S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 123

Sunday Update – November 15, 2015

First off, a very happy birthday to Jiro, as November 15th is his fictional birthday. Lol. Love ya, Jiro. It’s been quite a week. Looking back on it now, all the personal things about this week were pretty stellar. We arrived home from our vacation without incident and any real stress besides getting to the airport in Charleston during rush hour and a downpour. My husband worked from home on Tuesday and then was gone Thursday and most of Friday. I got a lot of writing done, and I passed the 50% mark on my new book. I went to the gym twice and got out for a walk on Saturday in a very sunny but very windy morning.

Everything online lately has sucked though. Between the stupid uproar over Starbucks cups and now the bombing and terrorist attacks in Paris, Facebook has become unbearable. My timeline has been filled with hatred and indignation. One person says “Pray for Paris,” another says “Don’t pray for Paris, pray for the world,” and then another one is angry that more people aren’t praying for those in Beirut or Syria, as if telling people how they should feel is going to help anything. I’VE HAD ENOUGH. It was already really bad with the US election coming up! So I’m taking a few days off from there, allowing people to calm down, and then I’ll get back to business. I don’t talk about my own politics there except to be vocal about gay rights, but I’m liberal and a Democrat, and I’m someone who just can’t take all the hate. Sigh.

Today, I woke up exhausted because our power cut out for a few minutes around 6:30am and it woke me up when our fan went off. I never went back to sleep after that. So after being up a few hours, I actually went back bed and slept another 30 minutes. That was good! I needed a catch up. I then framed some prints for the bathroom and touched up the paint in there. Our bathroom renovation is finally done! I’ll post pictures soon.

What else happened this week?

Listened to podcasts on the way home from Charleston.

Doing research on the Japanese criminal justice and police system. I’ve learned some fascinating stuff!

The REVEALED proof came and the paperback is now for sale online! The ebook releases on Wednesday.

I love my new pink nails. These were supposed to be ombre though and my nails are just too short to show off the fade transition to the lighter color. Oh well. They’re still pretty.

And we ordered Chinese food for dinner on Friday and had family dinner together, which was nice. We don’t do that often because of my husband’s work schedule. But it was able to happen this past week! And it was a lot of fun.

Now, it’s time for lunch, a walk, and back to writing! You all have a wonderful week. I’ll be back on Tuesday with another REVEALED teaser. Wednesday, REVEALED releases. Thursday, I hope to blog as well. We’ll see!

Writing Update – #NaNoWriMo 2015 – November 12, 2015

So, as of today I’m on day 12 of NaNoWriMo, and just yesterday I passed the 50% mark on my brand-new book. For the past two years, I didn’t participate in NaNoWriMo because it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Last year I was finishing up the last book of the Nogiku Series, and the year before that I was editing the second book (I had just published the first one). The year before that, in 2012, I did participate, and I wrote REVEALED which publishes next week.

NaNoWriMo is a bit of a beast. It has its own following and its own cult, and you either love it or you hate it. Some years you love it, and other years you hate it. In fact, I just saw someone on Facebook complaining about people who were participating. They were upset that everybody else was so excited. This is pretty typical too. Because NaNoWriMo is not just an event, it is a time of comparison, elation, and depression. Who knew something as innocent as writing a book during November would end up being so controversial?

This year, I’m participating in to NaNoWriMo Facebook groups and having a really great time. It’s been fun sharing my word counts every day and seeing how far other people have gone. Sometimes other people need help, and if I have the time, I always chime in. This does get me into trouble, as it did this week when someone didn’t like what I said (writers are so sensitive), but overall the experience has been extremely positive.

So I’m working on the first book and my new cozy mystery series! (The teaser above is from the book!) And I’m really loving all the new characters and the new setting I’ve created. The murder mystery is one of three separate subplots in the story. I have a main character subplot, a romance subplot, and then the murder mystery subplot. I’ve read a few cozy mysteries, and I think my story fits in with them on the same shelves of Amazon. My heroine wants to solve the crime but she finds herself unable to do much but think about it or talk about it, so giving her agency to solve the crime is the hardest part of the book. I feel as if the action will be ramping up heavily in the second half of the book, so I’m not worried. Plus, there’s always revisions! And I already have a few ideas of what could be added in to make the mystery flow smoother.

