E-Book Sale

Sometimes, I forget that I have an actual blog!

Back in April, I got the idea of offering my novella, My Funny Valentine, for free, thanks to Kindle Direct Publishing. Well, for my birthday, I figured I should do it, again.

Starting midnight, Pacific Time, you can get a free e-copy of my book, from June 14th to the 18th. Make sure you take advantage of the sale ^_^ I wish I could put a discount on the paperback but printing costs and all that.

I have no idea when my next book will be but it's been said that an author doesn't get true recognition until their tenth book, especially if they're going the self-publishing route. I need to get busy!

Happy Writing and Crocheting!

I DID IT!

I'll just leave this link on here...

amazon.com/author/jlinz

My novella is live and I really hope you guys enjoy it! ^_^

Things Have Changed

Hi, guys! I'm a bad blogger, I will admit this out loud.

Back in August, I told people that Beyond the Milky Way was complete and would go through the process of edits and whatnot. I don't have a good reason as to why the world hasn't been graced with this book, yet but procrastination is the truth behind it all!

I want to talk about online editors for a bit, and give you all some advice: tread very lightly with them.

I was really confident when I started rewriting and posting Milky Way to the sites, thinking that because I actually sent the chapters through two online editing programs before I posted was the reason I got the views. But, it's been proven not the case, sadly.

One program in particular, ProWritingAid is the culprit for my choppy writing as of late. It may be because I'm using a free version and mind you, it has some good sections. But, I've noticed that it checks writing the same no matter what you choose for the style.

This site, as well as a lot of other online ones, check for grammar, writing style, overused words, sticky sentences, etc. If you want to know if your work contains these things, then I recommend PWA to the fullest.

I will no longer advise to heed its suggestions.

What I would recommend for writers to do: read what you have out loud. Our bodies are fickle things, and while most of us have a voice inside our heads, it doesn't compare to hearing ourselves read something. You're more likely to hear something off in your writing than see it.

Read it out loud, make changes, run it through an online program if you must but don't take every single suggestion to heart. Read it out loud, again or if you're lazy like myself, have your Word program read it to you (it's choppy and a bit robotic, and hilarious because it may not pronounce words like they should be pronounced but it saves you from straining your own voice). Then get your beta reader or editor go over it.

But, that's my suggestion...

Anyway. I'm proud to announce that Milky Way will not be my first published project. Back in January, my group of writer friends made this... pact-deal-thingy consisting of us writing a Valentine's Day short and self publishing it. I declined at first because short stories isn't my repertoire. I like set up, and lots of it.

But then I went over the outlines of the stories I was writing at the time, and while the build up to the relationships were winded, the plots weren't. I felt that I would be able to do this.

It was a definite struggle but I finally finished my piece. I've learned that there are different opinions on how many words are considered as what. Wiki describes it as such: a short story is 7500 and below, a novelette is 7500-17,499, a novella is 17,500-39,999 and a novel anything 40k and up.

So, to call my latest work a short story would be lying: it's technically a novella BUT it's the shortest thing I've written aside from writing prompts and I'm extremely giddy it's completed!

The initial plan was for this book to be out by Valentine's Day but alas procrastination won. I have a dear friend right now who is going over it as far as edits, then I'll make the changes, she'll go over it again and then another will proof and yay: you'll get to read/buy my story!

That's basically all I want to share with you guys. I'm also working on two other stories, one that I started posting on Wattpad and my other writing sites. I'll need to get back to work on those and maybe you will get some sort of British man/American woman anthology? We'll see...

Oh! Before I forget: the cover for my latest story!

I don't know who that is but he's yummy...

All thanks to Christina Quinn for making the cover! :D

It Is Done...

Yesterday, I finally completed Beyond the Milky Way! I'm so excited yet terrified all the same for this feat because it means so many things. Right now, I've printed out the entire story: 213 pages, in hopes of rereading it, making changes and then rewriting it. Then, I have three friends who I will enlist their help to go over it as well. THEN I will send off to various publishers, to see who will take the bait. I was told to submit to all of them at the same time; that way, I can get all my rejections at once! :D

I've come to learn not to expect any good news with this, particularly seeing that the reads have dwindled drastically. A bit upsetting: if readers aren't willing to read this story for free, what makes me think they're gonna pay for it?

Anyway, that's part of my doubts about this journey. But, no one will be able to say that J Linz didn't at least try. So, there's that. :)

Alright. I'm off to go edit. Or procrastinate and eat cake: those who know me, know which one I will actually do! Wish me luck.

Where Have I Been...

It's been three months since I've done any type of updates on here and I apologize. I have gone through some tremendous things that left me unable to do anything, at least have the will to do anything. I'm getting better and my mind is trying to become more focused.

I won't bore you with the exact details...

Just know that there's been a major setback in my plans as far as publishing. I've updated a few chapters and after speaking to a writer friend, decided to change the ending in order to submit it to an actual publisher.

It seems that a lot of them prefer the campy HEA (happily ever after) or HFN (happy for now) endings because apparently, that's what readers of romance prefer. To each their own... *shrugs*

I'll submit to at least two publishing companies before I go the self publishing route. I'll let you know how much my hair turns gray or how many dreads I've pulled out during this process! :D

That's pretty much all for the update. I'm working on a couple of other stories but for right now, they don't seem to be anything as major as Beyond the Milky Way. Things could change, though.

All I know is that I'm going to owe my friend a lot of money for the covers, if that's the case! :P It'll be worth it, though...

