tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42098005034972082152024-03-08T02:29:08.894-08:00Joanna st James-Bionic WriterSomedays I feel like Solomon, I'm not as wise as he was, but I've moved around so many times, it's impossible to have nothing to say. I am just finally catching up to the season of life I'm in - which is a homeschooling, slightly crunchy, crafting,work from home, writing and sports mum.
You have now been introduced to my multiple personalities, hopefully you'll identify with one of them and stick around. Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-26276145500575226582016-08-11T10:40:00.000-07:002016-08-11T10:40:07.538-07:00Time is all I've got<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I remember when I first got married, I was so determined to be super wife , and that covered everything from being wild in bed to being wilder in the kitchen (not sure which one of those two guys actually prefer).<br />
Anybody who knows me well, knows I'm a dud in the kitchen. I remember a particular episode with a key lime pie I tasted at a restaurant in Houston and a pavlova a Belgian lady made for me in England.<br />
<br />
I wanted to stun my new husband so I decided to make these two desserts - at the same time. I started baking around 9 pm because who doesn't love to bake at night?<br />
<br />
Well I started and failed miserably, so of course I had to do it again and again, each time getting more and more worked up with the husband begging me to let it go.<br />
<br />
He had to go to walmart sometime that night, with the key lime being finally presentable. The pavlova kept breaking apart and has not been attempted since then.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to these,<br />
<br />
See, I decided to dabble in meal prep, freezer meals and crockpot recipes a few days ago and I came across these chicken bundles, I made them with 2 kinds of pastry.<br />
End Result: one got burnt and I don't know what's up with the other one (it cooked in another dimension I presume). I didn't freak out or castigate myself for just one reason.<br />
<br />
Time<br />
<br />
I've had time to grow, be more confident in myself and my abilities, time to learn to appreciate myself outside of others and time to acquire new skills.<br />
As a writer, I am not so eager to get a book out there. I am committed to the process of growing for me. My writing will be first for my enjoyment, and then for everyone else out there.<br />
<br />
xx<br />
Jo<br />
<br />
Song in my head<br />
Charli XCX - boom clap<br />
<br /></div>
Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-27569729706845820672016-08-11T10:37:00.000-07:002016-08-11T10:37:56.605-07:00How To Be Depressed When You Don't Do Depression<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Or if I were going to steal my friend Julie's fave word, Let's call this how to be depressed like a superstar!!!!!<br />
<br />
Have I ever told you the story about my five PAs?<br />
I had this dream when I was younger, that when I became an adult (25 but that age keeps changing now) I would have five personal assistants.<br />
1. Would help me with my kids as we fly around the world because of my busy schedule<br />
2. Personal Shopper - I hate shopping but a busy girl has to look good at all times<br />
3. An actual Assistant in charge of my schedule<br />
4. I cant remember what the other two job descriptions but I had plans for them<br />
<br />
SO each year I'd get depressed because, Hello! I can't even afford an intern. One day, the hubby pointed out my yearly birthday funk, and I realized August 11 had become a day to hide from reality, a day I wanted to pretend didn't exist. But that is so not me, I refuse to hide out in shame because of a stupid goal that I, not even society set for me.<br />
<br />
The truth is, I'm not where I want to be, but I'm exactly where I need to be. My house smells of pee and nuclear poop (my fictional assistant/nanny would have quit anyways).<br />
I complain that my personal space is constantly invaded by two of the cutest kids alive, but the truth is, I've realized they keep me hassled just enough to keep me out of trouble.<br />
<br />
True to form I want to be depressed today, in fact, I can see that black hole just over there but I can't, my life won't stop long enough to play with that dark hole - of which i'm grateful.<br />
<br />
So instead of complaining about my crazy life that wont slow down long enough for my melancholic tendencies, I will embrace and celebrate the things that are pulling me away from the darkness.<br />
1. A hot hubby<br />
2. The busiest toddler I've ever met<br />
3. My former crazy toddler and current resident chatterbox<br />
4. Friends and family<br />
5. Kindle Unlimited<br />
6. and so much more<br />
<br />
I guess today - my birthday, I've decided to give depression a new face. Consider it my birthday gift to you. People often tell me how lucky I am because I have friends, I'm well liked, there's no way I can understand what depression feels like - I'm simply too perky and happy for that.<br />
<br />
I understand it all too well, I just don't live there anymore, one day in the near future my life will slow down and I am sure I will have to face the darkness again, but I believe my current life is a training ground to make me tougher for the years ahead - the future me better be able to karate chop depression if it deigns to come near me.<br />
<br />
Caution: This chick runs on Jesus and a lot of solitude</div>
Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-66945262336934914672015-01-20T19:11:00.000-08:002015-01-20T19:11:04.885-08:00Here's a tip<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I thought, I'd just throw this out there as a freebie for any writer who's ever going to write about a single mum.<br />
<br />
Disclaimer: I'm not a single mum, I'm what you'll term a single wife, as in my husband travels a lot for his job, so I'm home alone with the kids. It's quite close to being a single mum with regards to certain experiences, but for the single mum the struggle is even more real (hats off to you).<br />
<br />
Anyways meet kid let number 2 he is the cutest bug on earth but he doesn't sleep. If you don't hold him, he power naps for 15-30 minutes, and is rearing to go again. In other words I'm that mombie who doesn't drink coffee.<br />
<br />
On Saturday, a friend of ours texted me to see if he could borrow an airport approved hand luggage, I texted back and said come on Sunday after church.<br />
<br />
On Sunday, this sleep deprived mum sent him the address to my favourite Chinese restaurant, made him pick up food for us.<br />
<br />
When he came in he said, "here's your food I'll just take the hand luggage and go. I need to get a haircut."<br />
<br />
My response? " your hair looks great, either ways you're going to have to change your plans, I have to shower". I had serious mum stench.<br />
<br />
Before he could say anything else, he was wrangling a 6 month old and a 6 year old, and I had a good long refreshing shower.<br />
<br />
This my dear friends is the definition of hot in a single mum's book. Want to write about a hero that's believable? That is what real life looks like, and this little gross story with mum stench all over it, could help you get a glimpse into the world of a single mum.<br />
<br />
Song in my head: Jealous by Nick Jonas</div>
Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-76451554378235540672015-01-16T20:54:00.002-08:002015-01-16T20:54:23.942-08:00The moment you realized<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I graduated from Uni 10 years ago, yet this story is from way before then, let's say 15 or 16 years ago. I was in high school, in a boarding school -I almost said boarding facility like I'm a horse *snorts*<br />
<br />
I like to refer to this as my triumphant moment! I remember it clearly because we just got back from summer break and I had just had my first encounter with a Kathleen E. Woodiwiss book.<br />
<br />
I was so pumped by it, I simply had to tell the story to everyone around me. I remember starting with my friends, they all gathered on my bed like we were at a sleepover. It took me more than three days to finish telling them, with me ending each night on a cliff hanger - it was so much fun!<br />
<br />
Every night the girls would grumble when it was time to go to bed, and before the three days were up, the news had spread about<i> The Flame and the Flower. </i> I had several girls asking to join my night group to hear about this book, but there was no way I was letting them join midway and ruin it by asking a million questions, or not enjoy it because they had missed out on the beginning; which if you've read the book, you'll know it's so crucial to the whole story.<br />
<br />
So what I did was ask them to wait till I finished with my current group, and then I started all over again. I had several groups with several repeat listeners.<br />
<br />
I still remember the feeling like it was yesterday because yours truly was on cloud nine. I read that 600 paged book so many times that summer that it's spine broke and it became all loose leaves and then I read it some more.<br />
<br />
I told the story so many times, I still remember the eager look on their faces, how they would all squeal when I came to a dramatic point, how they sighed, the faraway look in their faces as they secretly dreamt about sailing to the Carolina.<br />
<br />
That's the moment I realized, I was a storyteller<br />
<br />
<br />
Music playing in my head, brought to you by Matchbox Twenty - Unwell<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
Jo</div>
Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-88281241530621692322012-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:002012-02-18T06:52:00.424-08:00Storytellers Tell Tales<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Happy President's day weekend y'all. Yes you read that right y'all. This particular writer has joined the Hillbilly nation and I'm loving it. My radio is permanently on Wmzq (a country music station). No more Steak, Frites and glace for me, I have holidayed in the Snow Shoe mountains of West Virginia, I have heard the cupids shuffle, the electric slide and the cha cha more times than I care to remember, my local karaoke bar is a honky tonk bar.<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Okay Maybe I exagerrate a bit, but all of the above is still true. What I left out is the part that I moved to the DC metro area so I am close to the city as well, but I still love my honky tonk existence.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The one thing I have learnt is to treat every journey in my life as an opportunity to learn and grow. I have always liked country music but I never thought I will understand what it means to be country.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have to tell you as well, everyone here laughs at me when I say I am a hillbilly, they say they will take me serious when I can pronounce the word hillbilly without my peculiar accent.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ever heard of hush puppies? I don't mean the shoes either! I'll tell you about those another day.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Stay country folks, stay country :) </div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-20635103225402252932011-04-07T23:47:00.000-07:002011-04-07T23:47:23.579-07:00A Good Critique Partner (CP)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So, this is not the first post I am writing about my awesome CP. After her last bout of awesomeness I decided we too have reached a level where we can actually tell people what it takes to have a good CP and be one.<br />
I know as writers, we have "thick skin", but sometimes I wonder how thick our skin really is? Can we truly say we don't get a moment of self doubt (if not worse) when we get a rejection slip? A CP is supposed to be the next best thing we have to an editor, so why don't we always take their word as gospel truth?<br />
There are two kinds of relationship you can have with a CP<br />
Uber Professional - Here you are guided by rules, monthly or weekly meetings. The advantage here is you are more productive and structured as a writer.<br />
Uber buddies - Mostly anything goes, but you still get the job done. This is where I fall into. I dont have that 'the sky is falling' attitude in life, so it is very difficult for me to apply rules to something I consider fun and joy.<br />
Somewhere in between - I bet most people fall in this category, it actually makes the most sense to me.<br />
<br />
Now here is my argument for why being uber buddies with my CP works for me. It is easier to take criticism from a friend than anybody else. If I do a crit for anyone I find myself apologizing profusedly the first time in case I come across as condescending.<br />
I can actually be snarky in my crit and she would know I am just kidding. She knows my weaknesses, and better yet we chat almost everyday. It's like we were made for each other in literary heaven.<br />
Enough about me tho' what kind of CP works best for you. As usual, I always want to know what it's like on the other side.<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
<br />
Joanna<br />
<br />
</div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-33150987964417897062011-03-30T00:31:00.001-07:002011-03-30T00:44:04.068-07:00I wanna have fun.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span xmlns="">I decided to make this Wednesday post a fun one. The hubs gets in tonight at midnight and I want to start celebrating early.<br />
<br />
Punctuation Update: I am now reading Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss (It's a really fun book, I'll tell you about it later.)<br />
<br />
Last year I won 2 <a href="http://www.miranda-dickinson.com/">Miranda Dickinson</a> Books from <a href="http://nutpress.co.uk/">Kath Eastman's blog</a>. I also won her a copy of her cd, because yes she is a talented singer as well. The funny thing is I have to play it every day because grabby toddler likes to dance to it. The first time I played it, he was ill but he still got up to dance. Every day he adds a new routine to his dance, so we are pretty much a Miranda Dickinson dancing family now.<br />
<br />
Now let's talk about <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041829/">The Proposal</a>. It is not a new movie, but it's one every romantic writer should watch. If nothing else it's got La Reynolds being vulnerable *le sigh*. It is also about an editor (Sandra Bullock), and that is my excuse for having watched it more than 20 times till date. It's got great romance, <b>chemistry</b> and it is about the publishing world (sort of). The chemistry between the two of them is what I look for in my characters. I just can't describe it, but it was strong yet understated, and I always cry at the end.<br />
<br />
Now let's move on to <a href="http://www.angusthongsmovie.com/intl/uk/">Angus, thongs and perfect snogging</a>. If you have not seen this movie, you should, it is so funny and will take you back to those days. Remember when you were fifteen and the most important thing was getting that guy to notice you? Well that is what it's about and it does not hurt that the sex-god (Aaron Johnson) really is a sex god(evil blogger is not letting me do pictures).<br />
Love at that age seemed so all encompassing – we definitely had no check list or sensible signals to watch out for. I'll tell you about my obsession with Gurindher Chadha movies another day.<br />
<br />
The best thing is; I tell myself I watch these movies over and over again for book research. I love my job.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Xoxo<br />
<br />
Joanna</span></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-47959166125733646962011-03-28T07:34:00.001-07:002011-03-28T07:39:38.146-07:00Comma Splice? Me? No… yes? Oh bumpers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span xmlns="">Okay, how many of you know what a comma splice is? This is another day in my quest for punctuation perfection. So, lucky duck that I am, after stumbling about in bloggy land I got to <a href="http://missedperiodsandothergrammarscares.blogspot.com/">Missed Periods blog</a> (anyway you want to cut it – that is a funny name). She is an English professor and her blog basically deals with the nuances of the English Language. I honestly don't remember how we met but she never fails to crack me up while teaching me something new.<br />
<br />
So back to my story, my first day back in the saddle I was on her blog and guess what I saw? She is starting a Proof reading/editing business and she is (maybe was) giving out free samples of her work. Since nothing in my life ever happens in small measures I emailed her begging for a freebie. At the same time she saw my help! I suck at punctuation blog post, et voila! I got 20 pages out of my manuscript done for free in one weekend (you should see the red marks. She was thorough but pleasant about it.)<br />
<br />
She told me I have a comma splice. Do you know what a comma splice is? Neither did I. So I looked it up and it basically means I put commas in places I should have full stops (periods) or semi colons. For more info on that see her <a href="http://missedperiodsandothergrammarscares.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The good thing is I am one step closer to my dream. I am learning from her edits and she even does plot stuff too. So while I go off to get head shots (lame joke) I leave you with <a href="http://missedperiodsandothergrammarscares.blogspot.com/">Missed Periods</a>, even if all you do is read her blog you would have learnt something new today.<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
<br />
Joanna<br />
</span></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-26304066621463575992011-03-24T22:54:00.001-07:002011-03-24T22:54:15.804-07:00The Long and Winded Writer.<span xmlns=''><p>Remember how I said I will be going through my punctuation flubbles with you? Well let me lay one on you.<br /></p><p>Has anyone ever seen or heard Miley Cyrus(Hannah Montana)talk? No?<br /></p><p>Okay let me describe it for you, she basically talks and talks till she runs out of breath, then she continues again. Now you realize she is a talented* singer, and is trained to hold her breath longer than the average human. So yes she does talk in very long, rambling sentences.<br /></p><p>Is today bash an 18yr old Millionaire day? No, it's my first step in becoming a punctuation guru (I can do it).<br /></p><p>I write like Miley Cyrus talks. I can write a paragraph or a conversation of ten lines or even more without a comma. When my computer green lines me then I put a comma or a semi colon.<br /></p><p>Why do I do this? When I'm writing I get so excited the words rush to my mind and I become a rambling thinker. Periods only show up at the end of my chapters or scene changes. I tell myself I'll fix this during edits.<br /></p><p>Then comes the time to edit and I get so excited I have finished a project, I can't wait to send it out. Those are my lame excuses.<br /></p><p>The truth is I distinctly remember being bored to tears when someone taught punctuation, so this is really my fault. <br /></p><p>Remedy 1<br /></p><p>The Period is your friend. Having periods does not mean the sentences will sound stilted. Independent phrases can have their own periods and next blog post we'll talk about commas or maybe something fun like my recent addiction to Degrassi (someone help me! I can't be addicted to Degrassi).<br /></p><p><br /> </p><p>Xoxo and TGIF<br /></p><p>Joanna</p></span>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-20406421410485874822011-03-22T23:23:00.001-07:002011-03-23T00:58:08.690-07:00Oh Embrace, How I love thee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span xmlns="">Notice how I am skipping all of the sorry I've been away, thank you all for checking up on me, and am glad to be back? It's because I am so ecstatic about <a href="http://www.embracebooks.co.uk/">Embrace Books</a> or<a href="http://www.janeholland.co.uk/"> Jane Holland</a> to be specific. Most of you know I have been away for health reasons but the one thing I promised not to give up was my writing.<br />
<br />
A couple of weeks ago I finished a baby I worked really hard on (I plotted). After two bouts of critiquing and heavy rehauling, I sent my top aces baby to Embrace Books.<br />
<br />
Now here comes the good part I got feedback in an hour, actually it was 52 minutes – it took me 8 minutes to face my fear of rejection and open it.<br />
