Category Archives: Jana Blogs

Sunday Small Talk

Not a lot to say. It’s been a slow week (or two) in writing. I’m still working on camp nano and I’m sure I’ll finish. However, half of it (and the one I’m working on now) is under my other pen name and is due in 10 days. Yikes. I’m hoping to finish it tonight.

I did finish the first round of edits for Purrfect Holidays for DSP’s Christmas anthology. I also had it sensitivity read by my friend, Annie who has retinitis pigmentosa and a guide dog like the main character.

I’m sitting in a good place with the solarpunk story too as that deadline is coming up.

I’m also working on a fanfic. Yes that seems trivial but I started it 15 years ago and in the light of the potential Buffy reboot, it’s time to finish it. As for that reboot, I wish I knew if it was just something new in the Buffyverse (which I would be all for) or if it’s a straight up reboot (which I am so sick of and won’t be watching).

Here’s two weeks worth of writing links

From my friend: 5 Reasons to Give Up on Your Novel (And One Reason Not to)

4 Signs You Might Be Confusing, Not Intriguing, in Your Opening Scene

writing plans

Do Publishers Care About an Author’s Online Presence?

Five Common Worldbuilding Mistakes in New Manuscripts

Why We Shouldn’t Be Fighting Over Trigger Warnings

podcast- Keeping Your Manuscript Smooth

Write Confidently, Even if that Scares You

Using Settings to Tap Your Reader’s Imagination I need to contemplate this one

podcast- Describing the Environment

What Should I Consider While Creating a Fictional Economy?

6 Ways to Manipulate Time in Fiction

Writing A Series: 7 Continuation Issues To Avoid

R&R: Raves and Rants For July ~ Perfect Possessives

The Plot Clock: The Structure Template that Saved my Career

EBOOKS IN YOUR POCKET: ANNOUNCING BOOKFUNNEL PRINT CODES

And from around the web:


The Isolated Sentence Test


How To Read, Edit, and Evaluate Your Writing With Fresh Eyes

Five Things You Need As You Begin A Career As A Self-Published Author


How To Improve Your Author Website

The Five Emotional Stages of Publishing A Book

Things I Wish I Had Known Before Self-Publishing My Book

How to Get Holiday Book Sales: Steps 1-3

Read, Study, And Learn From Free Book Samples

podcast- Describing the Environment

What Should I Consider While Creating a Fictional Economy?

6 Ways to Manipulate Time in Fiction

Writing A Series: 7 Continuation Issues To Avoid

R&R: Raves and Rants For July ~ Perfect Possessives

The Plot Clock: The Structure Template that Saved my Career

EBOOKS IN YOUR POCKET: ANNOUNCING BOOKFUNNEL PRINT CODES

Solarpunk –

7934 / 15000 words. 53% done!

Rose Island – hiatus

Haunted hills – hiatus

Rainbow Snippets

I’m trying to post this fast as I have a busy weekend facing me and am having computer issues (not to mention looking to give myself an even bigger social media break).

I have a little bit more of These Haunted Hills. I left off last time with Josh doing a ghost reveal with Brendan and telling him he had to see this. Yes, there’s a few more sentences than six but they’re short and finish the moment.

Brendan came around the table, leaning over him as Josh hit play. It showed Brendan as he looked down the corridor. A dark shadow flittered behind him and sailed down the hall.

Brendan jumped. “Holy fuck! That can’t be real. Was it a shadow from the window?”

“Not likely at that angle but we can measure it the next time we’re there.”

“How can you be so calm?”

“I’m hoping to see this, remember. Besides I’m not the one the shadow person’s following.” Josh smirked. Brendan’s horrified expression didn’t disappoint.

“If that followed me home and I get possessed, you’re the first person I’m coming for.”

“Note to self, don’t tell Brendan where I live.”

Brendan pushed him. “Ass. That is terrifying.”

“Have you wet yourself yet?”

