Passionate Inkers,
I hope you are doing well and selling lots of books! Spring is here in many regions. There are flowers blooming and we’re seeing signs of renewal everywhere. What are we doing to help you grow?
To start, the Passionate Plume judging is underway.
There is yet another way you can get your work recognized. We've announced our 2022 Anthology theme and deadline for submissions. See below for details.
We have workshops and opportunities to hone your writing and marketing skills. If you don't see a particular class that interests you, please feel free to drop us a line at workshops@passionateink.org with your ideas and needs.
But you can also give back.
Passionate Ink is in need of a Workshop Coordinator for the remainder of 2022! This position is exactly how it sounds—we are looking for someone who can find and schedule workshops for our members. The best part about this position is that workshops have already been scheduled for the remainder of the year with the exception of October, November and December.
What we need help with is the organization aspect. We need someone who can make sure the workshops are going off without a hitch, someone who can see/organize attendees and for someone to host any workshops that take place via Zoom. Currently, this job is being spread out amongst the current board—which you can imagine is difficult when we all have our elected jobs that we need to be doing!
Please consider volunteering for this non-elected position.
Thank you so much for your support.
Ashley
President, Passionate Ink
Here are the members of your 2022 board with their emails in case you would like to contact us:
President: Ashley Bostock, president@passionateink.org
Vice President: Jordyn Kross, vp@passionateink.org
Marketing Liaison: Calia Wilde, communications@passionateink.org
Secretary: Raisa Greywood, secretary@passionateink.org
Treasurer: Mira Noire, treasurer@passionateink.org
Workshop Director: workshops@passionateink.org
Webmistress/Admin: Jennifer Dodds, webmistress@passionateink.org
Membership Engagement: Ryan Osborn writingevents@passionateink.org
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Monthly Milestones
- HAVE GOOD NEWS TO SHARE? Did you hit a publishing milestone? Place in a contest? Share your writing news with us! Email news@passionateink.org to be featured in our next newsletter.
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Renew yourself
Are you stuck in a rut? Maybe some of these methods can help you grow.
- Go on a retreat
A retreat doesn't always mean group activities or an expensive hermitage. Sometimes just moving from your office acts as a kick to your creative impulses. Have you tried a coffee shop or writing in a public place? Or even your back deck can offer a change of scenery to lighten your mood.
- Be of service
Passionate Ink is always in need of volunteers. Or look for ways to interact with other writers. The monthly author chat series is a great way to give back by sharing your insights.
- Immerse yourself in nature
Hikes, the beach, even a local park can be the connection you need to feel rejuvenated.
- Get Active
Morning yoga, afternoon walks, dancing with friends, it all counts.
- Take a class
Passionate Ink offers several ways to learn something to help you make your author career a success.
- Start a gratitude journal
Challenge yourself to write down one to three things each day you are grateful for. At the end of thirty days, reflect on the trends, bask in the memories of those thankful moments, and prepare for the next journey.
Follow our social media for more tidbits like this. Find the links at: passionateink.org
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Open to non-members in May!
May 1–31 via online forum link.
$20 for members, $30 for non-members.
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Members only event! Kick start your career.
May 9th - Free for Members. Visit the forum calendar for details.
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Get involved, get advice, and get connected with your fellow Inkers at May's Happy Hour. It will be held on May 13th at 7PM Central. Consult the PI Members' Forum for the Zoom link.
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Learn, Grow, and Improve! Join your fellow Inkers in May for critique sessions on May 14th and 26th.
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Winter is going to be HOT!
Passionate Ink is proud to announce the 2022 Charity Anthology!
Submissions open May 16th. All proceeds will be donated to ProLiteracy. Word count limit is 10K and the submission window closes on July 16th.
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Define your brand and build your platform.
Mark your calendar for this 14-week writers' salon!
Not a Member yet? Join NOW for only $45 and you'll get great content like this and discounts on workshops!
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June events and workshops:
Open to Non-Members:
Marketing and Branding with Cassandra Carr
Happy Hour
Member-only programs:
Writer's Salon - Marketing
Critique Sessions
PI Board Meeting
Elevator/Twitter Pitches
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The spotlight is on you!
