Jennifer Shirk's Blog, page 26

Why Writers Should Watch TV (+ giveaway)

Hi, all!
In case you didn't know,
I'll be in class learning how to FAST DRAFT with author Candace Havens today.
I've heard nothing but great things from this course, and I need any help I can get to shut out my internal editor. Will let you know what happens...

In the meantime, I am soooooooo happy to have author
Allie Pleiter with me today. Please lend her your eyeballs and read about why you should watch more TV.
Oh, and check out her new book HOMEFRONT HERO .

A little about Allie:
An avid knitter, coffee junkie, and devoted chocoholic, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction.  The enthusiastic but slightly untidy mother of two, Allie spends her days writing books, buying yarn, and finding new ways to avoid housework.  Allie hails from Connecticut, moved to the Midwest to attend Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois.  The “dare from a friend” to begin writing has produced two parenting books, fourteen novels, and various national speaking engagements on faith, women’s issues, and writing.  Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.comor her knitting blog at www.DestiKNITions.blogspot.com
Authors should watch television. I’ll rephrase that: writers should watch good television.

Why?  Because good storytelling is good storytelling, no matter what the medium.  We love characters in books for the same reason we love characters in television--because they feel real, they have goals, they face conflicts.  I adore it when a television character surprises me because I’m too good at picking out the obvious plots.  My son refuses to watch TV with me now because all too often I’ve figured out the plot and can’t seem to help blurting out things before they happen.  To me they’re painfully obvious--because I’m a storyteller--but to others maybe not so much.

When I find some television with stand-out writing (current faves include CASTLE, SHERLOCK, DR. WHO, and MAD MEN), I make a point to watch closely. 

As such, I’ve been bingeing on episodes of SMASH lately.  While it feeds my theater-major past, it’s also got fabulous, multi-layered characters who genuinely surprise me.  Fussy, bad boy directors who end up having a decent streak.  Pearly-toothed ingenues who develop a diva side.  Claw-and-scramble producers who recognize when they’ve let the pressures of the business turn them from the human side of art.  SMASH manages to blend Broadway’s best and worst elements in a way that has you rooting for characters you hated last week and vice-versa.  THAT’s good writing.  It doesn’t matter that SMASH isn’t a book--no matter what the format, writers can learn from good writing.  Muse is a cross-over beast.

What about you?  What have you watched/heard/read recently that pricked up the ears of your muse?  Why?
Thanks, Allie!
I need to watch better television! LOL!

By the way, Allie has a new release this month from Harlequin's Love Inspired line!


Homefront HeroLove Inspired HistoricalMay 2012#978-0-373-82916-3Back cover copy:Dashing and valiantly wounded, Captain John Gallows could have stepped straight out of an army recruitment poster. Leanne Sample can't help being impressed—although the lovely Red Cross nurse tries to hide it. She knows better than to get attached to the daring captain who is only home to heal and help rally support for the war's final push. As soon as he's well enough, he'll rush back to Europe, back to war—and far away from South Carolina and Leanne. But when an epidemic strikes close to home, John comes to realize what it truly means to be a hero—Leanne's hero.
Allie is very generous to offer up a giveaway of her new Harlequin Love Inspired romance HOMEFRONT HERO to some lucky commenter. Contest runs from now until Thursday night 11:59PM (EST). I will announce the winner on my blog this Friday!

Good luck!

Friday Favorites #9 (pics!)

Happy Friday, all!

Hope your week has been pleasant and productive. Mine has.

Sort of...
Anyhew, I can't believe I haven't shared this Friday Favorite with you all yet.
So I won't waste time. Here is
my
new
kitchen
BACK SPLASH!!!







Don't ask me what it is.
I know. Isn't that awful? It's some kind of honed mosaic marble in a cappuccino color. I think.
I love it and it goes perfectly with my Labrador Antique granite (which is brown with blue flecks).
And my tile guy said so too.
So there. :)

Keep in mind I still need window treatments and I'm going to paint--probably Glass Slipper (BM), Palladian Blue (BM) or Topsail (SW). Still not sure.

