Whoot! Whoot! Friday Update!

AND IT'S A THREE DAY WEEKEND!! *cartwheels*

1. First and foremost, a gigantic THANK YOU to all of those who entered my 300th follower contest. There were a lot of entries! I'm in the process of handing out the prizes right now ... so if you are a winner and haven't heard from me yet--don't worry, you will soon!!

And THANK YOU to all of you peeps who continue to follow me and read my silly ol' blog! As my blogger friends, you mean the world to me. Thank you.

2. I have finished super-speed critting the Beta's newly finished book. Now that I'm done, I will bury myself in a slight rewrite of my latest manuscript. And someday, I might actually start something new.

3. TODAY is my daughter's 13th birthday!!!!! *HAPPY*BIRTHDAY*EMILY*
(And yes, I'm terrified about the teenage years. Terrified.)

4. A slew of storms have hit the Midwest this past week. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those people. In Indiana, we've had our own storms, which has left behind some serious damage as well. When the storms came through our town on Wednesday night, a tornado touched down on the West side of town. The barn we keep our horse at is on that side of town! Only 1/2 mile from the damaged area. Thankfully, all the horse were safe and the barn had minimal damage. And a tree fell on my sister's house! She and her family are safe as well. And I'm thankful that no deaths have been reported in our town.

5. Today is the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend, and I would like to take a moment to thank the men and women in our military and their families. America would not be America without our servicemen (and women). They risk their lives to protect ours. Thank you.

6. Today will also be my last blog post for several weeks. I'm not going on a hiatus or anything, just having a minor thingy done to my elbow. And as the recently disgraced Arnold would say, "I'll be back."

Until then my friends!

Do you have any plans for this holiday weekend? Anything cool you'd like to share? Hmm?

~JD

When you FINALLY bury one of your WIPs

It happened ...

On Monday afternoon ...

My first ever WIP Broken Ties That Bind has bitten the dust ...

Finally ...

Officially ...

Forever ...

It's over ...

And it all came to an end with a rejection phone call from an agent. The very last agent I had a chance with. The very, very, very last hope this book had.

The end.

I'm going to have an official service, wear black for a week and mourn the hard work, revisions, editing, rewrites, and the many, MANY faces this wip took in order to make it succeed. Only to have it fail. Officially.

It hurts more than I thought it would. Then again, that just might have been the rejection phone call (but we'll talk about that another day).

It was my first. It IS my first end of the beginning that started everything that IS JD.

*blows out somber breath*

And now it's time to move on. To something new. Something bigger. Something better. Something even MORE JD.

But just for giggles, take a look at the FINAL rejection stats for the dearly departed wip:

Total queries sent: 116


Form rejections: 60

Personalized rejections: 12

No Response Rejection: 44

Requests for pages: 7

Requests for manuscript: 4


And that's it ... RIP Broken Ties That Bind. I'll miss you.

Have you've ever had to do this? How did it make you feel? If you haven't, how do you think you'll feel when you do have to do this?

~JD

CONTEST WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the day for the announcement of my EPIC CONTEST WINNERS!!

First, lets go over the prizes one more time:

1. Three copies of Livia Dane's book: Hot Ice.
2. $25 Amazon gift card.
3. 3 chapter ms crit.
4. Query crit.
5. The FABU coffee mug I painted!
6. Selection of romance books (3 total)
7. Two handmade bookmark (with 4 leaf clovers inside!)
And now ... THE WINNERS!
(these are the order in which they were drawn, which means #1 gets to pick their prize first, then #2, then #3, and so on. That's why it's SO IMPORTANT for me to have your email address!!!)

1. Stina Lindenblatt
2. Alleged Author
3. Deniz Bevan
4. Nicole Zoltack
5. Jaydee Morgan
6. Carolyn Abiad
7. Summer Ross
8. Christina Lee
9. Salarsen
10. Melody

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you haven't already, please put your email address in the comments. You will be hearing from me SUPER SOON!!!!

CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!!!

~JD

Whoot! Whoot! Friday Update!!!

It feels like it's been FOREVER since I've done a Friday update!

Wait ... it HAS been forever since I've done a Friday update! Shame on me, JD.

With further ado:

1. Did you enter my give-a-way??
Did you?
Did you?
Did you?????
Go HERE! And all will be forgiven! On MONDAY I will announce the winners!!!

2. Literary Agent, Scott Eagan, had a call out for guest bloggers. I answered and he posted my guest blog!! Go check out its awesomeness here.

