Jennifer Wilck's Blog, page 49

My Fan Girl Moment

If you could make a list of people you’d like to get to know, who would be on it? Famous people? Religious people? Movie stars?  Historical figures?
Okay, now let’s take that list and make it a little more realistic. Most people’s lists have famous dead people on it. Cross them off—it’s not happening. Most people’s lists also have people so high in the stratosphere they don’t breathe the same air as we do. Cross them off too—no fainting while reading my blog.
Now, let’s take the list and put people on it who we truly admire, who we’d love to meet, who are our “favorites” in a particular field. So, if you’re a doctor, maybe it’s a medical professional who is your hero. Or it’s the person who donated blood and saved your life. Or it’s your favorite musical group or singer.
Or maybe it’s your favorite author.
I’m having a fan girl moment right now. Because I’m going to “meet” my favorite author.
I was recently asked to join Script Chics, a group blog and Facebook group where the three of us talk about all things writing-related. We talk about craft, we talk about books we’ve read or are writing and we talk about coffee (or in my case, chocolate). We have “Guest chics” who we help promote and who join in the fun. We also have guest authors whose books we read and review and discuss with the author. It’s kind of like The View or The Talk, but online and, well, less famous at this point.
I was asked to make a wish list of authors I’d love to have as a guest. They told me to aim high, think big and dream a little. So I did. And I thought immediately of my favorite romance author.
Although I write contemporary romance, I love to read historical and time travel romance, and this author writes some of the best I’ve ever read. She hates “Fabio covers” and unlike my books, her sex is behind closed doors (you know it’s happening but you don’t “see it”). Her stories take place in Scotland in the fourteen hundreds and they are the perfect escape when things around here get ridiculous. Although we are very different writers, reading her books inspired me to write my own.
So I decided to invite her. Now, keep in mind she’s a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She doesn’t need to build an audience, she has an audience. She makes a living from her books. She puts out two books a year and raises a family, so her time is pretty valuable.
She said yes!
I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to be able to have a conversation with her, as well as to introduce the other Script Chics to her books. We haven’t announced her officially yet, but when we do, I’ll be sure to let you know.

In the meantime, I’m squealing!

Finding My Muse

I’m back in the writing groove and it feels great! I’d had to take a lot of time off to deal with some other things, like a huge auction fundraiser that sapped every ounce of strength and creativity that I had. I’m still recovering, but it’s better. For a week or so afterwards, I was completely numb. I knew I wanted to write, and that I had to write (deadlines don’t exactly just disappear), but I couldn’t.
Now I’m back, and the possibilities are awesome!
Last week I actually sat down and wrote for stretches at a time. Writing is like a exercising a muscle. When I’m gone for a long period of time, I have to start out slowly. So I did, and I wrote about 500 words a day. It was just enough to pique my interest and make me want to write more.
It was also enough to make me realize all the writing opportunities I have coming up that I can actually enjoy. So, want to know what I’ll be doing (of course you do!)?
I’m finally getting to edits from my critique partners for my “lawnmower book.” Okay, it’s not actually a lawnmower book. It’s a romance that I’ve been working on for a while, completely separate from my Jewish series. But my daughter was reading over my shoulder one day and I happened to be working on a scene where the hero is mowing the lawn (thank goodness it was THAT scene and not some other choice ones). She has now decided that I’m writing a book about a lawnmower in love.  Sure babe, whatever you think.I’m actually making progress on book 3 of my Jewish series. The hero and heroine meet during a speed-dating event. I got to witness one in NYC last weekend and it’s a lot of fun putting it into the book. That’s the manuscript I wrote the 500 words a day on—I need to step up my word count, but it’s coming along nicely, and I’m starting to like the characters.I’m a Script Chic! My online friends started a blog and Facebook page and invited me to join them. I’m the one with the hair bow in their graphic and I’m the designated chocolate lover of the group. Anyway, this month I have all kinds of fun things planned, as does the rest of the group, so be sure to stop by—it’s a great way to meet lots of fun people (we don’t only talk about writing—see my chocolate comment above).I’m all over Twitter. There are all kinds of blog sharing opportunities on Twitter and I’m participating in a bunch of them. Follow me if you’d like.Oh, and Rebel Ink Press is rereleasing Skin Deep in March, so I’m looking forward to getting to work on a new cover. I’ll be updating my Facebook page, so check it out.


