M.J. Pullen's Blog, page 4
December 19, 2018
But You Wrote It…
Book Club Fun!Here’s a thing that happens to me: Last week I was talking to a book club (Hi, ladies! I love the fuzzy socks – thanks again!) and someone asked me how I pronounce the name “Carras” from Sugar Street. In my imagination it’s pronounced like “Care-Ehss” which I’ve seen spelled Kerys and Kerris as well.
While we were discussing it, another book club member pointed out that there is, in fact, a scene in which this is explained, because someone mispronounces Carass’ name.
Book Club Member: He pronounces it ‘Car Ass.’ Right?
*Looks at me for confirmation*
Me: …..
Me: …..
*Imagines entire room is staring at me, suddenly way more interested in this topic than four seconds ago, which is not true but still*
External Me: Oh, yeah. Of course. He does.
Internal Me: Who the hell is ‘he’? Did I write that? It sounds like me, but….
*Reaches for wine glass and waits for the subject to change.*
When I got home, I looked it up. And yes, there is a scene in which a police officer at the Sugar Mills Jail refers to Carras as ‘Car-Ass’ when the ladies are being bailed out because… (No spoilers!) As soon as I read it I was like, “Oh yeah, of course. That was kind of funny. I’m glad I wrote it.”
But why couldn’t I remember it?
I remembered to make you this brain map.The truth is, this happens to me all the time. When I get notes back from readers and editors who are helping get my work into publishable shape, I’m often surprised to find a whole paragraph that I am reading as if for the first time. It’s not like a blackout or anything: I remember writing it. I know it was me. But it comes to me fresh, like a cute pair of shoes that gets lost at the bottom of the closet until you find them months later and think, “Oh, yeah. I should really find something to wear with these.”
When I talk with friends who’ve read my books, they sometimes mention a line or a small moment that struck them, a scene with a side character they liked (or didn’t), and I’m like… “Who wrote that? She must be awesome.” (You can add vanity to forgetfulness on the list of my character flaws. I’ll own it.) It’s worse with my older books, like The Marriage Pact trilogy. But it even happens when I return to a current work in progress after a break, like the Easy as Pie installments I write every few weeks for my newsletter subscribers. Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise, and other times it’s simply disorienting.
Is this part of my distracted nature?
When it happens, I often attribute this sort of forgetfulness to my ADHD. I am definitely forgetful in all areas of my life. (Just ask the many friends who have to text me from the restaurant or the party to ask if I’m on my way… Hi, guys! I love you. Thanks for not judging me!) And ADHD may very well have something to do with it; but when I’m writing, I am super-focused on what I’m doing, so it doesn’t seem like an attention issue.
And no, I’m not pulling a Faulkner or Hemingway and binge-drinking while I write. First of all, that’s totally unhealthy. Also? If I drank while I wrote, you’d get 100,000 words of how much I love you and how special you are to me and how we should really go dancing all night and wind up at Waffle House at three a.m. like we used to. Because you are the best. THE BEST.
Ahem.
So, does all this mean I don’t really care about my books or my characters? Are there too many to remember? Am I bored? Uninvested? Careless? Suffering the early effects of middle age? (Well, a little, but I don’t think that’s all of it).
Turns out there could be a totally legit creative brain reason.
As researchers like neuropsychologist Kenneth Heilman learn more about how our brains work, they are finding a connection between creativity and lower norepinephrine, one of the brain’s most important neurotransmitters. Among other key functions, norepinephrine regulates our level of arousal (all arousal, not just sexual — so, think excitement of any kind) and plays a critical role in committing things to long-term memory. High norepinephrine levels are also related to psychological stress and anxiety. Which maybe explains why life’s most stressful events are also the hardest to forget.
When we are being creative, our levels of norepinephrine are lower, which means our brains are free to wander and get into that excited, creative “zone” so many artists describe when things are really flowing. This may explain why it’s so hard (aka, impossible) to be creative under stress, or to perform well at tasks that require high-level reasoning.
Creating = Forgetting?
It stands to reason then — and this is my own theory rather than something I’m pulling from the literature — that while we’re being creative we commit less to long-term memory. Maybe that’s why some of those funny little lines and incidental characters are so memorable to others, but not to me. Those things are created while I’m in the writing zone (unlike the more rigid parts of a book like the overall plot, structure, etc. which are created more deliberately, and become what’s called “crystalized knowledge”). So, perhaps that’s why I am less likely to remember them later. Unless they require intense editing, which probably kicks those norepinephrine levels way up!
So next time someone asks me why I can’t remember something, I’m totally going to plead “creative brain reasons.”
Join me, won’t you?
P.S. I did a quick search looking for the a pronunciation guide for “Carras” and got this from one of the baby-naming websites. 
Sorry, Carras!!
P.P.S. If you’re reading this in December 2018, be sure to check out the multi-author sale and giveaway next door!
