Princess Jones's Blog, page 2

Pantser or Plotter

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On a Less Fiction-y Future

I’m gonna start this one right off with apologizing for that title. I generally decide what I want to blog about and then decide on the title. For some reason, this title would not leave my mind and so it’s what we’re going with.

Let’s get down to business here. I need to talk to you about the next phase of my books. So far, I’ve been writing short novellas about a fictional superhero world with big chunks of humor and irreverence. I love those books. I’m proud of the work I’ve done with them. They aren’t going anywhere. But I am going to start a new series of nonfiction essay collections.

Now, you may be asking yourself “Why didn’t Princess just get herself a cute little pen name and just go write this stuff without involving us?”

If you are thinking that, I want to thank you for your quick wittedness. You know what’s up. That is what authors often do when they are thinking of writing something a little different from their usual stuff. But when I was considering that, I realized that much of my memoir essays are written in the same style as my fiction work. Those stories are so real because they are built on real life situations.

I love the people who are buying my books and reading them. I want you to know that the next series of books I’m serving up will be just as good. And just so you know I mean it, I’m going to give my entire list of subscribers a free copy of the first one that’s coming out this summer. All you have to do is fill out this little form:

[SUBSCRIBE FORM]

In the food industry, they often talk about palate cleansers. These are just a little something something to clear the taste in your mouth before you move on to something else. That’s exactly what this new series of books is going to be. I’ll be back to fiction soon but in the meantime, let’s try something a little different.

Photo Credit: marty hadding

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The Drive to Write

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Recalibration on Super Secret Series

Recently, I had a dream that I was riding a unicycle down a big hill of sand to the ocean. Then I noticed that the sand beneath me was disappearing as I rode over it, like it often does in video games. I realized that I would have to find another way back up to the top of the hill.

I knew I was dreaming but I was determined to find a way back up that hill. I even resisted waking up so I could do it. I just couldn’t start my day knowing I’d left something undone, even if it was in a dream.

I hate quitting. It gives me a bad taste in my mouth. On the other hand, sometimes you need to make a smart decision about where you spend your time and energy.

All of this is a long way to say that I’ve decided to end the Super Secret Series at two books. I originally wanted to have a five book series that ended with Penny’s last year in Super school. But between the low interest in the series and the swimming upstream required for me to write it, it looks like the right thing to do is to stop here.

I’m still incredibly proud of the work I’ve done on the series. I think that I’ve grown as a writer over the years and you can see that growth in these books. I also really like Penny’s story. As hard as it was to write, I think reading it is a fun ride. In those terms, the series has been successful and I’m grateful for that.

Maybe I shouldn’t think of this as quitting–I should think of this as a recalibration. The difference is that one is giving up entirely and the other is make a decision to go in another direction. Maybe I’ll come back to Penny’s story or maybe I’ll integrate her into another one.

So what happens next?

Right now I’m preparing to release a duet of the two books in the Super Secret series so new readers can get Penny’s whole story in one read. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.

And I’m working on something new. It’s a little different than what I’m known for but I think you guys will like it. You’ll get the details soon. Until then, thanks so much for supporting me and my work.

Photo Credit: jennymcb

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How I Respond to Negative Reviews

Every now and again, my work gets a review that is decidedly evil negative. Here is how I respond to them:

Let my rabbits out of their cage, lie on the floor, cuddle them, and watch them eat bananas
Play Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy XV or Lego Batman some other old video game that I know like the back of my hand but still love to play
Read long form journalism about the perfect crime, which obviously wasn’t so perfect because someone found out about it enough to write about it
Go to Target with the intention of buying one thing and then leave having bought everything but that one thing
Scroll Instagram looking for pictures of other people’s meals
Drive places and forget where I’m going
Call my mama
Buy stuff I don’t need on Amazon
Write the next thing
Live my life

Creating and consuming belong in separate spaces.

The truth is that I hardly ever even know when I get reviews. I don’t troll my Amazon and Goodreads pages looking for how many stars each title is getting. If I see a review, it’s generally by accident because I was looking for something else.

