Inspiration

Every so often, I take (mental) stock of the events that have transpired in my life over the months preceding said inventory, and sometimes the things I discover surprise me. For instance, I recently made the comment to someone that I had been to more "book things" in the past six months than I had in the past three years. It started with the launch of J.T.'s third standalone thriller in August and carried me through to the Murder in the Magic City conference I've been a big proponent of since 2003. That was in February. And it brought something home for me that has been quietly steeping on the back burner for six months.

Old friends. In my rather lengthy dissertation on the reappearance of my muse, I mentioned reconnecting with some of my old writer friends. I've been doing that quite a bit over the last six months. In listening to these friends talk about their latest books, their writing process, and where they're going next, I found myself thinking about the book (the one I left untouched for three years before digging it out of the laptop storage files, brushing it off and picking away at it) in much greater detail and with much greater enthusiasm than before. And it's finally happened. The epiphany, the aha moment, that tiny spark of an idea that changes the whole course of your story.

Now, granted, I thought this moment happened a long time ago. A very. LONG. Time ago. Apparently, I was wrong. But it's okay. I'm re-inventing myself. Again. And that's okay too.

Older and wiser. Today is my birthday. Bonus, it's Saturday. And since I've already cleaned the house this week (the WGH will expound ad nauseam on how I only clean when we're expecting company, and that happened Thursday), today I am free to do whatever I want. Two of our three Amazing Offspring will be here for dinner - which I am cooking myself, because, you know, I can - but I have a nearly full day ahead of me to write, watch basketball, write, do some laundry, watch more basketball (go BIG10), run to the store to get the stuff to make said birthday dinner, and, um, let's see ... oh yeah, write.

Hey, it's what I do.

Foster Puppy is happily gnawing on her chew-bone, the rest of the household is still quite asleep, and I need coffee. So until next time, have a great day, and read a book. It's good for you.

Good Reads on Goodreads

I have a bad habit of trying to get organized. I call it a bad habit because I'm really good at the trying part, not so great at the getting organized part. I think if I were truly organized I could manage to stay that way. But I'm not. Hence I am in a continual state of trying.

In the spirit of getting back into this writing thing, I undertook a massive project: I cleaned off my desk. I told the WGH I should've taken before and after pictures so that everyone would appreciate the magnitude of my accomplishment. The relative neatness that now graces the grossly underutilized but quite lovely piece of furniture unearthed one of the piles of paper I'd been hoarding, a printout of the ebooks I've bought from Amazon and a corresponding list of those books I've read this year as recorded on my Goodreads profile for the 2018 Reading Challenge.

When I don't keep track of things, I wind up rather surprised with myself at how much I've actually done. My original challenge to myself was 50 books. To date I have recorded reading 61. I will admit that most of these are ebooks, despite the fact that I have at least three times as many actual books sitting on my many bookshelves in the study, awaiting my return to some semblance of normalcy, wherein I aspire to sit in my recliner and read. The obvious reason for the plethora of electronic books on my list is that when I finish reading one on my Kindle it automatically updates Goodreads. It's a no-brainer, and lately my brain has needed all the help it can get.

I won't go into details about every single one of the 61 books currently on the list, but as this blog is at least partially devoted to the discussion of ... well, books ... I thought I should give you my impressions of at least some of them.

Grief is a Funny Thing, Parts 1 & 2

Grief is a Funny Thing, Part 1

It’s not about me. Somewhere in the mid-1990s, the contemporary Christian group DC Talk had a hit called In the Light. If you’ll allow me to paraphrase some of the lyrics from that song, I am the queen of excuses. I’ve got one for everything I do – or in this case, everything I don’t do. And I use them. A lot. Thus begins the litany of the “reasons” I haven’t been writing, REALLY writing, for over three years.

I keep trying to convince you (and perhaps myself) that it goes back to my mother’s death in the summer of 2015. But here’s the thing. It does, and it doesn’t.

Always Have a Book

So much for sleeping in, Saturday. It's always my goal to stay in bed a little later on Saturday mornings than I have to get up during the week to go to the day job. Sometimes I don't always achieve that goal. This morning, for instance. I woke up somewhere in the vicinity of 5:30 a.m. and could not for the life of me get my brain to shut off. I have quite the extensive to-do list today, and of course the minute I woke up I started thinking about everything I want/need to do and ... well, here we are. I decided to make good use of the time between the-sun-hasn't-come-up-yet and gotta-leave-for-the-office by putting to paper (er, screen) the things that have been on my mind - and the nightstand.

