S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 107
October 16, 2016
Sunday Update – October 16, 2016
It’s Sunday Update time! The posts my oldest daughter loves so much. Lol. She told me that last night, and I had to remind her that mommy uses adult language on the blog. She said, “Yes, I know.” 
October 15, 2016
When A Typhoon Rolls In – Japan Day Three
My first full day in Japan in Shinjuku showed me what typical Japanese summer weather is like. HOT HOT HOT with a side of heaping side of humidity. I sweat a lot that day walking around, and when I got into bed that night, I figured I was in for the same the next day.
Imagine my surprise to wake up to rain the next morning. Typhoon Number 9 was on its way and heading straight for Tokyo! I turned on the news in my hotel room and watched the newscasters on NHK talk talk talk about this typhoon. The winds were going to be strong, the rain was going to come down in buckets, and many places in the city were already flooding.
A video posted by Stephanie J Pajonas (@spajonas) on Aug 21, 2016 at 5:38pm PDT
It was time for me to admit that I wasn’t going anywhere that day, even though I had plans to go to an owl cafe in Akihabara.
I watched the news, knit, and listened to my audiobooks.
I then went down to the hotel restaurant for a really nice sushi lunch. At the counter, I talked to the chef serving me in both English and Japanese, then I spoke with an Australian couple who were just visiting Tokyo for a day on their way to Bali. They hoped to leave on a late flight out and I wished them the best of luck since there was a typhoon outside after all!
The best part about this meal was all the fresh fish and the sake. Lots of sake! It’s really the only way to get through a typhoon.
October 12, 2016
SECRET KEEPING SAKURA Now Available!
The emails went out about this title this morning so I get to announce it on the blog today! I have a new release! It’s the fifth and final short story in the Kami No Sekai series, SECRET KEEPING SAKURA. I wrote it this summer as I was getting back on the writing wagon, and it was the perfect story to get me back in the swing of things. About a year ago, I asked my Facebook audience, “If you could talk to any inanimate object, which would you choose?” And many chose to talk to trees. I think trees have a special place in our hearts as humans. We take shelter under them. We hear their leaves rustle in the wind. We admire them as they flower, grow green leaves, and turn those leaves brilliant colors in the fall. Plus there are so many different kinds of trees! Palm trees don’t change color in the fall and only grow in warm climates. Some trees grow fruits and others do not. Trees are almost as diverse as humans, when you think about it.
Anyway, so I knew I would choose a tree for the final story of the series, and what better tree than the favorite of pretty much all Japanese people, the cherry tree or sakura. I thought about all the things a tree would see in its lifetime, all the secrets it could keep, and I came up with my story pretty quickly. I wrote most of the story poolside this summer on my trusty Alphasmart 3000.
I need to get back to writing on that. It really got rid of distractions.
So today, this bittersweet and hopeful short story is ready for you! BUT WAIT! I need to tell you a secret. If you sign-up for my newsletter, you can get the whole Kami No Sekai for free. Yep. I’m giving it away to my list. So you have two choices when it comes to getting this story. You can either buy it online for 99¢ or you can sign up for my newsletter and get it for free.
Sign up for my newsletter now!
The post SECRET KEEPING SAKURA Now Available! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
October 11, 2016
Authorial Voice
In the run up to another year of NaNoWriMo, I’ve been thinking more and more about writing craft, what works for me and what does not. I’ve tried a million different ways to write over the past five years and I think I’m ready to move ahead with a distinct style and method, while learning more about actual story structure (instead of HOW to write). First up is something that’s working for me and has worked well for the past few years, Authorial Voice.
I remember the first few drafts of REMOVED, how I struggled with both my character’s voice and my own as an author. I wrote the first draft in third person, and with each additional chapter, I wondered if I would ever connect with my main character, Sanaa. I felt so distant from her, like we were worlds away from each other, and I had no idea how to fix it. Oh those early days of being an author! They were so tough, and I was so green, I had no idea what to do next. Until I sat down and read someone else’s book.
