Temporary Hiatus--SORRY!

So, I've had a mild family emergency (don't worry, I'm fine, personally), but I'm going to be taking a short break from the blog.

And I do mean SHORT.

I should be back next week.

Until then!

~JD

Grammar Police: The space

Space??

What the freak Sheriff?

Space??

Okay ... NOT the kind of space an astronaut flies into.

THIS kind of space:

(and no, those aren't my fingers--Google images is a wonderful thing)

For those of you who are old-school (ahem *raises hand*), I was taught a mere fifteen years a go in high school to put TWO spaces at the end of sentences. And yes, this was on a computer (I'll tell you why this is important in a sec.)

Apparently, this rule is no longer the norm.

Freakin' A.

How do you unprogram your brain to NOT automatically tap the space bar twice after you end a sentence? Well, I'll tell ya', it's hard. I STILL do it. 

I guess a long, long, long time ago (when we typed with typewriters), the typewriter put an equal space IN the sentence, as well as at the END of a sentence. All the spaces were the same size, so in order to have a "visual space" at the end of the sentence, you had to type TWO spaces.

A-HA!!! So that's where that rule came from.

But ... hmmm ... why was I taught to do the same thing, on a word processing program, on a computer?!?!

Habit, maybe? IDK. I couldn't find the answer to that question.

Well now, dear peeps, technology has caught up with the "double space" rule and word processing programs AUTOMATICALLY re-size the space at the end of the sentence. That means you only need to type ONE space instead of two.

Granted, some people still prefer two spaces (me, lol).

Will you get rejected if you use two?

Highly unlikely.

But the general rule is to only tap that space bar ONCE!

Jeez. Now if I only get my fingers to cooperate.

~JD

Whoot! Whoot! Friday Update!

OMGoodness people. See the cat?? That's how my day was yesterday. Seriously. If you could have seen my face most of the day, that's what you would have seen.

Several mundo things happened in one day and I swear, I've never been so twisted and bent all in one day before. N.E.V.E.R.

I emailed Sarah the things I got twisted over (she's my big strong oak, too). We have a good relationship. I love her dearly. So, imagine my shock when my cell phone rings ... and HER number shows up??

Yeah, my "several things" that happened to me were good/bad enough that my awesome beta broke the internet communication barrier and called me on the phone. Whoawhoawhoa.

First, god, I love her. I love her voice, too. I would hire her to be my psychiatrist (If I needed one, mind you. Then again ... I might.).
Second, it's the first freaking time I've talk to her on the phone!!! And, I wished I hadn't been having a panic attack over the other stuff, because it made it damn hard to not die of a heart attack when I was talking to her. I wasn't put together ... at all. I was in panic mode. She probably thinks I'm a total fruit-loop now. Anyhoo ...

After several moments on the phone, she calmed me. Instructed me as good betas do and we hung up. Life changing moment people. She's the best.

Because of that, I've got no updates for you today. Too much spinning going on inside this crazy head of mine. Instead, I'll leave you will some cool links:


Sarah, aka The Beta, aka The Critter (don't you LOVE my new name for her?????) did a post this week on critting. Critting is hard. Both giving and receiving. Check out her insightful post here.

April, from A Writer's Rambling, did a roll-on-the-floor-make-my-tummy-ache-from-laughing post on what pickup line a guy should never, EVER use. Check it out here.

Did you miss the Kiss Already!! Blogfest hosted by Stina and Christina Lee? If you did--man!--you need to go back and check out the entries. And then be prepared for a cold, cold shower. Here's the link to all the entries. Check. It. Out.

Have a great weekend!!

~JD

You Tell Me ...

In light the B.E.A.utiful weather we've been havin' this week, I'd like to ask you all what season you prefer:

Spring?  With the cute little baby bunnies and new sprigs of grass.

Summer? With the five hundred degree sidewalk and buckets of sweat.

Fall? With the color wheel of nature and the soft wind.

Winter? With the ice-freakin' cold air that makes you stay indoors for three months straight.

Hmm ... which one, peeps? What do you like most?

Me?
What do you mean?
You can't tell from my descriptions? *snicker*

Happy Thursday!!