This is like the kitchen that doesn't want to be completed. LOL But it will be! Soon.

Have a great weekend!
On Mother's Day I'll be going out to dinner with (my mom, of course), my brother, and the hubby and kiddo.
So for all you moms out there, enjoy your day!
You deserve it!

Work Toward Your Dream with Alison Stone (+ giveaway)

Hey, all! A rare Tuesday post, I know.
But I'm so happy to have fellow Samhain author Alison Stone with me today, talking about her debut novel: RANDOM ACTS.
So please give a warm welcome to Alison!

Growing up, Alison Stone never imagined becoming a writer. She enjoyed math and science and ultimately earned a degree in engineering. Go Yellow Jackets! After the birth of her second child, Alison left Corporate America for full-time motherhood. She credits an advertisement for writing children’s books for sparking her interest in writing. She never did complete a children’s book, but she did have success writing articles for local publications. Finally, Alison got up the nerve to try her hand at full-length fiction. After completing a handful of manuscripts, she sold her first book to Samhain Publishing in 2011, followed a few weeks later by a second sale. Now, Alison has the best of both worlds. From her home office in Western New York, she writes fast-paced romantic suspense while her four children are in school. It never fails to amaze her how soon the afternoon bus arrivesHi Jennifer, thanks for having me.
A couple weeks ago, my debut novel, Random Acts was released into the world and now everyone knows I’m a writer. Well, maybe not everyone, but certainly more people than before. For years I was a closet writer. Very few people knew I toiled away on manuscript after manuscript.  I was the mom who volunteered at my kids’ schools and church.
During this time, I was obsessed with reading author biographies on the Internet. For every writer who held a college degree in creative writing, the little voice in my head grew louder. “See, they know what they’re doing. Why do you think you can be a writer?”  Yet the funny thing is, I had never doubted myself when I had decided to become an engineer. I was accepted to college, passed the required courses and at the end, they handed me my degree. But becoming a published author has no set path, even for those with creative writing degrees. This threw me for a loop. I progressed in fits and starts. I joined RWA in 2002. Signed with my wonderful agent in 2006. We came close to selling a few times, but close only counts in horseshoes. Finally, I quieted the voice, but still kept the dream relatively quiet. One quote that inspired me—and I’m paraphrasing—was, “God wouldn’t give you a desire to do something if you didn’t have the ability to do it.” In other words, if I had this crazy idea to write, maybe I did have some God-given talent. I continued to learn my craft and write.
Then, last summer I finally sold two “sweet” romantic suspense novels.
And now Random Actsis out. The world knows.
I am a writer.
Have you ever worked toward something, a dream perhaps, but never told anyone for fear of failure? How much sooner do you think you’d achieve your goal if you cast your doubts aside and worked confidently toward your dream? I’d love to hear from you.


