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Plotholes and Punctuation
What Stories do You Tell Yourself?
So I got my hair done last night. I’d wanted to lighten up for the summer and was planning on getting highlights. But I also wanted to do something fun and different. Problem is, I took a new assignment at work (focusing on Very Important People) and I was worried that they’d be very unhappy if I showed up with purple streaks.
And then my stylist told me her story. She was at a job in sales making 100k a year. And she hated every minute. She wanted to do something she loved, and that meant being creative. So she quit her job, went back to school, and became a stylist. She took a huge paycut but she loves going to work every day. (and yes, I could turn this into a story about following your dreams, but that’s a topic for another day!)
Then she said – “You don’t want to be a fifty year old woman who always regrets not doing this. Have fun, go for it!”
And I realized she was right. There are so many things I don’t do because I’m afraid of what other people might think. And I didn’t want that regret, so in a tiny act of rebellion, I did it.
And I love it. And the people I work with so far have thought it cute and fun and daring.
And then I realized, I’d told myself a story about how I “should” be behaving as Jamie the Day Job Worker. I also had a story about how I think other people are going to react, which may or may not be based in reality. I even had a story about how my stylist saw me as a client.
We all tell ourselves stories – and it’s amazing how much those stories affect what we do or don’t do. How we respond to a situation or person. What we think is acceptable behavior.
I’m not going to self publish because people will look down on me.
I have to have an agent/traditional publishing deal/sell as many copies as Author X to be successful.
People will think I’m a freak or think I’m irresponsible if I have purple hair.
That person’s comment was directed at me, I know it!
I can’t do that, what if I fail and everyone finds out? They’ll judge me.
All stories I’ve told myself. All of them untrue. All of them holding me back from doing something *I* want to do or saying something *I* want to say.
It’s funny, I write stories all day, but when it comes down to it, the biggest fictions I find are in my own mind.
Cover Reveal – Charcoal and Hot Chocolate by Irene Rose
You guys! I know, I’ve been horrible at posting lately, but with all the amazing news from friends and crit partners, I haven’t minded not having my own posts AT ALL 
And today I have something special to share with you! The Cover Reveal for Irene Rose’s New Adult Romance -
CHARCOAL AND HOT CHOCOLATE!
Guys – Irene is an amazing writer and I have a feeling this one is smoking hot! You’re gonna want to follow her on twitter and add this book to Goodreads RIGHT NOW!
Here – I’ll make it easy!
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
And now…what you’ve all been waiting for! I bring you THE COVER!!!
Isn’t it pretty!!? Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!
So what books are you guys looking forward to this summer?
Cover Reveal – Eyre House by Cait Greer
You GUYS! I am SO excited to be part of the street team for Cait Greer’s release of Eyre House. This is one fantastic and steamy book, let me tell you! Here’s the blurb:
When eighteen-year-old orphan Evan Richardson signed up to work at Eyre House, on the sleepy tourist getaway of Edisto Island, SC, he never expected to find himself dodging ghosts. But Eyre House seems to have more than its fair share of things that go bump in the night, and most of them seem to surround his employer’s daughter.
Back from her freshman year of college, Ginny Eyre is dangerous from word one. She’s a bad girl with ghosts of her own, and trouble seems to follow her everywhere she goes. But living or dead, trouble isn’t just stalking Ginny. When her ex-boyfriend is found murdered in the pool, Evan knows he’s got two choices – figure out what’s going on, or become the next ghost to haunt Ginny Eyre.
You’re going to want to add it to Goodreads RIGHT NOW! Trust me!
Ok, done with that? Now, for the REAL reason you’re here….the COVER REVEAL!
Let me tell you, this cover is SO perfect for this book – there’s the beach, a motorcycle, and best of all Evan and Ginny. What more could you ask for! So….without further ado….I give you the cover for EYRE HOUSE!!!