At the time, I was rereading THE HUNGER GAMES, and I took a long hard look at how those books are written. First-person present tense spoke to me. I was invested in the story, invested in Katniss, and it was all due to the way Suzanne Collins wrote the book. I then looked back on my training as a screenwriter and realized that screenplays are written in present tense too. First person present tense was something I connected with, and third person was completely foreign. I knew what I had to do, and I set up a brand-new Scrivener project to rewrite my book in first person and in present tense. Yep, a total rewrite. I had to start from scratch.
It was about the fifth or sixth draft of REMOVED that I realized I had found my voice. It was such an exhilarating experience, knowing that I had found a way to tell my stories that was my style, no one else’s. I took to writing easily after that, struggling with story ideas or character arcs but not with the way I wrote them. Which was a huge relief because when everything is tough sometimes you just want to give up. And I may have given up if I hadn’t found my voice, but I didn’t. I saw potential where there had been none before. I thought about all of my favorite authors and why I loved their books. It was because they had a strong authorial voice, a style I was used to that made me want to pick up their books over and over. I had found that for myself!
That was over five years ago, and since then, I’ve honed my authorial voice to a sharp edge. I know it in my sleep. It even shows up in my notes! And the cool thing is how my voice has grown over the years. I’ve managed to keep my voice in third person and past tense now that I understand it better. I put my voice to the test in each novel I write.
But you may be asking, what exactly is authorial voice? This is a hard question to answer in specifics, but in general, an author’s voice is their style, the way they tell a story. A lot of people read my books and tell me that even when I switch genres, they can tell it’s an S. J. Pajonas book. I have a certain way that I structure sentences that gives it away, and most of my readers find it comforting. They know that when they pick up one of my books, they’ll get the same experience from my writing even if the topic or worlds or genre are different. They know my style, and that gives them permission to slip into the story easily.
And so this is why I feel more confident about trying out new genres. I know plenty of authors try to stick in one genre because that’s where their audience is. But I found that because my voice is distinct, I’m better able to switch and then just hope my readers follow me because they are used to my voice. My characters voices may change, the worlds may change around them, but my style remains the same. Hopefully that continues to keep people interested for some time.
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October 9, 2016
Sunday Update – October 9, 2016
Each week seems to speed on by! This past week was very much a blur like all the others.
My kids had Monday off again, this time for Rosh Hashanah. Though we are not Jewish, we get all the Jewish holidays off. So we hung out at home for the morning and then went grocery shopping together. It was a nice day so we tried to spend time outside as much as possible.
Tuesday was back to the usual grind. I posted my blog post on Five Reasons I Give Up On A Book, which seems to have done well in the social media sphere. We went to get our CSA vegetable share after school and then my oldest learned about CPR at one of her Girl Scout meetings.
Wednesday, I had my chiropractor appointment and in the afternoon, my kids had tennis lessons for the first time since the spring.
Thursday was one of THOSE DAYS. I tried going to the gym but I forgot my headphones to listen to my own stuff! I absolutely HATE the music at the gym, so I was not going to stay there if I didn’t have headphones. So I ran errands instead and came home to walk in the park. It was too beautiful outside not to! Then I hosted a playdate in the afternoon. I also started making my own moisturizers! I want to stop depending on store-bought beauty products where I don’t understand the ingredients that go into them. So I’m making some of my own. I made a night and a day cream. The night cream turned out nice. The day one did not. I made a different one last night that should be better.
On Friday, I did go to the gym where I lifted weights and then ran errands. We relaxed in the afternoon and I made a mock-chicken and dumplings soup for dinner. YUM!
Yesterday (Saturday), we went into the city to have Indian food with old friends. It was nice to see them and also spend some time in Manhattan which I don’t get to do very often. The kids had fun too.
Today, it’s raining as we’re catching the tail end of Hurricane Matthew. My parents stuck out the hurricane in South Carolina. They had a bit of flooding and the rain and wind were intense! They also lost power for about two days. But now the power is back on and their street is dry. So that’s good news!
