Hello! If you’ve been directed here from The Cynical Sailor, welcome to my author site. I’m still figuring out what I’m going to do with that site moving forward, but, in the meantime, I’ve decided to move my Insecure Writer’s Support Group monthly blog posts to this site. Thanks for following me over here!
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It’s a great place to mingle with like minded people each month during IWSG day.
Every month there’s an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they’re struggling with what to say.
This month’s question is:
Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?
Check out how people have answered this month’s question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list HERE. You can find out how I answered the question below.
Simon the Cat Demands His Breakfast with Very Sharp Claws
Note: If you’re new to my IWSG posts, I often write stories about my imaginary cat, Simon, to answer the monthly questions. He’s rather a grumpy cat who loves full-fat milk, bashing my writing, and making a general nuisance of himself. The complete opposite of Mrs. Moto from my Mollie McGhie mysteries.
“Wake up, lady,” a low voice growled.
I groaned and pulled the covers over my head. “Leave me alone, Simon. I’m trying to sleep.” A paw snaked underneath my blanket, its sharp claws fully extended. “Ouch! That hurt.”
As I sat up in bed, my large gray cat glared at me. “Stop being so lazy and feed me breakfast.”
“You know, you’re much more pleasant in my dreams.” I stretched my arms over my head. “It was such a nice dream, too.”
“What did you dream about?” Simon asked as he rolled over on his back.
“My future writer self,” I said, as I rubbed his belly. “I’m doing really well in the future. I’ve written in some other genres like sci-fi and sweet romance. Plus, I have several cozy mystery series published including one with a talking chameleon who lives in a library in North Dakota.”
“Whoever heard of a talking chameleon? That’s a stupid idea, lady. Chameleons don’t talk. “
“And cats do?”
“Well, duh. You can hear me, can’t you?” Simon crawled onto my lap and kneaded my legs. “What are your other series about? Me?”
“You? No way,” I said. “Who would want to read about you?”
“You really aren’t very bright, are you? There’s people reading about me right now.”
I chewed on my lip. “Well, that’s different. This is a blog post, not a book.” Before he could interrupt with another smart aleck response, I added, “The other idea I have is a side series of novellas about a fortune teller who lives on Destiny Key.”
“Your new book is set there, isn’t it?” Simon asked.
“It is. Mollie and Scooter sail there during the Coconut Cove regatta.” I furrowed my brow. “How did you know that? Have you been reading my books?”
“Only when I have insomnia.” Simon yawned. “They’re so boring that they put me right to sleep.”
I lay back down and pulled the covers up to my chin. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go back to sleep and dream about my future writer self and my future cat. He’s really sweet.”
“Future cat?” Simon jabbed my face with this paw, then sat back on his haunches. “Oh, I get it. You’re going to travel into the future, use their cloning machine and come back with a dozen more Simons.”
“That sounds like a nightmare.” I grabbed a pad from my bedside table. “Note to self,” I said as I scribbled on the paper. “Do not engage in time travel. One Simon is plenty.”
What about you? When you dream about your future, what do you envision?
Dead in the Dinghy will be released on December 13th! Pre-order your copy of the latest Mollie McGhie Cozy Sailing Mystery at your favorite retailer and find out what happens when Mollie and Scooter participate in their first sailing regatta.
Spoiler alert: someone ends up dead in a dinghy & Mollie eats a lot of chocolate!
Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Kobo | Google Play
Find out more HERE.
I LOVE reading about Simon. Reminds me about Tigger, my grumpy cat. Lynn La Vita @ Writers Supporting Writers
Simon says thank you 🙂
A dozen Simons sounds like a nightmare all right.
A really bad nightmare 🙂
Love the website!
“You really aren’t very bright, are you? There’s people reading about me right now.”
Ha ha! Guilty.
Ooh, the insomnia jab was a low blow. Sassy Simon!
Glad you like the site, Jennifer!
Good luck on the new release! Love the spoiler alert. 🙂
Maybe Simon needs to write his own stories. Then he can star in them, too. 🙂
His lack of opposable thumbs make writing his own stories challenging. Although maybe he could dictate them.
Yay! It’s almost time for the new release! Simon does need his own stories. But I agree that one of him is enough. 🙂 Shhh… I would totally read about a talking chameleon!
He’s a pretty cool talking chameleon – he originally hails from NYC and is a bit grumpy, kind of like Simon.
Haha I love Simon so much. His comment about the chameleon made me laugh. I disagree with him though and hope you do get that series out! 🙂
Simon is definitely a character 🙂 I’m hoping I can make a start on one of my new series ideas in the coming year.
Yep – don’t need a dozen Simons! 🙂
Looking forward to your latest story – hoping to read it during the holidays!!
Thanks, Jemi! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Sorry, Simon – I do want to read about a talking chameleon.
He’s just going to have to suck it up 🙂
Yes one Simon is plenty.
Have a fabulous day, Ellen. ♥
I’m thinking even one might be too much. 🙂
Congrats on your latest… I had to snicker when you mentioned ‘nightmare’. Too many Simons sounds so scary. Maybe you’ll be in horror next. hehehe
Anna from elements of emaginette
Simon being cloned would be a horror story!
One Simon is definitely enough!!!
I love the way you write, Ellen. I hope your future writing dreams all come true.
Aww…thanks! You’re so sweet 🙂
Simon has a point – I was enjoying reading about him.
(Pleasedelete my previous comment – I messed up the form!)
He’ll be tickled pink to hear that 🙂
Ah, Simon. I think if there were multiples of you, Ellen would go crazy. Like Anna, I too thought Simon would be your venture into the horror genre. 🙂
Imagine if he was a ghost cat and all the haunting he would do. Would make for a great horror story!
