Author Archives: L. Jacob

No longer a blank page

I finally sat down this morning and went back to writing for Grimaulkin Collected. After being sick for two weeks, I just couldn’t get the gumption to write.

Luckily, I had written the summary for the Knight in the Atheneum, a story of rebellion and return. My goal is to write that story today.

Yesterday I went to the Cumberland Monastery’s Author Expo and sold one Homecoming book. Which was better than some other people. Besides, I was there to network mostly, not necessarily sell books.

I have asked to assist in the editing of our local Association of Rhode Island Authors Anthology this year. I have nothing to submit, to tell you the truth, as my time this year seems to be spent on health and getting the books out for Paper Angel Press.

My newest book, Air, is out under the Zarra Knightley imprint, if you want to check that out.

What I’m reading
Memory and Metaphor.
I normally don’t like sci-fi. but this is really well-written, and is keeping my attention. However, there’s a couple of books I have on Kindle Unlimited that I want to read before my subscription expires next month.

The Snarky Writer
I’ve posted a few things on this page. It’s a fun page to see how the writing life has affected us as writers in strange and weird ways–interactions between friends and coworkers and even strangers.

Homework: check

I just finished my entry into the Corporate Catharsis anthology. Titled “Hextron” (though I may change it to “Hextron, Inc.”) it’s a mashup of old hex magic with corporate America. One of the speeches that one of the VP’s gives in the story made me laugh out loud–I never realized that corporate lingo was so obtuse and cliche’d..

Nothing’s really changed since the last entry. I’m feeling much better now that I’m done with antibiotics. I still have the upper respiratory wheeze, but that’s not as loud as it had been. I’ve added Memory and Metaphor to my reading list and will probably get to that because Blackbird in the Reeds is just boring as hell.

Tree

In the Lenormand card deck, the tree is the card of health. When it comes up in a reading, you have to look at the cards around it to see whether health is good or bad.

The Tree came up on one of my readings, but I don’t remember the cards around it. I think Mountain was one. Mountain means “an obstacle to climb.”

If it’s what I remember, it came true with a vengeance. Somehow I got pneumonia about 2 weeks ago, and it hit me as just shortness of breath. No coughing, sneezing, fevers (though yes, to chills). I learned alot about hospitals and protocols and rules and how they handle blood transfusions (yes, I got one of those), so these things will probably make it into one of my books or stories someday.

That’s the funny thing about how things happen in your or a close person’s life–it ends up as fodder for a story. As a patient who is a writer, you’re part patient, part anthropologist, documenting everything later for use in a scene or something.

And all that endless television watching. I watched NCIS: Los Angeles all day Sunday with the sound off predicting, “Oh, they’re gonna do this, and this is what’ll happen.” And most of the time I was right. I suspect I got the police procedural story formula right!

So although I’m feeling a little better, I’m not 100%. That may take some time. Air will be out next Wednesday (Valentine’s Day!) though it is available for pre-order for only $2.99 on Amazon right now. I had a lot of fun with this book, and I think it’s got one of the best stories of the lot in there. I worked really hard on the history, so I hope people notice.

While in the hospital I wrote a scene for Grimaulkin Collected, not realizing I had already written it. But the second scene was better. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called a rewrite, not a revision. I usually do revisions. I hardly ever do rewrites.

My next event will be next week (fingers crossed I don’t end up in the hospital…again…) at the Cumberland Monestary. It’s the same place mentioned in the Grimaulkin series. Come down and see the place! The stage is gone but the buildings are still there. I’ll be there from 1-3.

Also, I’ll be there looking for writers for my publisher’s new anthology, Corporate Catharsis. Go take a look if you’re interested in participating. I will be entering with a working title “The Hex Office.”

What I’m Reading:
Blackbird in the Reeds
Dustin comes home to find some weird stuff taking over his childhood town. Getting a little slow to start up, but I’m hoping things pick up pretty soon or I’ll be moving on.

Buckling down

With Air in the can, I’m supposed to concentrate on Grimaulkin Collected. The key here is “supposed to”. I will admit that this week I hardly wrote much, mostly because I was recovering from surgery. I had expected to write every day, but couldn’t seem to bring myself to the keyboard.

I have to get Grimaulkin Collected completed by April. If i write a scene a day, I can do this.

What I’ve read:

Writing the Mystery.
Tell me something i don’t already know. If you read enough mysteries, you don’t need this book.

Plot in 8 Parts
Not unlike Holly Lisle, who believes that every scene is a mini-story, this book tells you how to come up with plot points in 8 sections. I stopped after reading the second plot point, because it wasn’t too unlike The Hero’s Journey.

