J.J. Devine's Blog, page 52

Much needed break...

Good morning, everyone!!!

Our writing chapter is gearing up for our retreat weekend. I cannot be more excited about this. We’ve rented a nice little farm house that has been turned into a bed and breakfast.

When I first joined a writing chapter I never really went to the retreats. Mainly because my kids were younger and at home and with a truck driver for a husband it was hard to plan weekends in advance.

Then the kids got older, two of them out on their own with children of their own, and basically all of them working and living their own lives. So hubby’s driving schedule wasn’t an issue any longer and I decided to give this retreat thing a go.

Since my very first one I’ve enjoyed them and found them to be a positive writing tool. There is nothing better than being away with a group of writers for an entire weekend, for a writer. It reenergizes the writing brain and you walk away with a renewed sense of desire for writing.

This is the first official weekend writing retreat for our new chapter. We wanted a place where we could socialize together and just enjoy the weekend. When we walked into Crop A Doodle Do, we instantly felt that connection of retreat location and writer.

The closer this gets the more excited I am getting about the getaway J I really need this break from life and recharge. The perfect way to leave behind the real world for a few days and also the ideal additive to this lifestyle change up for me. It will help me to continue to turn things around and keep a forward motion going. Something I sorely need to help keep me focused on the future.

I’ve been reminded this is my year to really break out and that needs to be my main focus. I’ve managed to see things clearly for the first time in a long time. I will be, in the very near future, working on audio books for my already released books. I am also in the learning process of releasing some of my first self-published books. The first being an anthology that will hopefully release in June this year.

The Hope Chest is an anthology I’m really excited about. We’ve worked really hard since December of last year to write stories with the common bond of Hope Chest. Some stories have the normal definition of hope chest, others have a different twist on this. None of the stories are solely about a hope chest, but all are romances for sure J

I’m very privileged to know and work with so many amazing authors. We’ve brought into this project all we’ve learned from various editors, publishers, and experiences to create what I hope all of you will love and enjoy during your summer reading. Every storyline is unique and holds their very own distinctive writing style.

Well I better get ready to head out and start this day. Lots to do today and only one day off left to get it all done J

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!


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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! We have an exciting blog hop for you today. Instead of heroes and heroines we today we are going to talk about villains J ß-------evil grin because evil grins go with villains, right?!? Fiona Riplee http://fionariplee.com/blog want us to tell you about 5 of our favorite villains and why. She’s asking for a one sentence why, but as you all know I’m pretty wordy so I dare not commit to a one sentence anything J



I think I would have to say my all-time favorite villain would be my favorite vampire from both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. For those of you who are fans, you know exactly who I’m talking about, Klaus.

He’s the misunderstood villain. The one who came into our lives being the kick-ass villain and whose morphed into the alpha vampire everyone adores. It’s not that he’s gone from vicious villain to sweet adoring hero either. It is because of his fierce nature one cannot help but fall in love.




My second villain would have to be Tristan from my book Into the Darkness. I loved writing him, the concerned and caring leader who in reality had his own agenda J




Third, would be my other villain in Into the Darkness, Sahara. I love a woman who knows what she wants. Sadly, what she wanted was exactly what killed her J




Fourth, Jake Connors from The Cheyenne Bride, for the simple reason, he was the first villain I ever wrote.




Fifth, Capri, one you can’t find yet, because she’s still in the making in my Darkness series books two and three. Let me just say this, she is ten times the villain her mother was.




That’s it for me, let’s hop on over and see what Dani Jace has in store for us…

http://danijace.com/




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Take Charge of your Life!!!

Good morning, everyone!!!

Ahhhhhh, I have to say I am enjoying this new way of life I’ve taken on. My stress levels have decreased by a million percent. It is strange how just rearranging a few minor details in life can fix so much. All just in time for the beautiful weather coming our way J

I recently had to make a decision on how people perceive my past. That was a very enlightening decision for me to make. When you’ve been a victim of domestic violence and come past it, for some reason it seems to be a topic people want to rehash from time to time with you. Which is fine, because frankly I’m not ashamed of my past, it has made me into the woman I’ve become.

So when approached this time, I gave pause to exactly what I message I would like to go out. It took a few moments of deep thinking before I came up with the answer and this Sunday I am anxious to see how the reporter who asked the questions translated things.

At this point in my life it is not about being the victim but how I’ve come from survivor to thrivor and moved on with my life. Where I am at this moment and where I intend to be later in life.

