Stuff

Hello strangers…I know it's been a while, but the good news is that I'm back. I've just…kind of been…trying to…maybe…avoid responsibilities…like blogging.

It's really easy to get out of the loop on things.

I skipped the A to Z Challenge, thinking I'd easily be able to come back in May, but…one thing led to another, and…it's not that I didn't have enough time, it's just I didn't really make time.

I'm taking a few classes over the summer (one of which I failed during 9th grade, so…so yeah…don't judge) which is making things very hectic. And then there's all this teen drama no one wants to get caught up in, so I'll spare you the details on that one. Oh and I got my wisdom teeth out last week.

The Inferiors, my sequel, is coming along alright, except I'm coming up against these brick walls which making things very difficult. I won't say too much about it, but it starts off in the Crystal City, and…well…maybe it isn't as perfect as it's made out to be. So Jaina's going through her issues there.

I think over the long period of time I was publishing, I sort of lost my connection with Jaina. The Inferiors starts four, long, tiresome months after From the Ashes, so she's grown more during that time. And the thing is, it's been five months since I've been published, and well…I've grown during that time. I guess she and I just need to spend some Author/Character bonding time together and see how we can work things out.

Other than that, though, I've been revising and writing a lot of poetry, which I may or may not end up sharing with you.

So yeah.

That's it for me.

What are you guys up to lately? I need to catch up.

–Jess 龍

Eyes of Eden

Okay, I know not everyone's into poetry, but I write it now and then when I've got nothing better to do (which is never, so more like, when I feel like not doing what I should be doing.)

Either way, I wrote this poem and had nothing else in mind to post today, so here it is.

Go easy on me, poems aren't one of my strengths, despite how many I write.

Eyes of Eden

Cross the world,

Face the black,

Run for you,

Then double back.

Watch your face,

See you smile,

Stay with me

for a while.

Reach for you,

But turn away,

Must forget,

Or fall astray.

You are fading,

Fading fast,

Let you go,

Relive the past.

What I was,

Was tied to you,

Shed my skin,

Follow through.

Eyes of Eden,

Look for me,

Take my hand,

Set me free.

I am day,

You are night,

Make your stand,

Hang on tight.

Lead the way,

'til death we fight,

For you are dark,

And I, the light.

So there you have it.

Any ideas on what it's about?

I'll give you a hint. There's no wrong answer.

--Jess

Random Stuff

You will not believe how exhausted I am.

I'll admit, I stayed up to 11:00pm last night, and the past two nights before that I've stayed up until 1:00am. But it was for a good cause, I can assure you!

In fact, I'm so tired I honestly slept in until 8:30 this morning. And then when I finally did wake up, I was relieved to think that I'd already scheduled a post for this morning.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.

I had not scheduled a post for this morning.

Hence, the lateness of this post.

The good news is, on Monday I passed BOTH of my Ice Dancing tests :)

Oh, also… I shall be receiving the FINAL draft of my cover VERY shortly. And shortly after that, I'll be releasing my cover to THE WORLD.

And I was wondering if any of you would like to help me out with that? I don't have a specific day set, but I can assure you it will be on a Friday.

Never done this before, so if you have suggestions for my cover release day, let me know!

--Jess

California

Yup.

You heard me.

California.

If you're not a follower of my mom or my sister, or missed their posts about our trip to California, read on!

We went to California at the beginning of September for a family vacation, so I'm sorry for not posting about it sooner! The reason I didn't was because both my mom and sister were posting about it too, and just hate being repetitive.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Sea Kayaking in Monterey

Monterey Bay

Lake in Yosemite

Yosemite

At the foot of El Capitan

Tunnel View

Stanford University :)

So, those are pretty much all of the places we went! We LOVED it! And... now I really want to go to Stanford. Most beautiful college campus in the world!

By the way, the pictures are prettier if you click on them :)

Happy Friday!

--Jess

Using Curse Words in Your Story

Let me just tell you that I'm not much of a 'swearing' person.  On occasion I'll curse in my head, or if things are really bad (EXAMPLE: I realize all the edits I made last night weren't saved) a word might accidentally slip.  But usually I'll say it quietly and I'll cut myself off before I finish.

