume.   

 

 

 

Just when our heroes thought they had things figured out, a mysterious power spike challenges their control of their abilities in Be the Change. 

I had a wonderful time expanding on Patricia's backstory in this one, introducing her mother, stepfather, and some information on her siblings and half-siblings. And Daniel Price is back because he was too good not to bring back. 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the new girl in town: the series ender: Change for the Better. Readers will probably have noticed that Jessica "Flygirl" Roark has been…odd. Things escalate in this book and the menopausal superheroes have to scramble to save one of their own, while they face down enemies within and the return of Daniel Price and the shadowy mystery man, Bertrand Dietrich.  

I'm really proud of that final fight scene and that last chapter will hit you right in the feels. 

 

 

 

 

Through Thick & Thin is a collection of side-stories for the menopausal superheroes. It’s confession time in "Coming Out as Leonel." Join Patricia, the Lizard Woman, as she unravels the puzzle of Dr. Cindy Liu's disappearance in "The Right Thing," and then see her softer side (and her "better half," Suzie) in "Underestimated." Get ready for a wedding, and a heroic rescue, in "Flygirl's Second Chance."

These can be read separately of the novels, but I think you'll enjoy them more if you've already read at least books one and two. They're also all included in Agents of Change. 

 

 

 

 This anthology collects the novels and short stories into a single volume. 

• Friend or Foe
• The Good Will Tour
• "Coming out as Leonel" 
• "The Right Thing" 
• "Underestimated"
• "Flygirl's Second Chance"  

(this might be my favorite cover in the series, combining the silhouettes we used for the novels with the stripes or rays we used in the short work) 

 

 

 

I have some readings from all this work available on YouTube or in the Menopausal Superheroes slideshow on the "Read My Work" link in this website.  

And if that's not enough Menopausal Superheroes for you, you can also read another short story, "Intervention", exploring the background of Patricia and Cindy Liu in Theme-Thology: Mad Science or read a couple of free holiday stories I created for my newsletter subscribers: O Scaly Night (Patricia's version of Santa Claus is…violent) and (Flygirl's son gets to see her in action) Max's Mommy. 

If you find me or my publisher, Falstaff Books, at a convention or other in-person event, you can also get the very cool omnibus edition (second volume coming soon), and I hope to be able to share links for audiobooks in the near future.  

I'm working on a book tour this fall and winter to celebrate the completion of this series, so you may have a chance to come see me in your neck of the woods!  

Thanks to all of you who came along with me on this journey. Writing is great, but we need readers to make it worthwhile and I am so pleased that so many of you have connected to my characters and found escape and expression with me in these stories. 

May you find strength when you need it, joy in friendship, and love in one form or another.  

Wasting time? Or filling the well? An open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

What is your favorite way to waste time? (be non-productive) Bird watching? Long walks? Does it help your writing?

_________________

I'm…not very good at being nonproductive. Or as other have put it, I don't know how to relax. 

I've got a restless energy most of the time and a drive that can be unhealthy at times. This feeling that there isn't enough time to get all I want out of this life. 

But I have learned to value a few activities that aren't directly productive for the recharge, reset, and brain-wandering time that lets my subconscious figure things out.  

Plants are a big one for me. I'm a plant appreciator, even though I'm not an especially skilled gardener. I love to go on long walks in the woods or in parks, or even just in my neighborhood and "see what's growing." I have a plant app that tells me interesting things like the variety of names that plant is known by and whether this is a healthy specimen or not. I take a lot of photos so I can share my joy in all these small beauties with friends and on social media.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samantha Dunaway Bryant (@samanthabwriter)

 

 Baking and cooking is another one, though not in the summer--I melt! I love picking something I've never made before and trying it out. Bonus if it means I get to try out a new-to-me ingredient or piece of kitchen equipment. Bonus bonus: you get to eat your work!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samantha Dunaway Bryant (@samanthabwriter)

 

I also enjoy board games, watching old movies (with popcorn), and playing with my dogs. 

When I need to just zone out, my ADD brain requires multi-tasking. I put on an audiobook or a television show/movie that doesn't require my full visual attention, and listen/watch while I play a pattern matching game on my handheld video-gaming device. Currently, I'm back on Dr. Mario on my Switch, but the game changes every few months.  

 None of these feel like wasted time to me though. I can feel the ways that they feed me, fueling me for other endeavors. So maybe the truth is that I still don't know how to waste time.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

New-to-me genres, an IWSG post

 

      

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the July 2 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre, Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour!

This month's question:

July 2 question - Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?  

__________________________________________

 

I love trying out new genres, themes, styles, etc. For me, that's some of the joy of writing: going "I've never done that before, so let's go!" 

 

I'm in the middle of writing my first romances right now and it's a BLAST! After finishing my Menopausal Superhero series last year, I found that really wanted new project energy. So instead of returning to one of my back-burner projects, I decided I'd write romances featuring women in their 50s finding love: GenX romances. 

 

The first one is off for editing now and I'm nearly done prepping the second one for editing, then I'm back to finish drafting the third one. 

 

What will I do after that? I think I'll go back to the Gothic I started a couple of years back. 

 

Often, when I want to try out a new genre, I write a short story first. It lets me play with something new at a lower commitment (in time, energy, etc.) than taking on a novel. It's been fun, and it's really built my catalogue since I've gotten 24 of them published in anthologies over the past ten years.

 

 

 

There's a lot of horror in that list (I LOVE writing short horror), but there's also urban fantasy, literary fiction, women's fiction, alt-history, fantasy, science fiction, weird, ghost, romance, fable/fairytale, and dystopian in there, especially since crossover genre is a real thing and you can end up with a weird urban fantasy alt-history with romantic elements and have to ask yourself what genre it is. 

 

I haven't yet written any steampunk. Besides the Gothic, I've also got a historical women's fiction trilogy I'd like to get back to and finish, and well as a young adult fantasy. I've never written a thriller or a mystery. OOOOH, maybe a western would be fun. I love to read weird westerns, so writing one would probably be even more fun. 

 

So far, I don't have much interest in writing straight up realistic fiction or military scifi, but otherwise, there isn't much I'm not interested in trying. Trying on new genres is a delight. 

 

How about you? Are you a genre-hopper as a reader or writer? Or do you have favorite lanes to swim in?