What is a Novel? by Jina Bacarr
September 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as author, bird, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Italian, Italy, Jina Bacarr, novels, perfume, scent, Venice, writing
A novel is like my friend, Uccello.
Writing is a solitary profession and taking a break from sitting at my computer is important to me. I like to walk. Every day I walk through a park on my way to the beach, smelling the flowers, enjoying the shade of the trees and listening to the birds singing.
One bird in particular captured my attention. He doesn’t sing better than the others, he’s not prettier, and he doesn’t fly in a soaring pattern. But we’ve formed a bond, Uccello and me.
I call him “uccello” (bird in Italian) because he reminds me of the birds singing outside my hotel window in Venice. I fell in love with the magical city with all its sights and smells when I spent time in Italy speaking and performing about Body & Eros at La Biennale dance festival.
Watch a short clip of the view from my window in Venice, Italy.
Seeing Uccello every day takes me back to Venice and reminds me of the evocative perfume I inhaled there.
I learned to recognize Uccello from the other birds, little things about the charcoal grey bird that caught my eye. He has a little white belly that wiggles when he preens himself like a de’ Medici grand duke and his chirping is short and musical like breathy notes on a flute. He follows me through the park, flitting from one perch to another, poking his head around to see if I’m dallying.
I’ve gotten to know his idiosyncrasies, like how he chirps twice when he sees me, then how he likes to show me what path to take by flying in front of me. The park has many winding pathways and I look forward to seeing where he’ll lead me on my walk each day.
To me, a novel is like Uccello. Something about it attracts your eye–it could be the title or the cover–you get closer, open up the book and it takes you on a journey. As you follow its winding paths, you breathe in its uniqueness. That’s part of the fun for me. I like to inhale the scent of the story.
It’s not something you can smell in a physical way, but it evokes an odoriferous response in you that makes you aware of the scents the author has created in their world, whether it’s fragrant roses, the salty sea, cinnamon, oil, pine cones, or the smell of sex.
The next time you read a novel, think about what you smell. It may surprise you.
I’m off to see Uccello.
Want to come along? It’s easy.
Open a novel and join us.
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs
visit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
Something Cool: 5 Tips to Keep Cool while writing Hot Romantic Scenes by Jina Bacarr
August 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as brook, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, cool, hot, icebreakers, romance heroes, romantic scenes, writing
Unlike my heroine, Breezy Malone, in Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs, who’s been known to cool off on her job as a federal agent interrogating Russian spies with an ice cube placed in strategic places, I find the soothing sounds of water running in a brook keep me cool while I’m writing hot romantic scenes.
So as summer winds down and we’re all trying to figure out how to keep cool as the temperature goes up, way up, here are my 5 tips to keeping cool:
1. Keep the décor in your work area simple, selecting “cool†tones such as green, blue, or lavender. Avoid hot direct overhead lighting, use natural light whenever possible.
2. Cool fans. Not just the electric “blowing in your face†kind, but hand fans at your fingertips when you want to feel a cool breeze. Have some fun and paste photos of sexy hunks on the each side and fan away.
3. Create an illusion of coolness by diverting your senses. Hang wind chimes or Chinese lanterns where they will catch a breeze. Add beaded curtains in your doorway that move gently in the breeze. Then put on a sarong and write barefoot.
4. Tall, cool drinks. Make ice-cubes out of your favorite beverage (juice, cola, sports drinks), then toss the ice cubes into a tall glass of unflavored sparkling water. Add a sprig of mint. Spoon sorbet into ice-frosted glass bowls and enjoy!
5. Cool, running water soothes the senses and conjures up scenes of a man and a woman kissing passionately in the surf as foamy waves rush around them. Sounds delish…but if you don’t happen to have a running brook nearby, here is a short video of running water in a brook.
How hot the scenes are that you write while you’ll listening to the sounds of the running brook is up to you.
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs
visit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
Romance Writers of America 2006 Conference in Atlanta with Jina Bacarr
July 11, 2010 by Jina Bacarr in category Archives tagged as Atlanta, audio books, author, Blonde Geisha, booksigning, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Disneyland, Florida, Georgia, Golden Heart, Harlequin, literacy, Orlando, Rita, RWA Conference, spice
Yes, you read the title correctly. That’s the RWA Conference in Atlanta back in 2006.
Where did the time go? Several SPICE books, blogs, videos, Tweets and Facebook friends later, I’ve been thinking about all the wonderful things RWA and OCC/RWA offer its members.
Especially the annual conference. It’s always an exciting time. Here’s the official information about this year’s conference:
“RWA is proud to host its 30th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, July 28 – 31, 2010.
