Jessica Samuels's Blog, page 26

Memoirs of a Geisha Costuming Exercise for Fashion Writing

The director of the movie is going for the child like look of a Geisha. He called them the supermodels of their time. They created to look more high fashion, and the necks are created lower than the original ones, and the waists are tighter too. Their eyes are bigger and darker, and their lips are fuller so it can draw a more modern crowd. They also wear less make up for some of the scenes. It needed to be more modern but provocative, and subtle showing just a glimpse of skin to tease the senses. They shape the dresses to match the characters style. They made the dresses to look like an impression of that time, and it really resembles the look of the Japanese culture since the dresses have the symbols of the Japanese culture drawn into the dress. They chose big bright colors since it screams sensual. They leave just a part of the neck bare to tease the audience so they will wonder what is underneath. They are authentic kimonos some have cherry red, white snow, and greys thrown into the fabric. The kimono is worn in 5 layers for a Geisha, and it takes two people to put on the outfit. The Kimono makes a Geisha learn to act elegantly and their movement is restricted by it. There are even undergarments underneath the actual gown. They are well covered up underneath the reds, pinks, and whites. The younger Geisha’s wear red and the older ones wear white. They wore an Obie which is like a corset underneath the gown. Wax is used during the process of styling their hair do to prevent it from falling out of place. The way the outfit is worn depends on the person wearing the gown since they wear it in different ways. The costumes reflect the Geisha’s personality, and some are more brightly colored then the others. They made several differences to the gowns to make it appeal to the modern crowd, and updated the style. Each costume is crafted to reflect the personality of the character wearing it. The director wanted to make it more appealing to the crowd by changing it to reflect how subtle and sexy the gowns are to make them more high fashion. The costumes are nicely done, and they truly show the Japanese cultures style and fashion with a more modern twist.   

Journalism and Fashion Writing Oh My!

School has started back up again, and was excited to be back since I’m not taking a math course again. This semester it is History of the Andes which seems interesting since I need history courses in order to build details for my stories. Economics it was a required elective, but I need to be an informed consumer. I was excited about Journalism since that is the field that is my passion, and this is the last general education semester. Then its straight into my major. The other writing related course I’m taking is Fashion Writing, and I need it because I want to describe what a character is wearing more than just saying a shirt and blue jeans. I want to become a better writer, and these classes will help me achieve it. It’s exciting, and my blog will be used in my fashion writing class, and you’ll see how my writing evolves over this semester. I’m finally in my element now, and I can’t wait to dig into it. Of course, I will still be writing and publishing along the way too. Like I’m waiting for two more beta readers to finish with The Killer Contract Agency story a few more times to run through it, and then all I need is the cover to hit publish. It’s going to be an exciting semester, and so are the ones to come when I can say I’m officially a journalist. It’s exciting, and I can’t wait.Until next time,
Wolfdreamer25 

How to Procrastinate instead of writing a novel!

Novel writing is not easy by any means, and with self-publishing just about anyone can become a writer. Works can be published without any effort which isn’t good for people who actually can write a novel. It’s hard to write since it mainly requires butt to chair action, and sometimes more brain power then you have the energy for especially if you go to school, or work a day job. Good work takes time and even other people to look over it. That is another story though, and I will write a post about the entire process and how I write them. In the meantime here is how not to write a novel. Or maybe it should read doing everything but writing a novel!
·      Check email: You never know if a very important email from an editor or beta reader has come in. Just check every 5 seconds and keep hitting the refresh key constantly.·      Check Twitter and updates status to: Writing a novel but in the mean time researching shirtless models for the next cover.·      Eat after all you’re brain cannot work without something powering it.·      Yell at your smartphone since a wrong number has called for the 1,000 time for someone who has a claim on them. It’s a recording too bad they cannot hear you…·      Watch time tick by every minute while you’re waiting for calls from family or friends. ·      Check blogs after all how the hell do other writers write novels when you can’t even sit for an hour….·      Get another cup of coffee, wine, whisky, liquor, vodka, or energy drink to get the blood flowing or to relax you need it after trying to focus on a sentence for an hour.·      Hit head against the wall to loosen the ideas from your brain.·      Shower maybe it will help you figure out this next sentence…·      Check Facebook yet again to see what fun things your friends are up to, and things to use in stories…·      Stare at the computer screen until inspiration strikes…·      Smoke a cigarette if you do as a way of taking a break.·      Walk the dog maybe the neighborhood can give you more ideas…·      While walking the dog you spot a house, and spend the rest of the time wondering if they keep bodies in the basement.·      Get one of the emails you’ve been waiting for and dance around when it says not bad just needs work. Yay! You’re not a failure.·      Delete old files off your phone, PC, and tablet since it is a new semester and year after all. ·      Watch Youtube lets plays because video games are awesome, and who knows another story idea might pop up at any minute…
Okay, there are a lot of ways to procrastinate and not work on writing your novel. In the end the writers who stop procrastinating, and are determined to finish the novel of their dreams will learn how rewarding it is to finish something despite all the distractions stopping them.

 Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

Bye 2014 Hello 2015

Yet another year comes to a close, and I find myself thinking about the events of this past year. It has been a wild ride for me since the summer was one of the hardest summers I’ve had in a while. However, I did publish an ebook. I also took a chance dating someone new, and it worked out for the best since he is moving in at the end of April. I’ve lost people who were not good for me, and I’m finally in a relationship that makes me happy. I love him, and it’s been a few years since I’ve been this happy. I’m finishing the last semester of basic classes before taking ones in my field. The next year I will be taking strictly major and minor classes. I love it! Journalism classes this semester. I can’t wait to get back into it. I also have my goals already for the 2015 year which is to finish the four projects I need to get done maybe 6. I also will try to publish a paperback and audio books as well. I want to read more fiction and non fiction books and review them on my blog. I really should blog more because I’ve been bad about updating the blog. I hope I can do them all, and thanks for being there through everything.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25 

School is Over!

Thursday I just finished my last final, and I’m happy to say its over till January 13th. Its been a long semester, and it was fun with two writing classes. Now that it is over I’ve been working and cleaning my room to organize my writing files. Yay! Time to organize my desk, pens, and notebooks! I’m waiting for the last two beta readers to finish then I can edit The Killer Contract Agency rewrites for the second to last time. I’m almost finished with the first Scarlet book, and I redid Obsession Spell and with enough feedback I can rewrite and edit it before hitting published it is a standalone about Jenna who is head of the evil ex-boyfriend division in The Killer Contract Agency! Everything is connected in some way in my worlds.
2014 is almost done and it is memorable since I got engaged and ended it in May since it was not going to work out because of the way I was treated. Add to a crazy ex that talked shit about you, and did not understand why I did not want him anymore then you can be why the summer was stressful.  I met someone else and I’ve been with him since August, and he will be moving in at the end of April. Yes, and it will be the first time I’ve lived with someone like that. I’m still working on the second retail story, and Fur and Fang of love which I have so many notes that I’ll be able to get it done in no time.
 I’m going to focus on writing more daily, and reading writing related books. I’m going to redo the entire layout of The Writing Dreamer since my writing in the workplace class taught me how to design my own website. My fiction writing class taught me how to critique someone’s work and what work and what does not. It made me a better critique partner. If you have any work for all the writers out there I’d be happy to read it. I love paranormal romance, urban fantasy, young adult and new adult too. Just email me at jdsamuels25(at)yahoo(dot)com and I wouldn’t mind beta reading your work.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

Inspiration For Fang and Fur of Love:

Every story I write came about thanks to something happening to me, and it allows me to come up with ideas really quickly. Following through on it from start to finish is another story altogether, but I will finish it. This story I do need to finish if only for my sanity, and the people who the characters are based off of. If someone has helped me in a major way I will make them a character in one of my stories, and immortalize them forever. I had a long summer getting over my broken engagement, and that is not easy especially when the kept trying to get me to go back to him. I didn’t want that add in friends being involved where they are not supposed to be, and it’s one hell of a mess leaving you in a depressed emotional state.
It also made me realize who is actually there for me. I lost a lot of friends because of it, but I no longer care since if they were there for me and not my ex then they wouldn’t have done the things or said the things they did. It okay thought I don’t need them in my life anyway. I’m perfectly fine now, and I’m no longer depressed because of it and now things are looking up since I’m doing better in school and working.
I watched a lot of reality television too in my spare time, and it hit me that I can make a book where a girl  who is a witch named Midnight competes on a show in Luxor to win the heart of Zephyr an uber hot werewolf alpha or Hyperion the sexy leader of the vampire clan who is in charge of the powerful vampires in the land. It will have technology, and she will have to beat 20 other girls also competing for their love. The winner will help rule the werewolf pack, or the vampire clan. There will be drama and swear words, and fights. It is a fun story that I hope to finish soon. I don’t have dates because I don’t want to pin myself down and then have readers be disappointed in it. The shows I watched are Real Chance of Love, Daisy of Love, Rock of love all three seasons. Flavor of love and I love New York, For the Love of Ray J, and Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair. All in an effort to get ideas about what to use for the story. I have a rough draft of all 20 girls, and I plan on giving them nicknames. I do have the guys give a vampire fang for Hyperion’s girls and a paw print for Zephyr’s. It will have all kinds of creatures competing for their hearts, and Midnight has to go on the show to get out of a bad marriage too. I enjoy writing it when I can cause like I said I have work and school on top of that. I’ll have more time when break comes along, and I hope people love the story because it is my first standalone paranormal romance set in the same story worlds. Until next time,
Wolfdreamer25