Random Acts by Alison Stone
BLURB: Second chances can have a terrible sense of timing.As a child, watching her mother always pick the wrong man left Danielle Carson wary of opening her heart to anyone—except Patrick Kingsley. But circumstances came between them and left Danielle with a broken heart. Now she buries the pain of what might have been by channeling all her energy into her career. When a family crisis brings her back to her hometown, she is forced to face the past—and the disturbing fact that her sister’s car accident was staged to mask a brutal beating.A police officer and widower, Patrick guards his heart as fiercely as he guards his beloved daughter. Seeing Danielle again unexpectedly reignites their old flame, but no way will he introduce a woman into his daughter’s life. Certainly not one whose values on faith and family are so different from his own.Despite their best intentions, they are drawn together—until Danielle learns Patrick had a hand in putting her sister in harm’s way. Her fragile trust is crushed, but Patrick is the only man who can help her stop the villain before everything they both love is destroyed. Faith, family…and their second chance at forever. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EXCERPT: Opening scene Random Acts by Alison Stone:
The Protector yanked open the back door of the girl’s beat-up car. The door groaned in protest, the loud sound splintering the stagnant night air. He pulled at his collar, cursing the heat. October nights usually meant fleece jackets and first frosts, not suffocating mugginess. He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead but didn’t stop. He had to work fast. The dome light stood out like a beacon, making his pulse spike. He reached in and punched the plastic cover, casting them once again in darkness. A twig snapped behind him. He jerked to a stop and listened. Hard. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck prickled to life and a bead of sweat rolled down his back. As if in slow motion, he turned on his heel, the loose gravel shifting under his weight. Complete darkness. A chorus of crickets and night critters, but nothing else. He drew in a deep breath and forced his attention back to the vehicle. The girl lay unconscious. Her head lolled at an awkward angle over the edge of the narrow back seat. A trickle of blood snaked out from one of her nostrils, her delicate lips swollen. His stomach clenched and he cursed under his breath. Tamping down the swirl of emotions, he crouched down into the vehicle and jammed his hands under her armpits. And pulled. Thanks, Alison!! And CONGRATS!Awesome post and I LOVE your cover!For more information on Alison, please visit: Website: www.AlisonStone.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/Alison_StoneFacebook:  www.facebook.com/AlisonStoneAuthor
Blog: http://alisonstone.wordpress.com/

GIVEAWAY: Alison will be awarding autographed bookmarks at every stop, as well as a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Good luck!

Short but Sweet

Happy Monday!!
I'm keeping this short but sweet, because I'm blogging tomorrow and will have special guest author Alison Stone (who will be a doing a giveaway) and I need to make my kiddo a big breakfast (school testing this week) and then go out and get a Mother's Day gift today. Whew!

Cinco de Mayo : The above is just a sample of our Cinco De Mayo decorations we had around the house. My friend who works as a teacher was able to snag ten sombreros for me too! Very fun.
I made homemade margaritas--no mix for me. And let me tell you, people who don't normally like or drink margaritas LOVED them.I got this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network.

Real Margaritas

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 juiced lemon
1 cup triple sec
1 cup tequila
ice

I put everything including ice into the blender, then served it in a salted margarita glass over a little crushed ice.
Delicious. Honestly, best regular margarita I've had. Evah.

Oh and I made grilled vegetables and grilled jalapeno shrimp and also made these chicken enchiladas. I didn't eat them, but the word from the crowd I kept hearing was "phenomenal". So you might want to check it out.
But then again, it might have been the margaritas talking. LOL

And that's all from me. Not so short, huh?

Do you like margaritas? Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
But more importantly, are you ready for Mother's Day?

Friday Favorites #8

Happy Friday, all!

I have so much to say today, but I won't Mount St Helen's it all up on you in one shot.
So I'll just mention that...
1) I've got a guest author giveaway coming up next week and
2) I'm running around like crazy trying to find Cinco de Mayo decorations.

**note to all party stores: when Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday, stock up on supplies.**

Nuff said.

Okay then. It's time for Friday Favorites!!

This Friday Favorite is a TV show. I don't watch a lot of TV, so this is huge for me. It's brought to you by the lovely people at the Travel Channel. :-)

Mysteries at the Museum

From the website:
Each hour of this series will take viewers on a captivating, revealing and at times shocking tour of America's past, revisiting its most crucial events by reexamining what has been left behind. The series casts its net wide, exploring the corners and backrooms of institutions dedicated to a variety of popular and entertaining subjects — invisible spies, cold-blooded assassins, dinosaurs, the paranormal, the Old West, the Cold War and more. We'll tackle some of history's most enduring mysteries — both familiar tales and little-known episodes that have never been told before on television.

This show is cool and educational. They start each show by showing a well known museum or sometimes a real obscure museum and then highlighting a particular item in it. The item itself may be neat, but usually the curator has an interesting or controversial story behind the artifact. I am literally glued to the set whenever it's on.