My current goal is to write 2000 to 3000 words every day until my birthday in mid-January. When I finish book one of this series, I plan to set it aside with some notes and move straight onto book number two. It’s been a while since I’ve worked like this, so I wonder if I can even pull it off. It might be better for me to switch to an entirely different project, but I’m going to try this instead because I’d like to have both books ready in the spring. Then, once the writing is done, I will be moving on to editing both books, my next short story, and outlining the beginning book of a brand-new series (which is going to be part space opera and part colonization). I even have ideas for a few exclusive newsletter short stories, plus I’m participating in a group world in which I need to write novella for late 2016.

2016 is going to be a busy year! I hope I can get it all done.

Teaser Tuesday for Revealed!

One of the cool things about writing REVEALED was my ability to see how other characters appeared from new points of view. We all know how Sanaa perceived people (and she often read them wrong) but what did Jiro think of her? What did Sakai think of Jiro? How did Jiro deal with Sakai? I got a chance to answer many of these questions in REVEALED including what Sakai thought of his apprentice, Jiro, and how there were times when even he was afraid of the power Jiro could wield with a single glance.

It’s a good thing Jiro used his powers for good. Lol.

If you read my books via iBooks, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo, get your copy of REVEALED now! It’ll disappear from those vendors on December 18. If you read my books via Kindle Unlimited, REVEALED will be available for you on December 21, just in time for a holiday vacation. REVEALED will be available on all vendors on November 18!

Sunday Update – November 8, 2015

No posts on the blog this past week because I’m on vacation! Though you wouldn’t really know it. Lol. I’m still writing everyday, checking in online, and getting stuff done. Nevertheless, I am away from home, in South Carolina, and I’m on vacation. So far, everything about vacation has been great. We’re staying with my parents and the girls are doing great too. There’s been lots of amazing food and some field trips too. Let’s cut straight to the photos and then hopefully you’ll hear from me again this next week with a teaser or two for REVEALED.

Fall is in full swing at home, but down here in the South, it’s warm and humid.

We made it to our destination with no issues. I’m not sure that’s ever happened before!

I went for a nice long walk and admired all the beautiful homes. Every single person that passed me waved to me, and I didn’t know any of them! Everyone is so nice here.

KP and I finally saw The Martian at this adorable theater that had a bar. Now THAT’S awesome.

And I’m coming home to NJ tomorrow with a lot of vodka and moonshine. We went to a tasting at the local distillery and it was so good. Mmmm. But I needed a major nap afterward.

We saw The Angel Oak which is believed to be 1500 years old. It was huge! And its branches went everywhere.

And we ate some delicious and filling food to celebrate my dad’s birthday today.

I’ll update again when I’m back home! I’m super excited about the progress I’m making on my current WIP, the cozy mystery, and my NaNoWriMo entry. So I’ll talk about that later this week.

Sunday Update – November 1, 2015

Okay, quick update today since we are about to walk out the door to go eat Indian buffet! Oh, I can’t wait to go eat Indian buffet. It’s been absolutely ages since I ate Indian buffet. Cannot wait.

This week was pretty darn busy. Over last weekend, we got in the new vanity into our redecorated bathroom. It was an ordeal. We had to call the plumbers and have plumbing moved. I’m glad that’s over. I then volunteered at the school library on Tuesday, put on new Jamberries on Wednesday, and crossed the 10,000 word mark on my new book this week!

Starting my new book was a roller coaster of emotions. I didn’t like writing in past tense at all. To the point where I had given up in frustration. That’s not a good thing. I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to continue. But then I started reading REVEALED and I realized several portions of that book are in past tense, because I was writing in present tense and referring to past events. If I could do that well, then I knew I could revise my present tense work to be past tense. So I switched to writing my first draft in present tense, and the writing took off. I was finally having fun, finally excited about writing! And that just goes to show me that some things are a lot harder than others. I’m dictating about 3000 to 4000 words per week, and I’m dictating this blog post, so at least that’s going well. As of right now, I’ve written 17,000 words on the new project, and I hope to keep writing 2000 to 2500 words every day.

Which means I’m competing in NaNoWriMo this year! It just happens to be at the same time as my new first draft so I might as well!

What else happened this week?

The school library continues to be fun!

Writing is going well!

I got a Zojirushi water boiler! Hot tea all day long.

And I got my car back! Yay!

More to come this week!

Random Thoughts On… Themes In My Writing

So, I’m writing a new book which is at 10,000 words as of today, and as I was brainstorming what to do in the next scene, I realized I have definite themes that come out on every single book I write. I really love the arts. I love music, I love painting, I love illustrations, color, sculpture, and, of course, writing. I believe that artistic abilities are at the core of every thing we humans do. I feel that even capitalism has a basis in the arts, and we would be nowhere if it weren’t for artistic innovation.

My kids’ art project from camp this summer. I love them!

When I wrote the Nogiku series, I knew I would include many Japanese traditions, foods, and arts. Sanaa, at heart, is an artist, even though she’s an engineer. The job she wanted to do was architecture, but we see that she doesn’t get that opportunity. Because of her personality, I knew she would be attracted to someone who was into the arts, so I made Jiro an illustrator. There was something fulfilling about writing about Jiro’s drawings. Describing the lines in the details was fun, and I knew I was putting the right picture in reader’s heads. Arts is never far from my mind.

I carried the arts into SUMMER HAIKUS. Though Isa loves to decorate her planners, she’s not much of an artist. But like Sanaa, she’s attracted to men who are. I made Masa and artist who hadn’t found his calling yet. He loved so many different arts that he felt lost amongst them, especially when his parents expected differently from him. I loved watching him try new things that made him a happy and content human being. In his heart, he was an artist and there wasn’t anything anyone could do to change it.

So now I’m here writing an entirely new book and I’ve made my main character an artist who gave up on art and tried to do sales business instead, which she is quite crappy at, I must say. I saw what I did with the story, brought art back in as a theme when I hadn’t intended on that in the first place, and stepped back for a day to think about it. Really? I can’t come up with something better for her?

But I’ve decided to keep my story idea because it’s a human truth, not just for her but for everyone. She had a passion and denied it. What does that do to a person? How do you reconcile needing to create and needing to live? Can those two things work together? I think these questions will be the underlying theme for my main character in this book! I’m excited to see where it takes me.

Sunday Update – October 25, 2015

What another crazy busy week around here! I’m not sure why October blew up on me, but it did. Between my daughter breaking her arm and renovating our bathroom plus the usual life events, this month has been the month that just won’t quit.

This past week was a roller coaster of craziness. On Monday, I dropped off my car to be repaired from the freak accident I was in in August, but the drop off and pick up of a rental car took HOURS and before I knew it, my day was over. On Tuesday, I volunteered in the library at my kids’ school (I’m doing so again this coming Tuesday) and on Wednesday, I went for a walk around the park. It was a busy week!

Thursday, I worked on my new book but I immediately got cold feet 2000 words into the story. I don’t like writing in past tense and I feel like it loses a lot of my authorial voice. I started to panic after struggling through the 2000 words and not knowing what to do next. Really, it feels like FOREVER since I wrote something new that I love. I despaired for a bit and came to the conclusion on Friday that I’ll write this book in present tense and revise it to past tense in the first edit pass. I would much rather revise later than be stuck on the first draft, so I’m good with this decision. I’ll continue on writing later today. It was making it hard to dictate because I would pause in the middle of a sentence, realizing I dictated everything in present tense, then I would try to correct it, and get frustrated.

I also put REVEALED up for pre-order this week but then there was a bug with Amazon not listing it for sale in the Dot Com store. I had to wrangle with them to get it fixed and then delayed sending out my newsletter and posting about it on FB and the blog. Ugh. What a week.

What else happened this week?

My time at the school library was fun. I enjoyed restocking the books.

The leaves are getting pretty and they’re ending up EVERYWHERE.

I got myself a new mug that I adore, of course. I love foxes!

During the winter I wear a cardigan almost every day. I’m just too cold not to! So I have 4 or 5 black cardigans and 3 of them had holes in them that needed repairing. I broke out my sewing machine and got to fixing them! Now I should be good to go for a few months.

I’m not sure what I’ll be posting on the blog this week. I have another busy week ahead of dentist appointments, getting my car from the auto body shop, grocery shopping, and library volunteering. I also hope to write! I may do a Book Chat and another Random Thoughts post. We’ll see!

REVEALED Is Now Available For Pre-order!

In case you missed the announcement via my newsletter (are you subscribed to my newsletter?), REVEALED is ready for pre-order! It’s available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo through December 18, at which time I will remove it from B&N, iBooks, and Kobo and sell it on Amazon exclusively. It should be in Kindle Unlimited by December 21 for those that read my books via KU.

Writing this book was a labor of love for me. As I went back and relived the events of REMOVED, to see them again through Jiro or Mark’s eyes, I remembered all the things that happened in this series. I felt all the highs and the low lows again and again. It was actually really hard to see my characters whole and untouched, knowing what I did to them later in the series. But in the end, it was nice to bring about a conclusion to Mark and Jiro in this little novel. Cathartic in a way.

Anyway, here’s the details!

Come back to the Nogiku world with Jiro Itō and Mark Sakai as they live the events of REMOVED from their perspective. Secrets, lies, and cover-ups are all in a day’s work for Jiro and Mark, but when Sanaa Griffin enters their world, truths emerge, plans fall by the wayside, and enemies come out of the shadows. How does Mark veer so far off course while training Sanaa? And how does Jiro win back his family’s loyalty after losing their trust? If you loved the Nogiku Series, REVEALED will uncover the details behind all the action and reveal the future life of Sanaa and Jiro on Yūsei. Don’t miss this companion novel to the four books of The Nogiku Series!

Note: This is a companion novel and should be read after RECLAIMED, Book Four of The Nogiku Series. If you read the REVEALED short stories, Parts 1, 2, and 3 are the first 14 chapters of this book. All the rest (32 chapters total) is brand-new material. This novel is 80,000 words.

Only available at Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo until December 18! Get it now if you want it from those vendors!

I hope you enjoy this last look at the Nogiku Series! Now I’m off to write.

Yoga Builder: The Yoga App I Can’t Live Without

There are many reasons why an author should get up from their chair several times a day to exercise. Being an author means being incredibly sedentary for long periods of time, and if you don’t already have a standing desk or a treadmill desk you’re probably spending a lot of time sitting and writing. I work hard at exercising several times a week. This includes going to the gym, going for walks around the local park, and exercising while watching TV at home. But I noticed that I really need a good stretch every now and then. Two years ago, I was doing yoga at least once per week at a studio. I really enjoyed going and spending time with other people doing yoga and talking about life. But my usual yoga studio changed their hours around, and I found it hard to fit in the classes while taking care of my kids and also writing. So I stopped.

Recently, I’ve been concentrating on both cardio and weight lifting at the gym, but I noticed lots of aches and pains that wouldn’t go away, so I brought yoga back into my life using my favorite app. Yoga Builder is an app for iOS that lets you build your own yoga programs which is great for picky people like me. It has pretty much every yoga position you could think of, and plenty of variety when it comes to music and rest. It includes inversions, standing and sitting positions, and many others I can’t even identify. Everything from basic to advanced.

FYI, I’m using an older version of this on my old iPad because I’m afraid to update the thing to the newest iOS.

I use it for a few different kind of workouts. For after a long walk, I have a yoga program that’s just for stretching legs, core, and hips. It’s only 13 minutes long, and I can fit it in before I take my shower. For days when I really need a good stretching, I have a 30 minute program planned out that I can do before I get my day get started.

What I love about this app is that it’s perfect for people who already know how to do yoga. It’s not for beginners, it’s for people who already know what they want out of a yoga session. I had been going to classes for several years and understood what I liked about a good flow session, so building my own yoga programs was pretty easy. If you are already a yogini, this app is definitely for you. They have a companion app called Pocket Yoga that’s better suited for beginners. I’ve used both of them and like them, so I highly recommend them.

Like anything exercise related, I have to make a routine in order to stick with it. Adding yoga back into my life has helped me stay strong and limber. If you need some help getting into a good routine and want to try adding more yoga into your life Yoga Builder and Pocket Yoga will be good additions to your routine. I now can’t live without them. They’ve definitely improved my quality of life!

Let’s Talk Dictation

There are a few authors I’m pretty envious of, and I’m usually not a hugely envious person. But these authors, they get massive word counts every day, upwards of 10,000 words, and I look at them in awe. I have no idea how their fingers don’t fall off! And yes, I’m pretty sure most of these people type their manuscripts. They talk of hand cramps and tired fingers, and I don’t blame them. That does sound exhausting. But recently I had been hearing a lot about dictating your books. It was mentioned in several podcasts I listen to, and in a few books I’ve read on increasing your word count. The idea intrigued me! Although I hate hearing my own voice most days, I really wanted to become more comfortable with it anyway because I had been thinking about narrating my own books or podcasting. So when dictation was mentioned amongst some of my favorite authors, I decided to look into it.

I knew it would be hard to adjust. Talking out your sentences is a lot harder than typing them, at least at first. There is a method to the madness of dictation. You really have to think about what you’re going to say before you say it. Think the sentence, say the sentence. Think the punctuation, say the punctuation. In the beginning, and right now actually as I’m dictating this, I’m very slow to say what I need to write. But as I get going, my dictation gets faster and faster. I really like giving my hands a break, and even standing or pacing while dictating. In the end, it should be a lot better for my body.

I started out dictating using the built-in dictation in Mac OSX. I wanted to give dictation a try before I bought software. But I found the built-in dictation to be very cumbersome and hard to use. To bad. It didn’t learn from my corrected mistakes, and the accuracy was quite low. So I went to some friends for help and they told me to get Dragon. Dragon, though, is an investment. For Mac, it costs $200. I’ve spent a lot of money on my career this year, so I knew that if I bought Dragon, I would have to commit to it. So I bought it, and also found a compatible USB headset (that took me forever).

I then read a great how-to manual, HOW TO DICTATE YOUR BOOK, that helped cement my feelings about dictation. If you’re considering this, you should check it out too.

These past few weeks, I’ve been concentrating on writing blog posts, emails, and notes with Dragon Dictation. I needed a way to practice that wasn’t a part of actually writing books. I was afraid if I was too slow at dictation, I would give up, and I can’t give up. When it comes down to it, I’m actually a pretty fast typer, so dictation has to be faster. The only problem with that is that my hands will hurt after a few days and I’m prone to get ganglion cysts between my fingers if I type too much. (Those things hurt!)

So here I am ready to start writing a brand-new book. I’m almost done with revisions to my last book (in fact I will be done today) so this week I have the chance to start writing out beats for the brand-new book. Let’s talk about my plan of attack.

1) Write out each scene before I get started. In Scrivener, I plan to write out beats for each scene before I start. Then, I will outline each scene on a note card that I can reference while I dictate.

2) I will dictate only first drafts. Dictation and editing don’t go together, and I’m going to use the advantage of dictation to get words down on the page.

3) Editing will come later. I will turn off my internal editor, and work hard to ignore mistakes until the first draft is done. Or…

4) If there are too many mistakes in the first draft, I will edit before I dictate each session. This should be a good compromise if I need it.

There! That’s not a bad start. Okay, let’s get this show on the road. I hope to have progress to show by the end of the week. Stay tuned!