3.  JD is having surgery on her right arm/elbow. Something about a pinched nerved or something. Meh. The surgery will be on June 3rd, so after next Friday (27th, which is also my daughter's b-day), I will be taking a couple of weeks off for recovery. I'm sure I'll be tweeting up a storm, though. I  tend to do that when something funny/annoying/new happens.

4. I STILL haven't written anything new. I've been buried in critting my critters stuff and revising my own ms. Not that I mind being buried, mind you. I work better under pressure anyway. I did manage to write a half-hearted query/synopsis type-thingy about the story I want to write. That counts for something, right? :-)

So far summer hasn't given me the time I need. I'm thinking maybe I am not managing my time well enough. Or maybe I'm really just too busy. Or maybe I just think I'm too busy and I procrastinate with shiny things too much. Or maybe I just think too much. Maybe I should just Get. Back. To. Work.

Meh.

That's it!

Amazingly short, right? Yeah.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!!

~JD

Why I love (and hate) my Kindle

The hubs bought me a Kindle for Mother's Day. Wasn't that sweeeeet? ;-)

Anyhoo, I quickly became OBSESSED with it! And so did my daughter, who coincidentally has learned how to use it better than me. Meh.

I've always wanted to the try an ebook reader because I'm all about saving trees and junk. And I'm a 21st century kind-of-girl. BUT I'm also a control freak who doesn't like change. What's a girl to do?!

I didn't want an ebook reader for one, and only one, reason:

I wanted to be able to "hold" a book and "flip" the pages.

That's important to me. And it's ingrained in my head. That's how you read.

But then I got one, so I had to figure something out, quick. First, the Kindle is small and very fragile feeling. I was afraid if I just dropped it in my lap it would crack. Eep!

And holding it was awkward. (Just like I thought) My fingers cramped. It just wasn't a book.

A CASE! That's it! Did you know they have these fancy cases that flip open like a book? And you can hold your Kindle like a book??? I got me one of those! In green. And, sigh, my problem was solved. Although I still can't "flip" the pages, clicking on the page turning seems to be satisfying me. And the cover has made ALL the difference in the world.

I LOVE MY KINDLE.

It's compact. It's light. Easy to carry around. (No need to lug three books around in my bag). It's efficient. The pages are easy to read. I can update Twitter and Facebook from it! (Bonus) It's easy to navigate and use (although the offspring STILL knows more than me). It just works.

And I'm still saving trees! YAY me!

I HATE MY KINDLE

I find myself "touching" the screen, hoping I can flip through it quickly to find what I want. It doesn't work. LoL.

While there are several free and inexpensive books I can get, most of the new ones (or ones I want to read) are $9.99. Hmph. I can buy the paperback for twelve bucks, so ... why isn't it cheaper???

WHY????

It reminds me of an itch-a-sketch ... which is just weird. I want to touch it with my pen and draw doodles all over it.

Either way, I truly do like "love" it. I guess I will cope with my issues. I'm sure there will be more.

How about you and your e-reader? Lovesit? Hatesit? Tell me.

~JD

P.S. Have you entered my give-a-way yet?
NO?
GASP!!!!
Never fear, peeps--go HERE!

Give-A-Way of EPIC-EPICNESS!

Since Blogger was being such a turd last Friday, I'm sure lots and lots of you missed my 300 follower contest!

AND WE CAN'T HAVE THAT!

So, I'm annoucing it AGAIN today!

THE PRIZES:

1. Three copies of Livia Dane's new published erotic book: Hot Ice

If you just CAN'T wait to win the contest, and you'd like to buy a copy TODAY, you can find it on Amazon, Smashwords, and Lulu. (It's more expensive on Lulu, though. Don't ask).

2. A $25 dollar Amazon gift card!

3. A 3 chapter MS crit from lil' ol' unpublished me! (I'm pretty intense, but in a friendly-bunny-type-way).

4. A query crit! Again, from lil' ol' me. I'm pretty good at this, though. Even though I suck in this department when it comes to my own books. Go figure.

5. THIS:

That's a ceramic coffee mug, HAND PAINTED BY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (The earth and all) Not bad, right?
Tahereh Mafi had a very inspirational blog post one day, and I took this phrase to heart. I had it put on shirt. And now it's on a ceramic mug for ALL THE WORLD TO SEE!!!

6. This nice collection of books:


7. And I will be giving away TWO of these:

Those are handmade bookmarks that have a REAL LIVE (er, dried) four leaf clover in them! Your's won't look exactly like this, but it gives you a good idea of what to expect! I made these, too. ;-)

NOW, would you like to enter this give-a-way?

It's REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, easy!

Just clicky, clicky right HERE! (Where the original blog post was). Just leave a comment and you'll entered to win the awesome prizes!

No go! HERE!

