Paying Your Dues

This week I've decided to open discussion on a topic that could create a little bit of debate. I'm not trying to cause a riot or anything, but after spending considerable amount of time busting my butt to get somewhere in this crazy publishing world, I've collected a few pieces of wisdom that I feel are vitally important when it comes to retaining one's sanity.

I call it "paying your dues" because I really feel like this journey is one that requires a certain amount of "blood, sweat and tears" (pardon the cliche).

1) Dealing with rejection: It’s gonna happen, it’s part of the process, but if you cut and run after only a few, well, in my opinion, you haven’t put the necessary time in. I’m not saying you have to martyr yourself, but in my experience many writer’s feel this process is a badge of honor…I mean, it does and can get to a point of ridiculousness, but accumulating rejections, within reason, is part of the learning experience.

2) Critiquing and being critiqued: That’s right, you do actually have to let someone other than your family or friends read your stuff. It’s difficult and stressful and you probably will hear some criticism that you don’t really want to hear, but it will help you grow as a writer. (Yes, even the crappy crits can be useful…they can teach you what not to do when critting someone else) And that’s the other half, critting others helps you grow as a writer as well. Believe me, you’ll learn a lot from seeing what others do well and not so well.

3) Time and commitment: Good things come to those who wait? Well sometimes…I’ve been reminded repeatedly that in this crazy publishing world nothing happens quickly. (Well, okay, sometimes there are cases of certain author’s getting caught up in a whirlwind of excitingly fast writing=landing dream agent=mega deals, but it doesn’t happen that often. So patience is definitely key.

4) No easy paths: There really is no easy journey when it comes to writing and everyone’s route is very different. What happened in one way for one writer doesn’t mean it will happen for you the same way. Trust me, I know this intimately…things don’t always pan out the way you want or expect them to either…and although we might get vile and pukishly green with envy, it is a fact, your future success is not marred or mirrored by anyone else’s.

So those are my little gems of wisdom. Got any you'd like to add?

Talking About Love with Author Jennifer Wylie

Jennifer Wylie
Author of:
Short stories; Jump, The Forgotten Echo,
YA short story series: Tales of Ever Info and links here!
and novel Sweet Light
My work is available at Amazon, OmniLit, Smashwords and Barnes and Noble

Visit my website or my Blog
You can also follow me on Twitter!

“Wuv, true wuv that bwessed awangement, that dweam within a dweam.”
-Priest- The Princess Bride.
One of my most favorite movies of all time. This is one of my favorite quotes too (next to “As you wish.” of course!) Yes, I'm an uber romantic. So, lets talk about Love since that is a big part of what romance is.

Love is a funny thing. It's also such a general word. There are so many types of love, between friends, family, lovers, and so many levels of it. It can change over time. You fall in, you can also fall out. It can pull you in and spit you out.

Love is everywhere in “real life”. It's part of what makes us who we are. Everyone has a desire to love and be loved.

I think every book needs to have a little love in it somewhere. (Particularly books which take place over a period of time.) A story with NO love at all seems flat to me. It is a major part of how people interact, we love people, we search for love (and I'm not talking about this always being in a romantic way). Romance, even a little, even if it's hinted at, adds extra realism and spice to any story.

In my debut novel Sweet Light, the main character Shara finds herself falling in love when she least expects it. (Isn't that always the way it is?) She is a healer, and that David is her patient doesn't help her confusion. She struggles between following her heart and doing what is expected of her. Just when things seem to going well she must face the arrival of her old lover. Finding she still has feelings for him tears her apart. On top of this, she discovers that her best friend, and David's cousin, is in love with her. When things go horribly wrong between her and David, she has to search her heart and decide on who she truly loves and who she will choose.

Love is never perfect, or easy. It can be cruel and threaten to break you. Sometimes you have to make a choice. When those choices are hard, you can only hope you make the right one and deal with any consequences.

Though a fantasy, set in another world, Sweet Light is also full of romance. I hope readers will enjoy following the strings of love which wind around Shara and cheer for their favorite hero.

Love can be irrational. It can make you do crazy things. Trying to hold on to love, you may do things you never imagined you would.

Lust of course... is a whole 'nother story...and I'll leave that for another time. :D

What would you do for love?


Author Bio:
Jennifer Wylie was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the snow and cold.

Before settling down to raise a family, she attained a BA from Queens University and worked in retail and sales.

Thanks to her mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it amazing most people don’t. Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both novels and short stories. Sweet light is her debut novel to be published in 2011. She currently has a number of short stories published as ebooks thru Echelon Press and available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and OmniLit.

Jennifer resides in rural Ontario, Canada with her two boys, Australian shepherd a flock of birds and a disagreeable amount of wildlife.



Sweet Light Ebook Available at:
Omnilit
Smashwords
Amazon
B&N
Jennifer Wylie Website
twitter: @jen_wylie
Goodreads
Facebook fan page
My blog

What would you sacrifice for love?

So, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned a movie that I really love called Kissed. Now, Kissed is a love story, but it’s not the conventional type of love story. In fact, most people would think it very disturbing and downright offensive. It does contain sensitive issues and is not for the conservative types. But I’m not going to talk about the plot of the movie again, instead I want to focus on the theme of the movie: Sacrifice.

