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Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – Bad Boys
Category: Sen
Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – The End
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Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – TSTL Heroes
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Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – Same Old…
If you’ve been looking for my Author page (carlaswaffordauthor) on Facebook, you won’t find it. I was hacked and I notified Meta. It’s a terrible long story that taught me that criminals will play the long game to get it. (No, I did not click on a link of any type.) Meta shutdown that portion of my FB. So I still have my personal page where I accept “friends.” Meta has been trying to get my Author page to come back up, but it’s looking like that will not happen. At least, if it stays down, the criminals can’t use it too. There are two parts of this that make me even more sad: 1) all of my photos are gone. So many memories. Sure, I probably have copies lying around the house, but still…you know. 2) There were over two thousand people following me. It took me a few years to build that up (I started the page in 2011) and I doubt I can do that again without spending money. Anyway, I had been drifting away from FB the last couple years and this might be the final straw to push me to stay on Instagram the majority of the time. TikTok is too much of a pain in the ass to deal with though I do post some there. Yet, I won’t leave FB totally because the groups are so helpful in keeping in touch with family, friends, and communities of interest. So be careful who you believe. ALWAYS go to the source and ask questions.
Booksigning
In my last newsletter, I told you about Bookfest in Sumiton, AL. It was a beautiful day and we had nice crowds to come through. They are planning a third one for October 2025 and it will most likely be indoors. So if you live in Alabama USA or nearby states, plan to visit. Lots of authors and book related goodies. Here’s a pic of me. I sold all of my Savage Champion books except for one.
Workshop
The North Shelby Library has asked my writers group to present a writers workshop this Saturday (10/19). Here’s the info on it. Link at bottom. I don’t believe it will last to 6 p.m. We should be finished by 4 p.m. I will be presenting Plotter vs Pantster. That’s referring to the type of writer you could be and will help you relax and accept whatever method you use is okay.
Fiction Focus: All-Day Writing Workshop
10:00am – 6:00pm
North Shelby
Registration Open
Library Branch: North Shelby
Room: Mueller Annex Classroom
Age Group: Teens, Adults
Registration Required
Seats Remaining: 34
Event Details:
Are you ready to captivate readers with your words? Just starting out and don’t know where to begin? Join us for this writing workshop designed to ignite your creativity and elevate your writing skills to new heights. It’s free.
Register here: https://northshelby.librarycalendar.com/event/nanowrimo-event-11944
Writing
Sen’s book is coming along. I came across an unique problem for me. Now, I don’t usually know who the bad guy is until I’ve written most of the book, but this time I was so certain who it was, but then bam! I realized I was wrong. So be on the lookout for a twist in the story. Hopefully, you won’t be disappointed.
That’s it for now. Here’s hoping the storms stay away for the rest of the year and everyone chill during elections. Scary times for sure. So keep reading romance and you’ll know there is a happy future for the couple (or more). Reading helps our mental health. It’s good to believe in happy endings.
Hugs.
Carla
Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – Short One
I’ve decided I need a friend called Sam. They’re loyal. They’ll follow you into danger and protect your back, tell you when you’re wrong, support you when you’re right, and so much more. Why do I say that? You may have already guessed. As many of you have done, years ago, I’d watched all of the Lord of The Rings movies. Now, I’m watching the Game of Thrones series. When it was originally on, I missed numerous episodes. So I decided to watch them from beginning to end. I’ve already seen several I had missed. You may remember in the two series, they have a main character whose best friend is name Sam (or Samwell). I wouldn’t be surprised to find other series with loyal friends with the same name. There has to be a reason they’re called Sam.
Writing Tip
How often have you read about the shape of a character’s furniture or the way rain hits a puddle of water? If I kept those type of descriptions in a short sentence or two of setting, I believe most people would find the description interesting enough. Even a list of items in a room, no longer than a sentence, can be entertaining. It’s when an author types paragraphs and pages describing rooms, plant uses, or the weather (etc.) that bores me. I usually skip over it. While for other people they claim such writing gives the story layers. I guess my imagination doesn’t need all the extra words to help a story along. All of that is something to think about, heh?
Next Book
Presently, I’m working on the next book of the Southern Crime Family. It’s been a rough go, because I couldn’t get a handle on Sen (middle brother) and what his deal was. Finally, I figured it out and it’s coming together. Sorry for being vague, but I should provide excerpts before too much longer.
Here’s what the cover will look like.
Audio Coming Soon
The narration for Savage Champion should be finished in a few more weeks. I keep saying it, but I’m so excited. There are two narrators (female and male) and I think you’ll enjoy it. More details to come as soon as I’m notified they’re finished.
This is the cover for the audio. Note the narrators.
As you can tell, this is a short newsletter this time.
Take care. Read, read, read. And be sure to let people know about any books you enjoyed.
Carla
Carla Swafford, Author 