~JD

The Most EPIC of EPIC Contests!!!!

First, thank you, Blogger, for finally reconnecting all of us. It has been a LONG 24 hours without you.

Now, ON TO MY CONTEST!!!

Because I have reached the 300 follower mark and gotten over 24,000 hits on my blog, it's time for an EPIC CONTEST!

First up--THE PRIZES:

1. Three copies of Livia Dane's new published erotic book: Hot Ice

If you just CAN'T wait to win the contest, and you'd like to buy a copy TODAY, you can find it on Amazon, Smashwords, and Lulu. (It's more expensive on Lulu, though. Don't ask).

2. A $25 dollar Amazon gift card!

3. A 3 chapter MS crit from lil' ol' unpublished me! (I'm pretty intense, but in a friendly-bunny-type-way).

4. A query crit! Again, from lil' ol' me. I'm pretty good at this, though. Even though I suck in this department when it comes to my own books. Go figure.

5. THIS:

That's a ceramic coffee mug, HAND PAINTED BY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (The earth and all) Not bad, right?
Tahereh Mafi had a very inspirational blog post one day, and I took this phrase to heart. I had it put on shirt. And now it's on a ceramic mug for ALL THE WORLD TO SEE!!!

6. This nice collection of books:


7. And I will be giving away TWO of these:

Those are handmade bookmarks that have a REAL LIVE (er, dried) four leaf clover in them! Your's won't look exactly like this, but it gives you a good idea of what to expect! I made these, too. ;-)

Whew ... that's it!

Now, the ONE and ONLY rule: You MUST be a follower of this blog to enter!

How to enter (this is a points contest, peeps, with random winners drawn):

The only thing you absolutely HAVE to do is leave a comment in this post below (and please, please, PLEASE include your email address if your blogger isn't linked to comments).

1. Old follower (2 points)
2. New follow (1 point)
3. Blog/Tweet/FB the contest (3 points EACH) Leave a link or include @JustineDell in the tweet.

Add up the points (because JD is terrible at math) and leave the total in the comments! That's it!

You have until Saturday, May 21st to enter!

After that, random numbers will be drawn for the winners! The first name drawn get's their pick of the prizes. Then the second. Then the third. Then the fourth. And so on and so forth. (That's why is SO important to have your email address).

Now, ENTER!!!!!

~JD

Working With Graphic Designers

I've recently discovered that self-publishing is a not-so-bad options for writers. Actually, it can be a very GOOD option.

And that's wonderful!

And that also got me thinking ...

When you self-publish, you've got A LOT of stuff to worry about.

Editing
Proofing
Designing a cover
Book Trailer
Marketing
And on, and on, and on ...

I'm going to focus on one:

Working with designers on your cover.

Now, some self-pubbed authors will design their own cover, and that's fine. Great, actually. If I was a self-published author, I would reach out to some very close friends who do graphic designing (bonus!).

If you know them well and have a good relationship, you will probably get a kick-ass cover.

If you don't and/or have communication issues, you might end up with something like this:

http://theneave.com/david-thorne-missing-missy/

(Seriously, click the link, you'll thank me!)

So, relationship building is everything. Communication is everything. And it helps if you have a graphic designers who isn't such a practical joker. LoL. Funny stuff! (Really, click on the link)

Either way, working with designers to get that spot-on design is uber important. After all, the cover is the first thing people will see!

Have any of you self-pubbed (or know someone who has)? Tell me about your (their) cover. Did it work? Why? Why not?

~JD

Learning about Justine: Where have I been?

Have you noticed I haven't been around that much?
Have you noticed I haven't had two Friday updates in a row?
Have you noticed I have been generally out-of-touch?

Where have I been?
WHAT have I been doing?

I'd like to tell you I've been resting on some tropical island.
I'd like to tell you that I've been hold-up in my writing room with the best story ever.
I'd like to tell you that I've snagged an agent and had some sort of breakdown because of it.
I'd like to tell you a lot of things ...

But the truth is, I've been working. The real job.
I love my job, but there is one time of the year when it is CRAZY. Like these past two weeks. For those of you who don't know, I work at a university. Last Friday was the last day of classes and Saturday was graduation. I've been working for seven days straight (even on Mother's Day). By this Friday, I will have worked twelve days straight. Yay.

BUT THAT'S OKAY!

Because NOW it's SUMMER!!!!!! NOW I will have FREE TIME! (whoa ... what's that?). Summer is my most productive time, and for the next twelve weeks I'm planning on making a HUGE SPLASH!

Wanna come?

Tell me, when is your most productive season?

~JD

Sacrifices ...

Sacrifices

Those little things we have given up to pursue this thing called writing.

