Jax's Artistic Journey...

What have I been up to, you ask? A heck of a lot, actually... I've been trying to catch up on web work since my trip. I've even spent way too many hours integrating my "old school" website into a WordPress and I've been obsessed with learning...shocking, I know! It's time I keep up with technology if I want to stay in the game and honestly, I wish I had put aside more time in the past to study all these things which would have saved me a lot of work. Well, now I know and I'm basically cramming info in order to get up to speed. The cons of the insatiable desire to learn is sleepless nights and plenty of caffeine pumping through my veins....gosh, I can fully admit I have issues. I guess I operate better when I am taken over by the weird obsessiveness. It absolutely thrills me and I find confidence in being able to succeed at the difficult tasks. Silly, but I kind of feel smart. I guess it's the inner geek in me and I've always embraced that. Now--if only I poured the same amount of hours into my writing, I would be a happy camper.

Believe it or not, I've created a writing log and I've decided to use the accountability method starting tomorrow. If I can force myself to produce 5 pages a day, I'll be done before I know it. It takes a good break to get you all revved up to write again. Yes, I've decided that I will get this proposal (which my agent is anxiously awaiting) within the next two weeks. It's going to be tough but it's now sink or swim time and I would love to hear news of some NY contract before the year is out. If I can only get the hot little pages into her eager hands! Through all the ups and downs of the past year, I must praise my agent who is the most amazing woman in the world! She's patient, kind, generous--the cheering crowd I need most during these crazy time. She's a great mentor and I truly, deeply respect her...but most of all, I love the fact that she believes in me and my work so I think that sealed the loyalty deal! Yep...I've got a lot riding on this project and so I must finally step away from everything else for a few weeks and focus, focus, focus....

On another note...my dear friend Crystal has a new release. You should totally get it because she writes good stuff!

"Naughty or Nice" in Under the Covers anthology, by Crystal Jordan

Dayna Sharp has the perfect job, the perfect man…the perfect life. So why is the prospect of marrying Mr. Wonderful so perfectly boring? It’s a question Dayna can’t shake when she brings her fiance home to meet her spectacularly un-boring family–and finds herself pursued by a bad-boy bearing gifts that could burn a hole in more than her Christmas stocking…

Read an excerpt here!

Now I write!

I woke up this morning bundled up since it's been chilly the last few days. Thank goodness for my reliable Keurig coffee maker that makes the perfect cup every time or else I'd be a zombie.

I've really been trying to fight not learning Wordpress better but I've decided to cave in because I like the prospect of just designing a website my clients can maintain themselves. Of course, there's always a few who will still require my services but I'm happy to do it because I get paid the maintenance fee. Yes, always the business woman. So I've recently been obsessed with learning the CSS and generating a webpage from scratch. I bought an eBook that teaches me how to type in all the content based on my vision. I'm only a couple of chapters in but I'm learning a lot. It's going to require a lot of patience but I hope to be able to produce economical websites for people that I can churn out faster. I totally idolize a few of the designers out there for their artistic and design abilities. I would love to be Frauke at CrocoDesigns because I'm in awe of her talents. My friend at Austin Design Works is pretty good too. When I couldn't take on clients I used to refer them because I'd rather send folks to someone I know would do a good job. I think it's professional courtesy and because if someone's good, they should be mentioned. :)

Hummm...If I had stayed in the graphic design field in college instead of going into journalism, I'd probably be pretty good at--however, I tend to get distracted--hence, I went in the direction of creative writing. It isn't as stressful for me to write because story ideas flow naturally in my head. I'm more troubled by my inability to get on a regular schedule these days. When I'm disciplined, I'm really really good. But when I am lazy--er, preoccupied--I tend to let it drag on...which is not a good idea. These days my distractions are in the form of purchasing writing craft and motivational books that I may never crack open. I'm so weird that way and can't help loving books! I read an interesting blog post on Romancing The Blog about an author/reader who can't get into reading books they would normally have snatched up. I've been going through the same thing for the past 2 years...I can't recall the last book I've finished. I buy all my friend's books when I can afford it, but I mostly skimmed through them. I'm so bad about the attention problem because I think I should be working instead of reading...perhaps everything that's happening in the world has subconsciously affected me.

Okay, I plan on writing at least a few pages today so I better get my butt in gear or else I won't have anything to hand over to my agent. Not a wise idea. :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I know I'll be spending it...writing.