She asked me about sharing my pen name along with my real name. I know some authors have issues with this, but I am not one of them. I don’t mind letting people know J.J. Devine and Joye Konig are one in the same. I’m not ashamed of who I was and I’m most definitely not ashamed of who I’ve become or will become. Because this is how life works. We learn from our past, we bring those lessons into our present and future, and build a life from these experiences.

My past has given me the courage to step into the unknown and push the marks in the areas I dream about. It has proven to me that even when you feel your weakest, you can find strength. When you’re not sure if you can go on another day, you find tomorrow is another day and you just need to make it that far for things to change.

Life is a beautiful mixed up sort of deal and every day we are blessed with a new beginning. All we have to do is dream a dream, then go after that dream.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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By no means am I an expert...

Good morning, everyone!!!

I thought today I would post a blog on the fun and exciting business end of writing. Now mind you by no means am I an expert because frankly this business changes all too frequently for anyone to be an expert in this area. I do believe in sharing what I’ve learned over the course of time J

One thing I tell all authors, published and unpublished, get your name out there. What I mean by this is, whatever name you plan on publishing under, use it like you own it. This means, put it out there, website, blog, facebook, twitter, google+, any social media you have you need to introduce your author self.

When doing so, think like an author, whether published or unpublished. Be what you wish to become. Don’t hold back. Don’t be afraid to let people know you are an aspiring author. There’s nothing wrong with that. Even if you’re not close to getting published, I started blogging long before publication to help start building a readership.

Now mind you, you don’t have to bog down the social media with your knowledge on writing, because writers are only a small part of the target audience, remember, building readership, that’s the ultimate goal.

Yes, your writer friends read too, BUT, the purpose of this is to broaden your spectrum, get your author name, genre, and happy little author face out there to people who don’t know you.

I talk with readers a good deal. I want to see what works and doesn’t work for them. So whenever the opportunity comes up don’t be afraid to ask a reader, “What are your thoughts on how authors handle social media?” You’d be surprised at some of the answers.

Is there such a thing as overdoing social media? Yes, very much so. One of the major complaints I’ve heard is the ‘buy me’ campaign. If you’re broadcasting morning, noon, and night with the same posts day in and day out, people are going to start passing you over. Be mindful, considerate, and share you not just your books.

They love to know when we have a new release, but they don’t want their newsfeeds to be so bogged down with that release that there’s no room for anything else. However, they do enjoy tidbits from their favorite new author’s life, giving them a sense of getting to know them.

We are in a day and age where people from all over the world can socialize with you at any given moment of any given day. Use this to build relationships with your readers. Word of mouth is still the best advertisement out there, especially when it comes to readers.

“Hey, have you read anything by this new author__________??? Oh my word, her book _____________ is awesome.”

This is what sales books. So always remember, write and publish the best work possible.

Social media, websites, and blogging make the author human, not mechanical, so remember that when you are putting your author name out there.

Another thing you should never be afraid of doing is sharing snippets from your works. Teasers as some call them. Most publishing houses will allow you to share 10% of your works, which depending on the size of your story could be a little bit or a lot more than you think.

If you are a brand new author, you want to get your works in front of readers. Sadly, some readers won’t try new authors unless they can get a sample of how you write. Not every style is for every reader. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this. A reader may enjoy a certain genre, however, even in that genre they enjoy a particular style. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with giving them a taste to check out your unique storytelling to help them decide if your style is something they may want to try.

Just remember, friends, cyber and otherwise, buy your books, they talk your books up, they are your biggest supporters. So use these tools to build and maintain friendships. And most of all never forget, keep writing. J

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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Catching up...

Good morning, everyone!!!

Things are really starting to even out around here. I’m settling in to a new routine, new job, and am really pleased with how life is going these days.

First, I can finally announce I am going to be a grandma again!!! My son and daughter-in-law are having another little one. Lil Miss has decided she will have a brother and I dare you to tell her otherwise LOL. We’re super thrilled to be preparing for another little life to share our world.

I’ve been doing a bit of ‘reclaiming’ my life lately. I was starting to get bogged down a bit and pulled in so many different directions. I hate when that happens and I despise it worse when I allow it. Then having one of my meds poisoning me, well, let’s just say, life was starting to suck the life out of me.

So in true J.J. Devine fashion, I made mental note of the changes that needed to occur and made them. One at a time, little by little, and now things are back on track.

I have so many publishing goals this year that I really hoped I wouldn’t have to remind people I require a bit more ‘me’ time. I have a writer’s retreat coming up in a few weeks, which I am completely thrilled about. There is nothing like spending a weekend with a bunch of creative minds.

