Pursuing characters under the guise of vacation? Maybe yes.
In case I haven’t already said it 1001 times I recently returned from a coastal vacation traversing the southern end of the Gulf of Mexico USA. I say it’s the western end and Honey my husband usually corrects me. It was our Spring break – just me and the husband because the children are all [WAY] grown. It was a celebration for me after finishing the latest book Unjustified Favor and definitely a needed break for him. He still has a real job where he has to punch a time clock and deal with irrational people expecting miracles. I’m constantly amazed at how freaking genius he is and no that is not sarcasm. Sometimes he’s an asshole – that isn’t sarcasm either. He’s a tool and die maker. Well I think his title is something like plant engineer/CNC programmer now because the hands on making of tools and dies is a dead dying art. Anywho I didn’t know the trade required such intelligence until our youngest daughter was taking physics in college and he loaned her one of his antique text books.
Okay, I just digressed so far I forgot the reason for this post…
Oh! Self analysis and we were traversing the Gulf of Mexico. For those who haven’t read Between the Rage and Grace or Behind the Rage the setting is southern with the characters hailing from Mississippi to Texas. The third book in this series (due to release this month) has them settled into the south/southwest Texas regions. So we were soaking up the sunshine, enjoying our drinks and marveling at the sky when it occurred to me… I was constantly looking for Linda, wanting to check in on poor Clara, worried someone might find Maggie and thought I saw Levi and Mary in a heated discussion on the beach. Upon closer examination I realized it wasn’t them. I’m gonna post a picture of that delusion. And once I thought I saw the nasty ghost of XXXX but it was just an old drunk passed out beneath a palm tree, whew!
So, I know the characters were born of experience but Freud might go so far as to say I am delusional or that I have such a deep attachment that I went in search of these fictional characters. Is that true? Maybe yes, but Freud was a coke-head.
Strangers on the Beach by Janna Hill
This isn’t our common June bug. I found it on a pair of denim britches and so decided it is a Jean bug! Lame humor but it is a pretty neat looking beetle, huh?!
Beetle on Blue Jeans by Janna Hill
Chameleon on Pole by Janna Hill
It may not be what you expected but that is a sexy lizard. 🙂
I’m sending me flowers because I just sent the book over to the editors. Typed the final words about a half hour ago. Yep -that’s right, I did it. [me strutting arrogantly and wallowing in oleanders until the corrections come rolling in] But tonight I sigh a deep sigh of relief filled with self respect (( :))) It’s a thin bubble ladies and gentlemen that I dwell in .
congratulations to me for beating the first deadline.
I’d rather Katydid not – eat my plants that is!
Katydid Don’t! by Janna Hill
I reached the self imposed point and allowed myself some time off – it is after all a holiday. The third novel in the series (Unjustified favor) is near completion and it is Memorial Day week-end. So I filled up on brisket, pinto beans, potato salad and ice-cream cake then hung out with the whacky farm animals. Oh and I have more insects and a few flowers to share later :))
Well hop on in but there are a few things you should know…
The world wide web is great but it doesn’t guarantee your success
Writing is a struggle and sometimes you get stuck.
But for many if you persevere…if you try hard enough… long enough you might just break free and get noticed.
But writer beware sometimes being noticed is not a good thing.
Seriously. So you want to be published? You want your soul and imagination written down for the world to see? That is awesome!
Then surely your exterior is tougher than the grasshopper you saw squashed. That means you have developed a very thick skin. Good, you will be able to take the criticism that comes with your new endeavor.
You write poetry? Well so do a billion other people and a very [VERY] small percentage are deemed worthy by any publisher. They are in the business of selling books and “Poetry doesn’t sell books.”
You have a great story to tell? Yeah, so do the other billion that aren’t busy writing poetry. But yours is special? I believe you.
If you’re still interested here are a few suggestions other than ‘don’t quit your day job’.
You have internet access or you wouldn’t be reading this so go in search of a group that fits your niche. Use search terms like writers group romance, writers group poetry, writers group fantasy… you get the picture.
So now you have finished your book, your editing is done and you are ready to present your heart and soul to a publisher don’t forget that the odds are against you. Do it anyway, rejection is part of the process.
If you decide to go the independent route be prepared to work harder and to pay your own expenses e.g. editing, proofreading and marketing.
And last but not least a quote from one of my favorites, A bad reputation is much harder to recover from than no reputation at all.
Caution: Janna Hill is not an adviser. She has strategically placed this post as a means to swindle readers into viewing photographs of insects.
Disclaimer: A young locust was mortally wounded in the preparation of this story.
Can you say fried? Yum :)` This is the Texas A&M T-5 Variety.
About the size of a baseball but tastes much better.
The Real Janna Hill in 