Character Madness and Musings

The bells are chiming, or soon they will be, telling us 2017 is here. I've been spending the last week, planning the new year as much as time allowed.  2016 wasn't my best, so out with the old, and in with the new is this years mantra. This year my biggest goal will be to go over, and re-plan as I go, every first of the month. That's always made more sense to me than doing it all on New Years Eve. I hope 2017 will be everything you're hoping for. While this post is on ways to keep writer's writing, it could be helpful for readers in whatever plans you might have for the new year as well. Just translate them into something that works for your own goals. For me, the planning is always easy. Keeping to the schedule is the difficult part. This year I was sideswiped by a myriad of physical issues. My plans were to finish the current story, and work on others, nanowrimo style. I prefer to get the first draft done, but when you find yourself fighting nausea a

Novel in a Month? That means it's November when writers all over the world connect with other authors and write their stories. Every year I say I'm not going to do it, and every year since I started, except one, I've done it. This year I'm working on a number of novelle sized short stories. Two for a series of fairytales I'm doing with Raven Williams, one for my Little Match Girl novella, and another for a Christmas anthology, due next year. I've found it best to get the anthologies done as soon as I can so I made it a priority. So far, I'm not doing as well as I hoped, but I'm keeping up with things. I was short in word count one day, but had enough overage on other days to keep up with it. I also need to keep up my reading for the screenwriting contest, as well as a few other obligations, so seriously, I have no complaints with my totals right now. My first story is about a girl being harassed by a witch invading her dreams. When the

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Virtual FantasyCon Blog Hop Hunt Hi, I’m Jena Baxtor, author of Reflections, Veiled Memories, and The Carriage, and I’m your host for this stop in the Hunt. If you would like to find out more about the Hunt, please click here http://vfcscavengerhunt.weebly.com/ Somewhere on this page is a hidden number. Collect all the numbers from all the authors’ posts, and then add them up. Once you’ve added all the numbers, and if I am your last author, please head to the official website and click on the ENTER HERE page to find the entry form. Only entries will the correct number will qualify to win. The author I’m pleased to be hosting for Virtual FantasyCon’s Blog Hop Hunt today is author,  Amalie Cantor Free will is a funny (and fickle) thing. We live in a world in which the choices we make define our character and affect our future, but in which bad things still happen to good people. Choices made with the best of intentions can still lead to devastation, while ch

It's almost here so mark your calendars Virtual FantasyCon is a fun and interesting online event happening October 9th to the 16th, and it’s free to attend. The location is on your computer. You can drop by any day during the event and check out the booths for that day.  Here is the schedule: Sun   October 9th - Epic/Sword & Sorcery (Includes High Fantasy) Mon  October 10th - Sci-Fi/Sci-Fantasy/Time-Travel Tue   October 11th - Fairytale/Punk (Includes all versions of Punk) Wed  October 12th - Paranormal/Urban Thu   October 13th - Series/Short Stories (Includes all subgenres of Fantasy Series & Collections/Anthologies of Short Stories) Fri    October 14th - Dystopian/Apocalyptic Sat   October 15th - Dark/GrimDark/Horror Sun  October 16th - Children/YA Fantasy There will be authors, bloggers, editors, artists, and publishers to list just a few, and a Cosplay booth,  Check out the Blog Hop H

An Interview by Brad Miltner from Music That Pops Magazine. Welcome  Danny Rosani from Pretentious Music that Pops has requested an interview with the musicians from Pretentious, the newest, and hottest fictional band this year. Brad shakes Danny's hand as he sits in the hot seat."Thanks for coming out today, Danny. I know you've been busy with your first tour.  Danny Rosani plays keyboard, and is the frontman of Pretentious with his new wife, Aryn. Danny smiles. So, how did you come to be part of Pretentious, Danny? Mark and I were jamming together and Aryn insisted we create a band. (Laughs). Seriously, while that’s true this was always our dream.  Aryn just gave us the shove we needed to play it forward. How do you feel about the rest of the band members? We were all friends before we started. I love every one of them. We've all worked hard and they continue to work hard every time we set foot on stage, or pick up an i

Have you seen my newest release? A Horde of Dragons  An Anthology Nominated for best summer anthology Vote for us here A Horde of Dragons multi-author anthology from the fantastical minds of Jena Baxter, Guy Donovan, Barb Lieberman, Ellie Lieberman, Kindra Sowder, and Raven Williams. Within these pages, you will find stories of dragons that will tantalize your imagination and leave you wanting more. So sit back, relax a spell, and immerse yourself in A Horde of Dragons. Reviews 5 Stars This compilation of Dragon fantasy writing from indie authors is beautiful and sometimes heart wrenching. So many different worlds, mythos, and viewpoints, all well-delivered. A must read! Check out the Authors and see what other projects they are working on here Guy Donovan Barbara Lieberman Raven Williams Jena Baxter Purchase your copy here Kindle:  http://tinyurl.com/A-Horde-of-Dragons Paperback:  https://www.createspace.c