The post But You Wrote It… appeared first on MJ Pullen, Author.
December 16, 2018
Four Amazing Authors, One Irresistible Giveaway
It all started a few weeks ago, when a small group of book club and women’s fiction authors – Kimberly Brock, Emily Carpenter, Katherine Scott Crawford and M.J. Pullen – escaped for a weekend to beautiful Lake Cherokee in South Carolina. We went away to write, talk by the fire, and refresh our spirits in the warmth and light of friendship and writer camaraderie.
We all write slightly different genres: historical, humorous, literary, and suspense fiction. But we share a love of the written word, telling stories, and the strong, funny women who inhabit our imaginations.
Real friends don’t judge your hair in the morning: M.J., Katherine, Emily & Kimberly at Lake CherokeeWhich brings us to Kindle Deals in December…
We (Kim, Emily, Katherine and M.J.) are so thrilled to announce that all four of us have AMAZING deals on our books from December 16 to the 31st!
If you love captivating women’s fiction and delectable book club fiction, there’s never been a better time to stock your Kindle for 2019. Try out these five critically-acclaimed, highly-rated, fan-favorite books for yourself, or as a gift for readers in your life. See all the links below and snap them up!
…And the Giveaway!
In addition to amazing deals on books for the holidays, we’re also hosting a book giveaway of our own! Leave a comment on this blog or on our Facebook Post to let us know which book(s) you’ve bought. You can also share why you’re excited about or already love them, and/or tag a friend who would love them too. You’ll be entered to win the grand prize of TWO signed paperback copies from each author – one for you, and one for a friend!
*Limit one entry per book per person (up to five entries per person, but feel free to tag as many friends as you would like). To qualify, both you and your designated gift recipient must be residents of the U.S.
Here are the Kindle Deals (plus a bonus paperback sale!)
Get ’em while they’re hot! Follow the links in the book titles or click on the covers to grab these deals now.
Kimberly Brock – The River Witch
[image error] The River Witch
[image error]
Regular Price $7.99 –
Sale Price $0.99
“Kimberly Brock has an amazing voice and a huge heart; The River Witch welcomes the reader to a haunted landscape, authentically Southern, where the tragedies of the past and the most fragile, gorgeous kind of love-soaked hope are equally alive. This is one debut that you absolutely should not miss.”
—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times Best-Selling Author of Almost Sisters, The Opposite of Everyone, and Someone Else’s Love Story
Emily Carpenter – Burying the Honeysuckle Girls
[image error] Burying the Honeysuckle Girls
[image error]
Regular Price $3.99 –
Sale Price $1.99 – starts December 17th
“This novel doesn’t stop running, and neither would you if you were Althea Bell. She’s just learned that for three generations the women in her family have vanished or died on their thirtieth birthday—and hers is fast approaching. To survive, she must race to solve a century-old mystery. Emily Carpenter has written a hell of a thriller with language as lush as its Southern setting.”
—Benjamin Percy, author of The Dead Lands, Red Moon, The Wilding, and Refresh, Refresh
Katherine Scott Crawford – Keowee Valley
[image error] Keowee Valley[image error]
Regular Price $4.99 – Sale Price $0.99
“Keowee Valley is a terrific first novel by Katherine Scott Crawford–a name that should be remembered. She has a lovely prose style, a great sense of both humor and history, and she tells about a time in South Carolina that I never even imagined.”
—Pat Conroy, bestselling author of The Prince of Tides and South of Broad
M.J. Pullen – Sugar Street
[image error] Sugar Street
[image error]
Regular Price $3.99 –
Sale Price $0.99
“[Pullen] systematically dismantles the contentment of her very comfortable characters while also keeping the story bouncing with zippy, involving dialogue and a fine sense of dramatic pacing. A glitzy romp that features suburban wives making unconventional—and haphazardly disastrous—attempts to break out of the safe patterns of their lives.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“M.J. Pullen brings clever quirkiness to romantic comedy!”
—Penny Reid, international bestselling author of Neanderthal Seeks Human
BONUS: PAPERBACK SALE!
Emily Carpenter – Every Single Secret
[image error] Every Single Secret
[image error]
Regular Price $14.95 –
Sale Price $6.99
“Emily Carpenter begins Every Single Secret on a creepy premise: couples therapy in a remote mountain resort, where every room has eyes—hidden cameras watching every move. Buckle up because this is one hell of a ride, a rocket-paced, edge-of-your-seat story you’ll want to devour in one sitting. A knockout, easily one of my favorite books of the year.”
—Kimberly Belle, bestselling author of The Marriage Lie
Enjoy these great deals and don’t forget to comment below and share to enter the giveaway. Wishing you happy, reading-filled holidays!
