Monday, May 5, 2014
My story inspired by Colin Kennaugh's song 'She's Gone'
"Well, look who's here," Brett commented softly.
"Who," asked Derrick absentmindedly, waiting for the bartender to hand him his soda.
"Her," Brett replied softly.
"Her who," Derrick asked in a grouchy tone, taking the glass from the bartender and turning around to look in the direction that his friend was pointing.
His heart stopped, and his breath caught in his chest. It was her. After all this time . . . times of thinking about her, of thinking about what had happened, of the things he wished he had done differently. Times of wanting her, thinking about her, wondering where she was and what she was doing, . . . but not seeing her. And now here she was, across the room from him.
His friend Brett thumped him on the arm. "Breathe dude! You know, take in air, heart pumps and all that." He looked at his friend, and one look was all it took to see how gone over her he still was. So much for that 'getting over her' crap he had been peddling to everyone. He hadn't bought that for a second. He looked to see if she had noticed them yet, if she was alone. "Derrick , she's here alone; go talk to her."
"No Brett. What I've got to do is get out of here," Derrick said, with a panicked look on his face.
As he started to get up to leave, Brett grabbed his arm and stopped him. "No dude. You don't. What you've got to do is go talk to her. Talk about the weather for pete's sake! But talk to her. If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Now go," he urged him.
"Yeah," Derrick replied softly, a spaced out look on his face.
** What happens next? Maybe my friend Colin will write another song to inspire me? Or maybe one of you will inspire me? **
-- jd --
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Being a writer isn’t easy
No one ever said being a writer was easy.
It's not.
I don't do it because it's easy. I
do it because I love it. And yes, you’re
going to have shitty days. It's part and
parcel of being a writer.
Suck it up
cupcake, and move on.
It isn't something for the timid or easily discouraged to
take on. You have to develop a tough
hide. I have. During my life, I've been stomped on by the
best. But I've picked myself up, dusted
myself off, and kept on going. Kept
putting one foot in front of the other.
Bad reviews are also part and parcel of being a writer. But you can’t let them tear you up too badly. They’re going to happen. Not everyone is going to love what you
write. Accept that. Read them, and make note of what the person
writing the review said they didn’t like about your book. Determine if there’s any truth in there, something
that you need to fix. Make lists of the
pros and cons reviewers say about your writing.
Look at the reviews critically and impartially, and use them to make
yourself a better writer. Don’t whine
and wallow in a self-pity party.
Watch what other writers do, BUT DON’T TRY TO MIMIC
THEM! You’re all individuals. What works for one may not work for another. We each have to find our own road as a
writer. What creates success for one
writer may not necessarily do so for another writer. FIND YOUR OWN PATH! And stride purposefully, passionately down
it.
Always be learning.
Always be putting yourself out there.
Get people to know who you are, the author, the writer, the person. You can’t sit in a cave and throw a book out
the entrance and expect immediate success.
Promote yourself as a person, as an author, before you ever publish that
first book. Don’t jump out of your cave,
finished book in hand, and say ‘Hey world!
Notice me and my brand new book!’
The world doesn’t know who you are!
Unless you’ve first taken the time and invested the effort to introduce
yourself to them. Have you introduced
yourself to the world?!!? There’s no
excuse for not doing it cupcake. The
world, and the internet, provides you with many tools to do that with.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
As I write this, I’m 53 years old. I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since high
school, and that was back in the 20th century, back in 1976-1979. When I graduated high school, I had been
through several career options, and discarded them all. I wasn’t sure about going to college, because
I didn’t know what I wanted to do, what I wanted to take. So I put off going.
I had watched too many of my upper-classmen friends head off
to college, spend a couple of years there, and then drop out. Without accomplishing anything. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to waste my parents money.
So I spent 2 years at home after high school. But they weren’t wasted time. I got to spend some quality time with my
parents; and most importantly, I matured, and I learned stuff.
My mom had cautioned me against pursuing writing right out
of high school, and she was right. The
writing world was a totally different place back in 1979 than it is now. Writers have so many more opportunities now
than they did then. If I were graduating
now, and wanted to be a writer, no matter what else I did, I would be pursuing
my writing.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
But I’m not a high school graduate now. I’m a 53 year old woman, with a lot of miles
under her belt, who’s been through a lot of crap, a lot of unpleasant crap; and
who still has crap to deal with.