New to Passionate Ink? It is time to introduce yourself. Just answer a few questions and we'll do the rest. Our interview form makes the process easy. Your interview will be featured in future newsletters. We love learning about you and your work, whether you are a prolific and published writer or just starting out. Click the red button to get started.
Thank you to all who have sent profiles—they will appear here over the next few months.
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MEMBER INTERVIEW | Stephan Clarke
We have two profiles this month! First up, please meet Stephan Clarke.
A budding fantasy author who was inspired by Tolkien, along with CS Lewis, Heinlein and so many other authors. He acknowledges that additional inspiration to write comes from role play gaming and enjoys creating stories and 'acting' them out. Finishing the book is one of his hard-to-believe moments. Many authors were in those shoes before, and sometimes even after those first works evolved into printed form!
Hailing from New South Wales, Australia, he enjoys reading, role play gaming, sewing, walking, and swimming.
Advice? “Stay in the Zone…Let it flow and hope for the best” and “Find a good proofreader.”
Strengths? “Excellent English language skills.”
Challenges? “My ADD/Autism. I couldn't imagine being able to maintain my focus long enough to bang out 70k plus words, a book cover and everything else. I have no idea how I managed it. The first book just flowed. I was in terror that I would lose focus before the end but I didn't. It’s a miracle...”
Stephan is working toward publishing book 2 of his fantasy series, Wizard Rising. Let’s offer our fellow inker encouragement and support! You can send your comments to news@passionateink.org and our staff will send them his way.
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MEMBER INTERVIEW | AJ Clarke
 Our second new author is AJ Clarke (another Clarke!).
AJ is from Colorado (USA) and enjoys playing video games (Horizon Forbidden West is their current obsession), reading a never-ending TBR pile, and watching horror movies--especially the bad ones! They also enjoy long walks on their own with headphones, to let their mind wander.
AJ primarily writes Fantasy whether it is writing in a modern setting or not. Although they are quoted as saying, “Sci-fi is fun, too, but I find I get too bogged down in the pseudo-science jargon sometimes. It's so much easier on my brain to world build around magic or special powers, that kind of thing.”
Their personal Polly would probably say, "Good Lord!" in utter disgust. It's something from a former job when AJ needed to express exasperation without using four-letter-words.
Advice? “You're good enough. No matter what you write: if it's your career or just for fun, if it's original work or fanfiction, it doesn't matter. You wrote a thing, and that means you're good enough.”
Strengths? “I think my biggest strength is honestly that I can write well very quickly. I'm self-published, which means the struggle to stay current with the algorithm is real. I have to produce quality content at a very rapid pace, and I can. Sometimes I feel self-conscious about that, because I know it can be a sticking point with fellow writers, but I'm also proud of it, darn it!”
Challenges? “My biggest challenge is definitely imposter syndrome. I compare myself to fellow authors and can very easily fall down a hole of thinking I'm not good enough based almost solely on popularity. I regularly have to remind myself that I'm still very much a newbie. I've only been writing and publishing my work for a year and am just now trying to tackle the social media marketing game. I'm progressing on track. I'm not behind or playing catch up or failing. My partner is the one who reminds me of those things and keeps me grounded. He renews my faith in myself, and I'm forever grateful to him for that.”
AJ may come off as a bit shy at first, but is eager to make more romance writer friends. They are a member of a more generic local writing group, but was drawn to Passionate Ink because of the workshops and community of a writing group that encourages fellow authors who write romantic and sexy themes.
Again, if you have words of encouragement or want to say hi, please send your words along to the PI mailbox, or you can reach out on Twitter directly. https://twitter.com/theA_J_Clarke
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A Better Man
by Bernadette Jones
Available April 26, 2022
 Stripped of everything, her life threatened, she’s forced to trust a stranger.
Kicked out of her home as a teenager, Breezy Richards made a life for herself. Never asking permission or explaining her choices. Always in control of her destiny. Now she’s hiding from a stalker, trying to stay alive back in the one place she never thought she’d call home again: Spencer, Colorado.
The military had been the only escape for JackDaniels Vaughn. He quickly embraced the loner lifestyle, committed only to the next mission and his comrades. He’d sworn never to settle down moving from job to job, city to city, always searching for the elusive sense of purpose. Until he’s asked to protect Breezy Richards.