What are you willing to sacrifice for love?

I find some of the most romantic plots carry with them the theme of making the ultimate sacrifice. What I find most romantic is whether or not the hero is willing to die for his true love. Romeo and Juliet had it. Beauty and the Beast had it. Kissed had it (big time).

Every time I read or watch a plot unfold that carries with it this battle I find myself thinking, holy cow, it must be love if he is willing to die for his one and only. Now, is this a little juvenile? Perhaps. Is it twisted? Yes, maybe. But there’s a reason why this theme is perpetuated and spans centuries – people eat it up.

There’s something so…utterly romantic about a man who is willing to give up his life for a woman…which is so bizarre because if he dies then what is left? A broken woman with no hope of repair. It doesn’t make sense, I know this, and yet I totally love this kind of story. I mean, usually the hero doesn’t die, but it’s the fact that he’s willing to that gives me the warm and fuzzies.

Am I twisted? Is this a wacky expectation of romance? What do you all think? What would you sacrifice for love?

Minions of Misery

After my mini-rant last week regarding a certain pukishly cute blogger award (yes, that is a word), the lovely Anne Michaud suggested that we should come up with a more "Angie friendly" one. So with the help of Tammy, the super idea master, Ren, the name giver, and the amazingly talented image creator, Imran, we present you with:

The Minions of Misery Award.





So this is how it works…I’m going to share one dark book, one dark movie and one dark secret…and then I’m going to tag other goth-worthy folk to continue the fun!

Without further ado:

One Deliciously Dark Book: The Book of the Damned by D.A. Fowler: This book scared the crap out of me when I was a teenager. It’s classified as horror and is very dark and very disturbing…it’s also hard to find because it’s been out of print for a while. This is a book about a book that curses the people who read it…ingenious really…at one point I actually tossed the book across the room because I was so freaked out that I was going to start hallucinating like the characters in the novel.

One Devilishly Dark Movie: Donnie Darko – I guess I could have gone with some horror flick or something gothic and animated but I love this movie. It has disturbingly dark themes that incorporates fantasy and sci-fi in a very cool way. Plus that freakin’ guy in the bunny costume is creepy as hell.

One Sinful Little Secret: I’ve got a big tattoo of Jack Skellington on my thigh…and if you don’t know who that is, well, you’re just not goth enough I guess.

So, on to spreading the goth love around...I nominate:

Tammy Crosby- who, although is not a goth, is an honorary one and she'd back me up in a bar fight (see link above)

Darke Conteur - a fantastically cool lady

Krista Walsh - A cute little goth girl who has a "thing" for ravens.

Seriously Cute Blogger Award? Seriously?

Okay, so I was nominated for this Seriously Cute Blogger Award by two people…Anne Michaud and Colin Barnes…and I know I’m supposed to post a picture of the darn award somewhere here, but I just can’t. Can’t. Won’t. Isn’t going to happen. The picture is just too darn cute and goes against all things anti-nauseating about my blog, so if you want to see it then go to Anne’s blog…she’s cute, so it’s okay for her to have the silly picture posted.

Anyway, on to my 5 choices of books/movies/tv shows my brain has consumed in the past 12 months.

1) Kissed: Don’t judge…it might sound very disturbing and I guess it is considering it’s about a young woman’s love (and I mean LOVE) for her clients, who also happen to be dead. Yes, I’m talking about necrophilia and yes, that’s wrong, but this movie is one of the most romantic films I’ve ever watched…well, romantic in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way…you’ve got to watch it, and stick with it to the end, to see what I’m talking about.

2) Sophia by D.B. Reynolds: The fourth book in Reynolds’ Vampires in American series, this was one of the best…I mean, they’re all good, but this one was so good that I read it almost in one sitting…and with two kids at home, that’s saying a lot.

3) Frostbound: The Dark Forgotten by Sharon Ashwood: This is the fourth of Ashwood’s Dark Forgotten series and probably one of my favorites. It tells the story of the hellhound Lore, alpha and pack leader and his unlikely love, a vampire named Talia. This love story is exhilarating and the characters are awesome. This series is a must read not only because of it’s unique world and captivating characters but also because Ashwood is a fellow Canadian.

4) The Legend of Sleep Hollow: Yes, that’s right, the one with Johnny Depp – It’s dark a la Tim Burton which means there’s blood, gore, beheading and all around a great story. I love this movie for it’s ability to gross me out and give me a laugh. Definitely worth a viewing.

5) My So Called Life: Ah, teen angst at it’s best. How I love this show. Poor Angela Chase and her unrequited love/requited love affair with Jordan Catalano – so heart wrenching at times. I recently rewatched the entire season (yes, sadly, there was only one) and remembered why being an adult and doing cool adult things is a lot better than my idealistic memories of what it was like to be a teenager in the 90’s

So, it's my turn to tag someone for this supremely puke worthy cutie, cute award...here are my choices, in no particular order:

TJamesWriter
Danica Avet
Jen Wylie
Selestial
Sean Hayden

Go forth, my lovelies, and propagate this disgustingly cute award.