The Abigale Chronicles - Book One is almost done (just one chapter left). I can't believe I told her story so quickly. I am afraid that when I edit, I will have to find some new/easier words though.
I sent out my queries for Yassa. Today I plan to work on cover art. It is far too cool outside to be writing :)
I may also work on the cover art for The Abigale Chronicles. We shall see.
Time to get busy!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!!!
Jo
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Abigale On Fire
Work has begun on The Abigale Chronicles - Book 1 and I couldn't be more pleased. I am up to chapter 7 already and cracking it out like my brain and fingers are on fire.
I made some decisions and just began writing. Her story is flowing so well, I'm scaring myself a little. It feels a little like my writing has gone to a whole different level since finishing Yassa and I am very pleased.
For all the authors out there, have you ever had that epiphany where you realize that you can do it? Where all your stars seem to align and you feel like your dreams have finally been recognized by your muse?
I have a deep love of photography, art, and literature. I recognize these things within myself and know that, as long as I embrace them, I will find contentedness within myself.
I have to take a moment here and thank my boyfriend. If any of you have someone in your life like him, you will understand what I am about to say. If you don't, I'm very sorry.
To the Love of My Life:
You encouraged me when I needed it most and refused to let me give up on myself; even when I thought there was no way I could ever finish. Thank you. You were there and drove my passion and gave me a reason to push forward. Thank you. You offered help constantly and pushed me to limits I didn't realize I could breach while providing me comfort and a pair of arms to make me feel secure. Thank you. You provided support, love, and were a constant reminder that I could do it. Thank you. Thank you for being the man you are and for loving me so much. I could never have done it without you. Thank you.
I hope you all keep following this blog for updates on Abigale and her frienemy, Emmett. I know I said I would be linking to the new blog from this one, but I'm not sure I'll be doing a different blog for the new series. We'll see.
Time to go and write!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
I made some decisions and just began writing. Her story is flowing so well, I'm scaring myself a little. It feels a little like my writing has gone to a whole different level since finishing Yassa and I am very pleased.
For all the authors out there, have you ever had that epiphany where you realize that you can do it? Where all your stars seem to align and you feel like your dreams have finally been recognized by your muse?
I have a deep love of photography, art, and literature. I recognize these things within myself and know that, as long as I embrace them, I will find contentedness within myself.
I have to take a moment here and thank my boyfriend. If any of you have someone in your life like him, you will understand what I am about to say. If you don't, I'm very sorry.
To the Love of My Life:
You encouraged me when I needed it most and refused to let me give up on myself; even when I thought there was no way I could ever finish. Thank you. You were there and drove my passion and gave me a reason to push forward. Thank you. You offered help constantly and pushed me to limits I didn't realize I could breach while providing me comfort and a pair of arms to make me feel secure. Thank you. You provided support, love, and were a constant reminder that I could do it. Thank you. Thank you for being the man you are and for loving me so much. I could never have done it without you. Thank you.
I hope you all keep following this blog for updates on Abigale and her frienemy, Emmett. I know I said I would be linking to the new blog from this one, but I'm not sure I'll be doing a different blog for the new series. We'll see.
Time to go and write!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Done!
I feel...
GOOD!!
Yassa is written and ready to hit the drawer for the next month.
I will be doing the cover art and typesetting myself (thinking maybe my degree will come in handy here) and am looking forward to publishing in June. I would give you all an excerpt, but it would likely give away a number of interesting things that occur in the last 6 chapters.
I am moving on to my next story sometime this week and will post a link to that blog from this one.
I hope you have all enjoyed my journey through history and my ramblings.
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
GOOD!!
Yassa is written and ready to hit the drawer for the next month.
I will be doing the cover art and typesetting myself (thinking maybe my degree will come in handy here) and am looking forward to publishing in June. I would give you all an excerpt, but it would likely give away a number of interesting things that occur in the last 6 chapters.
I am moving on to my next story sometime this week and will post a link to that blog from this one.