Loving her made him a better man. Can he keep her alive long enough to tell her?
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Passionate Ink members, want to see your new release here?
We need your title, release date, cover image (300 x 450 pixels, .JPG), a description of up to 175 words, and your author website URL.
SEND YOUR MATERIALS TO:
news@passionateink.org
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The Unknown: Seeking Earth
An AMR Anthology with Calia Wilde and other authors
Release Date: March 24, 2022
 Eight different authors as they delve into the unknown sides of science and darkness.
Join:
Brian McCord - Destination: Planet Earth
Calia Wilde - Fatal Offerings
T. Elizabeth Guthrie - Saving The Mother Planet
Prometheus Susan - We Choose Her
Nathalie ML Römer - Fade To Black
Margy Millit - Sorix (Cyborg Guardians Book 1)
Aeryn Zaera - Moons of Ves’Oni Book 3.5
S.M. Revolinski - Adrift Among The Stars
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War's Peace
by Raisa Greywood
Release Date: March 3, 2022
 Kendra Hall is a fixer. As far as Mark Luciano is concerned, nothing in his life needs fixing—not him, and certainly not his business.
As part owner of Club Apocalypse, a resort catering to those who share certain proclivities, he’s perfectly happy with the small, select clientele they’ve curated. He doesn’t need some fancy suit telling him how to run his business—even if the advice is coming from the most stunning woman he’s ever seen. Worse, she’s right more than she’s wrong.
When he discovers that behind closed doors Kendra enjoys taking orders rather than giving them, their relationship takes a turn he never expected.
But trouble is coming for Club Apocalypse. If Mark can’t learn that sometimes even the Master must bend, he risks losing everything he’s worked to build.
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Grim's Little Reaper
by Raisa Greywood
Release Date: February 28, 2022
 Can the right Daddy make a stubborn desert flower blossom?
Landscape architect Jolene Miller is on a mission and nothing is going to stop her. Hired to restore the landscaping surrounding the vintage Route 66 motel where she met and married her late husband, she's determined to have everything her way - no matter how many times her employers threaten to fire her.
When retired Navy captain Zach Stratton is called in to assist with a 'brat problem,' he jumps at the chance to see his old friends. It doesn't hurt that the brat in question is gorgeous, stubborn, and exactly what he never knew he needed. All he has to do is convince her to take a chance on them both.
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Hollow Bones: An Undead Mercenaries Novella
by Calia Wilde
Release Date: February 24, 2022
 The afterlife is recruiting.
I was the ultimate NCO, the poisoned tip of the spear, first in battle and last out. My name struck fear and shock in its wake. Casca Longinus of Cappadocia. No matter what was thrown at me, no matter what ate at my gut every night, I survive another year. If I made it my full two thousand years, I might be rewarded with ignominy and eternal rest— or not.
Now a new recruit lands in my lap just before the big battle, and that's a problem. Mainly because her undead battle form is the stuff of nightmares. Specifically, MY nightmares.
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Readers, are you looking for your next favorite author?
Authors, are you looking to connect with more readers?
Please visit the Passionate Ink Resources page for:
Partner Author Organizations
Writing Organizations
Print Publishers
E-Publishers
and Other Erotic Literature-friendly Sites
Most of these sites are free to readers, however some do charge the authors. To learn more about these different venues go to our blog located here. https://passionateink.org/blog/
Do you know of other beneficial sites for authors? Let us know at: http://communications@passionateink.org
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PI is only as strong as its members, so please make the most of your organization. Here are a few ways to get involved.
Network with published authors in your genre
Take advantage of a special PI, members-only benefit and join us on the Passionate Ink Forum. Share your news, meet with the movers and shakers of the genre, pitch your work directly to editors and agents, view special chats with experts in the field, and help us keep our community vibrant.
Join our Facebook group
Join PI's members-only Facebook group, Passionate Inkers. Hang out and chat with us, share your successes, frustrations, tips, and tricks, and get to know your chapter!
Volunteer!
There are several ways to volunteer, whether assisting with the Passionate Plume contest or helping us out with other initiatives including our conference. Please email directors@passionateink.org to learn how you can help.
Sign up for our Newsletter
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