Jodi Vaughn's Blog, page 11
March 2, 2014
Schedule for March
Check out what I have planned for March 2014!
Veiled Secrets spotlighted as a must read in Southern Writers Magazine March/April issue.
“Pinch Me I’m an Author/Kiss Me I’m a Reader” St. Patrick’s Day Party Face Book party.
March 10 – Blog Hop on the Writing Process with some great authors. Details coming soon!
Book signing at the Craighead County Library 315 W. Oak Ave. Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401 870-935-5133
November 12, 2013
Home for the Holidays Hop
[image error]
Almond Crescent Cookies Recipe
Yield: Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
Add to shopping list
Ingredients
1 cup of butter, room temperature
2/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of almond extract
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of almond flour (can substitute ground almonds*)
1/4 cup of powdered sugar for sprinkling
*You can use slivered, blanched almonds and grind them up, but you will have a very crumbly, hard to work with dough. It’ll still taste good though.
Method
1 Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and mix.
2 Add the flour and almond flour. Mix thoroughly.
3 Take generous tablespoons of the dough (it will be slightly crumbly) and roll it into a small ball, about an inch in diameter, and then shape into a crescent shape. Place onto parchment paper and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until a light golden brown.
4 Dust with powdered sugar.
For added decadence let the cookies cool and dip one end of them into some melted chocolate, then let the chocolate harden.
Leave a comment with your email address to be entered in the Grand Prize Giveaway for the Romance Troupe Holiday Blog Hop! After you’ve visited my blog click on the Blog Hop link at the top of the page and check out the other authors and their blogs!
Here’s a sneak peek of Veiled Secrets, which will be one of the giveaways at Romance Troupe Holiday Blog Hop!
Good girls don’t do this, her mother’s voice echoed in her head. Maybe she wasn’t a good girl. Right now, she really didn’t care.
He cupped her face between his large hands and leaned his forehead against hers. His ragged breath caressed her face, his darkened eyes bore straight into her gaze.
“Celeste, if you don’t want this, tell me now.”
“I don’t usually do this. I mean, I never do this.” She licked her lips. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
“Me either,” he breathed. “All I know is I’ve never wanted a woman as bad as I want you.”
October 11, 2013
Secret to Success
We live in a society that demands instant gratification, whether it’s material items, weight loss or attaining our dreams.
Along the way we’ve forgotten that one secret that we need to be successful in whatever we want and that is hard work and tenacity.
When I first started writing, I thought the first editor would read my manuscript and fall in love. That didn’t happen. Nor did it happen after a year of submitting to various editors and agents.
It made me began to doubt.
But it did not make me give up.
I continued on, putting in the work and writing, even when I didn’t feel like it.
The most important piece of advice I ever received was to not give up. Ever.
So stop making excuses and start putting in the work.
September 28, 2013
Author Angela Myron and The Hero’s Journey
Short synopsis:
When a mysterious curse threatens to transform everyone into shadowy demons, a magical eleven year-old girl must travel to a sunken city ruin—fighting pirates, monsters, and an undead sorcerer along the way—to find a weapon that can save her world.
The Hero’s Journey
Ever wonder why it is that some stories just resonate with you, as though the hero, in undertaking his journey, has guided you through your own darkest moments? Many of us feel the same way, which is why the most popular books and films are just that: they have identified with a deeper language of symbolism that many can interpret and take meaning from.
In the late 1940s, late author and mythologist Joseph Campbell studied world myths surrounding heroes. His work studying myth influenced the early work of many Hollywood storytellers, including George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Campbell’s defining work, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, was eventually retold in 1998 with Christopher Vogler’s plotting structure referred to as Mythic Structure. Using the studies of myth and archetype by Carl Jung, Vogler sought to define what it is within the traditional myths that resonate within us and keep a story relevant despite being decades, centuries, or even millennia, old.
Since then, mythic structure has been used for many novels and movies, one of which is my debut novel, Ennara and the Fallen Druid. The structure follows a basic three-part act with twelve steps interspersed throughout:
1. Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD
2. they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE
3. They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but
4. are encouraged by a MENTOR to
5. CROSS THE THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where
6. they encounter TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES.
7. They APPROACH THE IN-MOST CAVE, cross a second threshold
8. where they endure the ORDEAL
9. They take possession of their REWARD and
10. are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World.
11. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience.
12. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the ORDINARY WORLD.
Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces and Vogler’s Mythic Structure have influenced movies ranging from Star Wars to Titanic. Can you find stages of the hero’s journey in your favorite book or film?
Angela Myron is the author of the middle grade fantasy series Ennara, the upcoming paranormal mystery A Hair of the Dog that Bit Her, and a stack of technical manuals on everything from nonlinear editing to data encryption. She lives in Whittier, California, with her husband and their twins.
Learn about Angela Myron’s stories at:
www.angelamyron.com
Facebook/Angela Myron
Twitter @AngelaMyron
Goodreads/AngelaMyron
Want more? Buy the e-book or paperback of Ennara and the Fallen Druid now!
Love the cover art? Get your own print, t-shirt, or coffee mug featuring Danil Shunkov’s painting The Stand in the Darkness at Ennara Swag.
September 6, 2013
Things I Learned At Dragon Con
1. There’s always going to be a line.
Doesn’t matter if you show up a day early to get your name badge. That great idea you had? Yeah, about thirty thousand people had that same idea. So you’re just going to have to stand in a line, outside, in Atlanta heat.
2. Once the line starts to move, it moves.
Like for real. Once that line moves you better look out and stay on your toes or you will get mowed over.
3. Costumes, costumes and more costumes.
The costumes ranged from very elaborate to the very simple. I saw Batman and Bane, a few Thors, a couple of Jokers and a ton of Star Trek and Star Wars costumes. And of course Dr. Who. And, once these people are dressed they don’t break character, for anything.