© Photo !ZEROsilencer

I have a personal photographer. Chandler's my 15-year-old niece who is extremely talented! Every time I come home for a visit she does new headshots of me. This time around, it was rather rushed so I wasn't able to get all the shots we needed. Luckily, we found a swampy part in our neighborhood that was a great backdrop if I had attempted to do some gothic-type look. I think I had a dozen mosquito bites from that day and swelled up due to an allergic reaction. I was praying not to get some kind of foul disease because of those pesky bugs. Yes, I made it alive but it took a few days to heal. Anyway, I'm always impressed by how the younger generation is embracing their passions. All of her friends are SO talented and fashionable. It's amazing to see how savvy they are. Although Chandler is an artsy teenager, she's uber smart and she's been clocking college credits for an early graduation ever since I can remember. I love her drive, it reminds me of, well, me. :) We've always gotten along because of our creative streaks and I hope someday we'll get to work together on business ventures. Hopefully sooner than later...

Okay, out of all of the pics from that day shoot, these were the three I liked the most. I'm really picky about my smile, heck, with my entire expression and poses... When it came down to it, I think if I had fixed my hair and chosen a different wardrobe, I would have really liked them better but it's all trial and error. That's what I get for having her fix my hair. LOL











What do you think? Which one do you like best?

Mr. Right decided to celebrate my birthday. We started out with sleeping in, then lattes at Starbucks and onto the Angelika Theatre where they showcase indie movies. I was thrilled to be able to see THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE documentary about Vogue and Anna Wintours. I'm a big fashion geek. I love clothes, watching fashion shows, and just daydreaming about my perfect collection if I were a designer so it was fun to watch a movie I know Mr. Right can appreciate. After all, he started out in fashion design school but along the way he decided to get his Fine Arts degree instead. He's so creative and because of this, he's very supportive of everything I do. Sometimes you just need that hand to hold, the reassurance that I can do and be anything I want to be. Mr. Right's a good balance in my life because he's the rational and responsible one, while I'm the compulsive/impulsive one. Our relationship is built on friendship and laughter. That's why it's so important for me to make compromises and push forward even when I don't want to. He's truly my anchor...

I must admit, last night Mr. Right made me weepy. After picking me up at the airport and grabbing dinner, I came home to a wall-sized present with a big red bow. Once he unwrapped it, I was speechless...

See that painting above? Mr. Right painted it for me while I was away. He wanted me to have something I'd always remember. This abstract painting is so beautiful and amazing that I'm wondering how he's going to top this next year. Yep, that's my portrait...it's from an author photo I use for almost all my promotional efforts. He did it free hand and I get all warm and fuzzy just looking at it. It's going to be the first painting he'd have to hang in my office and just the thought of it makes me so happy. Every day I'm amazed by his thoughtfulness and as I think about the future...I'm excited about what it holds for us.

I can't believe I'm packing again! I'm certainly taking back more than I brought and still a little miffed the skycap overcharged me on my luggage...and I even gave him a good tip! :( Didn't find out until after I had arrived here but now I know to ask what the prices are. Anywoo, it's a hot Sunday and I've got so much to do. I'm ready to sleep in my own bed because with all the kids trying to sleep in my room, I often find myself on the floor. Sigh. It's always difficult to leave when your parents are giving you the guilt trip. They'd love to see me move back but I personally want to try out different cities. The US has so many gorgeous cities and full of unexpected goodness. I hope Mr. Right finds a job that will take us up north. Always wanted to live in the northern states so hopefully we'll get the opportunity to. In the meantime, I'm not looking forward to all the work that awaits me back home. I figure I'd take a day to decompress and then jump right in. After all, I have goals to meet if I'm to sell my paranormal...

**BREAKING NEWS**

Kelly L Stone, the author of TIME TO WRITE, recently interviewed me for her second book for aspiring writers. The book is called THINKING WRITE: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, and it's about how to use the power of your subconscious mind to maximize your creative output and attain all of your writing aspirations. It even comes with a CD with 4 meditations for writers, including one on how to give the perfect pitch to an agent or editor.

Apparently the book was in such demand that her publisher released it early! Go check it out, I know I will :) I feel so proud that my quote will be included along with a lot of other successful and talented authors. It's one of those SQUEE moments

Since I'm not going to have any releases coming out soon, I'm wondering what kind of freebies people enjoy to keep the author fresh on their mind...




