Another year of October Frights is over. So sad! Below are the winners of the drawings and contests from this year. 1st $25 gift card goes to Anita Stewart. 2nd $25 gift card goes to Debbie Christiana. Winner of the $10 gift card for choosing a story idea from the October Frights Preview is Carmilla Voiez for choosing #5, “a child afraid of Trick or Treaters tells his babysitter they’re trying to kill him. When … Read more
Alvin dunked his head into the ice cold water for the fifth time, his mouth open and teeth chomping at the twirling apples. If only he could pluck one by the stem. Some may consider it cheating, but all that mattered was ending his turn before the other kids grew frustrated. “He’ll never get one,” Carl said from behind in his raspy and forced pirate’s voice. A strong grip squeezed Alvin’s shoulders, and a heaviness … Read more
Can you believe it? Only a few more days until October 1st. This year, to kick off the holiday season, I invite you to join me for a Halloween fable a day, along with lots of gift card drawings for those willing to critique my comedy writing skills. I’ve taken a break from writing The Courier series to learn the mechanics of making people laugh. Earlier this year I realized I’m a natural when it … Read more
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a update on what I’m up to. Mainly it’s because I’m having a summer of avoiding editing. Instead, I spend most of my time on household stuff, especially gardening. Just spent the last week enjoying time with family and moving rocks from the neighbor’s front yard to our backyard. To save us all some money, they’re simplifying and we’re re-purposing. The plan is to replace the current mishmash of … Read more
Fans out there may have noticed I’ve changed my name. Why? Strictly related to advice about comedy writing, and that the name of the writer is telling. W. J. Howard sounds more like an accountant. In fact, if you look up W. J. Howard on Amazon, you’ll find another author who writes about math under the same name. Thinking back, the only reason I went with the initials was because I started writing many many … Read more
Howdy all! I’ve been absent for quite some time from my blog and social media, and plan to continue my aloofness through the end of the year at least. At the same time, I’ve noticed there have still been quite a few visitors to my blog every month. So I’m going to write a blog post a month to let you know what I have been doing. I’m Writing! Yes, I am writing…A LOT. Half … Read more
Hello and Welcome Brain to Books Cyber Convention Visitors! I’m author W. J. Howard, but you can call me Wendy. Tomorrow starts the Brain to Books Cyber Convention and Book Expo, so I thought I’d let you know what I’m up to the next three days. I write dark stories mixed with comedy for all ages. My main focus is creating action-packed stories for young people who are looking for books as fast paced as … Read more
Howdy all! Every Saturday I share what I’m up to along with things I recommend you check out. Here’s what happened this week. Upcoming Events February 6th WiHM Getting to Know You: I’ll be participating in a Women in Horror Month blog post on the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Blog on the 6th of the month. This blog post includes female members who are horror writers talking about our chosen genre. February 20-24 WiHM Blog … Read more
Need something to do during Women in Horror Month? Here’s an opportunity to join group blog talks February 20th to 24th. The talks feature creative women in the horror genre talking about horrific topics and their favorite peers. Go to the SIGN UP FORM and respond to as many topics as you like and/or volunteer your blog to host a talk. How does it work? Be Featured in Blog Posts: There are 5 topics for … Read more
Howdy all! Here’s what happened this week. Upcoming Events No new events this week, but I do have a new Events page. The Movies This week I suggested you watch Solomon Kane. Solomon Kane came out awhile back and apparently it didn’t do well at the box office. Not sure why. It was typical for fantasy, with dark magic and lots of sword fighting, but it was also a decent movie. Good acting, and the … Read more
Howdy all! Here’s what happened this week. Upcoming Events I’m joining A.F. Stewart’s Bloody Valentine event next month. I’ll be sharing a love gone wrong short story for the event. I’m also hosting another blog post event for Women in Horror Month that will be a kind of blog tour of interviews with us women horror writers. Still working on the details and will post the schedule when it’s finalized. The Movies This week I … Read more
Quick announcement that Call for Obstruction is free this Friday on Amazon. Don’t forget! FREE Friday. Add it to your GoodReads to-read list. https://t.co/D5nqOczrjjBeware of demon's magical cigarettes with an electrical punch 👿 pic.twitter.com/dJMo6nSZxp — W. J. Howard (@by_wjhoward) January 11, 2017
What a week! Can’t believe I accomplished anything with both gluten contamination and the flu. ICK! It’s why my weekly wrap up is late. So, what happened this week? Not much, but here it is. Upcoming Events I’ll be in a Women in Horror Month (WiHM) post on the RMFW blog February 6th. We’re talking about women in horror, surprise surprise. I’ll be talking about childhood influences that led me to be a horror fanatic. … Read more
First, I can’t believe it’s New Year’s Eve. 2016 flew by. I guarantee that while you read this I’m already holding a mimosa or glass of wine. Now I’d like to welcome you to my new weekly wrap up. This is basically a diary of everything I accomplished over the past week, including things like Twitter post highlights, movie & book reviews, short story and novel part releases, upcoming events, and more. I’ll also mention … Read more
For the last few years I forgot my main career goal, become a successful fiction writer. I was slapped in the face with this realization back in April. Years of goals not met sent me over the edge. That and the stress in my life was threatening to kill me, literally. Yes, literally. My immune system was on fire when I was knocked on my ass. I was an addict hitting rock bottom, my drug … Read more
Time to start blogging again. I’ve been a hermit far longer than I had expected this year, both here and on social media. I have returned to facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ and that’s about all I’ll get involved with regularly anymore. I do have a LinkedIn and Tumblr account in the social links above, but I only visit there now and then. There are WAY to many sites out there that consume time and … Read more
For the last three months I’ve been changing my priorities. The most important goal I’ve given myself is to spend 2014 for myself and my writing. My number one priority is to write and edit the novels I’ve neglected for the last 4 years while I learned publishing and improved my editing skills. Until further notice, I won’t be posting to my blog. My thought is to return after I’ve published the first two books … Read more
A few days late, but here’s my happy new year wishes to all. I’m sitting back today, glad this holiday season is officially over. On top of all the usual festivities, our family had a new baby born and a wedding. My biggest wish for the start of the new year is a few weeks of piece and quiet. Of course, the chances of that happening… Off to take down the decorations. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Yep, it’s all about me! Me, me, me… A lot has happened over the last 5 years: Writing 5 novels and 75 short stories Winning a novel contest in 2009 Being published by a small press that went out of business Running a number of social networks and groups for writers and horror lovers Starting up a publishing cooperative In the process I learned a number of lessons and have become a much better writer … Read more
Really. It’s time to set yearly goals . . . again? What happened to 2013? It went by in a flash! Back in April I addressed getting back on track with my 2013 goals, but it never happened. I remember writing that I was happy with what I’d achieved early on in the year, but the problem was I had only achieved things that weren’t on my list of goals. Well that’s gotta change in … Read more