4. You don’t have to spend a lot on a costume.
Someone cut arm holes and a place for their head and slapped that box right on. He said he was a robot. He was probably smart enough to save his money for beer. If that’s too much work for you just hold up a sign for “Free Bear Hugs” This seemed to be working out great for one guy who had a line of girls wanting a hug.
5. I will be coming back next year and bringing my son.
This is right up his alley. He’s a big gamer. There was one hotel dedicated to gaming (computer/video/card ) I could have dropped him off, done my writer’s panel and picked him up.
Have you ever been to Dragon Con? If so what are you thoughts?
August 16, 2013
Making It Work
August is the month of school, Dragon Con, and the release of my first book. Busy doesn’t even begin to describe my life. I’ve had to balance my family life and writing career while trying to stay inspired in my creativity. I could say I’m overwhelmed. But I chose to say I’m productive.
There is something satisfying at the end of the day when I’ve met my writing goals and have spent quality time with my family. One without the other doesn’t work, it doesn’t make me happy. It is those precious moments with my son and husband that create memories and inspire me to write. And it is through my writing that I’m a happier person and a better mom and wife.
What inspires you to write?
July 8, 2013
The Tasty Summer Reads Blog Hop
What is a blog hop? A blog hop is where a group of authors get together and post on each others blog. It’s purpose is to introduce readers to great new summer reads!
Veiled Secrets, which will be out August 2013, is the first of my paranormal trilogy.
“When fairies and demons collide, all hell breaks loose.”
Celeste Hart has never fit in because of her dark visions. When she discovers her Fae blood, she and unborn child face unimaginable danger from demons sent to kill her. She must trust her husband, Eric Nordstrom to help her fight against the evil that has invaded their house. Confused by a world he doesn’t understand, Eric is determine to protect the only woman he’s ever loved, even if it cost him his life. Fate brought them together, but will destiny tear them apart?
1. When writing are you a snacker? If so, sweet or salty?
I usually don’t eat while I write. But if someone stuck some Sour Cream and Onion chips under my nose, I wouldn’t turn them down.
2. Are you an outliner or someone who flies by the seat of their pants? Are they real pants or jammies?
I fly by the seat of my pants. Jammies- Bunnies and cupcake to be precise.
3.When cooking or baking, do you follow the recipe exactly or wing it?
I follow the recipe exactly.
4.What is next for you after this book?
I am working on a Halloween story for an anthology that will be out October 2013. I am also working on my second book in my paranormal trilogy as well as a Werewolf series set in Arkansas.
5. Last Question…on a level of one being slightly naughty to ten being whoo whoo steamy, where does your book land?
I would say my book is a solid 7, maybe 8.
Cream cheese strawberries.
1 carton of strawberries, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 1/3 cup of confectioners sugar, 8 oz whipped cream cheese
Cut the stems off strawberries and core them. (This is where the cream cheese/sugar mixture will go) To make the strawberry stand up slice off the bottom. Mix the cream cheese and sugar. Pipe the cream cheese mixture into the strawberry. Top with a blueberry!
Check out these authors for more great summer reads!
http://www.vickydreiling.com/blog/?p=1863
http://www.tarakingston.com/blog
http://ginadanna.com/the-tasty-summer-reads-blog-hop
www.LaTessaMontgomeryAuthor.com
July 7, 2013
Revisions and Then Some.
Since beginning my revisions I’ve really learned a lot about my characters. I know what you’re going to say. I should already know them front and back, inside and out. And I do. But when I started revising my novel I started seeing themes that I didn’t before.
I knew what my characters motivation was during their journey and I knew the conflicts they must face. But I didn’t realize the theme of my story until I started the revision process. I then realized the conflicts my hero and heroine would face wasn’t much different than what we face everyday. Their conflict is just on a much grander scale with fairies and demons and life and death situations. And a very hot Viking. : ) Gotta have that Viking.
June 10, 2013
Bringing Characters to Life
If someone asked me what my favorite part of writing is, I would have to say getting to know my characters. They grow in my head and in my heart until I give them birth upon the computer screen.
One character that has really started this journey of writing for me was a young woman who never really felt like she fit in. All her life she realized something was different about her. She longed just to be normal, to belong, to be seen. What she realizes during her story is, that which makes her different also makes her powerful and gives her strength.
Her name is Celeste and she is the heroine of my first novel VEILED SECRETS that is coming out in August. I hope you’ll take the time to get to know her and love her as much as I do.
June 4, 2013
The Call
When I started this journey to publication I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I knew there would be rejections and rewrites and revisions. I knew there would have to be daily discipline to sit down and write. And I knew that there would be those who wouldn’t really consider what I do an actual job.
But what I didn’t expect to find was an enormous network of authors who would not only extend their knowledge and advice but they would extend their friendship as well. It is through these friendships that I’ve found the encouragement to continue to write, to continue to edit and to continue to submit. It is those friendships that I have turned to after I have received a rejection letter, or start having doubts, or even think about quitting. And it is those pep talks from your author friends (who, by the way, are like no other entity on earth) that tell you to shake it off and get your butt back in the chair and continue on. Even if you don’t feel like it.
Because it’s when you do, when you continue forward on this journey, that it finally happens.
The Call!
And I am thrilled to announce that I signed my first contract with Gilded Dragonfly Books for a three book trilogy! My first book, VEILED SECRETS, will be out latter this summer. Of course when I have a specific launch date I’ll be posting that later.So check back!
Life is right now, and we all have a choice how to live it. Don’t waste it dreaming about what you want. Go after it! Pursue it! And don’t stop until you get everything you want!
So here’s the question. What do you want?
Because