Pssst… This page contains affiliate links, which means a tiny portion of your purchase from the link goes back to supporting the authors and creating more opportunities for fun sales and giveaways like this one. Thank you!
The post Four Amazing Authors, One Irresistible Giveaway appeared first on MJ Pullen, Author.
November 21, 2018
Gratitude, Grief and Guns
The following (below) is the text from a Facebook post I created last month after the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. It’s incredible to me that it has been less than a month since that shooting happened, and it isn’t even the most recent horrifying mass shooting to make national news and inspire our collective grief and outrage (with the Borderline nightclub in Thousand Oaks, California following closely on its heels). I’m sharing this post here because it was the most commented-on and widely shared post of mine in recent memory, and I wanted to give it a more permanent home than it has on Facebook.
There’s more, so much more. But here’s what I am able to add for now: In today’s climate, it’s easy to numb ourselves to bad news, easy to throw up our hands and declare ourselves helpless and hopeless. Easy to pick a side based on fear, or our old standby beliefs, or a desperate sense of moral superiority (a real weakness for me personally, that one). It’s easy to select one from among a thousand important issues and let that single issue be our guide for all our community-related decisions, including the decision to stand on the sidelines. Maybe because that single-belief idea gives us something solid we can cling to in what feels increasingly like an unending and blinding storm. Questioning our assumptions, seeing nuance, teasing out all the complications is… well, complicated. I’ve been working on that in my own journey, and I have lots more to say and share. Eventually. Probably.
For now, I will share this post with you and — if you are among the 90% of Americans of all political persuasions who believe in universal background checks for gun purchases — I invite you to visit Toms.com to send a postcard to your representative. It takes five seconds. (Two if you have autofill enabled in your browser.) This is not a slippery slope or a socialist wave or a simple black and white (or red and blue) issue. It’s like safety labels on food, or speed limits in school zones: a reasonable conversation we must all be willing to enter into, bringing our concerns and our wise minds with us. Like the parents who meet up over coffee to talk about why their kids are fighting on the playground, we don’t have to agree on every point of difference between us to handle what needs to be handled.
I have to believe that we can. It’s that faith that keeps me going; I’m grateful for it, and grateful for you.
Wishing you a warm, safe, and peaceful Thanksgiving…
October 28, 2018
To be honest, I am always a little hesitant to speak publicly as a member or representative of the Jewish community. For one thing, the last time I spoke publicly against anti-Semitism, I was viciously (verbally) attacked and doxxed by another Atlanta author (who still, by the way, has a very public platform supported by one of our great local literary institutions, despite open bigotry and a history of harassing other authors).
But there are less fearful reasons, too: I’m not a rabbi or religious scholar; I don’t even read Hebrew. I came to this faith later in life, by free and loving choice. I have not had to face the lifelong discrimination and generational trauma of a faith tradition that has, nonetheless, welcomed me with open arms. And coffee and rugelach.
But my heart is broken this morning. For the family and community of Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh. For my own family. For my community. For my country. I am grateful to the Christian friends who have reached out to me this weekend with your condolences and your love and your shared concern for our safety as a community. I am especially honored to have the solidarity of Christian friends of color who also live with this fear and heartbreak.
Some of you have asked what you can do. Some of you are wondering but struggling to find the courage to ask. I have no answers. I know I will have more to say later. But here are my thoughts today:
If you go to church this morning and do not walk past armed guards, police, electronic locks, and bulletproof glass (as is our reality every week, along with mosques, LBGT churches, and others)… That is something to be grateful about.
If you’ve never dropped your children off at religious school and made sure to say “I love you” in case it’s the last time you ever see them (as I do every Sunday – including today), that’s something to be relieved about.
When you go to church and ask your leaders what they are doing to build bridges with minority communities and organizations of other faiths, and there are several committees or events to join, that’s something to rejoice about.
If you ask what is being done and are met with silence or shrugs or platitudes about what a shame it all is, that’s something to get activated about.
If you are present while people who look, act or believe differently than you are being disparaged, marginalized or put down (even behind closed doors) that’s something to speak up about.
If you’re concerned about respect for freedom and journalism and climate and the economy and science and basic human dignity… those are things we should *all* worry about.
If we disagree (or simply feel lost) about how to protect those things, how to implement economic or social policies, how to grow and cherish our shared resources… those are things we CAN and SHOULD talk about.
If you’re presented with politicians who espouse an “us vs. them” mentality, name-calling, bigotry and implied violence as a way to gain or keep power, that is something to VOTE about.
If those with power and position are twisting your faith and values to feed fear, denigrate the weak and divide you from your neighbors, that is something to RAISE YOUR VOICE about.
If you have a chance to show love and acceptance today, to sit with vulnerability and grief rather than rushing to blame, dismiss, or simply scroll on… that is something to be joyfully human about.