<br />
I wish I could paste the email for you all to see. The editor – <a href="http://www.janeholland.co.uk/">Jane Holland</a> read it and liked, she thinks my writing is edgy, ME!<br />
<br />
If you really want to know why I am so overwhelmed, go to her <a href="http://www.janeholland.co.uk/">website</a> and read her resume, she is all that and then some more.<br />
<br />
Anyways she did point out something I knew I sucked at – Punctuation and Sentence Structure. When I saw that, I did a face-palm because I knew that was my weakness and I worked really hard on it.<br />
<br />
Now this is how amazing she is, she went ahead to give me examples of what I did wrong and how I could fix them. I was really humbled by her email.<br />
<br />
So guess what I am doing now? I have bought three no, four books <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-4th-William-Strunk/dp/0205313426/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300866619&sr=1-1">The Elements of Style by Strunk and White</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038/ref=pd_sim_b_3">Eats, Leaves and Shoots by Lynne Truss</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Woe-Grammarphobes-Guide-Better-English/dp/B0040RMEQC/ref=pd_sim_b_1">Woe is I</a> by Cant remember the author's name and What a Westmoreland wants by Brenda Jackson.<br />
<br />
I am hoping to learn from these books; Jane said I could study how other authors did it too so I am just going to be soaking up stuff. My amazing CP is reading Strunk and White with me. She is too amazing for words and is explaining stuff to me. Some awesome people from our blogging community have also offered to do some punctuation and sentence structure crits for me. I am so close to realizing my dream that I am taking all and any help I can get. <br />
<br />
I also will share what I learn in my books in my blog posts in case there is someone out there who can learn something through me.<br />
<br />
What have I learned from all of this? It is not enough to have talent or book ideas. You also have to work hard to hone your craft if you intend to make a career out of this. Watch out for the part two of my story, I am determined to get "the call" this year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Xoxo<br />
<br />
Joanna</span></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-55186228082408676312011-02-14T11:02:00.000-08:002011-02-14T11:06:27.172-08:00A Special Valentine's Day Interview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div>Happy Valentine's day y'all I hope you are all having fun with the people you love?I love this book cover so much I could not wait till Friday to unveil this interview besides the book(<a href="http://www.saltpublishing.com/ebooks/rvt/">Bound to Love</a>) came hot off the presses this morning. I cant remember how Sally and I first met all I know is when it comes to romance you can't get much better than my special valentine's guest Sally Clements, today I dare you to find anything weird about her covers, she is one lucky cover cookie.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Joanna: The cover gods have definitely been good to you, did you just get lucky with both of your covers or did you have to put your feet down nicely to demand excellence?</b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HDE5QbzcIYQobORAlHvubiKqZm7SvY2TIpgE8FpWGDMGNEQMpTC7xI1jpkZiWlHuT_lSYhCXaVxYp5GroWg1hukjASBD4RlM235T_VgW65FOoETVGWUaeBMQcYT9YTpBGz6YN-Wkmks/s1600/sally+clements+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HDE5QbzcIYQobORAlHvubiKqZm7SvY2TIpgE8FpWGDMGNEQMpTC7xI1jpkZiWlHuT_lSYhCXaVxYp5GroWg1hukjASBD4RlM235T_VgW65FOoETVGWUaeBMQcYT9YTpBGz6YN-Wkmks/s200/sally+clements+2.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally:</b> I was just incredibly lucky, Joanna! I filled out a sheet on things that featured in Catch Me A Catch which were probably a little wacky sounding - artisan chocolates, a chocolate oscar, transatlantic sailor, yacht, west of Ireland coastline, matchmaking festival - and the wonderful cover artist in The Wild Rose, Tamra Westberry really nailed the whole book with the cover with both chocolates and boats featuring large! And as my blog is Love and Chocolate, it seemed very apt for a first cover :)</span></div><div><span style="color: blue;">With my new cover for my Valentine's Day release, <a href="http://www.saltpublishing.com/ebooks/rvt/">Bound to Love</a>, I somehow struck gold again! Another unusual list: this time featuring things like Ancient egyptian gold jewellery, British Museum, forbidding island, Eiffel tower, redhead with tendency to fling arms about while sleeping (yup! she does!). Different publisher, this time new English Romance publisher Embrace Books, and I was very excited when it was revealed that the covers would be done by The Cover Factory, who also do Salt Publishing's covers (Salt are Embrace's parent publisher).</span></div><div class="im"><div></div><div><b>Joanna: How does it feel to be an Irish writer with books marketed to the American public?</b></div></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally: </b>Well, I've lived in Ireland forever, but I'm actually half English and half Scottish, and I've lived in Singapore and Africa too, so I'm pretty international! I read and love mainly American authors, so for me it's a natural crossover to write to an international audience. </span></div><div class="im"><div><br />
<b>Joanna: How did you discover Embrace books? and what made you think they would be perfect for you?</b></div></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally:</b> A member of my crit group, the fabulous Minxes of Romance, told me about Embrace after they returned from the RNA summer party in 2010. I had a manuscript ready which was based in the British Museum and Paris, and thought it would be nice to publish a book set there with a UK publisher, so I sent it off (and was delighted to have it accepted!)</span></div><div class="im"><div><br />
<b>Joanna: You are a self acclaimed writing class junkie, what are some of the best ones you've attended?</b></div></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally:</b> Gosh, I could go on all day about writing classes. There are some absolutely fabulous ones out there. My favourite would have to be Laurie Schnebley Campbell's classes, she's so insightful and clever, and so encouraging! Other fantastic teachers are Margie Lawson, Shirley Jump, those gals who do Discovering Story Magic, and if you want to know all about editing, then Don McNair has a fantastic course he gives called 21 steps to fog free editing. I edited the first chapter of Catch Me A Catch in his course, then made my first sale - and I'm convinced what I learned from Don played a large part in that.</span></div><div class="im"><div></div><div><b>Joanna: What is the wackiest thing you have done in the name of book research?</b></div></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally:</b> That's a tricky one. I think it would have to be when I was researching one of my as yet unpublished crime novels, and was hassling my doctor sister along the lines of "I know you've told me about how mummification works, but I really, really need to talk to your friend in the British Museum, can't I have her phone number?" (needless to say, she refused, but forwarded 'what if' emails!)</span></div><div class="im"><div><br />
<b>Joanna: Ibiza, St Tropez or backpacking in Thailand; were would you rather vacation?</b></div></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally:</b> I'm not one for lying in the sun, and I like luxury, so I reckon St Tropez. Wine, glaces, le shopping, what's not to like?</span></div><div class="im"><div><br />
<b>Joanna: For your last book promo you gave away Swarovski Crystals, do you have any interesting giveaways coming up on your blog?</b></div></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><b>Sally:</b> I gave away some swarovski necklace/earrings on my blog the last time, because I make them for family and friends, and they always seem to go down well! I find because my blog is read by people from all over, I can't really send perishables, but now I have my first ever print book, I'll definitely be offering a few signed ones as giveaways over the next while! but today one lucky commenter will win a copy of Sally's first novel - Catch me a Catch </span></div><div></div><div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US">About <a href="http://www.saltpublishing.com/ebooks/rvt/">Bound to love</a></span></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdeBZ44LleeelLKkU_bDsBlw4FrA_na-xyBM9XACO3pCiGrjXn0kwXu0qgbyfkD_nto7O3DuxMsOvedRjecqR5m9tYjCpI0tKv18V9b4OlaWmwoFrG90GTHAz-EiLaKvLxwsLIOk-05k/s1600/sally+clements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdeBZ44LleeelLKkU_bDsBlw4FrA_na-xyBM9XACO3pCiGrjXn0kwXu0qgbyfkD_nto7O3DuxMsOvedRjecqR5m9tYjCpI0tKv18V9b4OlaWmwoFrG90GTHAz-EiLaKvLxwsLIOk-05k/s320/sally+clements.jpg" width="208" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Jake Forrester, a controlled, self-reliant security expert scarred by his father’s murder is pursuing his goal of an independent life, relying on himself and logic, until he’s forced to accept the help of an impulsive, spirited goldsmith who follows her instincts, wherever they may lead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span lang="EN-US">When Tempest MacKenzie witnesses a gorgeous stranger being bundled into a van, she tries to help him, but becomes tangled in a complex web of intrigue. Tempest finds stubborn Jake attractive, compelling and infuriating, his logic the complete antithesis of her reliance on her instincts. And Jake is fascinated and attracted to the feisty redhead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span lang="EN-US">As they spend time together trying to thwart a heist at the </span><span lang="EN-US">British</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Museum</span><span lang="EN-US">, the attraction between them flares out of control. The thief has a grudge against Jake, and danger stalks their every move. Will Jake learn to trust Tempest’s intuition, before it’s too late?</span></div></div></div><div>About Sally Clememts<br />