Those things we neglect when we decide to pick up that pen and paper.

Those things that we forget about when we are buried head deep in our wip.

Those things we used to LOVE to do?

Yeah--THOSE things.

Playing in the park with your kids

Playing fetch with your dog
Hiking
Watching Vampire Dairies/Bones/insert random tv drama here
Watching reality shows
Cooking
Cleaning (I love to clean).
Going to garage sales
Visiting relatives
Going to church
Going to the museum
Going to the zoo
Going to the mall
Going to get ice cream
Just going anywhere
Eating out
Window shopping/normal shopping
Walking around Nashville in the fall, looking at the wonderful colors
Flea Markets
Building a snowman in the winter
Sledding
Laughing
Enjoying my family
Enjoying my job
Enjoying my life

I haven't written anything since January 1st. (I'm not counting those crappy 3 pages of a new wip I trashed). For those of you who are new here, that long of time fo me is unheard of. I've been writing almost two years now and have completed three full-length novels, one novella, two short stories, and a MG thingy for my daughter. I'm a MAJOR type A and this became another obsession I had to complete. I had to complete. Had. To. Completion requires publishing, right? So ...

I wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and wrote. All. The. Time. It's all I thought about.

The process consumed me.

And now that I haven't written anything since January 1st? How does that make me feel? What does that make me see?

It makes me see all those things I've been missing. All those things I neglected. All those things I sacrificed for the sake of writing/editing/querying/going out of my mind. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with knowing about what I've missed because now I can make sure the same thing doesn't happen in the future. The past two years have been warp speed with blur of my fingers across my keys and tears.

But now? Now I can make a difference in my life--and remember the things that are the most important. The things I forgot about. The things I don't ever want to forget about again. I can remember that I had a life outside of writing. I can function without worrying about that angry fit my MC is having on page 101 or I can sleep without freaking out about the turning point/death/violence/betrayal on page 205.

I can breathe.

Every writer's journey is different. Tell me about yours. Did/does this process consume you? What have you been missing? What have you sacrificed? What have you changed? What do you want to change?

~JD

Wanted: Query Help

Happy Tuesday, all!

I don't normally do Tuesday posts, but today the query for my most recent wip is over at The QQQ getting critted by Matthew Rush!

Wanna go check it out and offer a lady some help? I'd be in debt to you. ;-)

~JD

Grammar Police: Misplaced Modifiers

Oh no! My head is already spinning from the title alone.

Let's see if we can make sense of the dun ... dun ... dun: MISPLACED MODIFIERS!!!

First, I must tell you that my critter, Sarah, has had quiet a few laughs because of my misplaced modifiers. They are the things that are most likely to confuse your readers AND give them a good laugh. Bonus.

According to the University of Ottawa, a modifier is this: A modifier can be an adjective, an adverb, or a phrase or clause acting as an adjective or adverb In every case, the basic principle is the same: the modifier adds information to another element in the sentence.


Whoa. I hate those kind of explanations. How 'bout we just say it's this:

It's a word/phrase that modifies something else in the sentence.

Better? Yeah.

Now, it's the THING the word is modifying that makes all the difference in the world, and where everything is placed in the sentence.

Here are some sentences with misplaced modifiers, made for your laughing pleasure:

For Sale: a horse for any rider with big muscles and gentle eyes. 

Now picture that! Are you picturing a person with big muscles and bright baby blues? Yeah, I thought so. But this is actually talking about horse.  The misplaced modifier messes up everything! Here's how it should read:

For Sale: a horse with big muscles and gentle eyes suitable for any rider.

Here are more examples (and their correct counterparts). The "^^^^" mark the modifiers in their incorrect and correct spots!


Wrong:
I need a pet sitter to take care of my cat who give shots. (A cat with opposable thumbs? Cool!)
                                                              ^^^^^^^^^^^          
Correct:
I need a pet sitter who give shots to take care of my cat.
                            ^^^^^^^^^


Wrong:
Child horse instructor needed for training. (If you know a child who can train horses--send them my way!)
^^^^

Correct:
Horse instructor needed for child training.
                                           ^^^


Wrong:
Emily found the blue horse's halter. (A blue horse! I want one of those!!)
                        ^^^

Correct:
Emily found the horse's blue halter.
                                   ^^^

Here's a general rule of thumb with it comes to modifiers (and to keep yourself from having these unintentional moments of laughter for your CP): Put the modifiers as close to the thing it's modifying (which is normally RIGHT before). The further away it gets, the weirder the sentence!

Get it? Got it? Good!

Do you have any other funny examples? Has your CP given you a good laugh with this?

~JD