I think that’s all. It’s so nice to have so many things to work on. I’ll keep you updated!

Speed Dating

The next book that I’m writing has my hero and heroine meeting through speed dating.  I thought sounded like a fun way of having them meet. The problem is, I have no experience with it. I hate to sound old, but speed dating didn’t exist when I was single.
I’ve seen it on TV, but usually on a crime show and one of the people usually ends up dead. Not a great plug for the activity.
So, like I do for most of my research, I went online. I found sites where you can sign up for speed dating. Each event is held at a different location for different groups of people, whether delineated by age, ethnicity or whatever. The research was great, but there was only so much information I could find out without actually registering for one of the events. Could be problematic, considering I’m happily married—there’s only so much “research” I’m willing to do, and dating isn’t one of them.
My next step was contacting a single friend of mine. She put me in touch with one of her friends who had actually participated in speed dating, so I asked her lots of questions. And her answers were great and very helpful.
But then I went out to dinner this weekend. My husband, daughter and I met up with a friend in New York City and we stopped at an Irish pub for dinner. The food was great, but more importantly, they were holding a speed-dating event at the back of the pub! The pub was next to a hotel and in order to get to the restrooms, you had to go through this extra room where the event was going to be held.
The first time I walked back there, there were signs on the tables reserving them for the event, and staff putting together packets for the participants. As we ate our dinner, we noticed people arriving. The women came in groups of two or three; the men arrived by themselves for the most part. The next time I walked back there, people were waiting for the event to begin. The last time (we’re in a strange place in New York, you don’t really think I’m going to let my daughter go to the restrooms by herself, do you? At least, that’s my story…) I was in time to hear the hostess go over the rules for the evening. While I waited for my daughter to finish using the restroom, I surreptitiously recorded the hostess, so I could go back to the information later.
It was just like I’ve seen on TV, but more low-tech than I expected. People were told to fill out their pamphlets by hand. I’m not sure; maybe I expected a speed-dating app?
My husband and our friend actually suggested I try to participate, but again, there’s only so much “research” I’m willing to actively engage in, and I wouldn’t want to prevent someone from meeting their match because they were busy speaking to me!

Have you tried speed dating? Would you?

Laundry Day

I have two girls. Two girls who are two and a half years apart. They are very different personality-wise and there is no one who ever mistakes one for the other. However, they own a few items that are similar.
Specifically, clothing.
Sure, their tastes are different, but they occasionally share things. And although they’re not the same size, certain items can be shared. And of course, let’s not forget things like socks, which can be anyone’s.
That’s why I do their laundry separately. I hate doing laundry and like to get it done as fast as possible. The last thing I want to do is spend time deciphering whose clothing belongs to whom.
Occasionally, however, their clothes get mixed together, like when they borrow things, or when we come back from vacation and I throw everything in the laundry together—yeah, laundry is not my thing.
Now, I’ve been a bit busy lately, and laundry has had to take a back seat, but the past few days I’ve spent catching up and I finally got all their clothes done that needed doing. I washed, dried and folded. I even carried it up to their rooms and put it on their beds.
My kids, knowing how busy I’ve been, have been tiptoeing around me. You can’t imagine the surprise when my youngest very carefully asked me if I might have a chance to get to her laundry at some point, and my immediate answer was, “Of course, I’ll do it right now.” Apparently that was the clue that things could go back to “normal.” Because when I did their laundry, folded it and put it on their beds, I mixed some of the pieces up. And my youngest came downstairs and said, “Mom, some of the laundry isn’t mine.”
Here’s where I’m confused. She and my older daughter are the only two kids in the house. The clothing was obviously not mine or my husband’s. So anything she saw that wasn’t hers was obviously her sister’s. Yet, she came to me with a puzzled look on her face.
Really? You can’t turn around, take two steps to your right, knock, and give it to your sister? You have to ask me first?

I think it’s time someone started doing her own laundry.