Wow, I haven't written my blog for a while. I love my blog, but illness put me behind, and I needed to catch up on my writing once I managed to get settled once more. My blog-prompt group has moved forward, but I'm going to continue with the prompts, because it's something I've always wanted to do. I might just focus most of them on character prompts. Since characters and emotion are my passions, I may write about characters I like and why, as well. At any rate, thank you for joining me, and being patient. If there are things you would like to see me write about, I would love to hear your thoughts. This post is focused on writer's prompts, and why I love them. Anyone who knows me knows that I love prompts of all kinds. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to it, and a T umblr blog devoted to writer issues and prompts I'm not better at posting on that blog than I am here, but do try to keep it up. I also post thunderclapts there for new releases from

A Guest Post by Author, Kat Caffee The Followers of Torments Though I am an “accidental author” the story that makes up The Followers of Torments has made sure to keep me an HONEST author as well.  Not only does it push me to continue writing the story (if I want to sleep, that is), it has also given me reason to stretch out in new ways, dust off old skills, and adapt some of my old hobbies to new mediums.  What started out as a single book grew into two, then three, then exploded to a five book saga.  So far, it’s listened to me when I put my foot down, and not grown beyond that.  Along the way, because I’m one of those people who doesn’t know the meaning of “half-hearted effort” I’ve also learned how to manage my time well enough to support a blog and social presence to help the story that insisted on being written get discovered.  That’s what has led to today’s wonderful news. Initially, I had no idea about how to market or promote anything.  What experience I h

The Troubled Oyster: The Carriage by Jena Baxter Audiobook Review : The first book I've listened to or heard from this author and it was good. Really good! My Review: I listened to The Carriage back ...

Welcome to the April Hop Hi all! I’m so thrilled you’ve stopped on my page today. I’m having a giveaway, and I hope you'll be the lucky winner!  All you have to do to enter to win my prize is to follow me at any of the icons listed on my website here www.jenabaxter.com. Facebook, twitter, pinterest, you choose. What's up for grabs? A signed paperback of one of my novels. Veiled Memories, Reflections, or The Carriage, you decide which you think you'll like best. So now that you’ve entered to win my prize, tell me what your favorite genre to read is and why, in the comments below. My giveaway will remain open until the very end of the hop, so if you get here on another day, keep posting! You can also enter for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card by joining my mailing list here:  https://www.facebook.com/jenabaxterbooks/  There's a button on the left, or you can sign up here:  http://jenabaxterbooks.blogspot.com/

A Character Madness Interview  With Marai bin Ahu  From Children of the Stone  By Mary Woldering Tell us about your story  I'm just a simple man, devoted to my goddess, but every since the night the stars sang, things have become complicated. What part do you play in it?  I move through all of the pages. Is it scary or a love story?  There are scary parts, but more love, because it heals all things. Have you heard any good gossip lately?  I don't really listen to any. The woman downstairs is cheating on her husband. Her last child wasn't his, but he refuses to see it. If you could be anything you want to be, what would you be?  Happy, maybe with a small business or a plot of land for sheep or goats. I'd love to have my wives with me too. Why?  To see my increase. Where would you live?  No real preference. I would like a place where life and survival isn't a struggle. Where do you live now?  Ineb Hedj (

Voice - What is it? Like poetry, all writing has a cadence, a rhythm all it's own. The flow of sentences becomes your voice, and when the flow is disrupted, you can hit a discordant note. While this is an accurate description, voice is not as easy as it sounds. I believe in the Author's voice. When you pick up your favorite author's latest novel, you have an expectation, and that expectation is what separates that author from others. It's their voice. You know it, without even realizing it. There are many facets to the craft of storytelling, and most if not all are valid in some form. As I've said before, I don't believe in rules. I am an artist, and how I write my story is a blend of my craft and voice. Not only my voice, but the character's voice. Tricky huh? They are not the same. I will use repetition to emphasize a point, and so far, I've been applauded for it. I don't do it often, but there are moments when it can raise the le

A Friend Asked Juliette for a Character Reference For Jena Baxter Here's What she Said. Juliette sat under the apple tree. A character reference for Jena. Why would anyone trouble me for such a thing? She smiles. "I guess I do know her best though. Who better than her most abused character? I have plenty to say."  She takes a bite of an apple and shifts pages as she chews, then grabs a blank piece of paper and pencil. "However should I begin?" She sets her pen on the paper, and begins to write. Dear Sirs, My name is Juliette Barrows and I am the main character and Heroine, in Jena Baxter's greatest story, Reflections. She pushes the lose hair from her face, smiles, and tosses the apple. I'm not certain how to say this, but Jena is a masochist, who thrives on the pain of those beneath her. Take me for example. I'm thrown into a magical world all alone. Not even one servant to attend to my needs, and there are we