~JD

Learning about Justine: Tonsillectomy

Ewh. Yeah.

I found out yesterday I have to have my tonsils taken out.

Ewh. Yeah.

So not looking forward to that.

Apparently, it's harder on adults than children. But hey, I've got a high tolerance for pain, so I should be good. Right?

Let's hope.

Ewh. Yeah.

I'm afraid of a lot of things. Needles, doctors, needles to just name a few. So, I'll probably put it off.

Ewh. Yeah.

I'm going to go crawl under my desk.

~JD

Dropping the F-bomb in query. Would you do it?

Ah, queries. I could blog for years and years and never do enough posts on them. LoL.

Seriously, though. My fingers have been working the keys right off my keyboard on the query for my newly finished wip Crucible. And this past weekend, I think I nailed it. Sarah hasn't given her approval or anything (which is mundo important to me), but I really think I've got something special.

But ... there's always "but", right?

I did it.

I said a bad word.

A really bad word.

I dropped the F-bomb in my query.

Is that okay?

The more and more I thought about it. YES. It is okay. Because the voice of the query says it all. I doesn't say something like:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Nicodemus f****** hates this world, and you should, too. LoL.

My query had to show that Nic (aka, the MC) is fed up with his world, his job, his life, and what he's been asked to do. Hence the f-bomb. Here it comes (and I'm not editing it, so watch-out!)--this is the line in my query. Well, several lines. I wish I could tell you more, but you'll just have to enjoy this little snip-it.

"So how can Nic force his flesh and blood—someone so young—to do what he does? The bringer of pain. Loss. Suffering. It’s not poetic. It’s not for the greater good of the world. It’s fucking madness."

Bamn!

Doesn't those few sentences just say it all?

Well, I hope they do.

So tell me, my dear peeps, would you drop the f-bomb in your query if the query called for it? Any cuss words at all?

~JD

Just Kiss Already Blogfest

The wonderful Christina Lee is hosting this Kiss Blogfest. Check out all the other peeps here.

The title says it all! The first kiss between your MCs in 250 words or less. *cheesy smile*

I'm not giving you a set-up, though. This is from Crucible: (oh and it's still a little rough ... sorry!)

* * * *

I kissed her.

Her lips were warm and sweet … like molten honey. I wanted to drown myself in the flavor. The sensation. She welcomed me with an excruciatingly low whimper.

I was careful with her, easing my grip around her fingers, using my lips as lightly as possible. A jolt of pureness came from her lips and made me shiver. She seemed to become liquid and fell into me.

Without a second thought, without a care as to what I was doing, I deepened the kiss. I tangled myself around her, and she around me. Every pore of my body suddenly ached for her. Wanted her in the worst possible way.

I needed to yank myself away. Put distance between this human and me. Remember what I’d come here for. But I couldn’t. All my thoughts, all my desires, everything, instantly revolved around Asia.

She was the light I’d never known. She was person who pushed away the darkness. She made me see. She could be everything that would make Hell bearable. And that’s why I had been so fascinated by her over the years. I hadn’t known it. Or didn’t want to acknowledge it. But she … and me … together. Perfect.

I closed my eyes, consumed by her lips, her soft moans, her hands. Amadeus had been right. I loved this human, I was certain of it. And I didn’t even know what love was. But the more I took from her, the more the gnawing hole in my chest filled. The more she gave and surrounded me with her creamy aura, the more complete I felt.

As if my life couldn’t get any more complicated.

* * * *  
I wonder what they do next??
*giggle*
Would you believe me if I told you nothin'? LoL.
Oh, and I cheated ... this excerpt is 274 words. Sorry!

Now go enjoy the others! AND HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

~JD

Whoot! Whoot! SPECIAL Friday Update!

YUPPERS!!! It's Friday!

And after the longest week of my life, seriously, I'm sooo glad the weekend it here!

How 'bout you? ;-)

I'll do a quick (and I mean QUICK) round up of my week, but then I want to share something with all of you.

1. I have developed a query addiction. I'm not kidding. When I start sending those suckers out, I CAN'T STOP! What is wrong with me?!?!?