<span lang="EN-US">Born into a family of voracious readers and consumed by the family affliction, it seemed the natural next step was to write. I started in school, mentally writing poetry while running around the hockey pitch. Nowadays, I keep my running to a minimum, and write instead. I write in two different genres, mystery and romance. The mystery feeds from my love of the unusual facets of life. My romance from my fascination with characters, and how they respond to each other.I live in Ireland, and when I’m not reading or writing, am usually to be found in traffic, driving ‘Mum’s taxi.’</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">My blog is at <a href="http://www.sallyclements.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">www.sallyclements.blogspot.com</a></span></div><div><span style="color: blue;">Bound to love available from Amazon and usual resellers: Here's the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bound-to-Love-ebook/dp/B004LX0D5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2HD1FRBBEUS3N&s=digital-text&qid=1297161320&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Amazon link</span></a><span style="color: blue;">: <br />
Catch me a catch available from Amazon, Wild Rose Press and usual resellers: Here's the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Catch-Me-A-ebook/dp/B003XNTKAC/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&m=A2HD1FRBBEUS3N&s=digital-text&qid=1297279005&sr=1-10" target="_blank">Amazon link</a></span>-- </div></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-85096278530610080502011-02-10T22:56:00.000-08:002011-02-10T22:59:53.375-08:00Interrogation Room and a giveaway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> Did you ever hear something about dreams coming true when you were a kid? well here is the proof, I bet when she started blogging under another pseudo-name - Lia Bal, she did not know she would have to get serious so soon and become a published author; but it did happen and I am so happy for <a href="http://www.angelina-rain.com/">Angelina Rain</a>; Please check her out - she is good people.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjos1cQI82sLx78BwWcaEX8pMgef8G_Dlr2ShrZ2_ARu91jT0c6d1ObVA9JV1KsXYebeqnr4ODn7ulKv-j7B4orPZU7b-n6NRZb_EutKMIfsuHRMtYkgtTfIXBmoJnKWVFCNpp67fnP6Q/s1600/angelina+rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjos1cQI82sLx78BwWcaEX8pMgef8G_Dlr2ShrZ2_ARu91jT0c6d1ObVA9JV1KsXYebeqnr4ODn7ulKv-j7B4orPZU7b-n6NRZb_EutKMIfsuHRMtYkgtTfIXBmoJnKWVFCNpp67fnP6Q/s1600/angelina+rain.jpg" /></a><b>Joanna: You are still sort of an enigma in the blogging world, tell us a little about yourself<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> I’m the wife of a bad boy, the evil stepmother of a spoiled ten year old, and the mother of an energetic fur ball. I’ve been writing ever since my late teens, although I haven’t attempted to publish until now. I have a rather boring life so I write to entertain others as well as myself. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: What made you start writing?<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> I’ve wanted to write ever since I was in my early teens and had a dream that I was a bestselling author. Besides, I’ve always enjoyed reading, and after a while everything I read seemed to be the same thing over and over. It was time for me to write something I could enjoy reading.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: What is your writing process (Plotter or pantser)?<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> Both. I start out as a pantser but eventually write an outline and go from there to the end.</span><b>(at this point I am proud to announce I am slowly dropping my pantser card)</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: Chocolate, books or wine?<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> All of the above. Add a hot bath with good music and I’ll be in heaven. A good looking guy wouldn’t hurt, either. </span><b>(as long as its not Johnny Depp or Enrique we are good)</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: who would you rather? small press or big press?<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> Small Press. I write for small press because everything I write is too short for big press. I’m very happy with my first publishing house and the experience I gained through it. E-publishing is growing in popularity and I’m proud to be a part of this new community. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: I know you want to open up an animal shelter in the future - so your love for animals is apparent, do they often show up in your writing?<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> Yes, they do. My contemporary novel (out sometime in late 2011) is about animal abuse so there are a lot of dogs in that book. And in “The Problem with Love Spells”, there’s a werewolf. I can’t say if animals will appear in future books or not as none have been written, however, my current WIP has a cat in it. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: You write erotic romance amongst other things, how does this slip into conversation when you want to talk about it?<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> Oh boy! My in-laws still don’t know I’m getting published. I don’t think they would be happy to hear I’m trying to make a living writing about sex. My family was shocked to hear about it. And with everyone else I say I write romance.</span>(don't 4get to blog about it when you tell them)</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joanna: Is <span class="il">Angelina</span> <span class="il">Rain</span> a pen name? Why did you decide to go with this name? (You will be competing with Ms Jolie for SEO optimization)<span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Angelina:</b> It is a pen name. When I was fifteen I had a dream I was a bestselling author and in that dream I was published under the name <span class="il">Angelina</span> <span class="il">Rain</span>. That name stuck with me. I never really thought of the <span class="il">Angelina</span> Jolie thing, but I guess if any of her fans accidentally stumble upon me and buy my books, I won’t complain. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYyPE3XoGaoHNKhsbkODNgbZV6IPmObDmTJOolv5tuGifhGcsulHiRwQhJsc_BaoMEc9IBkE6GwCMnpTKh-TQPew2uSRNtDKpW1kCJP5UiHFugKua5jeMbF4PAeZgI4YXZgF03qn85Z8E/s1600/angelina+rain+book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYyPE3XoGaoHNKhsbkODNgbZV6IPmObDmTJOolv5tuGifhGcsulHiRwQhJsc_BaoMEc9IBkE6GwCMnpTKh-TQPew2uSRNtDKpW1kCJP5UiHFugKua5jeMbF4PAeZgI4YXZgF03qn85Z8E/s320/angelina+rain+book+cover.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>Joanna: Why don't you tell us all about your book?</b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Indecent Encounters</b> </span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Indecent-Encounters.html"><b>A Ménage Anthology, including “The Problem with Love Spells” by <span class="il">Angelina</span> <span class="il">Rain</span></b></a></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i><span style="color: black;">Sometimes a woman needs more than a lover…</span></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Independent, lustful ladies find pleasure and intrigue with more than one man, from a scandalous vacation in </span></b><span style="color: black;">Australia</span><b><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">, to a forced seduction at a </span></b><span style="color: black;">cabin in the woods</span><b><span style="color: black;">. A witch needs to break a shameful spell</span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">, and an older woman slakes her sexual needs with two younger men. Cougars purr with unrequited desire and werewolves compete for the love of their mate. Satisfaction is just a sigh away as a surgeon bends the rules for her patient, and an over-stressed boss finds more than a little peace with</span></b><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b><span style="color: black;">secret admirers</span><b><span style="color: black;">.</span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Find out what wicked delights await you with Indecent Encounters.</span></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Indecent-Encounters.html"><b><span style="color: black;">The Problem with Love Spells</span></b></a></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">When you’re cursed to live your whole life unloved, can you really be held responsible for casting a love spell? When Gretchen realizes that her love spell went wrong, her only option is to reverse it before too much damage is done. However, when she wakes with a werewolf and a vampire in her bed, she learns that even reversing a love spell could have its consequences.</span></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">~*~ GIVEAWAY ~*~</span></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="il">Angelina</span> <span class="il">Rain</span> is giving away one free copy of “Indecent Encounters” and it could be yours. All you have to do is comment or ask a question (she will answer it in the comments). One lucky winner will be announced on Feb 13<sup>th</sup> on <span class="il">Angelina</span>’s blog. Leave your e-mail address so <span class="il">Angelina</span> can e-mail you if you win. </span><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><br clear="all" /></span><b><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Links:</span></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Website: </span></b><a href="http://www.angelina-rain.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">www.<span class="il">angelina</span>-<span class="il">rain</span>.com</span></b></a><b><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Blog: </span></b><a href="http://www.angelinarain.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">www.angelinarain.blogspot.com</span></span></b></a></span> </div></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-19372508694213282692011-01-25T01:33:00.000-08:002011-01-25T01:33:00.272-08:00How can I count the ways?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">How many times can I say am sorry, I have been a really horrific blogger; some of you know why and some of you dont. I have not been around your blogs as much as I'd like to and somehow you amazing people still put up with me.<br />