“Be sure to join us to enhance your writing and knowledge of the ins and outs of publishing at more than 100 workshops; get the inside track at panels and round-tables featuring publishing professionals; schedule a one-on-one pitch meeting with an acquiring editor or literary agent; attend parties and network with the stars of romance fiction; and be a part of RWA’s massive, 500-author strong “Readers for Life” charity book signing. And let’s not forget the 2010 RITA and Golden Heart Awards.” For more information go to the RWA website.
To everyone who is going, have a great time!
I’ll never forget my first RWA conference. (What girl ever forgets her first?)
So here is a video I made taking you back to July 2006 and the Romance Writers of America Conference in Atlanta.
From the Literacy Signing to the Spice Books workshop to the Harlequin party and the RITA Awards, re-live the conference in this fun video podcast.
As you can see in the photo above, I signed copies of The Blonde Geisha that year at the RWA Conference in Atlanta.
Hard to believe that since then, The Blonde Geisha has been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish and two weeks ago it came out in the Czech Republic as “The Geisha with the Emerald Eyes.”
So sit back and relax and come with me as we go back to the RWA Conference in Atlanta in 2006!
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighsvisit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
0 0 Read moreMy JEM Interview: “Roxy Rumbles†for Literacy by Jina Bacarr
June 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as books, cartoons, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, JEM, kids' TV, literacy, reading
Imagine if you couldn’t read.
You’d miss out on connecting with friends at Facebook, couldn’t check your bank account (though at times you’d rather not), never be able to write a grocery list (can’t forget the chocolate chip cookies), check out the menu board at Starbucks for the latest latte sensation.
Or read the fabulous posts here at OCC Slice of Orange.
Hard to imagine that at one time in history being “literate†meant that a person could sign his name. It later evolved to mean that you could read Latin. During the early days of Queen Victoria, close to fifty percent of all women signed their marriage certificate with their “mark†on their wedding day because they couldn’t write.
It wasn’t until later in the nineteenth century that books became affordable to everyone.
Yet literacy is still a problem. According to a story in USA Today by Greg Toppo, a study in 2009 estimates that “…32 million adults in the USA—about one in seven—are saddled with such low literacy skills that it would be tough for them to read anything more challenging than a children’s picture book or to understand a medication’s side effects listed on a pill bottle.â€
More than ever, it’s important to read, read, read. It spurs our imagination, educates us and gives us the opportunity to explore new and exciting worlds.
Reading books is just as important today as it was when I wrote a cartoon script for the girl band series JEM and the Holograms called “Roxy Rumbles.â€
Roxy, the “bad girl,†can’t read, which gets her into all kinds of trouble.
You can see the first part of my “Roxy Rumbles†episode here (next 2 parts are listed on this same page):I am delighted to discover that JEM is still popular–and my message about reading more important than ever.
I was recently interviewed by Steve Savicki on his website devoted to JEM.
Read my interview here and find out all about this fab series!
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,
Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs
visit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
0 0 Read moreA Naughty Victorian Lady travels to Italy as “Bionda Samurai†by Jina Bacarr
May 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as blonde samurai, book trailer, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, England, Japan, Japanese, kimono, lady, naughty, Victorian
Morning sunlight, wiggling through the petit-point pattern on the lacy curtain, hovers over my shoulder to see what I’m writing. A red-breasted robin fluttering about on the window sill holds its breath, pen scratchings fill my ears.
I am beside myself with excitement, spilling blue ink on my gown and smudging the fine rice paper upon which I write with dirty fingerprints, but I know you shall forgive me for word has reached me that my memoir, The Blonde Samurai, has found its way to faraway shores.
To Italy.
A place where–
The romance of carnival and exquisite masks enchants the eye.
The sacred mount of the holy saints restores one’s faith.
The musical language of the arts and literature delights the ear and enriches the soul.
I must recount to you how pleased I am that the story of this Irish-American lass and her samurai has made its way to such a grand place.
Here then is the visual and audio presentation in Italian of the publisher’s synopsis of “Bionda Samurai†(available May 13th). Grazie!
=====
Postscript: I have also included the English translation for you:
“She is determined to recount her adventures in every detail, from the electrifying moments to the salacious, her life ruled by her insatiable appetite for all things sensual. Her story takes us from London to Japan, where the journey takes you through a maze of raw and vivid eroticism.
“Tantalizing and provocative scenes of sensuality await you in Japan. This is the return of class because Jina Bacarr (author of “The Blonde Geisha†and “Cleopatra’s Perfume“) puts forward with her usual skill a story that is unique and has earned her millions of readers around the world, her themes more endearing and bold with provocative situations raw and sexy but always romantic.”
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