Thursday, December 31, 2009

The last day of the year!

Today is January 31st, and that means several things. Of course, it's the end of the year and a chance to make a new beginning. It's also the last day before LAFFN begins! If you haven't already set your goal, now is the time to do it!

Also, it's the last day to pre-order your copy of Bubba Goes National! Up until midnight tonight, the price is $13 including shipping and a bookmark. Starting tomorrow, shipping will be $2.50 per book (discounts for multiple books ordered) and $1.99 for the bookmark.

Happy New Year to all, and best of luck in keeping your New Years Resolutions!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

First advance review of Bubba Goes National

I can't believe I didn't post this here the day it went up, but I've received my first review of Bubba Goes National! Please visit Linda Ann Nickerson's blog--lots of interesting stuff for horse lovers, but she has several blogs on different subjects. She is a very prolific writer all over the web.

http://themanepoint.blogspot.com/2009/12/bubbas-book-is-coming-soon.html

Saturday, December 26, 2009

It's official: Let's All Finally Finish a Novel!

After talking it over with a couple of people, I've decided to go ahead with a special month for finishing a novel. I don't want to steal Chris Baty's deal, so we'll call it Let's All Finally Finish a Novel...or LAFFN. Clever, eh?

We'll do it a couple times per year, but let's gear up for the first one in January. Remember, the idea here is not to write a whole novel from scratch (like NaNoWriMo), but rather, take a novel you've already started and commit to FINISHING it by the end of January.

This can mean one of three things:

1) Pick up a novel you've started writing and actually finish writing the rough draft to the conclusion of the story.
2) Take a rough draft and rewrite it and prepare it for editing.
3) Take a prepared second draft and perfect it and edit it to being ready for submission (I realize it's not the same as writing one, but some people might need this, and the whole point is get get people moving forward, right?)

So... find a way to measure your successes... a goal meter, percentage of project, etc.

It's not about things being 'equal' for everyone, or to be a competition. It's about a personal goal and challenge to ourselves. It's about finishing something you started, and for some of us, that's really hard. It's about taking that next step toward being a published author. As with any challenge, it will be easier and harder for different folks. YOU decide!

All right, here we go...five days 'til LAFFN. What's your goal? Post it here! We also have a forum for it on the Accentuate Writers forum so we can all cheer each other on. Let's go!

My goal: finish the sequel to Bubba Goes National. I wrote 50k words of it during NaNo last year, so I probably have about 20k to go. Thats 646 words per day. Cake!

The year is winding down...

Just Six days left in 2009! I'd love to get one more Bubba Goes National fan and sell one more book for each day until midnight on New Year's Eve, when the pre-sale ends. Can I do it?

How About National Finish a Novel Month?

I've said I was going to do this ever since I started NaNoWriMo. Since a lot of us don't finish our novels during the actual month, and it's so common to start a book and never finish it, I thought it would be fun to have a month where we pick a manuscript that we've started somewhere along the way (doesn't have to be a nano) and finish the sucker. My vision for this is to work on a MS that actually needs writing to be done on it rather than just editing, and maybe have a National Novel Editing Month later.

Chris Baty is having a drive to finish your novel this year, taking the whole year to do it, but for me that's too long. I need the pressure of doing it in a month, and it's helpful to have people doing it with me. I'm thinking January or March, giving us time to recover from NaNo and the holidays, but giving us 31 days.

Thoughts?

Friday, December 25, 2009

It's OK to say Merry Christmas!

I'm going to take a little tangent from my writing musings to talk about something that really sticks in my craw. Someone told my mom, who works at a grocery store, that she shouldn't tell people Merry Christmas, because it might offend people (I love the fact that she refused to comply and said Merry Christmas to all of her customers).

This is not the first time I've heard this: people are so afraid of offending people that they are ashamed to say Merry Christmas. They say Happy Holidays instead...not that there's anything wrong with saying Happy Holidays, but if you're saying it because you're afraid of offending someone with Merry Christmas, that's just silly.

How is it offensive to wish someone a happy, joyous, merry whatever? What is wrong with inviting someone to enjoy a day, even if it isn't one that is celebrated by their religion? Perhaps it's easy for us Christians, because our holidays are celebrated widely. However, if I walked into a store, school, government building, restaurant, etc and it was decorated for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other holiday I don't celebrate, I would think it's neat. If someone wished me a Happy [insert holiday I don't celebrate], I wouldn't be offended--I would say thank you and return the greeting. I think it's sweet that someone wants to share the joy of their holiday with me.

If you are offended by this, you seriously need to think about why. Is it because it's not politically incorrect? Is it because someone told you you should be offended? Perhaps no one is really offended at all, but so many politically correct do-gooders thinking someone MIGHT be offended has created a problem that doesn't really exist.

I implore you, gentle readers: don't be afraid to be religious in public, no matter what that religion is, as long as you aren't harming anyone or anything (including not mocking or being derogatory toward other groups). Don't be afraid of offending someone with something that isn't offensive.

On the flip side, don't be offended because you think someone should be offended, but don't really have a good reason as to why. Don't be offended by someone else's religion, whether they're wishing it on you or not...just say thank you for the blessing or whatever it is and go on your way. Consider the intent behind the greeting and what it's all about.

OK? Can we do that?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Elements of the Soul bookmarks!

Bookmarks that coordinate with Elements of the Soul (the anthology in which I have two stories) are now available for order! Place your order today and get a copy of the book! http://twintrinitybooks.com/Elements-of-the-Soul-Bookmark-bm1.htm

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Press Release for Bubba Goes National

WINDSWEPT DESTINY PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES UPCOMING RELEASE OF BUBBA GOES NATIONAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jennifer Walker/Windswept Destiny Publishing Jennifer@authorjennwalker.com

Folsom, CA December 6, 2009 - Windswept Destiny Publishing, an imprint of Twin Trinity Media, announced today that the novel Bubba Goes National, by Jennifer Walker is due to be released in early January 2010. This is the debut novel by Walker, who has worked as a freelance writer and editor for several years.

Bubba Goes National is about 13-year-old Leslie Clark, who lives with her widowed father. She loves horses but he can’t afford them, so she works for a horse trainer to earn lessons. She saves up her money to buy her own horse and finds an Arabian gelding at a livestock auction, which she buys. Lucky, nicknamed Bubba by Leslie’s teasing father, had been cast off by his breeders but is a dream come true for Leslie. Together, they work their way to the Arabian horse National Championships.

Although Bubba Goes National was written for the 10 to 14-year-old market, it has appeal for horse lovers of all ages. Readers will learn a little about horse care and showing while reading a delightful story about working hard to make one’s dreams come true.

Michelle L. Devon, author and owner of Accentuate Services, says, “Bubba Goes National is a sweet story, but it also tackles some of the more difficult issues teens have to deal with these days, such as: death of a parent, competitive rivalry, overcoming tough obstacles, and working hard to earn something. It’s a story any teen girl who has ever dreamed of having her own horse will want to read, and horse-loving grownup girls will too!”

Bubba Goes National is available at a special pre-order price of $13.00 through December 2009, which includes shipping, handling and taxes. Orders can be placed at http://www.authorjennwalker.com/bubba.html.