Steps of a Dancewriter

Author Reality Check

Wed, 06 May 2009 23:31:49 GMT

http://www.genreality.net/the-reality-of-a-times-bestseller

DH said there'd be reality like this, reality like this.

Leaving LJ

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:08:42 GMT

Yes, I'm leaving LJ to go to blogspot. You can find me at http://jenniferlaurens.blogspot.com/ What can I say? I'm slipping out of my Katherine Warwick stuff and concentrating on my YA stuff and when I started LJ years ago, I was in the middle of writing women's romance. Which is dead. LOL.

8 1/2 years of writing teaches you SOME THINGS, right?

Hope to see you there!

Off to Disneyland and SoCal

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:41:07 GMT

Joe and I are from Palos Verdes:

Every now and again we get the urge to go home, see the beautiful oasis of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and drive the streets, pass the houses we grew up in.

Here we go again for spring break.

Like in October, when we were last there. You can't beat SoCal for convenience, price and memories.
The kids will enjoy our trip through memory lane. But they'll also enjoy our three days at the Magic Kingdom.

Numbers, Sales

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:13:37 GMT

Yes! And growing.

Anorexic Writing.

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:02:58 GMT

So my last post was about writing even when words don't come. I have to admit, this week I was bungled with a zillion distractions. Today is going to be the same.

If I was left to eat the words I'd written this week, I'd be anorexic at the keyboard. Does that tell you anything?

Here's to a better next week. Fatter.

When Words Don't Come...

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:36:58 GMT

Every author faces this. Call it block or whatever you want. I'm too compelled to write to stop for anything - except family crises. So, when I hit a spot where the muse SLOWS, I keep going.

Like in book 3. I'm HEAPING crud on Zoe. HEAPING. Can things get worse for her? You betcha. The fire's up and she's going to get scalded. I don't let the worries of "Oh, is this over the top? Maybe I should rein in..." or stuff like that sway me, or cause me to stop in wonderment. Forget that. Movement is the only thing that keeps words flowing. Scenes blooming.

Chapters solidify under pressure.

Next time you hit the wall, write anyway. See where it gets your characters. Usually, the more intense my environment, the more pleased I am with my creative output.

Who Are You??

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:19:48 GMT

I have to laugh every time I add readers on Facebook or MYSpace who send me these: Do I know you? Who are you?

I'm not offended. But look, my avatars on both of those places are BOOK COVERS. Hello????

ROTFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Doin' the Daniel Radcliffe...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:27:28 GMT

"If you don't read the bad, you can't read the good." - This about reviewers and critics.

Dan then focuses purely on perfecting his craft - without any negativity in the air - which provides a fertile ground for creating.

Amen.

That's the way to do it, Dan.

I'm adopting your kredo.

Never say never

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:16:13 GMT

I said I was done submitting to agents. And I am. I'm not eating my words here ( no indigestion, PUHlease ) one agent who read HEAVENLY months back asked if he could read some of my other stuff.

SHORE I said. I sent him A Season of Eden and Falling for Romeo - in book form - and told him it was more economical for me to send those versions than to $pend on manu$cript copies and in today's economy, who could disagree with saving $$??

He liked EDEN and now, the wait begins...

Good News Friday

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:37:22 GMT

A librarian in West Virginia emailed me and told me A Season of Eden is circulating well there. Awesome.

Then, a reader approached me on MySpace yesterday telling me how much she loved Falling for Romeo. Letters like that brighten my day! And I can't tell you how many readers have told me they've read Falling for Romeo over and over again. How flattering! That's what I do with MY favorite books!!

Enjoy the weekend!

Pow-Wow this Tuesday

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:16:38 GMT

I've finished books one and two of my Heavenly series. I started book three, only to come to an abrupt halt. So, I went to work revising an older story into first person. That's working wonderfully, and I'm enjoying being back with old friends.

However, I feel the need to wrap up Zoe and Matthias and all things Heavenly and dark and dangerous.

I'm enlisting my crit group gals Tuesday night. We've done this before: gotten together with plenty of food and time on our hands, and hashed out plot ideas. It worked beautifully for Tiffany. I hope the same for me.

In the meantime, I need to outline PENITENCE ( book two ) for them so they know what's going on there and can intelligently offer ideas for book three.

Can't wait to see what we come up with.

Anybody else POW-WOW for ideas?

ARC's

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:17:40 GMT

The challenge of being indie pubbed is to figure out ways to get out there. I belong to YALSA ( Young Adult Library SA ), the most worthwhile loop I'm on, and am giving out ARC's to any library interested. I was thrilled at the response! Hundreds of librarians read my email:

I am pleased to offer ARC's of HEAVENLY, my upcoming YA novel to interested libraries. HEAVENLY is about a teenage girl who falls in love with her autistic sister's guardian angel.

