Interview with Aunt Shirley!

I love writing this series!

The characters all have their own personalities, yet they blend together so well. I've had numerous people ask me how I came up with the character of Aunt Shirley, and basically I just say, "It's who I hope to be when I get to be that age!" So I asked Aunt Shirley to take a minute out of her busy day to answer a few questions for her audience...

JSJ: What is your favorite movie?
AS: Naturally, I love all the Dirty Harry movies. That Clint Eastwood...Mmmm mmm. You know I had a thing with him back in the '70s right? Back when I was a private investigator. We had a little fling, but I had to end it. He was wanting too much from me. I've always been a free spirit.

JSJ: I see. What's with the hair?
AS: Your hair is your signature, you ninny. It tells people who you are as an individual.

JSJ: What is your hair saying today?
AS: It says I can still kick your butt so watch your tone, missy!

JSJ: My apologies. Let's talk drinks. Why tequila? Of all the choices out there...why is tequila your favorite?
AS: Tequila is what separates you from the rest of the world. Look at that badass Dwayne Johnson. He loves tequila. You gonna ask him why he likes tequila? No, because he'd probably kick your scrawny butt. You know that song, Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off...modeled after me.

JSJ: Really?
AS: Yeah, really. You don't believe me? You think because I'm an old woman I'm crazy or senile?

JSJ: I never said that.
AS: I got a pair of nunchucks here that will make you think differently!

And so ends our time with Aunt Shirley.

Why This New Book Series Means So Much to Me!

 

So everything publication-wise is now finished and ready to go! The e-book will be available before the print paperback (no surprise there). The feelings of pride and excitement I get from this new series is mind-blowing!! I have dedicated this series, the Sullivan Sisters, to my late grandpa, Frank Mills. The "Gramps" in this series is a lot like my real-life grandfather--loves John Wayne, served in the military, and is outwardly gruff but a softie on the inside.  

The setting is also familiar--Sonoma County, California. It's where I spent many years of my life and where my dad, mom, and sister still live. As I get older and go back for visits, it gets harder and harder to leave them...and harder and harder to leave the lull of the ocean surf and the beauty of the picturesque Sonoma wine country.

 I hope y'all love this new series as much as I love writing it! It's amazing how close I feel to my own Gramps, mom, and sister when I write about the Sullivan Sisters! 

Thanks for strapping in and taking this ride with me as I plug away at my dream of writing. I hope to have Murder on the Vine available on Amazon within the next few days!! I've already started writing the second book in the Sullivan Sisters Series. 

And don't forget to check out my first series, a Ryli Sinclair Mystery, with Picture Perfect Murder and Girls' Night Out Murder.  Book three is in the works!

 

 

 

Girls' Night Out Murder...and MY version of the celebration that followed!

 

 So this is my version of how it happened...

I mentioned to James that Girls' Night Out Murder should be in paperback around the 23rd or 24th of April. He gets very excited!! See, that's where I should have known IMMEDIATELY something wasn't quite right. Because the truth is, while James indulges my passion and is quite proud of me when my books come out, he's CONSTANTLY on me about spending so much time writing that the housework gets behind. So the fact he was EXCITED should have tipped me off!

Anyway, I digress...so, I tell him my second book is due out soon, and he says, "We should celebrate!" My mind went wild!  My neurons are snapping all over the place, visions of different ideas pop into my brain...it's a kaleidoscope of colors, sounds, smells...euphoria. I settle on our family dynamic reality and figure a day of window shopping (because I HATE spending money), and a nice dinner at Hereford House in Zona Rosa complete with steak and glass (bottle) of Cabernet would totally make me happy. 

 As I was getting ready to formulate my plan, he says innocently, "Hey, why don't I see if the Royals are in town then?" Like the idea suddenly just came to him!!!  How blonde do you think I am?

HHHMMMM...now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE going to the games, but I'm not sure this was ever my first response to WE SHOULD CELEBRATE...I also knew my reaction to this "innocent" suggestion was going to set the tone for the rest of the evening.

 So, that's how we ended up here...at Kauffman Stadium, James, Maddy and myself, all celebrating the release of Girls' Night Out Murder.  Was it worth it? Yes! We always try to get our picture with the Moose antler guy, Maddy fills up on countless snacks...and tonight was extra special...Chris Young stopped to sign Maddy's hat!!!                                          

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it! James may tell a different version, but since he doesn't blog (and rarely ever reads anything I write), I figure my version is the CORRECT VERSION!

