Jax's Artistic Journey...

That should be my nickname. Miss Cranky if you're Nasty. Anywoo, I'm over at HOOKED today talking about it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I can't believe it's almost April!

Where did the time go?

I need to buy a desk calendar because I can't seem to keep track!

That should be my nickname. Miss Cranky if you're Nasty. Anywoo, I'm over at HOOKED today talking about it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I can't believe it's almost April!

Where did the time go?

I need to buy a desk calendar because I can't seem to keep track!

I'm proud to announce that my good friend Eden Bradley's newest release, 21st Century Courtesan, is now available at Amazon, BN.com, and Borders online, as well as, on local bookshelves near you.

If you've never picked up one of her books, you're missing out on a lush, provocative, and sensual read. Eden's amazing at developing likable, emotional characters...characters who show growth and intelligence. Her voice resonates with you and you'll be carried away on a wave of intensity that will make you yearn for her other releases: Forbidden Fruit, Hot Nights, Dark Desires, The Dark Garden, The Darker Side of Pleasure....

21st Century Courtesan by Eden Bradley

BLURB:

She lives in a world of silk sheets, imported champagne, and endless erotic delight.… She fulfills the deepest fantasies of the most powerful men in the world. Sensual, seductive, and discreet, Valentine Day is a high-class call girl, pampered and adored by her exclusive clientele. But Valentine has a secret. Always in control, she’s never experienced true pleasure outside of her work. But all that is about to change.… Now the woman who’s spent a decade pleasuring others is about to embark on an erotic journey of her own. It happens one night at the opera. Seated next to her in the dark is a stranger. As the music swells so does the sexual tension. Gorgeous, sophisticated Joshua Spencer invites her for a drink, and soon she’s fantasizing about taking him home. When they finally come together in the most tender and intense lovemaking Valentine has ever known, she’s hooked. But suddenly Valentine is questioning everything. Joshua has no idea what she does for a living. Can she risk everything—including her hard-earned freedom and one final, shattering secret—for one man? And would he still want her if he knew the truth? From the Trade Paperback edition.

Have you ever suffered an identity crisis? I believe all authors do. Especially those of us who are writing multi-genres. For the past few months I've been working on my YA paranormal and it's really really really good..well, for one, I get to pull in Vietnamese mythology and throw in my own take. I've modeled this universe loosely after several mythologies...and it seems to work in my mind. The worldbuilding is coming along...and it will take me awhile to get everything down in writing but it's all in my head. I'm just ironing out the details. Of course, what I perceive as good can be crap to others, but I promise this isn't like any typical paranormal you've ever read. It's still got a splash of 'moi' and I'm channeling my inner teen. Complete with angst and, God forbid, cute rebel boys. I still have a synopsis and two chapters to finish because I was sidetracked...you'll see what prevented me from writing. Here's a sneak peek at my YA PERSONA. I still have a few items to finish up...including my own photography session. I'm going to do some self portraits with a bit of an edge. For now, I've recycled photos until I can get that bit of my persona to surface.

At least if I sell this series, my underage relatives can finally read my work!

What do you think?

I'm a little OCD at times. Especially when I'm doing graphic design and web work. Yesterday I worked on my YA persona and the website is BEAUTIFULMOUS! I just need to populate it with content, then I need to work on a new website for my series. It's taking up more time than I had planned. When I'm in the zone, I don't budge from my chair and morning becomes evening faster than I can blink. Creating something awesome is fun but when I have to turn that artwork into a website, that's where the real pain begins. Often, I find out a little late that the vision doesn't wind up with a perfect end result. Especially after I've spent twenty minutes linking up everything, then to discover the scrolling doesn't sync up, isn't seamless. Which takes me back to the drawing board where I have to slice my images again! I'm not a programmer, so everything I do is old school and I'm sure there are shortcuts but I haven't encountered them yet. Anyway, I don't want to provide the link until I'm fully satisfied.

Right now, I'm merely taking a break. Hopefully, I'll master this darn thing by the end of the day...if not, I'll have another sleepless night thinking about what I could have done to make it better. LOL

What's up with all the BLAHs?

