J.R. Pearse Nelson's Blog, page 23

Mid-Week Update: A Day Late & Hours Short

It is bound to be a busy few days -- from now through Sunday. I'm working a half-day tomorrow, and my mom-in-law is coming to play with the children in the morning while I work. Then all of the sibs on that side are coming for dinner Friday night. Saturday we're throwing a birthday party for the little one, who will be two on Sunday. Saturday night after the party we're hosting dinner for out-of-town family. So busy! Also lots of fun! We're throwing baby girl's party at the community center, with an "open gym" theme. So even us grownups get to bounce on the gigantic trampoline. Better yet, our tiny house doesn't have to be sparkling clean, and bursting at the seams like if we try to throw a party here. I'm still not ready for all of the hosting, though. Now starts the scramble where I try to fit prep for that in between usual life. Hmm….that always goes so well. :)

On the writing side, I've fit in 1,600 words on my WIP since Sunday, so that's pretty much right on track with my 500 per day goal, even though I didn't write on Monday because I didn't feel well enough. I'm still waiting on edits to Queen Witch, which I should have in hand by the end of the long weekend. Then I'll start my all-out sprint to publishing that baby -- finally!! I'm looking forward to scratching another book off of my long, long list. I don't suffer for ideas, and (I see it as fortunately or unfortunately depending on the day) most of my ideas end up BIG. Will I ever write something standalone? Who knows.

I'm excited for the start of the Autumn's Harvest Blog Hop tomorrow! I hope a bunch of you stop by and enter to win the awesome grand prizes and individual giveaways on more than 200 participating blogs. A BIG thank you needs to go out to Carrie Ann Ryan for organizing these blog hops. She makes it super cost-effective to participate in something much larger. I'm hoping to make some new blogger and reader friends over the four-day hop. So check in tomorrow if you're interested, and hop with us!

Sunday Update: Welcome to November

This is the time of year when the calendar goes from "Is nobody celebrating the holidays this year?" to "Good lord, some notice would have been nice!" At least in my family that's the way it goes. My hubby and I are big on family. We like to make it to as many events as possible (especially since the kids came along) and we both have big families, so there are a lot of events. Add in making sure we're around when out of town folks visit, and it gets complicated. Ever since we got married, I've handled the holiday calendar. We have three sets of parents, and none of them plans well in advance. So I'm usually calling around in September to see what everyone's thinking about holiday plans, and I end up helping everyone get organized. Damn it. I'm the planner, pure and simple. Except it isn't simple when everyone around you flies by the seat of their pants, right onto your calendar, without notice!

Enough of my ranting. I started to go on...but no one wants to hear this. lol.

On to the writing! I've been at it all morning, in between snuggling/reading/playing with the kids. I love setting up my iPad (with keyboard) at the dining room table and fitting in ten to twenty minutes of writing at a time. So far in November that's resulted in 1,050 words on Thursday, and just shy of 1,000 words so far today. This new book is flowing, and I already surprised myself, despite the detailed plan. Good stuff. And I'll be home relaxing until early afternoon, so maybe I'll get another 500 in today. I'm on track for my 500 a day average in November, but its always better when I get in at least 500 each day. That's the goal, and that's what I'll be shooting for this next week. I'll probably stick to just 500 each day, and focus any extra time on Queen Witch edits and a promotion -- the Autumn's Harvest Blog Hop -- coming up on the 9th.

After nap time, I'm taking my girls to the Portland Children's Museum. I think it's time for a membership, because my three-year-old mentions this place just about every week. And with the rain in this city, varied indoor activities are a must for keeping the kids occupied all winter long. Hubby has taken them to this museum several times while I stayed home and wrote, so I know we'll use the membership, and as long as we go four times a year, it's a better deal to be a member.

Good luck with the coming week!

Menomena at Portland's Crystal Ballroom

My husband's birthday is Sunday. Tonight I'm taking him to see one of Portland's infamous experimental rock bands, Menomena, at an even more infamous venue, the Crystal Ballroom.

