J.J. Devine's Blog, page 50

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! We’ve instilled some new changes over the course of this last week that I’m really excited to share with all of you. But guess what??? You’ll have to wait until we’ve ironed out some more of the details ;) Just so you know, you’ll be seeing a LOT more of us!!!

This week Xio Axelrod http://xioaxelrod.com/ wants us to do Twitter pitches on our latest works. So here’s mine for Destiny’s Price.




Destiny Connors never held much stock in men. An abusive half-brother killed after murdering families in the Wyoming Territory. Two brothers who are more scared of their own shadows than standing up for her honor. Then to top it off, her abusive father who made money selling her off to the highest bidder each month. What was there to like much less love about the men in her life?

Then Stephen Davis was literally thrown into her hell. One of the most respected ranchers of the largest ranch in the territory. What could he possibly see in her?

Stephen saves her life but can he save her soul? Worse, will her father kill him for trying?

Let’s hop on over to Jeanne McDonald’s place and read hers. https://authorjeannemcdonald.wordpress.com/

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week the subject is a deep one. Tracey Gee http://www.lovextra.com/ would like us to look at the darker side of ourselves within our writing. She’d like to know if we’ve put these bad experiences or relationships into our works for therapy purposes or just a way to close the door to our past.

This is a deep subject for me and probably one of the main reason’s it is taking me so long to get through Destiny’s Price. I write a good many heroines who have to rise above their past in some way, however, Destiny Connors was the heroine I wrote to help me learn to dig deep inside myself to overcome my own sexual abuse.

Now mind you, Destiny’s abuse was much harsher than my own and if I ever get this manuscript polished you’ll understand. Girls (and probably boys as well) who’ve been sexually abused as children take on a ‘warped’ sense of what sex and sexuality is as well as intimacy. So, as I wrote Destiny’s character I kept in mind how a young woman who’s spent several years being abused would react to situations. This is why the editing process of this story is so tedious.

When writing Destiny I go back in time. I look through healed adult eyes to see the girl I once was and how I would have reacted to some of the situations she finds herself in. On the other side of the coin, I also look to how the husband of 30 years has helped me overcome some of the learned behaviors and thought process. This helps me a great deal when writing my hero, Stephen Davis.

So, I guess you could say I use this as a means of therapy, but I also use it as a means of closing the door on that aspect of my life and to make my characters realistic.

So there you have it, my cold dark truths. Let’s hop on over Brenda Margriet and see what she has in store for us today!!!

http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly. This week we’re going back to answering three questions for you. Fiona Riplee http://fionariplee.com/blog wants us to tell you about our favorite summer memory. What we enjoy the most about summer? And how the warm days and sunshine affect our writing habits? So let’s get this party started shall we???




Your favorite summer memory.

My favorite summer memories are when we gather with family and go camping. We’ve been doing this most of our children’s lives and now that they are adults, we’ve been doing it for the last three years. There’s nothing like getting back to nature and enjoying time outdoors with your kids and grandkids.

The week of July 4th this year, hubby and I planned a special campout that started the week off with the grandkids. Our oldest granddaughter learned to ride her bike without training wheels that week. They all enjoyed fishing and swimming, and sleeping in the camper.




What do you enjoy most about summer?

I enjoy a lot of things about this time of year. I love camping of course, but I also enjoy my flower gardens, my veggie gardens, walks around the neighborhood, visiting with neighbors, anything that gets me out of the house.




How does the warm days affect my writing?

It would reduce things drastically if I didn’t have a laptop, I’m afraid. But the laptop allows me to take my writing where ever I go. I have to say I do my best work sitting outdoors this time of year. I enjoy the quiet, the fresh air, the sunshine. It rejuvenates my creative energies and allows me to release my creative side a bit more.




 

Now let’s hop on over and see what Dani Jace has in store for us!!!

http://danijace.com/

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week, Susan Scott Shelley http://www.susanscottshelley.com/#!blog/c1cod wants to know what song we’d choose for our Entrance Theme song. You know like when a player walks out to the pitcher’s mound, or a wrestler is preparing to walk out.