You heard me. Why is everyone feeling like this lately? It's like an epidemic. I'm inspired, I'm not inspired. I'm depressed, I'm motivated. I'm in denial, I'm taking things for granted....Jeez, I can't turn on the tv without seeing something, slit-my-wrist, depressing. From the rich becoming pizza delivery boys to students who may be homeless any day now, I just can't stand it anymore. It's bad enough the "E" is shite but it's worst when you find yourself helpless to help others...but you know what really creases me? It's as if the whole world has gone mad. There's no sense of professionalism or politeness. No sense of community or customer service. It's as if we've already given up...

Maybe that's just my observations but it's scary. It's sad, and it's made me realize that we need to heal. We need a purpose and we need faith. I'm more a spiritualist but with all that's happened in the world, it does make you waver your beliefs...it does make you wonder....so instead of giving into all that is negative, I've been remaining positive. Some may say I'm in denial and some may say that I'm just plain stupid, but the fact of the matter is....we need to believe. If we stop, everything will fall apart. This should be the time when we band together. This is the time to be kind and do your best to be the best human being you can be. Instead, I'm faced with anger, hate, pettiness, and people who would rather instigate problems instead of being strong and stepping up. It's all around me and it's a sadness you can't wash away with tears. It's a pain you can't cure without looking inside yourself. How can we start the cycle of change? By realizing that it takes each one of us to make a difference. It's a chain effect and if we can spend all our energy being optimistic instead of bitter, we can resolve things a heck of a lot faster.

I guess I'm just tired. Everyone is going through something right now and I truly believe that this is the time to Pay It Forward. One nice gesture. One random act of kindness. Can't you smile and say "thank you" when someone opens the door for you? Can't you drop off some canned goods to the food bank? Can't you make a phone call and tell your friends and loved ones you're thinking of them? Can't you stop to think before you react? It's that simple. I'm by no means a saint but I'm making an effort. There are times when I want to go off, but I hold my tongue. We just need to remember that we have the power to change. I'm not oblivious to the truth. I am well aware of everything that's going on around me...but by feeding into the negative, we aren't helping ourselves out and we aren't helping our families out. It's the reason why I keep pushing forward. Keep writing and believing that any day now, we'll see improvements.

Now that Spring is here, we must rejoice! Let's do the Springtime Dance and kick all the blahs that plague us! Who's with me?

How do you celebrate Spring?

Well, not the kind that involves drunken parties on a sandy beach either. Ever since the weather change I've been under the weather...so don't feel like doing much except popping in movies. I recently watched Australia and Hugh made me feel happy for a few short hours...sigh. He's so delish with his shirt off..and the accent makes me swoon.

If you've never seen Australia, it's so beautifully filmed and makes you want to go there. I wasn't sure I wanted to see it since I'm not a big Nicole Kidman fan, but I'm glad I did. It was, in fact, a romance. Even though it was a bit long, I really enjoyed it! Baz Luhrman is just a genius when it comes to creating visually appealing and quirky elements...although, I have to admit I was a bit confused at the tone in the beginning of the film. It started off campy and humorous like his musicals, but ended up being dramatic, heartfelt, and romantic...sometimes you just gotta see the movie because trailers are so misleading. However the marketing direction studios usually push for never does the film justice, which is a shame. I used to hang out with one of my good friends who did movie trailers and you wouldn't believe how they would showcase a women's drama into a comedy, a thriller into a horror, etc. It's so weird. I guess they assume people won't go if it's not in line with the current trends. Now everything is copycatting the 'Twilight' trend...movie business is so fickle! Sometimes the marketing teams aren't very effective but they're so hellbent on getting viewers in that they manipulate the marketing--and when it fails, usually the whole team is fired. I've seen it happen. Those are tidbits I picked up in my film days. LOL

Okay, I'm going to watch "Rachel Getting Married"...I figured I'd give it a shot.

I grew up in the kitchens. Mostly, I did prep work, cash register, bussed tables or waited on people but I rarely had the need to cook. Then there were years where I managed my parent's restaurant, but that's for another time. I spent thousands of hours in the kitchen and often I'd watch the chefs work their magic during the daily rush. During lag time, we'd make fancy dishes and experiment. Whenever it was super slow, I'd create my own dishes to see if I could copy the chef or something I'd seen on tv. I never formally cooked until I was in my early twenties and everything I learned was from watching and visualizing the ingredients in my head.

In his twenties, my father was awarded certification to cook for generals and presidents, although he never chose to be a culinary chef and only enjoyed cooking at home. He had a love of entertaining and for most of my childhood years we had dinner parties at our home every weekend. My mother is also very creative. She had the natural ability to sew what she liked without use of a pattern and cook what she wanted if she liked what she tasted. I've been blessed with some of my mom's creativity and my dad's culinary skills and affinity for fine cuisine.

