Unfinished ~ Why I have stories no one will ever see

 

UNFINISHED

Why I have stories no one will ever see

by Author Jessica E. Subject

Recently, there was a trend in Author Instagram where authors shared all the stories they had started and what happened to them. This included both published and unpublished stories. I posted with this trend, though I divided my posts into those stories which have been published, and those which haven't.

While I've seen many authors sharing their excitement over the story their currently writing, the story that's out on submission, the story that's available for pre-order, and the story that just released, I don't see posts about the stories they've abandoned. So, this trend was a first for me to see that.

As an author, I can think of many reasons why those stories have been tossed to the side, some never to be looked at again. I won't speak for all authors, but I will share the reasons why I have abandoned some of my stories.

The Zurian Child, The Zurian Legacy, Faith ~ The first book in this series was published, and the second one was contracted to the same publisher. But when the publisher folded, these stories were left without a home. This was the first series I'd ever written. It was my baby, and I was so excited to finally have it published. At the same time that the beginning of this series was being published, I started working with another publisher for shorter stories. And the editors I worked with there taught me a lot. So, when I had these stories back to do with what I wanted, I realized they needed a lot of help. That's when I tossed them aside. But not forever. I ended up rewriting the first two stories completely, with some new characters, new settings, and new knowledge. They eventually became Bryce and Jager in my Galactic Defenders series.

The Other Brother, random YA Contemporary, Good Daughter ~ These three stories were plotted and started, but I lost interest when I started writing other stories for other projects.

Always on the Outside ~ This is a story I still want to write. I have a general plot, but I have to make time to write it. I always seem to have some other project come up when I go to write this one.

Jace ~ I always planned to give Jace his own story. It was supposed to be the fourth book in my Galactic Defenders series, but I didn't have a definite plot. But then Tayrym came along with a full plot, and I wrote his story instead. I hope to one-day give Jace his story.

Before the Tour Ends, Claiming His Love ~ These two stories will involve a lot of research into culture, and that can be daunting. With the help of sensitivity readers, I might be able to tell these stories properly, but I'm not sure yet.

Special Project ~ This is what I'm writing now, and my due date is fast approaching! More details to come!

2 Fans, 3 Secrets ~ These are the next two stories in my Romance Tales from the Quadrants that I will be writing. I'm busy plotting them, too!

I have some other short stories that I've shared in my newsletters, but I have no plans to share them in any other way. 

If you're looking for the many stories I do have published, be sure to check out my website, or my profile on Books2Read!

Fixing my ergonomic workspace by Author Jessica E. Subject

 

FIXING MY ERGONOMIC WORKSPACE

by Author Jessica E. Subject

Lately I've been experiencing a lot of shoulder pain. After visiting my physiotherapist, I've learned most of the pain radiates from my trapezoid muscles. I believe it's due to many reasons, including the way I sleep, overuse with some duties, my desk setup, and more. I'm trying to do what I can to remedy most of these situations. I no longer sleep on my side, but on my back with a cervical pillow to support my neck. I've retired from some of my other duties. I try to hold my phone up higher when I'm scrolling, reading, or watching on it. And I've bought a headset with a mic to transcribe my stories into a Word document from my notebooks. There's a learning curve to that, but I've been able to do it without having to buy any new software.

Ergonomics involves altering your workspace to provide maximum comfort, thus increasing your productivity and efficiency.

Rearranging my work station to make it even more ergonomic is my current project. I have an ergonomic keyboard and mouse. They have helped, but having them separate has been an issue. I need them both in the same spot, which means moving one to use the other. To solve this situation, I've ordered an ergonomic keyboard with a built-in roller ball. No more moving one to use the other, as they'll both be in the same spot. And I can switch back and forth to use the mouse with both hands instead of only my right. 

The next step is training myself to sit properly. I have a good chair with back support. But, if I forget to put on my glasses, I'm often leaning forward to see the screen. So, I have to remind myself to wear my glasses and sit up straight.

Ergonomics is also about having things you use at the right level in order to minimize discomfort. The exact level is different for everyone, since we are all different sizes, but I found this guide on depositphotos that shows how you can find the right level for you.

This is what I'm doing as I work on the first book in a new (spinoff) series. Hopefully I will have an update on that project soon!

