Kelly Jamieson's Blog, page 3

CONTEST! win a kobo NIA DAY 3

TRIVIA QUIZ FOR MERRY PUCKING CHRISTMAS

   

Naughty is the new nice…

Small town woman. Big city hockey player. They shouldn’t add up, but when two lonely hearts collide, the holidays get a lot merrier—and hotter.

 

We're on day 3 of the Bears Hockey Trivia Quiz! If you play—and get all the answers right—you're guaranteed to win something. So... let’s play!

 

How to Play: 

1.      Each day, read the question posed on social media. Today’s question is:

Which character has a fear of mascots?

2.       Do you remember the answer? If not, find it!

3.      Fill out this form for your answer each day

https://forms.gle/56fb3RvqUhHeYY7K7

4.      Win prizes!

 How to win:

·         All participants who answer all the questions correctly will receive a swag pack

·         One grand prize winner will win a Kobo nia

Winners will be chosen randomly. Grand Prize winner will be announced on November 14 on Facebook, Instagram, in Kelly’s newsletter, and on her blog.

(Your personal information will never be used other than to send you prizes)

 

  

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CONTEST! win a kobo NIA DAY 2

TRIVIA QUIZ FOR MERRY PUCKING CHRISTMAS

   

Naughty is the new nice…

Small town woman. Big city hockey player. They shouldn’t add up, but when two lonely hearts collide, the holidays get a lot merrier—and hotter.

 

We're on day 2 of the Bears Hockey Trivia Quiz! If you play—and get all the answers right—you're guaranteed to win something. So... let’s play!

 

How to Play: 

1.      Each day, read the question posed on social media. Today’s question is:

Which character talks to plants?

2.       Do you remember the answer? If not, find it!

3.      Fill out this form for your answer each day

https://forms.gle/bfzvEjjS4ztGdCfe6

4.      Win prizes!

 How to win:

·         All participants who answer all the questions correctly will receive a swag pack

·         One grand prize winner will win a Kobo nia

Winners will be chosen randomly. Grand Prize winner will be announced on November 14 on Facebook, Instagram, in Kelly’s newsletter, and on her blog.

(Your personal information will never be used other than to send you prizes)

 

  

Permalink

CONTEST! win a kobo NIA

TRIVIA QUIZ FOR MERRY PUCKING CHRISTMAS

   

Naughty is the new nice…

Small town woman. Big city hockey player. They shouldn’t add up, but when two lonely hearts collide, the holidays get a lot merrier—and hotter.

 

This trivia quiz will revisit some of the Bears Hockey characters because we’re about to see them all again in Merry Pucking Christmas!

 

How to Play: 

1.      Each day, read the question posed on social media. Today’s question is:

Which character saves a dog’s life?

2.       Do you remember the answer? If not, find it!

3.      Fill out this form for your answer each day

https://forms.gle/zrJoSwxCAip3usvP6

4.      Win prizes!

 How to win:

·         All participants who answer all the questions correctly will receive a swag pack

·         One grand prize winner will win a Kobo nia

Winners will be chosen randomly. Grand Prize winner will be announced on November 14 on Facebook, Instagram, in Kelly’s newsletter, and on her blog.

(Your personal information will never be used other than to send you prizes)

 

  

Permalink

All the updates!

APPLE SALE

This month Apple has a prmotion on sports romances and GOOD HANDS was selected to nbe part of it. Only $0.99!

apple.co/sportsromance

   

Eeeek it’s been a while since I posted! I have lots of news to share!

WE’RE BACK FOR OUR THIRD SEASON!

Join the Chippy Chicks - 5 hoekcy romance authors - as we talk about what’s been hapening over the summer and get raady for the new hockey season

https://www.youtube.com/@chippychicks/featured

    Aaaaand… coming November 14!   

Yes! I’ve been writing! This is actually the second book I’ve finished — the other one will hopefully be out some time in 2024 - stay tuned!

I started this Christmas story last year before my burn out, and it’s been so fun to get back to it and finish it. I love Christmas and Christmas romances.. It’s the opposite of a “home for the holidays” Christmas romance!

 

This video is the best summary/analysis I've seen about w...

This video is the best summary/analysis I've seen about what's been happening with booktok and hockey.

What we're seeing is an example of toxic fandom. "Fandom refers to a community of people who are passionate about something, whether it's a film, a band, a television show, a book, or a sports team.'" They find a sense of community and connection and get deeply involved.

This happens with all kinds of media--KPop, Marvel, Swifties, Naruto, and...sports teams.