Updates and #NaNoWriMo

Time flew by so fast that before I knew it the time for national novel writing month is here. I’m trying it again and hopefully I can do it this time. It is basically used to write a novel which is 50,000 words in a month. I’ve done it in the past an failed miserably putting it off so now is my time to follow through. I’m using Fang and Fur of Love for it since I need to write that story since it hits close to home. I’ve also outlined and planned the shit out of it which helps. I think that is one of the mistakes I made. Also the 25th was my birthday so now I’m 24…I need some luck with this one because it wont be easy to follow through with it. And in all fairness I have a bad case of writers block thanks to school and work I’ve been so busy I don’t even write as much as I should have. Here is the post about it:
Being a Writer is not easy…….Because there are days when the words don’t want to come out. Days where I’d rather be doing anything else other than writing. Days where I’d rather be researching the whole day versus facing a story that is hard to explain. Or dealing with the emotions of the characters and it interfering with mine and me realizing it is not my thoughts but my characters. Days when I’ve run out of caffeine but I have to work anyway. Days when I want to stop for a few days just to clear my head. There are days when the internet distracts me more then it needs to. Days when I just sit there and watch Youtube videos till I have to work. But I love being a writer and creating stories. I do wonder where it all comes out of. I wonder why I dream and think the things I do. I eavesdrop on conversations. I feel people out by observing what they do, how they act, talk, and dress. I wouldn’t change a thing because being a writer is power. Until next time,
Wolfdreamer25

Busy...Busy...Busy...

It has been a while since I’ve blogged, and I don’t have any news yet. VCU finally started, and I have been working on top of that. I love my new classes since one of them is fiction writing. I’m enjoying it so far, and I will put up my favorite exercises in this post. I love writing them, and this is what I have so far.
It wasn’t broken but she was determined to fix it. Her heart that was barely working is now alive again. She thought her ex had broken her heart to the point where it was destroyed, and unable to love. It’s not broken, and she knew how to fix it she had to trust the one she loved with her barely beating heart. Her ex did not destroy it like she thought, and she can fix it by filling with her true love instead of the pain her ex put in his wake. She thought she was destroyed by it, but she wasn’t. Broken is a better word since she lost something she thought she needed. She gained something better, and it may not be perfect but it is a start. Once she lost the guy that made her broken she found the one to fix it again.
I smell the scent of Fuji Apple and Vanilla Orchid, and memories whiz through my head. Memories of the summer, and the scent I began to wear around potential guys I’m interested in. I wished I worn it around you. I wear it to give my skin sparkle and it makes me smell good. It is the smell I wear to make myself feel good, and chasing guys like I used to before he fucked up my life. It reminds me of what I did with all of you talking me out of the deep end saving me from myself. Reminding me I’m young, and I can survive anything. It makes me remember the feel of your skin and your scent mingling with mine. The feel of your lips on me, and your touch. Smells during the summer where I went through the worst emotional pain of my life, but I gained something out of it. Freedom. The freedom to see other guys, and the freedom to find someone else. I’ll never forget the necklace you gave me, and I will wear it around my neck since it reminds me of the pain I went through to get over HIM. I’m healed because of all of you. I can now love because you crashed down my cage, and let my heart out. It feels good to love again. I’m not numb anymore, and I was before the summer. Not now. Reminders keep you moving and help you remember why you went through the pain in the first place. I would not have made it without all three of you.
Cinderella, I captured your prince and if you want him you will have to come to my castle to save him before I turn him into my love slave. I will give you the key to his cage and then you can have him but only if you defeat me. Ha Ha ha…love the evil queen. That bitch had better wish she was dead, and I will make her pay. No one takes my man and gets away with it. I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him she will pay. I suit up by wearing a black cat suit and head out to save my prince. The way to the castle was filled with vampires, and I staked every last one of them till I got to the castle to see the queen. I open the door and the evil queen sits there with my poor prince in a cage. She smiles evilly at me and all I can think of is die bitch die. “Come to save your prince? I doubt you will succeed.”“I will bitch come at me, and I will show you someone who has no issues with taking down a bitch for her true love.” I rush at her and punch her in the face, and duck as she swings at me. I punch her in the stomach, and she falls down leaving me to grab a sword and chop her head off. She bursts into glitter and the key falls down on the floor. I grab it and go to his cage, and he looks at me with love in his eyes, “Thank you my sweet princess. I knew there was a reason why I loved you.” I smile at him, “I knew there was a reason why I fell for you.” I kiss him and time stopped. My prince is safe and sound, and I can live happily ever after. The end.Those stupid asshole pigs are trying to hide from me again, and they will not get away with it this time. I will end their lives, and make bacon out of them no matter what. I will get my revenge, and blow up their house. I’m the big bad wolf after all, and not to be taken lightly. I might just have to blow down their door with a shotgun. I might have to use TNT or a bomb maybe? I don’t know yet all I know is I blew down the house of the other two since they constructed their house using piece of shit materials. Its their own damn faults come on straw and wood easy. Its going to be the brick which is the hardest to blow down. Maybe but I wont go down the chimney that leaves it wide open for them to eat me, and I’m too smart for that. I am and it has happened to my uncle too, and not something I want to do. I go up to the stupid pigs house, and ask them, “Little pigs, little pigs let me in…You make good bacon for my family.”One of them peer out the window, “Nope you don’t deserve to eat our tender flesh.”Fuck it. I grab a grenade, and flick the handle then hurl it at their stupid house. Boom! Hey look no more pigs they are all blown up now. Yes! No more assholes tormenting me.
I’m waiting on the readers for The Killer Contract rewrite. I’m also trying to finish the first Scarlet book. It’s been slow since the break up and me working a lot threw my writing schedule off, and it made me depressed too. I’m going to get on a better schedule in the next few days since I still have to write the first three books. Sometimes life does get in the way. Emotional pain is not good for writing either, and I’ve been procrastinating way too long. Back to the craziness of VCU, working, and writing.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

