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Christmas in June…seriously? by Jina Bacarr UPDATED

June 11, 2019 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

Can’t wait to tell you about my exciting new adventure with this fab publisher!

I’m sitting here at my computer with thoughts of sugar plum fairies dancing in my head…

Hearing jingle bells as I type.

And drinking hot coffee with a cinnamon stick.

No, I’m not lost in the Twilight Zone. I’m traveling back in time to the holiday season during WW 2…

I can’t reveal all…yet.

More as it happens…

Jina

PS I’ll update the page as I get more news.

UPDATE: Tuesday June 18, 2019 is the day the publisher will be making a formal announcement re: their upcoming books!!

I’ll be able to reveal my story then…stay tuned.

2nd UPDATE:***************June 18, 2019 PDT

I’ve been on London Time for days and this is my first chance to update my post…Yes, London. Like in William and Kate, Harry and Megan — because I feel like an American royal! My new publisher is London-based BOLDWOOD Books.

It’s so exciting to be a part of this new adventure.

So hold tight and I’ll give you all the fab details.

————-

Here’s the scoop about Boldwood Books with all their wonderful authors…including me!

Amazing…

I feel like an American royal!

 

My first book with Boldwood is a WW 2 Christmas story about love lost and time travel…what if you could go back in time and save the man you love from being killed on a secret mission in France?

My heroine, Kate Arden, gets that chance.’

Kate travels back in time aboard a magic Christmas train

More on “Christmas Once Again” and the amazing Boldwood Books next month!

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Eat . . . I mean, Write What You Want Day by Jina Bacarr

May 11, 2019 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , ,
Pizza…lollipops…ice cream…and write what you want too!

Ever want to indulge in a pepperoni pizza and then chocolate gelato? A splurge to celebrate a book deal or soothe a broken heart when your online date turns out not to be your dream guy (that’s another story).

You had me with pizza and gelato.

So the same can be true with your writing. On this Eat What You Want Day, let’s take a look at Write What You Want Day.

Suppose you’ve been cranking out hot contemporary romance until your bleary-eyed and drinking hot, black coffee for what seems like forever. You’re good at it, readers like it…your editor likes it.

But you’ve had it. Up to here. The ole mojo ain’t working.

Pizza and gelato time.

In other words, don’t abandon your shirtless hunks and sassy heroines. Just give them a day off. Write something different. Taste the honey on the next beehive by trying something different with your magic pen.

Your imagination.

So, what shall it be? Prince Charming or history?

Why not have both in a sizzling historical romance.

Love mystery or crime shows? Dark fantasy? Write a scene about a female knight solving a mystery in a dystopian world while trying to save her little sister from the underworld creatures making slaves of her people. And the avenging superstar from the future who steals her heart.

Okay, a bit over the top. But you get the idea. Let your mind run free for a day and write whatever comes to you.

It’s like sorbet for the mind.

You may find that your contemporary romances have a fresh spin on them the next time you sit down at the computer.

And always, always write from the heart…

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Valentine’s Day is for my Instagram short story “Virgin Kiss” by Jina Bacarr

February 11, 2019 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , ,
https://vimeo.com/86681100

Valentine’s Day is Thursday — a time for romance, chocolate and . . . kissing.

But what if your first kiss was just plain awful?

Meet Riley Murphy. She’s a kissing virgin, waiting for the right guy to come along. Until she joins the Drama Club at Holywell High and has to kiss the class dweeb on stage in front of the whole school on Valentine’s Day.

Virgin Kiss is a short story I wrote that I’m serializing in 1-minute segments.

I’m inserting my video intro here and Parts 1-5 of my story (which will be completed on Valentine’s Day). Check back for the entire story as I update this post every day including V-Day!

Virgin Kiss Instagram 1-minute posts (text on audio is included in IG comments). I hope you enjoy my time travel trip back to high school!

Just added Part 6:

Part 7 of Virgin Kiss (you can read the text from the audio on Instagram in the comments section)

Part 8 of Virgin Kiss

Part 9 Virgin Kiss

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Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day by Jina Bacarr

January 11, 2019 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , ,
Romance under a umbrella . . . you never know what’s next. A kiss, perhaps?

Yes, we’re going to have rain for a few days here in So Cal! This is good news for our ice packs in the mountains and conjures up dreamy days of writing with warm, chicken noodle soup in one hand and the sound of raindrops accompanying our happy keystrokes.

Ah, if only writing was that easy.

It isn’t. It’s grueling work, rewriting, recasting characters at times, rejection, then revise. A lot of “Rs” in that sentence, but would you have it any other way?

In a perfect world, maybe. But in a perfect world there’s no room to grow, no new corner to peek into and find another angle to a story, no misstep that takes you down a new path, no angst that brings life to a story, no heart.

So as we embark on our days’ long rainy weather, grab that chicken soup anyway, enjoy the raindrops tapping against your window, and write.

Rain can be the chicken soup for your story, but hard work makes it happen!

Jina

PS — last month I talked about Instagram: here are some video poems I’ve made recently:

View this post on Instagram

Here is the prince from my #poetryatworkday video

A post shared by Jina Bacarr (@jinabacarr) on

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Instagram and Me: 5 tips to a happy post by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2018 by in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as , ,

To Instagram or not to Instagram . . . that is the question these days.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it can be fun. I post photos, but I love making Instagram videos with graphics I have . . . or when I’m someplace that’s fun to record. 

My IG tips:

1 — practice taking pictures, find an interesting angle, make the shot tight rather than too far away so you can capture a “moment.”

2 — type at least one or two hashtags before you Share.

Then once you’ve shared, you can go back and “Comment” with additional hashtags on your PC. It’s easier to type a bunch on your keyboard. Hashtags are super important. Check out other Instagrammers who post similar topics and see what tags they use.

3 — Share across all platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or whichever you have for maximum exposure.

4 — Post photos from your PC — yes, it can be done. I use Chrome. I go to my Instagram account, then to the upper right corner three dots … and click on More Tools; next click on Developer Tools. You’ll see coding on the left side of the screen. Refresh the page and you’ll see the PLUS sign + at the bottom of the screen. Left click on that and you can upload a photo from your computer.

5 — if you love to shoot videos like I do, when you start to Record, count at least 2-3 seconds before you start speaking or you might lose the beginning of what you say. Try to keep background noise down. You have a maximum of 60 seconds to record. I try to find a “core” message in what I want to say before I record and I have a sign-off I’ve used for years.

So, that’s it! Time for some Instagram goodies, so here are some examples of what I’ve posted.

Follow me on my Instagram page and I’ll follow back: https://www.instagram.com/jinabacarr/

Questions? Please ask!

Jina

PS — I’m hoping Santa will give me a tip re: holding my phone. I’m looking into mini-tripods. Here’s an Update: Meet Kandie the Elf!

Here’s a graphic I made for Pastry Day:

View this post on Instagram

Paris and #pastryday

A post shared by Jina Bacarr (@jinabacarr) on

I was at my favorite market at the bakery counter — I love this princess cake!

I couldn’t resist these Cinderella shoes when I was at the Spectrum. (I’m waiting to hear back on the m/s I talk about in the video).

Check out my Civil War time travel romance LOVE ME FOREVER 

Also, my holiday stories:

  A Naughty Christmas Carol — erotic romance 

A Soldier’s Italian Christmas — sweet WW2 romance 

Come Fly with Me — a New Year’s Eve sexy romance at 30,000 feet:

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