Swearing makes me uncomfortable.  Of course, it bothered me a lot more when I was younger than it does now.  Back then, saying 'crap' was a bad word.  But still, hearing people swear just makes me feel a little on edge.

Verbally, I have issues with swearing.

But for some reason, when it comes to writing, swearing and cursing is no problemo.

I don't know what it is.

Maybe it's because I don't feel like it's me cursing/swearing.  My story line has grown so much from what it was that I hardly have control over what my characters say.  THEY'RE the one's cursing, not me!

When I'm reading other stories, cursing doesn't bother me.  Maybe it's because I know the writer's trying to show me a character.  Not all people swear, so when you've got someone who does, it shows their character.  But if I hear swearing in an audio book, for some reason my opinion changes.

In my current trilogy Rise, I made up my own curse words.  It's a sci-fi/dystopian trilogy, so the made up curse words work (I hope).  But whether I'm using the actual words or made up versions of them, in writing I have no problem using them.

Do you guys use curse words in your work?  Are you uncomfortable using them?  Do you make up your own?  Please share!


Oh, just something random:  yesterday we went bike riding for almost twelve miles through really pretty forest (yes, we have pretty forests in Ohio).  It was so much fun, despite how much it hurt over time.  The one downside to it all was that near the very end, a bird pooped on me.

I honestly wish I was joking.


Happy Monday :)

--Jess

I need your opinion...

So, what do you think about pennames?

My mom thinks they're silly, but I'm still undecided.

Of course, it has it's obvious ups and downs.

Ups:
It would give me a chance to come up with something really cool to 'name' myself.  I mean, how many times does a person get to choose their own name?

If I had one, my name would have to have a nice ring to it... like Jessica Kay or something.  That way it's still sorta my name.

And, it would totally make me feel like a spy, or an undercover agent.  It's like you can be two different people!  The nerd with glasses (lol, yes, I really do have glasses), until you take them off and become..........

The superwriter!!!!!!!

Downs:
No one would know who you are.  I mean, if you're buying food at a store and my name comes up as Jessica McKendry when my penname is Jessica Kay, that's no big dealio.  Because no one knows who Jessica McKendry is.

The thing is... I'm not even done editing yet.  I'm not a published author, moreover a well-known one.  So... why exactly am I worrying about this?

Uh because... I have nothing better to do.


What do you guys think?  Do you use a penname?  Do you think it's silly to use a penname?  Or is it weird for me to be thinking about this at all?


Happy Monday!

--Jess

The 'R' Word

Well, I thought that since my last post happened to be "First Query Letter... Ever", I think it's only natural that "Rejection" is my topic for today.

So... I got my first rejection letter.

It's expected, of course.  We've all heard that story of J.K. Rowling having to query about a hundred times before she ever got accepted.

I have to say, it's embarrassing to admit that I was a little disappointed.  It's embarrassing because I don't want to be disappointed.  But when you love something so much and you get 'rejected', it just isn't... reassuring.

On a more positive note, they're sending back fast.  The first person I sent to got back within two days, and the second sent back over night.  And even though both were rejects, at least I didn't have to wait so long.

The good news is I picked myself up and am back with a new evil plot to take over the world with my books  plan to get published.  But more about that some other time ;)

How do you guys feel (honestly) when you get rejection letters?  How many times have you had to query?


--Jess

Knights of MicroFiction Announcement

Okay, I know things have been a little confusing for our MicroFiction buddies, with the A-Z Challenge in April and all, but just so you know, we've decided to keep it going.  The only thing is... we have new details.

For example, instead of holding it on the last Monday of every month (because that started to confuse us!) we decided it would be on the 15th of every month.  And, we're not going to have a linky list, so if you want to join in the fun, post your link in the comments and visit a few others who have posted.

Kathy and I are still figuring out some things, but I promise that as soon as we're clear on everything, we'll let you know.

Sorry for the confusion!

If you posted for it on Monday, thank you for your support!  Unfortunately, we um... sorta... kinda... forgot that it was the last Monday and didn't think to warn people.

Anyway, I'd just like to thank McKenzie for posting on Monday, so please go check out her post and say hi.

(For more info, check out the Knights of MicroFiction page.)

So, once again, my apologies and I hope you decide to join in on THE 15TH of June :)

--Jess

Exciting Things!!!!

So far, I've had an awesome weekend.

