Jerks & Irks XLII: The Unglamorous Side of Writing

Posted on June 17, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

I’m sure you all know by now that the prelude novella to my Blood for Blood Series, Blood in the Past, will be released Wednesday. What you don’t know is why my eye has been twitching for the last nine days. It’s because of the unglamorous side of writing. It’s nothing short of awesome-rockets to create characters, write a plot around them, and see it through to “The End.” But the end is slow going. When I received my final polished copy from Cassie at Red Adept, I thought it would be smooth sailing until release day. It was not.

Following the editing process, Blood in the Past was sent to a proofreader. After I received my manuscript back from the proofreader, I didn’t entirely trust their work (equal parts perfectionism, paranoia, and the proofreader herself had made a few errors), so I had to read my story three more times. The reading and re-reading and re-re-reading of your own work is tiresome. That in itself is eye-twitch-worthy.
With the novella fully polished, I thought it was a good time to type up the front- and back-matter. Table of Contents. Dedication. Acknowledgments. About the Author. Contact the Author. Copyright. Agh! I bet your eyes are twitching just reading that list. Then I had to read everything over. Again and again. Typos? Spacing? Thanked everyone? Copyright page scary enough? Tres un-glam.
Once satisfied with my edited and proofread copy, I copy-and-pasted all the components of the front- and back-matter, then I hired Karen Perkins at LionheART to format the it for Kindle. When she was done–you guessed it–I had to read it through a couple more times, this time from my Kindle. I only found a couple of errors and they might have been my doing. But Karen was very patient with me and we corresponded via email for hours until I was happy.
Whoops, I forgot a step. See how scatter-brained I am? Before I sent Blood in the Past to LionheART, I purchased a gaggle of ISBN numbers from Bowker. I know what you’re gonna say: Amazon provides the ISBN for you. And you’re right…if you want the publisher to be listed as Amazon. I registered my own publishing company, remember? (Blood Read Press) Therefore I needed my own ISBNs. Purchasing them was pretty easy. Assigning one to my novella was a pain in the pin-cushion.There are so many QUESTIONS! Agh! A few of which I didn’t even know the answers to. Thankfully, not all the questions required an answer to continue. But seriously, that took me about two hours.

I still have yet to formally apply for a copyright, but I guess that’s for a different post. Tonight, I’ll attempt to upload Blood in the Past to Amazon. Why so early? To ensure I don’t screw it up and have to delay my release date. Duh. Wish me luck guys. I’m gonna need it.

But in all honesty, it is pretty damn cool to look at your own book on your Kindle.

What I Learned From My Editor

Posted on June 5, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

You knew it was coming. The obligatory “my work has been edited, my editor was invaluable, this is what I learned, you wish you had an editor like mine” post.

Blood in the Past was sent to Red Adept Publishing for a deluxe line edit a couple of weeks ago. Oooh, deluxe! I know, right? That means my lovely editor and I go back and forth like a see-saw until the manuscript is perfect. Then we send it off to a proofreader for good measure.

It didn’t take Cassie (hope she doesn’t mind me using her real name) very long to edit BITP, as it’s a novella, not a full-length novel. I received all of her corrections in Word’s Track Changes in about a week. And with that handy-dandy deluxe package comes a separate document with some general points that the editor noticed about your writing style. So, without further delay, here’s what a learned from the fabulous Cassie:

I do things for effect, but I do them too frequently so that the effect is for naught. Such as one-line paragraphs and sentence fragments.
I use present tense words like now, these, this, etc even though I write in past tense.
I don’t use enough contractions. (I blame my mother for that one. She wasn’t a fan of contractions. She even tried to use Eddie Murphy’s character in Coming to America to prove that the English language is better without them. What can I say? It stuck.)
I often segue into sentences like I’m writing a sixth grade paper. Yet, Instead, But, etc.
I use began to and started to like it’s my job. Cassie pointed out that it is not, in fact, my job.
My timeline was a little jacked up because I underestimated the time it would take to complete an arson investigation. None of my betas caught that, so that was a HUGE gaffe that I’m glad she brought to my attention.
And finally (this one cut me deep), I have the tendency to “wax poetic.” ~Le sigh~ Cassie did go on to say that my “technical writing is beautiful,” but I need to remember that my characters aren’t all kooky literary professors whose inner dialogue would be so verbose. Oopsie.

All in all, my time with Cassie will be remembered fondly. We cut things that shouldn’t be there. We added things that should. We compromised on a few points. She let me have my way on a few other points. And we bonded over the movie Bringin’ Down the House.

Wait, what?