<br />
Last year in my blogging heydays the lovely <a href="http://carolynsnowabiad.blogspot.com/">Carolyn Abiad</a> was nice enough to have me as a guest on her blog and the post goes live today. She is having us international folk talk about how our host - land affects our writing, <a href="http://carolynsnowabiad.blogspot.com/">hop on over to read</a> about how Corsica did not disappoint my writerly expectations.<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
Joanna</div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-37196537876840785322011-01-20T22:47:00.000-08:002011-01-21T09:14:25.109-08:00Interrogation Room with Sondrae Bennett<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sondrae and I have had this in the bag for a while now, ever since I found her blog (I cant even remember how we met) I knew I wanted her in the interrogation room, she is kinda like that beautiful pearl you want to show off to the world or in this case on my most wanted list. She came in without a fight so i decided to go easy on her. I give you Sondrae Bennett</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna: Okay you strike me as the shy or withdrawn type so lets start off with a nice secret from you</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBc5kQhsLS7oDmTqpsWEb9uH1Cum4gS1lfNsEkgz-YDie4II4M44JQdQSYeqDwt19aD_0ZL0QhoMQU-SMlsocrOlt9pD1fha0N6FlDulvHGqoInhyphenhyphenhodTOFCOz0RZZ7aacCTcw30bYUc/s1600/sondrae+bennett2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBc5kQhsLS7oDmTqpsWEb9uH1Cum4gS1lfNsEkgz-YDie4II4M44JQdQSYeqDwt19aD_0ZL0QhoMQU-SMlsocrOlt9pD1fha0N6FlDulvHGqoInhyphenhyphenhodTOFCOz0RZZ7aacCTcw30bYUc/s1600/sondrae+bennett2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Sondrae:</b> A secret... Hmmm. I guess I'd go with the fact that I am a total geek. I love Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica, and World of Warcraft. In fact, I love Star Wars so much that when I was in middle school, I had a picture of Mark Hamill in my room right next to my bed. ... I can't believe I just admitted that.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>(you framed it? I dont blame you) </b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna: You have two books coming out this year how surreal does that feel right now?</span></b><br />
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<b></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Sondrae: </b>Very surreal! Every now and then when I'm thinking about my book 'Arctic Winds' that came out January 17th, I break out in giggles. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna:<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What made you choose Lyrical Press as the right home for your babies?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Sondrae:</b> I researched a lot of different publishing houses before finally submitting to Lyrical. It wasn't the first place I subbed to but I'm actually quite grateful the first one turned me down. Lyrical has been great to work with. I adore the cover they've created for the book, love my editor, and generally feel they've done a fantastic job.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna: Since you write paranormal romance(and i love my paras), I am kinda intrigued what do you do for book research?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Sondrae:</b> The most important research I do is about the animals my characters shift into, especially some of the more unique ones. Samantha, my heroine in 'Arctic Winds', is an arctic fox so I had to know what they ate, how they differed from other foxes and stuff like that. Gwen, the heroine in my second book 'Chasing Paradise', is an otter shifter. There's one scene in particular when Gwen is hunting for fish. I had to research how she would hunt and also what kind of fish she would catch based on where she was. And of course there's the small details that come up while I'm writing that I have to research for accuracy. What the house would look like where they live, weather and those kinds of things.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cookies, wine, books or chocolate?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Sondrae:</b> Ooo, I can't have all four? I guess if I had to order them it would be books then wine. Chocolate and cookies are fighting for third....not sure who would win. I guess it depends on what kind of cookies.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(if u or KarenG baked them they might be #1 on my list)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">How and where do you get inspiration for your stories?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Sondrae: </b>Everywhere. I'll be walking down the street on my way to work and I'll see something or hear something and BOOM a story idea will pop into my head. Usually I write down a few details and then put it aside to let it simmer so I can come back to it later.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzkOiRj7NdBe1Ap8yJyfe7PjRE-hBIa0GMn_oKPHC9l-h8xVayWY6i652kjFAkFcg_TaYtt3xVo8MySGhr9-ZSEkB1j41KEWJdTPr2lrlkoOpOPMe1JnbKfFpOLuRZCaE-oqlni3QnBc/s1600/sondrae+bennett1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzkOiRj7NdBe1Ap8yJyfe7PjRE-hBIa0GMn_oKPHC9l-h8xVayWY6i652kjFAkFcg_TaYtt3xVo8MySGhr9-ZSEkB1j41KEWJdTPr2lrlkoOpOPMe1JnbKfFpOLuRZCaE-oqlni3QnBc/s1600/sondrae+bennett1.jpg" /></a><b>I'm still staring at your pretty picture so i guess you can tell us about your amazing new baby</b><br />
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<i>Nothing will stop a wolf once he's found his mate....</i> <br />
<div>After her skulk abandoned her four years ago, Samantha knew she would never truly be wanted. When she accidentally stumbles into a wolf town and is asked by their Permier to stay, she believes it's the novelty of an arctic fox motivating him. She knows she'll be on her own again once he tires of her. </div><div></div><div>Jason finds himself pulled to Samantha from the moment she faints in his arms. His wolf is calling to him, telling him he's found their mate and the heat he feels for Samantha is impossible to resist. But his little fox is loaded down with emotional baggage and doesn't believe she's worthy of love. Can he overcome her fears? Or will pack jealousies and the local foxes convince her she doesn't belong with him before he has a chance? </div><div></div><div>Author Bio: Sondrae lives in New York City where she loves to people watch for inspiration. She has been an avid reader of romance her whole life, and began writing them after imaging different twists on the books she read. Sondrae believes the best characters are those deeply and truthfully invested in the situations they find themselves in and usually lets her characters speak for themselves. Above all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever afters they deserve. </div><div></div><div>Sondrae loves to hear from readers. Please feel free to email her and drop by her blog to learn about upcoming releases. </div><div></div><div>Blog: <a href="http://sondraebennett.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://sondraebennett.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a></div><div>Email: <a href="mailto:sondraebennett@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span class="il">sondraebennett@gmail.com</span></a></div></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-63556466404053238882011-01-19T00:20:00.000-08:002011-01-19T00:26:30.357-08:00Let the Characters TalkSince I am vying for the horrible blogger of the new year award I decided to pull out one of the five writerly posts I have in my head and appease you all with it.<br />
On a lighter note tho' I got the inspiration for this blog post yesterday. here we go<br />
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I am a control Freak, I have not learnt how to let my muse inspire me, and I definitely don't let my characters lead the way even tho' I am el Pantser Supremo.<br />
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In my current WIP my hero is Latino and yes I was inspired by Charlie Sheen and Enrique Iglesias, in a bid to make him into a character I really liked I was going to make him talk like George Lopez and use his popular catch phrases like es ta loca? or que la (pardon my spelling) but my hero staunchly refused to speak a word of spanish, everytime I went down that route, my brain froze up.<br />
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I eventually let him be and just wrote whatever et voila my latino hero showed me himself, he was raised in America, in the social security system and adopted by numerous families; the only time he speaks spanish is when he is in bed with his lady love and no he does not say te quiero or te amo he just calls her chica - if he ever has kids with her he would totally call their son mijo.<br />
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I like that! am cool with that! I know him inside out and I am pleased to be working with him since he looks like my longterm crush - Enrique Iglesias; but even better he so tattles on the heroine, he told me she is always on the defensive and she is disgusted by abused women- she thinks they are weak (this is a big flaw we might not be able to get over, but he is working on her).<br />
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Here is my advice for letting your characters do their own talking and not be influenced by your idea of who you think they are<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">oh la la!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><ol><li>When the words are not flowing easily to your fingertips that could be an indicator that you need to switch POVs or are not being true to your characters</li>
<li>It does not hurt to stare at images of Enrique Iglesias or Johnny Depp for a long time</li>
<li>The minute something unplanned for comes up, go with the flow and then take some time out to see how that could mesh with your preconceived ideas or original storyline.</li>
<li>Learn to fall in love with your characters, that way you would still be able to write them in a good light when they throw you a curve ball.</li>