I hope you have all enjoyed my journey through history and my ramblings.
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Monday, April 9, 2012
Almost There!
I have but FOUR chapters left!!
I will then place my manuscript in a drawer for a month and forget I wrote it.
I need to feel like I am coming home to an old friend when I edit but I am still on track for an early June release on NOOK and an early August release on Kindle. I plan to begin the cover art work next month as well. I wish I could snap my fingers and finish it but I know that would be cheating and I NEED to put in the time and effort to reap maximum benefits. After all, how many people in this world have written 400 pages of ANYthing in their lifetime? Not many.
I have consumed books numbering well into the tens of thousands over my lifetime. I am hoping that readers like myself pick up my book and delve between the pages only to get lost and have to scratch their way back out. This story is a mighty adventure.
Back to the keyboard!! Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
I will then place my manuscript in a drawer for a month and forget I wrote it.
I need to feel like I am coming home to an old friend when I edit but I am still on track for an early June release on NOOK and an early August release on Kindle. I plan to begin the cover art work next month as well. I wish I could snap my fingers and finish it but I know that would be cheating and I NEED to put in the time and effort to reap maximum benefits. After all, how many people in this world have written 400 pages of ANYthing in their lifetime? Not many.
I have consumed books numbering well into the tens of thousands over my lifetime. I am hoping that readers like myself pick up my book and delve between the pages only to get lost and have to scratch their way back out. This story is a mighty adventure.
Back to the keyboard!! Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Block
Some days, it is just difficult to find the words. Once in a while, the words must be extracted like old teeth. Other days, they flow like a gentle brook over smooth stones. Occasionally, they spew out with the force of a volcanic eruption. This week, they have alternated between the first two.
I am hoping that today is a volcanic day.
Time change has screwed with my head...
I have decided that, in order to write, one must be able to shut everything but the story down. I find a problem in needing my emotions in order to write because, when I am feeling this way or that way, it tends to directly impact my ability to put one word with another but I need to feel in order to write. It is quite a conundrum and has left me puzzled as to how to accomplish a daily goal when yesterday is very different from today.
Meh...
Time to look Temujin (now Genghis) in the eye and tell him to straighten the hell up or get the hell out of my book, methinks. But how to do that when he is the protagonist? Ah, such is life. Borte is speaking to me today and she sounds very wan. Jamuka is scared because he knows it won't be long before Genghis gets his hands on him. Time to even the odds a bit where those two are concerned...
I hope everyone has a HAPPY HUMP DAY!! We are headed toward the weekend!! YAY!! Time to get down to business and put my characters back in their places.
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
I am hoping that today is a volcanic day.
Time change has screwed with my head...
I have decided that, in order to write, one must be able to shut everything but the story down. I find a problem in needing my emotions in order to write because, when I am feeling this way or that way, it tends to directly impact my ability to put one word with another but I need to feel in order to write. It is quite a conundrum and has left me puzzled as to how to accomplish a daily goal when yesterday is very different from today.
Meh...
Time to look Temujin (now Genghis) in the eye and tell him to straighten the hell up or get the hell out of my book, methinks. But how to do that when he is the protagonist? Ah, such is life. Borte is speaking to me today and she sounds very wan. Jamuka is scared because he knows it won't be long before Genghis gets his hands on him. Time to even the odds a bit where those two are concerned...
I hope everyone has a HAPPY HUMP DAY!! We are headed toward the weekend!! YAY!! Time to get down to business and put my characters back in their places.
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Monday, March 12, 2012
Monday, Monday, Monday!!! 6,000!
Yes, you read that right. It's Monday! UGH to daylight savings time - it has me alllll screwed up.
Time for a short story!
As I stand, alone, in the darkness, letting my eyes try to adjust, I begin to panic. I can feel my palms sweating and my heart racing in my chest; it's loud in the silence of the night. My legs begin to shake and I am fighting back both the urge to scream and the urge to run. I know that I can't give away my location but can't remember why or how I had gotten here. All I remember is falling asleep in my bed and waking up to this pitch blackness and the smell of trees, leaves, and grass. I am barefoot, dressed only in my nightgown, and I can feel a slight dampness in the ground beneath my feet. My hearing and smell are heightened to a state I have never experienced before. I am blind.