One or two more chapters left before I can go through Milky Way as a whole and submit to the publishers of doom... I mean, the publishers! Wish me luck!

Late Teaser Tuesday...

I'm a day late, I know! On a personal note, I've started to go back to the gym but it's really late night (the gym is 24/7) and when I get home, all I want to do is sleep!

Nothing truly new to report, except my progress on Camp NaNo, I suppose. Right now, I am sitting at 14,725 total for Lady of Esperia. If I write about 587 words a day, I will reach my 20k goal on the 16th of April.

I'll let you in on a little secret: when I first started writing the draft for Beyond the Milky Way, I had an urge to start on the second book. So, working on the one book and its sequel at the same time isn't new for me! It makes it a bit easier to have a draft to work with but neither are complete, so after a certain point, I am literally on my own. We'll see how it will fare once that happens!

Enough rambling from me! Here is your late Teaser Tuesday!

“Oh… my! T-That was… most spontaneous!”

“Good to know you enjoyed that, too!” she half-smiled against his neck.

“Yes! My dear Lindsay… I love you so…” he told her, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. Lindsay let out a small laugh and mustered the energy to sit up and look at him.

“Really? Why do you love me?”

“You have brought me so much pleasure during our mating rituals. I-”

“… That’s not a good reason to love someone…” she frowned.

“I did not conclude my explanation. Lindsay… I must confess that you enamored me the first moment I set my eyes upon you. Before the start of our courtship, you made me… nervous whenever we were together. Yes, I was rather nervous around you because… and you will not believe me, however, you are the most beautiful creature I ever laid eyes upon. Out of regard for your previous mate, I did not intrude… and I never imagined I might be your next mate. Oh, I thought of it constantly! My dear Lindsay… my words are abandoning me; forgive me if I appear to… ramble. However, you preoccupied my thoughts throughout the entire day, to the extent where it was an aching desire to be around you. Now that we mean to mate… I acknowledge I am… complete. If I could not have you by my side, if Esperian rule declared that you could not become Lady of Esperia… then I would renounce the claim of Royal Magistrate. Oh… do not weep; I have made you more upset…?” the tears that dropped to Lindsay’s cheeks took Areiv by surprise; he only intended to make her feel better. He wiped at them but Lindsay sniffed and laughed.

“No, silly alien; these are tears of joy! Oh, I love you, too, Areiv…” Lindsay smiled as she bent down to give him a passionate kiss.

It was his signal to leave, and he moved as quietly as possible. After a few yards, even as darkness covered the surrounding areas, he was capable of making out the silhouettes of the two lovers joined still. The tantalizing aroma faded slowly the further he strode away, but he continued to ponder on what he saw. He replayed the scenes over in his mind which only made him recall the conversation: they loved each other. Understanding all that was spoken made him grasp the inevitable.

           “Shit… Lizzie’s leaving us…”

Teaser Tuesdays 4/4 & Updates!

So, I hit a bit of a snag as far as posting chapters for the various websites I keep the story on. But, everything should be fine.

We're four days into Camp NaNoWriMo and I've started on the second book for the project this month. I set the goal really low so as not to get overwhelmed with trying to finish the first book. Right now, I'm a little over 55K words in for the first book. Word goal for Camp NaNo is 20k; all I have to do is write around 1k words a day and I'll reach that goal by the 20th! :D

That's about it. Still posting every day to every other day on various sites. I would like to have Beyond the Milky Way published by June 14th; we'll see. Oh, book two will be titled: Lady of Esperia!

Here's your Tuesday Teaser!

“I heard what you and Areiv talked about Friday.” Lindsay glared at Bradley. His eyes widened for a moment before he gave out a sigh.

“Okay, it wasn’t what you thou-”

“You told him that it was a bad idea for him to be with me. How do I take that out of context, Brad? You seemed pretty damn clear to me!”

“I just don’t want to see you hurt, Lizzie…”

“For the last fucking time; Areiv wouldn’t hurt a fly! When I called you jealous that one day, never in my life did I think it was for real! So, let’s hear it for real this time; what is it about Areiv that irks you so damn much?” she already knew the answer; Lindsay really wanted Bradley to openly admit it.

“He… he never hid his intentions! Of all the female species here, he’s overly nice to you and you alone…? I’m pretty sure there’s plenty of Esperian women for him to pick from, but he put his sights on you, knowing damn well that you were already married! I mean, come on, Lizzie; he started charming you from day one, and you let him!” the words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. Bradley knew that they were the wrong choice of words as soon as Lindsay’s eyes widened and she gasped.

“… Oh, fuck you, Bradley!” Lindsay didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing tears in her eyes as she quickly turned to leave. Bradley wanted to pull his hair out for saying what he did but grabbed her arm, instead.

“Shit! Wait, Lizzie; damnit, I didn’t mean tha-”

“You did mean that! Let me go!” her voice cracked as she struggled to hold in her tears. It wasn’t true, Lindsay told herself; Areiv wasn’t trying to charm her from the start. The attraction was there, of course but they both knew she had a husband. She did nothing to make anyone think that it was okay to woo her.

“Lindsay, the truth is that I really like you, okay?! That’s the real reason why I don’t like Areiv, because I saw that he did, too! Bu-” the pain was sudden as Lindsay’s fist connected to his jaw; the punch was enough for him to release her. Lindsay’s hand throbbed in pain but her anger caused her to be unaffected by the feeling.