My Sister Made Me Laugh Today...

My sister called this morning to say she received a paperback version of Picture Perfect Murder. This was the first time she'd held the actual book in her hand and could see how the cover turned out. We'd been shot down multiple times from the publishing place because of size.

We discussed the Pros and Cons of the book cover...what we want to keep and what we want to change for the second book. Juliana suddenly laughed and said, "Thirty books from now we will look back at this book cover and laugh and laugh!" And while I laughed with her, I quickly assured her that I LOVED this book cover...if nothing more than for the fact it was our first! Everyone always remembers their first.

And then I got excited at the thought of THIRTY MORE BOOKS! LOL...her belief that we will still be together writing, editing, and designing books years from now makes my heart happy! I'm very thankful for the time in which I live where I can make my mark in the literary world...and not wait silently for "someone else's"  approval of what I have written.

I always wonder about Mary Rockwell. She was the wife of Norman Rockwell, and had three talented sons, an artist, a writer, and a sculptor. It was years ago (won't say how many) while reading the back cover of Thomas Rockwell's book, How to Eat Fried Worms, that I first became introduced to his mother, Mary. He wrote a simple line that said, "His mother, Mary, an unpublished author." And in ALL seriousness, those simple words have always haunted me. I can't help but wonder why she was unpublished (after all, she'd have a foot in the door with her husband), and why Thomas chose to write those words in his book cover. I'd like to think it was because he was proud of her, and even though "someone" never gave her the accolades she desired, she still wrote.

So going into the New Year of 2016...I am thankful I live in a time that doesn't look at my sex as "inferior" when it comes to writing, like the generations of women before me had to endure. And I'm thankful I live in a time where I don't have to wait for someone I've never met to tell me that they "like" what I have written. Or worse, to be like Ralphie from A Christmas Story, and wait with bated breath, running to the mailbox each day to see if something has come--usually a rejection letter.

There is nothing better than seeing your book next to other people's books. Sometimes I scroll through Amazon in my genre just so I can see my book with the countless other books on the page (hey, it's my first book, give me a break!), and it makes my pulse race. I don't think there's anything wrong with the cover...I think it's beautiful. I think it's beautiful because I got to embark on this journey with my sister.   

amazon.com/author/jennastjames

Striving for Perfection in Writing...

 

It was during my years of court reporting when my strive for perfection in writing first manifested. And while most people would think this is a good thing, the truth is...it hindered me as a reporter. I could get the transcripts done, but I had a hard time letting them go. I would scour my pages trying to find the slightest error. This often resulted in my transcripts not getting out fast enough.

Fast forward many years later, and the same is still true for my creative writing. As most of you know, my sister and I pretty much did this book from the ground up...from designing the cover to proofing and editing. I would send her my finalized pages to look over and tweak through Google Docs. I would then import the Google Doc into my Word document. One of my biggest fears was that something would get by...either I wouldn't import the right portion, or I'd write over something I wanted to save, or I'd not catch something in the grammar or spelling. The truth is, I've read this book so many times it almost drove me crazy! LOL...and sometimes your mind sees what it's MEANT to see, not what it really sees.

Hence...the response I got from someone. This person did me a HUGE favor and already wrote a FANTASTIC review on Amazon for my book. BUT, when I saw her today she says, "If I found two errors, do you want me to tell you?" I'm like YES! LOL...because no matter how perfect I tried to get my 206 pages, I knew there would be something. I'm just glad she didn't let the two errors influence her wonderful review of my book. :-) 

So I Wrote a Book...

I finally finished my first novel...Picture Perfect Murder. YAY!!! I had to write it under a pseudonym because Buhman, evidently,  is too hard to spell! LOL...that's no lie. Even the ladies at school spell my name wrong...Buham. So I decided a simple, easy-to-remember-and-spell name was needed. Now...anyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE fan of alliteration (my favorite literary element)...unfortunately, when your name is Jenna, and you want a "J" name to follow, that's difficult. LOL...thank you Jenna Jameson. So the other "J" name I wanted...well, I looked that name up...she writes Erotica...SO NOT GOING THERE...lol...so I went with a half alliteration. St. James. And I like it...Jenna St. James. Sounds very stately and mature (so not me!)...lol...

 So anyway...it's been a long journey, that's for sure! There are so many things I learned about myself during this process:

1) I need to learn to merge my demons. I had difficulty coming home every night and working on the book and then getting up at pre-dawn most mornings before school to work on it some more. I mean, I absolutely loved doing it...but I noticed that other things went by the wayside. For instance, on the rare nights I'd let myself go out with my girlfriends, I struggled between feeling guilty for not writing and feeling jealous of the fact I wasn't spending as much time with them as I normally do. My cousin told me it was because my extrovert was raging war with my introvert. LOL...I like that analogy. But it's true...while I loved working on my passion, I felt left out when it came to socializing with my friends. I definitely need to learn better social management, or I'll die alone and friendless!!  LOL...

*Caveat:  Before I tell you about this next part, there is something you need to know about me. I have an inner crazy person. Now most of you who know me well will say, "Tell us something we don't know!" LOL...I've been told my hair stands on end and my eyes twirl in the back of my head. Just sayin'!

2) As I've said previously, all other aspects of my life had been put on hold while I wrote this book (and continue to be while I start on book 2). And by other aspects I basically mean my exercise routine. I used to go to the gym after school...now I come straight home and write. This has resulted in some weight gain. And it's not like I haven't noticed...duh, I went from working out nearly daily to a complete sedentary nightlife. Here is the conversation in my house nearly every 24 hours:
      
     James: "Don't you think you should be at the gym working out?"
     ENTER WILD HAIRED, EYE TWITCHING, SPLIT-PEA SOUP VOMITING CRAZY JENNA....and while I won't entertain you with the conversation that follows, trust me when I say it ain't pretty! LOL...but I understand the concern. Again, time management, something I don't seem to be good at. I tend to throw myself passionately and wholeheartedly into a project and forget about my responsibilities.