I've learned so much cool trivia that I feel like Cliff from the show Cheers. LOL

One of my favorite episodes was when they highlighted the original Siamese twins: Chang and Ang.
A museum in Philadelphia has their liver on display.
The show went on to talk about their lives and how they always wanted to be surgically separated. The brothers ended up falling in love and marrying two sisters. 
Chang and Ang were going to have the surgery (no knowing if they could survive) but the wives protested. So they had to build an extra large marriage bed instead and stayed joined together. They had 21 children between them!
It wasn't until the brothers died (when they were in their 60's) that doctors learned that the brothers shared a liver so if they had had the surgery back then to separate them, they would not have survived.

Interesting, huh?
I feel like a history buff this week.

Anyhew, have a great weekend and a taco on me for Cinco de Mayo!

Have you ever watched Mysteries at the Museum? Ever hear of it?

When FICTION is Stranger than Truth

Hey, all!

I was reminded this weekend of what I originally wanted to blog about a few weeks ago. That happens to me a lot. I have an interesting blog topic and then poof I forget about it.

But anyway, (before I forget again) I wanted to mention
the Titanic--since it was the 100 year anniversary of its sinking a few weeks ago.

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but as a writer I thought this was particularly cool, so bear with me if you already saw this somewhere.

There was one really strange aspect of the Titanic's sinking:

Morgan Robertson, 14 years before this great disaster, wrote Futility, a novel about the sinking of another enormous Atlantic liner. The author's fictional ship had about the same length and weight too--even the same high-society passenger list and an insufficient number of lifeboats. What's more is that Robertson had his ship striking an iceberg on a cold April night and sinking.
The name of Robertson's fictional ship: the Titan.

I know!! Weird, right?

Did Robertson have a premonition? Or did the author think he was making up some fantastic story and that could in no way happen in real life?
Who knows?
But it did make me think about how there really is no such thing as an original idea.

And that, folks, concludes your history/writer/book lesson for the week. :-)

Have you heard that Titanic trivia before? Have you read the book?
What do you think there is about the Titanic that keeps people (like me) so fascinated even after all these years?

Friday Favs #7

It's Friday--yay!!

Not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I'm working on a new book. This week has been pretty productive for me too--writing wise--double yay! My hero is cracking me up, so he's been a joy to write.

In other news, congrats to Sarah Forgrave--the winner of my book and herbal coffee combo giveaway over at Jill Kemerer's blog!