Suddenly, the thin waning crescent of the moon appears and my eyes are able to pick up a hint of light. What I see makes my blood run cold. I am standing in a small clearing in a forest and there are two very large, very red eyes looking at me from the brush on the other side. There is no body to go with those eyes yet but the sight of them makes my stomach tie into knots and every muscle in my body tense with fear.
It slowly takes a step out and I have to will my feet not to move and clench my jaw shut to avoid screaming. I know that if I scream, it will be on me in a second. Where that knowledge comes from, I can't remember. I lick my dry lips with my dry tongue as the animal emerges and my eyes widen in fear when the full form of the dog finally emerges. It is the biggest canine I have ever seen and I want to cry but find I am afraid to blur my vision with my tears and lose sight of my stalker.
His lips curl back in a snarl and I get the scent of blood in my nose. I can see the stains on its muzzle now and, as it moves closer, I am struck with the certainty that it is here to kill me. When it gets within mere feet of my position, my will breaks and I turn and run; crashing through the trees and bushes and cutting my skin deeply. I feel the sticks penetrating the soft bottom of my feet but I cannot take the time to care. I run like I have never run before in my life. I can hear the dog's feet as they pound the Earth behind me and I can imagine its breath on the back of my neck.
I want to stop and throw up. My stomach feels like it is going to explode and my legs feel numb and detached from my body. I am breathing hard and fast from my panic and know that I will pass out soon if I am not careful; but I can't stop. I must keep running until the animal gives up. I know this as surely as I know my name is Bonnie; but I can't remember anything else.
I look back for a moment to see where my pursuer is and realize my mistake too late. In the dark, I don't see the end of the ground until I'm falling. I feel my hair whipping up and around my face for a moment and I think, "This is how I am going to die." but I slam into the ground a moment later and the sound of my bones snapping throughout my body sounds alien. I am lying on my back and cannot move but can see the place where I began my decent. As I stare, the dog leaps off the edge with no fear and lands, snarling, a few feet from me.
As he turns and looks at me, I allow my tears to flow at last. When he finally lunges for my throat, I feel a fear that I have never felt before...
The fear of death.
THE END - Literally!
I plan to crack out three chapters this week, my daily goal is 6,000 words. I need to finish by the end of March to hit my no-later-than-June release date.
Temujin, Jamuka, and Borte are about to have some tension and this is about to get real. I hope you all enjoyed my lil story above and that it made you cringe for a moment in this early morning light.
Now that I am all warmed up, time to write some book!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Time for a short story!
As I stand, alone, in the darkness, letting my eyes try to adjust, I begin to panic. I can feel my palms sweating and my heart racing in my chest; it's loud in the silence of the night. My legs begin to shake and I am fighting back both the urge to scream and the urge to run. I know that I can't give away my location but can't remember why or how I had gotten here. All I remember is falling asleep in my bed and waking up to this pitch blackness and the smell of trees, leaves, and grass. I am barefoot, dressed only in my nightgown, and I can feel a slight dampness in the ground beneath my feet. My hearing and smell are heightened to a state I have never experienced before. I am blind.
Suddenly, the thin waning crescent of the moon appears and my eyes are able to pick up a hint of light. What I see makes my blood run cold. I am standing in a small clearing in a forest and there are two very large, very red eyes looking at me from the brush on the other side. There is no body to go with those eyes yet but the sight of them makes my stomach tie into knots and every muscle in my body tense with fear.
It slowly takes a step out and I have to will my feet not to move and clench my jaw shut to avoid screaming. I know that if I scream, it will be on me in a second. Where that knowledge comes from, I can't remember. I lick my dry lips with my dry tongue as the animal emerges and my eyes widen in fear when the full form of the dog finally emerges. It is the biggest canine I have ever seen and I want to cry but find I am afraid to blur my vision with my tears and lose sight of my stalker.