I guess I just stumbled across the revelation that I could cook. One day I decided I wanted to cook and I just did. It was strange, like a hidden memory that I tucked away and it was so instinctual. I think it was during busy season at our restaurant and we were short-handed so I opted to be the fried rice girl. Don't laugh...but there's really a position for a kitchen assistant to cook all the appetizers and fried rices! And boy, did we get zingers of orders for those things. So much so that I would dream about it in my sleep! I'll admit, I was a bit spoiled. Mom and dad or chef would always cook for me when I was hungry. If they weren't available, my siblings would do it. It wasn't until I went to college that I was forced to cook for myself...soon, I was cooking for my roommates. During those college years, every Friday I'd have to drive two and a half hours home to work in the restaurant and make it back to school early Monday morning in time for class. It was a haul and I had two speeding tickets and a car accident out of the weekly drives...Those were the most grueling times and I certainly didn't have a life. This went on for a few years but the more I cooked, the more I became obsessed about food and various cuisines. Food OCD, is what it was.

That leads me to here....I am an adventurous eater...I'll try anything once...and if I really love it, I re-create it. Recently, I had a craving for Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli in a bad way. My friends caved in and we decided to go there. I had my soup but it didn't satisfy the craving. Yesterday I had a desire to experiment. As you can see, in this picture to the left, it's simmering on my stove. This was my first attempt at ever making this soup and I was sooooo proud of myself...it turned out way delish! I made enough to feed me and Mr. Right for a few days.

Tah-dah! The final product and just seeing and tasting the results...it's made me all excited about my love of cooking all over again...

I'd like to add that my friend Louisa Edwards inspired me with her culinary skills. She's FABULOUS at it! Thanks for reminding me that cooking can be a therapeutic art form....

Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig! Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Being Irish, I thought I'd celebrate this day properly. I donned on me green Irish Rugby tee this morn' and kissed me four leaf clover for luck...okay, it's a ceramic paperweight made in Italy, but it's the thought that counts...can't start the day without some kind of Ode to me 'motherland'. In most years I'd be drinking the green brew from dusk to dawn but this year, I've decided to make it special. While I commence the festivities, I thought I'd share a popular Irish drinking song from some guys in costume I found on Youtube....

Today is for merrymaking so raise a toast and celebrate with me! Sláinte! Have a safe an wonderful holiday filled with visions of green.......... :)

I'm over at HoR and talking about Worldbuilding, paranormal vs. urban fantasy, and just generally rambling...

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm looking forward to a productive week!

More coffee please.....

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!

For all you Cassidy Kent fans out there, Phaze Publishing will be releasing a PRINT anthology of Sunset Key, Raleigh In Rio, and Dolce & Diana called SUNSWEPT and will be available in late-May (unless there's a change in production schedule)! I'll provide the exact release date when it becomes available. These three novellas have been sold in eBook format for a little while now, but I'm excited just thinking about holding the print version in my hands! I'm totally stoked because I loved these stories and I hope readers new to me can enjoy the lighter side of my collaborative writing efforts that launched my career :)


Now I'm going to go have a glass of wine and celebrate this bit of news!

Remember when I said I was going to work on my short story? Change of plans.

Ummmm, I need to pick back up on my Project X because I need to get it finished....so, today I will be starting on Chapter 4 and hopefully by the end of the month I will reach THE END. That's being optimistic. If I do meet my deadline, I'm aiming toward a good polished manuscript by late-April. The heat is on and I'll be a little manic, a little grumpy, and will require a whole lot of coffee. Fingers crossed that I won't go nuts by that time....I do love a good challenge.

Now, if only I can kick my twitter, facebook, and blogging addictions. It's going to take all my willpower to go into hiding....the curse of the internet makes an author's life miserable...well, there is the research...Fine, I will be good and leave the fun stuff to after office hours.

Just promise to fill me in if anything good happens.

I've been writing and writing and thinking and thinking...plotting and plotting...and my head hurts. I decided to put aside all my proposals to work on a short story. Kind of like a mental exercise to get something finished. It's going to be about 50 pages and if it turns out well, I'll submit it somewhere.

