Jax's Artistic Journey...

Well, not that kind....

My friends know that I LOVE my COFFEE. I used to go to Starbucks EVERYDAY and it was some serious chunk of change. I've tried making the stuff at home, but it's the total experience to have someone else do it for me. For some reason it tastes better. Maybe it's the fact that I'm being served and not having to worry about cleaning the mess. I'm not having to put out several grand for the machine, either. Gosh, I don't often deviate from the Grande Latte with Whip. Call me generic but it's easy to love something and stick with it.

What am I getting at? Nothing. I'm rambling because I'm freakin' tired as heck and I need some sleep! Thank goodness I just stopped off at Starbucks on my way home. I would write at their facilities but I would rather have free wifi at home versus paying $10 for the internet service there, on top of purchasing their drinks and pastries....maybe I need to re-think my coffee addiction and find another vice.

Okay, back to deadlines. I'm sure you're sick of hearing that but it's the truth....

There's still time to enter my Lotus Blossom Gift Box. Just email jaxcassidy@gmail.com and put Contest on the header and provide your name pretty please. I'll add you to the drawing. If you win this gorgeous gift set, I will contact you for your mailing address. Allow a few weeks for shipping as I am trying to finish up my deadline before I can leave my cave. Also this will give me time to add anything else I want into the box...

This is going to be a surprise box which will include an autographed book with my debut novella SIREN'S SEDUCTION. You'll also get some limited edition Romance Divas trinkets...

Off to writing, sigh, sniff sniff...

I've been surfing the net for the past hour trying to dress my character...Okay, so I'm a shopaholic too..but it doesn't hurt to look if I can use the info for my book...

Vera Wang, Badgley Mischka, Dolce & Gabbana, Nicole Miller, Betsey Johnson...couture is couture but I found a new designer I absolutely love..Andy The-Anh creates brilliantly clean designs, so sophisticated and sexy. I adore his choice in colors and the way he likes to show off a woman's feminity in his gowns. His website isn't launched yet so I'm assuming he's new to the fashion scene. Hummmm, I'll have to keep an eye out on him and future designs...

Well, I didn't think I'd have so much fun researching but it's a lot like window shopping except I actually am putting it on my wishlist so when I get my first big paycheck I'm going to get one of these items! LOL

First for the shoes....

Jimmy Choos! I love the turquoise heel portion that compliments the black body design. It's sooooo cool!

Manolo casual slingbacks...

Manolo Blahnik, I LOVE YOU!


Now for the dresses....This is an Andy The-Anh design. Sleek, classic black dress. If I were a fashionn designer, I'd want to be him!

The back is stunning. His stuff is gorgeous and feminine yet not overstated. I am so a fan now!

ABS dress...yep, it's true. Seriously HOT and I'd wear this out on the town...

The back is so gorgeous with the draping effect.

Mandalay Beaded Waist Dress. I sooooo want this dress. It's very seductive and elegant. The cut is amazing!

The front of the top is very sexy with the little clasps going down!

I need to get back to writing now...sigh...I'm so in the mood to shop!

The clock is ticking. Screaming teenagers, grumpy parents, argumentative siblings, deadlines....I need my coffee!!!! I have 5 days left and I've never been so insecure about missing a deadline, until now.

I'm writing like crazy but everything starts to sound like sh** after a while and I wonder if I still have the spark. I guess all writers go through this when they're on deadline but I'm thinking that it's more because I'm stressed out and less about my writing. Of course I want to write a masterpiece and as much as I love this story, I'm petrified. This is possibly one of the more sensual pieces I've written and initially it was supposed to be dark...since life is rather dark for me in my own life, I've lightened it up a bit. I hope this doesn't take away from the story. My thought process is that with pain, there's also laughter. There will be plenty of tears in my next book and so I am just going with what my characters want. I hope to be back in 5 days to tell you I have typed THE END! Honest to goodness, I am so ready for a vacation...

I can almost taste it....

The days are starting to run together. I actually crashed rather early last night. These late nighters are killing me, but the end result has been better than I've hoped. It's been raining for a few days and it lends a nostaglic, melancholia effect. Perfect for how the characters are.

I like to listen to music as I write. If it's a tragic tale, I listen to sad love songs that stirs the emotions of my h/h. Well, I guess all writers see their characters as living, breathing creatures. As I try to get my heroine out of the current situation....

Title: RUN
Artist: Collective Soul

Are these times contagious
I've never been this bored before
Is this the prize I've waited for
Now with the hours passing
There's nothing left here to insure
I long to find a messenger

Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run

Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
Now, in this world of purchase
I'm going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities

Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run
Yeah, I run.....

I've got nine whole days to turn in my manuscript. Been writing like the wind but there never seems to be enough time, so I am going to lock myself up and get it done. Maybe even before it's due! Okay, being optimistic here.

Jeez, I need to stop getting myself into these predicament again...

Alright, alright...I'm going. Harumpf.

PS. I love Mandy Moore's cover of Rihanna's UMBRELLA. The lyrics are amazing and it's a bit romantic. Good to listen to while you're writing and it's raining outside... :)

THE LOTUS BLOSSOM CHRONICLES is getting consistently good reviews. Romantic Times gives it 4 stars! APOOO has also given it 4 stars!