Here's one song I hope to hear tonight, though it's been out for years and I have no clue whether it is requested a lot. It's just my favorite:


I'm going to let hubby sleep in tomorrow, and then we're spending the day as a family before he goes out of town for another show tomorrow night (Blookie; a Green Day/Weezer tribute made up partially of hubby's band mates) and then band practice on his actual birthday. Busy guy! I'm hoping (for my sake next week, lol) that he gets some rest somewhere in there, too. We don't rest much on the weekends. :)

Hope everyone else has a fun Friday night and a great weekend!

Mid-Week Update: I'm Not, I Repeat NOT, Doing NaNo

NaNoWriMos are hearty souls, and somewhat insane. Tomorrow the madness begins for 2012. November is National Novel Writing Month -- a month where crazy folks around the globe set a deranged goal of writing a 50,000 word novel in one month! That's 1,667 words per day for all 30 days of the month. The truly astounding thing is that so many people win NaNo each year, which means they met their goal of writing 50k words during November. The one time I participated I did win; I wrote 50,068 or some such nonsense -- it was really close. And honestly, that draft was really bad, and I've never parsed it out into what's salvageable and what was complete crap. I bet I'd find 20k words I could keep.

This story isn't to disparage the worthy goal of NaNo, which is largely to encourage folks who have always SAID they want to write a novel to consider what it takes and then just sit down and DO IT! That's great. And they're quite a supportive crew, and do their best to connect you with local folks working on similar goals. If you use it to build community or find a critique partner, that could have a real long-term impact on your productivity. Not to mention it can just make us writers happier to know others are out there pounding their keyboards with the same ferocity. If you let it (which I don't) writing can be a lonely venture. Not so with NaNo, or with ROW80 for that matter.

But here's the deal: I'm on board with the writing gig (there's no escaping now...bwahahaha!). At this point my goals have to be ones that are accomplishable day to day and fit with my current lifestyle. It's unreasonable to expect 50k words out of myself in one month's time, not with a nearly full-time job and two small daughters. That's why I love the flexibility of ROW80. Yet the years I haven't participated in NaNo I've still felt the urge, because there's a plethora of positive writing vibes swirling in the winds during November.

I'm going to make a radical switch of topic, but I swear they'll dovetail in a moment. My last update I mentioned that I'd written the first scene in the second Foulweather Twins book. Well...it wasn't the book I planned to write next. I'd been planning to tackle the fifth and final novella in my paranormal romance series starting in November. But a good friend pointed out that I already have books three and four drafted for that series, they're in my editing queue, so there's more on the way soon for those readers. She is one of the beta readers for Queen Witch, and she wants the next book in the Foulweather Twins series NOW! I know waiting for next installments is frustrating, and people aren't going to want to wait forever for the Queen Witch sequel. And writing that first scene was really fun -- it felt great!

So, I'm going to start writing what I anticipate to be a 50k word novel in November. But I am NOT, I repeat NOT, setting a goal to write all 50k words in November. I bet I'll finish writing the first draft in January, since December can be pretty sketchy around holiday plans. And there are two family birthdays, and Thanksgiving during November. Plus a possible application process for a promotion at work (like how I slipped that in?). Plus I'm publishing Queen Witch in November. So, if I end November with 15-20k words of Chaos Calling (Foulweather Twins, Book Two) written, I will be super happy.

If any of you are wondering, "J.R., are you prepared for this sudden switch? Will you flounder without a plan amidst the sea of possibilities, drowning in lost time as the month flows by?" My answer? No way! I've had an outline for this book sitting for the past six months, just waiting for me to get back to it. Since I wrote that first scene on Sunday, I've been tweaking it here and there. Last night as I filled it in some more I started to get the itch, so I know I'm ready.

Yay! It's going to be a really fun book!! And writing the sequel as I release the first book will be exciting. I'm ready to write something new, my hands and brain are itching with it -- as I know a lot of other writers are feeling today, braced at the starting line -- and it's going to be FUN! My daily goal is 500 words, which would result in 15k by the end of November.

To those of you hearty (insane) souls doing NaNo, you know I mean it in the most good natured of ways -- good luck to you! I'm sending the best of my productivity and positivity vibes this month. You're an inspiration! Time to rock it!