I started working at our local convenience store last week. I love it!!! As a good many of you know I live in small town USA and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. So this job, well, it suits me and gets me out of so much isolation that my writer side requires J

With life taking more twists and turns now that the children are all grown and living their own lives, a husband that is out on the road more than he’s home, well, one has to get out and about from time to time J This job helps me do that and gets me out into the social world.

I’ve been craving sugar like an addict. You think I’m joking but I’m being serious here. Since I don’t keep little ones all the time any longer I have gone back to trying to keep most sweets out of the house. So I’ve made myself go cold turkey off the sweet stuff except my sweet tea (which is sugar controlled by me). Let’s just say, climbing the walls at times is mild compared to the way I feel at any random moment. But this too shall pass I just have to stand firm J

I’m working on getting back to posting daily blogs again now that I have things a bit more evened out. I’ve polished up and got my anthology story pretty much ready for publication. I have one last read through and double check final edits and it is all set. I’ve also been working on a novella story for a boxed set for this fall. I enjoy jumping back and forth between my historical works and my paranormal works. I finish one in a genre then jump over to complete another in the other one. There is just something about both that keeps me centered.

Well I guess I should sign off for today and get some work done. I work tonight so there’s a bit of housework to complete and of course some more work on Prisoner of the Night J

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week it is all about the tease. We’ll be sharing clip-it’s from our WIPs with you, just enough to hopefully get your mouth watering and leave you hungry for more. So sit back, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and enjoy the torment, J




Here’s a sneak peek into Prisoner of the Night:

           Damn, vampires. They had no business in the lives of witches, entering their sacred realms. Fallon flipped the sheer red scarf over the table. “I will show you. Coming into my private moments as if you have a right to be there,” she seethed, setting the candle down with a thud in the center of the table.
           Looking about the room to see what she may have forgotten her eyes rested on the half eaten piece of chocolate cake. “This vampire has me so flustered I can’t even finish my favorite dessert.”
           She struck the match, setting fire to the candle’s wick before settling in for her meditation. If he dared to show his face tonight, he would have another thing coming. She would not fall into his arms like some wanton whore, as she had last night. No, tonight he would be in for the fight of his life.

         Fallon stared into the flames flickering against the darkness of her cabin walls. Why wasn’t anything happening? No mist. No imagery of any sort, only the same four walls of her single room cabin.

         A knock on the door pulled her attention from the flames. So this is why she couldn’t sink between the worlds, the bastard was brave enough to come to her home. Fallon jumped to her feet, grabbing her broad sword before flinging open the door, ready for attack. She’d be damned if she gave him permission to enter her physical realm.

         “What in blazes?” Tara squealed.

         Fallon brought the broad sword to a halt the moment it reached her friend’s neck. “I thought you were someone else.” She huffed, turning on her heel restoring the sword to its rightful place by the door.

         “Obviously, who you were expecting had to be foe for you do not greet friends in such a manner.” Tara eyed Fallon as she entered the cabin and closed the door behind her.

         “I was anticipating an overconfident vampire.” Fallon blew out the candle on a grumble.

         “He must be something to behold, this vampire of yours, for I have never seen you in such a state,” Tara exclaimed, going to the pot of coffee pouring herself a cup before curling up in a high backed chair by the fireplace.

         “Something! I’ll tell you what he is he’s an arrogant, overbearing, shameful creature. Stealing into my meditation, having his way with me without a second thought to what it might mean.”

         “And what does it mean?” Tara took a slow easy sip of the steaming brew, the leisurely smile crossing her lips added to Fallon’s irritation.

         “It signifies he’s an ass, that’s what it denotes.” Fallon dropped into the chair adjacent from her friend.

         “You’ve never been one to embrace your desires, my friend. What would it hurt to accept them?”

         Horror rose up in her chest. Was Tara asking her to condone this vampire’s behavior? Was she asking her to embrace the yearnings her body cried out for, even in the absence of the irritating blood sucker? “How can you ask such a thing?”

         “Oh please, Fallon, I caught you preparing to seek him out in your meditations. I would bet it is a bit more than irritation that has you hunting down this mysterious vampire.” Tara snorted, “Don’t forget I’ve known you since we were babes.”

         “Then you know I am not one to be taken in by a man’s pretty words, much less a vampire’s seductive means,” Fallen snapped, rising to stoke the embers in the fireplace.

         Tara came to her, placing a hand to her shoulder, “Men are not the horrible creatures your mother would have you to believe they are.” Her blue eyes sparkled, “I would imagine a vampire could offer much more than a mere mortal man.”

         The heat rose up bringing warmth to Fallon’s face. If the vampire which interrupted her meditations the night before was any indication of the wiles of vampires, her friend’s words were more truthful than even Tara knew. “My mother only wishes my powers to rise to their fullest abilities.”