So far the story is starting off lovely. I'm guessing that I could be done in as little as 3-5 days if I keep at it. On the other hand, it could take me 8-10 days if I get distracted, which hopefully that won't happen. I think that I need to write something for me and I'm not going to limit myself in what direction the story goes. I've spent the last few months so wound up about things I can't control so now I'm going to take a deep breath and do something I can control. Hopefully this project will help me remember why I love to write so much.

Sometimes it's easy to get carried away by excitement and passion but every so often you need to re-focus your energies on yourself. I'm going to be hiding in my writing cave for the next few days...maybe when I re-emerge, I will be ready to dive back into the proposal with a fresh outlook and a big smile....

I've finished plotting my urban fantasy novel and it's DARN GOOD, I tell ya! I figured out some new elements that will add to the storyline, also fleshed out some new characters. It's amazing how easy things come back to you. With this renewed writing streak I was able to produce a few pages of my YA urban fantasy, too.

Yes, I'm working on two projects at once! Yes, I know I'm nuts but these projects are NOT vampire books. Hopefully they'll be fresh and engaging...I'm all about creating a new trend so I hope it works.

Well, I've made a list of titles for my YA series and they are awesome. Yeah, I guess this blog today is just about praising myself. Why not? If we can't be proud of what we're doing then we shouldn't be doing it. I haven't been this inspired in a long while and today I feel like I'm finally back on track! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!

P.S. I'm talking about Wong Kar Wai's movie MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS at Hooked on Romance...

I've been having these strange dreams every night and often I wake up, not knowing what is reality and what is a product of my subconscious. During the midst of writing my women's fiction and contemporary romance proposals, I've been thinking about the first paranormal/urban fantasy I wrote. Of course, the first draft was total crap...but I didn't know then what I know now. Yes, we all started somewhere and those days I was a total newbie. I had no idea the proper way to pen this world, no idea how to pour the entire universe into the story without losing the readers. After all, I knew every character and back story in my head...so naturally I would assume others would too. What's so fantastic about this universe is my chance to pull in Chinese mythology, and a touch of Irish folklore. But the most important part of this entire world boils down to one thing, eternal love.

Four years later, and 12 revisions, I'm seeing the manuscript with a different pair of eyes. I thought my love for this genre was gone, but as I re-read the most recent draft--I was proud. Proud of not throwing over fifteen years of world building away. Maybe I put it aside because I was scared of writing it but now I know that this story is too good to be locked away in the inner recesses of my mind. I've got so much of it swirling inside and if I don't write it, no one will ever have a chance to see this world.

This weekend, I've decided to re-plot and re-write this story. Maybe 13 isn't such an unlucky number because, right now, I feel I need to write this.

You know when words become jumbled and incoherent in your head..that's the moment when you need to do something else. For the past few weeks I've been immersed in proposals, editing, and all that other stuff...and finally I collapsed from writing overload. If that's possible.

So, being the obsessed individual that I am, I channeled all my creativity into web design. Granted, it was for my new writing persona, but I thought it would be a nice outlet. WRONG. Nothing is more frustrating than coding that doesn't want to cooperate. It's more than that. A designer has to look at the overall design of the website, then they have to place it in such a way that the text won't looked jacked up, and the images are all in place. Sometimes the look can be simplistic and slick, but the final product will show all the mistakes...which basically means you're SOL and it's back to the beginning. Yes, it totally sucks because you have to link up every little piece and re-do all the coding all over again!!!!! Now, this is day three and I finished the site but it's not going to be revealed. Why? Because I wanted to create the product before I populated it with work...so, basically, the preliminaries are done and all I need to do is fill in the blank when I actually sell. Smart, non? Maybe. Maybe not. In a few months I'll know if it needs to be scrapped and re-designed, because knowing me, I am a total perfectionist...it's not easy being annoyed with yourself when you need to play nice...otherwise, I may not finish what I've started...

Yes, I know, I need to write...GOING!

I'm an impatient person. I like to get things done and I hate waiting. It's a good trait and a bad one, but the intentions are good. I've decided that I have way too many projects to do and I need to evaluate what I need to do first. So, I've got a brilliant idea to make a list. Yes, I do still schedule my time but scheduling is much easier than prioritizing. You see, I love all my projects. The difficult part is to figure out which story I want to keep working on. I'm getting pretty savvy with the proposals but I haven't completed a manuscript in what feels like eons. Not a good thing for a writer. I tried doing a short novella just to get something finished but I find ways to not finish. Maybe that's why proposals are so easy. I'm only writing 50 pages of the book, synopsis and blurb. For most people, it's excruciating. For me, I've learned to perpetually stay enthused about my projects. Selling the proposals will force me to finish each and every project...otherwise, I'll never have a career in writing again... Well, as I wait...along with most of my friends about their projects...I think I'll try to finish something. Anything.

