Valentine’s Day is for my Instagram short story “Virgin Kiss” by Jina Bacarr
February 11, 2019 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as Chekhov, kiss, romance, Valentine, Valentine's DayValentine’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
Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day by Jina Bacarr
January 11, 2019 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as amwriting, Instagram, rainy days, writing
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:
Instagram and Me: 5 tips to a happy post by Jina Bacarr
December 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, podcast, Social MediaTo 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:
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:
0 0 Read moreVeterans Day and Doughnut Dollies
November 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as 100th anniversary, 99 cents, Armistice Day, Civil War, cookies, doughnut dollies, romance, time travel, vet, Veterans Day, Wolrd War 2, World War 1
I love this fabulous painting outside the Salvation Army Building in Tulare, CA re: the photographer © Karinoza – Dreamstime.com .
I was a doughnut dolly.
Back in the day, I served with the U.S. Army in Livorno, Italy. My job was to make coffee and play pool with the troops, set up entertainment and gourmet tours.
And make cookies. I whipped up hundreds and hundreds of cookies. Chocolate chip.
And doughnuts, too. I got help from the mess hall sergeant, a bespectacled guy from the Midwest who let me commandeer his big pots. Along with my Italian liaison, Maria, we’d cook up hot doughnuts and top them with powdered sugar we got from the PX, a sweet favorite with the boys.
Those were the days.
I’m proud of the time I spent with US Army Special Services — I made turkeys, fruitcakes, hot chocolate, and tons of cookies!
So on this Veterans Day I think about all the Doughnut Dollies who helped bring our servicemen and women a touch of home.
Especially on this 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day when the treaty was signed in a railcar in the French forest on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour.
God bless all those who have served our country. Thank you.
Jina
PS — For fun, I put on my old uniform with U.S. Army Service Clubs patch. And yeah, I lost the hat years ago somewhere in Italy.
For this Veterans Day, my Civil War time travel romance is on sale for 99 cents!
She wore gray…he wore blue…but their love defied time
How many women soldiers fought in the Civil War?
And check out this audio/video excerpt from Chapter 1 of my WW 2 sweet romance.
Christmas 1943
American soldier and an Italian nun in war torn Italy dare to fall in love…
The captain thinks he’s found Shangri-La until he realizes there’s stolen art, Nazis and a whole lotta snow
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas on Amazon
0 0 Read more5 Tips for a Bewitching Halloween by Jina Bacarr
October 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as books, Dating, Halloween, naughty, Paris, speed datng, vampire, witch
Read about my speed date with a vampire at Charmed Connection on FB coming this Halloween
Got your Halloween costume? Not yet?
Whether you’re going out with a gorgeous man or with your girlfriends, it’s a time to shine. Once you have your costume, here are 5 Halloween tips for the big night:
1 – Pick a costume that reveals enough of you, but not too much. As a famous stripper once said, “It’s not what you take off, it’s how you do it.” It’s all about the tease.
2 – If you enjoy a cocktail or two, any alcohol at all, this is a no brainer. Don’t drive. That’s what Uber is for.
3 – Eyelash glue – pack an extra tube. There’s nothing more humiliating than your date finding your soggy false eyelashes in his brew or stuck on his forehead after that big kiss. Bring a tiny bag with your makeup essentials that you can wear unnoticed on your costume or around your wrist.
4 – Carry a small amount of cash—in your bra, strapped to your thigh—along with a credit card even if you have a date (in case he turns out to be a ghoul).
5 — Shoes. Wear the stilettos, but somewhere have a pair of comfy but cute flats stashed. In your car, his car, a Halloween-decorated purse. Your feet will thank you at the witching hour.
I love Halloween and I’ve had my share of crazy dates. So when the Charmed Writers headed up by the fabulous Tari-Lynn Porter-Jewett decided to have a Facebook Halloween Event over at
The Charmed Connection Halloween Event 2018
https://www.facebook.com/events/2356229577739205/
Hosted by Tari Lynn Porter-Jewett
I signed up to write Flash Fiction. My story is called: My Speed Date with a Vampire.
We’re still finalizing the details, so I’ll update here as we get closer to Halloween!
Till then, Happy Halloween!
Special treat: here’s a video I made with a Halloween twist for my erotic romance Spice novel, “Naughty Paris.”
Amazon: Naughty Paris
by Jina Bacarr
Link: http://a.co/d/hB9zdBG
Music: “Duet Musette”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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