I have a few depending on my mood and what day you ask me, so here it goes, hope you enjoy!!!



My daughter-in-law says this song is so me :) The next two songs are songs I want played when I go to the between world... yes morbid I know, but they are so me... Now let’s hop on over to Carolyn Spear and see what hers is:

http://www.carolynspearromance.com/blog

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week Fiona Riplee http://fionariplee.com/blog has asked us to write a Flash Fiction. She’s given us a setting of: woods. A time of: 3 a.m. and the words, mindful, deep, and bubbles. So let’s see what I can come up with, shall we???



“You call these woods? It’s nothing more than a thicket of dead brush just like the rest of this damnable island. Doesn’t anything live here?” Fallon snapped.

“The only living thing on this island is you, I am afraid.” Dante snapped a twig from a nearby branch crumbling it between his fingers.

Fallon became mindful of how her words must sound to the vampire in her midst. He had told her often how his existence was not a life at all, but merely a holding place between living and death. His electric blue eyes dulled against the 3 a.m. moon, a harsh reminder her rant had put the dimness there.

Deep in her heart she could feel the pain of his hell. “I’m sorry, Dante.” Fallon brushed her fingertips across the hard muscles of his forearm igniting within her a strange warmth. Burgundy began to swim in the blue orbs until the cobalt coloring of his eyes was mere specks. From past interactions with this large vampire she knew his blood lust was on the surface now. Dante turned from her, ripping a dead tree from the ground by its roots, throwing it against another tree. Both trees splintered before falling to the ground.

“You did not make me the monster I am today, so there is no need for you to be sorry,” he growled.

His back heaved with a weighty sigh when she touched his shoulder. “You’re not a monster,” Fallon whispered.

Dante turned to face her. Pearl white fangs glistened against the night. Eyes dark as blood stared back at her. “Look at me. Truly look at me. What else would you call a man who steals you away in the dead of night from all you are accustomed too? A man who survives solely on the blood running through the veins of humans. A man who should long have been buried in the ground with the rest of his people. Whose island died with the people who once walked these very grounds.”

Fallon rested her hand over his heart. “Your heart still beats within your chest. I feel the emotions coursing through you, just as if they were my own. Dead men don’t feel in such a manner.”

He closed his hand over hers, sending a sudden charge of heat to her fingertips. For the first time in months, Fallon could feel her magic returning.

She slipped from his grasp, concentrating on the energy filling her. She lifted her palms heavenward. Suddenly reddish orange bubbles began to seep from her palms, rising upward. She opened her eyes wide with surprise.

“Your magic is returning,” Dante exclaimed.

“If I were a Water witch I would be thrilled,” Fallon laughed. “Unfortunately, I’m a Fire witch.”




Let’s hop on over to Tracey Gee’s page and see what she has in store for us!!!  http://www.lovextra.com/category/blog/

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly where each week our authors answer a question or write about something presented to us. This week Xio Axelrod wants to know if we weren’t writers what other creative career would we most want to try?






At the ripe young age of 51 I’ll have to admit I’ve tried a few different jobs in my time. I started my working careers at the tender age of 13 babysitting for my siblings and neighborhood children, moving into retail, CNA, housekeeper, babysitter, nursery worker, oh my, the list goes on and on.

I would have to say if I wasn’t writing though and I could pick one creative job it would have to be landscaping. I had a boss who is now landscaping heaven I’m sure, who taught me not only the nursery business when I lived in Florida, but also how to design, bid, and landscape businesses and homes.

The first landscape job I ever assisted with was a Post Office in Lake Como, Florida. It was a wonderful experience and I was soon learning how to walk onto a piece of property, hear the thoughts of the clients, and then going home to sit around the kitchen table to map out a design full of shrubs, flowers, and beautiful gardens of perennials.