Speaking of lists..CONGRATULATIONS LARISSA IONE for hitting the USA Today Bestseller List!

Oh, stop by HOOKED because Joyfully Reviewed is visiting today!

I've been preoccupied with life lately, so I thought I'd spend yesterday watching movies to get my mind off of things. Maybe provide me with some much needed inspiration. I had six movies to choose from, and wouldn't you know it, I popped in The Secret Life of Bees.

First off, have a box of kleenex ready. It's one of those tearjerkers that will leave you thinking....Overall, this was such an amazing movie with a really talented cast. Dakota Fanning is so convincing you just want to snatch her up and adopt her! I'll admit, I've been wanting to read the book by Sue Monk Kidd for a while now, but never had the time to sit down to do it. I'm glad I ended up watching the movie adaptation because nothing breathes life into a story more than a well-developed screenplay. I could go into a whole review of the movie, but I will just provide the blurb below.

What I will talk about today is the actual storytelling. As a writer, you want to write something that touches you on every level and this story did it for me. You've got this wounded heroine, Lily Owens, and her quest to find out this secret that's been haunting her for ten years. You can't help feeling this girl's pain and the adult-like effort she makes to understand what's happened in her life. She's one of those strong characters that makes you wish that you had the same optimism. It's also about accepting people for who they are. This was a story set against the beginning of the equal rights movement, including the power for blacks to vote. What I found particularly inspiring was Lily's ability to see past hate and color even though she had lived a hard life that would have impacted her views as an adult. The entire feel of the movie made you proud that we've overcome such horrible times and that today, we are accepting of others differences and making the effort to understand and explore the beauty of diversity. There is one pivotal scene in the entire movie that really stuck with me. Lily speaks to her friend and her first crush, who happens to be a young black male, that has just returned from a terrifying ordeal with a run in with local racists. These men pulled him out of a movie theater and beat him up when they realized he had gone with Lily. During this touching moment in which he is filled with anger and hate, Lily reminds him that he should not be like those men. That he should not let the hate eat him up or they have succeeded in changing him. Okay, so it's really bad paraphrasing on my part, but it was so beautifully written that you couldn't help but weep.

Well, what does that scene have to do with writers? With us? It made a lot of sense to me and I chose to interpret it my writerly way: Even in the most terrible of situations, a person must remember who they are and where they came from. A writer must find strength to be optimistic and believe in themselves and what is right. If we allow ourselves to give into rejection, give into those who are bitter from fear of failure, those who would most likely see us fail than succeed--we are allowing others too much power over who we are. Who we should be. As writers, it's easy to quit. It's easy to say, 'Hey, at least I tried.' By giving in, you're following the same path that will destroy your dreams without giving it a good shot. I've been in that place where I would have easily given in and taken a stable career that would have paid the bills, but I elected to follow my passions..and someday, I will make the list. Someday someone will read my books and my words will have impacted them. We have the ability to leave messages within our stories--our legacy. There's always a meaning within a meaning to my own writing and if, someday, one person figures out the message I've left behind: I have succeeded.


The Secret Life Of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her harsh, unyielding father, Lily Owens has shaped her entire life around one devastating, blurred memory--the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her only real companion has been the fierce-hearted, and sometimes just fierce, black woman Rosaleen, who acts as her "stand-in mother."

When Rosaleen insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily knows it's time to spring them both free. They take off in the only direction Lily can think of, toward a town called Tiburon, South Carolina--a name she found on the back of a picture amid the few possessions left by her mother.

There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters named May, June, and August. Lily thinks of them as the calendar sisters and enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey, and of the Black Madonna who presides over this household of strong, wise women. Maternal loss and betrayal, guilt and forgiveness entwine in a story that leads Lily to the single thing her heart longs for most.

The Secret Life of Bees has a rare wisdom about life--about mothers and daughters and the women in our lives who become our true mothers. A remarkable story about the divine power of women and the transforming power of love, this is a stunning debut whose rich, assured, irresistible voice gathers us up and doesn't let go, not for a moment. It is the kind of novel that women share with each other and that mothers will hand down to their daughters for years to come.