Here’s what happened. She made a comment that one of my characters had taken kick-boxing classes and thus would be a worthy adversary for another character. I pointed out that it wasn’t MMA-quality training. It was like in Bringin’ Down the House, when Queen Latifah gets into that fight with the Country Club Chick, who says she takes Tai-bo. Country Club Chick then goes on to get her ass beat. Turns out, Cassie LOVES that movie (capital letters were her own, not mine.) So, for my character, the kick-boxing classes, were just for cardio. Sure, you learn a few general movements, but not enough to ward off a larger woman wielding a chef’s knife. Oh dear, I’ve said too much…

Blood in the Past. Available June 19th on Amazon. Ebook Only for this one. Sorry.

Jerks & Irks XXXIX: My Death is Surely in the Details

Posted on May 20, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

With my novella, Blood in the Past off to the editor for the next few days, I’ve had a lot to think about…Like the most annoying part of the writing process (at least for this series): RESEARCH.

I had to research all sorts of little details that I didn’t think would really make a real difference, but that I wanted to get right nonetheless. What sort of hours do police officers work? When do their shifts begin and end? Was the Franklin Institute (a Philadelphia Museum) around in 2002? When was it last renovated? How are law enforcement funerals handled? What songs are usually played? Can a person shoot themselves in the head and have the bullet circumvent their actual brain? What kind of minimal damage would still occur? How does a hospital’s pharmacy department operate?

Blah, blah, blah.

The most irksome part though? My sources ending their very detailed answers and explanations with “But every precinct/hospital/case is different.”

UGH!!!

My Blood for Blood Series takes place in a real city, Philadelphia, and many scenes took place in a real hospital, University of Pennsylvania Hospital. My sources’ information, however useful, was more generalized. So what’s an author to do?

Well, there’s not much I could do about the Philadelphia police department. It is what it is, ya know. (But I definitely plan on befriending a Philly cop during the revisions of Blood in the Paint.) The hospital, however, I could do something about. I changed it to a fictitious one. New name: West Philadelphia General Hospital. West Philly Gen, for short. The changes weren’t too extensive, so I was able to do them at the last minute before Blood in the Past went to the editor. Luckily for me, when I googled “West Philly Gen” I found that there was a “Philadelphia General” from 1919-1977 in virtually the SAME area as present-day UPENN Hospital! So, of course, I threw that in the narrative, to add a touch of realism to the setting.

Problem solved!

So what do you guys think? Is a fictitious hospital (or any organization) the way to go over a real-life one? Weigh-in in the comments section!

Oh, and one more thing! Those that are signed up for my mailing list will receive an exclusive peek at the first chapter of Blood in the Past, as soon as it’s edited! If you haven’t joined yet, what are you waiting for? Click Here!

It’s HERE! Blood in the Past COVER REVEAL!

Posted on May 8, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

Squeeee!

I have waited a long time for this. A lot of days, weeks, and months have gone by while I whipped my novella into tip-top shape. And now it’s finally close enough to being released that I can reveal the beautiful cover Kit Foster of www.kitfosterdesign.com has created for me.

I know you can’t wait any longer, so here it is:

BLURB: Jllian Atford falls for an older man, a handsome Philadelphia cop, whose mystery is that he’s married, a reality Jillian refuses to accept. Lyla Kyle finds her mother dead on the floor from an apparent suicide. She blames her philandering father and wastes no time taking her revenge. Detective Jason Brighthouse Sr. is in the wrong place at the right time to attempt to save a colleague from his burning home. When neither of them make it out alive, his teenage son can only harp on their last argument. He shoots himself in the head…with his father’s gun.

Three lives. Three deaths. One story.

To understand the future, you must visit the past.

The Blood in the Past.

Coming this June from Blood Read Press.

The Lifeblood of the Supporting Cast

Posted on May 1, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

Throughout the month of April I ~~boasted~~ posted about the main characters in Blood in the Past, Jillian, Brighthouse, and Lyla. But what’s a story without its supporting cast? What’s Lord of the Rings without Meriadoc and Pippin? Not that Blood in the Past is on the scale of Lord of the Rings, but still. Take a look at my supporting cast:

Mel. Jillian Atford’s roommate. Short black hair in a funky, angular cut across her eyes. Dark eye makeup. Tough attitude. But really she’s from a small town in Ohio. And when she and Jillian are victimized, Mel’s vulnerability is apparent. Jillian and Mel were never really close, other than living in close quarters, but after the incident a budding friendship forms. And since Jillian has no one else, she turns to Mel when she has to.
Susannah. Lyla’s mother. Beautiful nordic features. Long, golden hair. She’s sick of her husband’s infidelity, but she deals with it. Until she doesn’t.
LeeAnn. Lyla’s aunt on her father’s side. LeeAnn is an Associate Medical Examiner. Petite, pale, dry demeanor. The opposite of her charming, charismatic brother. And very suspicious of Lyla. But there’s nothing she can do about it. Her boss is retiring and refuses to hear any of her theories. So she waits. (Blood in the Paint, anyone?)
CJ. Lyla’s friend at UPENN hospital. They shared classes as undergrads and after she became a resident physician, he took a position in the pharmacy department. He longs for her in a way Lyla can’t ignore, but does.