And thank you to Jill for hosting me!

~~~~~~~~~~~
And now for this week's FRIDAY FAVORITE:

It's a recipe. One I made the other night and that is popular with the family.

I have to say, my family has been a good sport with my vegetarian cooking, but they do start to get twitchy when they see tofu sitting in the fridge. :-)

This is the only recipe I make (so far) that they eat with tofu. And they not only eat it, but easily go back for seconds (sometimes thirds).

Tofu Fried Rice

2 cups uncooked instant rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided1 (14-ounce) package reduced-fat firm tofu, drained and cut into (1/2-inch) cubes 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup (1/2-inch-thick) slices green onions 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic 1 teaspoon bottled minced fresh ginger 2 tablespoons rice wine 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil Thinly sliced green onions Preparation:Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.While rice cooks, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Add eggs to pan; cook 1 minute or until done, breaking egg into small pieces. Remove from pan. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to pan. Add 1 cup onions, peas and carrots, garlic, and ginger; sauté 2 minutes.While vegetable mixture cooks, combine sake, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil. Add cooked rice to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tofu, egg, and soy sauce mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.It's easy and very yummy.
PS. I found the rice wine and the hoisin sauce in the Chinese section in my normal supermarket.


How about you? Do you like tofu? Have you ever tried it?

Have a great weekend!!

Healthy Habits

Happy Monday!

Today I'm not here. I'm at my bloggy buddy Jill Kemerer's blog !

She's got a cool new writing segment going on right now, so I'm going to be over there talking about kicking my caffeine habit.

(Oh, and--cough cough-- I might be doing a book giveaway too)

Hope you can stop by!

Friday Favorites #6!

Happy Friday!!

Before I get to my Friday Favorite today, I need thank my bloggy friend Jessica Nelson for appearing on my blog this past Monday--THANK YOU--and I need to announce the winner of her new release LOVE ON THE RANGE!


The winner is: marybelle!
CONGRATS!! Email me at Jennifer AT jennifershirk DOT com

And now for my Friday Favorite...
It's a song.

Yeppers. A song.

I first heard it on American Idol, sung by Phillip and Elise as a duet. When I listened to it, I thought, "Huh, kind of a cool song." Well, after that I kept hearing it while I was on vacation EVERYWHERE, and now, well, I LOVE IT.
It tells a good story.

The video is kinda cool too. Kinda.
Check it out!

Gotye "Somebody that I used to Know"


Do you know the song?

Have a great weekend!

Guest Post and Giveaway!

Hey, all!
I just wanted to thank EVERY SINGLE PERSON who stopped by on my long winded blog tour these last two weeks. I so appreciate the support--especially when I wasn't even around the last week!!

Yes, clever me. I wasn't home. Or near a computer.

I was in Puerto Rico tanning, and enjoying Easter break, and eating mofongo, and getting weird sunburns--like on my knuckles. It was nice to know that even though I wasn't around, my tour was still on autopilot.

So THANK YOU!!

But enough about me and my sunburn.
Now it's time to introduce one of the sweetest bloggers I have known for...I don't know...quite a few years. And now I'm happy to say she has her very first book out now, and I thought it'd be fun to have her stop by.

Without further ado, here is a bit about Love Inspired author Jessica Nelson:

Jessica Nelson, in keeping with her romantic inclinations, married two days after she graduated high school. She believes romance happens every day, and thinks the greatest, most intense romance comes from a God who woos people to himself with passionate tenderness. When Jessica is not chasing her three beautiful, wild little boys around the living room, she can be found staring into space as she plots her next story. Or she might be daydreaming about a raspberry mocha from Starbucks. Or thinking about what kind of chocolate she should have for dinner that night. She could be thinking of any number of things, really. One thing is for certain, she is blessed with a wonderful family and a lovely life.

Please welcome Jessica!


When a Girl’s Name is Just All Wrong
"A rose called by any other name would smell as sweet”
I’m not sure Romeo was in his right mind when he gave Juliet that line.
The heroine in my book Love On The Range was originally named Prudence. Prue for short. Problem was, she was also a bit unlikable. Preachy, blabbering. There’s a balance between annoying and quirky, talkative and talk-your-ear-off. I did my best with poor Prue, but after several revisions (before and after contract), my editor suggested I might want to think about a name change to counteract my character’s rather rigid viewpoint of life, and her tendency to tell everyone in earshot her opinions. In the end I decided on Gracelyn, Gracie for short. It felt softer and more…graceful. The change worked. 
Names can have a huge impact without us realizing it.
Do you like your name? What kind of image does your name give you? What is your favorite character’s name and does he or she live up to it?


Thanks, Jessica! Great post!
I totally feel a name makes a character and can influence personality!

Here's a bit about Jessica's new book Love on the Range :
Any other socialite would view being packed off to a remote
Oregon ranch as a punishment. But Gracelyn Riley knows
that this is her opportunity to become a real reporter. If she
can make her name through an interview with the elusive hero
known as Striker, then she’ll never have to depend on anyone
ever again.


Rancher Trevor Cruz can’t believe his secret identity is being
endangered by an overly chatty city girl. But if there’s one thing
he knows, it’s that Gracie’s pretty little snooping nose is bound
to get her in trouble. So he’ll use her determination to find
“Striker” to keep an eye on her…and stick close by her side.

GIVEAWAY: Jessica is very generous in offering a free copy of her new book to some lucky commenter. Contest will run from now until Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:59 PM EST. I will announce the winner this Friday!


To learn more about Jessica and her books, check out

Website: http://www.jessicanelson.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJessicaNelson
Thanks and good luck!