When you pub independently, it's not about speed. It's about exposure, which can often be slow. I make enough off of my other titles Falling for Romeo, Magic Hands, Nailed and A Season of Eden ( under JM Warwick ) to fund whatever I need to do in the name of Grove Creek Publishing.

Each book I send out to librarians, I've offered as a donation to their YA shelf. I figure if 5, 10, 30 readers or more pick the book up, read it and enjoy it enough to buy their own copy, that multiplies into sales somewhere down the line.

I'm so excited about HEAVENLY. The story is a part of me in ways that none of my other stories have been so far, so I'm anxious to share it.

If you want to see HEAVENLY on your library shelf, msg me the name of your local library and I'll ship them a donated copy!

Then get back to me after you've read it.

Blackberry 8900

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:23:48 GMT

I WANT IT!

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/Cell-Phone-Detail.aspx?cell-phone=BlackBerry-Curve-8900

Raisnow

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:11:36 GMT

It's rain/snowing. That means drops too fat to be rain, but flakes not fat enough to be snow are falling outside my office window.

Gloomy.

I've always liked gray days, though. Makes me ponder. Count blessings. Love being inside, cooking, baking, cleaning and - today - caring for a sick little boy.

Ahhh. Motherhood -- being at home -- no other joy compares.

PROOF

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:24:27 GMT

More proof the publishing industry is facing an inevitable overhaul:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/books/28selfpub.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

LAX

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:00:44 GMT

And LAX does not mean Los Angeles International Airport -- not in my case, anyway. Honestly? I'm not motivated to blog. LOL. I'm lucky to write on ABSOLUTION.

The good news is I've got HEAVENLY ready to go. So, it's going. How soon? Very soon.

I've got a trusted friend reading through PENITENCE, after which I will make any changes she suggests and get that to my editor. ( note: PENITENCE has been through two crit groups)

As for ABSOLUTION, I need to pow-wow with my crit ladies before continuing.

On top of all of that, I have two very demanding church positions, a child entering a diagnosis program we hope will help and will cost zillions of dollars, and the usual: child with autism and recovering addict trying to get a job who plans on marrying the love of his life in December.

I need a vacation!

New Year Blessings

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:28:00 GMT

I count my blessings a lot these days. Aside from the most important: God, family and superb friends...good crit partners, a growing list of readers/friends and the stories in my head still waiting for me to give them life.

And how many writers get to see their work put on film? EDEN's halfway through shooting, and I'm anxious to see the finished product.

The Sundance Film festival is this month. Maybe next year I'll be there -- supporting A Season of Eden.

But that's for next year's blessings. :)

Dedication

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:13:50 GMT

On August 21, my little 4 year old nephew was hit and killed by an unlicensed driver. I can't nutshell the experience, too many miracles have happened as a result. But today, my husband and I accompanied ( along with other friends and family ) my brother in law and sister in law to their final court appearance. The mother of the boy was sentenced today. ( she was held responsible for allowing her 14 year old son to drive her car ) Her sentence: 185 hours of community service and to pay restitution money ( yet to be determined - when medical bills, etc. come in ) My BIL and SIL repeated their feelings on that tragic day to the judge: that they did not want her to do any jail time and that they held no animosity.

Outrageous? Unbelievable?

The judge was nearly speechless and unable to cope with the forgiveness. It took him a good half hour before he could decide what to do. He kept saying he'd never seen forgiveness like this.

Through the tragedy, my BIL and SIL have embraced the boy's family and become very close.
"You're a part of our lives now," my sister in law said that first week after the accident.

Few eyes were dry in the courtroom. I watched the faces of the other prisoners dressed in orange striped shirts, awaiting their turn in front of the judge. Some were touched at the mercy they witnessed, others had traveled too far down the path of poor choices to see yet another miracle at work.

I've always believed in heaven. Life after this life has been a topic of fascination for me since I can remember, so I'm not at all surprised to find myself writing HEAVENLY, PENITENCE and Book 3.

Angels, life, life after death and the continuing nature of love is one of the threads of the books, the reality of those elements made more sure to me now that our family has been through Cooper's death.

My SIL doesn't know this yet, but I've dedicated Heavenly to Cooper. I've wrestled the devil trying to get the proof. It's coming next week, just in time, and I will place the copy in her hands. Of course this will do nothing to replace her precious son. The events of that day are irreversible.

But so are the miracles that have happened as a result. Those, I hope they hold close to their memories of Cooper.

A Fool for Punishment?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:41:45 GMT

Yes, that's me. I sent out another batch of queries last week. Sick, I know. I'm ILL IN THE HEAD!! Why do I do this to myself?!?!?!??! Have I not learned ANYTHING????

Apparently not.

9 queries.

3 requests for fulls so far.

