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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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The Santa Shop Entertains & Inspires

December 15, 2011 by in category Archives tagged as , ,

This morning (Sunday) I was supposed to work on my new book – the one I intend to complete for a December release. Instead, I snuggled down in my warm bed and finished an e-book called The Santa Shop (The Santa Conspiracy) by Tim Greaton.

The Santa Shop is a short novel, but it was epic in its affect on me. This wonderfully crafted work held my attention, played on my emotions (yes, I wiped away a few tears at the end), made me think, and made me want to be an author just like Tim.

After I got over the heady reader-delight of having just read a good book, I also realized that I had been given the gift of professional inspiration. I realized that if I was agonizing over my work, maybe there was something wrong. If I had a good story, it should unfold; if I couldn’t figure out which direction to go, perhaps I was trying to fabricate a story where one didn’t exist. The Santa Shop was a story waiting to be told. It really was as simple as that and here’s why it worked.

I was instantly invested in the main character, Skip. I knew his circumstances, the joy and tragedy of his backstory, the pain of his current situation, and the torture in his heart and soul within the first chapter. I went with Skip on a journey that was equally spare and eloquent in the telling. I saw through Skip’s eyes. I felt with his heart. I worried that he would not survive. I wanted a happy ending. I longed for a happy ending and, as anyone who reads my books knows, I am not a happy ending, ribbons-and-bows kind of gal.

However, it wasn’t until I reached the last page and read the very last word that I realized it was not Skip who was leading me on, it was Tim. If this author agonized about word count, it didn’t show. If he struggled to find just the right turn of phrase, it didn’t show. If he edited this baby for a year, it didn’t show. Therein lies the brilliance of what he accomplished. I never had to work for my literary pleasure. For a reader, there is no better experience; for a writer, there is no better lesson.

So, on this chilly Sunday morning, I want to thank Tim Greaton for reminding me of the very simple lessons to creating a good book:

1) Have a story, not an idea.

2) Know your character, not just his or her name.

3) Write as if you are pointing the way not giving directions.

4) Stop when the story is told.

Finally, no matter how complex the plot, no matter how many characters are in a book, no matter how intricate relationships we create for our fictional friends, we, as authors, should not be present in the books we write. Simplicity – whether natural or hard won – is the key to writing a wonderful book.

Thanks, Tim, for the gift of The Santa Shop.

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A Naughty Christmas Carol by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2011 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

What if Scrooge was a sexy hunk? 

I couldn’t resist writing about this modern day Scrooge in my holiday novella, A Naughty Christmas Carol.

Three sexy female ghosts try to save the soul of a Wall Street trader on this naughty Christmas Eve.

Nick Radnor is a Wall Street trader with no heart.

Money is his mistress.

That doesn’t stop him from having sex in his office on Christmas Eve with his secretary, Jinger Hunt.

Or keeping his beautiful fiancée, Monique Ashford, dangling on a string. He’s relentless in his pursuit of wealth and power. Wall Street is in his blood, along with the thrill of risking it all, but he can’t forget the painful memories of Christmas when he was a kid.

Nick works hard, but plays harder in a gentlemen’s club called Mamie’s. After a wild Christmas Eve at Mamie’s, Nick is in a drunken stupor when he hears the eerie sound of rattling chains proclaiming the arrival of the tormented ghost of Charlie Harris, his dead partner.

The last thing Nick needs is Charlie’s ghost telling him he is doomed to walk the earth for eternity, chained by his sins.

What’s even more disturbing to Nick is the arrival of three sexy female ghosts, who warn him that if he doesn’t change his ways he will lose it all, including Monique, the woman he loves.

On this naughty Christmas Eve, Nick will learn the terrifying full scope of where his life is headed because of his corporate greed. In a peek into the future that will shatter his every expectation, Nick realizes the choices he makes now will have deadly consequences for everyone he loves.

Check out A Naughty Christmas Carol on Amazon Kindle.

Happy Holidays, everyone! 

Jina 

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Happy Holidays with Story Videos from Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2010 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

We’re at the busiest time of year…and Santa’s Elves have been busy helping me put together four episodes for my story videos called: “A Naughty Christmas Carol.”

What is a story video? you ask.

It’s an idea I came up with when I decided to make audio stories with pictures and sound effects.

You’d think it would be easy: write a short 5 to 7 minute story epsiode for my theme about a naughty christmas carol, then record the voiceover, take some pictures to reflect the characters and settings, go through my sound effects (I have a collection of more than a 1,000 sound effects!), add some royalty free music and poof!

Like magic you have a story video…

Oh, my, what fools we writers be.

Writing then rewriting the stories was the easy part.

Recording my voiceover…how many takes?

Sound effects? Have you tried to find the right grandfather clock chime to fit what’s in your mind?

Compose pictures for the video: we’re not talking one or two shots; I took hundreds of pix for my Naughty Christmas Carol videos before I narrowed them down to a few pictures.

Have you ever tried to cajole a Christmas Doll to have attitude in her picture?

At least she sat still for her photo session!

Here she is:

Click here if you’d like to watch Episodes of “A Naughty Christmas Carol”

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My Christmas Piano Tree is on the Great Christmas Tree Tour by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2009 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

I love the Holiday Season. No matter what has been happening throughout the year, you can’t help but take a moment to catch your breath and take in the joy of the season all around you…shiny silver and gold decorations, sleigh bells ringing on cell phones, Christmas carols blasting at the mall, yummy sugar cookies baking in the oven and–
The spicy smell of pine wafting from a Christmas Tree. Except at my house. I have mistletoe hanging in the hallway (what romance writer doesn’t?) and a fresh garland wreath gracing the front door…but you see, well, my Christmas Tree is different.

It’s a piano.

Yes, a piano. Decorated and all lit up like a…you guessed it, a Christmas Tree! So you see, I wasn’t sure if my Christmas Piano Tree was going to make the cut for the Great Christmas Tree Tour–a fabulous Holiday blog put together by fellow Harlequin romance author, Cheryl St. John.

Whoever heard of a Christmas Piano Tree? But there it is on Cheryl’s blog–along with the story behind my holiday tradition and the link to a video of my one-act play, “The Christmas Piano Tree,” the story of a lonely widow lady who’s forgotten the true meaning of Christmas until a girl with pink hair, a dead cell phone and a big problem helps her re-discover the magic of the holiday season. It was produced at the Malibu Stage Company Theatre in Malibu, CA.


February 2010: meet The Blonde Samurai

“She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.”
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