It's Time For A Change

I’m going to be nicer. I’m going to hold my tongue. I’m going to think before I speak. 
I haven’t done that for a very long time. I don’t like much about myself these days and that’s the reason. It’s easy getting pulled in when people laugh. It’s easy to think people like you when really, they just think you’re funny. 
That old saying, "laughter is good for the soul"--it's wrong. Laughter is good for the ego; kindness is good for the soul. And I'm missing the kindness.
I lost a part of myself, the nice part, and I’m going to spend time finding it again.
I’m blaming no one but myself. It's one hundred percent my fault. So I'm taking responsibility and I'm changing. I’m going to surround myself with things that make me happy. I’m going to hang out with my friends who (hopefully still) like me for who I am inside and try to get to that place again. 

I tried it the other way. And frankly, it’s just not worth it.

Book Rerelease

No time for a long post, but I wanted to announce that my first book, A Heart of Little Faith, was just rereleased by my current publisher (I got the rights back from my old publisher), Rebel Ink Press. It's got a beautiful new cover and received some editing help.

Blurb:

Lily Livingston is a widow raising her six-year-old daughter, Claire, in New York City. Devastated by her husband’s death three years ago, she’s in no hurry to fall in love again. Besides, trying to balance her career with motherhood leaves her little time for romance.

With a wheelchair instead of a white horse, and a vow against falling in love again as his armor, Gideon Stone is the last person Lily expects to sweep her off her feet. But when a business agreement forces the two of them together, that is exactly what happens.

As they navigate the minefield that fast represents their relationship, can either of them overcome the obstacles to find true happiness in each other’s arms? The answer is yes, but the bumps along the way demonstrate that neither of them can go it alone.
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Little-Faith-Jennifer-Wilck-ebook/dp/B00PF1A0P4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415656036&sr=8-3&keywords=jennifer+wilck

November

 November is NaNoWriMo month, where you participate in a writing challenge—30,000 words by the end of the month. Many of my writer friends are doing it; I, however, am not. November is never a great month for me, but this year, it’s particularly busy.
I know I made the right choice, but seeing my friends post about it is making me wish I were a part of it. The good news is I’m dying to write. I can’t wait until my commitment mid-month is over and I’ll have hours and hours to write. My writing these days has been sparse, and I’m encouraged by the desire I have to sit in front of my computer and finish the stories I’m working on.
In addition to writing being my job, it’s also my escape. With all the stress I’m under right now, I haven’t been able to write. That’s okay as long as it’s temporary. I’m encouraged that I want to write, even if I can’t sit down and actually do it. I’m planning my writing schedule, setting goals and figuring out what I’m going to work on first.

On November 16, I’ll hit the ground running!

Enough

I’m worn out. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
I know, I’m no different from anyone else and we are all exhausted. We strive to do a million things and we convince ourselves we need to do a million things well. I think our culture prides itself on how exhausted we can be. It’s a competition, enabled by social media, judged by all the other people around you and awarded nothing.

“You can’t possibly understand how I feel. I was up at six this morning doing X.”
“Well, I was up at five doing Y. Oh, and my kids are forcing me to do Z.”
“You poor thing. My husband didn’t do Q, so now I have to do it.”
“I hear ya. Mine didn’t do R, and complained when I reminded him about it.”

And so on and so on and so on.
I’m guilty of it and somehow, no matter how many times I tell myself I’m not going to overbook, overschedule, or overcommit, I do. And I’m not even talking about my kids.
In fact, I wonder what I’m teaching them. When they tell me they studied and I wonder, well, did you study enough? When they tell me they cleaned and I wonder, is it clean enough? When they tell me they tried and I wonder, did you try hard enough?
Maybe their version of enough is actually enough. Maybe the effort doesn’t have to be the most, the best, the hardest, and it quite probably doesn’t have to equal mine. Maybe they just need to be able to look themselves in the eye and know that they are good enough.
We complain that people don’t know how to be still. We urge people to appreciate their surroundings. But does anyone actually do that? When is the last time you sat and read a book because you wanted to, or looked out the window because it was pretty? And if you did do that, was there a nagging in the back of your brain reminding you about everything you should be doing instead?
Who decided that was the goal?
Because there has to be a goal. We’ve trained ourselves to reach for the goal. But somewhere along the way, the goal has been moved so far away as to almost be unattainable. And the goal has grown, like the monster under the bed, until it’s no longer some desirable thing. It’s scary and stressful and quite possibly more effort than it’s worth.
I think it’s time to redefine that goal. I think our “best” needs to be “enough.” I think the one-upping in the “how tired are you?” has to end. I think we need to redirect our pride so that we are proud of actual accomplishments, no matter how small.

