Derp.

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Jen Lynn Anderson

Guys, I have a lot to report on with my own writing, but for the moment Life With A Capital LIFE … in the form of craziness at work, near-emergencies with a puppy who likes to eat things she shouldn’t, computer crashes, and black widow spiders (don’t EVEN ask) … is giving me enough of a run for my sanity. I haven’t touched my blog in a month (and no, that’s not a metaphor… out of the gutters, people!). This is my work computer. I’m breaking the rules as I type this. Perhaps when I am fired for pissing off IT, I will be better able to devote my time and (slow leeching drain of) sanity to the creative process. At least there will be more time to hand-write my next novel on steno pads. Yes, the faithful MacBook Pro is toast. I am so sad.

The Short Report:

The poetry collection is printed, and I need an ecommerce platform STAT so I can get it to you online
I’m gearing up for NaNoWriMo 2014 (plot outlines and character profiles at the ready), and
The puppy is fine (hide your bamboo kebab skewers, folks).

Whew.

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This is brilliant. And humbling.

Image

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The poetry chapbook is ready for publication!

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Jen Lynn Anderson

I’ve finally finished the formatting and editing of my poetry chapbook, off the page!

Next steps? Sending it to the printer for a proof, one last review, and then boom! Unfortunately, one minor hiccup is that my intended release date falls in
between pay days. And my darling baby girl Layla has a date with the veterinarian and some “snip snip” action, if you know what I mean. Man, I could try to find a less vulgar way to say that. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t want my puppy to have puppies, and thus I’m a bit short on funds at the moment, and printing multiple copies of ANYTHING longer than 25 pages can get expensive (in fact, if you’re interested, here’s one way you can help me with that).

So, the new release date will be October 6th*. Until that time, check out the free preview I posted on the chapbook page!

And feel free to email me at jenandersonwritesabook@gmail.com to pre-order a copy!

*Yet another revision to the release date. It couldn’t be helped. Puppies are EXPENSIVE, man.

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Poetry without judgement.

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Jen Lynn Anderson

Of course, writers are their own worst critics. To this effect, and perhaps as our own way to fight the inner critique, a few years ago (actually… quite a few years ago, now), the lovely Jennifer Rose, the witty Alex Maki and I decided to embark on a little experiment.

We thought,

“What if we could create a space where people, especially people who perhaps don’t normally write poetry, could try their hand at it? Without feeling intimidated or judged? Where all submissions would be welcome, and feedback/critique offered only if invited? But let’s up the ante, and create this space in an online forum, to connect with others, strangers, who might be looking for the same thing.”

Thanks to Blogger, we were able to create this space. We named it “Terrible Poetry from Terrible People” (and no, the implications of the name are not lost on us; we figured we might as well start at the bottom and work our way up to greatness).

Here’s the thing: ironically, the vast majority of the poems on this site are the opposite of what you’d expect. They are incredibly GOOD. Many of them are gorgeous feats of literary art, in all honesty to the point where people should be giving our contributing poets money to read the beautiful words they’ve written.

I went back to the site the other day and browsed through past contributions, and was simply in awe of how well that project worked for awhile. It has been some time since we’ve had regular postings on it (sadly, we had events and obstacles in our lives that interfered, slowly weaning us away from it), but with all of my recent epiphanies about writing in general – and renewed resolve to hit some benchmarks with my own writing – I realized I’d love to see this blog shine again.

So click here and take a look. Wander around the site awhile. See if anything strikes a chord. Let me know if you’d like to post something of your own. As I said… write poetry without judgement. And see what great things can happen.

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Good news and more good news!

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Jen Lynn Anderson

Not conducive to finishing a novel early. Also, not my typewriter.

I am ahead of schedule on ALL fronts this month! And so, lovely people, I bring you the news that I very well may have not one, but TWO published works circulating out among the masses (at least as far out as a limited local publishing budget can get them to circulate) as early as October!

I’m also extremely happy to report the cover art is finished for both projects; see below for a first look (not bad, eh?), and release details.

off the page (a story in poems).

Target release date: September 15th, 2014 (limited first run)
Format: Chapbook print
Price: $7.99 + s/h
Shipping: USPS
Shipping from: Tempe, AZ

The Red Earth Sings Beneath Our Feet: My Journey to Africa and Back

Target release date: October 1st, 2014 (limited first run)
Format: Paperback print
Price: $19.99 + s/h
Shipping: USPS
Shipping from: Tempe, AZ

Honestly, I’m so excited to see my work in physical print form that the first 10 people who place an order will get $5.00 off their purchase. For no reason, except because. Did I mention I was excited?

The novel, Tsidyon, is slowly inching forward toward completion. Or, as complete as I can get it before my inevitable nervous breakdown about it. In the meantime, I’m working on a few other projects:

Getting hooked up through an online publisher. I’m not entirely sold on Amazon yet; I hear great things and terrible things (I don’t want to stir up any ire, but most of the terrible things are in articles from the professional publishing camp). In any case, I want to get my online platform up and running as soon as possible in order to move into the digital ebook market. Save a tree! Read my book!
Free goodies! I’m working on some pieces that I’ll be offering for free, with a subscription to this blog. More to come on that!
Writing projects in the works. Out of all the ideas I’ve had over the years, these are the ones I keep returning to. The constants. I’ve carried them around with me in various stages of completion for a long time, alternating the time I spend with them and the energies I spend on them, and it’s time to just get serious about doing something with each of them:
- A prequel to my existing novel is already in the works. I love the world I created in Tsidyon, and I want to expand on the origin story of the heroic figure who serves as a minor but influential presence in the first novel.
- Another novel outline, with speculative fiction themes. I hesitate to call it strictly fantasy, horror, or science fiction; it has elements of all. This outline is surprisingly well-developed for being my newest tangible long-term writing project, and I’m anxious to see how far the proverbial rabbit hole goes.
- A series of fictional vignettes centering around a core group of characters that are quickly forming a common theme and story line (it may initially read as a novella). At heart, it is a coming-of-age story and the protagonist’s point of view is quite heartbreaking, really. Quickly growing attached.
- A brief outline that doesn’t have much meat to it, yet. I wrote a few pages one day right after a horrendous breakup from an emotionally void relationship from which I struggled to extricate myself, and the story has stuck around. It may turn into a psychological mystery/horror novella. I know what you’re thinking. It’s not exactly autobiographical if there are ghosts in it, right? Just kidding. No ghosts. But definitely horror.
- Some story notes that center around another speculative fiction/fantastical theme. Think Watership Down. Set in Africa. It could go either way at this point.

Well, that’s about all from me today. If you are interested in finding out more about my upcoming projects for publication, drop me an email at
jenandersonwritesabook@gmail.com. Or find me on Facebook or Twitter!

Thanks, amigos.

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