****
“I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when he is silent…”
– Found on the wall of a concentration camp in Cologne after the Holocaust. (Author Unknown)
The post Gratitude, Grief and Guns appeared first on MJ Pullen, Author.
Two New Workshops Added for Atlanta-Area Writers
Two of My Most Popular Workshops in Q1!
I’ve taken a couple of years off from teaching publishing workshops for writers — not because I don’t love it, I do — I’ve just been busy with lots of other priorities (some of which obviously include my own writing).
As I’m in the process of relaunching my coaching and consulting business in my day job life (called Success Narratives, LLC), however, I realized that I’ve had a steady stream of requests from friends and acquaintances lately who want to know what I know about publishing and marketing books.
Sometimes the universe just lights a fire, doesn’t it?
So, I’m excited for you to be the first to know about two new workshops I’ll be offering in January and February in my coaching/counseling office, with lots of updated content. And stories. Oh, the stories…
If you’re interested, please register ASAP to get the early bird discount, and because space is limited and I’ll soon start spreading the word on social media as well. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at mj@mjpullen.com or manda@successnarratives.com.
PATHS TO PUBLICATION
(Navigating Self, Traditional and Hybrid Publishing)Saturday, January 12, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
@ Cornerstone Family Services
Roswell, Georgia
$80 Early/$90 Regular
BOOK MARKETING 101 FOR AUTHORS
(aka, Selling Your Book without Losing Your Mind)
Saturday, February 9, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
@ Cornerstone Family Services
Roswell, Georgia
$80 Early/$90 Regular
Please click the links above for more information and full workshop descriptions. Hope you’ll join me to talk Book Business in 2019!!
PS – Stay up to date on all things Writing. Subscribe to my newsletter and be sure to check “Tips for Writers.”
The post Two New Workshops Added for Atlanta-Area Writers appeared first on MJ Pullen, Author.
Sprints: My New Obsession with an Old Writing Habit
Have you tried word sprints (or writing sprints)? For those unfamiliar, this is the practice of sitting down for a short, specific period of time to focus only on your writing and try to achieve a certain word count or other goal. I’ve done writing sprints for years, off and on.
My “Draft Queen” partner in crime Emily and I used writing sprints as a tool to help our writing groups get some words done in a group environment. Before that, I used to love going to Twitter for #1k1hr to find a buddy somewhere on the globe to write with for an hour, both hoping to achieve at least a thousand words in that time. Sprints are also so helpful on writing retreats with other authors, because they force us to stop talking (and eating) for a few minutes and border off some sacred time for writing.
Word sprints are a great momentum-starter, and for me it’s been about accountability and connection as much as the goal itself.
Lately, though, I’ve started using sprints on a daily basis to track and increase my writing productivity. Trying to recover from the car accident earlier this year means I am still in fairly chronic pain that varies in intensity and can sometimes limit how much time I have to sit at the keyboard each day. It also means I’m behind on deadlines, which means that limited time in front of the computer has become more critical than ever. I simply have to be productive. There’s no option.
With this in mind, I recently read both Rachel Aaron’s 2K to 10K and Chris Fox’s 5,000 Words Per Hour, both of which are great resources for increasing your daily writing productivity. Chris Fox also has a spreadsheet available on his website that I’ve downloaded and modified for my own tracking.
I’ve combined this spreadsheet with the Be Focused app to give myself easy intervals and breaks. (Generally I use the default Pomodoro Method of 25 minutes working, 5 minute break, 25 minutes working — but I did spring for the Pro version of the app to allow me to adjust those intervals and create more specific goals).
Now, let me tell you guys something. I HATE tracking my time. Hate it. It’s a habit that I know I should have but have resisted for DECADES because it feels like a waste of time to stop what I’m doing in order to write
My rebellion runs deep. As does my delusion.down what I’m doing. It also pushes my “I hate being controlled” button — which, let’s be honest, is the biggest, most sensitive button I have — because my first impulse when I’m given rigid rules is to push against them. I have never done well in a job that required me to account for every minute of my time, never been successful in an environment where rigid rules were paramount. (I think we may be getting to the root of lots of issues for me here, but let’s move on…)
So you can imagine how desperate I must be right now, since I am currently forcing myself to use the timer AND the spreadsheet every time I sit down to write. As soon as I open my WIP in Scrivener, I also open the spreadsheet, record the date and my starting word count and time of day. I write for 25 minutes, listening for the chimes from the Be Focused app, and then stop and record my progress. I calculate my words per hour (a nifty function of the spreadsheet) and measure it against the basic benchmark of 1,000 words per hour. If it’s more than that, it was a good sprint. Less than that, and I need to buckle down or work out the plot a bit better or get another cup of coffee.
And y’all, it’s working. I hate it so hard, but it’s WORKING.