His lips curl back in a snarl and I get the scent of blood in my nose. I can see the stains on its muzzle now and, as it moves closer, I am struck with the certainty that it is here to kill me. When it gets within mere feet of my position, my will breaks and I turn and run; crashing through the trees and bushes and cutting my skin deeply. I feel the sticks penetrating the soft bottom of my feet but I cannot take the time to care. I run like I have never run before in my life. I can hear the dog's feet as they pound the Earth behind me and I can imagine its breath on the back of my neck.
I want to stop and throw up. My stomach feels like it is going to explode and my legs feel numb and detached from my body. I am breathing hard and fast from my panic and know that I will pass out soon if I am not careful; but I can't stop. I must keep running until the animal gives up. I know this as surely as I know my name is Bonnie; but I can't remember anything else.
I look back for a moment to see where my pursuer is and realize my mistake too late. In the dark, I don't see the end of the ground until I'm falling. I feel my hair whipping up and around my face for a moment and I think, "This is how I am going to die." but I slam into the ground a moment later and the sound of my bones snapping throughout my body sounds alien. I am lying on my back and cannot move but can see the place where I began my decent. As I stare, the dog leaps off the edge with no fear and lands, snarling, a few feet from me.
As he turns and looks at me, I allow my tears to flow at last. When he finally lunges for my throat, I feel a fear that I have never felt before...
The fear of death.
THE END - Literally!
I plan to crack out three chapters this week, my daily goal is 6,000 words. I need to finish by the end of March to hit my no-later-than-June release date.
Temujin, Jamuka, and Borte are about to have some tension and this is about to get real. I hope you all enjoyed my lil story above and that it made you cringe for a moment in this early morning light.
Now that I am all warmed up, time to write some book!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Friday, March 9, 2012
Relationships are Difficult
Not only in life, but also in fiction. Writing about Borte and Temujin has made me stop and analyze real relationships. I analyze my parents, my siblings, and myself. I find that they are all with their caveats and sacrifices but the good ones have one thing in common: They want to be together.
Temujin and Borte follow this rule and, despite everything that has been thrown in their path, they continue to desire one another and want the love they have together so badly, that they are willing to continue to press forward and not give up.
Temujin has his moments where he is angry with Borte, but he loves her very deeply and she shares that feeling. When he is away, she misses him and he misses her. When he is angry with her, she hurts just like he does. It is their shared love that makes them last. If he loved her more than she loved him, or if she loved him more than he loves her, I just don't think the relationship would have survived like it did - in real life.
As I write more about these two and put history in its place, I realize what they endured to be together and it makes me understand better the meaning of promising yourself to someone. When you make that promise, you are saying that no matter what, you will love and care for that person; but it is a two-way street. No one likes to be the only one that cares. Temujin cares about and loves Borte no matter what. If you want to learn about everything they have endured and survived thus far, you will have to read the book! Ha!
Off to put the finishing touches on some chapters!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Temujin and Borte follow this rule and, despite everything that has been thrown in their path, they continue to desire one another and want the love they have together so badly, that they are willing to continue to press forward and not give up.
Temujin has his moments where he is angry with Borte, but he loves her very deeply and she shares that feeling. When he is away, she misses him and he misses her. When he is angry with her, she hurts just like he does. It is their shared love that makes them last. If he loved her more than she loved him, or if she loved him more than he loves her, I just don't think the relationship would have survived like it did - in real life.
As I write more about these two and put history in its place, I realize what they endured to be together and it makes me understand better the meaning of promising yourself to someone. When you make that promise, you are saying that no matter what, you will love and care for that person; but it is a two-way street. No one likes to be the only one that cares. Temujin cares about and loves Borte no matter what. If you want to learn about everything they have endured and survived thus far, you will have to read the book! Ha!
Off to put the finishing touches on some chapters!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
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