Sunday Update: My Foulweather Twins Series

That's what I've been working on. I had a lot of writing time today, because I had the house to myself until almost three this afternoon. Crazy quiet. :)

Finishing and publishing my novel Queen Witch is my primary goal this round of ROW80. I've incorporated one beta's edits, and the comments another gave me on the first four chapters. I've also added detail in a bunch of places in the first four chapters. I'm loving the book on this read through, so that's super exciting!

Earlier, after I was about out of editing energy, I got to thinking about back matter -- you know, the stuff that appears at the end of a novel. I like to include an excerpt, but I haven't written the next installment of the Foulweather Twins series yet. Feeling stunningly optimistic, I opened up my outline (which has been sitting for nearly six months at this point...sheesh), and decided to have a go at the first scene. It really helped that I'd been playing with book one all day. It flowed easily onto the page, and in about half an hour I had a 550 word scene that IS the beginning of book two, and will appear at the end of Queen Witch. Sweeeet!!

I'd said at the beginning of October that I hoped to publish Queen Witch before Halloween. At this point, that isn't going to happen. I'm cool with that; I know the changes I'm making are improving the book. And I also know you've heard me say that about this book before. Honestly, it shouldn't be that much longer. Sometime in November. Deadlines are tricky, and I may have learned another lesson that saying less is probably better when it comes to when I anticipate having a book out.

Pick Up Lauralynn Elliott's The Gnome for Halloween!

I've told my friend Lauralynn Elliott many times now that she has a knack for giving me the heebie-jeebies. Her descriptions, and the build up as she dangles new details, always leaves me thinking about those details after I've finished the book. 

If you're looking for a fun read to creep you out as Halloween approaches, with a dash of romance and loads of suspense on top of the horror, check out Lauralynn's horror novella, The Gnome.


When Tara Reed inherits her grandmother’s house, she shudders at the ugly lawn ornaments she finds, one of which is even politically incorrect. Although she plans to eventually get rid of them, she decides to leave them until her friends come for a visit so they can all have a laugh. Little does she know there’s much more to these statues, and to her family, than she can imagine. When the sheriff, Jake Tyler, tells her the circumstances surrounding her grandmother’s death, she begins to wonder if there’s something strange going on at her house. When her friends come for a visit, Tara realizes they are all being hunted by something supernatural. Tara and her friends fight for their lives in this tale of magic and horror. Will any of them survive the creatures that have been brought to life by one man’s selfish purposes? Will the sheriff be able to save Tara, or will she have to depend on herself for survival? Find out in this chilling story of terror, friendship, and love. 
About the Author:
Lauralynn is an author of paranormal and fantasy romance books published independently. You will find everything from vampires and ghosts to elves and wizards in her novels and novellas. She enjoys putting a little bit of a different twist on some of the old ideas about our favorite fictional characters.
Lauralynn lives in the southeastern United States with her husband of several years. She enjoys reading, playing computer games, and spending time with friends.

Visit Lauralynn's blog.

(Anya Kelleye deserves a compliment on the cover art here. I love this cover. Indies, she's working for us! Check out her website.) 

Apple's iPad Mini Costs Too Much

I rarely use this blog to decry something publicly. Just not my style, I guess. I don't want to harp on; I'm here to talk writing. But today, I'm kind of mad. If you don't want to hear a rant on the price tag of the latest Apple gadget, delete now. No hard feelings, I swear. :)

You see, when the first iPad came out, my husband got it for me, because it was my perfect device at that time. I was finally excited about a gadget, and he came through for me in a big way. We pre-ordered, and I got my iPad delivered the first week it was out.

Cut to a few months ago, when we started to hear rumors about an iPad Mini swirling on the interwebs. Awesome! Hubby would love to take an iPad on the road (he uses public transit for commuting), but the original iPad is too large for what he needs. We thought the iPad Mini would be perfect for him. We'd heard rumors of a possible base model price tag around $250 -- and I would have happily purchased an iPad Mini for him this Christmas if that were the case.