Wishing you many great books to read!

jessicasubject.com

The "Series Bible" by Jessica E. Subject @jsubject #AmWriting #AmWritingRomance #Romance

 

My "Series Bibles"

Hello everyone! It’s great to be back on Paranormal Romantics. This is my first post as a member of the blog in a few years and I'm so happy to be back. For those who don't know me, I write sci-fi and paranormal romance, some MF, some ménage, and some LGBTQ+. My recent series include Alien Next Door, Galactic Defenders, and Shifter Towers. You can find me here on the seventh of each month.

Today, as I work on the first book in a new series, I wanted to talk about my "series bibles." Some may think of them as a series planner, but, to me, they're much more than that. I use them to keep track of my characters, settings, and add multiple odd notes that I need to remember for subsequent stories in the series. Sometimes the information is very important, and other times, it's simply for my own musing. 

Depending on what platform an author uses to write their stories, these "series bibles" can be kept in many different places. I tried writing on the computer with Scrivener, and kept a "series bible" there. I have since gone back to writing in a notebook, and therefore, my "series bibles" are in their own separate notebook, as shown in the above picture.

I start my "series bible" while still in the planning stages of the series and while plotting the first book. And as I write and finish a book in the series, I add notes to my notebook, things to remember when writing the next book. I try to leave spaces so I can add information along the way, but sometimes the pages look like a brainstorming page from when I was planning a story in public school.

These "series bibles" make my life easier as an author. Instead of scrolling or flipping through the pages of an already published book from the series to find information I need, I rely on my "series bible." I can find things so much easier in there.

Map of Saramto from my Shifter Towers "series bible"

If you're a reader, would you be interested in seeing what's contained in an author's "series bible?"

If you're an author, do you use a "series bible," and what type of information do you include inside?

Check out my latest release...

DEMON ON JACKSON STREET

Shifter Towers #5

by Jessica E. Subject

Jet

Once upon a time there was a demon who was the best at convincing people to sell their souls. That was me. Is me. And now I have a new assignment, one Father told me would be difficult. I didn’t know what “difficult” meant until I met the young man, someone who has barely anything. Collecting his soul should be easy, right? There are so many things I can give him. Except, he doesn’t believe he deserves a better life. I have to find something he desires before the assignment is given to my brother. Because Crow uses the most villainous means to obtain souls. Lines I don’t cross. And I don’t want to see Toby hurt. There has to be another way.

Toby

I’m not like them. I can’t shift into a predator to defend myself, or even into a small rodent to run and hide. The wolf shifters know that every time they rough me up and steal my food. I always wish for a guardian angel to protect me from them. Then one day Jet appears, looking nothing like the angel I’d imagined. But I don’t know if I should trust him. He makes me feel things no other alpha ever has. Dangerous things. Not good when I have to stay focused on my grandmother. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have her around.

Available from:

Amazon US | Universal Book Link | Paperback

You can find me here:

Website | Newsletter | Twitter

Facebook Page | Instagram

BookBub | Amazon | Goodreads

Trad, Indie, Hybrid...Which Should I Be? with @Meganslayer #authors #hybrid #indie #traditional #authortalk

So what am I?

Hybrid.

I never thought I'd be a hybrid author. I was determined to go Traditional or nothing, but then a couple of my pubs closed and it was crushing. I thought these were my places to be...and they're gone. So some of my work I opted to self-publish.

It's been nice to have publishers still, but also nice to have print copies I've got control over in my hands. There's nothing like holding your own book in your hands that you helped create. So, I'm still with publishers because I like the safety of being there, but I like having some control over my work, too.

One of the bad things about being a hybrid published author is the cost. When you're with a publisher, they handle the costs. You write, do the edits and get the art, but they pay for it. With self-publishing, you have to foot the bill for that all. It's a push to promote more to recoup what you put into the cost, but it's not easy if you don't have a lot of startup cash.

Still, I like being a little of both. Kind of reminds me of that old Osmonds song...

Here's a little bit about my latest release, Roosters: Innocent & Sweet:

Innocent and Sweet by Megan Slayer

Roosters, Book 1
Changeling Press
Short Story
M/F, New Adult

Anissa Dunn wants one man -- Kameron. He’s got looks, brains and a boatload of attitude… and all that muscle. A girl can only take so much, and he's her heart's desire. She’s not afraid to give as good as she gets and she wants him to be her teacher in all things carnal.
There's only one catch -- he's her bodyguard and the rules state she can't date the staff.
But rules are meant to be broken…

Available from Changeling Press:  https://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2745
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DVM3N4Q/
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/b5rkBA

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

One of the more frequent questions I get from readers as a paranormal romance author is how I came up with the idea for whichever story they're most invested in. What did I start with? The character? The world? The plot?