There are a few other characters, but they don’t stick around very long, if you know what I mean. One day down the line I plan on writing individual short stories for these sub-characters. They will only be available to those on my mailing list. That’s just one of the perks to signing up, so make sure you add your email address soon! (Don’t worry, I won’t bombard you with crap. You’ll probably receive half a dozen emails a year at most.)

And now for my BIG announcement!

The date of my COVER REVEAL for Blood in the Past is almost upon us!

Check in on MAY 8th, 2013 to get the first peek! (And if anyone would like to help spread the word, please contact me. I’ll be scheduling interviews and guest posts throughout the month of May.)

Why Lyla Kyle? A Character Focus

Posted on April 18, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

On Thursdays and Fridays this month, I’ll be posting about the characters in my upcoming novella, Blood in the Past. Hopefully this will lead up to the cover reveal and the end-of-May-release, but I’m not a fortune-teller. Here’s hoping…

This particular pic of Catherine Zeta-Jones couldn’t be a more perfect Lyla.

This week’s character is Lyla Kyle. She is my main-MAIN character. My antagonist/protagonist (depending on who the reader decides to root for). Lyla’s is the third story told in Blood in the Past. How did I choose her name? Honestly, Season 2 of Dexter was fresh in my mind and the antagonist of that season was named Lila (I just found out it was spelled differently from my character a second ago when I checked IMDB). I loved that name. So I started writing a character profile. I decided she would be psychologically damaged by something that happened with her parents. Infidelity with grave consequences. As a result, she would start seducing married men and killing them. The name “Delilah” came to mind. Biblically: a betrayer. Definition: seductive and wily temptress. PERFECT, right? But “Delilah” was a little too perfect. So I shortened the name to Lyla. And threw in that “y” for fun. I don’t have any fun anecdotes for her last name. Lyla Kyle just came to me and rolled of the tongue nicely.

Last week we learned about Jason Brighthouse Jr. The week before that we had a peek at Jillian Atford. Where does Lyla Kyle fit in? EVERYWHERE. She’s tied to the BOTH of them! How? I can’t tell you that. Sorry. All I can say is consequences, consequences, consequences. You guys are really gonna wanna read Blood in the Past. It’ll answer all these burning questions you have!

Jason Brighthouse & Me

Posted on April 12, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

Yesterday I posted the second in a series of character profiles from my upcoming novella, Blood in the Past. This week’s focus is on Jason Brighthouse Jr, a grief-stricken young man and soon-to-be-cop trying to fill his father’s shoes. I like to think as authors we all give our characters snippets of our own personalities. I’m not saying I’m an over-ambitious cop, but there are a few similarities.

Brighthouse lost his father and almost couldn’t put the pieces of his life back together. The situations between his loss and my own are different, of course, but I’m sure the grief is pretty similar.
In his youth, Brighthouse makes rash decisions. Don’t worry, he outgrows this in the full-length novel, Blood in the Paint, and I’ve already outgrown it. Well, we’ve sort of outgrown it…
Sometimes his rash decisions are just a product of his good instincts. When Hubby-pants and I watch TV and movies and I say right off the bat that I don’t like a character, 9 times out of 10, that character is the bad guy. We joke that in an end-of-the-world situation, I’m allowed to shoot anyone I don’t like. We’ll save ourselves a lot of trouble that way. For the most part, Brighthouse doesn’t go around shooting people without evidence later in the series. But nobody said anything about arresting them…
Brighthouse overcomes a great moment of weakness, the ramifications of which he’ll deal with for the rest of his life, in secret. Again, different situations, same emotions.

Ready for a smidgen of Brighthouse-ness? Here ya go:

He turned to leave, but a sharp thwack startled him, followed by the scattering of broken glass. Jason knew the source without turning around; next to the wedding picture his mother stared at stood another framed photo of a recent family camping trip. In the photo his father tended to a roaring, red fire. Jason turned to find the picture gone from the mantle, as he expected. He shifted his gaze to his mother. The image had overwhelmed her. He understood. Even the mere memory of the photo stirred emotions within him, as he was unwilling to associate his father with any kind of fire anymore. Despite empathizing with his mother, he resisted the urge to support her and left, trekking upstairs and harping on the last conversation he and his father had.

Why Jason Brighthouse? A Character Profile

Posted on April 11, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt would make a perfect Jason Brighthouse Jr.