Probably my favorite book in the world is The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. My class read it in the seventh grade and the teacher would have us each take a few pages to read aloud. I hate being read to but it was even more excruciating when I was enjoying the story so much. They were reading so slow! So, one night, I stole my copy of the book–which wasn’t supposed to leave the classroom–and took it home. I stayed up very late reading it the book and then re-reading parts of it. It was the first book I’d ever wished I’d written myself.

Because Robin McKinley created that story, it will always be hers in a very real way. On the other hand, my personal experience with that book is my own. Both are valid but neither can affect the other. I’m not allowed to control the way Ms. McKinley creates and she’s not allowed to control the way I consume. And if that’s true for the books I’ve read, it must be true for the work I create. I have to write for myself and let the readers read for themselves.

Reviews matter.

Even if a review gets something wrong, it’s not my place to hop into the review section of Barnes & Noble to correct someone about a character’s motivations. That space is for the readers to give each other information; not for me to defend my creative choices.

Reviews tell potential readers what to expect from the work. Lots of reviews on a title means it is being read. Good reviews means it’s being well received by readers. Bad reviews means there’s a disconnect between the readers and work.

For the sake of potential future readers, I encourage you to review my books, whether your reaction is good, bad, or indifferent. I just probably won’t read them.

Want to send me a message that I *will* read? You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, or you can email me at princess [at] princessjones [dot] com.

Photo Credit: Judy van der Velden

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Where Did You Get the Idea for the Super Series?

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Doughnuts and New Releases

Today is the big day. Super Secret, the second in my latest series, is out.

Most of you know how hard this past summer was for me. This book was almost a casualty of it. I really didn’t think I could finish it. I almost scrapped the whole project. But I had a lot of support from family and friends, who all said “FINISH THE DAMN BOOK!” And so I put my head down, worked it out, and got it out with a small delay.

I’m proud of it. (So proud of it that I went to Krispy Kreme today.) I hope you read it and I hope you enjoy it. As for me, I’m gonna go take a nap and start worrying about what I’m going to write next.

If you preordered it, it’s already been downloaded to your device. If you still need to get your copy, you can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and just about every other store. Here are a few choices:

Amazon | Apple | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

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Fievel Goes West

Last weekend, I was sitting a stop light on one of those famous Texas highways. One of the things my friends and family back on the east coast don’t quite realize is that Texas humongous. You could drive for hours and hours and still be in Texas. So, when I get a call asking me about some tornado in Lubbock, it’s all I can do not to scream out “I live sooooooooooo far away from Lubbock, man!!”

But back to the highways. They’re massive. But they also go through these little towns, so sometimes you’re on a three lane highway with a speed limit of 70, and you still have to stop at traffic lights.

Which is what I was doing that day when I saw a little mouse trying to cross from one side of the highway to the other. It was such a striking sight–this tiny little creature booking it across six lanes of highway. I couldn’t help but think about what was motivating it. Maybe he had lived on one side of the highway all its life. Maybe he dreamed of getting out of Left Side of the Highway and making a new life on Right Side of the Highway.

Maybe the last time he saw his father, he was making his way over to the Right Side, promising to come back when he knew it was safe…but the little field mouse never saw his father again. Maybe he stared out from his side of the highway every night and wondered if he’d ever have the guts or the speed to get over to the other side.

This mouse was booking it, too. I would say he was tapping into his inner Usain Bolt but Usain makes being the fastest man in the world look easy. This mouse was huffing and puffing like the 17th fastest man in the world, fighting to make it in the qualifiers.

Watching the mouse race against the clock–the light would be turning green pretty soon–I was suddenly overwhelmed with solidarity for this little guy. I wanted him to win. “Go. Go. Go,” I started to chant to myself under my breath.

Then I got louder as he crossed in front of the incoming traffic in the first three lanes and made it to the median. As he started to cross the second set of three lanes, I got really excited. “Yes! Yes! You can do it! YEAH MOTHERFUCKER! RUN! YEAH! YOU GOT THIS! YEAH!!”

