witter (ˈwɪtə)
vb – (often foll by: on) to chatter or babble pointlessly or at unnecessary length
n – pointless chat; chatterCollins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Long time no see everyone! It has been a wild month for me and my family. I have debated whether or not to disclose this on my media. Part of me feels like personal family matters should be kept private. But the other part of me is trying to be a little more open and transparent with y’all. So here goes 🙂
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month or so ago and almost immediately after schedueld for a double mastectomy. She made it through surgery without a hitch and her recovery has been remarkable according to her doctor. They may still do hormone therapy and other treatments just in case, but otherwise, she should be cancer free! I’ve been her primary “nurse” at home and every day, every week has been a little bit easier. So then last week my dad fell off a ladder and dislocated and broke his shoulder. He had to get a shoulder replacement at a hospital that is 2 1/2 hours away from our house. So we’ve been making lots of road trips and just trying to deal with everything one day at a time. I could not have possibly done any of this without my husband. He’s been my rock and proved his mettle time and again. He could have easily said, well they aren’t my parents and let me handle the load but he didn’t. Love isn’t always romance. It’s in the actions.
Personal matters aside, I have been able to keep up with work, but I’ve written sparingly and barely visited social media. The stories I have been working on, however, are my upcoming contemporary romance novels.
I’ve been a strictly fantasy/sci-fi author since I first published Qeya: Heaven’s Edge #1. Speaking of Qeya, check out this new cover Najla Qamber Designs made! I put it next to the original so y’all could compare the loveliness~
Back to genres. I love writing YA Sci-Fi and Epic Fantasy Romance but I also love reading romance. Some romance is just plain ridiculous in my opinion and I haven’t had a very high opinion of the overall genre. The contemporary romance novels I love most I am however die hard fangirl about. I thought it would be so easy to write romance. It’s mostly dialogue driven, so less need for pretty prose and more about character and emotions. I felt like it was a worthy challenge. I planned on hamming up all the lovey-dovey scenes and making my book as melodramatic as possible.
But a funny thing happened in the process of writing She Walks in Moonlight. I went from writing a pseudo-satire of the popular genre to falling in love with my characters. Danica’s story as a “fallen” woman coming home to look after her ill brother and niece and nephew she had abandoned, struck me. It’s a book about second chances and the main romance between Danica and Adam illustrates this best. I confess I’m a sucker for second-chance romances.
I chose to follow Susan Dennard‘s advice while writing out my dialogue scenes by putting each scene in script format. This helped distance it from the prose and makes you write basic actions and rely more on voice to tell the story. It was refreshing to write between writing prose-heavy Wylder Tales, and taught me so much in the process. She Walks in Moonlight is in the editing process but stay tuned as I share more in the future.
Goals for this week
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Finish writing Tamn.
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2K/Day for 2017 Silver Hollow.
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Get back into the social media swing.
Helpful Links
“No One But You Wants to Sell Your Book: A Scam Warning” – M.L.S Weech
“Daily Deal Resource List” – Writer Unboxed
“Crello” – A free graphic design tool!
Don’t miss out on the big Craving Beauty Recover Reveal Giveaway!
For U.S.A entries – a signed paperback copy of the newly recovered Craving Beauty, plus swag. For International entries – all three e-copies of Wylder Tales. And to one other winner, a $10 Amazon Gift Card (US/Int)
Good luck and may the odds be in your favor!
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Jennifer Silverwood 