My productivity since I’ve started using this method has more than tripled, and not in any way that affects my writing. I’m less prone to get de-railed by leaving my WIP to check a fact or research something, since I know that will decrease my WPH. I even modified the spreadsheet to turn the WPH cell red, yellow or green based on how well I did, so I get that nice visual cue on top of the numbers. And believe me, even though I’m fully aware that I am being manipulated by my better self, this overachieving first child STILL wants every cell to be green, baby!
So, I begrudgingly share with you that I am now a Time Tracker. I’m a little concerned this may infiltrate other areas of my life, and I may soon have to expand the spreadsheet to track how much time I’m spending doing other things as well. That’s a little terrifying, frankly, so I think I’ll start with upping my WPH goal to make those green cells a little harder to attain.
I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, writers, have you tried word sprints? Do you track your results? What do you find?
Keep writing!
PS – Stay up to date on all things writing-related. Subscribe to my newsletter and be sure to check “Tips for Writers.”
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September 17, 2018
Dear Readers: Thank You! (And More About Cake.)
Well, kiss my pumpkin spice latte, y’all… August absolutely flew by and September is hot on its heels! I’m having one of those months in which I feel swept along by the current of my life, and it’s all moving so fast that I am pretty much clinging to a branch for dear life and trying to glance around at the scenery once in a while.
I wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you to everyone who helped make the launch of Sugar Street such a success. Also sending a great big “hello” with a hug that goes on just long enough to be awkward to all the new friends I’ve made in the past month, and the old friends who’ve managed to put up with me for a while now…
At the Sugar Street Book Launch…
There are far too many people to thank individually for coming out to this event, but let me say again (sniff, sniff) what a joy it is to have friends old and new come hang out and let me show off my latest book baby. I realized later — partly after the trauma of my 9-year-old pinching his finger in a table hinge (he’s fine but it wasn’t pretty!) — that there were many people I didn’t get a chance to take pictures with and obviously I wasn’t able to represent everyone here, BUT. I love you guys. You’re seriously the best. Also, Ali’s Cookie Cake? INCREDIBLE. Note the hot pink shoes they added just for me. It’s the best cookie cake in the world. And, they ship. Tell them I sent you.
(Let the hijinks ensue)And the Jazzercise Launch Party
hosted by the gorgeous Allyson Eman… Where, I’m going to pause and tell you about the cake that brought us all together, made by my friend Mary Weinstein (who is one of the many hot ladies pictured below — specifically with the long blonde hair in the bottom picture, closest to said cake). Since we’re on the subject of cakes, again, Mary makes the MOST DELICIOUS CAKES EVER and a huge part of my motivation to finish this book and get it published was that she promised me a cake when I was done! (Who knew it would be that simple, right?)
Not only was it yummy and beautiful (as you can see), but the decorations on top are four alternating types of chocolate, each symbolizing one of Sugar Street’s leading ladies. There are miniature cookies for Maizy the baker, incredible chocolate coconut for Carras who is from Turks & Caicos, spicy chili chocolate for Jess & Tom, and refined piroulines for social climber Delia. Could that be any more perfect? Again, I couldn’t post pictures of everyone but I love dancing with all these ladies and I’m so appreciative they came out to celebrate with me. And seriously, there are some biceps in that crowd! Nobody’s messing with us!!
These ladies are fun AND fierce!And FoxTale Book Shoppe with the super-cute Ricki Schultz…
(that *may* be Karen White (Dreams of Falling[image error]) between us – pause for fangirl moment… and we’re back!).
FoxTale is always fun, and if you haven’t checked out Ricki Schultz, I loved both her funny, timely novels Mr. Right-Swipe[image error] and Switch and Bait[image error].
And Page Pairings in Greenville, SC…
(At which I completely failed to take pictures during the event, but please post and tag me if you did!)
Page Pairings was a fabulous event and a great excuse to haul my butt up to the very pretty city of Greenville, SC. It’s held at M. Judson Booksellers, a gorgeous bookstore downtown in the old courthouse building. At this event, readers buy a ticket that includes a taste of six different wines and one of six corresponding books. Sugar Street and I were paired with a nice French rosé, which I understand was some of the last remaining stock in the United States. I drank it with no guilt whatsoever, because it was delicious, and I had a blast talking to so many readers who came to visit me, Daren Wang[image error] and Amy Willoughby-Burle[image error]. And let’s be honest… the wine!
The bottle was empty by the time I remembered
I did snag a selfie in Greenville’s Falls Park on the Reedy. No extra charge for the sweat. It’s my treat!
And The Decatur Book Festival…
It was my privilege to moderate two wonderful panels at this year’s DBF: one with four fabulous up-and-coming fiction authors from the Atlanta Writers Club, and another with Sally Kilpatrick[image error] and Jamie Weisman[image error].
Plus, here’s a secret about authors: most of us are introverts (not me, actually, but pretty much everyone else). So when a bunch of smart, passionate introverts finally get out from behind their laptop screens and come together…. well, it’s wonderful and hard to get a word in edgewise!
