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Creating the Perfect Environment for Your Writing by Connie Vines

November 13, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as #amwriting, #Cowboys, Amazon, BWL Ltd., Cajun Romance, Connie Vines, Kindle, OCC/RWA, Rodeo Romance, romance, romance writing

Do you know what you need from your environment in order to write?

If not, it is time to find out.

Our physical surroundings are immensely important to our writing process.
Far more important than most people think.

We cannot work if we are distracted, annoyed, or constantly interrupted. We need to feel inspired and comfortable in our surroundings in order to be creative.

If your home office is cluttered with papers, laundry, and stacks of research materials, it is not the right place to write.

The mess might distract you and make you miserable, because it sends a signal about the kind of work environment you think you deserve.

It is just as bad if your office is empty. Writers work best in a creative atmosphere.
If inspiration disappears when you sit down to write you must reassess your surroundings.
Sometimes removing the clutter and reorganization of your work area will do the trick. Other times, you need a more drastic approach.

Create a Place to Thrive.

I need privacy to work on big projects like a novel. My Pandora app on my iPhone and my BOSE speaker create the perfect blend of music that centers me in my storyline. New Orleans Jazz now, but it was country and western when I was writing my rodeo romance. As a rule, I type or dictate to my computer while writing, but I keep a pen and composition book close by to make notes.

Do You Feel Inspired in Your Writing Place?

If not, what do you need to do to make your workspace inspirational?
Perhaps you are a writer who must have activity all around, all the time– 24/7. Since my day job is at a middle school, I am unable to relate to such a need. However, the library cafÃ©, coffee shop, or park picnic table may be your perfect writing place.

Ditch the Distractions.

Television blasting, cell phone â€˜pingsâ€™, Facebook alert messages, the must â€˜do listâ€™ at the corner of your desk, all must be out of sight. I must have all other work in progress or notes on future projects in my filing cabinet. If I have my notes visible, I am excessively tempted to work on this project too.

Make Your Writing Workspace Beautiful.

Sit on a quality chair, fresh flowers (or display your roses from OCC), candles, a window, favorite mug, favorite pen. Any item that makes you spend more time in your writing space. What makes you happy?

Of course, a tailor-built writing space, or even a room dedicated as your office, is not always possible. Be creative. Find your personal writing space.

Remember the quickest way to writing success is sitting down and making it happen.

Happy Writing!

Connie Vines

Coming Soon
from BWL

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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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Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
https://instagram.com/jinabacarr/
https://vimeo.com/user216350

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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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Make the best of it…

October 24, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives

Make the best of it!

Don’t settle…

Both are excellent pieces of advice. They also are encouraging totally opposite behaviors.

There are some that need to have a clear and single answer. They like to see issues in black and whiteâ€”which is how most media portrays things, given the selling properties of polarization and conflict. They may be averse to the necessity of having to think, to become informed or to have to use their judgment. It always should be one side…or the other.

Though the â€œanswerâ€ is that sometimes itâ€™s one. Sometimes itâ€™s the other. It depends.

However many are unwilling, uninterestedâ€”whateverâ€”to either think some things through deeply, personally, or they may not feel comfortable being individually accountable for their decisions and actions. So rather than make up their own mind, they select a prefabricated off-the-rack package of attitudes and beliefs. Those packages carry a number of different labels, often the name of a religion, political partyâ€”or perhaps a broad blanket label (Conservative, Liberal), or a subset or sub-sect of any of the aforementioned.

These packages have the benefit of being brandedâ€”and that may convey whatever specialness or relative perceived status brands convey. Or the brands appeal may just be the comfort of being part of the team, the confidence that many others agree with this version of reality. Hey, if you can feel validated, differentiated and superior because you drink Miller Vs Budweiser, marketingâ€™s ability to differentiate the almost undifferentiate-able clearly is compelling and effective with most humankind.

But it also must be acknowledged that most everybody is willing to think deeply, personally, passionately about some things. They can spend significant time analyzing information, parsing commentary, making and defending their own decisions. They may delight in judging the behavior of their friends or a celebrity. Or the quality of a meal or recipe. The relative merit of cars. Perhaps itâ€™s their football team, or baseball, or hockey. The nuances can be the focus of endless hours of conversation: the coaching, the players, the commissioner, the rules, with statistics and actions lovingly referenced, often going back decades. Whatever.