<li> Maybe because my deadlines are self imposed, I don't write like my stories have to be published so if my true to himself hero starts to look highly unpopular I chalk it down as a writing exercise and move on.</li>
<li>don't forget if all else fails go back and repeat #2 over and over again, it has been tried tested and true.</li>
</ol><br />
xoxo<br />
JoannaJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-6676563198614455562011-01-14T07:40:00.000-08:002011-01-14T07:40:51.168-08:00A Publisher in our Interrogation Room <span>I hope everyone knows what it means to be chuffed because that is how I feel right now, I am pleased to introduce to you <a href="http://www.astraeapress.com/">Astraea Press</a>, a new publishing house with a refreshing twist. Owner and Editor in Chief Stephanie Taylor has agreed to sit down and be interrogated. <br />
Some of these questions are from you, while the rest was concocted by my devious mind. Feel free to check the <a href="http://www.astraeapress.blogspot.com/">blog</a> and their stunning covers out. </span><br />
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<ol start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://nrwilliams.blogspot.com/">N.R. Williams</a> - I would like to know from Astraea Press what form of publishing they are considering? Traditional hard/paperback copies, e-books or audio books? One or all three?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - All three! Eventually. Right now, we're focused on our launch and getting our name out there. Once we get our initial titles under our belt, we'll be uploading for POD, and looking into audio.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><ol start="2" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://the1940mysterywriter.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: blue;">the1940mysterywriter</span></a> - <b>how do you intend to market your ebooks and your writers? Granted that marketing budgets are endangered species throughout publishing, but do you have a plan for overcoming that ongoing problem and assisting their writers' sales figures?</b></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">At Astraea we offer a personalized marketing plan for our authors based on their location to aide their efforts. Our marketing director, Alice, is already hard at work on these things. We also plan to market in every avenue possible. We'll be placing ads on websites and in appropriate magazines. We're hard at work with social media, getting our name and our author's name out there. Without our authors, we wouldn't be much of a press!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span>3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/10600447859414457126"><span style="color: blue;">Kimber Leszczuk.</span></a> - <b>I would love to know what inspired them to put the ROMANCE back into romance stories? EVERYTHING lately seems to be all about sex - I think there is something to be said for someone who can convey emotion and a well told love story without it. Kudos to them for doing it!! What is their inspiration and motivation behind it?</b><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - To be honest, I came up with the idea because my own books fall into a black hole. I don't write erotica, I don't write inspirational. I fall somewhere in between and tend to keep my sex scenes behind closed doors. But I love playing up on the sensuality and the actual emotions of a relationship. So after I published my first book, I thought…I bet there are other writers out there who don't want to compete with erotica (and lose) and need a house who offers only clean romance. The outpouring of support for our venture has been astounding and I'm so excited that I took a leap of faith and opened Astraea Press with Jane.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><ol start="4" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna - How many books a month should we expect to come out of Astraea Press?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="color: red;"> </span></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - We're aiming for ten a month. We're one contract away from our goal for February!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><ol start="5" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna - How do you maintain the balance between professionalism and making the authors feel like part of the Astraea family?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="color: red;"> </span></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - Hmmm…that's tricky. To me, professionalism IS making someone feel like family. That's how I do business. I'm chatty, I love to help and I want others to succeed. You've got a question? Ask me. If an author and I were to disagree on edits, we can talk about it. But as an author myself, I understand how emotions can play a part in the publishing of a book, and I'm here to make sure things are objective and we put the best product out there. Ultimately, Astraea has the final say in a product, but I won't "pull rank" unless absolutely necessary. I like to talk about things first!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><ol start="6" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna - Do you have any cool contests or pitches coming up?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - We're currently open to submissions and we have a pitch scheduled with Sweeter Romantic Notions later this month.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><ol start="7" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna - What would you say to people who still do not believe in ePublishing?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="color: red;"> </span></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - Epublishing is the same as any other technological advance. Just like computers, TV, cell phones, anything that advances, I'm actually surprised that books took so long! E-readers, smart phones and such are all going to replace paper books because it’s more economical and easier to access. Like it or not, it's happening and it better to embrace it. ;o)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><ol start="8" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Joanna - Apart for explicit scenes, what else would be a major turn off for editors at Astraea Press?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Astraea Press - Language is a turn off, stories that revolve around cheating and weak GMC (goal, motivation and conflict). </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">Even better yet Astraea Press is open to submissions right now! They have also challenged me to do one thing - write a story with the doors firmly shut, it is a challenge but I look at it as an opportunity to grow as a writer. Ms Taylor will be in and out all day feel free to say hi, ask any other questions and visit their <a href="http://www.astraeapress.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.</span> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span></span><span></span>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-6692274600476678752011-01-13T09:44:00.000-08:002011-01-13T09:44:21.264-08:00It is with great distractionthat I bring you this blog post today, as I speak I am in the same room with four children under four years old, all of whom have the ability to make extreme noise.<br />
<br />
That aside let me share my joy with you - its not about publication so you can keep the pompoms away - for now (but still save them specially for me, cos something's gotta give eventually)<br />
<br />
I was walking around in Houston and found myself in walmart, i went in for some french toast but came out with 5 books instead - how did that happen? I think I went blank till I got back in the car and hugged my books like a dolt. I have missed walking into a store and just indulging in books, my in laws looked at me with concern but I did not care. These are books, I have not seen books in english just sitting and waiting to be sold in a long time so excuse my indulgence.<br />
<br />
To make things even better I won 2 Miranda Dickinson Books from Kath at the Nut Press, and a you can have whatever book you like from Raquel Henry and an ebook from lily Harlem - all of these people shall be properly thanked next week.<br />
<br />
let me get back to loving my books and squeeze a little writing time somewhere in between too.Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-10977004934636503242011-01-11T23:38:00.000-08:002011-01-11T23:38:45.929-08:00The Rebel in MeThis writer can be a really nice girl when she sets out to be but just like the little girl with the curl in that nursery rhyme(I think I have a cowlick) I can also be very horrid.<br />
<br />
By the way, lest i forget yesterday's story was pretty much Fact I left out most of the details tho'.<br />
I am a natural rebel, i think I have been singing Bob Marley songs since I was born and now I like Muse (see the connection?) I won't tell you about how i flunked a grade in high school just to rebel or how I dropped all languages from my curriculum or switched majors after getting the best grade in my class just to irk my poor dad.<br />
<br />
What I would like to tell you is that I am a rebel and I know there are a lot of you like me out there (if you are still in denial its okay too). I understand that rules, guidelines and all those do's and don'ts are really helpful but I still cannot help kicking against them when I see them. (I shall leave people like Jennifer Lane to analyze this behaviour)<br />
<br />
I really appreciate someone telling me the do's and don'ts of twitter or blogging or anything else but at the same time the rebel in me says "so what? if I don't follow your do's and don'ts will I be kicked out of your exclusive club?"<br />
<br />
Some days i feel like yelling this is my blog - it says my name on it and I will pretty much do what i want - rules spoil all the fun right? dont tell me to put an excerpt of my work up; I don't want to be laughed into oblivion and don't tell me I have to post my blog schedule because I don't have one and I am not convinced it makes a difference.<br />
<br />
And just to contradict myself in the folly of today's post you tell me your fave rule that is a no bender or breaker for you - here is mine. Learn the rules then break them<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