Booktok creators became big hockey fans, or more specifically, hockey player fans. And their followers became hockey player fans, too, as well as fans of the creators. But when there are disagreements and passionate fans turn to infighting or to defending what they love, it becomes toxic. They are so invested in a particular work or person that they act out to “save” or “defend” it with online trolling and harassment, damaging it for everyone else.

Hockey fans themselves (not booktokkers) aren't immune to this. I belong to a lot of hockey fan groups and there is often infighting among the fans about who should be traded, why X is a terrible goalie, and how stupid the coach is. They're *passionate* about their team, sometimes to the point where I can't stomach it.

So these hockeybooktokkers who followed popular creators got upset when the creators thought they were being attacked by a player's wife. (See video below for an analysis of whether that really happened.) And they're unhappy that the Kraken unfollowed booktokkers and deleted booktok posts when the Kraken felt it had gotten out of hand. As they should have, when one of their team members and his wife felt uncomfortable about it.

Unfortunately this is causing damage to the entire booktok community and specifically hockey romance. I would hope that all of us are not judged on the actions of a few, but that's already happening, with a hockey romance author being trolled and attacked on her new release.

As authors, we love our "fans." We want them to be passionate about our work. We just want them to be respectful and compassionate to other readers, authors, and...well, everyone.

Australia!

   

In April, I went on a once in a lifetime trip to Australia!

I attended the Romance Author and Reader Event in Melbourne. The event was fantastic. I appreciated all the organization and planning that went into it, everything went smoothly (for me, at least; there were some Amazon glitches for some authors). I had my daughter as an assistant, and she was also organized and took a gazillion photographs, handled the payments, and multiple other tasks. I loved talking to readers! It’s such a special joy to talk face to face and I want to thank everyone who came by my table. I even got gifts!

 

Look at my beautiful banner!

 

There was also some sightseeing/research, because OF COURSE I now have to write an Australian hero! We spent one week in Melbourne. I love this city! The skyscrapers are beautiful. We stayed on the wharf and were able to walk along the Yarra River and have a drink and meals. We explored the business district with beautiful older buildings, the tiny lanes with graffiti, churches, and parks. We did some tours outside the city as well, including the Great Ocean Road, a walk through the rainforest, and Shipwreck Coast where the Twelve Apostles. The walk down to the beach where Tom and Eva were shipwrecked was magical. It had just rained so we were there alone and it was quiet and tranquil—almost spiritual.

I have to mention the coffee! At first we were surprised at how expensive it was, and how you don’t get refills. Then we tasted it and realized it’s all freshly made espresso. I ordered a long black each time, and OMG so delicious. I’ll never get used to a pot of drip coffee again!

   

There was also a lot of wine… that is orange wine I was drinking…

We saw the Brighton Bathing Boxes, then went to see kangaroos and koalas and wallabies, then the magical little penguins who come out of the ocean at dusk.

Then it was on to Sydney for a week. We visited the Blue Mountains and rode a cable car over the valley. Incredible. We took a ferry to Manly Beach, went to Bondi beach, Darling Harbour, and on our last day we shopped!

Things that did not impress me about Austraila:

I ate a beautiful shiny mandarin orange expecting it to be amazing, and it was tasteless.

We tried a Violet Crumble chocolate bar. It’ls like a Crunchie bar, which I LOVE but it had a funny taste.

Things that impressed me in Australia (Besides the friendly, polite people and gorgeous landscape and ocean)

Ordering your drink and/or meal from the QR code on the table. And I mean, you order your meal on the app and pay for it. In a few minutes someone brings you your wine, then your meal, and when you’re done you just walk out.

The coffee (as above)

The tap on/tap off on public transportation. We took the ferry, trains, and buses. We just had to use our credit card to tap on, then tap off when we got off. SO EASY

Free wifi everywhere (even on the beach)

No tipping (because I’m happy to know that people make enough money that tipping isn’t necessary)

The commitment to reconciliation—the tour guides were very open about Australia’s history of colonization and even used the term genocide to refer to how indigenous people were treated, which is very brave and honest and admirable.

  

Point of view...

First person, third person, past tense, present tense???

I keep seeing discussion about this on social media and I Have Thoughts.

   

Many years ago, I was one of those readers who refused to read a book written in first person point of view. I literally would not read them. I liked third person point of view. I was used to third person. I was comfortable with third person. I saw no reason to even try to read a book in first person. 

My, how things have changed! I don’t know how. I didn’t read a specific book in first person and have an epiphany. I didn’t make a conscious decision to try reading first person books. I just did. And *gasp* it was fine. 

