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STUMPED

August 15, 2017 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster, Writing tagged as building, challenges, inspiration, write life, Writer, writing

The other day I came home to find the men I hired to build my patio sitting in my backyard looking at a stump. This was not a normal stump. This was a giant. Paul Bunyan, Big John kind of stump. I sat down with them and I, too, considered the stump.

“George had to get his chain saw for that sucker,” one of them finally said.

“Took two hours to get it out,” another offered.

“I think it broke George’s saw,” the first chimed in.

“Why didn’t you leave it in the ground,” I asked. “You know, pour the cement around it?”

“We thought about it,” the third said. “It wouldn’t have been right.”

They told me that they had managed to cut it up into the piece we were looking at but that it had been twice as big and buried deep in the ground; a remnant of a primordial tree. Their task had been Herculean. They told me that if they poured the cement over the stump, the darn thing could rot and my steps would fall in, and I would be upset with them because they had poured cement over a stump the size of San Francisco.

“It looks petrified,” I said. “How many years do you think it would take to rot?”

The first guy shrugged, “Twenty. Thirty years.”

I shrugged back. I would probably be dead by the time the stump rotted and my stairs fell in. I guess it was the principal of the thing. They would have known the stump was there.

We sat in the hot sun a while longer. Someone suggested carving the stump into the likeness of the contractor. I liked that idea but no one knew how to carve. I thought we could make it into a table. Eventually, we all stopped looking at the stump. The men moved it out of the way and started work again; I went inside to make dinner.

That stump has now been in my backyard for months. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. But, like all things that are hard to get rid of, it eventually served a purpose. It taught me a few lessons:

1) Everybody has a stump. It might be in your real backyard, your professional backyard or your personal backyard, but it is undoubtedly there.

2) What you do with your stump will tell you a lot about yourself. Either you will dig it up and deal with it, or you will leave it to rot.

3) If you’re stumped and need help there is always someone willing to work hard with you to take care of it as long as you work as hard as they do.

4) You can never go through a stump but don’t panic. You can go around them, over them and sometimes even under them but that takes the longest.

5) Sometimes stumps are not as big as they look and sometimes they are bigger. Size doesn’t matter. Stumped is stumped.

6) Removing a stump but choosing to keep it as a reminder of what stood in your way is a good thing. When you look at it, you will always know that when it came to you against the stump, you won.

Contact me: http://rebeccaforster.com/

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How Kindle Scout set me off on the Road to Oz…I mean, Monterra by Jina Bacarr

June 11, 2016 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as addiction, Amazon, Authors, books, Civil War, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, historical, Kindle, Kindle Press, kindle scout, Kindle Unlimited, magic, recovery, romance, royal, time travel, Writer, writing

Have you ever slipped on a pair of shoes that fit perfectly?

Soft, dreamy leather. Straps not too tight.

Heels not too high. You don’t want to feel like you’re about to go over a cliff.

I have.

And get this, it’s a glass slipper.

When I entered my Civil War time travel romance, LOVE ME FOREVER, in the Kindle Scout program*** I didn’t realize there was a technicolor ending in my future.

I went to Oz.

I mean, Monterra.

When Sariah Wilson asked romance KS winners if we’d like to write in her Royals of Monterra Kindle World, I jumped at the chance. I love princess stories (check out my Princess video!) I wrote ROYAL DARE about Princess Violetta, who appears in Sariah’s ROYAL DATE. Violetta has a drug problem so I sent her to rehab. But getting clean ain’t easy…even for a princess

Can she make it through rehab?

One of the most rewarding aspects of writing Royal Dare is the fact that several addiction recovery

sites have discovered the novel and follow me on Twitter. I hope Violetta’s story encourages those who need help to seek it out.

I loved writing in Sariah’s KW so much, I decided to write another story, but on a much lighter subject.

Magic.

ROYAL MAGIC will launch with Sariah’s next Royals of Monterra book, ROYAL GAMES.

Royal Magic is the story of a girl from South Philly with a dream to become an aerial silks performer, but there’s a dark secret in her past that keeps her from her goal.

Until she’s invited to perform at the arts festival in the kingdom of Monterra for the royal family in Fairy Tales & Magic: Magic, Music & Monterran Cuisine. There she meets a handsome, mysterious magician who’s not what he seems…

Royal Magic will launch along with Sariah’s Royal Games and new Royals of Monterra stories from other talented writers on July 8th!’

I’m almost finished with the cover, so I’ll update this page as we get closer to the launch.

I’m enjoying my road trip to Monterra and plan to do more Royals of Monterra books after Royal Magic. And to think it all started with Kindle Scout…

~Jina

***You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

The Princess and the Stilettos for Valentine’s Day from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

The Princess and the Magic Shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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Cinderella’s Holiday Deal: My Kindle Scout Experience Part 6

November 11, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Amazon, Authors, books, Civil War, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, cookbook, food, historical, Kindle, Kindle Press, kindle scout, Kindle Unlimited, romance, time travel, Writer, writing

You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

And the Kindle Scout benefits just keep on coming…

Cinderella is a smart shopper and she loves a deal.

Especially from Amazon.