BUT, CUPCAKES, I pick myself up and go on with the business
of living, of getting by from day to day.
And I still love books just as much as I did when I was a
wee kid. I love where they can take
me. I still love the escape from my
ordinary life that they provide. I need
that escape now more than ever.
Many of my writer friends have provided me with that
escape. Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
And I still love writing.
No, I didn’t pursue a career as a writer right out of high school. But I have kept on writing over the years,
since I began in high school. The what I’ve
written has changed. But I’ve never
stopped writing.
And all the miles under my belt, all the stuff I’ve been
through, they only serve today to make my writing more vivid, more alive,
deeper and more passionate. They make it
better.
I’m still pursuing my writing.
My mom and dad are gone now.
They’ll never see me accomplish my dream of being a published writer, of
being a ‘book published’ writer. But
that’s okay. They neither one ever got
that part of me.
The one who does get that part of me, who gets all parts of
me, is my husband. We’ve been together
now since around 1990, so we’ve put a lot of miles on the odometer
together. Been through a lot of crap
together. Learned a lot together.
I dedicate this to him, my hubby.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
My hubby has helped me find me, my true self. I’m very fortunate to have someone like that
in my life. Someone who is so totally in
my corner.
My mom, she was all about who she wanted me to be. She never did get the whole, real me.
Don’t get me wrong, she was a great lady.
But she never got me.
My hubby, he gets me.
And he’s helped me crawl out from under those ideas of who my mom
thought I should be. He’s helped, and
pushed, me to discover myself. And he’s
always in my corner.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
So cupcake,
here it is, 2014, and I’m finally pursuing my high school
dream of being a writer. I spend most of
my waking time either online working on this, or offline thinking about
it. I’m pursuing it for all I’m worth,
passionately, and without hesitation.
Thanks to ebooks and ereaders and ereader apps, I’ve gotten
back into reading again. I now pursue
books with the same thirst that I did when I was a kid.
And back in September of 2012, I got started doing book
reviews; which combines my love of books with my love of writing. Here’s a link to my first book review:
Which brings us to a very important anniversary for me, as a
writer.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
On April 14th, 2012, I started writing my first fictional
novel.
I’m still working on it.
No, it’s not done yet.
I stay busy with lots of stuff.
Since then, I’ve continued to come up with more book
ideas.
At current count, I have over 60 books ideas. All different, saved in word files, and can
be one day turned into a book.
Before this, I’d only managed to write 1 fictional
story. For a Star Trek fanzine, and it
was about when Spock told his father that he chose Star Fleet over the
Vulcan. If I ever run across a copy of
that story, I’ll post it on wattpad. It’s
among my many and sundry ‘stuff’ somewhere.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve come a long way since that day back in 1979 when my mom
discouraged me from writing. And each
day, I get up and keep plugging on.
So happy anniversary to me,
and congrats for still plugging on,
still chasing my dream
here in the 21st century in 2014.
~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~
Coming soon – a fictional book written by me.
* Read my writing right now on wattpad –
* Visit my website –
* Visit my writer’s page on facebook –
* Visit my writer’s page on google plus –
Visit some of my other pages on facebook –
* Recipes, cooking, and food –
* Your Home-time Zone –
* The Leisure Zone –
* The Book News Journal –
* JD’s Writer Services –
Plus, here are some of my other links – me on:
* Medium
* twitter, me
* twitter, books and reviews
* twitter, food and cooking and home
And here are some more of my links –
* Linked In
* Goodreads
* Smashwords
Monday, March 17, 2014
The Jacqueline stop on the 'My Writing Process' blog tour
“My Writing Process” is a blog tour which takes place every
Monday. Through this tour, you will discover an individual author’s writing
process based on four simple questions.
Okay, so my post was supposed to go up about a week ago. The 3 writers I recruited were supposed to put theirs up today. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men, and all that. Plus I should also throw in, better late than never.