Then people started writing in first person present tense. I thought that was dumb. Books are supposed to be in past tense. You’re telling a story about something that already happened, therefore it is in the past. Right? 

Eh. Somehow I changed my mind about that, too. In the same way. I just kind of slid into it. 

Then…I started writing in first person. I never thought I would do that. And then I started writing in first person present tense. Oh my God! What is happening?? 

Lots of folks have strong opinions about these things. I think there are some misconceptions about first person point of view, maybe from people like me who refused to read it. Or maybe they’ve read some and didn’t like it.  

I’ve made notes of some of things readers say they don’t like about first person (and sometimes present tense) so let’s dig in! 

First of all, point of view.

In fiction, we tell the story from the point of view of a character. Or often in romances, from more than one character. I love including the male POV in my romances because I love getting inside the guy’s head and knowing what he thinks and how he feels about the female character. Like, I love it when he is completely undone by her magnificence, and he falls hard for her. I want to know that!
We see what happens in the story from the perspective of the character. We experience what happens as the character. We feel it as the character. We react as the character. We know what this character is thinking. (Maybe!) BUT…we only know things this character knows. 

Here are some common things I see said about point of view in stories: 

I can’t get into the story in first person. 

There’s only one point of view in first person.

You can’t have a cast of secondary characters POVs or scenes in other POVs which enrich a story

First person seems very selfish. 

A story in third person reads like watching a movie, where first person puts the reader in as the character(s). 

First person point of view is limiting. 

First person bogs me down in what just one person is feeling/doing. 

Third person gives me a chance to explore the main characters in a way that first person doesn’t. 

First person has too much telling and it pulls me out of the story. 

I lose interest when any character is in their head too much. 

I feel like I don’t get to know the other characters as well when it’s only first person, and often think the main character is self-centered. 

I like to know everything everyone in the story is thinking—so I like third. 

When I am deep in a chapter, buried in I this and I that, I forget who the I is. (Even when the character’s name is at the top of the chapter/scene.) I prefer deep 3rd where I am switching between the main characters and getting their perspectives.

I like third person as long as it sticks to a single POV, maybe because first person restricts the reader’s perspective. 

With a third person you can project yourself into the story without feeling like you're forced to accept the narrator's opinion. I like the slight bit of distance. 

I don’t like first person because you never get to actually know the other person's thoughts/feelings.  

The identification with the character is strong and when they do something stupid or extremely against my nature/morals, it’s hard to respect the character.

 MY THOUGHTS

When I started writing fiction, I honestly didn’t know what “point of view” was. Oh yeah—my first works were full of head hopping. It was Jack Bickham’s book Scene and Structure that taught me about point of view (and not head hopping).

I learned that you have to be careful not to write things the viewpoint character doesn’t know. For example, I/she/he/they don’t know that another character is angry. Or they don’t know that the other character is crazy about them but is afraid to tell them. Or, another example, people in real life don’t usually describe themselves in their heads (Her blond curls gleamed in the sun…) Unless she’s looking in a mirror, how does she know that?  

As a baby writer, I wrote in third person and I had a tendency to write shallowly. My critique partner was always telling me “go deeper!” To help with that, I would write a scene in first person. For some reason that helped me really get into the character’s head and feelings. Then I’d rewrite it in to third person. 

Then I learned about deep (close) third person. Deep POV is about really getting inside the character so the reader is experiencing everything the character is, drawing the reader deeper into the character’s world. It’s about giving the reader “all the feels.”

(I can write a whole other post on deep point of view, if you’re interested, drop a comment.) (Never mind. I mean, comment if you want, but fuckit, I’m gonna write that deep point of view post because I Have Many Thoughts about this too.) 

This is really no different than first person point of view. 

As for the above comments, let me give my thoughts.

There’s only one point of view in first person.

You can’t have a cast of secondary characters POVs or scenes in other POVs which enrich a story

Yes, you definitely can have more than one point of view in first person. I always (almost) write two points of view – the main female character and main male character. I have even written three points of view (see my ménage romances) in first person. 

First person seems very selfish.

I often think the main character is self-centered.  

I think I understand why readers may feel this way. Because of the constant use of “I” in first person, it can feel like the story is all about that person. (Well, it is.) But this also can be a result of weak writing. Varying sentence structure is important no matter what POV you’re writing in.

Example: 

She walked into the room. She sat on the couch. She crossed her legs. She looked up at him. “You’re an idiot,” she said.

 How about…

She walked into the room and sat on the couch. Crossing her legs, she looked up at him. “You’re an idiot.” 