The device Apple announced today is priced at $329 to start. He needs 3G, so that puts us at $459. And how can I justify paying $459 for an iPad Mini? I don't think I can. Certainly not this year. Sorry hubby. :(

Now, if Apple had chosen to price the iPad Mini lower, a couple of things would have happened. First, I believe there's a certain segment of Apple's customer base waiting for just such a device, and they would have jumped on board at a lower price point, but I don't see as many of them doing so at the current price point. Just like for us, I think for many Apple loyalists this device would be in addition to other gadgetry. It's too small to serve all of your tablet/PC needs. But it allows you more flexibility than the iPhone. So, Apple is going to miss out on sales from folks like us, who spend plenty on our Apple gadgets, but aren't willing to spend this much on another Apple device.

The second thing that likely would have taken place with a lower iPad Mini price point would have benefited ALL OF US. I'm talking to you writer friends, and to you reader friends. If the iPad Mini was priced starting at $250, it is likely that Amazon and Google would have lowered their 7-inch tablet prices...Amazon possibly reducing the Kindle Fire price by as much as $50, according to this article from CNN Money. And that would have made Christmas sales of these devices soar .

There are still people waiting on the sidelines for more options, and lower prices when it comes to ereaders and tablets. Along with all of those new sales of ereaders and ereader-capable devices would have come sales of books. Not to mention sales of apps, which are providing small business and venture opportunities around the country; we've definitely seen it in Portland. So, I'm a little peeved to see prices for these great gadgets that miss a solid segment of the population who are just unable to afford the price tag. These are missed opportunities for all of us.

Just for context, I'm not just any consumer badmouthing an Apple pricing decision. I'm a life-long aficionado and consumer of Apple products. Every computer, desktop and laptop, that I've ever purchased has been an Apple, and I have an iPad and an iPhone. Just so you know where I'm coming from. I LOVE Apple products; they are elegant, sophisticated designs that run quite smoothly compared with other product lines on the market. I usually believe they are worth the money.

I'm not happy with this price for the iPad Mini.

I'll quit my rant now. If you're still with me, thanks for hanging in there, and I'll be sure not to turn this blog into a regular soap-box. You keep me real if I go there. :)

Leaving Town for Another Wedding

That's right. I just said that about a fortunate couple's wedded bliss. Another wedding. Let's be honest; it's been high season on weddings for some reason this year. And everyone has us go somewhere. So we're off to Bend again. My mother-in-law lives there, so that's a bonus. But it still means driving three hours each way, and we can't afford to take any more vacation time. That makes this a Friday night to Sunday morning trip across the mountains, and that's about as short as I'm willing to make a trip to that section of the state, at least with the kids along. We'll have a nice time visiting with my mom-in-law, and this wedding reception should be a lot of fun Saturday evening. My hubby and I meant to go on a date last weekend. He asked me to set something up, and I totally dropped the ball. So tomorrow we're going out to eat before the wedding reception. I'm looking forward to some one-on-one time with my man.

I already had the day off, but my husband is working today. That means we'll take off this evening. I'm enjoying my day off with the kids, and fitting in the packing and chores while they're happy -- like I usually fit in writing.

This brings up my other reason for this post...what am I taking with me writing-wise? Notes on the Children of the Sidhe series, that's what. I think I'll pack the manuscript of the third novella; that's my next editing project, and I might refer to it as I make notes on the conclusion of the series. I'll take my research on Tory Island, off of Ireland, which I realized yesterday is the setting for the final battle between the Sidhe and the Fomorii. This was a big detail I'd been trying to work out before November -- so SCORE! And paper and a pen so I can set down my thoughts on these characters, fleshing out what I already know with more about their backgrounds and points of view. I'm also taking a book to read. It's possible I won't crack open my writing notebook at all. Cherie Priest's Boneshaker has been calling to me.

Published with Kobo's Writing Life

My books are finally back up on Kobo. This was kind of an arduous process. Delisting from Smashwords seems to take FOREVER. And then Writing Life took like eight days to actually activate the title after I added it to their site. I didn't count, so that might not be fair. But I have NO idea what took them so long. Have other authors had this issue with Writing Life?

Follow the book covers if you're interested in my books on Kobo. Happy reading!