And visiting the Carrollton Writers Guild…
I didn’t manage snap a picture at this event last week, but it was my privilege to be invited to talk to the Carrollton Writers Guild in west Georgia about book marketing. I love talking to other writers and geeking out about things like goals and metrics and Facebook and the publishing industry. They would probably tell you they had a hard time getting a word in edgewise…
So that’s the recap.
Whew! I may need to hibernate this winter. Except that it’s still almost 90 degrees in Georgia. (I know some of you are evacuated from the coast because of Hurricane Florence at the moment — or hosting evacuees at your home — so please stay safe and know I’m thinking about you!)
Hope you enjoyed the brief recap and the pictures. If you and I bumped into one another during all this hullabaloo (or if you’d like to join in next time), please leave a comment to say hello and circle back.
More excitement soon!
P.S. Will you leave a review?
If you’ve read Sugar Street (and especially if you loved it!) would you please consider reviewing it on Amazon or Goodreads?
PPS – The FTC wants me to tell you that this post contains affiliate links to some really awesome books by the authors mentioned above!
The post Dear Readers: Thank You! (And More About Cake.) appeared first on MJ Pullen, Author.
Dear Readers: Thank You! (With Pictures. And More About Cake.)
Well, kiss my pumpkin spice latte, y’all… August absolutely flew by and September is hot on its heels! I’m having one of those months in which I feel swept along by the current of my life, and it’s all moving so fast that I am pretty much clinging to a branch for dear life and trying to glance around at the scenery once in a while.
I wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you to everyone who helped make the launch of Sugar Street such a success. Also sending a great big “hello” with a hug that goes on just long enough to be awkward to all the new friends I’ve made in the past month, and the old friends who’ve managed to put up with me for a while now:
At the Sugar Street Book Launch…
There are far too many people to thank individually for coming out to this event, but let me say again (sniff, sniff) what a joy it is to have friends old and new come hang out and let me show off my latest book baby. I realized later — partly after the trauma of my 9-year-old pinching his finger in a table hinge (he’s fine but it wasn’t pretty!) — that there were many people I didn’t get a chance to take pictures with and obviously I wasn’t able to represent everyone here, BUT. I love you guys. You’re seriously the best. Also, Ali’s Cookie Cake? INCREDIBLE. Note the hot pink shoes they added just for me. It’s the best cookie cake in the world. And, they ship. Tell them I sent you.
(Let the hijinks ensue)And the Jazzercise Launch Party
hosted by the gorgeous Allyson Eman… Where, I’m going to pause and tell you about the cake that brought us all together, made by my friend Mary Weinstein (who is one of the many hot ladies pictured below — specifically with the long blonde hair in the bottom picture, closest to said cake). Since we’re on the subject of cakes, again, Mary makes the MOST DELICIOUS CAKES EVER and a huge part of my motivation to finish this book and get it published was that she promised me a cake when I was done! (Who knew it would be that simple, right?)
Not only was it yummy and beautiful (as you can see), but the decorations on top are four alternating types of chocolate, each symbolizing one of Sugar Street’s leading ladies. There are miniature cookies for Maizy the baker, incredible chocolate coconut for Carras who is from Turks & Caicos, spicy chili chocolate for Jess & Tom, and refined piroulines for social climber Delia. Could that be any more perfect? Again, I couldn’t post pictures of everyone but I love dancing with all these ladies and I’m so appreciative they came out to celebrate with me. And seriously, there are some biceps in that crowd! Nobody’s messing with us!!
These ladies are fun AND fierce!And FoxTale Book Shoppe with the super-cute Ricki Schultz…
(that *may* be Karen White (Dreams of Falling[image error]) between us – pause for fangirl moment… and we’re back!). FoxTale is always fun, and if you haven’t checked out Ricki Schultz, I loved both her funny, timely novels Mr. Right-Swipe[image error] and Switch and Bait[image error].
And Page Pairings in Greenville, SC…
(At which I completely failed to take pictures during the event, but please post and tag me if you did!)
The bottle was empty by the time I remembered
Page Pairings was a fabulous event and a great excuse to haul my butt up to the very pretty city of Greenville, SC. It’s held at M. Judson Booksellers, a gorgeous bookstore downtown in the old courthouse building. At this event, readers buy a ticket that includes a taste of six different wines and one of six corresponding books. Sugar Street and I were paired with a nice French rosé, which I understand was some of the last remaining stock in the United States. I drank it with no guilt whatsoever, because it was delicious, and I had a blast talking to so many readers who came to visit me, Daren Wang[image error] and Amy Willoughby-Burle[image error]. And let’s be honest… the wine!
I did snag a selfie in Greenville’s Falls Park on the Reedy. No extra charge for the sweat. It’s my treat!