1. Free books
2. Free reads
3. Free excerpts
4. Free jewelry
5. Free chocolates

Heck, does anyone ever download my free reads? I'm just curious. I've been pretty busy the last few months but I'm running out of ideas to make my blog more entertaining. I have 23 AWESOME followers but there hasn't been a spike and wondering if there are more lurkers than those wanting to follow me.

Basically, what's the best way to entertain you people? Should I get some celebrity interviews or somethin'? I must think about how to liven up this place.

Let's get the party started.

Between hospital stays, hyper kids, and lack of sleep...I am finding no time to sneak off to write.

I miss my muse. She has decided to take a brief vacay while I am struggling to get back into the zone. It seems that she has been annoyed by my love of watching video streaming of my favorite shows and the constant need to run to Taco Bell for a strawberry Frutista. What can I say, it's hot as heck and I deserve the sugar?!!! I miss my bed. I miss Mr. Right. I miss the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I stay up late and get up at 6:00 AM with the rest of the kids who have a habit of sneaking into my room as if I needed to be woken up. Gotta love the little ones.

At least I'm able to catch up on movie rentals and tv shows. Has anyone seen the new Melrose Place? I don't know if I like these studios re-doing beloved shows but I will give it a go. However, I will say I like The Vampire Diaries so far. The writing was a lot better than I expected. Man, the CW is all over the teenage demographic. I'm curious to see if they can stretch out the love affair between the h/h. I'm watching as many shows as I can during the late night hours because once I get home...there will be no tv time again. Oh...did I mention my family got me hooked on Farmville on Facebook? It is the coolest thing but I'm sure I'll grow bored in a few weeks. Everything's a phase for me during the lull.

Well, mom is home from the hospital and I need to go see if she needs anything...I am glad I have this time to be with her. Glad she's finally home!

It was just another day. I didn't get much sleep last night and spent time editing my pages and adding a page and a half. I left the hospital around 1:00 PM and did some errands. Still doing renovations and can't believe I'm making such progress. In between lack of sleep, recovering from a cold daze, and all the manual labor...I'm doing pretty good.

I celebrated today 09.09.09 with lattes and leftovers in the fridge. For my big dinner at 8:00 PM I had drive-through chicken tenders and a coke that I took with me to the hospital. No going out and dressing all fancy--just trying to make it through another day. I know when I get back from the Sunshine State I'll be celebrating my belated B-day with Mr. Right. He's got something special planned and I will be able to sleep in for a few days. That is really going to be the best birthday present ever!

I'm definitely exhausted but starting to feel positive about my current project. Now all I have to do is be able to stay focused and awake long enough to write it. Truthfully, best case scenario is being able to doze off without the beeping of the monitor keeping me up! :) Okay folks, I'm going to wrap up the day by watching full episodes of Top Chef that I've been missing...and whatever else I can find online because I haven't had TV time in a long while...........I'm outtie.

I've been able to spend some time with my family these last few days and it's always a bit chaotic--never a dull moment. Well, mom goes in for surgery early tomorrow morning and then I'll definitely be out-of-pocket for a while. I had planned on staying at the hospital but now need to recuperate because I've managed to catch a small cold. Sniffling, sneezing, stuffy head...all the usual symptoms but I'm making an effort pitch in around the house. Even in my drug induced state I decided to help with home renovations. My parents have lived in this house for over a decade and it's in dire need of home improvements. Being the OCD personality that I am, I decided to spend the day cleaning, scraping, and re-sealing/re-grouting the bathroom. I have plans to finish the paint job my sister started and then paint the door to give it a fresh look. Tomorrow I'm re-designing the living room and hopefully it'll be a pleasant surprise before mom comes home. I wanted it to be a calming and refreshing place for her to hang out when she has to do her round of intense physical therapy. If I have time I'll try to make my way through the rest of the house, otherwise it's at least a good starting point for my siblings. Yes, I should be resting but I feel like there's too much to do. Blame it on HGTV and their darn home renovation shows. I've had the itch to do some manual labor ever since I got hooked on them. It's kind of empowering. Hopefully the cold is really an allergy attack and then I'll be able to be with my mother through the recovery process at the hospital.

Before I kick back and relax...so I wanted to give a shout out to one of my best girl friend's...HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA! Wish I was there celebrating with you just like old times!