This would be exactly the same in first person. 

I walked into the room. I sat on the couch. I crossed my legs. I looked up at him. “You’re an idiot,” I said.

 How about…

I walked into the room and sat on the couch. Crossing my legs, I looked up at him. “You’re an idiot.”

 First person point of view is limiting.

First person bogs me down in what just one person is feeling/doing.

Third person gives me a chance to explore the main characters in a way that first person doesn’t.

I like to know everything everyone in the story is thinking—so I like third.

 There are limits when it comes to point of view, but they’re really not that different from first person to third person. Even writing in third person, the point of view character still can’t know what another character is thinking or feeling – that would be head hopping or poor writing. A good writer will have the other character give off clues about how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking in ways other than coming right out and saying it. The POV character might pick up on these clues—or they might not. They might be oblivious and we, the reader, shake our heads at them for not realizing this guy’s crazy about you!

Examples:

I sense tension ripple through him. I lift my head from his chest and tip it back to gaze up at him. His eyes meet mine and for a moment I feel like I’m lifted out of time…like I’m in a bubble, with Ford. My chest fills and I have the crazy thought that Ford wants to kiss me. My lips part, my eyes locked on his.

 His arms tighten around me, then release me, and he steps back. His eyes shutter, his face drawing into tight contours.

“You’ll find someone else.” I grimace. “Sorry. That’s a stupid thing to say.”

 OR 

We’re silent amidst a new buzz of tension.

“Jeff and I are over,” I say to Nate once the server leaves. “It was years ago.”

“Then why see him?”

“I don’t know if I will. And if I do, it doesn’t matter.”

A muscle ticks in his lean jaw.

I lean forward. “Nate. Are you jealous?”

He scowls. I’m sure he’s about to say no, but he closes his mouth. He’s silent for a drawn-out moment, then he mutters, “Yeah.”

 

As for knowing what everyone in the story is thinking—that’s not completely possible unless you’re writing from the POV of every character, in first person or third person. But you can have more than one viewpoint character, as in romance, MFC and MMC, and know what they’re both thinking. Again, first person doesn’t have to be just one POV. 

I like third person as long as it sticks to a single POV, maybe because first person restricts the reader’s perspective. 

This comment doesn’t really make sense, because a story written in third person from only one character’s point of view is going to have the same restrictions as the story written in first person. 

The identification with the character is strong and when they do something stupid or extremely against my nature/morals, it’s hard to respect the character.

With a third person you can project yourself into the story without feeling like you're forced to accept the narrator's opinion. I like the slight bit of distance.

A story in third person reads like watching a movie, where first person puts the reader in as the character(s).

These are fair comments. If a reader prefers distance, it’s true that third person POV might give you that. But if it’s deep POV…maybe not!

Writers want readers to identify with the characters. We want readers to believe in them, invest in them, care about them. We work hard at our craft to make sure that happens.  

As for the other comments, many of these issues can be addressed with just stronger writing. I mentioned above varying sentence structure, important no matter what POV you’re writing.

Showing vs telling is another skill that’s important no matter which POV you write in. Telling us another character is angry is…boring. Showing us the character is angry (his face reddens, his eyes narrow, and his hands clench…) is more immersive.

(I can write a whole other post about showing vs telling! Watch this space!).

If a story doesn’t pull a reader in, it’s probably not because of the POV it’s written in. And if a character is in their head too much, that can happen in third person or first person; that’s a pacing issue, being aware of balancing dialogue, action, internal narration.  

I guess my overall point is that it’s fine to have preferences, but I think if a book is well written, it doesn’t matter if it’s in first or third person or even what tense it’s in. I’ve read books that I don’t even notice which it is. So give different styles a chance!

  

What’s coming from me in 2023?

I have no idea.

For the first time in fourteen years as a published author, I don’t know what’s coming next. Toward the end of 2022 I was feeling pretty burnt out. I guess burn out is the way to describe it? Tired, unenthusiastic, unsure if I wanted to keep writing. But I don’t know if I can actually quit.

   

So — this year ’m going to do things differently.

I’ve had books up for pre-order before I’d even written them. I didn’t like that pressure, although I delivered every time. I also wrote the books I thought I had to write, to make the most sales, even though I had so many other ideas.

This is smart business.. Have a long pre-order. Write to market. Stay in your lane. Everyone knows it. But… burn out.