The Children of the Sidhe NovellasThe Sidhe dwindle. Slow to breed and quick to war, the ages have worn away their numbers. An old enemy threatens Otherworld, fearsome in numbers and in newfound magic. The Sidhe’s unloved part-human children strewn about the mortal world are suddenly their greatest source of hope.
Tribute
Hazel Fintan is the reluctant daughter of the Irish love god, Aengus. As much as she loves the Sidhe lifestyle, she’s never cared for her father’s world, especially its men. So who could expect her to be happy when she’s drawn into a conflict with a legendary race over an impossible tribute? The tribute may be what brought them together, but Ian MacIlroy knows destiny when it stares him in the face with stunning green eyes and a gorgeous smile. Now he has a new mission. Hazel will be his, at any cost. And the cost could be high when Otherworld's enemies are denied what they seek.
Excerpt:
Getting her oil changed wasn’t exactly Hazel’s idea of a fun chore for Friday afternoon, but the sixteen-year-old drooling over her made it nearly unbearable this time. Literally, drooling.She shot him a short-tempered look as she put on her sunglasses, the Portland sun requiring it for once, though a deep gray line of clouds already clustered along the western horizon. “Can you just finish with the car already?”He gulped. “Hey, when I’m done do you want to go to dinner or something?”Hazel sighed and cast him a sweet smile. “You don’t want anything to do with the likes of me, kid.”He just smiled at her and nodded, his brain obviously addled.“So that’s a no. No dinner. Just finish my car. Thanks.”Confused and deflated, he shook his shaggy hair into his face so she couldn’t see his profile as he worked. He called out to his pit crew, his tone wistful and sad.Gods. Wouldn’t it be great to be normal?Crushing men wasn’t Hazel’s idea of a good time. It was just that many of them had no control over themselves when she was around. The drooling was not attractive. But they didn’t know that. They didn’t even realize how silly they looked. It was part of her draw; men tended to be totally focused on her, unable to string together more than a sentence, much less keep her entertained for a date. They were compelled to look, to touch if she’d let them, hovering over her the entire time.She’d heard she was lucky. Some Sidhe drew humans to madness, despair – even violence. They just wanted to love her.Still, it was annoying.A buzzing from her purse cast a wave of relief over her. Blessed distraction. She looked up and caught the boy staring again, and frowned at him as she reached into her purse.Checking the number that had just flashed on her cell phone, Hazel sighed. The age-old question: to answer, or not to answer? Swallowing, she hit send.“Hello?”“Hazel. Glad I caught you. Got a little problem I could use your help with.”“Thankfully, your problems don’t have anything to do with me anymore.”“They do when they’re not mine specifically, but more, you know, ours.”“Great,” Hazel said. If he meant what she thought he did, her hope of getting out of whatever this was had just faded fast.“There’s a human over here who needs to get in touch with the Fomorii. Has to pay a tribute of some kind, but hasn’t been able to get through. Think you could take him?”“Can I take him?” Like she didn’t have enough to do. “Drake, this is your job. You know I was never into this stuff.”“You’re missing the point. He needs to go. I can’t take him, so I thought of you.”“Why can’t you take him?” Drake was the obvious choice. After all, he worked for the Sidhe Authority, taking care of the Otherworld government’s business in the human world. Hazel had as little to do with Otherworld affairs as possible. “Let’s call it a little interpersonal issue between me and the Fomorii contact. I’m waiting another decade at least before I meet up with that guy again, for everyone’s sake. I’m supposed to be smoothing relations, remember?”“See, that’s what I’m talking about. When we were together, I dealt with your interpersonal issues. Now that we’re not, I don’t see what this has to do with me.”“You’re Sidhe, so you’re in. Our problems are your problems, and this falls into that category. Just think, what would Aunt Brigit say?”“Damn,” she growled. He had to bring her aunt into it. Of course she knew what Brigit would say. You get the benefits; a certain amount of dirty work comes with it. Help your people. “Tell me what I’m supposed to do again?”