Thanks everyone for the many well wishes and support I've received as I embark on this endeavor. It's my second book, and I hope to have book 3 out by September/October.

The Buhman Family: Steeped in Tradition, Respect, and Honor

 I attended another funeral today for the Buhman family. The Buhmans had thirteen original long-living brothers and sisters that pretty much all settled down around each other. The Guinness World Record people a few years ago narrowed our family and another family in Italy down as the highest sum in years of siblings living over the age of 80. Our family had over 900 years, I believe it was, of the original brothers and sisters still living.  But like everything in life, death is inevitable. The last couple years has brought funerals for many of these original thirteen brothers and sisters. 

 These brothers and sisters were a close-knit Catholic family. They brought their numerous children up devout and steeped in tradition. As I sat in the church today, I was overcome by the powerful statement made when there are so many priests attending a funeral that they can't all fit on the altar. When over three-fourths of the church is roped off just for family members...you know parents have done something right.

Yet the amazing thing about this large family is that the original thirteen brothers and sisters instilled in their children a God-given love for one another. In no other family have I ever witnessed sisters, brothers, cousins love one another so effortlessly. I have NEVER witnessed an adult brother or sister argue or talk badly about one another...Ever! And in a huge, huge family, that's virtually unheard of. I watched my aunts (the second generation cousins) today make sure friends were seated upstairs in the balcony, I watched them unrope the sections so the immediate family members could start walking down the aisle with the casket, and I watched them make sure their grieving cousins were taken care of.  I watched a loving family hold one another up in love.

 Most of the first and second generation family members stayed right here in this general area, while some of the third and fourth generations are moving around. My dad is the only roamer out of seven kids in his family. All of his brothers and sisters live within an hour or two of each other. However, he will come back for every funeral usually. A few months ago when another family member had passed, he was unable to fly back and attend. Being a third generation Buhman, we are still young enough we usually stand in the back or sit in the balcony so the older family members can sit (yes, the funerals are all pretty much held in the same church). I had waved to my aunts and uncles when I walked in the church and one of them leaned over and said, "Since your dad can't be here, you need to represent for him." The emotion I felt when she said that was indescribable. Just like that...I was to stand in the gap. And that's really how this large family is. They know how to stand in the gap for one another.

One of the third generation cousins voiced her fear to me today...she said she's afraid of what will happen to the family now that seven of the original brothers and sisters have passed away. I told her to take a look around. I could point to nearly every second generation cousin and tell you which branch of the family they belonged to. Many of them had already lost their parents, and yet no one was forcing them to be here...they were here out of love, honor, respect, and tradition. I think that says a lot. 

Now, you may be thinking that I'm too biased to be objective about what I see in this tight-knit loving family. But I'm not...because you see there is something different about me. My sister and I were adopted. When I was nine, Bob gave us his name when he married my mother. And while I use his name and attend Buhman events, there is one glaring fact that can't be overlooked: I do not look like any of them. LOL...and for those of you who know the Buhmans, you know what I'm saying. Every single one of them looks alike. I can tell Uncle Ermit's kids immediately. I can tell Uncle Harold's kids immediately. I can pretty much tell all the branches immediately. They all--whether male or female--have the same prominent nose and a full head of white hair. Doesn't matter if they are twenty-four or one hundred and four (or one hundred and five in Uncle Johnnie's case)...they all look alike.

 I was standing next to my cousin, Laura, in line today and all the first and second generation family was coming over and hugging her and calling her by name. When they got to me they do what they usually do...scrunch their brow.  I can see the wheels turning...they can't immediately place me. Of course not...I look nothing like them...lol...and that throws them for a loop! There's no cheat-sheet with me. But I always say the same thing. I say, "I'm Bob's oldest girl." I don't even really have a name, I'm just Bob's oldest. "Oh, yes, oh, yes...Bob's oldest girl! Of Course!"

After about the fourth time of doing that today, I leaned over to my cousin Matt and said, "I always feel so out of place. I don't look like anyone here." He said, "Jenna, I've never thought that about you. You do fit in here." And while it was a blessed and beautiful thing he said, I couldn't help but laugh a little. Because with his prominent nose and course black hair starting to turn white, he looks so much like his dad and grandpa, I can't hardly recognize him as an individual...he's just developing into an older generation Buhman.

I'm very proud to have been raised in a family that believes in the sanctity of family and tradition. For what the thirteen original brothers and sisters did was make sure that after they left this Earth, the children and grandchildren they left behind would still want to spend their days together. And in this day and age that says a lot. A more beautiful legacy I can't imagine.     

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.