Adventures in Crafting with Words

Tomorrow the prequel short story goes on sale. (Link to The Bookworm's Make Over  is to the left <- ) How much on sale can a 99 cent story go? Free. That's how much on sale. From July 31st until August 4th you can check out the short with no cost to you and decide if you want to invest in the rest of the story. More prequel shorts are coming.  Next week (or two) will be Gloria and her boyfriend's meet cute. After that prequel #3 which is as of yet undecided. Could be Mark and Penny, Kyle, Grace, or Jennifer. After that the three shorts will be bundled together (in case you want to wait). Regardless, I doubt you'll regret this investment in the young adult story.

Nobody warned me about the various emotions I'd feel once I saw my book listed on Amazon. It makes things real. Others can buy or borrow my book, read my words, and create their own opinions/thoughts/feelings towards the little world that I've created.  That's nerve wracking. But there's also knowing that what I've dreamt of for years is now a reality. Self-published or not, I'm still an author. That's amazing. Please read, review, share. My stories aren't meant to just sit on my laptop unread. AJ

For all intents and purposes I'm waiting until August to work on my next YA - Half Moon Manor. I'm about 15,000 words in and I have no word count goals in mind, yet. I just need to write and finish the half completed story. I also want to get The Bookworm Next Door published and am waiting on my beta editor to do her thing with commas. Commas scare me as a writer. I'll either add too many or not enough (but always the Oxford Comma - that'll be another post).  As an English teacher I can spot a mislaid or missing comma from a mile away. Blame it on the undergrad paper that I failed because of three comma splices; I know I do.  No matter what I can not look at my story from the eyes of an English teacher. It just is not possible.  This is my baby, my work of eight long years. I'm attached to it.  I come back to work on it every few years. This is why you do not edit your own work. You miss typos no matter how many times you read over it. I've read over it th

Wait?  I'm using a pen name? Why yes, I am. Why? I had always planned on using a pen name.  In fact, I had one picked out years ago but I am unable to use that particular name because an ex-boyfriend just so happens to have that last name.  (So, if J stumbles onto this blog, no hard feelings, but you can keep your last name.) Pen names are not easy to pick out. First there are the reasons that you want/need a pen name. 1. Maybe it's job related.  I read so many articles and other peoples' blogs about how nobody really wants to know that their doctor is writing murder mysteries in their spare time and might know how to make murder on the operating table look as if it was an accident.  I know I don't.  Or how people in education (be honest, how many English teachers want to write books - I know I'm one, kind of) be it teachers or substitutes trying for teaching positions (myself included) want that pen name to distance themselves from their students for va