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MGR Tour: 2015 Conclusions

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on December 19, 2015 by JeanJanuary 8, 2021

It’s time to look back on the year and assess what I’d planned to accomplish and what actually happened with those plans. I know this is going to be a wild ride, so hang onto your handrails, and let’s get going.

I’m going to work counter to typical roller coaster design and take you on the downward plunge right out of the gate. I did not publish Polar Bear on the Loose. Feedback from my beta readers indicated it still needed far too much work, then I lost my way. So it, as my first novel and novel of my heart, is back in the igloo for now.

Taking you even deeper into the abyss, I did not begin my revision of Geeks, because I simply wasn’t ready to work on two dissimilar major projects at a time.

Time to pull out of the dive and rise to the top after that not so thrilling drop. Blackbirds Second Flight became a reality, in paperback and Kindle formats. Didn’t get your copy yet? Head on over and pick one up.

I also made progress in the behind the scenes publishing arena by packaging Quin and Glaring Upheaval (with bonus story) as ebooks on Amazon. The Glaring Upheaval story is from Blackbirds Second Flight. So if you already have the anthology, you have the story. Quin is my story from Blackbirds First Flight. If you don’t have either of those, you might be interested in checking them out. If you already have them in one format, I don’t expect you to buy them in another (but thank you if you do!).

I experienced a mixed bag this year. I’m going to embrace the positives that I’ve managed to add to my publishing credits, and I believe the stories, though categories in Dark Fantasy, are not too dark.

Posted in Blackbirds, Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR Tour: 2015 Favorites

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on November 19, 2015 by JeanSeptember 25, 2019

Welcome back for November’s edition of the Merry Go Round Blog Tour. This month, we’re talking about our across the spectrum favorites from 2015.

I believe I’ve fallen behind in documenting my reading both on the page here and on Goodreads.

For nonfiction books, my top two were:

Total Knee Replacement and Rehabilitation, Daniel J. Brugioni and Jeff Falkel

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, John Taylor Gatto

For fiction, I’m going with these two:

Ursa Major, Tamara Narayan

 

Crow Hollow, Michael Wallace

I have listened to no new music this year. I’ll stick with classic rock and modern country as my personal favorites.

I don’t think I have seen any new movies either. Monuments Men was good. Other than that, I’ll stick with Cary Grant and World War II movies. You can’t go wrong with Down Periscope, Dave, or The American President.

In a tip to modernity, I should pick a podcast, but I don’t have a favorite there either.

I will pick a favorite YouTube video, though. My father’s faith message is heart-warming. I did not know these things about my father, and I was stunned at the very different impact the loss of two children had on him at different times in his life, and I was heart-broken that he believed as he did for so long.

What were your favorites of 2015?

 

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR Tour: Influence

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on October 19, 2015 by JeanOctober 19, 2015

Welcome back to another installment of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. I’ve been influenced by several writers. I’ve taken my friend Holly Lisle’s writing courses, which have helped me begin to learn the rudimentary approaches needed to write better fiction the first time around.

I’ve worked closely with Stephen Bagley and Wendy Blanton, and they have been extremely helpful in honing my work.

Katarina Gerlach has been helpful as well, especially in showing me repeatedly where I’ve failed to introduce conflict in my stories.

I can say I knew Valerie Comer before she’d published, and her career has been taking off in the last few years.

Each of these authors has encouraged me as I’ve been traveling the steep learning curves of writing publishable fiction.

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR Tour: Reading and Writing — Do They Line Up

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on September 19, 2015 by JeanSeptember 19, 2015

What do I read? I used to like suspense technothrillers, but I haven’t been reading them as much in the last few years. Cozy mysteries are always good. I’ve been following a few romance series writers — Valerie Comer, Karen Rose Smith, Shannon Stacey, and MJ Fredrick come to mind. Sometimes the cozy mystery and romance get mixed together.

Of course, I have a tall pile of non-fiction on a variety of subjects as well as biographies and memoirs. I keep chipping away at them.

I’m working my way through Sue Grafton’s alphabet mystery series. I try to expand my horizons. I have several writer friends who write in areas I don’t, but I try to support them by buying their books as well as reading what they write. As a result, I read a smattering of historical, steampunk, and retold fairy tales.

That’s a summary of what I read. What do I write?

When I write about anthropomorphic animals (polar bears and cats), that seems to fit into the fantasy area. I have a draft technothriller that needs help on the thriller side of things. The rest of my fiction attempts to explore the lives of characters who don’t fit in and how they resolve those disconnects in their lives and American culture of the last fifty years.

I’ve tried romance, but when you don’t fit in, the romance falls flat. I’m attempting to plan a suspense/mystery series, but I’m struggling with figuring out what the mystery is. I’m not sure anyone will buy “How does this life turn out?”.

I’ll keep experimenting. Something is going to click in this thick brain of mine. Eventually.

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR: Lessons from Other Genres

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on August 19, 2015 by JeanAugust 19, 2015

Our topic for this month is “what lessons I’ve learned from other story-telling genres.” Ummmmmmmm. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. I haven’t a clue how to discuss this. What are other story-telling genres? Video? Audio? Verbal? Generational? Correspondence? Email? Text message? Anecdotal? I have tried to incorporate some of those methodologies into my writing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR: Mid-Year Check-In

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on July 19, 2015 by JeanApril 20, 2025

Welcome to the heat of summer, MGRers. It sounds like an excellent time to stay inside and review where I stand in achieving my goals for the year as stated back in January. I already am cringing, because I am far, far from the planned route for the year. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackbirds, Kitty City, Merry Go Round Blog Tour, Twilight

MGR Tour: Beach Reads!

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on June 19, 2015 by JeanMarch 28, 2023

Howdy! Welcome to the June Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. We’re talking Beach Reads this month. I’m not heading to the beach this summer, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a perilously tall TBR pile. I’m currently reading something decidedly un-beach-like on my Kindle. John Taylor Gatto’s Dumbing Us Down: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR Tour: In Memoriam — Monica Jackson

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on May 19, 2015 by JeanApril 20, 2025

Monica Jackson has been gone from us for three years. More specifically, three years and three days. A surgery gone bad, and an iconic author is no longer with us, leaving a daughter without a mother. Monica wrote romance. She wrote good, compelling stories, but she felt marginalized. And she … Continue reading →

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR Tour: Online Reader Communities

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on April 19, 2015 by JeanJuly 2, 2020

Welcome back to another month of Merry Go Round Blog conversation. This month we’re talking about on line reader communities. I’m afraid I don’t have anything unique to offer over what’s already been talked about. GoodReads and LibraryThing, both sites I participate in on a peripheral level. I’ve been a … Continue reading →

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

MGR Tour: Other Hobbies Help?

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on March 19, 2015 by JeanMarch 19, 2015

How do other hobbies or crafts help my writing? I know some people use the diversion of hobbies and crafts to let their subconscious mind work through a tricky problem they’ve encountered in their story. Getting some distance from a story helps an author see other possibilities. For me, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Merry Go Round Blog Tour

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