         “Yes, but that does not mean one cannot enjoy the merriment of the flesh with a willing man, or vampire in your case,” Tara reminded her. “So tell me, what happened? What did he look like? Don’t leave out a single detail,” she coaxed, curling back up in the chair she had been occupying moments before.

         Fallon stared into the fire, watching the flames lick the fresh wood. The intense blue rising up from the embers brought the memory of the vampire’s eyes back to her third eye. “He has the most penetrating blue eyes,” she whispered. “The kind which looks right into your soul.”

         She pulled her gaze from the fire, going to the counter, slicing a piece of cake for each of them. She handed Tara a piece then retook her seat. “He shook me to my core.”

         “Because you’ve never experienced . . .”

         Fallon held up her hand silencing her friend’s words. “I’ve had sexual relations before.”

         “But you’ve never been subjected to such where your emotions were involved.”

         The mysterious vampire did stir her emotions there was no question about it. His touch ignited stimulation. His eyes beaconed to her soul. He inflamed both her anger and her arousal. Only a witch, as seasoned as Tara, would have recognized the signs within her. “He does rile my passions.”

         “What are you going to do about him? Do you think you’ll see him again?”

         Fallon savored a bite of chocolate cake contemplating her answer. On one hand she hoped she never set eyes on him again. She could almost envision the arrogant look in those spellbinding eyes, from his knowledge of how wanton she could be. On the other hand, every part of her being hummed with need to return to his arms, to feel his lips against her own, to give into her carnal desires.

         “I honestly don’t know. He sets my nerves on fire.”

         A slow easy smile crossed Tara’s lips. “Sounds like love to me.”

         Fallon laughed. “Love, I would hardly think after one night of giving into passion it could be titled love.”

 

                                           ***

         Dante paced the long stone corridor. What am I doing seducing a witch? He looked about the empty passageway. “This is why, the isolation, this void that has become my life.” He slammed his fist into the stone wall, the cuts healing themselves in almost an instant.

         It had been years since he realized his heart was still intact. The moment he had witnessed Fallon under the full moon a fortnight ago, there was no question a heart still beat in his chest. Her red-brown hair fell down her bare back. Flames shot heavenward from her palms, indicating the Fire Clan she belonged to. Her essence screamed out warrior, woman, and most of all passion.

         Never in four hundred years had the glimpse of a woman stopped him in his tracks. Fallon had done more than halt him in his steps, she’d taken ahold of his black soul and the longing for a different life had sprung into existence. She occupied his every thought, his dreams, there was nowhere in his miserable way of life he could hide from the stunning witch.

         There were rumors afoot, vampires rarely fell in love, but when they did, they would move heaven and hell to hold the object of their aspiration. In the past he thought these tales to be nothing more than myth. After happening upon Fallon there were no more doubts. Was it not why he had sought her out, interrupted her mediations to sample her sweet flesh.

         Storming through the castle gate, Dante knew what he must do. She would be his, from this night until eternity. After all, he had a lifetime to ensure her love.




Let’s hop on over and see what A.S. Fenichel has in store for us…

http://asfenichel.net/blog/




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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week Fiona Riplee http://fionariplee.com/blog has put forth a challenge that I must say I failed miserably at. She wants us in 10 words or less describe a kiss using the words pink and sweet. Well if you’ll notice mine is a bit more than 10 words. Hey, I’m wordy please forgive me J

Don't forget to grab your chance to win our sweet Mother's Day giveaway!!!


I sort of kind of cheated a bit also, I grabbed one of my ‘first’ kiss scenes from one of my historical romances, Passionate Pursuit.

The tip of Rae’s pink tongue moistened her lips.  The urge to see if her kiss was as sweet as he imagined it to be, consumed him. Sam lifted her chin with his forefinger, his mouth claiming hers.




Okay, that’s it for me. Let’s hop on over and see if Leslie Hatchel was able to stay within the 10 word range…

https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com/




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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! Xio Axelrod http://xioaxelrod.com/ has asked us to answer the question “How much of yourself do you lend to your characters?” “What traits do your characters have that come from you?” “What about someone in your life?”

Well let me see, I would have to say one of the main things about some of my characters and myself is the fact that I love herbal healing. I’ve studied herbalism and often use this in my writings when dealing with injury or illness in my works.

Raven in Into the Darkness wears Dragon’s Blood. This is my all-time favorite scent and I wear it often myself J I also practice an earth based faith, as do my witches in my paranormal romances.