When Life Happens

Lemons, baseball, and other analogies. I learned to make lemonade a very long time ago, and it's really a good thing I did, because life has handed me a lot of lemons over the years. I've always been a glass-half-full kinda gal, anyway. Indomitable spirit and all that (thank You, LORD).

There have been times, however, when life has piled a rotten bunch of lemons on me so mountainous that it's been a little harder to claw my way back to the top. Hence my absence from the blogiverse these past 13 months.

I was about as close to the bottom of the ninth, three men on, two men out and full count as a person could get. No, I didn't hit a grand slam. By the grace of God, that last pitch came in "juuuust a bit outside" and I've been walking toward home ever since.

I know, the analogies are corny. It's kinda my thing.

2016 Book Reports (Issue #4)

This is my view, most mornings, from the kitchen table, where I like to sit with my coffee and my laptop and do this fun thing we call writing. When it's warm enough I open the windows a crack and enjoy the birdsong (and occasionally the dogbark). I have a study, but right now the place is in desperate need of some general housekeeping, i.e., there is stuff everywhere that needs to be sorted, organized, and either put or thrown away. One of these days I may get up the gumption to do just that. For now, I'm sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying the view, and posting my 2016 "A list".

2016 Book Reports (Issue #3)

Oh, so close. Or, you liked me; you really, really liked me! I was fortunate enough in 2016 to read a LOT of books that I really, really liked. Hence the A- category description. Of course, when you get into the top tier (A-, A, A+) there are so many fine-line distinctions between what makes a book "really good" and what makes it "fantastic" that sometimes it's a little difficult for me to decide which side of the line I'm falling on. I will say that the A+ books (for which you will have to be patient for only two posts longer) really did stand out for me, even as I read them, but we'll talk about that more in detail soon.

2016 Book Reports (Issue #2)

The B+ ("liked it a lot") lot. When I was introduced to BookBub I was pretty sure I'd found book lovers' paradise. I could get a bazillion ebooks if I wanted them, for pennies. A bazillion is a lot of books. Most of the treasures I found last year were parts of various and sundry series. Several of these series feature on today's report, the 12 books I awarded my B+ LIKED IT A LOT grade.

2016 Book Reports (Issue #1)

Disclaimer: A quick note about my "grading scale" (see right). I try to be as objective as possible when I read. But I am a writer, and sometimes I can't help but critique just a little bit. My grading scale is based on my own personal opinion of the book itself, including the writing, story, flow, and even presentation - I mean, really, don't we all agree that an inordinate amount of typos might possibly suggest the book could have used at least one more once-over? I also try not to up-mark a book just because I know or have met the author. I want anyone who reads my books to be honest about what they think, positive or negative. Constructive criticism is a good thing. It makes us better writers. It makes us better, period.

So, as I mentioned in my most recent post, I read 72 books in 2016. In this series of reports, I'll list the books I read and the grades I gave them. You know, in case you're interested.

New Year / New Goals

Seasons of change. Since my last post in 2015, there have been a few major changes in my personal life which, in turn, affected my writing life. In June that year, the WGH made a job/career change that forced us to take a step back and re-evaluate our household budget. We addressed the possibility of leaving what we thought was going to be our forever home. I accepted the idea that I might have to return to work full-time. On the heels of that upheaval, my mother was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the lung and passed away less than two weeks later.

As you can imagine - and I hope understand - I shut down. For quite some time.

Fortunately, by the grace of God, things worked out

Speaking of books ...

Self-Promotion Saturday. Today through Wednesday, my first two ebooks, No Evil Lost and Whisper of Darkness, are part of Amazon's Kindle Countdown Deals--today they are 99 cents each. Prices go up by $1.00 each day until Thursday, when they return to their regular $9.99 price. If I've done this correctly, clicking on the titles below the covers should take you to the site listings.

No Evil Lost

Whisper of Darkness

Bargains. I am all about sales. You must not, however, confuse this concept with being all about shopping. I despise shopping. Loathe it. Cannot think of words strong enough to describe how I feel about "shopping". Unless, of course, you turn me loose in either a) a bookstore; or b) Hobby Lobby. This is where I start giggling like a fiend and rub my hands together in glee.

