Writers write.
Teddy bears cuddle.
Who is in more need of a cuddle than a writer staring at the empty page?
So on Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work and School Day, grab those wonderful teddies and sit them next to your computer. Then watch the words fly onto the page as they whisper into your ear. Helping you write that love scene with more oomph…or googling research for you.
But if your teddy bears are like mine, they don’t work for peanuts.
Nope. It’s got to be double lattes. Pumpkin spice and a salted caramel mocha.
Who am I to argue? I think I’ll join them…delicious.
Happy writing!
~Jina
PS — I’m working on a new Royals of Monterra Kindle Worlds for Christmas called Royal Noel.
Here’s a video with my current Monterra novels available on Amazon:
The Royals of Monterra — 4 books! from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
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The Magic Christmas Train from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Ever since I could hold a microphone, I haven’t stopped telling stories. I used to record fairy tales on an old tape recorder when I was a kid . . . then later I went on to radio doing live commercials, news, voiceovers, interviews, talk radio, etc.
I love to tell stories and add pictures and music.
Which is why I couldn’t resist putting together this 2:00 video about my Kindle Scout book “The Magic Christmas Tree.” Imagine if you could go back to a special Christmas, see family and friends you miss, and change the course of your life . . . and save the man you love from being killed overseas during World War 2.
If you ever wanted to go home again . . . this is the story for you!
A hot, sexy hero, a spunky heroine who tries to save him, and the magic of a small town Christmas . . . and plenty of good food!
So hop aboard the Magic Christmas Train and meet the Arden Family doing their best to support the troops during that Christmas of 1943.
I’d really appreciate your nomination . . . part of the process is getting your book “Hot” and it’s not easy! So any help is much appreciated. Thank you!
You can check out The Magic Christmas Train HERE =
Facebook: http://facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
Once Upon a Story blog: http://jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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Ninety degrees.
In the shade.
It’s been a hot beginning to summer here in SoCal. Perfect time to write . . . or maybe not. It’s hard to think when you’ve got a cold pack on your head, but it’s even harder when you’re writing about Christmas.
Oh, is it. I keep forgetting to put a coat on my heroine or remind her not to forget her gloves. One good thing. The year I’m writing about — 1943 — there was little if any snow in my heroine’s part of the world. Pennsylvania Dutch country. But it was cold. 17 degrees at night. So I fill her up with hot soup — and thank God, coffee wasn’t rationed as much by ’43, but there’ s no hot cocoa. Chocolate went to the servicemen in the form of a D Ration bar — chocolate and filled with vitamins.
The best part about writing this story about a second chance at love via time travel is the love scenes.
Plenty of hot kisses to go around.
So the morale of my little tale is: whether you’re writing about summer or winter, make sure the love scenes are hot!!
Jina
Speaking of hot, reenacting the Civil War during the summer months can raise the temps, too, especially if you’re thrust back in time to the Battle of Antietam in 1862.
Like my heroine in LOVE ME FOREVER.
Love Me Forever is a big family saga with lots of angst and sexy heroes…if you like Civil War time travel, two wild, feisty heroines and the men they love, it’s on sale through today, July 11th, for 99 cents!
I’ve worked on this book for a long time…in between other books, always hearing no publisher wants a Civil War book, but I didn’t want to give up on my two feisty heroines and the military men they love…a story that spotlights the women of the Civil War.
I didn’t give up and Love Me Forever was selected as a Kindle Scout Winner!
Family is the theme of LOVE ME FOREVER. Two very different women, Liberty Jordan and Pauletta Sue Buckingham, with different ideas are thrown together in a mad, crazy scheme of spying, lost love, and passionate desire for what they can’t have.
The men they love.
Do they get their men?
Well, it is a romance, but it’s also a wild dramatic journey based on actual events in the Civil War. Liberty and Pauletta Sue will make you cheer, then cry, then hold your breath when it looks like all is lost…
LOVE ME FOREVER is available on Kindle and KU and is 99 cents through July 11, 2017.
Ends at midnight!
Two years ago I began a journey.
I traveled from the battlefields of Virginia to the ice-capped mountains of the mythical principality of Monterra. I met generals and princes, fell in love, time-traveled, and learned that even Cinderella needs a second chance.
It all began with Kindle Scout. (My Kindle Scout journey begins with this post HERE.)
Now I’m taking a new turn in the road with my Kindle Scout winner, LOVE ME FOREVER. A prequel to my novel will appear in an anthology SUMMER SOLSTICE with stories from other Kindle Scout winners. It’s FREE and will be available around June 18, 2017.
Why a prequel?
Love Me Forever opens in 1862 with my secondary heroine, Pauletta Sue Buckingham, escaping from the Yankees and then segues to the present day. There we find Liberty wearing a Confederate officer’s uniform. She’s about to get her head blown off in the midst of a reenactment of the Battle of Antietam.
The bloodiest day of the Civil War.
How on earth did Liberty find herself in such a predicament?
Summer Solstice from Kindle Scout Winners inc. Love Me Forever from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
In the prequel, you’ll find out what happened that morning before Liberty joined in the reenactment battle.
And what she saw that changed her life.
Forever . . .
Women Soldiers in the Civil War from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
I’ll be entering another novel in the Kindle Scout campaign soon — and yes, it’s a time travel and it takes place during wartime, but that’s all I can say for now! I’m excited to enter it and I’ll post when my campaign is up.