And perhaps, if we need public accolades, we’re doing it wrong.

Celebrating Sukkot (Soon to be Renamed, "The Festival of Whining")

So, my family and I are in the middle of celebrating Sukkot, a Jewish harvest festival, similar to Thanksgiving. It’s my very favorite holiday of the whole year, because it’s the only holiday that we celebrate on our own, with traditions we’ve developed for ourselves. I love celebrating holidays with my parents, in-laws and extended family, but there is something special about creating traditions on your own.
However, after this year, I may have to rethink the order of my favorite holidays.
One of the things you do on Sukkot is to build a sukkah, a three-sided hut, and eat at least one meal in it during the seven-day holiday. Seven years ago (remember this number), my daughter wrote an essay in Temple about why she wanted a sukkah, and as a result of that essay (or quite possibly because she was the only entry), she won a sukkah for our family. Since then, we’ve built it on our deck every single year.
Sukkot falls in the autumn. It’s usually warm the day we build it, and gets progressively colder as the holiday goes on. The day we got ready to build the sukkah, my younger daughter complained it was freezing and looked like this:

It wasn’t freezing. It was sixty something degrees.
“I don’t like Sukkot because I have to eat outside in the cold,” she complained. Considering that we make it usually one or two dinners during the seven-day holiday, this doesn’t seem like a legitimate complaint, even for me, who is ALWAYS cold.
Once you build the sukkah, you are supposed to decorate it. Every year, I take the girls’ artwork that they no longer want (again, remember this part) and from the garbage pile (having saved pieces they like and that my husband and I like), I pull out any harvest pictures to decorate the sukkah the following year. Remember how I said we’ve built a sukkah for seven years? Well, each year we have different pictures hanging—when you build a three-sided hut outside and decorate with paper drawings and paintings, the drawings and paintings don’t last.
So this year, I grabbed the latest pile of paintings and put them up. The girls were too busy with homework to help, and my husband was away on business.  I decorated and prepared for us to eat our dinner in there that night.

“Why did you put these pictures up?” my oldest cried. “They’re going to get destroyed! How could you do this?”
“I do this every year. And these are paintings you didn’t want to save and gave me permission to hang in the sukkah.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes you did.”
Etc.

We’ve eaten in the sukkah twice so far. This year, we even bought a lulav and etrog (a branch and a lemon-type fruit that is symbolic and that you wave as you recite a prayer). They haven’t come up with a complaint for that…yet.

Happy fall, everyone!

Welcome to Donna Steele

Donna Steele is another of my fellow Rebel authors with a new release this month.