“Maybe a little. Damn.” Brendan shuddered and pulled his chair around. “I want to watch the rest. We can do the recorder later.”

If you’d like to play along, Rainbow Snippets is a Facebook community where we post up 6 sentences of one of our LGBT stories every Saturday. It’s been fun and you can find it here. Be sure to check out all the offers! It’s been a great supportive group!

Rainbow Snippets

I’m not as smart as I could be some days. I’m back in my apartment for the weekend (doctor’s appointment on monday) and I’m going to go to Lilyfest which is a cool outdoor festival in the Hocking Hills (where These Haunted Hills is set). It entails me driving up a goat path where one slip will either turn my car over in a ditch on one side and over a cliff off the other (who decided these experimental gardens was THE place for a festival must have been a sadist). It’s music, arts and crafts and of course, lilies for sale. So why am I not so smart? It’ll be in the mid-90s today. OMG why do I do these things to myself.

Speaking of THH, here’s more. The guys have settled down to some wine and some going over the recorded evidence from the haunted hotel.

The small cabin descended into silence as they started their analysis of the evidence. Josh knew they’d have something on the recordings unless they really messed it up. Cass would be so jealous that she missed it. He watched the video as he drank his Riesling. Josh nearly dropped the glass when a couple of frames of video slid by. He hit stop and moved back to the start of it before clamping a hand on Brendan’s arm. He pulled off his headphones and Brendan mirrored him.

“You have to see this.”

If you’d like to play along, Rainbow Snippets is a Facebook community where we post up 6 sentences of one of our LGBT stories every Saturday. It’s been fun and you can find it here. Be sure to check out all the offers! It’s been a great supportive group!

Sunday Small Talk

One day late and for a bad reason: my computer is sick and I’m having to share with my mother.

I don’t have a lot to say anyhow. I mostly wanted to share some of the accumulated writing links.

I am, however, getting more time on my post-apocalyptic solarpunk because the deadline I swore was at the end of the month is now September. That’s great.

Camp nano is going well. I’m about halfway to my goal.

Have some links from my friend Betty

The No. 1 Rule for Flashbacks in a Story Opening

6 Easy Writing Exercises to Fuel Your Creativity

Redesign Your Life To Prioritize Writing With David Kadavy

Five Story Elements That Worked in One Story but not in Another

Creating a Magic System for Superpowers

Creating Character Chemistry podcast

And from around the web

Writers and the “F” Word: Coping With Failure

The Psychology of Author Marketing

The Power of Sharing Writing, Even in Draft Form I think I shared this last week but it’s worth sharing again. And seriously I’m up for sharing.

The Delights And Dangers Of First-Person Narration

Conducting Interviews For Research: Identifying And Contacting Expert Sources

Make A Plan To Start Writing Your Book

Rainbow Snippets

Camp nano kicked off well but I’m already flagging (It’s hard to write when you’re visiting the parents).

Here’s more of These Haunted Hills. We left off when Brendan in the bathroom looking for ticks. We’re in Josh’s head and I skipped over some of the angst and self doubt he was feeling during his wait on Brendan. It’s a few sentences longer than 6.

Josh shut the door and quickly stripped down, acutely aware that he was no more comfortable being the naked one with Brendan just on the other side of door. At least the awkwardness killed any unwanted action certain parts of him might have gotten up to otherwise. He ran his fingers through his hair feeling for ticks. Finding none there nor reflected in the mirror, he checked the inside of his clothing before redressing.

“Are you okay you seem a little …flat? You’ve been pretty much a bottle of champagne since I’ve met you.”

Josh chuckled, wagging his head. “Just feeling bad about the tick thing, maybe the ghost too.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”

“It’s not you. It’s all in my head. Residual crap from high school. I’m fine.”

If you’d like to play along, Rainbow Snippets is a Facebook community where we post up 6 sentences of one of our LGBT stories every Saturday. It’s been fun and you can find it here. Be sure to check out all the offers! It’s been a great supportive group!