I would say the biggest thing that is the same between my characters and my real life would be the names in my Acceptance Series. My characters are named after my children and grandchildren:

Jennifer Nichole- daughter: Nichole Michaels

Stephen- son: Stephen Davis

Samuel- son: Samuel Davis

Skyler- grandson: Skyler Davis

Airianna- granddaughter: Anna Davis

Jessilynn “Ali” granddaughter: Jessie Carter

Ava granddaughter: Ava Sherwood




Well that’s it for me today. Don’t forget to grab your chance to win one of our great prizes!!! Let’s hop on over to see what Carrie Elks has for us…

http://carrieelks.com/blog/


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Just more ramblings...

Good morning, everyone!!!

I’m looking forward to this writing charged weekend. It’s that time of the month again where my fellow authors and I meet up for our meeting which always brings amazing energy into my writing. We’ve been working on stories for our anthology and most of them have been turned in for first round critiquing and editing.

My sister has offered to help me redo my pictures for the cover. I took about 27 pictures the other day, although they were good pics, I wasn’t satisfied with any of them for what we are looking for. So my sister came over after work the other night and we brainstormed ideas based off of what I took. It was really fantastic hearing from a reader’s POV what would be fun for a cover. Thankfully she got what I wanted and was great with ideas on how to get the effect I’m talking about J

Today, I will spend the day after hubby takes off for his run, preparing for the board meeting and the business meeting for tomorrow. Once that is done I can focus my attention back to Prisoner of the Night. This has been a lot of fun working on and I hope the momentum keeps pushing forward so I can get this project completed.

I also need to spend the weekend going over short stories for the anthology. We have around 8 of us working on stories and first round is up and ready to be gone over. I would like to take one whole day just critiquing J

Besides all of this, daily life seems to be cooperating with me. Which has been a blessing all in itself. Hubby and I took Bear for his weigh in for his monthly pill. He turned 5 months old yesterday and is now up to 40 pounds. His brother, Shadow, grew pretty rapidly when he was younger, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t 40 pounds at 5 months. So now I’m wondering just how big this guy is going to be full grown. Bear and Shadow share the same parents with only about 2 and a half years between them.

Next week I go for some nerve testing, both on my arms and hands and also on my legs and feet. I’m pretty sure the arms and hands are still my  carpal tunnel, which I can deal with, I’ve been dealing with this since I was 27 J Now these legs and feet issues, I’m clueless on, but we’ll see what happens there. I thought when I talked to the doc about it all it would be was a simple med adjustment, who knew I would be wrong, LOL.

Well I better get this day going. So much to do, so little time.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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Living in the moment...

Good morning, everyone!!!

I have to say this week has been moving right along. I’ve been sticking to a writing schedule and moving my novella forward. In fact, I really like where this story is going so far J

I’m going to say I’m not exactly where I want to be with my daily writing, but I am getting there a few steps at a time each day. Instead of focusing on all I need to get done, I concentrate on whatever project I have pulled up solely, prioritizing by what project needs to be done first (the dreaded deadline ordeal).

That is the approach I’ve been taking with a good many things in my day lately. Setting up the mindset of what I need to be consciously aware of and tackle first. I’ve let go of the idea that I HAVE to get to this and get this or that done, and lived in each moment.

My days change up in responsibilities so quickly each day that when I put pressure on myself by thinking, “You HAVE to get this done.” I end up bringing unnecessary stress into my day. I’ve found I’m enjoying the day quite a bit more than I was before.

Living in the moment is much easier than I thought it would be. When you’re a planner your brain is always one step ahead of the game. Making living for the here and now much harder, because like with everything in life, things come up and throw your whole day into a tailspin.

To be honest, I have no idea what made me change this aspect of life. All I know is instead of the panic I normally would’ve felt when I received an email the other day, throwing BIG last minute changes into my week and needing to act quickly, I did this without that overwhelming feeling that usually passes over me in cases like this. I just jumped in with both feet, started the ball rolling on the matter, and told myself prioritize the situation and give yourself time to complete the task effectively without losing sight of what I want to accomplish in other areas.

To my surprise it worked J I’m happy to say my notes are the only thing left in this matter that need attention before I have to present the information I’ve received J

You’ll notice at the end of this blog is a slide show and rafflecopter. Romance Writers Weekly has decided we should celebrate being over a year old and what better way than to do a giveaway for Mother’s Day!!! We have several ebook bundles and gift cards up for grabs!!! So check it out and sign up for your chance to win!!!

Well that’s it for me this morning. I need to get to some promotional work and then hit a bit of writing seeing as I’ve found myself with a day off during the week to spend with hubby on his day off.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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