Picture Perfect is OUT & A Giveaway
YOU GUYS! I am so excited!!! Alessandra Thomas’s AMAZING new adult romance – Picture Perfect is OUT today! Go buy it now, I’ll wait!
I was lucky enough to read this book as a Beta, and OMG let me tell you, it’s so fantastic – steamy, hot, romantic, and just plain fun. I mean who wouldn’t want to read a book with a description like this:
Fashion design major Cat Mitchell has a closet full of gorgeous clothes – and not a single thing fits. After two years of runway modeling for easy cash, an accident shattered her lower leg bone and her self-esteem in just one swift fall. Ten months of no exercise, prescription steroids, comfort eating and yoga pants meant returning to campus as a size twelve instead of her former size two.
When her gorgeous long-time friend with benefits sees her for the first time after her accident and snubs her in front of all her friends, Cat’s self-image hits rock bottom. Her sorority sisters all insist that she looks gorgeous, but all Cat sees is the roll of her stomach when she sits down, or the dimpling at the back of her thighs that wasn’t there last year. Cat’s therapist prescribes something radical to stop the downward spiral – nude modeling for a nearby college’s human form drawing classes.
When Cat faces her fears and bares it all for the class, she realizes that she’s posing naked in front the most gorgeous, buffest guy she’s ever seen in her life. He asks her out after the class, and after one steamy night together, Cat’s absolutely smitten.
Nate’s pretty close to perfect – he takes Cat rock climbing when he discovers that it makes her feel strong and becomes a great chef after he learns that the perfect pesto sauce makes her swoon. Cat starts to feel like her old self again – confident and beautiful – as long as Nate’s around. Even when he discourages her from entering the Real Woman Project, a design competition for plus-sized apparel, she reasons that he’s just trying to prevent old body image wounds from splitting wide open again.
But when Cat goes home with Nate for Thanksgiving, she discovers something shocking from his recent past that proves that he hasn’t always been so encouraging of women of all shapes and sizes. Cat has no idea what to think, but she does know one thing – this might destroy their relationship before it’s even had a chance to get off the ground.
Before Cat can figure out whether the real Nate is the sensitive, adoring guy she fell in love with, or an undercover asshole, she’ll have to finally feel comfortable in her own skin – even if it means leaving him forever.
(This book contains sex and adult language.)
So, in honor of Alessandra’s debut, I want to give away a copy of this book to one lucky reader! Just leave a comment telling me what your favorite item of clothing is and why! Contest closes on Friday 3/29 at noon, and I’ll announce the winner later that day.
And We Have A Winner
Thanks so much for all the fun comments about everyone’s Lucky Charms! I love seeing the things people use!
And now for the WINNER of the 2 Chapter Critique from Nicole:
Peggy Sahmaunt!!!!!
Congrats Peggy!!!
Email me at greyjamie1 (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll get you hooked up with Nicole!
The Trajectory of Dreams Blog Tour & Giveaway
You guys! I am so excited to have amazing Author Nicole Wolverton on the blog today to talk about her new book, The Trajectory of Dreams and do a reading from the book. She’s also doing a fantastic giveaway – a 2 Chapter Critique! And trust me, Nicole is awesome, you definitely want to win this!
So, take it away Nicole:
Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? So how do you enter Nicole’s giveaway? Super simple – just leave a comment below and tell me what your Lucky Charm is (or would be if you had one). Giveaway closes at midnight on 3/16 and I’ll pick a random winner and announce him/her on 3/17
And don’t forget:
THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS
Available from Amazon Barnes & Noble
Add to: Goodreads | LibraryThing | Shelfari
So. Much. Awesome.
You guys. Today is the day. One of my dearest writing besties, Leigh Ann Kopans is revealing the cover to ONE - out on June 11th!!! I can’t wait! (you can add her book on Goodreads here)
The fantastic Icey Books is doing the big cover reveal so click here to see the amazingness that is ONE’s Cover! And then come back and squee with me What do you think? Gorgeous, right!?
