Tag: publishing

Séduire: Delayed but Upgraded

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2 more days until Séduire is here!

Front and Back E-Book Only Covers for Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction. Created by Tremaine L. Loadholt with Canva

October 30, 2024, is the targeted date for Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction, my first fiction book. However, I ran into a roadblock when trying to add the front cover you see above for the paperback version. That said, another front cover had to be created for the paperback version. As it stands, October 30, 2024, is still the targeted date for the E-Book version of Séduire ONLY.

Implementing a new front cover for the paperback version has delayed its publishing date, however, the front cover has been upgraded. For those of you who are old-school like me and prefer to hold a book in your hands, you will get Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction in an upgraded form as it pertains to the front cover, which is below:

Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction paperback version front cover. Created by Tremaine L. Loadholt

The photograph used for the background image is one of my own (taken in the Western NC mountains earlier this year). This should be no surprise to those of you who have read my other books. Almost all of them have my photography as the book’s cover image. What I do not like about this situation is running into this roadblock so close to the publishing date. However, for the paperback version, I actually think this cover is more suitable. But I am biased.

Upgrading the front cover for the paperback version has now pushed its date for availability for purchase to at least November 04, 2024, to November 06, 2024. I will keep you updated and make a separate announcement for the paperback version when it is available and ready for purchase.

I have ordered my proof copy and I am simply awaiting its arrival to give it a once-over before I approve its release.

I appreciate your comments, love, encouragement, and willingness to come along with me on this journey. I have fallen in love with this book so far, and it is my hope and prayer that many, if not all of you, will do the same, too.

Below is the official description for Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction and what you can expect from the book:

Séduire is a collection of serial fiction tales and flash fiction standalone stories written over a period of three years. Dive into the world of a little girl whose family uproots and moves to “The Deep South” because of a new opportunity presented to her father. Transport yourself to the life of a little girl who becomes a mother and a sister to her child at the hands of her sadistic and evil father. Walk with a grieving sister and her mother as they remember a woman who was brutally murdered by her partner. Her young boys live out her legacy as they mourn her.

Experience parenthood as you enter the world of soon-to-be young parents and their ups and downs in life change them significantly while they journey along their new path. Make a brief cameo into the hearts of a dedicated aunt and a rebellious teenage niece whose father has lost his grip on his child.

There are so many more characters with which to connect. As you thumb through each page, the author wants you to feel something; with these stories, you will.

Are you interested in reading my previously published books? You can do so here.

Stay Tuned. 2 More Days!

15 More Days Until Séduire Is Published!

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The publishing date is October 30, 2024!

Séduire (Front & Back Covers): Serial Tales & Flash Action

Séduire is a collection of serial fiction tales
and flash fiction standalone stories written over a period
of three years. I want you to feel something,
and with these stories, you will.

Below are the blurbs shared over the last few months about Séduire, and I am more than grateful for these words of acceptance and approval in advance:

Tremaine isn’t just a writer; she is a sage who applies the practices and alchemy of empathy. She doesn’t just create compelling characters; she inhabits them and allows them to speak their truth through her grounded prose, regardless of how vulnerable, how conflicted, how beautiful, or how harrowing.

–Barry Dawson, Jr. IV, Writer/Poet

In Séduire, Tre Loadholt gives us the full range of her storytelling magic. Beyond the humorous dialogue, the raw earthiness of relationships, and the intense despair of grief and loss … eternal hope is the emotion that always shines through her stories.This iconic collection of short fiction belongs on your must-read list.

–Kay Bolden, Writer & Editor

Tre is an absolute force—the kind of writer who makes others  (like me, often) feel this thing I like to call “Writer’s Envy,” where you love the writing so much you wish you could get on her level. Séduire shows her at her absolute best (so far) and you’ll find yourself either flying through piece by piece, or reading it over a period of weeks because you keep going back to re-read certain passages. Either way, you won’t want to put it down.

—Scott Muska, author of I Thought This Was Worth Sharing: Stories and Some Other Stuff about Love and Some Other Stuff

Whether I’m reading her poetry, serial fiction, or autobiographical prose; whether the characters are rooted in reality or possessing of supernatural abilities beyond my own imagination, I am always blown away by Tre’s ability to portray the way we all relate to each other in such a completely relatable way. Her characters breathe, think, and feel just like I do. Just like you do. I do not need to have experienced exactly what the character is experiencing; Tre understands that if readers can feel what the character feels and connect that way, they can step into the page and fall into the story. She really gets us. All of us. And it’s an amazing feeling, being understood.