I really shouldn't do this to myself before Christmas, knowing the pummeling my head will take as the R's trickle in.

Is anyone else out there a fool for punishment like me?

What do you think of the B&W version of the cover? I had it created in B&W and color. Most of those I asked, preferred the color version.

Starting book 3

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:35:24 GMT

So much for taking a break. I thought I'd re-do an older story after finishing PENITENCE, but when it came down to it, the older story needs to start over from scratch. And that's too much work right now. Besides, I'm in Zoe's head and need to finish the Heavenly series. THEN, I can think about the major undertaking of starting OVER over. I'm enjoying book three--the one page I have of it so far! When it flows, it's easier, and right now, the story flows. Apparently, there is still stuff to be said! :)

~Drifting~

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:22:01 GMT

I've few 'friends' on here anymore...mostly because I've unchecked them for personal reasons. That's my prerogative, it's my journal.Those I've kept are good friends who don't drift with the tide. I don't miss the others, and I'm sure they haven't noticed my lack of comments on their pages. One thing writing has made clear to me is: time is precious. I have only so many hours each day to devote to writing. I can't/won't spend it drifting through blog sites.

For me, blogging isn't a popularity contest. I need this place to reflect my feelings because I live at the computer. I never pull out a hard copy journal and scribble my thoughts anymore. So, it's not about the throngs who stop by, making me feel important. Heavens knows this is not my link to the publishing world. Don't believe that some industry person is going to stop by and read what you have to say. Unless you're Stephen King or Stephenie Meyer, who cares? They don't.

And so I am free to say and do here what I please, which is kind of what I set out to do. The name, edenzdream, was originally going to be a place for Eden's thoughts once A Season of Eden was published. Now, the book is out and this place is still my place. Eden said her peace in her story.

I need this outlet.

Friends, thank you for being there. For stopping by when you choose to, not because I ask you to or out of 'return the favor' duty. Is it really friendship that way?

You decide.

The Joy of Completion

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:12:01 GMT

I've finished book two in my Heavenly series. The tentative title, PENITENCE still fits the overall theme of the book, so that's a relief. Though the title is a little more religious in tone than the book. Still, I wanted it to GO well with HEAVENLY. So, I wonder if anyone else has suggestions?

I realize not knowing the story is tough. Think: every character pays a price.

You can see why I chose PENITENCE.
I'm also playing around with book cover ideas:

Throw your suggestions my way if you have a sudden bolt of inspiration!

HEAVENLY:

Thank you, God.

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:54:30 GMT

When our daughter with autism was three, she loved to run. Spontaneously. No direction or reason. One day, we couldn't find her. We live at the base of towering, forested mountains and above a large canal of water. Everyone spread out looking for her -- all six of us, neighbors, whomever we recruited at the time. The day was nearly gone, the sun setting behind the westerly mountain range and all I could do was think, "She'll freeze somewhere in the forest or drown in the canal."

A half hour went by. Then, a neighbor pulled up in his van. He had Rebekah in his arms. I've never sobbed like I did that day -- as if I'd never take another breath, so overcome with emotion. He got out of the car, handed her to me and I savored holding her against me while tears streamed. I couldn't speak, my voice literally unable to make a sound.

He said, "I saw this little kid running down the street like she was booking it and I thought - that doesn't look right."

He picked her up and asked around - if anyone knew her.

End of story. But not really. HEAVENLY is full of moments like this--ripped from my life. I didn't start out to make HEAVENLY partially autobiographical, but it rather ended up that way.

Today, I was driving up our hill ( the same hill character Zoe has a near miss accident on in Heavenly ) and a little boy ( coincidentally with autism ) ran out in front of my car and stood facing me. When I drove to the left, he blocked me again.

I parked, got out, and took him to his door to the safety of his house.

I'm so glad I was able to intervene like this man did for us so many years ago. I've wanted opportunities to give back, like so many have given to us -- guardian angels -- through the years.

HEAVENLY is a small part of that gratitude.

Update:

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:35:02 GMT

After 90 days -- I will NEVER do that again -- I finally heard back from agent B who is going to pass on the piece. NP. I'd already started to roll on my own, and I'm excited to have the books to give for Christmas. Will I query again? After waiting 90 days, being in "agent lock" if you will, NO. Frank Sinatra's theme song means more today than ever: "I did it my way!" *wink*

Countdown

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:28:21 GMT

One more week and I'm free of the 90 day exclusive agent B asked for when he requested the full of HEAVENLY. 90 days. A loooooooooooooooong time in an already sloooooow industry.

My patience--what was once a weak muscle--has grown since I've started writing and submitting. That's the benefit to waiting on someone else's schedule over and over again during an 8 year period.

On a more controllable note:

Two, maybe three chapters left of book two and I'm finished with my current WIP.