Blurb: Civilization is gone and Meg Adams is in charge, whether she wants to be or not. It’s no longer desirable or even safe to stay at the CDC that Amanda and David are gone, so getting her people away is her top priority. At least getting away from the Powers-That-Be might give them a chance. But what about Jim, is he one of Us or Them?
Jim Stephens has forced his way in. Yes, he’s attracted to Meg but he also values his own life enough to want to get away from the new regime that seems to be forming. And this rag-tag group that’s decided to make their escape could use him.
Excerpt:       Meg looked away from Jim. He’d done the right thing, bringing this man inside. Yes, it would be a little more crowded, if he lived, but most of them had rallied round to do what they could.       Meg removed the man’s boots to inspect his toes. Whoever he was, he’d done a good job of protecting himself from the elements. He looked hungry and exhausted but he’d had the sense to wrap his feet and hands. He knew something about frostbite at least.      Thank goodness they’d found him when they had. After wrapping a warmed blanket around his feet and lower legs, Meg made her way over to Jim.      “Was he alone?”      “As far as we could tell. Vic and I need to check it out, but getting him inside was the top priority.”      She nodded. “Is it safe to check?”      “Safer than not checking. Don’t worry. Vic and I are both armed. We won’t be long.”      He must have seen the worry in her eyes, because he pulled her against him and kissed her. They didn’t do that too often in public. There weren’t a lot of couples and living together like this could lead to jealousy.      She watched him nod to Vic and they slipped outside with no fanfare. Meg turned back to the unconscious man.      Lorene began heating some clear broth as Jerry helped take the outer clothing from the man. Meg met Jerry’s eyes and he smiled. “Guess I’m glad I lost it.”      “Me too.”      Cocooned in heated blankets, the man’s breathing became easier. Someone brought extra pillows to prop him up to help his breathing further and Lorene appeared with the broth.      “We don’t want him to choke, but I do think it’s a good idea to get some warmth inside him.” Meg looked over at Celine and Becky. They nodded.       As a further precaution, Meg had Jerry take a seat behind the man to hold him against his chest as Meg allowed a sip into the stranger’s mouth.      That roused him a little and though he didn’t open his eyes, he did swallow the nourishment. Meg gave him a little more. After three sips, his eyes began fluttering and he managed to open them. “W-where?”       Now he was shivering as his body warmed. Meg had to remind herself that was a good sign.      “You’re safe now. We found you outside, but it’s warm in here and there’s food. Try to relax.”      “W-who?”      Meg smiled. He was trying. “I’m Meg. The guy behind you is Jerry. He found you. I’ll introduce the rest when you’re more awake. Would you like some more broth?”      He nodded and she held the cup to his lips.       “And what’s your name?” She asked when he stopped drinking.      He shook his head.       “You don’t know?”      “Flu.”      She nodded. Everyone who had recovered from a case of the flu, even after getting the vaccine had at least a short period of memory loss. But it had been weeks since she’d seen a new case. They’d been in Tennessee for nearly two months now and before they had left the CDC no one else had come in.      Meg wished once again that Amanda was with them. She would know how to look after this man.      “Okay. It’s not a problem. We’re familiar with flu cases. You need to rest. Your memories will return, but right now your body needs to regain its strength.”      He closed his eyes and Meg thought he was asleep before Jerry lowered him back to the pillows.      Meg was waiting by the door when Jim and Vic returned. Jim shook his head. “He was alone. No tracks, no one else out there. We did find his backpack, I think.” He held up the battered pack.      “I know you’re sure, but—“      “Very sure, Meg. Don’t worry.”      She tried to smile at that. She knew he’d do whatever it took to keep her, to keep all of them safe. The realization that a stranger now slept in the room with them was filtering in.      “We’ll keep an eye on him.”      “Not a problem yet. He’s weak as a kitten and sound asleep.”      “Who is he?”      “No memory. He’s had the flu.”      “Interesting. I thought that was gone.”      “Me too. At least fewer people to pass it around. Maybe there’re more survivors around.”

Women strong enough for love.
I write science fiction, paranormal and small town romance eBooks about women coming into their strength and having the courage to find and accept love.

As an empty nester with my beloved best friend and husband (who actually encourages this mad passion of mine) I write all the time – whether or not I have a pen or keyboard handy.

Ever since I learned to read—from Superman Comics, Dick, Jane and Sally held no appeal—I’ve wanted to write. The possibilities of science fiction have always drawn me and I’ve read them all.  There just needed to be a little more romance in them. I finally got up the courage and I’m delighted that I’m able to share these stories with you.

My premiere novel, a science fiction romance – Rth Rising – was released on March 3, 2012 through Rebel Ink Press. My romance eBooks Learning Trust , Homecoming , Welcome Home, Red Shoes ,   Wraith’s Heart,  Nowhere for Christmas and The Melting,Book 1- The Infection are now available at all eBook sellers. Wraith’s Heart and Learning Trust are now also available in paperback through Amazon. 

I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA and the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

Please check out the trailers for Rth Rising - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hugHZsfXDD4 and Wraith's Heart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POJ4ejbNY4w