Reading Days

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Holy moly! It's FRIDAYYYYY!! That means the weekend is upon us after we trudge through our workdays today. Instead of working my fingers to the bone writing today, I'm going to spend the day reading. It's been a minute since I've had the opportunity to take a day to just read and drink coffee but it's a rainy day in Georgia and I'm in need of a good book. Call it a celebration for writing nearly 12k words this week already. I'll give you my favorite paragraph! This happens after a fight between my two main characters. Remember, this is a first draft!

Kathy went to her room where she collapsed on the floor, pulled her knees into her chest, and allowed the pain to fill her. It started at her head and throbbed behind her eyes before making its way to her stomach where it twisted her guts into a pile of wriggling goo. Her toes curled and every muscle in her body constricted as she let go with a wail, pulling her arms around her body to hold herself together. Black dots swam through the faint light filtering through her closed eyelids. Again, she keened for her loss of love, dignity, and self. It wasn’t long before her body convulsed and spasms shook her where she lay. All that held her together was her own arms, wrapped so tightly around her chest there was no hope of catching a breath between sobs. She began to choke on her own saliva and sputtered, coughing and gagging, all in an attempt to do the most mundane of tasks: breathe. I’m going to die.

How awesome is that? I plan to release it later this year. Title has been decided but I'm not ready to divulge it just yet.

I'm going to try and finish Condemned by Eric Dulin today and start on the next book on my list. We'll see how that goes!

If you've won something from one of my many contests, I'm shipping those out today, too! Watch your mailboxes!

Remember, there are only three days left to get your entry in to win a printed, signed copy of The Bird plus some great swag OR a .mobi copy! You can enter every day so please share, share, share. Sharing is caring!

I have a review that will be coming for Taken - Before her very Eyes by Wade Faubert. That will be Monday's post and, trust me, you don't want to miss it.

I hope you all have a super fabulous weekend! I'll be back with you on Monday to announce the winners and give you that book review. How exciting!

Without further ado, here's the rafflecopter entry form:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you entered the other giveaway, the first winner has been chosen! Congratulations to: Marlena F.!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dyslexiana

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm excited to tell you all about a great website that features books for those with dyslexia! Strap in and take a tour with me!

The site is called Dyslexiana. A wild group of authors got together and decided to produce books for those suffering from a Developmental Reading Disorder (DRD).

A typeface designed for people suffering from a DRD, designed by Abelardo Gonzales, is what the authors are using when creating these special print editions. You can pick up the free font here: http://opendyslexic.org/

From the website:
Welcome to Dyslexiana. We're a group of authors on a mission to produce literature that can be read by those suffering from Dyslexia. Here, dyslexia is n/a.

Their logo uses the typeface the books have been set in:

If you're an author interesting in joining them, or if you've produced your own DRD edition of a book and would like to be listed on the site, shoot them an e-mail at: info [at] dyslexiana [dot] com.

If you'd like to keep up with news, new posts, and other interesting tidbits, you can follow them on:
Facebook: Dyslexiana
Twitter: @Dyslexiana
Their Blog: Dyslexiana.com

Look for an exciting giveaway featuring this group's books next week!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Metaphors

Happy hump-day, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we're back to writing tips and general lessons! It's all about the metaphor on this glorious Wednesday so grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First off, a definition:
Metaphor: met·a·phor  /ˈmetəˌfôr/ Noun 1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. 2. A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, esp. something abstract.

Well, we all know what it is, Jo. But how does one use it in writing? Great question!

A metaphor is saying something is something else (definition one). Using a metaphor is a skill that should be applied now and then. If you use it all the time, you're going to sound like you just stepped out of a Tim Burton film. While that may not be a bad thing, your readers will likely get lost.

Examples:
All around me, the trees were licorice ropes and the leaves were skillets.
That cat is a cow.
My father is a truck and my mother is a convertible sports car.

Notice none of these phrases have the words like or as. Those aren't metaphors, they're similes.

There's another way to use metaphors that many authors employ: Using things in the story to give a larger abstract idea (definition two). Say two of your characters are battling over a golden idol which, when held, brings the holder great wisdom. At the end, one person gives the idol to the other and walks away. Isn't that the greater wisdom? Your golden idol becomes part of a larger idea: wisdom and what makes one wise.

I hope this was a nice little refresher for you all.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

The Bird Official Release and Giveaway

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! As you all know, Tuesday is the day awesomeness is released! That's right, it's book release day! Nationwide, new books are hitting the shelves waiting for eager readers to snatch them up and give them a good home. I hear you all cheering! Well, I'm gonna make my release just a little bit sweeter by: reminding you all to pop over to Goodreads and enter the giveaway there, and by giving you a way to win things you can't get anywhere else here.

Let's get going, shall we? First, a little a lot about the book:

The Bird ~ Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis:
Stormy Terrabonne's life is about to be changed forever by a bright red cardinal. She soon finds herself being whisked away from all she's ever known to save an entire race of people known as Trobodytes. When she's presented to the Queen, Stormy learns how she's expected to help: By killing an evil wizard named Bordash Bladeslinger and stopping him from cutting down the sacred trees that bind Trogon to Earth.