I was taking a break and decided to do a search on the book and discovered a lot of fun and interesting things. I found out Target.com and a variety of other obscure places have our books available. Walmart.com refers their customers to BN.com and even got some top picks from a few sites I stumbled across. The funniest thing is to see a Japanese site advertise my book!

I couldn't be happier and ready to get to those signings. In a few weeks I'll focus on the media... for now, I have deadlines.

Wanna have a chance to win my Sensual Escape gift box with an autographed copy of the book? Email me at jaxcassidy@gmail.com and I'll add you to my mailing list and enter your name in the drawing. A winner will be announced on April 1st!

Thanks for your support!

I should be estatic my book was released today. I still am estatic, but I can say that when a printing company screws up your cover, the worse kind of nightmare has been realized.

However, I can spin this around.. I am print published and my books are supposed to be shelved nationally in Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Borders. What does this mean...my writing should be the focal point and I hope my writers realize the cover should not be the only reason for the purchase...I hope they are purchasing it for me, the writer.

Yes, I'm done with the tears but now I can only hope that my good reviews will lead me to where I need to go with obtaining an audience....

I guess I should have updated the blog to the new template sooner, but since K. decided to re-invent herself...I think I will too...maybe not completely, but just enough. Do I have time to do this? Heck, no!

It may take me a little while but I'll get to it. For now, this is going to be real ugly. :)

As if I didn't have deadlines!

I think all my friends should run out and buy it or, better yet, order it from AMAZON.

I get my author copies in a few days and I'm stoked about it. I've bragged to all my friends until they're probably sick of hearing me. Hey, not every day an author gets 4 stars from Romantic Times Review! I'm still walking on clouds over that one. I can also say that I am almost done with my graphic design deadlines and then I will finally be able to work on my manuscript that's due at the end of the month. So for the next 4 weeks I will be in deadline hell! I'm preparing for it though by sleeping 3 hours a night! LOL

Things can only get better from here on out..I hope.

Be Positive. Positive thinking is what's gotten me this far so I'm going to keep at it. What are my goals for the rest of the year?

1. Finish my 3 manuscript commitments
2. Finish my Spice Brief to submit to new agent
3. Get picked up by a superagent
4. Get multi-book deal with a big NY house
5. Take a long vacation

Wow, can you believe it's March? Where does the time go? I can't believe I took a huge cross country trip and now I'm HERE. I do miss my my apartment dreadfully. I miss those red walls. When I get my house I'm going to paint my walls!

Back to work. I won't have a late night tonight so I guess 4 hours sleep will be better than 3!

I used to love graphic design, but lately I find that when you turn a hobby into a career, everything seems muddied. Well, I was once a voracious student and learned all my computer software through reading, reading, reading. I'd sit up for hours just to figure out the little details. It was a wonderful, yet frustrating feeling and when I created something beautiful I was proud. Little did I know I would have a freelance job that utilized my graphics abilities. In the beginning I was so stoked about getting paid for doing something I love. Nowadays I am trying to get through my deadlines to focus on my writing deadlines. I'm not doing a very good job meeting graphics deadlines, but my covers are pretty awesome, so I am proud of that!

Well, it looks like my book signing schedule is filling up thanks to my local chapter the CFRW (Central Florida Romance Writers). They are an awesome group. I went to my first meeting on Sunday and everyone seemed to be incredibly nice. I look forward to this new membership. I'll be joining Kristen's chapter as well but hopefully she won't coerce me into an office position! LOL

If anyone lives in the Dallas area, I'll be signing on April 5th.

Date: APRIL 5, 2008
Time: 8:30 am-5:00 pm
Event: DARA Conference, Dreamin' in Dallas
Plano, TX at the Southfork Hotel

I've got about 7-10 more events coming up as well and will post when they are confirmed. Hope to see you there! :)

Boy, I'm a little behind.

Recovery has been slow in coming and I can say the flu and Bronchitis kicked my butt. I couldn't stay up more than 30 minutes at a time and today was the first day I've been up for 3 hours. I'm forcing myself to work tomorrow because I can't afford to be laid up any futher. There's a lot of things that makes being ill better. One is being surrounded by family. My 6 year old nephew is a sweetheart. He graciously allows me to sleep in his Transformer themed bedroom and in his bunkbed. Of course, he confidentially asks his mother on their drive to school this morning "when is my aunt going to move out of my room?" He also asks, "Mommy, will we be sanitizing the room so it's not diseased?" Doesn't that make you feel good? At least I got the tyke to record my outgoing voicemail message :) It's adorable!!!! I should be his manager. He'd make a great actor!

Looks like I'm all set for the conference in Dallas in early April and San Fran in July. I'll be doing signings at both events! It's exciting because it's always a joy seeing the people I care about. I'm going to fly into San Fran a little early to enjoy the sites and maybe do some shopping. I hear it's good for that. I was going to do a fun and entertaining post but now I've decided I'm too tired to right now and will have to think of something clever. Truthfully, I may be MIA for 6 weeks while I finish deadlines so don't be too sad that I've gone missing.

What brainless things did I do today? Crikey, I was subjected to a bad horror flick on Lifetime TV and Real Housewives of the OC!!!!! No wonder I refused to watch tv. I felt guilty about not working and now I can see that I should have saved the brains cells if I had worked.... now I'm just babbling. :)