Vanessa Jaye's Blog, page 8

Plans were made to be broken

Yesterday I mentioned that the wip was going to be put on hold for a bit while I worked on something else. That something else was going to be short story for Kindle. Figured it wouldn't hurt to get a quickie connected story out a few weeks/months before Hunter of the Heart releases in November to stir up some interest.

Not a bad idea, but just about every idea I had, once I gave plot/character development more thought became a problem. Either I'd need more length to tell the story adequately, or I ended up with something that had no organic HEA/HFN (unless shoe-horned one on). And for the non-HEA/HFNs, I would either have to plan the story out as a serial, or make the commitment to write the full story in the near future, with the non-HEA/HFN being prequel of sorts.

Since I got my iPhone and downloaded the Kindle ap, I've been reading a bunch of shorts/novellas from Amazon and I can honestly say a half-assed story, even if free, does the author no favors. I haven't sworn off freebies or the cheaper priced books like some have, but I'm less likely to think "what the hell, it's free. I'll give it a try" now than I used to because *a try* = time invested in reading. All this is to say, I don't want to just cobble something together quickly, just to get it up, if I feel I can't get it done right.

Also, if I could come up with something straightforward, that's one thing, but the planning/thinking about this possible short is just taking away too much time from my current wip. So, planned short stories are now kaput. The good news is, both short ideas will probably be developed for future installments in the series that gets kicked off by Hunter of the Heart. (Series in the sense of stories told in the same world, with a tenuous connection between characters, rather than one main protag/cast of characters with an over-arching/advancing main plot.

Saturday Snippet

Once again, I've proven how much a suck as a blogger. Case in point, about 3-4hrs ago on Twitter I said I was coming over here to blog (had a subject in mind) then went off and did 9 million other things, and now I'm on my way out the door.

Figured the easiest thing to do was post a snippet of the current WIP. Which is about to go on the backburner for awhile (more on that in another post--maybe tomorrow?)

Snippet from In All Her Glory(to quote Missy Elliot- copywritten, so don't copy me):

"Got a live one." Colton gave the heads-up just when Glory had thought the night was going to be a bust.

She switched her attention from the wall-mounted TV behind the bar to the mirrored-back shelves. The Crossroads had a good crowd tonight but it was easy enough to pick out the mark in the room's reflection—-considering he was built like the proverbial brick shithouse and projecting bad-assery as if it was on wi-fi.

Sporting greasy-looking hair on the longish side, tight tee, loose jeans and pseudo tribal tats on biceps so large they were cartoonish, He didn't walk as much as swagger.

And he was heading straight in her direction.

Poor thing.

She winked at Colton and he nodded before moving a little further along the bar, studiously wiping down the already clean surface. The bait squeezed in beside her. A faint whiff of sweat wafted from him along with a whole lot of delicious testosterone. Oh this one was primed. He ordered a draft or something—-who cared what. She was more aware of just how intensely he was scoping her out, and how his interest was a heady mix of amusement, belligerence and simmering lust.

It was the last two emotions that stirred her interest in him.

Glory expanded her allure as she raised her glass, then she lightly touched the edge with her tongue—-just to tighten the chokehold she already had on his attention.

The Edits Have Come

And once again, my true love and I must part. *weeps*

New Weekly Blog Features Planned

I'm still wrestling with blogging on a more regular basis but figure having a couple of regular weekly features would help.

So far I've come up with:

1. 'Where do you get your ideas?' Every author gets this question. And the answers usually falls under the general heading of 'anything, anywhere.' Seriously, anything can spark an idea. Writers probably think about and throw away way more ideas than they develop to an actual story idea that is then tackled. I figured I'd post about some of these ideas and what sparked them. Should be fun.

2. Favorite line written, favorite line read for the week. Self-explanatory. Both of these memes pop up all over the place, separately, from time to time in one guise or the other.

3. I tend to do any reviews over on Goodreads these days. I still do not do negative reviews per se, although there are a couple of lower starred reviews where I've pointed out what was good about the books, but also what ultimately disappointed me. They were both authors I would check out again, and in fact one author is a favourite/auto-buy, but I honestly don't care to talk specifically about books that disappointed me. On the other hand, I used to talked in general about specific things that do not work for me as a reader. These posts were usually sparked by a disappointing read, but I never named the author/title. I think I'd like to go back doing that, not on a weekly basis but probably once of twice a month.

And of course I'll keep posting updates re new/upcoming releases and writing progress as well as whatever other bit of randomness that strikes me as blogworthy. We'll see how these grand plans of mine work out, but check back tomorrow for the first post on story idea inspirations.

A fun little update

Not a big deal, but I'm still tickled pink about them. I asked my web designer Katrina Glover to do some updates to the website when Hunter of the Heart sold and one of the things we were back and forth on was changing the plain black rectangles used as place-holders for cover art. They did the job but they were kinda boring.







