Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here.
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Bookstore Romance Day is coming up on August 20th! What is Bookstore Romance day? According to the website bookstoreromanceday.org, it’s “a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community.”
It’s not just for Romance writers. Any writers whose stories include romance can participate. I’ve been invited to join the celebration at The Eloquent Page, a local independent bookstore. All three of my books have romance aplenty mixed in with the magic and swordplay.
Check out bookstoreromanceday.org to see if a store near you is celebrating and join the fun!
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And now on to the IWSG Question of the Month — When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original or do you try to give readers what they want?
I write for me, so I write stories that I want to read. I don’t try to guess what others might like or might want to see. It’s impossible to please everyone, so however the story is written, there will always be those who wish things had been done differently. I write stories that are satisfying to me and hope they will find other readers who feel the same.
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WIP Update: Life continues to keep me ridiculously busy and writing opportunities are few and far between, but I’m 15 chapters in and approximately halfway through the third book in the Trouble series, Trouble Times Three. I keep hoping things will slow down, but it hasn’t happened yet. One of these days, maybe.
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Anyone else joining in on Bookstore Romance Day?
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© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2022. All rights reserved.
Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams 
Good job making progress on your writing when everything is so busy! I’m a lot like you–I write for me. If there’s no entertainment in writing, what point would there be to it, right?
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Thanks, Loni! I so agree.
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That’s great you will be at that store during Romance day.
Keep up with writing!
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I think it will be a lot of fun. Thanks, Alex!
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Bookstore Romance – Thanks. Not much romance or even a new normal lately, sounds great,
Of course I write for myself, hope that maybe one or two others might appreciate a story.
WIP ? In August ? Fantasy, surely ?
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Sounds like we have the same idea about writing. My WIP is fantasy adventure, my favorite genre. Thanks for stopping by!
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Good on your for being consistent. It’s so difficult especially when you have a ton of other stuff to do.
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Yes, it is. I’m still trying to figure out ways to fit more writing in.
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I like your answer, Lori. It shows the independent spirit most of us Indies have. Glad life is keeping you busy!
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Thanks, Jacqui! Yes, life is definitely doing that. I could stand to be a little less busy.
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Nice to meet another indie writer! Yes, life is always busy, but I applaud you for making time to write AND making progress on your current wip. For me, writing in the morning is like an anchor, connecting me to stories and my characters and giving me a sense of peace as the day unfolds into adventure or challenge. May August be good to you!
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Thanks, Beth! I’m a morning person, too. Hope August is good to you, as well.
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