Amazon loves to promote their Kindle Scout winners (officially Kindle Press or KP Authors). I’ve seen my fellow authors show up on Kindle Daily Deals, as the lead book in emails, and earning that coveted “#1 Best Seller” Orange Banner.

Wow.

This month until November 30th, my Kindle Scout book, LOVE ME FOREVER is an Amazon Holiday Deal! The discounted price is $1.99. Check out my video below:

Love Me Forever is on sale for $1.99 — A Civil War time travel romance from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Another benefit is the wonderful support you receive from the other authors.

Iâ€™m so proud to be a Kindle Scout Winner and Kindle Press Author â€” a big bonus for me was meeting and hanging out with the other winners.

Such a talented, witty group â€” and good cooks, too!

So a bunch of us decided to cook our books. Weâ€™ve just released a FREE anthology of recipes:

KP Authors (Kindle Press Authors) Cook Their Books.

I hope you enjoy our recipes. Mine are from LOVE ME FOREVER.

You can read an excerpt from my book along with a fun chat with my heroines, Liberty and Pauletta Sue.

~Jina
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Cinderella’s Holiday Deal: My Kindle Scout Experience Part 6

You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

And the Kindle Scout benefits just keep on coming…

Cinderella is a smart shopper and she loves a deal.

Especially from Amazon.

Wow.

This month until November 30th, my Kindle Scout book, LOVE ME FOREVER is an Amazon Holiday Deal! The discounted price is $1.99. Check out my video below:

Love Me Forever is on sale for $1.99 — A Civil War time travel romance from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Another benefit is the wonderful support you receive from the other authors.

Iâ€™m so proud to be a Kindle Scout Winner and Kindle Press Author â€” a big bonus for me was meeting and hanging out with the other winners.

Such a talented, witty group â€” and good cooks, too!

So a bunch of us decided to cook our books. Weâ€™ve just released a FREE anthology of recipes:

KP Authors (Kindle Press Authors) Cook Their Books.

I hope you enjoy our recipes. Mine are from LOVE ME FOREVER.

You can read an excerpt from my book along with a fun chat with my heroines, Liberty and Pauletta Sue.

~Jina
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Cinderella’s Happily Edit After: My Kindle Scout Experience Part 3 by Jina Bacarr

July 11, 2015 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as Amazon, author, books, Cinderella, Civil War, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, editing, glass slipper, historical, Kindle Press, kindle scout, prince, princess, romance, time travel, Writer, writing

(You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1 and Part 2.)

Remember when Cinderella was all aflutter getting ready for the ball? Her fairy godmother shows up and poof! Cindy has a gorgeous gown, a carriage, and the sexiest pair of glass slippers. Next, she meets the prince, loses her slipper, gets it back, and marries the handsomest man in the land.

Then comes a reality check.

Cindy is a princess with a hundred and fifty room castle to manage, servants galore, royal obligations, and a demanding mother-in-law who canâ€™t wait to show her off at high teas.

First, she must learn how to be a princess.

Kinda like putting out a good book. Itâ€™s a lot of work. Period.

After my 30-day campaign with Kindle Scout for LOVE ME FOREVER, my Civil War time travel romance, being on and off the Hot and Trending list, then waiting to see if I made the cut, came my reality check.

Edits.

Most writers would rather clean bathrooms for a week than open the Editorial Letter.

I was shaking in my slippers when mine came. I worked more than two years on LOVE ME FOREVER, getting the research right, the romance, settings. Not an easy task. My story is over 150,000 words.

Which brings me to one of my favorite things about Kindle Scout: the Kindle Press Team. With everyone jumping into the self-publishing arena, itâ€™s easy to want to write, write, write and get it out there. Do-it-yourself, especially if youâ€™ve been writing for a long time. I can wrap my head around a story pretty well. Iâ€™ve written several novels for trad publishers, non-fiction books, kidsâ€™ TV scripts, and plenty of magazine columns and stories.

But no writer is an island.

A good editor is as important as Cinderellaâ€™s fairy godmother. She/he can wave their magic wand and give you that extra spin on your book, make you dig deeper, cut excess. One thing that drew me to the Kindle Scout program was the idea of receiving editorial input.

I wasn’t disappointed. The editorial guidance at Kindle Scout/Kindle Press is awesome.

Iâ€™m thrilled to say that my editor at Kindle Press was thorough, gave excellent suggestions, made me think, and complimented me along the way when she particularly liked something. Sheâ€™s definitely one of the best editors Iâ€™ve ever had. The turnaround was quick: a week to complete the edits. I admit I hardly slept and I maxed out the balance on my Starbucks gold card, but the KP Team gave me a heads up three weeks before as to exactly what day to expect the email with the attached files and they delivered.

So here we are at a new juncture in my Kindle Scout experience. Edits done; book in production.

Preorder begins: July 13, 2015.

On Sale at Amazon: July 28, 2015.

Am I nervous? You bet I am. I put my heart and soul into this story, laughed and cried with my characters every step of the way. Iâ€™m anxious to get it out there. But the best part is, I feel confident that as part of the Kindle Scout program, LOVE ME FOREVER is the best it can be.

~Jina

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com

Next month: Part 4: what happens when my Kindle Scout book, LOVE ME FOREVER, goes on sale.

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