Vessel Eddie Drake, notorious agent of the Sidhe Authority, has always been a womanizer. So he’s as surprised as anyone when he can’t get a certain black-haired witch out of his mind. When Alise Rodgers wakes up in Otherworld, a mysterious connection to the place haunts her. And then there’s a more immediate concern – she would never have expected to find Drake sitting vigil for her. While she’s grateful, she’s not at all interested in his bedroom eyes. They’ve always clashed. But they must work together after Alise discovers a rebellious plot brewing among the Sidhe, and puts her life on the line in the bargain.
Excerpt:
The Middleworld forest whipped by as Eddie Drake hit his stride. He could feel tension from the past days flowing out of his burning muscles. Plants blurred along the trail at his feet as he concentrated on making the miles fly by.Most Sidhe didn’t exercise for exercise sake – so maybe it was that small human part of him that enjoyed it. He felt his best after a long run, his mind as clear as his body was fatigued.His head down, he hit a cloud of pixie dust and heard the offended pixie shout, “Hey! Watch yourself!”“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure there’s more where that came from,” he shouted back without even looking. Pixies were a dime a dozen. You could hardly shake a leg without, well, running straight into a cloud of pixie dust. He sneezed.Too soon, he saw home ahead. A little escape, that’s what he’d needed. For a few minutes, the burning of his muscles had distracted him from the oddities his life had taken on of late.Eddie Drake was no nursemaid. He’d never been the patient, caring type.He was a playboy, and it used to be pure and simple. He liked the ladies, and they liked him. Maybe he overindulged, that he could cop to. Maybe he’d been with too many ladies, too many times. That sort of behavior certainly couldn’t be seen as a precursor to this. No, his current predicament was more likely a punishment for prior bad behavior. Of course, it was a punishment he was choosing, which made it all the more odd.To satisfy whatever part of him was so worried, he ducked through the back door and sauntered into the third bedroom, the one that had recently been Alise’s room.Her condition unchanged, Alise rested, still as stone, under a white and cream quilt that had been his mother’s.Drake frowned. He’d stopped counting the days; there had been many. Maybe two weeks had passed as Alise lay unmoving. Okay, she wasn’t still all the time. A few nights she’d thrashed and moaned.He’d been so concerned the first time that happened that he’d stayed with her, holding her on the narrow bed until she calmed and seemed to rest. Relieved, he’d drifted off holding her, and been embarrassed to be found in that compromising position when Aunt Nectar came in to check on Alise.Cuddling.Cuddling with the unconscious.Not a good sign.If only he hadn’t gotten her into this mess. That’s what had him all tied up in doubt and fear. She wouldn’t be in that bed, unaware of her surroundings but drowning in the music and magic of Tir Nan Og, if it weren’t for him. He’d made the choice to ask for her help when her best friend had been in trouble. She’d gladly given her help, not realizing it would cost her.So he owed her. At the very least, he owed her a trip back beyond the veil to where she came from, where her family and her world waited. He’d tried to give her that, but she thrashed as they approached the portal and wouldn’t calm until he retreated. He couldn’t figure that out. In her condition, how did she know when he threatened to take her home? Regardless, his attempts hadn’t worked, and neither had anything the local healer tried. Alise didn’t get worse, but she hadn’t come back to herself either. That’s what kept his stomach tied in knots, he told himself as he stood in the doorway, watching the raven-haired beauty sleep.Footsteps on the path outside brought Drake out of his thoughts. Maybe Aunt Nectar was home early. That would be good, because he had to go to the human world for at least a while tonight. His job waited for him, and some things he couldn’t let go for an undetermined period while Alise lay in that bed.It wasn’t Aunt Nectar darkening the path.Bertran stood, apparently evaluating his next step, outside the cottage, surrounded by the bright sights and sounds of a Middleworld day. The weather was perfect, but that didn’t help the storm clouds covering the countenance of this particular thorn in Drake’s side.“May I come in?” his old enemy asked.“Not in this lifetime.”
This series is intended for an adult audience only due to mature content, mostly in the form of steamy love scenes.

Carrie Ann Ryan's Blog Hops -- Autumn's Harvest Coming Soon

I've just joined Carrie Ann Ryan's blog hop site. She organizes blog hops for romance authors what looks to be every few weeks. For the upcoming Autumn's Harvest Blog Hop, I was the 201st author to sign up, and the list included some big names. I'm looking forward to this, as I've been thinking about ways to be more "out there." So this should be a fun chance to participate with a bunch of other authors.


Here's the list of authors participating so far. Hop around and meet some new people. :)