–Elizabeth Bentley, Writer & Health Program Analyst

Séduire is a smorgasbord of delectable–short but expansive–subtle but insidious–spicy but tame short reads that have a little something for everyone’s taste buds that sits right on the tip of your tongue, solidly, before dissolving into a low-key irreverent balance of salty, sweet, sour, and bitter read. There’s something for everyone!

–Walker J. Lee, Writer, Playwright, & Poet

Are you interested in reading my previously published books? You can do so here.

Stay Tuned.

Séduire (Just One More Month!)

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The publishing date is October 30, 2024.

Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Action

Séduire is a collection of serial fiction tales
and flash fiction standalone stories written over a period
of three years. I want you to feel something,
and with these stories, you will.

As we near the publishing date for Séduire, what I will tell you about this book is that my heart, soul, and dreams are in it. Characters have been speaking to me since I was nine years old. I have always found it best to heed their conversations and share their stories. I haven’t stopped yet. And as long as there is breath in me, I will continue to weave the words I hear from every character into the stories they want me to share. I am certain they will never stop talking.

Here is one last blurb from a friend of mine and a fellow writer and author about Séduire:

Thank you to those of you who have always supported me. I hope you will do so again when Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction is published on October 30, 2024.

Are you interested in reading my previously published books? You can do so here.

Stay Tuned.

Séduire (It’s Almost Time)

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Publishing date is October 30, 2024

Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Action
Séduire Video announcement. Created by Tremaine L. Loadholt

Séduire is a collection of serial fiction tales
and flash fiction standalone stories written over a period
of three years. I want you to feel something,
and with these stories, you will.

For those of you who have always supported me, thank you. I hope you will do so again when Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction is published on October 30, 2024.

Are you interested in reading my previously published books? You can do so here.

Stay Tuned.

Séduire

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Serial Tales & Flash Fiction

Séduire, Front Cover. Created with Canva by Tremaine L. Loadholt
Séduire, Back Cover. Created with Canva by Tremaine L. Loadholt

I have been hard at work on something for the last two years, and . . . the above front and back covers are the faces of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction. Séduire (French), meaning to seduce or charm, encapsulates everything I wanted to do with the words I turned into characters that turned into stories for this book.

It is comprised of fourteen fiction tales, housed in 87 pages from my restless and imaginative mind. It is my first book comprised completely of fiction. It was hard to select which stories I wanted to share, but I believe I made the best decision in selecting the stories published in this book.

Its publishing date will be October 30, 2024. Why this date? It’s close enough to Thanksgiving and Christmas, yet not so close to hinder holiday expenses. I believe it will make the perfect gift for family, friends, and acquaintances. Over the next few months, I will post an announcement about the book along with blurbs from its beta readers.

The first two are below:

Tremaine isn’t just a writer; she is a sage who applies the practices and alchemy of empathy. She doesn’t just create compelling characters; she inhabits them and allows them to speak their truth through her grounded prose, regardless of how vulnerable, how conflicted, how beautiful, or how harrowing. -Barry Dawson, Jr. IV

In Séduire, Tre Loadholt gives us the full range of her storytelling magic. Beyond the humorous dialogue, the raw earthiness of relationships, and the intense despair of grief and loss … eternal hope is the emotion that always shines through her stories.This iconic collection of short fiction belongs on your must-read list. -Kay Bolden

For those of you who have always supported me, thank you. I hope you will do so this time around as well when Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction is published.

Are you interested in reading my previously published books? You can do so here.

Stay Tuned.

The Grieving Room

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Photo by Keegan Houser on Unsplash

Stepping out of my comfort zone and finally feeling free

I have done three different things this week, all of which have taken me out of my comfort zone a bit, and placed me in a space I had not met before. I will start with the why of it all. Why have I done these things? What am I looking to gain from having done them? How will I move forward now with each of them started and a part of who I am?

When you are a fearful person, everything that falls outside of your line of comfort scares you. The dreams you have festering in your mind continue to fester because you fear every move you need to make in order to make those dreams your reality.