Flash! Writing the very short story
Fun stuff at first. I’m still reading and doing the prompts. They’re fast and easy.

Professional and Personal

Professional:
Aircovers are completed and it will be released on February 14.

Front and back cover

I’m writing a story for Grimaulkin Collected but I’m not sure whether to complete the story or leave it as a cliffhanger for a possible novel in the future. If I do that, I will piss off many readers. That’s one thing I don’t want to do.

Personal:
I have to have a quick outpatient surgery tomorrow and will hopefully not be in too much pain to do some writing. I have until April to get Grimaulkin Collected done. I write a little every day and hope for the best.

The Erotic Formula

I’ve read a few gay erotica books, two by the same author, and found out that she follows this formula.

  1. Introduce the two men as forbidden fruit to each other.
  2. They find out they’re gay.
  3. One has an issue being gay (he was bullied because of it or he’s normally straight).
  4. One is in control and eventually loses control.
  5. First sex scene is kissing, hugging, touching.
  6. Second is nude, but they separate afterward
  7. Third may include penetration, but mostly oral
  8. Fourth includes penetration
  9. Subsequent sex consist of breaking down of barriers of the “top”.

The story itself is secondary to the erotica (obviously). There are a few twists and turns to keep the story going, but in general, the end is the bad guy offers his “listen to my evil plan” speech, and dies at the end.

Now, in short stories, I might have trouble following this formula, as I don’t have time to go through four or five incidents of sex. As a novel, yes, I think I can do this.

An update: Last quarter I sold 77 books! That’s combining my erotica with my Paper Angel Press books. I was amazed. Thank you all so much for continuing to support me!

Air is slated for release on February 14 (natch). Audio version probably a month or so after that.

Grimaulkin Collected is slated for May. I have to get writing a little faster on this one.

What I’m reading:

Shiver. After a break, I finished this book, and glad I did. Even though this book was very like her other book Deadly Lover, it had a nice twist at the end that I didn’t expect at all. I’ll pick up her other books to see if she pulls the same formula out.

Steele My Heart – Tatum West
Sweet romance. Not my thing. Got to chapter 4 and tossed it back to Kindle Unlimited.

Fractured Truth – Ashe Winters
Vampires. Okay…I’ll try it. Only on Chapter 2, but finding it interesting.

Reading

Books I’ve read this week (or tried to)

Elemental Magick – Jacki James
I liked the prologue, from the book’s point of view. Then we got to the character, and at first I liked him, too. I already predicted the story: the book would provide the MC with his HEA (Happily Ever After). However, the first chapter happened so fast, and so wild, that I didn’t like it. So….I returned it to Kindle Unlimited.

Hell on Earth – Macy Blake
By page four, I hated the main character for calling the cardboard waitress, “woman”. Asshole. Returned it immediately.

Course Correction – Mia West
I liked this at first. I liked the idea of fish shifters being rescuers. But for some reason, I got bored pretty quickly. The writer knew what it was like to be on a Coast Guard cutter I suppose…but the character whose point of view the second chapter was in, he disappeared for a mysterious reason and he wouldn’t talk about it AT ALL. Did it have to do with the first chapter’s character? Not even an allusion. Returned it after the second chapter.

Ended up going back to Shiver after a hiatus. I’m watching as Lucus slowly starts to break down with Andrei, who’s accepting his place in Lucas’ life. I’m guessing it’ll be an HEA? But the story is well-written. The characters are starting to grow on me.

Started Steele My Heart, and I’m up to chapter two on that one. What is it with the differing POV’s on every chapter? This is obviously part of the romance formula. Maybe that’s why my romance stories are getting two stars.

A week of nuthin’

This week, I finished the final edits of Air, so that’s on track to be published in February. I also printed out Blood From a Stone, looked at it, and realized that editing it was too daunting, considering the editing I was doing for Yellowtree.

Oh, by the way,. I quit editing Yellowtree because I kept getting so disgusted about what I had written. I kept thinking the whole thing is a piece of crap, so I might as well just rewrite the whole thing, and go back to my original story line of fairies and unseelie and seelie fights, instead of throwing in mermaids and sea tales.

I decided this week I’d take a rest from editing. Instead I started writing up character descriptions and histories from the game I play. I want to write something, anything, daily, so this is a good idea to start. I have three pages of characters to plow through.

I’m also trying to write the Grimaulkin Collected stories, at least part of one a day. I have eight stories that have to be at least 5,500 words each. I have a total, right now, of 3,000 words for two stories. Needless to say I need to add more. Not padding, but subplots.

Oh,, cover reveal!

Pretty, huh? That means it’s real…