2. So, obviously from #1, I've been querying. No, I don't want to discuss it. Ewh.

3. Editing the newly finished wip has become more difficult. I knew it would happen. Writing something "new" (in terms of genre), tends to make one crazy. I don't recommend it.

4. We are going to have a heat wave next week! 40 degrees!! I might run around outside in shorts.

5. Oh, I've read seven books in the past two weeks. The Hunger Games series, The Wake series, and Personal Demons. I guess that's how I spend my time when I'm not writing. LoL.

That is all.

Except this:

On The Wings of A Butterfly

by Corky Ferguson

Your friendship is special

Like the flowers that bloom,

Or when a butterfly emerges

From within its cocoon...

You remind me of that butterfly,

Loving and free,

Bright and colorful,

For the world to see...

We will share sunshine and rainbows;

Sometimes, the rain and the snow;

We'll stand together through it,

While the cold winds blow...

When the time is right,

We won't stop to ask "Why?"

Our friendship will take flight

On the wings of a butterfly ...

 

(pss ... be a happy panda)

 

Don't forget to believe, peeps. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

~JD

I've only one word for you today: BELIEVE

I've been in a funk. A bad one.

So today I'm going to leave you all with a very important message. One that I try everyday to remember.

BELIEVE

~JD

Learning about Justine: Snow after the ice ...

It wasn't enough for mother nature to drop 2 inches of ice on beautiful Bloomington, IN.

No ...

The ice storm (from the post last week), came on Tuesday and Wednesday. Longest two days, evvver. Then, Saturday--BAM! Snow. And lots of it.

I ventured out and took some pics. Come on spring!

 This is a city road.

 Another city road.

 And another ... (the sky is dark in these pics because the snow was falling like CRAZY!)

 A park ...

 Ah, I love a road that's not really a road because it's covered in snow! Gotta love county roads!

 A county road (at this point, I'm on my way back home)

 County road ...

 Below is "my road". My road/driveway is 1/4 smile long (give or take).

 Pretty pine tree in my yard.

Spring. Spring. Spring. Spring. Spring. Spring. Spring.

Hmm ... did I mention I want spring?

~JD

Something that gets me excited when querying!

For all those frowns that come with rejections when you query, there is one thing that actually makes me smile.
This: ">" along the left hand margin of my original query. Like this:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

(I hope you can see those little boogers. Blogger keeps doing something weird with my formatting! Ack! Well, if you can't, those little boogers are the right arrow keys)

No, I haven't lost my mind. These little key strokes make me smile everytime I get a rejection email with them in it.
WHY????
Well, take a guess. Don't worry. I'll wait.
..........
.........
........
.......
......
.....
....
...
..
.
Because these little guys mean one thing, your query has been FORWARDED!

That's right! If the agent has interns going through the slush pile, these little marks mean that the query made it PAST the intern (which means the query/pages have to be decent, right?) and were sent to the agent.

I do cartwheel for that small victory--everytime I see it. Reaching small mountains makes me smile.

What about you? Anything that makes you smile while querying? I know, that's a toughie.

Oh, and if you haven't already checked out DL's 600 follower contest, Whodunit. Do that here.

~JD

Grammar Police: MS Formatting

Okay, so this really isn't a "grammar" thing, but formatting your ms is very important!!! I know ... I know ... more writing "rules" JD? Really? Don't we have enough rules to remember???

*Sigh* Yes, yes we do.
But this one is important! After all, you don't want to send your ms to an agent formatted in WingDings, do you?
Or is is WingDongs? LoL.
Either way, there are some "standard" formatting guidelines. Notice I said "standard." Hence, some agents/editors prefer different things, so double check their submission guidelines first. However, if they don't have anything specific, you should follow these "basic" guidelines. Emphasis on the word "basic."


1. One inch margins all the way around.
2. Pages numbered, starting with the first page, in the header on the top, right hand corner of the page.
3. Book title in the header on the top, left side of the page.
4. Your name underneath the book title in the header.
5. Chapter numbers (type them out: Chapter One, NOT Chapter 1).
6. Chapters should start 1/3 of the way down on the page (first page included). This is approximately 7 double-spaced lines.
7. Start your story a double space below the chapter number.
8. Standard font: 12 pt Times New Roman (some like Courier New).
9. Page breaks after each chapter ends (that way when you add/delete things, the chapter pages stay the EXACT same---no need to go back and fix it!)