In writing and publishing news, I plotted out what I want to happen in the next few chapters of Daydreamer 3 and wrote a little of that. Then I worked on my last Kami No Sekai short story and got it ready for publication. You’ll hear more about that this week, but I also sent it out to my Advanced Team and they have it now. I’ve been updating pages on my website and getting ready for the launch of something exclusive to my mailing list. I have a long to-do list I need to accomplish in the next few days and then I’ll be free of obligations for a little while, besides writing.
What else happened this week?
Some nights (and days) call for a stiff drink. Cheers!
My park was just beautiful for walks this week! I loved the fresh air and all the GREEN. I will be sad when it’s all gone.
While the girls played tennis, I got work done. The tennis club has wifi, so I was all set.
Our trip into Manhattan included stopping by my husband’s old apartment building. He used to live on 29th Street between Park and Madison for about 10 years. It was a tiny one-bedroom place, infested with mice and had a kitchen the size of a broom closet for $750 per month. Many of you will know that that’s a STEAL in Manhattan. Ah, those were the days. It looks like the building’s been sold and I bet they knock it down and put a monstrosity in its place. Such is life in the Big Shitty.
Our tour of Manhattan continued with walking around the neighborhood, seeing the Flatiron Building, going to the LEGO store, and then spotting a Ghostbuster on the street.
This is me and Jackie! We’re friends through our husbands but I literally had not seen her in the flesh in about 8 years, maybe more. Thank goodness for social media! She and her family were in town for NY Comic Con, and we met up for Indian food. It was a lot of fun and good to see them again!
This week on the blog: a bookish post, news about my new short story and newsletter exclusive ebook, and another post about my trip to Japan!
The post Sunday Update – October 9, 2016 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
October 6, 2016
Walking Shinjuku – Japan Day Two
After collapsing into bed on my first evening in Japan, I slept through the night with the help of benadryl and melatonin, and I woke up the next day ready to get going. Now, I knew that my day would be packed with walking and I would probably want to die from jet lag in the afternoon so I decided for my first day, I would stick close to the hotel and explore Shinjuku.
I got dressed and had Japanese breakfast at the hotel. They had a large buffet of Western food and Japanese as well. I had both of course! But I ended with Japanese. I loved this bowl of rice with Japanese pickles and egg omelet. Super delicious, and it was the perfect start to my day.
I then took the bus from the hotel over to Shinjuku station. If you ever want to feel small and insignificant, I highly recommend spending a weekend day in and around Shinjuku station. Thousands of people are coming and going from the station every second, people swirling around you as you try to get your bearings.
I was on a mission to exchange my Japan Rail Pass at a specific JR office, and I had my work cut out for me. When you want to do a lot of traveling in Japan, you buy a JR Rail Pass, and you purchase it before you leave. Once you get to Japan, you exchange the voucher you bought for the actual rail pass. Once you activate the pass, you have seven days to use it (unless you buy a longer one). So I needed to exchange my pass and Shinjuku Station was the closest place.
Shinjuku Station is huge, and it’s in two pieces with hundreds of exits. I found one JR office, but it wasn’t THE office I needed to go to. Thankfully, the people there spoke enough English and had a special map they could show me on how to get to the office I needed. God, I love Japan. They are prepared for every possible situation! I was never once totally lost in that country. Someone could always help me.
Once I exchanged my pass, I decided to walk around and do a little shopping. First stop was Tokyo Hands, which is a huge department store with 8 floors. There was something cool on every single floor, but I spent the most time in the stationery section.
How could you say no to all those colorful stamps?
From here I got on the subway and made my way to Shinjuku Gyoen Park.
You know what was so cool about this park? It’s in the middle of the city and it was bursting with nature. It was SO LOUD! The insects inside were humming, almost deafening. I walked along the outer edge of the park until I found the entrance, paid a few hundred yen to enter, and then got to walking.
This park was so very green. Very tranquil and lovely, even with tons of people walking through it trying to catch Pokemon. Lol.
I was lucky to catch this white fish on camera! It was the only one in the whole pond.
And I love the mixture of city and nature. It reminded me a lot of Central Park in Manhattan.
There were two teahouses in the gardens and this one especially caught my eye. I love the way it was shaded back in the woods.