I have lived at least twenty years of my life stuck in constant fear of the unknown, yet the unknown is what I am drawn/connected to. It is where I want to be — where I see myself at my happiest. So, how do I get there if I stay stuck in the same spot — afraid to move? I won’t. And that had to change. It is changing.

So, what did I do — which three things?

Others recognize my strength as a writer — this gives me joy

Late last year, I submitted to a publication called The Short of It, which is hosted by editor Susi Bocks. The premise of the online publication is to publish “exquisite expressions in tiny explosions.” I submitted five micro-poems all the while, thinking, as I am often wont to do, they would not be chosen, and they were.

The editor published the feature for the five poems in the wee hours of Friday, July 29, 2022, and you can find each poem here. I want to share one poem with you, though — one that encompasses all that I have been feeling of late about myself and the world at large.

Pressure

she sits on the sea’s floor
shaped by the world
above it–changed forever.
the workers of ancient
tongues sift through
her words, chanting
their dismissals.
the pressure from centuries
ago labels her again
and again.
is this the chosen path
home or not?

To see these poems of mine hosted via The Short of It amongst many other writers whom I read daily and find comfort in doing so gives me an incredible amount of joy. For a couple of years, I’d ceased submitting to both online and print publications because the number of rejections was mounting, and I did not have the strength to scale that mountain any longer.

Braving it once again allowed me not only to submit to The Short of It, but also to write an essay catered to and about Black Joy regarding country music. I had in mind the publication (via Medium) I want this work to be connected to, so I wrote the essay with the publication’s theme sounding off as I typed each word.

I edited, fine-tuned, and combed through every word at different intervals. The time came to apply to be a writer. I did — again, fearful that I would not be their choice. I received the acceptance email also on Friday, July 29, 2022, and had been advised to submit the draft to the publication for continued review.

If you are a writer on/from Medium reading this, or if you have submitted your work to any viable or indomitable publication, whether online or in print, you know this does not mean the work will be published. This means you are IN. The publication will now work with you to bring your best work to their audience or they could decline every new submission if not tailored to their liking/theme accordingly.

I am hopeful the essay will be published, though, and I am optimistic about its chances. Again, there is joy racing through my bones solely about being accepted as a writer for this publication because I had been so afraid to even apply just two years ago.

I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and walked to exactly where I needed to be. And now, the journey is such a freeing one.

When people connect with your writing — they want to build with you

On Friday — yes, there’s a theme here. Do you see it? A fellow writer who is also an entrepreneur, artist, and creative powerhouse, left a comment on a previous TGR newsletter pertinent to my “dream” job and future goals. I read the comment — reached out to her. This morning, we had an hour-plus-long call that can only breed good things from this moment forward.

I am confident in her vision and in what we discussed as a game plan. It is intentional. It is laser-focused on a certain topic. It is exactly what I believe most of us need right now and in the immediate future — especially me. Prayerfully, early next year will produce more great things because of this interaction.

If I had not been writing my heart out — not sharing my difficulties and breakthroughs with grief — I never would have made this connection. If I had not taken a moment to break away from that pesky comfort zone of mine, I would not have sent the email or hopped on the call.

She saw — has seen something in my writing for years that made her want to build with me. There is no phrase — no way of actually describing this feeling that can do it justice.

When you are doing what your heart pushes you to do, the right people see it.

I whisper these accomplishments to the wind, and she hears them

The one thing that shatters my heart, though, about my newfound freedom is the fact that I cannot verbally share this with my cousin and hear her response. But I whisper it into the open air. I bend the ear of the flirting trees. I allow myself to bounce ideas out loud and nod when I feel like she approves — supports them.

I have learned that freedom from fear comes when the comfort zone is squashed. I am learning to guide myself down paths that speak to me and feel safe with more of an open mind. I am learning that although my cousin is no longer here to experience everything with me as I experience these things in real time — she is in my heart tapping at the center of me, at just the right moment.

And every tear that falls doesn’t come from me being sad anymore — they sometimes come with an undeniable air of joy surrounding me at every turn.

Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. — Joseph Campbell

Welcome to The Grieving Room. I am here. You are here. We are not alone in this.

See you next Saturday

©2022 Tremaine L. Loadholt Originally published in The Grieving Room newsletter via LinkedIn.