I was invited by author Kris Austen Radcliffe, who I am
lucky enough to be assistant to. We've
just recently been working on the release of book no. 3 in her Fate <>
Fire <> Shifter <> Dragon series. Plus, she has the release of book no. 2 in her Quidell Brothers series coming up May 1st. You can find her post here:
So here are my answers to the 4 questions:
1) What am I working on?
Several things. I
have a poem I’m working on to submit to a site.
Have a couple of books I’m working on.
I post stuff on wattpad. Plus I
have a bunch of undeveloped book ideas.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Because it’s mine. It
has my unique stamp as a writer on it. I
don’t try to copy anyone else’s style or theme or anything.
3) Why do I write what I do?
Because I’ve always loved science fiction and fantasy, ever
since always. And now I’ve added
paranormal to that too, which fits well with the others.
4) How does your writing process work?
I get an idea, I open a word file, and I start typing. It’s that simple. I get an idea and I run with it. If I’m not on the computer, I get pen and
paper and start writing.
To read more in this tour, visit the following:
Shani Bush
I am a writer of a rainbow of genres. I have only one
published at the moment a poetry short.
Jean Booth
International author of the Zombie War Trilogy and the
Origins of the Supernatural's series.
Georgina Hannan
I am an IT Consultant and an author from England. In my spare time I write, watch movies and spend time with family.
Monday, February 10, 2014
America used to be the greatest nation on earth
Once upon a time, we were the greatest nation on earth. We still like to believe that it's true. But the basic fact is, it's not true anymore.
The things this actor says, they're not popular nor pleasant to hear, but they're the blunt honest truth. I recognize this actor, and like him, and respect him. I respect him even for saying the truth.
Hear me people! They're true!
Today's American society is more vain and superficial than ever before. Just take a look at what's advertised.
- White teeth
- perfect teeth
- perfect complexion
- perfect makeup
- no wrinkles
- no gray hair
- perfect figure
- just the right clothes
- just the right shoes
- just the right handbag
- you wear the popular cologne
- involved in all the popular things
- involved at all the most trendy places
- and your cell phone is constantly attached to you
That's the checklist of a totally superficial and vain society! Which most sadly, is what we have become.
We live in a day and age when it is easier to communicate with people than ever before. And sadly as well, people have the least to say.
There are those who won't like this video and what it says.
There are those who won't like what I say here.
But I don't care.
I have the right to say these things. You know why?
I have an ancestor who fought in the revolutionary war. This isn't guessing, it's fact. I had 3 ancestors who fought in the civil war. I'm related to frontiersman, Kit Carson. My family being here in this country dates back to the very founding of it.
So yeah, I have a right to say these things.
These are things that need to be said.
Because I don't want to sit here and watch our country stagnate and die.
I want to see it claw it's way out of the pit of vanity and apathy that it has fallen into, and strive once again to be the great nation it has been in the past.
Words like these above should challenge Americans. Not anger them.
If you're an American, and these words above anger you, rather than challenge you - then there's something wrong with you.
Strive to be better America!
Strive to be better world!
Each of you, as individuals, always strive to be better.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
My facebook look back video
Thought I would share with you my facebook Look Back video. I love mine. I played around with editing it a bit. Wanted to share hubby's with you, but I never could get the embed code for it.
To learn more about the Look Back 1 minute facebook video, check out this link from the facebook help section:
https://www.facebook.com/help/206982576163229
And now for my video.
To learn more about the Look Back 1 minute facebook video, check out this link from the facebook help section:
https://www.facebook.com/help/206982576163229
And now for my video.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Colin Kennaugh performs his song 'Play by the Rules'
Here's a new song from a favorite singer of mine and a good facebook friend also. If you haven't discovered his music, you are so missing out.
And check out the awesome stained glass window in the background! Isn't that just amazing!
He's performing his Song 'Play by the Rules' from his forthcoming album 'Life is not always Sugar-Coated' live at The Church of St Lawrence in Winchester Square. Filmed by Jay Mckay of AVS Systems in Winchester.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Meet my friend, Colin Kennaugh
You can meet a lot of neat people online. One I really enjoy being friends with is Colin Kennaugh. He lives across the Atlantic from me, but I really enjoy his music. Here's just one of his videos. If you want to hear more of his music, check out his youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kennamusic?feature=watch
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