Now, there are only two trees left. One of the trees presents a double dose of jeopardy: It's also tied to the renewed life of Stormy's mother. While Stormy learns more about the gifts she gained by becoming a Trobodyte, someone manages to poison that all important tree.
​
It's a race against time as she faces a legion of fairy tale creatures she never knew existed, learns to harness the power within herself to battle Bordash Bladeslinger, and tries to find a way to heal the dying tree before it collapses and takes her mother with it.

You can find the Kindle version on Amazon HERE for $4.99.
You can find the printed version on CreateSpace HERE for $12.99.

Now, a little about the prizes up for grabs today:
Two people who enter will each win a Kindle copy of The Bird.
One lucky reader will win a printed, signed copy of The Bird, one The Bird bookmark, and one The Bird magnet!

Oh! You want to see what the fun swag looks like? Well, I'm not going to disappoint you! Check it out!
Bookmark is on the left, magnet is on the right!

And now, the rafflecopter entry form:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget, in author Janiera Eldridge's giveaway, you have yet another chance to win a Kindle copy of The Bird and a ton of other books by great indie authors! Here's her rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lots of entry forms today! Go win something!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

On Onomatopoeias

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! How are you all today? I hope you're all rested from the weekend. This week I'll be going over some of those things you might be using in your writing and some you may not. So, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going! Today, the onomatopoeia!

My design professor used to give bonus points the first day for anyone who knew what an onomatopoeia was (yes, he was a bit strange; but all good design professors are). So, let's start with the definition:

Onomatopoeia /ˌänəˌmatəˈpēə/ Noun 1. The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle). 2. The use of such words for rhetorical effect.

Okay, now that you know what an onomatopoeia is, how do you insert one when writing? I'm a sucker for consistency. If you do something one way, keep doing it that way throughout the entire novel, please. This talk of consistency goes back to forward vs forwards and backward vs backwards. If you do it one way, stay with that way.

You can set an onomatopoeia apart by either using quotes or italics. Generally, if the word is a recognized one, you don't need to do anything to it to set it apart from its brethren.

Examples of how an onomatopoeia might be used:
John looked at Marsha sitting on the couch and moved in for a kiss. Her sitting down position wasn't doing it for him so he grabbed her hand.
"Oomph!" she said as her body slammed into his.

Marsha walked away from John and headed toward the couch. She sat down with a plop and adjusted her skirt so he couldn't see her knees.

John left Marsha standing with her mouth open and headed for the pool. He hit the water with a sploosh and doused her with spray. He came up on the other side, grinning at the hot mess he'd left behind with his kiss.

There's also no need to use punctuation along with the onomatopoeia. However, it's there if you need it! Just be sure and keep it with the word; either inside the quotes or italics.

I hope this post got you thinking. Tomorrow is the official release day for The Bird! If you haven't already, go enter the giveaway for a copy of The Bird over on Goodreads. I'm giving away two signed copies! Contest ends on the 28th!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Partials

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today I'm gonna talk about those wonderful things I like to call: Partials. You know, those stories you've had an idea for (and have maybe even written a chapter or two of) that fell by the wayside as you trudge merrily forward on your current WIP. Let's get going, shall we?

How are you planning to move forward with your partials? Do they pop out of oblivion every now and then so you can tweak something or add to them? Do you write a chapter or two and leave them in a drawer just in case a day comes when you can't think of anything new?

Why not pull one out today and write another chapter for it? Or read what you've written already and find holes in your story or places it could use some fixes grammatically?

That's my challenge for you today if you're a writer. Then, come on back and tell me how you fared.

I have one you frequent readers of my blog may remember that I pulled out a few days ago and started reading/editing. It's really well done (I was shocked) and I'm thinking I may release it this year. It's out of the box for me so I'm a little nervous but it's giving me ideas for new stuff as I read/continue it. More on that later!

If you don't have a partial to pull out and work on, make one today. Come up with a title and story line and bang out the first chapter. Don't think too hard about it; just write. This will accomplish one of two things:
Either you'll be inspired to write a whole new story
OR
you'll get some pepper for your current WIP.
Either way, you win!

If you're a reader, go pick up a new book today. Doesn't matter if you're already reading one, get a new one or a sample of one from Amazon and poke through it. Add it to your reading list then come back here and tell me about it. Step out of your comfort zone and choose a different genre. Don't read an author you know, pick a new one.

We never grow if we stagnate.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Happy Valentine's Day Winners and New Giveaway

20 indie authors have come together to say thank you for following them and supporting their work!

This huge Valentine's day Giveaway will give one winner 20+ prizes including ebooks, paperbacks and swag!

Want yo show your love for books on Valentine's day? Show these authors some love and enter to win these swoon worthy  prizes!

*Ebooks are international however paperback and swag prizes are U.S. Only.

Happy Valentine's Day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And the winners of my giveaway are...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations to Heather W! You've won your choice of:
A. A digital identity package designed by moi OR
B. A print book formatted by moi
I'll be in touch to get your choice!

Congratulations to Zarah G! You've won:
A printed, signed copy of The Bird (pre-release)
A Mystic~Bronya poster
A Mystic WSTW bookmark
and three postcards!
I'll be in touch to get your address!

Thank you to all who entered! I do hope you'll enter the giveaway above as well!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo