S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 92
December 7, 2017
OZONI AND ONSENS Is Now Available!
I’m excited to finally be publishing OZONI AND ONSENS for the wide world to see! I really enjoyed writing this little novella that puts Mei to the test during a turbulent time in her early relationship with Yasahiro.
As I’ve said in previous posts about this novella, this is meant to be read between THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE BRAVES THE WINTER and THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP. It’s not really a mystery, but it does have a look into the traditions of New Year’s and the elderly population of Japan. I saw one blogger recently give it a poor review because she had never read any other book in the series. Well, duh. No wonder it made no sense for you. Sigh. It really is important to read blurbs.
Anyway, if you were on my mailing list prior to November, it’s possible you already have this book and read it. If so, I would love to get some reviews of this novella on Amazon.
This was my first time writing an interstitial novella for a series. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the guts to in the past. It was good to hash out events that occurred between the books, and it gave me plenty of material to use going forward with the series. I hope you enjoy it!
Want to purchase OZONI AND ONSENS?
View the cover, blurb, and purchase OZONI AND ONSENS via my website…
Check out OZONI AND ONSENS now!
This novella is available on Amazon, iBooks, Nook, Kobo and Google Play.
The post OZONI AND ONSENS Is Now Available! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
December 5, 2017
Teaser Tuesday – An Explosive Finale
It’s the last Teaser Tuesday for CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD! I remember when I was brainstorming this book, I had a very specific scene in mind for the end. I wanted to explode a building, a leap to a flying car, and my heroine showing she was brave even if this was SO NOT HER JOB. I was so excited about it, it was all I could think about for a long time.
I held off writing this scene until the end. I know plenty of authors who will go through their novel and write all the good parts first that they’re excited about it. Not me. No. I use those scenes as the carrot to keep me going. If I wrote them first, then there wouldn’t be much that would get me into the chair to write the rest of the book, and then everyone, including me, would miss out. Because I would never finish it.
Anyway, I remember the day I sat down to write this scene. My fingers flew and I pictured it all happening as it went along. But the best part was that I heard it all in Yumi’s voice, and when she said the quote in this teaser, I knew she was right. Time always works against us. It either moves too slow when you need it to move fast, or the opposite. Suddenly, you’re 40 years old and you have no idea how you got there. Time is a fickle bitch, for sure.
Want to purchase CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD?
View the cover, blurb, read an excerpt, and purchase CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD via my website…
Check out CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD now!
This novel is available on Amazon.com and in Kindle Unlimited.
The post Teaser Tuesday – An Explosive Finale appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
December 4, 2017
December 2017 Paperback Giveaway – What’s Your Favorite Sci-Fi Novel?
I’m starting something new on the blog for 2018 (and obviously I’m getting a head start on it now). I have this box of books of mine that need homes, and I’ve decided to give them away every month until they’re gone. These books are in no way perfect. Some of them have damaged or old covers. Some of them even have typos or older versions of the book’s text! But they are all readable and certainly enjoyable, if I do say so myself. I could sell them, and I thought about doing that. But I decided I would rather give them away in exchange for a little extra blog and social media traffic.
The December 2017 Paperback Giveaway is…
This month’s giveaway is the first two books of the Nogiku Series! REMOVED and RELEASED in their old covers. This month’s giveaway is US ONLY. Please don’t complain about the giveaway being US only. I do plan on doing a few international giveaways in 2018, but I would go broke shipping all of these internationally. Please read the terms and conditions on the rafflecopter.
For those who want to gain the extra entry by commenting on this blog post, please tell me…
What’s your favorite sci-fi novel?
I’m always looking for more books to read! I’d love to hear what sci-fi books you’ve loved.
The post December 2017 Paperback Giveaway – What’s Your Favorite Sci-Fi Novel? appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
December 3, 2017
Sunday Update – December 3, 2017
What. A. Week. This was supposed to be the week that things got back to normal around here. No half days or days off school. No holidays. I was finally going to have a work week with no interruptions. That was until my youngest daughter ended up being home from school both Monday and Tuesday. Sigh. Then my husband was home on Wednesday to celebrate his birthday (a good excuse to work from home), Thursday I had a dentist appointment, and then Friday, the husband worked from home again. Basically, the whole week was totally screwed up.
The good news though was that I finished up 50,000 words on NaNoWriMo and I was able to take a little time off. I went on walks. I listened to podcasts and audiobooks. I knit! We moved over into a new month, I set new goals, and I updated my blog.
Today, I start on revisions to THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE RETURNS A FAVOR. What I plan to do is chunk three chapters at a time on this. I want to read the three chapters, make changes based on feedback I got, and then copy edit. Then move onto the next three chapters. I plan to do my “listen-pass” where I have my computer read me each chapter during winter break. This shouldn’t be too hard! I’ve actually revised this book as I wrote it which is why feedback from alpha and beta readers was fairly minimal.
What else happened this week?
I hate being up before the sun, but sometimes you get a nice sunrise to make it less grumpy.
Stay tuned to the blog tomorrow as this box of books will slowly be given away until they’re all gone!
This large heron literally just stood there and posed and I got within a few feet of him.
One of my last check-ins before finishing NaNoWriMo! It was nice to cross that 50k line.
We went out for Italian for my husband’s birthday. It was nice to hang out with the family for dinner.
I was on my way home from my walk on Thursday when I came across this beautiful, dead butterfly on the sidewalk. I picked it up and brought it home. Yes, I did.
My park is often the venue for weddings and wedding photos. I found the remains of a rose bouquet along the path yesterday.
Coming up this week on the blog: My December 2017 giveaway, the last CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD teaser, OZONI AND ONSENS publishes, and a call for reviews!
The post Sunday Update – December 3, 2017 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
December 2, 2017
NaNoWriMo Update – Time To Wrap-Up 2017
Well, NaNoWriMo is over, and if you haven’t heard already, I WON!! Which technically means I wrote 50,000 words in November. Usually, the goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a WHOLE 50,000 word novel in November, and that’s something I’ve never done. I write longer books, as most of you know, and 50,000 words will usually get me to the mid-point of a book. Or somewhere around there. 
December 1, 2017
December 2017 Goals
Oh November. I’m so glad you’re done. So glad.
What Happened With November’s Goals?
NaNoWriMo. Done and WON! I’m so happy with this goal. I really worked hard all month to get to 50k on this project and I had fun doing it too. I’ll do a wrap-up post on this tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Publish and celebrate CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD. This happened on November 15th. I was going to treat myself on this day but instead I had an electrician in the house and the whole week kinda sucked. But that’s okay. It’s over. The book is out there and I’m happy to be moving on and working.
Transition over to my new newsletter program.This is done too! Everyone was moved over for the first email on the 24th. I like it already. It’s brought a ton of traffic to this here blog and I think it works better than MailChimp ever did.
Update all the paperbacks for the Miso Cozy Mysteries Series. Done. All the paperbacks are updated for this series. I also updated the paperbacks for Hikoboshi.
Walking, reading, knitting, and more audiobooks.I am happy to report that all of this happened!
November 30, 2017
RELEASED Sale Ends Tomorrow!
Just a quick bit of news that I intend to change the sale price of RELEASED to $3.99 this Friday (Tomorrow, December 1, in the evening).
So if you were looking to pick up this second book of the Nogiku Series at the bargain basement price of 99¢, now is the time to do it!
This was one of my favorite books of all time to write, and the story ushers in a totally new era for Sanaa. It’s also a book where I channeled a lot of my feelings of loneliness from being a stay-at-home mom, so it’s particularly powerful. I hope you’ll get it while it’s still on sale.
The post RELEASED Sale Ends Tomorrow! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
November 28, 2017
Teaser Tuesday – What Is Home?
It’s another Teaser Tuesday for CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD!
When Yumi arrives on Hikari and in Shin-Osaka, she knows that she has to make the best of her situation and try to do it as quickly as possible. Fitting in is of utmost importance here. She cannot stick out or people will start to question her. She’s already been through hell on Kurai, and she’s missing home pretty fiercely, even if she doesn’t admit it out loud.
One of the things she refuses to do is think of Hikari as home. Home is Orihime. Home is where her family is. Home is not some foreign land with people and laws she can’t wrap her head around. It’s not something that Rin notices right away, her refusal to call his apartment her home, but it sinks in over time and eats away at him bit by bit. He wants her to feel comfortable, and she may never be. It’s something they will both struggle with for the length of the series.
Want to purchase CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD?
View the cover, blurb, read an excerpt, and purchase CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD via my website…
Check out CHAOS IN KADOMA WARD now!
This novel is available on Amazon.com and in Kindle Unlimited.
The post Teaser Tuesday – What Is Home? appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
November 26, 2017
Sunday Update – November 26, 2017
Where has this month gone? I can hardly believe it’s almost December already! This week was a bit of a blur because I was sick for most of it, so let me do my best to sum up.
First of all, after checking my FB memories, this is the first time I’ve been sick in three years. THREE YEARS, PEOPLE. Three years ago, I went off Claritin like I usually did in the fall and got a nasty sinus infection, like I usually did. Finally, I had HAD it. I was sick of getting sinus infections every time I went off the Claritin! So as soon as I beat the sinus infection with antibiotics, I went back on Claritin full time, and I’ve been sickness free ever since.
Until this past week. But I’ve gotta say that this cold is a breeze compared to chronic sinus infections. I keep thinking, “Is this what a normal cold is like?” Usually I’m super miserable, my face hurts, and I’m so congested it’s nothing but gallons of snot. This? This is nothing. It’s a little congestion that is fine with Advil Cold & Sinus. Some runny nose, and some lethargy. Huh. I never knew colds could be so mild.
Even though this cold is not so bad, it’s still been hard to find the energy to get stuff done. I felt good on Thanksgiving thanks to extra sleep, so I was able to celebrate with my family. We drove out to Long Island to see them and the traffic was surprisingly light for a holiday. A true miracle!
The rest of our time was spread out between school stuff and just relaxing at home. Friday, I got my hair cut, and on Saturday, we walked as a family with everyone from town in a charity race to raise money for an important cause. Today was spent either writing or in bed.
I’m looking forward to going back to work and the kids going back to school tomorrow.
What else happened this week?
I thought the leaves suspended in the water were really cool looking.
On Monday, I treated myself to ROMANCING THE STONE on Amazon Instant. My god, I love that movie.
Thanksgiving dinner was awesome. I ATE SO MUCH FOOD. My family had to roll me home. Lol.
I love my hair salon. It’s in an old church, and my hair dresser is up in the loft area so I get to look down on everyone getting their hair done.
We walked with almost the whole town for Progeria research and my team raised over $6000!
And this was my permanent spot on the bed today. With Oreos.
Coming up this week on the blog: Teaser Tuesday, a reminder about the end of RELEASED being on sale, Monthly Goals, and the NaNoWriMo wrap-up!
Have a great week everyone!
The post Sunday Update – November 26, 2017 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
November 24, 2017
NaNoWriMo Update – Still Going Strong!
We’re into the last week of November and that means I have a week left of writing for NaNoWriMo. Things are going well and I’m happy with my progress so far.
Before I started NaNoWriMo this year, I thought maybe I’d try something different with my process. Sigh. I always do this. I keep thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. That I’ll write better or faster if I just try the Snowflake Method or if I try never hitting backspace or if I just write dialogue.
This year I was going to try the last option. I was going to barrel through and finish the whole book just writing the dialogue and very few scene descriptions, which I would add in later.
Guess how long that idea lasted? I didn’t even make it one day. Lol.
But I am doing something a little different this time! I have been completely pantsing this book which is how I wrote all of my books before SUMMER HAIKUS. After the first two days, I haven’t stopped once to outline. Sparse outlining HAD been my thing for the last two years. I would outline a few scenes, write them, outline, write, outline, write, and on and on until I hit the end.
And I kinda wondered if this was holding me back. I used to force myself to stop and assess instead of capitalizing on my forward momentum and just keep going. At this point, I understand story structure really well and can hold a basic outline in my head without having to write it down. I don’t necessarily need an outline until the end when I’m ready to sit down and revise.
So with that in mind, I haven’t stopped once to outline and I’ve just kept writing. I’ve been aware of where I am in the story the whole time, and I daydream ahead by a scene or two so that each day I can sit down and write. Right now, I’m in the Second Act Slog. My characters are on their journey, running into obstacles left and right, and I’m approaching the mid-point (around 40-45k mark) when Yumi will have to decide on a possible life or death path (figuratively speaking).
Without an outline, I’m still writing! And I’m having fun which is a huge difference from how I felt writing THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE RETURNS A FAVOR. I forced myself to outline that book. I don’t think I’ll do that again!
Anyway, the good news is that I’m right on track. Today I plan to cross the 40k mark and I’d like to cross 50k before November 30. I’ve gotta get in as much as possible before December 1 because I’ll be finishing up last revisions and copy editing of THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE RETURNS A FAVOR in December.
I’m off to get my words in for the day with Dragon! Have a great weekend everyone!
(Visited 20 times, 20 visits today)
The post NaNoWriMo Update – Still Going Strong! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