So if I had to choose a creative job I would want to do if I wasn’t writing novels it would definitely be landscape designer J




Now let’s hop on over to Xio Axelrod and see what she would be doing if she wasn’t filling our bookshelves with amazing novels.

http://xioaxelrod.com/

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week this topic gets deep, A.S. Fenichel http://asfenichel.net/ wants to know which person living, dead, a relative, or a stranger has had the biggest influence on our lives/writing careers? She wants us to tell you what he/she was like or how they shaped us.

Well, I’ve pondered this all weekend trying to decide on just one person who has influenced or shaped my life.

I thought about my grandmothers, one taught me you are never too old to follow your dreams. It wasn’t in her words but her actions of going back to school, getting her GED, then graduating from nursing school to become a nurse at the very time my grandfather retired. I was in fifth grade when she graduated nursing school. It impacted me and my life. I raised my children, dabbled in writing while they were young, seeking out my career once they were grown.

The other grandmother showed me the person I wished to be in this life. A woman who no matter what time of day or night you would show up at her home, would have a spread of food to feed you, a few gallons of sweet tea in the fridge, and a cake on the bar. She worked hard, she loved fiercely, and wasn’t afraid of being who she was. She had morals and wasn’t afraid to tell you, “Sugar, don’t act like that, what will people say?”

These two women have inspired me, shaped me, and helped me become the woman I am today. However, so have so many others in my life. Baby Ali taught me that I could do the impossible, I could survive even once my heart had shattered into a million pieces. My grandchildren have taught me that love flows from a grandmother’s heart into theirs. My children have taught me how to love deeply. My husband has taught me that humor is a vital part of living every day. My parents have taught me endurance. My sisters have taught me life is full of ups and downs, we just have to go with the flow. My friends have taught me there are people out there who will lift you up when all you want to do is collapse and let the world pass you by.

I am a firm believer that everyone who enters your life has the power to be some sort of influence on who you become, good or bad. As I’ve grown older I’ve realized the importance of surrounding yourself with people who will lift you up, inspire you, and cheer you on when you fail. Life is full of mishaps and mistakes, hardships and failures. You don’t need to surround yourself with people who are ever ready to remind you of this.

It is those people in this life who surround you to bring positive into your life that will allow you the energy to go on when these mishaps and mistakes arrive. When you look in the mirror and all you see is failure, it is these people who come out of the woodwork to remind us, we are worth something and yes, it may be difficult right now, but tomorrow is another day and the sun does shine sometimes.

Well, that’s it for me this week. Let’s hop on over and see what Carrie Elks has in store for us!!!

http://carrieelks.com/blog/

Wednesday's Weekly Check-In

Good evening, everyone!!!

Well, Welcome back to Wednesday’s Weekly Check-In. Let’s see, I’ve lost ounces this week but still have one pound to lose to get down to meet my 10 pound goal by July 1st. I am still optimistic about it, and I haven’t been as diligent on the walking as I was in the beginning, which I have already scolded myself for so please be kind J

Hubby picked me up a gel seat for my bike, he’s such a sweetheart J We’ve had tons and tons of rain this past week however and that has really put a damper on what I have been able to get out and do exercise wise. I’m really hoping this rains lets up soon and I’m able to get back on a regular exercise schedule. Yes, I know I know, I have an indoor walking machine and need to use it when it is like this. I promise this time next week I will be back on that five day a week schedule too J

I’m still drinking my yummy water more than tea. I’m not sure if I gave you the recipe last week so here it is:

½ cucumber

1 lemon

1 lime

A gallon of water

Let sit in fridge for at least an hour (overnight is best).

Drink liberally J

One thing I’ve learned from doing this lifestyle change and having the help of myfitnesspal is how to portion size my foods. I was very proud of myself this past weekend. Hubby took me to the buffet for dinner after my meeting. When fixing my plate I picked out healthier foods and even could eyeball the portions and know I was really close J

So all in all, even though I haven’t been as diligent with my walking machine this past week, I have still managed to keep my calorie burn more than my calorie intake. I am getting smarter on how much a portion is and what foods are larger portions and what ones are smaller portions. I’m loving my water and definitely taking in more of it than I used to which is a huge plus. I even made up a pitcher to take camping with the grandkids and I last week J

So that’s it for this week. I hope I have a better report for you next week J

Everyone have a great night!!!