This year, I’m going to write a book. I don’t know what it’s going to be about, but it’s going to be what I feel excited about writing. It might take a while, or if I can rediscover the joy of writing, it might be quick. Then I’m going to get it edited and get a cover made for it. And then I’m going to put it up for sale. I might have it up early, for pre-order, but if I do it’ll probably be shortly before release. And if that goes well, I might write another book.  🤞

So watch this space! Or sign up to get my news right in your inbox.

Happy New Year

At the end of the year it’s great to look back at our accomplishments but this year I’ve been feeling somewhat unaccomplished, despite publishing four books. So inspired by a post I saw yesterday, I decided to look back at all the things that got me through 2022.

   

In no particular order…

Reading in a bubble bath. Many bubble baths.

Sleeping in on weekends

Penny snuggles

Driving to the west coast and back with my sister. Long talks about everything. Stops for photo ops. So much good food. Bicycling around Kelowna. Wine tasting in Kelowna. White knuckle driving on the highway to Tofino. Getting lost so many times. Visiting our uncle and having the best fish and chips in Victoria. Walking in Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island. Seeing whales from the ferry. All the flowers in Butchart Gardens. The Rocky Mountains. Drinks on a rooftop patio in Banff.

Planting flowers in the spring. The joy of seeing things grow and bloom.

Long puppy walks in the summer.

Runs along the creek. The freedom of wireless ear buds and a pocket in my shorts for my phone made me so happy.

The quiet of a snowy walk in winter.

TV shows —Ted Lasso, Succession, The White Lotus, Emily in Paris, Only Murders in the Building, the Bear, the Crown, Uncoupled

Friday Zoom meetings with author friends

Traveling – flying again, the people watching in airports, day drinking in airport bars, discovering the joy of Uber, seeing author friends in person again

The beach – floating in the ocean beneath the sun, lying in a cabana, sand under my toes, drinking margaritas on the beach, warm tropical night air

Warm summer days on my deck with a good book, or sometimes napping, on the comfy new furniture I got this year

Warm summer evenings on my deck with a glass of wine, my small fire pot, and a good book

Books! So many good books!

All the wonderful replies I got to my newsletter emails from readers

Watching the Jets play hockey – and winning

Talking about hockey and romance in livestreams with hockey author friends

Exchanging funny memes with my daughter because we both know what the other likes

The thank you I get from my son every night after I make dinner

Staying in bed all day on Boxing Day

My Facebook reader group who support me and lift me up and are all such beautiful people

The reactions from people when you give them a great gift

Music – hours and hours of Spotify

Visiting Elm Creek with my uncle, where he was born

Sitting around the outside fireplace at my sister’s lake house with the family and laughing so loud the neighbors mentioned it the next day

A facial that was so relaxing I could barely walk after

Writing a screenplay

Zooms and wine with PG Forte

Avoiding COVID for another year

How my son wore a mask IN THE HOUSE when he got a cold, to protect me, when people are bitching about wearing a mask ANYWHERE

My sister’s dog Lulu

Dogs in general

Scoring Big is now available!

It’s been a while since the last Bears Hockey book (I released Royally Indecent in between) and I’m so happy Scoring Big is now live! Scoring Big didn’t turn out to be the story I intended to write. After much angst I finally gave up on the “nanny next door” story and rewrote it the way it had to be. But some day I will write that “next door neighbors” story!

   

Do you get my emails? If you do, you get all my latest news, but if not, here are a few updates from me! (and if you don’t get my emails you can add yourself to my list HERE)

This fall I went on THREE trips. After years of not traveling, it was glorious. My sister and I drove across the country to the west coast and spent time touring Vancouver Island, Banff, and Kelowna wineries. So much fun and absolutely incredible scenery. Then I went to the NINC conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. I went a few days early to enjoy the beach at the resort, and it did not disappoint. Along with author friend Kat Mizera, I lounged in the sun and floated in the ocean for hours. Also, we may have have drank 32 oz. cocktails. The conference was pretty good and I came home with some useful information to put into practice. Then last last week I went to the Romance Author Mastermind conference in Houston. No beach, in fact there was barely time to leave the hotel, but the conference was amazing and being around my author friends and so many amazing romance writers was such a soul satisfying experience. Again, I came home with a lengthy to do list, but this time with a bit of a mind shift. I’ve been feeling a little burnout lately, and I’ve been pondering for months how to deal with it. I’ve decided that I need to find the fun in writing again. Yes, it’s a business, and I do work hard at the business aspects of writing, but ultimately for me this career is about love. Of course it is! I love love! And I love writing about love. I need to find that again, so I may be slowing down a little and figuring out which projects I want to work on the most and taking the time to have fun with them.

Watch this space for news!