I exploded in a cheer complete with a flurry of fist pumps as the little mouse dove into the bushes on the other side. He had made it. I was proud of him. I hoped all his dreams would come true on the Right Side of the Highway.

And then I noticed that the people in the cars on either side of me were staring at me. I’d forgotten that my windows were down. They’d heard me rooting on the mouse and apparently that made me a weirdo.

I shrugged it off. “Y’all didn’t see that mouse, huh?”

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Bad News About Super Secret Preorders

Hi all,

It’s been a bit of a rough summer this year. I lost both of my dogs. I had some personal setbacks. I’ve been dealing with some health issues. Blah, blah, blah. If you follow me on social media or read my blog, you’ve heard about my Summer of Job. Frankly, I’m tired of talking about it so I know people must be tired of hearing about it.

But you’re going to hear about it just a little more. Fortunately, there is both good news and bad news. The good news is that summer is over. Even though the weather hasn’t caught up for us here in Austin, we are well into fall. New season, new beginnings, and all of that. We can only go up from here.

The bad news is that all of this commotion in my life has delayed the release of my next title, Super Secret. It was originally slated to be released on October 18th but it won’t be available until November 17th.

WAIT!

Before you send me a mean email, start a riot, or spiral into depression, just remember that’s only a month delay. So, just put down that Molotov cocktail and take a deep breath. Everything’s gonna be OK. Fall’s finally here and we’re gonna get back on track.

XOXO,

Princess

PS–If you haven’t already gotten your preorder copy of Super Secret, you can do so at one of these fine retailers:

Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook

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Sad Dog Thoughts

This is gonna be a sad-ish one, guys. If you’re feeling particularly fragile–you just had a loss yourself or you’re on your period or you’ve watched any of the Toy Story movies in the last few days–you might want to skip this one.

My dog, Sugar, died yesterday.

About two months ago, just before my birthday, my other dog, Mama had to be put down.

In a lot of ways, Sugar’s death was harder than Mama’s. I’d had Mama for 9 years and Sugar for only about six months. But because Mama was much older, I was able to see anticipate it. Sugar was seemingly healthy, suddenly got really sick, and just didn’t recover. Also, I made the decision to put Mama down in the vet’s office, surrounded by professionals. I had some control over what happened and when. Sugar died in my arms on my living room floor at a time when I’d never been more alone in my entire life.

Summers are difficult for me. I have seasonal depression as the weather gets hotter. Almost any time something terrible has happened to me, it’s been in the summer. I can feel it coming on in May. Suddenly it takes a lot of effort to interact with others, to write, to breath. This particular summer has been full of losses and hurt and the word “No” over and over again. The dogs were just the cherry on top of it all.

All of my adult life, I’ve had pets. For the past ten years, I’ve had a dog in some capacity–whether it was my dog or foster dogs or some combination. Today is the first day in a long time that I don’t have to take out a dog before I go to sleep. Today is the first day that I didn’t start with making sure food and water bowls were full.

Then I had a taco and some of the meat fell on the floor. I thought “Oh, I guess I’ll actually have to pick that up, huh? No one’s gonna come lick it up.” It is both quieter and louder in my apartment. Quiet, because I’m completely here alone most of the time. Loud, because I can’t say that any of the little noises that creak throughout the house came from the dog.

I feel. . . sad.

That pause isn’t because I’m not sure how I feel. That pause is because “sad” isn’t enough of a word for it. I feel a lot of things. I am glad that they aren’t suffering so that I can say I still have my dogs.

I am certain that I did what I could for both of them and that it happened the way it should have happened. I don’t have any what-ifs about the situation.

I am feeling vulnerable about the fact that I am sharing these feelings in a world where every little tiny bit of weakness can and will be used against you. But I also know that if an emotion is true, it’s real. And real is never wrong.

I don’t have a spiffy ending for this one, guys. I’m just going to stop typing and you’re just going to have to accept that.

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