By the time I had been through most of Shinjuku Gyoen Park, I was pretty hungry. I had scoped out the restaurants in Shinjuku ahead of time and knew of a tempura restaurant I wanted to try. I got out my phone (which was paired with my portable wifi hotspot I rented for the week I was there, highly recommend) and figured out I could walk there from the park.
I passed these adorable Hello Kitty construction barriers around Shinjuku Station and wove my way through the streets until I found the restaurant I was looking for.
The noren curtains over the door reads “tempura” so I knew I was in the right place. I walked in and was immediately sat at the counter. I exclaimed in my poor Japanese that it was hot as balls outside and the hostess gave me a menu in English. Lol. I chose a moderately sized meal and prepared for greatness. Of course, I was asked by the hostess, “Do you know how to eat this?” I tried not to laugh as I said back in Japanese, “Yes, I love tempura.” After that, she left me alone except to refill my water.
I don’t think I could have had a better meal right then. I ate EVERYTHING in front of me. They served me vegetable tempura (zucchini and something else I’ve forgotten) then shrimp and eel, and finally a big mixture of tiny shrimp and batter. SO GOOD. Each course was served right too me from the guy frying it fresh on the other side of the bar from me. It was awesome.
On the way back to the hotel, I found a pan-ya, which is a bakery and decided to pick up some snacks for back at the hotel. I grabbed this crazy looking dessert bread! Those circles are sweet custard. Man, was that good, especially with a beer.
At the hotel, I showered because I was a hot, sweaty mess and took a nap before heading out for the evening in Shinjuku. I had no plans this time. I thought I would just wander around and see what I saw, which I did, but man, I was still pretty tired and the jet lag was catching up to me.
I finally found a conveyor belt sushi place to have dinner, so I went in and got a seat at the bar. Here’s how conveyor belt sushi is. You can either order what you want directly from the sushi chef (great if you speak Japanese, intimidating if your Japanese is awful, like mine) or you can just grab what you want from the belt as it comes along. As you eat, you stack up your dishes. Green tea is free and right in front of you, usually. When you’re done, call a waitstaff person to come tally up your meal. They know what to charge you based on the plates you ate from. Easy.
Round and round. #sjpintokyo2016 #tokyo #japan
A video posted by Stephanie J Pajonas (@spajonas) on Aug 21, 2016 at 3:13am PDT
After that meal, I was stuffed and tired. So I walked the streets of Shinjuku, found the bus back to the hotel, and called it a night.
Next up: a typooooooooooon!!
The post Walking Shinjuku – Japan Day Two appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
October 4, 2016
Five Reasons I Give Up On A Book
Over the years I’ve become increasingly critical of books and I’ve honestly set more books down than read. Besides the basics like good grammar, words spelled correctly, using the right words, and the book formatted correctly, I have five reasons why I put a book down and don’t pick it back up again. Here they are!
1) The author throws a lot of confusion into the first chapter
I like books that take simple ideas and make them shine. If a book starts in a high-stakes incident like they’re crash landing on a planet or about to storm an enemy outpost, then I need simplicity so I can get into the moment. If I’m seeing a lot of foreign names and technical terms I’ve never heard before along with the whirling action of the first chapter, I put the book down.
2) Too many dialogue tags or names in dialogue
I legit gave up on a book in the first chapter because every single piece of dialogue was tagged. I whisper, he says, I say, I ask, he says with a grin, I reply, he says half-jokingly, he replies, I say softly, I admit, he replies, I counter, he asks rhetorically … OMG STOP. Those are all within the FIRST PAGE of the first chapter of a book I gave up on! I found it so annoying that I actually deleted the book off my Kindle. Also, too many names in dialogue will make me put down a book. “How are you, Grace?” “I’m great, Bob, you?” “Feeling a little shaky today, Grace.” “That’s too bad, Bob.” NO. Just stop.
3) Trying to be purple and failing
There are lots of amazing writers out there that write the most beautiful prose. I’ll never forget reading UNTEACHABLE by Leah Raeder and thinking it was some of the most beautiful writing I had ever read. But sometimes writers try to be that good and fail miserably. What really gets me are the bad similes and using them too often. I’d much rather read serviceable, workman’s prose any day than a book that tries to be purple and fails. I gave up on a book at the 30% mark after reading five boring similes on one page. Nope.