Blessings to all!!!

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly, where you never know what to expect from our authors J This week Susan Scott Shelley http://www.susanscottshelley.com/#!blog/c1cod has put forth an interesting twist to our hop. She wants to know, “You’ve been gifted with a super power. Which would you choose? Why? Hmmmm, let’s see what I come up with, shall we???

A super power, would I want to fly? Maybe, that would be cool, flying overhead, seeing the world unaltered by say the inside of a plane. Nah, I don’t think I would want that super power.

The ability to become invisible. Hey, that could be interesting. You could sneak in and be that fly on the wall. But the downside, there are truly things we should not hear and with this super power I am sure one would end up hearing things about themselves that would sting a bit.

I already delve into reading the future via my tarot cards. So I wouldn’t consider this a super power seeing as it is an everyday part of life for me anyway, and I can promise no super powers are necessary there.

Strength, now that might be something that would be nice. But with my luck the powers that be would take this as a sign for inner strength, and frankly, I’m getting really tired of them testing and trusting me with so much of this aspect of life.

Then I pondered on this question some more and realized, hey, you’re an author, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, ect. You already have a super power. Balance. Let’s face it, most people do a balancing act with life, trying to fit in everything from work to play to sleep. If that in itself isn’t a super power I don’t know what a super power could be.

I often tease about putting on different hats, one day I plan to have a hat for every aspect of life I try to balance, then I can tell people when they walk in my door, “Nope, can’t you see the hat on my head? It’s not the mom hat right now, it’s the author hat. Please come back when I change hats.” Of course the grandma hat will always be close at hand for emergencies of course J

So I guess you could say, I’m good with just being me. No super powers necessary, because frankly, with my personality I would probably abuse the power LOL.




Let’s hop on over to see what Leslie Hachtel would like to have…

https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com/

A Day of reflection...

Good afternoon, everyone!!!

 

This week I had the first campout of the year with my grandchildren. We planned for a time that school was out for the summer and I had two days off in a row, which just happened to be this week J

 

I almost canceled due to some stress that had befallen me, but then I sat myself down and rethought this. I don’t handle stress very well and I didn’t want this to reflect on our campout, so I made a decision that nothing was going to stop me from enjoying this time with my grandchildren.

 

I am proud to say I was able to not only help them have a good time but I also had a wonderful time. This is part of the new lifestyle I’m taking on, categorizing stress J

 

I wanted to do something a bit different for dinner seeing as most of the time it is roasting hot dogs for a campout dinner. So instead I put my head together with my oldest son and we came up with a kid-friendly kabob. Then hubby added his two cents and we can up with a success. We took homestyle meatballs and little smokies along with a fresh pineapple, weaving these on the kabobs, then I put them on my new flash grill and ***poof*** we had a kid-friendly kabob. Of course we topped this off with chips and push-ups for desert J

 

After dinner we grabbed up bags and went on a nature walk, watched about 15 minutes of a ball game, and went to the park.

 

We had gogurts for our midnight snack and watched movies in the camper before bed.

 

Yesterday they spent the day playing games and hanging out and we just enjoyed general chit-chat and a day of being outdoors.

 

I remember my grandparents at times like this. How close I was to them when I was little and how happy they made my childhood. Then someone posted a video online that was my grandfather’s favorite song. I instantly could see him walking down the isles at his church, singing with his voice lifted heavenward. That was just how my grandfather was. I strained my memory to hear his voice in song once more. But I took the song as a sign my grandfather was thinking of me and how much I would love to hear his voice and talk to him again. Ask his advice on a few things in this life, and hear his words of wisdom. Some days it would be so nice to just talk to him and grandma again, sitting out under the pine trees, shelling butterbeans and enjoying a hot summer afternoon.

 

My hope is that one day my grandchildren will look back on our time as I do with my own grandparents. I hope they remember the love that went into each of the days we’ve shared.

 

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

 

Blessings to all!!!