This Crazy Summer…

It has been a while since I have updated my blog, and there is not any major news yet. I’m still working on various projects, and the first Scarlet book is actually in the middle of the first draft. The second book I’m 8 chapters in for that draft, and I’m working on the second retail novel. It’s been a long summer due to working and writing. Things are pretty much normal now since I’ve been slowly getting my life back together, and I start school this month which means things will be the busy chaos I love. I miss school since it kept me busy throw in work and writing and I always had something to do. I have been reading more ebooks and books, and working on writing exercises. It is hard to come up with 1,000 words based on images. I can do it though, and I have learned more lessons this summer then I have any other since I’ve gained more then I’ve lost. It was a wild ride too, and I have talked to more people then ever. I love hearing their stories, and their pasts. Everyone has one, and it makes them who they are. People are interesting to me, and I enjoy life now that I’m not miserable. I will update this more as I go along because once my writing picks up more, and I am able to publish more books I will definitely have more to talk about. Right now its all about taking notes, and writing while waiting for VCU to start.
Until next time,

Wolfdreamer25

Being a Vampire in Retail Sucks is out!

It has been a long road, and this particular project is finally done. I loved how it turned out, and I could not be happier since I have a new cover artist I look forward to working with! I have my school stuff straight, and things are picking up! I did write a post about my inspiration and why I wrote the story in the first place, since there is a story behind it:
Not many people know this, but the idea for the story did not come out of thin air. It came thanks to me coming across a book called Retail Hell: How I sold my soul to the store which is about a screen writer forced to get a job working at The Big Fancy, and I read the whole thing within a matter of days. It was funny, and I loved every minute of it. I loved his take on the different types of customers. I loved the fact that he ends up being the only male selling handbags. The humor in it is laugh out loud funny, and I love his comments regarding the customers he nailed it. I admit I have been working retail for two years I wont say where, but I have seen some of the stuff he talks about in his memoir.
My story is set in a supernatural store called Fiona’s Corner and Café. A retail store in the Luxor realm, and Scarlet who is a vampire has to go under cover to solve the case of the missing werewolf girls from the Moon Wolf pack. It has her put in situations people rarely get to see unless they are on the other side of the counter. I love how it turned out. I even threw in something extra for my readers since it mentions another ebook I’m working on. I will make book 1: Scarlets Beginning. Book 2: Retribution is Mine and Book 3: Redemption is mine.
Here are the links to purchase it:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Being-Vampire-R...
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/459255
That is all for updates I will let you know if I have another release, or my thoughts on things.Until next time,
Wolfdreamer25