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Twelve Days of Christmas: No Golden Rings

December 15, 2012 by in category Archives

I love the idea of celebrating the twelve days before Christmas, but I never much liked the idea of waking up to find maids-a-milking in my living room. So I thought I would make up my own list of countdown gifts that are guaranteed to make someone smile.
1) Hold someone’s hand when they least expect it.
2) Write a letter in real handwriting on real paper, and mail it with a real stamp.
3) Tell a joke.
4) Kiss someone with or without mistletoe. Lips, cheek, head, hand all are very nice.
5) Invite someone to your favorite place and tell them why they are there with you .
6) Add an extra ribbon, bell, sprig of holly, or lottery ticket to a package you wrap.
7) Cook something you’ve never cooked before; share it with someone you haven’t shared with.
8) Choose one person who is not expecting a gift and give them one too late for them to reciprocate. 
9) Hold a door for someone when you’re the one in a hurry.
10) Talk to someone who lives alone. Not just hello, but a real conversation.
11) Hum a Christmas song close enough so other people can hear. Smile when they look your way.
12) Let your spouse sleep late and your kids get up early.
Tell me about the special gift you give someone. Do it before December 25 and I’ll send you a book for Christmas. Choose the one you’d like at www.rebeccaforster.com.
Have a wonderful and blessed holiday.

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“Santa, Soldiers, and Orphans, oh, my!” hundred word fiction by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,



Winter…the days are getting shorter and have you noticed how we communicate is also getting shorter?

We live in a world of texting (“hw r u?”) and Twitter madness that forces us to express ourselves in 140 characters or less. (God help Tolstoy…)

Not to mention acronyms — we plop onto the couch, turn on the DVR or watch a DVD while drinking our OJ, then check out this week’s episode of NCIS.

Now a UK newsletter has come up with “hundred word fiction.”

Indie Book Bargains UK-based Daily Kindle Book Deals

 Everyday they publish Kindle deals and a short story with no more than a hundred words.

I thought it would be fun to take up the challenge so I put together a story in less than 100 words. Since it’s Christmas, I wrote a holiday story for the UK newsletter: “Santas, Soldiers, and Orphans, oh, my!” 

 Here’s how it appears on their website: 

Santa, Soldiers, and Orphans, oh my!

by Jina Bacarr
“Signorina, Daniele is missing,” whispered the nun.
I panicked. It was hard enough dealing with shell-shocked soldiers and orphans who didn’t speak the same language.
Now I had a lost child on Christmas Eve.
“We’ll organize a search party,” a sergeant offered, relating to a missing comrade in any language. “Al, you’re point man. Bill, you bring up the rear.”
Soon we heard a shout coming from the supply room. “We found him!”
Daniele. A loud cheer went up. Each soldier had a grin on his face. I’ll never forget those smiles.
That Christmas Eve was their first step toward home.
——-
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Jina 
What if Scrooge was a sexy hunk with a smart phone?

Check out my Naughty Christmas Carol book video with my voice-over and the Sugar Plum fairy music along with a very sexy excerpt on my website at: http://jinabacarr.com/anaughtychristmascarol.html 

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Win Free Ebooks Today

December 8, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , ,
Today is the day that my book Little Miss Lovesick is featured on Lex’s 30 Days of Christmas. Yay! This is very exciting for me because I’ve never had a book featured on someone else’s site. 🙂
My OCC RWA friend Lex Valentine is hosting a whole month of giveaways for romance books of every kind. Today my other OCC RWA friends, Jacqueline Diamond and Linda Carroll-Bradd, join me at Lex’s site. One lucky commenter will win a book from all three of us!
Pop over to Lex’s 30 Days of Christmas today and leave a comment. You could be the winner of three ebooks! Lex will announce today’s winner at the top of tomorrow’s post.

Now that Little Miss Lovesick is finished, I’m working on the notes I just received this week from my editor for Unexpected Superhero. I started reading the notes on Tuesday – ouch. Then on Thursday I looked them over again – not as much of a sting. Today I woke up and thought, “Oh, I know what I want to do!” Now I can hardly wait to get started on the revision. Ahh, the life of a working writer. 🙂

I’m also getting kind of excited about marketing for the first time. It doesn’t seem so daunting to ask other blog owners if I can write a guest post for them. I’ve got some fun ideas, too. (Hint: one is about chocolate.) I’ll let you know when I start leaving my comfort zone and getting out there more.


Happy Reading, today!


Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her first novel, Little Miss Lovesick, is now available in print and ebook format. Her next novels, Love at the Fluff and Fold and Unexpected Superhero, will be released in 2013.

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This Month’s PAW Meeting

December 6, 2012 by in category Archives

This month’s PAW meeting will be fun!  It also may be the last one where you’ll see me in charge… or not.  If asked, I’ll always try to help out with meetings.  And I admit I haven’t presided at very many meetings this year.  But I’ve certainly enjoyed the ones I’ve handled.

This particular meeting should be a fun one–or at least I hope so.  The primary topic will be for all attendees to throw ideas at me.  What ideas?  We need suggestions for topics for next year’s PAW meetings. 

What would you like to discuss next year?  The publishing industry is in a huge state of flux, and other PAW members may have already experienced some of the changes that you have questions about.  Or maybe you’re the one with some answers you’d be willing to share.  Let us know!  And if you won’t be at this month’s meeting, you can always let us know your ideas anyway.

We’re also looking for people to attend Board meetings on PAW’s behalf.  We do have one volunteer so far but she can only participate in a few meetings.  You’d be representing our published authors in the group that governs OCC, so your services would be greatly appreciated.

So… hope I’ll see you at this month’s PAW meeting or otherwise at this Saturday’s OCC meeting.  It’s the last one of the year–can you believe it?  I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you are, too.
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January 2013 OCCRWA Online Class

November 27, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , ,

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“New Year, New You“
with Laurie Schnebly Campbell
January 2 – January 29, 2013

Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJan13.html
COST: $20 for OCCRWA members, $30 for non-members
If you have specific questions, email occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com

ABOUT THE CLASS:

Whether it’s the first rejection, the 50th-book slump, or just not getting the story you want, frustration is part of every writer’s life. For some, it’s a nuisance; for others, it’s the end of a career.

For anyone determined to make 2013 a Better Writing Year, this class offers both practical and psychological techniques for dealing with rejection, writer’s block, frustration, motivation, and other issues that keep writers from loving their craft.

Writers finish with new awareness of what WORKS for them, and with renewed inspiration for returning to the craft they love.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Back when Laurie Schnebly Campbell was getting her master’s in counseling, she’d never heard of writer’s block or bad reviews. A few years later when she began writing novels — including one that beat out Nora Roberts for “Best Special Edition of the Year” — she realized that all those lessons came in handy for everyday life. Now she’s been writing and teaching for 15 years, and still loves every minute of it.

 Enrollment Information

 Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJan13.html

COST: $20 for OCCRWA members, $30 for non-members

Want to be notified personally two weeks before each class? Be sure you’re signed up for our Online Class Notices Yahoo Group! Sign up at the bottom of http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.htmlor send a blank email to OCCRWAOnlineClassNotices-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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