I know this is different for every author, but for me, almost always, a series starts with a specific scene. However, thinking about it further, it starts even before that.

I am a fan of a good story in just about any format - book, movie, spoken, etc. I love to lose myself in the world and the characters. One of my favorite activities for my imagination is to invent new characters who I plop down into the middle of my favorite stories - just in my head of course. I've thought of a daughter for Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, a love interest for Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, or just a random person who comes along after the story ends and picks up where things left off. Often I am inspired by several ideas from several sources - mashing them all together to create something different.

As an example, Blue Violet and my Svatura series got started--with several inspiration points. I loved the idea of a shifters in general. I combined that with different people having different shifts (rather than all the same), like the animagus in the Harry Potter series. Next I pulled in Malificent from Disney's Sleeping Beauty--adding a dragon. However, I didn't want anyone with magic to be able to easily figure out how to shift, so it needed to be an inherent ability.

As frequently happens, I then reinvented my initial idea several times using a series of "what ifs". What if my character could do this, or that, or the other? My new character started adding animals to her list of shifts. Because one animal is good, but more animals... better. At first they were all flying animals - I kept the dragon and added a falcon, a hummingbird, and a butterfly.

For those of you who've read Blue Violet, you can probably guess that my character eventually turned into Ellie. She kept the falcon (and maybe the dragon too ;) ) and added a jaguar and a wolf. I mean, if you're going to be able to shift into multiple animals, might as well make them powerful ones. Right?

But just having those awesome morphs wasn't enough for my character. I had to give her something to do with them.  I usually like stories where someone has a bad ass ability that no one else knows about. When they finally reveal that ability, it's a big deal. And that's how the initial scene I mentioned came about. I had my character protecting a group of people she knew but who didn't know what she was. From afar of course. And then she is forced to reveal who/what she is when they are actually attacked.

Can you guess which scene this became in Blue Violet? Yup - the scene where Ellie turns into a jaguar (after being a falcon) and fights the wolves who attack Lila, Adelaide, and Nate.

And that was the start of Blue Violet. From there, I had my own unique world and set of characters who I already loved--they needed their own stories, leading into a full series. But the inspiration came from sources that already sparked my imagination. I found the same situation has happened for each of my series. Ideas floating around that morph into a single scene and the series develop from there.

Authors, what about you? How do you find your inspiration?

**GIFs linked directly from giphy.com

Rejuvenation for This Writer's Soul

It's July, and I can say that honestly, it's not that hot here compared to last year. At this time last year, we had been in the hundreds for weeks. It was so hot that the pavement burned my feet even after the sun went down at night. We've been swimming, writing, job hunting, and getting ready for RWA Nationals in Anaheim this year.

RWA Nationals

I love this event, in large part because I get to see friends that I only see once a year at Nationals. Nearly all in attendance are authors—they speak my language as it were—and they don’t' look at me like I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs when I gripe about stubborn characters or worse, loud ones. They get me. I get them.

We're going to be right next door to Disneyland and Disneyphile that I am, I want to try and escape into the parks at least one of the days of my visit. I also have a lot of good friends on the West Coast, dear friends that I rarely get to see, so hooking up with them will be a plus. Definitely one of the most magical places to reconnect not only with old friends, but also myself.

Painted Desert

One of the best parts of Nationals this year will be driving through the desert in New Mexico and Arizona. I love to stop at night, in the middle of nowhere and actually see the Milky Way. After years of city living, it's heartening to look up and see the galaxy we're a part of. So often, as a writer, I get caught up in the worlds that I create and inhabit in the bits and bytes of my computer screen. I forget to look at the world around me and truly appreciate it.

A drive through the desert is one way to remind me of this greater world, this universe we're all a part of.

Sunset on the Pacific

Anaheim is also not that far from the Pacific Ocean—definitely not as far as it is from where I live. I plan to escape the hotel and venture down to the beach. I want to sit there, somewhere along the shore, with the wind brushing my cheeks, the smell of the salt air and the sun setting into the water.

Pure magic.

Rejuvenating the Writer's Soul

Last year at RWA Nationals in New York, I made a commitment to myself and this year, I get to celebrate the one year anniversary of that commitment, celebrate the accomplishments I've made and celebrate the world that I live in. As an author, I get to live a thousand lives, but as me, I only get this one. I can't wait to enjoy every moment of it.

What are your plans this July?