Wait–what? “Imaginary” cat? I’ll bet Simon says that’s just a scurrilous (purriless?) rumor. My Hemi, definitely not imaginary, also thinks he should be the star in my stories. And pretty much everywhere else.
Purriless – love it! Hemi should have a story written about him.
Congrats on your release! And one Simon sounds like enough. Maybe you should just move all your blogging over here. It’s hard having two blogs.
I am considering moving all my blogging over here – still need to make up my mind though.
As much as I love reading about Simon, I agree with you that one of him is more than enough. 🙂
I have a sneaky feeling your dream of your future as a writer isn’t just a dream. It’s a prophecy. (Love your new site. Looks terrific!)
Glad you like this site and thanks for your kind words. You’re so sweet 🙂
One wonderful Simon is all the world needs. But we do need him 🙂
As to the chameleon…I’m looking forward to that story!
Hopefully the chameleon pans out. I can totally envision him in my mind, but translating him to paper may be a different story.
A dozen more Simons! Now that sounds scary!
It’s a frightening thought 🙂
Yep, it’s best to steer clear of time travel and cloning 😉
It can be a dangerous mix 😉
I would love to time travel, but I’ve never tried to write about it.
I’d like to time travel too. Maybe one day it will be possible.
That photo of Simon is downright scary ~ It’s the eyes. Yes I know he’s imaginary, but a dozen sets of those eyes would do me in. I adore your Simon posts and good luck with your latest book! Happy holidays!
Can you imagine waking up in the morning and seeing a dozen set of those eyes staring at you? Scary!
Ooh, a new release coming! Many congrats.
Thanks, Sandra!
LOL love the “future cat.” And the photo of Simon is beautiful!
He’s not a bad looking cat. 🙂
A dozen Simons! A nightmare all right!
For sure 🙂
I barely keep up with one blog, much less two. You’re quite the worker! Though you do have Simon, the helpful cat.
If by helpful, you mean annoying, then he’s definitely helpful. 😉
Aww, Simon’s not so bad. But maybe one Simon is enough. Lol.
You’re right. He’s not so bad. Just don’t tell him I said that.
Too many Simons? Ha!
I like everyone else’s musings on future writing selves better than my own! I can just see myself winding down a little. I don’t see being able to keep up the pace I do now in another 20 years or so.
I have no idea how you keep up your current pace as it is. You deserve to slow down and take it easy 🙂
I never knew Simon had such glowing evil-looking eyes! But you know that Simon really loves you. It’s probably his own insecurities (about being imaginary and all) that make him act out. I bet the Simon in some parallel universe is all peaches and cream. Perhaps you need to do a multiverse trade.
I love the idea of a peaches and cream Simon out there in a parallel universe!
I love you, Simon! ~grin~ I like to imagine myself in a cozy ocean front cottage or Alaskan mountain cabin. In between mountain hikes or beach walks I am whiling away my aging days writing in that peaceful setting, a pet or two always at my side. ~sigh~ Best wishes on all future projects, my dear.
Simon wants to know if he can come live with you. He loves being adored 🙂
I love the presentation of future self in story form. Enjoyable read. I do like reading about Simon.
Thanks, Juneta!
Simon is quite the handful. Your imaginings deserve to come true!
And of course, by that i mean all the success you envision. Sometimes i don’t express things right the first time.
Aww…thank you so much, Mimi!
Congratulations on the upcoming release. I just managed a sneak peek in your blog and I’m super awed! Simon is an interesting build up and I look forward to more intriguing conversations in the coming months!
Thanks so much. I’m glad you like it 🙂
I love Simon the cat. Well, I love reading about him harassing you. I wouldn’t want him haunting my laptop. Congratulations on the new book, and I look forward to learning more about the chameleon 😀
Are you sure you don’t want him to come spend time with you? 😉
Oh, would love to, but I’m sorry, I’m allergic to cats, so I just can’t 😀
I think it’s a great idea to move your IWSG posts over here – it’s your author blog after all. 🙂 Even when you think about your future writer self, you are Uber creative, Ellen! Yeah… you are full of ideas, that aren’t boring at all. Don’t mind Simon!
I think it made sense too. Now, just to figure out what to do with the other blog.
Your Simon and Ed Hoornaert’s Effing are my fav cats. I am not a cat lover, so that’s pretty special. I hope your writer’s dream comes true, and you have many more books/series to write. Looking forward to reading Dead in the Dinghy.
Effing – what a funny name for a cat 🙂
Oh, SImon, you love her books and you KNOW it!
He’ll never admit it 😉
That talking chameleon series sounds like a great audiobook – and a likely future……without a Simon clone or twelve.
That would be fun in audio!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Sorry it took so long for me to stop by.
Simon’s so grumpy and cute, but he’s wrong about chameleons.
Congrats on your new release! Looking forward to it.
I love Simon… He has an unique voice
Sorry for the very late response. Honestly, these days, I dream of going back to writing full time. I know that once I’m back with my students (the day after tomorrow–eek!), I’ll remember the joys of teaching and why I do it. But there’s been so much drama on that front lately that I’m definitely missing the days when I could just stay home and write (or pretend to write while I procrastinated).
If my future self could just do the full-time writing thing again, teaching an occasional class when it moved her, that would be perfect. Last year, I took on too many classes, my writing suffered (as in, I rarely got to do any), and I exhausted myself.
So that’s my dream. When it’s -30C below, I’d love to just stay in bed with the cats instead of waiting for the bus, freezing my butt off. (Or explaining to a cab driver how to get to the exact same place I go every morning. Do they not have GPS? Why do they never use it?)