We tossed around using text from the headers and/or the scripted 'VJ' in red font, none of those panned out for me. We even thought about borrowing the Samhain 'Coming Soon' for the Hunter book but decided against that. Then I asked if she could do something with the images used in the website header.







What you've been looking at is the results. She's already updated the site with them and I think they look loads better than the plain black. In fact, I almost wish they were my real covers. Thanks Kat!!

Tapping that Writerly Vein

So lately I've been living on a mixture of anxiety and nerves for reasons I won't get into, it's just a reoccurring situation that appears to improve only to bounce back to square one again and again. Anyway it *seems* like someone has stepped in to rectify the situation. I only have a strong suspicion of this but honest to goodness it's like a weight (temporarily at least) has been lifted off my shoulders. All day yesterday I kept breaking out in smiles at what the change means for my future. Then last night I was reading in bed and came across a scene where the protagonist, who had been living in the clutches of an overweening fear, came to believe, truly believe, that the situation had changed. They had hope for good things again. And I burst into tears at that point and had myself a good cry because I could relate that moment. I was living it. What had me grinning all day came out in this great slobbering rush of relief and pent up pain. This moment catharsis, I think, is something authors should aim for not only for their characters, but even perhaps that the veracity of emotion will hit home for even one reader out there. That it will be hit in the gut. Maybe to a small degree we all read for those moments, to (re)experience the pain and the joys and the confusion and the yearning and every other emotion in between. It makes the reading more memorable.

Same Song, extra verse

Katrina Glover, good friend, sometime crit partner, and my web designer, finished with the updates to the website due to the sale of Hunter of the Heart.

There was a ton of stuff done, nothing that will be immediately apparent to the casual visitor, but Kat probably has new gray hairs for each emailed request for a tweak I sent. *g*

Anywho, an updated (unedited

One more thing, Kat set up an author page on Facebook for me here: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/p....

I'm still confused about the whole personal facebook page vs author page mostly because from my end they look connected (ie-the status updates on my personal look like they're showing up in the stream of the author page and I don't think that should be happening.) Anywho, Kat says I need at least 25 peeps to 'Like' the author page and then other things will fall into place, so if you follow me on Facebook right now, could you take a moment to 'Like' my author page. And if you don't follow me... what the hell man! (joking!)

So that ends my promo -ish post for today.

Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. (joke)

(Got this one in my inbox recently. I've seen it before but it's still funny.)

ONLY A MAN WOULD ATTEMPT THIS

A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Tazer.

The effects of the Tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety...??

WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home... I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.

AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.

Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and Tazer in another.

The directions said that:

a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant;

a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; and

a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.


Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side so as to say, 'Don't do it stupid,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny lil ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it.

I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and...

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. WHAT THE... !!!

I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs! The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.

Note:
If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a Tazer, one note of caution:

There is NO such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor! A three second burst would be considered conservative!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape.

* My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace.
* The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was.
* My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching.
* My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.
* I had no control over the drooling.
* Apparently I had crapped in my shorts, but was too numb to know for sure, and my sense of smell was gone.
* I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head, which I believe came from my hair.

I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!

PS: My wife can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift and now regularly threatens me with it!

Catch up: A balancing Act

I'm muddling my way through a bunch of stuff. For years now it felt like my life was extremely out of balance and I was trying to find my way back to center. This year, so far, things are falling in place more or less. So far, no bouts of insomnia. I get a decent night's sleep and get up early enough in the morning to make breakfast and my lunch (plus snacks). Two-fold bonus there, I eat healthier, and cheaper. It was easy to spend $10 to $20 a day on lunch and breakfast when I used to buy them downtown because I had to rush off to work.

Speaking of work, it's been a lot less crazy than last year. It still has moments of insanity, but they're blips rather than constant. Less stress means I can think and plan about other aspects of my life, like… writing!

No, I'm not doing 5K words a day but I leave for the office early and take the train in the opposite direction (bear with me). I'm close to the end of the line, so when I take the train towards the end of the line, instead of downtown, I'm guaranteed my choice of seating, so I can sit and write during the commute downtown, instead of standing squashed like a sardine for the ride. I do stand when I change trains but I use that time to beta read for a crit partner (Hi Raine!) via the dropbox app on my iphone and use the notes app to write comments/observations. This weekend, I'll update the sidebar with the progress meter which should start moving at a steady pace. Fingers that I'll have another submission ready to go before the end of the year!

International Alert Levels - Joke

From the BBC - Read by John Cleese.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved."

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross."

The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out.

Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be alright, Mate." Three more escalation levels remain:
"Crikey,!"
"I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and
"The barbie is cancelled."
So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.