Jacqueline Druga's Blog, page 2

Writers Series One: In Perspective

I’m an author of many books. I do what I love and love what I do and get to do it for a living. Ten years ago, I would have never imagined that I would be paying my bills with my imagination. Now, granted some months are more fruitful than others. Some months it’s bountiful and others dying lemons. But you take the good with the bad. That’s a blog for another day. Today, I write about perspective.

Not perspective as in storytelling, but rather perspective in writing. Nanowrimo has come to a clos...

Me, Shawn, and the County PD

 Let me start by saying that I rent a county house. Or rather a county park house. A home located smack dab in the middle of a public county park. I hate telling people I rent a county house because they think it’s subsidized housing or HUD. It’s not. It’s super hard to get a Park house with the county. They are basic homes, simple but expensive. You pay for the land. I basically live in the forest.

Anyhow, one of the perks of living in a county park house is it’s like living in the world’s smal...

The Post 48HFP Funky Blog

I’m in a funk, and as a writer the best way for me to get over it is to write it out. So here I am. It’s been a while since I stepped on a ranting soapbox, so here I go.

Maybe I’m in a horrible place because I still am not recovered from lack of sleep, or the fact that my right shoulder is in so much pain from being in one position for eight hours while I removed multitudes of clicks, clips, and blips in an audio track. Maybe it’s a combination of everything.

Bottom line is … I failed. I failed ...

Racing with the 48 Hour Film Project

 

My fifteenth year.

This year will mark the Crystal anniversary of my participation in the 48 Hour Film Project. One would have thought I’d given up by now. I thought about it, but 48HFP is as much of a yearly addiction for me as pickle juice, bourbon and HoHos during the National Novel Writing Month.

I remember in 2018, a young cameraman posted he was looking for a team. After a lengthy FB message exchange over days (Him interviewing me BTW), and a few days of him ghosting me, he declined becau...

In Search of Greg Kinnear

 

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking. “Stop with this strange behavior and write”

I will, I do, but first … Greg Kinnear.

He’s always been around. And no, for the record I didn’t just discover the works of actor Greg Kinnear. I remember seeing him in Dear God and thinking, ‘Wow, how awesome is this guy?’ Although I was a fan, I never really set out to conquer his catalog.

Until now.

Call it covid quarantine boredom or obsession, whatever the case I am finding myself watching his movies and ...

The Midnight Sky - A Review and End explained (SPOILERS)

 

The bottom of this review contains spoilers and will be accurately marked so you can stop if you haven’t watched The Midnight Sky.

 

It took me two days to watch The Midnight Sky, not because I hated it but because I was watching it with my granddaughter and ten minutes in she said, “Okay, please, enough.”

The ease in which I switched the movie told me it didn’t have my interest either. Yet, I was determined to watch the newly acclaimed movie from Netflix. Directed by George Clooney.

The story ...

Milli Vanillis of the Literary World

 

Milli Vanilli. If you don’t know who they are. Look them up here (Image courtesy of Mental Floss) I’ll wait.

There was a time when being an author was a noble profession. Even with the dawn of eBooks and the ease to digitally publish, people still admired a writer. In fact, there are many who support the Indy writer wholeheartedly. But what if the author you faithfully support wasn’t real? I’m not talking about pen names, I’m talking about an author created to mislead you.

Are they unscrupulou...

New Stand Mini Series Episode 1 Review

 

For years, and I think as far back as ten years, I have been waiting for the remake of The Stand. Not that I didn’t love the one from 1994, but I just loved The Stand. It was a book I read over and over, albeit I skipped a lot of Trash Can man scenes, and the mini series was at least a yearly viewing pleasure. I loved it so much the complete box set was a Valentine's Day gift from my second Husband.

So when it was announced it would be on CBS access, I knew I would finally see that remake. I wa...

If the Covid World was actually ,...

 

I write apocalypse fiction and have done so for twenty years. In fact, I wrote apocalypse fiction before it was cool.

I am not a doctor or scientist. I can say I have put thousands of hours of research in. If I only do five hours a week for twenty years that’s 5200 hours of research on various survival, end of the world topics, half of which are viruses. Does that make me an expert? No, but it gives me lots of info that would make me a cool Jeopardy contestant. That being said, I decided to giv...

Lessons Learned as a Self Published Writer

There are days I absolutely love being a writer. The energy of a story blasting in your mind, driving in the car, getting so lost in writing thoughts, you get lost on the road. There are days I loathe it. The days where the negative, well-intentioned criticism test the thickness of your skin. Which, by the way, doesn’t really ever get thick. You think it, it’s not. 

As indy or self published writers, unless you are fortunate, you don’t make a lot of money. Even if you do, it’s short lived. I bel...