Any questions about the KS program, please ask!
Not only is my KS winner part of Kindle Press, but I was invited to write for Kindle Worlds “The Royal of Monterra” by Sariah Wilson, another Kindle Scout winner. And what a ride that has been.
Here’s a preview.
The Royals of Monterra — 4 books! from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
That’s it for this month! See you soon.
Jina
Once upon a Story blog
Facebook: http://facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001IU2P8G
1 0 Read more*****2nd UPDATE***** Monday early a.m. May 22, 2017
I did it!! CRYSTAL GIRL is listed among the entries for the Kindle Storyteller UK 2017 contest!
After being sleepless in SoCal all weekend, I checked before I powered down tonight and there she is! Excited that I did it right and fulfilled all the requirements.
It wasn’t easy to enter – writing the book was only the beginning. Formatting it and also doing a print version, getting them linked, right keywords, did both covers myself. Crazy, but I’m just happy to have a chance.
****UPDATED**** Saturday May 20, 2017
Thursday night . . . I felt like Cinderella waiting for the clock to chime at midnight . . .in England.
That was the deadline looming for the Kindle Storyteller UK 2017 contest (see below for the scoop). I was almost finished with editing, formatting, etc. CRYSTAL GIRL, a prom queen wannabe sells her soul to the devil to get thin, watching the clock. You have to upload a print book as well as an e-book. Formatting an e-book I can do.
The print book.
Well, let’s say I used up a pot of coffee stressing on that one. However, I’m pleased to say that Amazon has made it exceptionally doable for authors to turn their e-books into print. Kudos to them. It takes some studying, a few trial runs, but I did it.
So . . . I uploaded everything before the deadline. I’m all set, right?
No. My entry isn’t there.
At least I can’t find it.
So I emailed Amazon support and they’re helping me figure out what’s happening. So, that’s my update. I did what I set out to do and that in itself is a win. But I’m hoping, really hoping, that my book will show up in the contest. It may take a few days to show up, but I know in my heart I’ve done everything I can.
Will I win if the book joins the entries? That’s in the hands of the angels . . .
~Jina
PS — meet Kaylee Russell in Crystal Girl –– how far would you go to get thin? Read her story here.
=================
I love to wish on the stars.
Big ones, little twinkling ones. I’ve always been the type to jump headfirst into a challenge and then wonder later how I’m going to do it. Like the time I was a freshman in high school and I was a newbie on the Speech and Debate Team. The team was entered in a big speech contest over the weekend where each contestant performed a piece in front of judges.
At the last minute, somebody dropped out. I raised my hand and said, “Yeah, I’ll go!” Eyebrows raised. Throats cleared. Obviously, I was not their first choice. Far from it. But I wanted it so bad, the teacher must have seen the stars in my eyes. I was so eager to get out into the world and try out my wings. They had no one else, so I went. This was a Thursday. I needed my speech ready by Saturday.
I was too young and naive to be scared.
Too green to know everybody thought I’d freeze up.
Hey, I was fourteen.
By Saturday, I had the speech down. Kinda. Not perfect. But okay, I couldn’t back out now. I’ll never forget the snickers, the whispers when I got up in front of the judges and jumped into my speech. It was a speech about life and its many roads and the choices you make. A bit too mature for me, but what the heck, I forged ahead like I was on a mission to Mars.
Then reality set in. I forgot a line . . . then two. I stopped, grinned like a puppet with its strings cut. Now what?
Thank God I have a bit of blarney in me. I filled in with personal anecdotes about roads my family took. Literally. I talked about our wild adventures living in different places from coast to coast. No one breathed. Or made nasty comments. They just listened.
When I was done, I left the room as fast as my ballet flats could take me. Went to the girls’ restroom and cried.
I messed up.
Or did I?
I don’t believe I did. Even now as I write this, I never forgot the feeling of taking that risk and getting through it even if I wasn’t successful. Just putting myself out there made me grow up.
And in case you’re wondering, here’s how I scored: 4 judges = 2 third places; 1 honorable mention; and 1 second place.
Not bad for a kid at her first speech contest.
So, why am I telling you this?
Because I’m wishing on the stars again. This time it’s the Amazon Kindle Storyteller contest. (Get all the info HERE). A writing contest and the deadline is fast approaching. I have to wrap up my YA Novel entry asap.
God help me, I’ve seen the sun come up the past few days. Did you know the birds start chirping outside my window at 4:30 a.m.?
I’ll fill you in more later about my story with updates here. Post the cover, etc. It’s called CRYSTAL GIRL and it’s the story of a prom queen wannabe who sells her soul to the devil to get thin.
So that’s it for now.
But you know what’s funny to me? I don’t feel any different than I did at fourteen when I jumped into the speech contest and did the best I could. I love the challenge and I trust the storyteller in me to accomplish my goal.
I hope I never lose that feeling.
And I hope I never run out of stars . . .
Jina
High school can be such a pain, remember? I do.
Here’s a very short story I wrote about that first kiss.
VIRGIN KISS is **FREE** May 11 and May 12 on Amazon Kindle.
You can find me on social media at:
Once upon a Story blog
Facebook: http://facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
Videos: https://vimeo.com/user216350
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001IU2P8G
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More info →A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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