And, I'm feeling really excited and optimistic right now!  For the first time in a few weeks, I've actually gotten enough sleep (hence the lateness in posting this), I've gotten a lot of editing done, and I've done a ton of other things!

Not many days I can brag about that!

First of all, on Friday, I entered THIS contest in which I could win a full request from Curiosity Quills Press.  That was an opportunity I simply couldn't pass up.  I'm not sure if/when I'll hear back, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  (Final submissions to the contest are being held today, so it might not be for a little while).

Then, my dad randomly wanted to have a party.  So we stayed up late, drank Vernors and A&W Root Beer and played pool.  Actually, I didn't play pool.  I was writing with my mom while my brother, my sister and my dad played.

On Saturday we had to wake up waaay too early for a Saturday and go skating.  I felt pretty good about everything, and I even landed some axels which I haven't been able to do for a while!  We also went to go see some hot air balloons launch into the sky.  We got to sit outside for a while  and enjoy the fresh air.

On Sunday,  my dad ran in the Blossom Time Run and me, my sister and my mom got to pass out water to the runners with our skating club.  We got soaking wet because the runners didn't really stop when they were grabbing the water.  They sorta just snatched it from our hands and it spilled everywhere.  Either way, it was a TON of fun.

Then, I got to write for a while, and my dad took three naps when he got home. Lol.

Finally, I got to see my best friend who I haven't seen in at least four months.  It's sad, because we're both always so busy.  What's even sadder.... we live one street away from each other.  I could walk to her house in three minutes.

But anyway, I'm excited because she recently started a blog and I've become sorta obsessed with helping her get followers.  I'm not kidding... it's so much fun!

Anyway, yeah, that's pretty much my weekend!  And then, we're doing something mysterious today... not sure what, but my mom and dad say I'll love it and that it's super exciting... If it's really awesome, maybe I'll tell you about it on Wednesday.

Happy Memorial Day!

--Jess

O is for Oppressed

O is for Oppressed

We’re outnumbered and broken.

We lie in wait, for the day that we will be free. Saved from this hell that they call our country. Yet, it doesn’t belong to us.

We all know that if we stood up to them, we might be let go.

But no one’s brave enough to do it.

Not yet.

***

Wow, this A-Z Challenge is a lot harder than it sounded when I signed up. Luckily, I love challenges most of the time.

Also, here's a really random word I found:

otorhinolaryngology/ˌōtōˌrīnōˌlarəNGˈgäləjē/

Noun:

The study of diseases of the ear, nose, and throat.

Yeah, try pronouncing that within the next ten minutes! I had to look it up on google and then click the 'pronounce' button to figure it out! It's crazy!

Okay, here's the song Faceless by Red:

I'm not really sure if it goes with the Oppressed theme, but I couldn't really find anything else. And, I love this song. When I'm writing fight scenes, this is one of the songs I use :)

I know I asked this question a while ago, but that was when I had like, 20 followers. So, I'll ask again.

Do you guys listen to music while you write? If so, what do you listen to?

Have an Over-joyous (Is that even a word?) day!

--Jess

Page 77, Line 7

Today, I got tagged by Lyla over at Lyla Writes in the Lucky 7 Meme!

The rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines as they're written-- no cheating!
4. Tag 7 other writers
5. Let them know!

Okay, so I'm using an excerpt from my first novel (the only one that's currently finished), The Trials. So here I go:

***

Seth runs his fingers through his sandy-blond hair.  "I'm assuming there'll be more traps.  It's the reason they wanted us to come together.  This is the final test."

"Hey, check this out."  Liam examines a skeleton on the side of the trail.

"Don't touch it, Liam.  That's got to be a trap," I warn.

"Are you sure?" He jabs his finger at it.

"Stop!"

"Calm down, I didn't touch it!" he laughs.  "I was just kidding."


***

So that's what's on page 77 of The Trials, lol :)

The seven lucky writers I'm tagging are:

1. Madeline Jane at Capricious Existence
2. Jessica Salyer at Just Following a Dream
3. T. Z. Wallace at One Year Until Book Launch
4. McKenzie McCann at The Ubiquitous Perspective
5. Fairbetty at Fairbetty's World
6. Rena at Doctor Faerie Godmother
7. Alyssa at Life is Good

Have fun!!

--Jess