3) Which bring me to my house...eekk! While I've tried to keep up with the surface duty cleaning (dishes, vacuuming, etc), I've completely lost it when it comes to laundry and other factors. Before I was eager for people to come over and I'd entertain...now I just pray people want to stay on the porch (haha)...okay, maybe not quite that bad...but pretty darn close.

But even after all this, I'm super excited to say...I've already started book 2!! 

I also want to thank my sister (whose birthday happens to be today...the day the book comes out!!!)...she has helped me immensely! While I gave her ideas what I wanted for my book cover...she was the one that actually put it all together. She was very patient with me, and told me I could change anything I wanted. She did my book cover AND did my proofing/editing for me. It was so much fun seeing what she'd recommend I'd do with certain pieces. Without her, this dream would never have come true! THANKS JULES...I LOVE YOU!!

I'll be honest and say I don't know if you can actually download it today on Kindle...I'm still not 100% sure how this works...but by tomorrow you can! I hope I don't annoy y'all with my promotion...word of mouth is everything!! I'm also working tonight on CreateSpace...a way Amazon does paperback books...so for those of you who do not have a Kindle can still purchase the book in paperback.

* The book is Picture Perfect Murder by Jenna St. James. Please buy and let me know what you think. Y'all will be the first to read and give me feedback.

Satin Sheets Suck!

When making the bed yesterday, I put my fingers through our current threadbare sheets. Obviously time for new ones!  So I run to Bed, Bath, and Beyond in hopes of finding the perfect sheets. Little did I know how difficult this task would be...there are HUNDREDS to choose from! Now, I know what I want...I want something nice, something soft, something that feels like it's caressing my body as I curl up in my fetal position--obviously that last request will cost extra, but I was willing to cough it up!

I spent a long time massaging and caressing the swatches they had on display that not only was I getting them dirty (definitely NOT getting those!), but I had workers asking me if they could help. After the second worker comes by, I take the hint and decide to go with the sage green satin sheets. I honestly LOVED the feel of them...they were so silky and smooth...they practically DID caress my skin as I ran them over my arm and cheek. I honestly thought these sheets and I had an instant connection! So I purchase them...and bring them home...to a boyfriend that just shakes his head when I pull them proudly out of the bag.

"Jen, have you ever slept on satin sheets before?" he asks as he gives me the whole 'why me' eye roll. "No, but I hear the rich and famous use them because it won't leave creases on your face when you wake up!" I say that last part in a kinda evil way, hoping he'll think I'm talking about HIS face. So I snatch the beautiful, silky sheets out of his nasty hands (he's not worthy of their wonderfulness!) and proceed to wash and dry them.

That night James makes the bed for me while I'm getting ready for bed. NOW, there are a few rules I feel I must tell you about when you get into a satin sheet bed for the first time.  Rule number one: take sandpaper to your skin and rough it up! I did not do this...I had just finished spraying my new, silky sheets down with my favorite lavender vanilla smell, giddy with the prospect of sleeping on this new miracle I had found, when I felt myself falling to the floor. It seems the sheets didn't like MY silky smooth body! Luckily my reaction time (believe it or not) was pretty good, and I was able to stop my lower half from shooting to the floor. Rule Number two: don't move! Don't breathe, don't shift, and don't even THINK about turning over...again, you will end up shooting to the floor.

 It was a rough night's sleep. I'm not gonna lie. It was horrible. When I sleep, I'm kinda like the Princess and the Pea, I have to sleep a certain way and one little thing will have me all out of whack. This morning, my two pillows and one neck pillow were scattered everywhere (without my neck pillow I wake up with headaches...like the one I have this morning)...and under my knees I sleep with at LEAST three, sometimes four (If I can sneak one away from James)...these pillows were ALSO on the floor (hence my horrible back pain!).  ALSO on the floor were my cell phone and kindle (bedtime requirements).

When I'm finally able to turn my body over to see about James, the first thing I notice is that his side of the bed is empty...usually I'm the first one up. Oh, wait, it's not empty...he's just slid down to my KNEES!!!  I couldn't help myself...I started giggling. He opens one eye to glare at me. This makes me laugh even more. I watch in silence (okay, tiny giggles) as he wrestles and slides his way back up the bed. The whole time grumbling about having to keep a death-like grip on the pillow or it will again shoot out onto the floor. He finally makes it back up to the top of the bed, only to have the pillow slide over toward me. Yanking it back, he flops over on his back and shoves it under his head in one quick motion (pretty darn impressive I must say!). "It's like sleeping in an oil spill!" he laughs. That was a mistake, because the laughter has now caused the pillow to slide upward toward the top of the bed. "Oh, great, now my head is resting on 4 percent of the pillow!" he practically shouts!  I can only giggle more...which makes him start chuckling again.  BIG MISTAKE!!!  The pillow slides the rest of the way out from under his head.

PLOP! His head hits the satin sheets. "So, Jen, this is how the rich and famous live, huh?" I laugh! Unfortunately I laugh so hard I start to slide toward the edge of the bed! I try grabbing on to him...but he aint' havin' it! He smacks my hands away...I'm now in a precarious position...one slight, teeny, tiny movement and I'll be a goner! I rack my brain for solutions (McGuyver has nothing on me!)...as I'm thinking, James has gone back to sleep...his snoring has caused movement, and the next thing I know I'm next to my cell phone and kindle on the floor.

Satin Sheets Suck! They will be returned today!