Even someone with a clear black and white need for clarity in some areas can, without any trouble, have the ability to see infinite shades of gray in another.

So in many areasâ€”often rather important ones (such as oneâ€™s immortal soul), we take an off-the-shelf externally validated and branded package, often without much examination.

But in other areas (such as oneâ€™s sports team), we may be passionately individual, personally involved and accountable, not trusting anyone elseâ€™s opinion about something so important as who might make the playoffs.

But also (usually) not damning to hell for all eternity anyone that does not agree with our beliefs in this area….

And we are all like that, accepting some things wholesale, others with far more skepticism and personal involvement. Tolerant of differences…or intolerant.

What things do you â€œwearâ€ off-the-rack? And what do you design yourself?

Or do you agree with F. Scott Fitzgerald that: â€œThe test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.â€ and perhaps are able to move forward, sticking to your vision, but…making the best of it if circumstances indicate that an intransigent, uncompromising stance is not working.

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Gothic Romance– Alive and Well in 2015?

October 13, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Connie Vines, Dracula, Gothic Castles, Gothic Romance, Halloween, JaneEyre, Rodeo Romance

Is the Gothic Romantic Novel Dead?

Gothic literature has some element of horror in it, something terrifying, spooky, or horrific. It also often has mysterious elements, sometimes supernatural or dream-like qualities. These stories often take place in a spooky, dark, confined space like an ancient castle or empty manor house, a crypt, or a damp cellar. The themes of guilt and sin repeatedly appear in gothic literature, usually in reference to some crime committed or secrets kept.

Popular gothic authors include Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Brockden Brown, Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, and William Beckford.

Other famous examples of Gothic literature include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Dracula. Since the Gothic novel has branched off into numerous sub-genres, I am speaking of the Gothic in English literature ( classic texts) that created the building blocks for what we know as Gothic today.

My personal favorite (as well as Dracula) is Jane Eyre, In this example, we discover the Gothic can also refer to stories involving strange and troubling events that, while they have logical, natural explanations, seem to originate from unexpected forces. Charlotte Bronte employs this element of the Gothic in Jane Eyre, published in 1847. While living in Thornfield Hall as a governess, Jane frequently hears strange noises and laughter coming from the third story of the mansion that no one will explain, and odd things keep happening in the dead of night, such as her master Mr. Rochester’s bed catching fire, and the attack on a guest. We later discover the force behind these events is his insane wife.

Characteristics of the Gothic Novel

The term Gothic novel broadly refers to stories that combine elements from horror and romanticism. The Gothic novel often deals with supernatural events, or events occurring in nature that cannot be easily explained or over which man has no control, and it typically follows a plot of suspense and mystery.

Here is a list of some common elements found in Gothic novels:

Gloomy, decaying setting (haunted houses or castles with secret passages, trapdoors, and other mysterious architecture)

Supernatural beings or monsters (ghosts, vampires, zombies, giants)

Curses or prophecies

Damsels in distress

Heroes

Romance

Intense emotions

Today, however, there are also a ‘new’ brand of Gothic Novels. Southern Gothic is a subgenre of the gothic novel, unique to American literature.
Southern Gothic is like its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot. It is unlike its parent genre in that it uses these tools not solely for the sake of suspense, but also to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South.

The Wilderness Gothic, Suburban Gothic, Space Gothic, and Fantasy Gothic sub genres are also finding a place under the umbrella of 21st century Gothic stories, novels and novellas .

As a long time member of OCC/RWA, I am published in contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and YA historical sweet romance. However, I am also the president of RWA Gothic Chapter (GothRom) of Romance Writers.

If you’d like to learn more about this romantic genre please visit one or more of these links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zyp72hv A time line and more information about Gothic Literature via BBC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog post here At “A Slice of Orange“.

Connie Vines

To learn more about writing a Gothic Romance (the perfect October blog topic), please visit the GothRom Chapter of RWA.