And The Decatur Book Festival…
It was my privilege to moderate two wonderful panels at this year’s DBF: one with four fabulous up-and-coming fiction authors from the Atlanta Writers Club, and another with Sally Kilpatrick[image error] and Jamie Weisman[image error].
Plus, here’s a secret about authors: most of us are introverts (not me, actually, but pretty much everyone else). So when a bunch of smart, passionate introverts finally get out from behind their laptop screens and come together…. well, it’s wonderful and hard to get a word in edgewise!
And visiting the Carrollton Writers Guild…
I didn’t manage snap a picture at this event last week, but it was my privilege to be invited to talk to the Carrollton Writers Guild in west Georgia about book marketing. I love talking to other writers and geeking out about things like goals and metrics and Facebook and the publishing industry. They would probably tell you they had a hard time getting a word in edgewise…
Whew! I may need to hibernate this winter. Except that it’s still 90 degrees in Georgia. (I know some of you are evacuated from the coast because of Hurricane Florence at the moment — or hosting evacuees at your home — so please stay safe and know I’m thinking about you!)
Hope you enjoyed the brief recap and the pictures. More excitement soon!
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August 7, 2018
SUGAR STREET’s Book Birthday & Black Girls Write
SUGAR STREET: Funny women’s fiction with serious heart.If you’ve been anywhere near me in the past couple of months you know that my new funny women’s fiction/domestic romance SUGAR STREET comes out today! *insert the author happy dance which pretty much involves standing up for a good stretch and sitting right back down*
Click here to get Sugar Street for your favorite device or in paperback!
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to buy, read, review, promote, critique, edit, and design for this book. Being a working writer is no small feat and there’s no way I could do it alone!
Special thanks to: Louise Fury, Emily Carpenter, Kimberly Brock, Chris Negron, Becky Albertalli, George Weinstein, Vernie Andrews, Jenna Denisar, Kristal Goelz, Christy Hall, Mary Ann Kavorous, Heather Pacin, Dara Shifrer, McRae Stephenson, Brenda Turetsky, Tiffany Yates-Martin, Kim Killion, Jennifer Jakes and Faith Williams. Not to mention my favorite Sam Turetsky and our boys. (I am definitely forgetting some people. Please let me know if I’ve left you off this list!)
Anyway. For a sole proprietor in an “isolated” profession, I have a pretty damn amazing team. I love you all.
Support Black Girls Write
I am also excited to share that a portion of the proceeds from sales of SUGAR STREET (2018 and 2019) will be donated to the Black Girls Write program at Georgia State University’s Urban Literacy Collaborative and Clinic. GSU is one of my alma maters and I’m beyond proud to lend a hand to this important program, which fosters and develops the voices of the next generation of women and writers.
I’ll have more about this organization coming soon. In the meantime, I hope you’ll check out the Urban Literacy Clinic and lend them some support of your own.
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August 4, 2018
Jazzercise Bingo: Manda’s Version
It’s been a while since I’ve written a Jazzercise blog, and I still get comments from Jazzerfriends about this one from a few years back. So, in honor of my upcoming Jazzercise book launch party for SUGAR STREET, I thought it was time for a new entry into my dancerobics chronicles.
If you love Jazzercise like I do, you know that every summer they do some sort of attendance scorecard or bingo game so members can win fun swag like water bottles and beach blankets. Now, y’all: I am a SWAG QUEEN. I love to win it, I love to give it away. And there’s nothing like earning something, is there? Jazzercise swag is always high quality, but TBH I would probably get excited about a cheap promotional pen if you tell me I have to check off boxes to get it. I am THE TARGET MARKET for gamification of any sort.
So, I was a bit bummed that there was no crazy bingo card this summer. Also, that I couldn’t do much Jazzercising these last few months because of whiplash (the condition, not the movie).
In my boredom, I decided to create My Own Version of Jazzercise Bingo. If you’re new to class, need spice things up, or have found yourself shaking your hips to Meghan Trainor and thinking, “Okay, yeah. But how do I WIN at this?”… Manda’s Jazzercise Bingo is for you.
Here are the rules:
You can start this anytime, and it’s over when you say it is. #girlpower
You can play to fill up a card, play to BINGO, or just call it a win after you’ve finished reading this blog.
When you’ve won, you have My Totally Official Permission(TM) to buy the cute workout tank top or water bottle of your choice and tell everyone who will listen that you won it doing a fitness challenge. Decorate it with stickers if you want. I’m easy.
There is no fourth rule.
Now. Print, draw or vividly imagine a Bingo card. Give yourself an “X” (or a front-cross with a heel-hop) when any of the following occurs during Jazzercise:
Arrive late, forced to take A Different Spot. Feel off-balance rest of day.
Love this? WOOO!
Sweat so much that it drips down your face and you inhale it back up your nose.