And there you have it! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

And for your viewing pleasure (because I'm a visual learner myself), I've created and formatted a page of a book. Have a look see!!!

PS--you can click the thingy on the bottom right hand corner of this nifty screen to make it full-size. Embedit is pretty awesome.

Anyhoo, that's that!! Standard "basic" formatting for the newly minted MS.

~JD

Whoot! Whoot! Friday Update!!

Oh, thank goodness! YES IT IS!!!!!!!!!

After mother nature dumped on over 1/3 of the US, I'm so glad the weekend is here!!! And I'm glad to have my power back on! YIPPEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because of the craziness that was this week (the weather, mainly), I didn't do a whole lot. Being stranded at home from an ice storm with no power tends to make me less-than-productive.

So, not a whole lot to update on.
I'm make it SAS.

1. I've been querying the book I wrote for my daughter like mad. I totally threw the whole only-send-out-five-queries-at-a-time thing out the window. I'll probably regret it later.

2. I reworked the opening of my contemporary romance because I hadn't gotten any bites on those queries yet. I'll be cranking out those queries again soon ... maybe.

3. I've been editing my newly finished wip, Crucible. That's the new name. One of my fabu followers told me the original name, The Reckoning, was already the title to a book that came out last year. Bummer. So I came up with this new one. I know, I know. "JD, that's the name of famous play." Yeah, but that was like 50 years ago. I think I'm good. And I like it. AND it also plays a part in the story. It's a win-win. ;-)

Oh, and the editing for this book has gone so smoothly I think I need to pinch myself. Seriously. I actually haven't minded the editing--because there hasn't been that much! Sarah's flying through the pages and I'm flying through the edits!

4. I haven't started anything new. And I haven't been working on lengthening that short romance I'd told you all about. I'm pacing myself. LoL.  Actually I'm sitting at home at night chanting over and over again for spring!!! I hope my permanent case of frostbite goes away then. :o)

And that is it!!!!

Oh, except my fabu nail color of the week:

Have a great weekend everyone! I hope those of you who are buried in snow and ice get thawed out quickly! (Me too!)

~JD

Wordle--Good for the WIP

It's been awhile since I've wordled any of my wips. I did a post a while back where I wordled the two that I had done. You can find that here.

Since then, I've finished three more projects, so I thought it was time to wordle them, too!! WHOO!


Here's the book I wrote for my daughter, Lost and Found:

Here's the contemporary romance, All American Girl:

 And here is the creepy, dark, YA horror I just finished, Crucible:

So there you are! The perfect little wordle clouds for my wips. Have you wordled today?

~JD

Learning About Justine: The Ice Storm

So, I normally do posts in advance ... but this week, (well, that last 24 hours AND the next 24 hours), my little town was/will be getting hit with ice. Freezing rain. Oh, what fun.

I ventured out, almost crashed on my butt (numerous times!) and took some photos of round one. Round two is supposed to start this evening (by the time you read this on Wednesday, the second round will have passed ... yay for more ice).

I didn't go work (obviously). I care too much about my safety. Seriously. Ice is freakin' dangerous! But I looked on the bright side ... as I am writing this, 11 am on Tuesday, we still have power. That might not be the case tomorrow at the same time.

Without further ado, here are my photos: (oh, and I wished the sun had been shining so you could how much ice there was).

 *FYI, I couldn't even get my car door open.

Oh, and do you know how hard it is for dogs to potty when they slip around ... in the GRASS? Crazy! But hey, it's not an Indiana winter unless we get a good ice storm!

For those who live in the states who were also in the path of storm, I hope you are all safe and warm.

~JD

You tell me ...

Because my brain is fried ... and we are getting dumped on with some serious ice ... today we shall do something simple.

YOU TELL ME  ... are you:

A little bit country?

Or

A little bit rock n' roll?

Me, you ask? Well ... you tell me that, too. ;-)

~JD