4) Nothing happens in the first chapter for the main character
I’m willing to give a book a chapter, maybe two, to get the ball rolling, but that’s it. In the first chapter, I should see the main character doing something. They need to be interacting somehow with their fellow characters or the environment. For me, it’s all about the main character. If I get nothing but setting in the first chapter, I’m moving on.
5) Doing something “ground-breaking” ie. trying to be clever
I tried to read a book last year where they decided not to use quotation marks for any of the dialogue. Yep. None. It was so damned confusing. Many times I couldn’t distinguish between what people were saying and what was descriptive text. I don’t think I lasted more than five pages with that book. I’ve seen other bloggers review books where the author does things like write text and strike it out, or they put black boxes over the text like it’s been redacted. How about you just tell me the story and try not to get cute about it? No? I set those books aside. If the story is going to rely on tricks to keep the reader interested, then I cry foul.
Why do you give up on a book?
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October 2, 2016
Sunday Update – October 2, 2016
Another busy week that just flew on by! My kids had Monday off from school (and they have tomorrow off as well) and the rest of the week was packed with things to do.
Monday, we bummed around home as much as possible, but I still dragged the kids out to go grocery shopping with me. I figured I might as well get it over with and keep them occupied as well. On Tuesday, the kids had their class photos day, so we started out with lots of work on their hair and making their outfits look perfect. I spent the day glad to be alone. Lol. I was going to go to the gym but I realized how tired I was in the morning, so I laid down instead, and then got up to walk and edit on the treadmill.
On Wednesday, I went to Panera to work with Amy for the day. It was nice to get out and have someone else make food for me.
October 1, 2016
October 2016 Goals
Each month seems to speed by faster than the last. I’ve heard this is what getting old is like. Lol. Time crawls when you’re young, but speeds up as you get older. Le sigh.
What Happened With September’s Goals?
Finish the next Daydreamer Book. This didn’t happen. 
September 25, 2016
Sunday Update – September 25, 2016
It was a busy day today and I almost forgot to update! Let’s look back at this week and see what I did. Monday was busy with school and piano lessons for my kids so I don’t even remember what happened there. Tuesday, I was interviewed for an upcoming podcast, we picked up our CSA veggies and then hung out at home, working on homework until I went to Back to School night at the school. I got to meet the new teachers for my kids, see their classrooms and understand what this year holds for them.
On Wednesday, our home fire alarm went off unexpectedly though there was no fire in the house. And I couldn’t turn it off. So the alarm is blaring and the police are driving up to the house, and then the fire trucks show up, all when we were getting ready to go to school. I was crying tears of frustration and anger, and I’m pretty sure I swore in front of my kids several times. Not my best moment. It took me forever to get through to the alarm company because they wouldn’t put me through to a real person right away. I was not happy and the only whole incident ruined my day.
Thursday, I put everything on hold so the alarm company could come out and install all new smoke detectors. That also ruined most of my day because I had to wait around for them. Then we had a Girl Scout meeting in the evening.
Friday, I got my hair cut in the morning then went to Panera to hang out with my friend and fellow writer Amy. I then took it easy in the evening.
Yesterday and today, I took walks in the park but I didn’t do much writing, which I’m disappointed about. Instead I worked on stuff around the house, like cleaning out my kids’ rooms and dressers. I got a somewhat shitty email from a reader which brought me down and I didn’t write, then I went out to dinner with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Today, I continued with the cleaning and took a nap because I didn’t sleep well last night. I wanted to write again, but it just didn’t happen and I’m still feeling down. It’s been such a tough year, and each time I climb up, I get knocked down again. This week knocked me down, so I hope to climb up next week.
What else happened this week?
Monday was my 12 year wedding anniversary so I made a vegan feast for dinner and we had champagne! It was awesome.
I loved this photo at Back To School Night. My youngest drew this and that’s my oldest knocked over in the ocean. Lol.
I got my flu shot!
I tried to enjoy the nice weather outside while it was here! Now comes the cold, which I hate.