Joanna<br />
and I swear this is not a rantJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-66240631236148270912011-01-11T08:08:00.000-08:002011-01-11T08:10:26.578-08:00The Best Laid Plans of Mice and MenYesterday, I was supposed to learn all about google alert but here I am google alertknowledgeless, so instead I will tell you what drama prevented me from learning all about google alert instead and talk about google alert later.<br />
<br />
Anytime I tell you all a personal story - feel free to use it in a book or at least get wacky ideas for your books from it; here is my story.<br />
<br />
So yesterday I was feeling way ahead of myself and even scheduled my blog post (for a pantser that is big right?), when I woke up in the morning I chatted with the hubs online and then at 8.30ish I heard grabby toddler make some noise in his room, so I got up and went in for our usual<br />
"good morning"<br />
"drink"<br />
"say good morning to mummy"<br />
"drink"<br />
me with a very sad face "say good morning to mummy"<br />
"a' morning ... drink?"<br />
I pasted my usual mummy is trying to be a morning person smile on my face and turned the door knob - nothing! hmmnn no panic but it does not take a genius to realize grabby toddler has locked himself in the room.<br />
I walk downstairs and ask the mother in law "Mom - do you have the keys to grabby toddlers room?"<br />
and then of course she panics but keeps it downstairs - but what I get from her rapid phone calls is she does not have the keys, so I move on to plan B (sometimes table knives make the best keys)<br />
<br />
But yesterday the table knife failed me and grabby toddler started to get hungry, I slipped him some biscuits but he pushed them back out "DRINK!"<br />
<br />
We soon progress down to a stage where my 2 year old is begging me to open the door, he tells me he is sorry and i should open the door - I try to explain that I am trying my best but he is in tears and cant really listen or hear me but at least i am still able to slip him a half drunk capri sun under the door.<br />
<br />
The door knob has no screws or anything really and I have torn the fancy golden part apart but the obstinate door is still locked, I ask my son to go stay on his bed so I can break the door open with my shoulders, then the handy man arrives.<br />
<br />
The handy man is able to cut the door down in a midst of sparks and a lot of noise (grabby toddler is deathly terrified of loud noises) when we eventually found him a lil over 2 hours later he was hiding under his duvet but you could tell he had been under the bed too - his head was covered with dust mites and lint.<br />
<br />
He recovered fast enough to say thank you to the handy man - a man nice enough who refused to get paid because he says my mother in law reminds him of his mother and he could never make his mother pay him, my mother in law says this happens every time he comes to do some work for her.<br />
<br />
So what do you think peeps fact or fiction and who do you identify with the most in the story?<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
JoannaJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-36486186256150954652011-01-10T08:37:00.000-08:002011-01-10T08:37:22.970-08:00Chances areI am so excited I am writing this post and scheduling it a whole 8 hours b4 it goes live - I am all grown up! there might just be hope for me after all.<br />
<br />
I am hanging out at the inlaws till the hubs gets back from this new round of travelling, problem is there are so many kids running up and down i cannot even hear myself think on the plus side tho' grabby toddler gets to hang out with his cousins and i can take him to childrens shows, the library and watch yo gabba gabba.<br />
<br />
Okay so back to my post of the day Chances are .....<br />
as helpful as the blogging community might be there might still be scammers amongst us (did I just hear you say duh? u are such a smart cookie)<br />
There are loads of services being offered to help us writers online, and I won't really go into great detail about those services, but please please look before you leap.<br />
Do your research! talk to your bloggy friends about their experiences, find out about their qualifications, ask them a billion questions and best of all follow your instinct.<br />
Good Luck me hearties and if all else fails ask <a href="http://www.accrispin.blogspot.com/">Writers Beware</a>.<br />
<br />
am off to send out a million batches of questions to some amazing folks, tomorrow I'll talk about google alert - it has me intrigued.<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
JoannaJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-47857764984677152482011-01-07T07:16:00.000-08:002011-01-07T07:16:53.011-08:00:-DThis is the only friday this year where the interrogation room will stay empty. I have interviews but I have not informed any of my suspects they will be arraigned today.<br />
<br />
So instead I have decided to tell you a few interesting things and then let you all grill me instead.<br />
<ol><li><strike>Nancy</strike> <a href="http://nrwilliams.blogspot.com/">N.R Williams</a> book is out "The treasures of Carmelidrium" I've got a feeling about this book and cant wait to bring her to the interrogation room.</li>
<li>I think <a href="http://www.damselinadirtydress.com/">Nicole MacDonald's</a> book "The Arrival" is out too (someone correct me if I'm wrong)</li>
<li>I also did some pretty bold things in 2010 regarding the interrogation room that still has me grinning (one of them involves <a href="http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/">Elana Johnson</a>)</li>
<li> Lastly I got the owner of a new small press to come into the interrogation room; its called <a href="http://www.astraeapress.com/submissions.html">Astraea Press</a> and they put a new spin on their books - no erotica! you'll have to visit their <a href="http://www.astraeapress.com/submissions.html">website</a> to find out more. Do you have any questions you would like me to ask? you know, the kind that is never on the FAQ page?</li>
</ol>So there you have it, what questions would you like to ask me and what questions would you like to ask Astraea Press - feel free not to ask me any questions and put the heat on Astraea Press instead :-D<br />
<br />
xoxo<br />
JoannaJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-62941974320405115452011-01-05T08:59:00.000-08:002011-01-05T08:59:15.673-08:00What I learned in the New YearPhew! it feels good to be back. I already feel giddy just typing this blog post.<br />
Just in case you have been wondering what this blogger has been up to - I have been remembering what it feels like to have family around, having a 16 hour road trip with a toddler and a bad internet connection.<br />
<br />
To start off my new year I am guest blogging today at <a href="http://writingnotwhining.blogspot.com/2011/01/warrior-wednesday-tales-from-unpubbed.html">Melinda Pierce Blog</a> she has a new series called <a href="http://writingnotwhining.blogspot.com/2011/01/warrior-wednesday-tales-from-unpubbed.html">Warrior Wednesdays - Tales from the unpubbed</a>, I seriously hope by the end of this year i will not be eligible for this series anymore. So please check out my battle scars <a href="http://writingnotwhining.blogspot.com/2011/01/warrior-wednesday-tales-from-unpubbed.html">here</a> or <a href="http://writingnotwhining.blogspot.com/2011/01/warrior-wednesday-tales-from-unpubbed.html">here</a> either ways check me out and I shall be all over your blogs in a minute too.<br />
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It feels good to be back.Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-30349992007232689992010-12-17T04:29:00.000-08:002010-12-17T04:29:12.112-08:00For When you get snowed inDo you believe in the Magic of Christmas? I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! (I am not an ABBA fan ...not)<br />
The most magical part of Christmas is when I have fed my family into a food coma - the kid is passed out in bed too pooped to play night games, the hubs is slumped in front of a journal or the TV and I *grins* have my cuppa hot chocolate laced with cinnamon and caramel, I curl up in my fave chair by the fireplace and have a good romance at Christmastime story to read under the afghan.<br />
No other genre would work,it has to be romance, because if you have ever been in love you will know catching a killer or an alien does not produce the same mushy feeling you get from falling in love - so romance it is<br />
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I have compiled a list of Christmas stories out this year designed to cater to as wide a taste as possible. Happy Reading and have a very Merry Christmas<br />
Call Me Mrs. Miracle - Debbie Macomber<br />
Mistletoe and the Lost Stiletto - Liz Fielding<br />
First Impressions - Nora Roberts (2008 release, but its my list harrumph)<br />
The MacGregor Brides - Nora Roberts <br />
A Fairytale Christmas - Barbra Wallace and Susan Meier<br />
Naughty can be Nice - Cynthia Selwyn<br />
Claiming Christmas - Naima Simone<br />
All She Wants for Christmas - Jaci Burton<br />
Holiday Sparks - Shannon Stacey<br />
His for the Holidays - Josh Lanyon<br />
A Cinderella Christmas - Stacy Dawn<br />
A Gift Beyond All Measure - Anna Kathryn Lanier<br />
Tales From Christmas Town - Wild Rose Press Authors<br />
Mistletoe Rules - Stacy Joy Netzel<br />
Melting Frost - Kelly Daniels<br />
And of Course our Five Oaks Girls<br />
Snowy Encounters - Clarissa Yip<br />
Smitten - Silke Juppenlatz<br />
Midwinter Magic- Nina Croft<br />
Holiday Headlines - RM Gilbert<br />
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I am still a newbie to the world of self publishing so I honestly did not know where to go to look for Xmas stories from my self pubbed authors. Lastly all my lovely authors if you do have a Christmas story out or a fave story you like to read at Xmas time leave it in the comments and I will update this list.<br />
I shan't be blogging much all of next week, so this list will be up for most of next week and the next time you hear from me I might be in Houston with the in-laws.<br />
Do have a wonderful Christmas<br />