This week’s character is Jason Brighthouse Jr. His is the second story told in Blood in the Past. How did I choose his name? Hmmm. I knew I wanted him to be ambitious, intelligent, with great instincts. I wanted him to shed light on cases that stumped other cops. I wanted his name to reflect these traits. I decided on Brighthouse as his last name. Why the last name before the first name? Because cops are usually addressed by their surnames. As for his first name, Jason was the leader of the Argonauts in Greek Mythology. Who better to have as your lead investigator, right? And yes, he’s a junior. He takes after his father in more ways than just sharing a name. Tragic story, really. You’ll see.

Last week we learned about Jillian Atford, the psychologist and former foster child who just wants to be loved–at whatever cost. How does Brighthouse fit in? Well, in my full-length novel, Blood in the Paint, he first meets Jillian after an off-duty officer-involved shooting, when he’s mandated to see Jillian before he can return to active duty. What he doesn’t know, is Jillian’s actions years ago may have affected his own life in a very major way. How? You’ll have to find out by reading Jillian and Jason’s stories in my upcoming novella, Blood in the Past. (You had to have known that was coming.)

Jillian Atford and Me

Posted on April 5, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

Yesterday I posted the first in a series of character profiles from my upcoming novella, Blood in the Past. This week’s focus is on Jillian Atford, psychology grad student by day, obsessive crazy-person by night. I like to think as authors we all give our characters snippets of our own personalities. I’m not saying I’m a ‘crazy-person by night,’ but there are a few similarities.

Jillian was mugged. Most of that scene is based on my own experience. Also, she comments to her roommate, “It’s going to be hard to walk with someone behind you for a while, but you’ll get over it.” I still haven’t gotten over it.
Jillian fidgets with her hands when she’s nervous. So do I. And I twirl and braid my hair, too.
Jillian has few people she can confide in. I only really talk to Hubby-pants. To the rest of the people who know me, I’m a glacier, so much is beneath the surface.
Jillian moved around a lot as a child, as did I. But I was not a foster child.
Jillian majored in Psychology in order to find out why people do the things they do. That’s the exact reason why I minored in it.

Ready for a Jillian-laden excerpt? Here we go:

The diamond-studded ceiling above them gleamed with the display of the stars and planets visible from this exact point on Earth, during this exact time of year. The generous air-conditioning [of the Planetarium] sent a crawling shiver over Jillian’s bare arms. Calvin noticed and curled an arm around her. What am I doing here, she wondered, suddenly glad she sat to his right, his wedding ring out of sight for the moment. This was their first date and Jillian had no idea how to feel. The way he looked at her, listened to her. She admitted the feeling of being wanted flustered her. She had gone unwanted for far too long, her entire life even. Her father left her pregnant mother. Her mother left her as an infant. Not to mention every household thereafter. Don’t I deserve this?

Why Jillian Atford? A Character Study

Posted on April 4, 2013 by journeyofjordannaeast

On Thursdays and Fridays this month, I’ll be posting about the characters in my upcoming novella, Blood in the Past. Hopefully this will lead up to the cover reveal and the end-of-april-release, but I’m not a fortune-teller. Here’s hoping…

I’d cast Gabrielle Union as Jillian.

The first character I’m going to chat about is Jillian Atford. Hers is the opening story told in Blood in the Past. How did I choose her name? That’s easy. ‘Jillian’ was the first name of my childhood best friend. When I started writing the first full-length novel of the series, Blood in the Paint, I named a character after her and she was also the first to read the chapters I’d written. Boy, was she was objective! But more on real-life Jillian’s comments later, in the post pertaining to Lyla, my main character.

That was years ago. Sadly, in 2009, real-life Jillian and I had a falling out. We never spoke again. Then she died in December 2011. I was devastated. All the things that were never said, the hatchet that was never buried, the water that never ran peacefully under the bridge. I still dream about her. That’s why in January 2012, I decided to finish Blood in the Paint and pursue a writing career head-on.

There are many similarities between real-life Jillian and character-Jillian. Physically, they are both tall, brown-skinned women. I originally had them both going to the same college (Hampton University), but had to alter that due to a plot problem. The artwork in Jillian’s office is patterned after that found in the home of real-life Jillian’s parents. Additionally, and I’m not sure if real-life Jillian would approve of this part, character-Jillian had an affair with a married man. Yikes!

In Blood in the Past, Jillian is a young graduate student, majoring in Clinical Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. She was a foster child, so she is damaged and without strong personal relationships. When a married police officer shows her a little attention, she’s confused at first, caught in the turmoil between what’s wrong and what’s right. But eventually the fact the someone who already has a family, but still wants her, wins over Jillian’s conscience. As a foster child, she never had that–and she doesn’t want to let it go.

Learn more tomorrow!

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From Ava J. Easterby, the person, to Jordanna East, the author…

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