So, shopping. When we're talking about shopping online, for books? Oh, yeah, baby. Now I'm good. Last Christmas I bought books for everyone on our gift list. Boy, was that fun. I just might have to do that again, as a matter of fact (spoiler alert for you family members out there). But I digress.

The Nightstand Revisited

I have recently discovered that through no fault of my own, I have somehow missed the entire first quarter of 2015. I guess that old expression "time flies when you're having fun" is true, although the past three months seem to have flown by in such a blur that I'm not sure whether I was having fun or not.

In glancing back over the last few posts my beleaguered brain has figured out that I neglected to recap the second half of my June Writing Challenge, thereby leaving unfulfilled the promise I made to expound on the benefits said challenge brought me. It has also figured out that there are definitely those times of the year when I function at a higher level than others.

Seriously Serious Self-Challenges

For some reason, the thought that today is the first of June has niggled its way into my brain, taken root, and will not leave. It's bouncing around in there, wreaking havoc, causing all kinds of mayhem, interrupting the flow and function of my cerebral cortex, scaring the tour guides, and worst of all, eliciting delusions of grandeur and trying to make me ... well, think like a writer.

So, I'm giving in to it, and I'm challenging myself to several things this month.

Big Announcement #2

Coming up for air to let everyone know that my second ebook, Whisper of Darkness, is now available exclusively at Amazon. Here's the cover, as well as the link. My sweet and fabulous cover artist did another bang-up job, don't you think?

Buy Whisper of Darkness at Amazon

As if that weren't enough, here's an extra special deal: All day today, May 10th, you can go to Amazon and get a copy of No Evil Lost, absolutely FREE. Really. Free. It's a special promotion in honor of the release of Whisper of Darkness, in the hopes that if you like the first one, you'll give the second one a try. So please do.

Get No Evil Lost

(Note that this link will still take you to the Amazon page, but after tomorrow, it won't be free.)

Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy.

SAD Like Me

Today I am sitting in my newly de-cluttered and reorganized study. I can actually see the tops of both desks (AND the carpet!). My laptop is in its proper place, center stage on the writing desk. I can actually walk from one wall to its opposite (a distance of about 12 feet) without tripping over something. The WGH actually complimented me on a bit of décor I've employed to hold some of the books that are overflowing from the two barrister bookcases (aren't they adorable?):

What inspired this sudden urge to get my little life back in order? Sunshine and a guilty conscience.

The Saturday Shelf

Nothing to do but ...
All week I've been looking forward to today, with this notion in my head of, "I have nothing to do but ..." well, as it turns out, lots of things. In this day and age of the hurry-up-get-it-done-yesterday, be-on-the-go-24/7, brainwashed mindset, I don't think I will live another day that I truly have nothing I have to do.*

My sometimes misguided, always optimistic brain finished the original thought above with "... work on the book." Reality finishes the thought with

Houston, we have a problem ...

Years ago, my lovely friend and fellow writer Susan McBride (have you read any of Susan's books yet? why not?) wrote a post about how she wasn't the only Susan McBride on the block. She'll have to refresh my memory about whether she was the only one who was a writer.

Well, I have discovered - you guessed it - that I am not the only Jennifer Brooks. In addition, I am not the only Jennifer Brooks who writes.

The Big Announcement

Friends and fans, it's time to make THE announcement.

I'm so proud and excited to share the news that my first novel, No Evil Lost, will be available for purchase as an ebook (Kindle or Nook) this Thursday, September 5, 2013!

Isn't it gorgeous?? My terrific cover artist did a fantastic job, in my humble but honest opinion. =)

Now, a little about the book:

To think or not to think ...

No need to think. There's a line in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that's not in the book (given: one of many); after Professor Umbridge instructs the students that there will be no need to talk while they read their lesson, Hermione mutters under her breath, "No need to think's more like it."

No need to think. How great would it be if we could get away with that, if only for a few hours at a time? No need to think. No need to dwell on the pressures of our daily lives, the stressors, the worries -

For Book Lovers Only

It's an unusually sunny January Saturday here in the mid-state ... we've had so much drear the past few weeks that I actually forgot what sunshine looked like. Cold, still - it is January, after all - but a lovely day to lounge and read. Especially since the WGH did all the laundry yesterday and I don't have to do anything today but go grocery shopping. And that's a maybe.

According to Goodreads, I'm 2 books behind on my 2013 Reading Challenge, so I'm off to the recliner for some quality time with Jamie and Claire. I'll leave you with some reading material to peruse from some of my favorite literary peeps ...