Have the Ed Sheeran dream again. Wake up nostalgic for nonexistent British country childhood.
Leave the floor during class, play human Frogger to get back to your spot without getting nailed
^^Bonus points if you do the above during a kickboxing routine
During a Latin song, spend several minutes wondering under what possible circumstances you would need to scrape a bowl or barrel with your hips
Instructor catches you singing mid-cardio
Accidentally meet your neighbor when one of you dances the wrong direction.
Embarrass your kids by showing off your dance moves to their favorite song.
To the rear with a cheer!
The more you think about it, the more you feel that you and Beyonce really could be close friends.
No matter the question, “WOO!” is the answer.
^^Space out during intense cardio, miss the cue to “woo” and chime in after everyone else. (Late woo-er).
Smack self in face with resistance tube. Immediately think, “well at least I got to let go for a second.”
Hear Pitbull at the grocery store, mambo with your cart down the produce aisle.
Mutter “kick ball-change ball-change” under your breath whenever frustrated
Have the Pink dream again. Wake up feeling like a total badass.
“Accidental solo” (aka, everyone else is facing one way, you’re facing the other)
Someone mentions JUDI.
Thighs twitch reflexively when you hear Justin Bieber on the radio. (And not in the fun way.)
Use double class as excuse to get a double chocolate chunk cookie. It’s all about balance, right?
Version 1 (9:30 a.m.): Instructor yells, “Hip, hip,” and you yell, “hooray!”
Version 2 (5:30 a.m.): Instructor yells, “Hip, hip” and you’re like, “I’m here, okay? I don’t have to like it.”
Get lost in a long, vivid daydream about defending your family’s honor in a high-stakes dance battle.
Lose balance in a lunge, try to disguise frantic waving arms as graceful ballerina stretch
Someone tells you how great you look and you’re all, “Jazzercise, bitches!”
Have the Bruno dream again. Wake up dripping in finesse.
“Grapevine left” makes you wonder if there is still wine on the counter at home…
What am I missing, fellow Jazzercisers? Or other workout junkies… What would be on your exercise bingo card?
SUGAR STREET: Funny women’s fiction with serious heart.
AND…. If you’re in the Atlanta area, please join me for a special Jazzercise Book Launch on Sunday, August 12th 2018 for my latest novel, Sugar Street! (The event is hosted by the lovely and generous Allyson Eman at her home, with delicious cake by Mary Weinstein! I can’t wait!).
See you on the dance floor!!
Kick ball-change, ball-change…
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July 23, 2018
The 3 Most Hilarious Things about Whiplash
I keep waiting for J.K. Simmons to throw a drumstick at me.
Nothing, actually. There’s nothing funny about whiplash.
Sigh. It’s been a little over two months since the car accident that totaled my beloved minivan and I am struggling to get back to normal. It’s been tough not being able to work as much every day as I need/want to–apologies again, to those of you waiting for an Easy as Pie update, which I promise will return in August!–since I can only manage a few hours a day on either the computer or the phone. I can’t pick up things for my kids as easily or often as we’re used to, or carry my little guy to bed when he falls asleep. I had no idea when I stepped out of the van, shaken and with a black eye but happy to be otherwise unhurt, how long the recovery from whiplash would be.
I am just now, slowly, getting back into a Jazzercise routine (and thank goodness for that, because I came close to buying a 1980s Jazzercise record in a pawn shop the other day, just to have some Judi Sheppard Missett in my life). I think as I’m approaching middle age, those regular aches and pains are just part of the deal, but so is the fact that it takes longer than you’d expect to heal from an injury, especially one hits a part of your body where you were already weak or compromised.
Which brings me to the one silver lining of this whole deal: posture. Having neck trauma will–if nothing else–alert you to your unhealthy posture and sitting habits. Being a writer means I spend LOADS of time in front of either my desktop or my laptop (or phone in a pinch!), head and neck bent, shoulders slumped. I’ve tried to modify this over the years, taking frequent standing breaks and using speech recognition software, along with trying to keep my arms and shoulders strong. But still. When you have sharp pain as a corrective, you really notice your bad habits. The number of times lately that I’ve felt pain in my neck and shoulders, only to realize I was hunched over like Quasimodo with a smart phone… Well. I’m working on it.
I’m doing physical therapy, medical massage, chiropractic… and stretching regularly, soaking in epsom salts. I have a cervical traction pillow for my neck which kind of freaks the kids out and makes me feel like Joan Cusack’s character in Sixteen Candles. I also bought one of those posture corrector thingys that looks like the world’s smallest backpack on huge straps, but I haven’t tried it out yet. I’ll keep you posted!
What about you guys? Have you struggled to recover from an injury? Or worked to correct your posture? What do you recommend?
And again, I apologize that I’ve gotten a wee bit behind on Easy As Pie. Updates coming soon!
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