Also, as if that wasn’t enough, Nicole Wolverton’s The Trajectory of Dreams is FINALLY out! This book is amazing, guys. You’re gonna want it. Even better, Nicole is doing a fantastic blog tour and holy crap she’s giving away some fabulous things as she makes her way through the tour. She’ll actually be here on my blog Saturday with a video and a giveaway of a 2 chapter critique! You guys are NOT going to want to miss that. She’s amazing!
So, for it being a Monday, it’s already turning out to be pretty spectacular! What things are you guys looking forward to this week?
Get Your Puppy Fix Here
Ever have one of those days where you really want to write a blog post, and yet have NO IDEA what to write about? Yeah? Welcome to my Tuesday.
So….since I have no brilliant words of wisdom, or funny stories or an awesome first chapter to post, I guess I’ll leave you with puppy pictures. And of course if you’re ever looking for a fix, there’s The Daily Puppy. And Emergency Puppy. Both good options for all your puppy needs!
ENJOY
The Demons of Disappointment
I love writing. Its my escape, my obsession. But I have to admit, that sometimes this business is so hard. So full of disappointment. And if there’s one thing you can counting on with this business is the doubt.
- What if your CP hates your new book?
- What if your dream agent doesn’t think your writing is good enough to even request a partial? Or worse yet, reads it and hates it?
- What if you don’t sell the book you spent months of your life writing?
- What if your book DOES sell and people hate it?
What do you do then? How do you deal with those things? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as I see myself, my crit partners, my friends all deal with different types of disappointment. And the one thing that seems to be consistent with all of us is that while we may get knocked down and spend that time being sad or letting the disappointment overwhelm us, somehow at the end of the day (or week or month or year) we pick ourselves back up and start over.
Don’t get me wrong, putting it like that makes it sound easy. And there are times I think when all of us wonder if we’re cut out for this, if we should even bother to keep going. It would be so much easier to just stop, to pick up knitting or go back to being just a reader. But there is something about writers, some stubborn streak that forces us to finally push aside the disappointments, put on our armor and go back out to battle those demons of disappointment.
Something that makes us strong enough to stare that disappointment in the eye and tell it to frak off. That we’re going to do it our way. That we’re going to succeed.
So for any of you out there disappointed with where you’re at right now, or a situation that doesn’t turn out like you expected, hang in there. You’re not alone. We’ve all been there and probably will keep visiting that murky swamp. But eventually the fog clears, and you spot a shining star on the horizon and you realize it’s going to be okay.
Because you’re strong, and brave, and amazing.
Attack of the Rogue Ideas
I’m one of those people who likes a lot of different things – I’m a big nerd, I love sci-fi and fantasy. I’m a gamer. I’m a reader. I love well-done TV shows and movies. All I ask is for a good story line, an engaging set of characters, and something I connect with.
Which means I can kind of go all over the place when it comes to my writing. Don’t get me wrong, most of my ideas are firmly in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy realm, but I occassionally veer into historical romance, or contemporary, or as the case may be lately, Middle Grade.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older (and no I’m not THAT old yet), or my mind wants to play with different themes, but I’ve had three really great Middle Grade fantasy ideas within the last two months. These stories have younger characters than I’ve ever written before, as well as much more fantastical settings. I could turn these stories into YA, I might even be able to make them romances, but there’s something about these ideas that calls for the personalities and world view that only a middle grade main character can bring.
And in a way, there’s something freeing about that. That age group still accepts and welcomes the fantastical without question (if it’s done well of course), they want to experience things, feel things out of the ordinary. And there’s the chance to really touch them with a story that resonates. Some of my still-favorite books are the ones I read as a kid.
So, even though it’s not my usual thing, I’m going to take a stab at writing one of these. The worst thing that can happen is I realize I shouldn’t be writing MG. The best, is that I write something that touches someone else. And really, I think that’s what we all want to do, no matter the age of our readers.
How about you guys? Ever write anything outside of your usual genre? How did it go?