with lots of love<br />
Joanna St JamesJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-76155104730748719812010-12-16T02:57:00.000-08:002010-12-16T02:57:34.558-08:00Pamper the Writer in youHello My Lovelies<br />
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Can you tell am awfully chirpy this morning?<br />
I have had a week or more of bad news rolling in, you know how everything just seems to pile up on top of you when you are down? Well am over it now and the writer in me survived too, I am ready to start blog stalking too.<br />
I could not take myself to a Spa or even a Cafe for some solitude, because lets face it when you have a child or even a pet they hardly understand the words "Mummy needs to take a time out now". So what I did was just give in and let my brain take a vacation (Sad I know), every night I made sure I wrote 50 words - 50 words that were sometimes spread over 2 WIPs, 50 words my mind told me was the worst thing ever written - a monkey with a typewriter could do a better job, but I still wrote something every night.<br />
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I had a rewrite for a chapter that I desperately wanted to send to the Harlequin fast track thingie but I just could not bring myself to do it. Now you know that thing inside every writer that just does not make you give up? it yelled at me yesterday. So after getting the toddler fed, cleaned and watered I cranked out 17 new pages in addition to my original one page, cranked out another 2 paged synopsis and sent it off to Harlequin with just 4 minutes to spare.<br />
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For once I did not feel like it was crap (it could still be to the editors) but the fact is - I DID IT! and I feel proud of myself, I got my mojo back and if you are in the dumps (blame the weather) you can get out of it too okay? just grab yourself a cup of coffee and tell yourself it will work out in the end - No Worries!<br />
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XOXO<br />
JoJoanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209800503497208215.post-56535635979212012712010-12-15T03:38:00.000-08:002010-12-15T03:42:12.613-08:00The Five Oaks Gazette and a Worthy Cause<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">FIVE OAK’S GAZETTE</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rLV8NJd8q8JvNYvDbYwm0KdjfgpRJtLRA-LUFIgDWFbfWtRWAhuRVgCTWjhijx-dG1YIhVgoJB_nTvpk8f5D1gbGhv5Io5nwfnjrTJev9k5wkeXlCUcP-3FNLhvtkCfyegpANgAoyRg/s1600/APassionateChristmas-minyme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rLV8NJd8q8JvNYvDbYwm0KdjfgpRJtLRA-LUFIgDWFbfWtRWAhuRVgCTWjhijx-dG1YIhVgoJB_nTvpk8f5D1gbGhv5Io5nwfnjrTJev9k5wkeXlCUcP-3FNLhvtkCfyegpANgAoyRg/s320/APassionateChristmas-minyme.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Author’s Choose Five Oaks!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">By Paige Kenyon</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There’s been some strange and exciting goings on in Five Oaks recently—not one, but four authors have based their Christmas stories in our fine town. And to find out just why these ladies selected Five Oaks, today I’m sitting down with two of those authors: Nina Croft and R.M. Gilbert, to ask them what brought them so far from home this Christmas.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nina and R.M. have also agreed to answer questions submitted by the good people of our community. But first, one from me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: I know you come from all over the world, so can you tell me how you came together to write the anthology? </span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina</b>: We’re all part of a fabulous online critique group, <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><a href="http://www.passionatecritters.org/">Passionate Critters (PC)</a> </span>, which gave us the name of the anthology: A Passionate Christmas. I’ve been a member for a year now and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made as a writer!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>R.M</b>: Ditto.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=189&osCsid=vov36mdh65d5r4fkv7aam9iu06" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYLHNlnYRKrbsbM-OdNN3TarrUHK9s6gsr1SaJioZkBzy9XcFIpeIQdYY6yr3RCQNdJxRKAYd00QNVvIes_EDRHbFBBAUdG-zw4fAaGotym6HsMbgEBfXy81qhlXXOjf-m6cnsJltKNE/s1600/nina+croft.jpg" /></a><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: The next question comes from my editor Larry Follock. He wondered how the idea for this series got started? And when.</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>R.M:</b> Back in May of this year one of our fellow critters, Stephanie Taylor suggested we get together and write an anthology of Christmas stories.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=194&osCsid=vov36mdh65d5r4fkv7aam9iu06" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Dz5tBE6FQOSuuejh_WPvrEjEnfDPz-JKrpZylAl6W-A7nEU_UrHOpLwL9AlgA5-HbRR-CJbTQ4KbtaFRGpuzCoBcGDHEWn4HQ3UC3DxFE6iSCXHdSgBvf0T4DOrlKZxfsIBQvtzsoVU/s1600/rm+gilbert.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina:</b> We all loved the idea. That was followed by a few weeks of frenzied activity, where lots of us signed up, the town of Five Oaks was born and a whole load of characters and places came to life. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: A question from Maddy Glover, who recently returned from the big city. So what appealed to you about Five Oaks? Why not New York, or Paris or, or well…anywhere?</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina:</b> Passionate Critters has members from all around the world, England, Germany, Finland, but the majority are American, and so it seemed natural to base Five Oaks in America. Silke came up with the name Five Oaks, also affectionately known as Five Stumps by the locals because… Well you’ll have to read Silke’s story, Smitten, to find out why.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: This next question was sent in by our very own Dr. Ash Delaney. He would like to know, at what point during the process did you want to burn the town to the ground?</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>RM:</b> For me, the second I signed on I was beating my head against the wall. I’m not a short story teller. This book ended at approx. 23k words (though my original submission was only 15). It was the first book I’ve written under 90k. Yikes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina:</b> My urges towards arson didn’t really begin until close to the end of the process. I really enjoyed writing the story. </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: What was it like coordinating your stories with women who are in different countries?</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>RM:</b> Since we couldn’t sit at a table together. Most of it happened within the group forums, e-mail and skype. It was very difficult. No lie, there were times we were ready to pull our hair out. And each others. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina:</b> Yeah—that’s about the time I started dreaming about fires.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Is it safe to say you’re all still friends?</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina:</b> Definitely still friends!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Our final question was sent in by a reader who asked to be called Dina, (though she looks a lot like Edna Carruthers to me). She wondered how you finished the stories on a time crunch and what’s next?</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>RM</b>: Love this question. If it hadn’t been for my sister, <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><a href="http://rebekahlpurdy.wordpress.com/">Rebekah L Purdy</a></span> taking me away for a few days, I never would have finished. (She too, is a writer and will celebrate her first release with Astraea Press in February). As for what’s next, we’ll promo together. But I also write young adult fiction and will focus my efforts on submitting my current WIP in the next couple months. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina</b>: I think because we were writing an anthology and were all relying on each other to do our bits, we had to just sit down and finish. None of us wanted to let the others down, and that’s a big motivation. As to what’s next—for me lots of witches and warlocks, there’s a werewolf waiting to come out, and of course a few vampires in the mix. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Sounds like you’ll both be busy. Is there anything else you’d like to add?</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Nina</b>: Only that we’ve joined together with Decadent Publishing to support the American Cancer Society in the Relay For Life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>RM:</b> You can find the Decadent Team<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1029253200"> </a><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><a href="http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11CA?pg=team&fr_id=31130&team_id=811768" style="background-color: white;">HERE</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> </span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ll be sure to check that out and donate. And from the people of Five Oaks I want to thank the ladies for sitting down with me. If anyone would like to know more about Nina and R.M. then pop over to their sites.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://ninacroft.com/" style="background-color: white;">Nina Croft</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://rmgilbert.com/" style="background-color: white;">R.M.Gilbert</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Find </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Smitten by: Silke Juppenlatz, Snowy Encounters by: Clarissa Yip, as well as Nina’s and RM’s<i> books at<a href="http://decadentpublishing.com/"> <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Decadent Publishing</span></a></i><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"></span><i>!</i></span></div>Joanna St. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180782095853911283noreply@blogger.com27