Amber Jennell

I know, I know, I said I'll post something. Well, I don't know what to say for my self. Honestly! I have nothing to say!

What? You want news? Well, all right, if you insist. My computer died. I lost everything on it for the past 4 months (that is, what I wasn't saving to the thumbdrive. Thank goodness for those!!). My birthday is in 2 days (well, 1 from this post, but we'll just pretend I posted it Sunday Night). My brother is expecting is first baby any day.

That being said, I better get back to trying to write. That or just go to bed...

Happy ... EVERYTHING!
Amber

Hello Dear Reader,

It’s Monday, 11:00 pm, I’m eating an ice cream sundae and just finished off my wine cooler (umm… Strawberry Daiquiri). I’ve been listening to rock/classic rock/alternative for the past hour and now I’m ready to write.Yah, my luck, hum? There are currently 5 teenagers in my house right now. 4 boys all under 16 and my little sister, and they want to watch a movie. Fine with me, I plan on watching Underworld as I write, if I can find it. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll be watching The Importance of Being Earnest. It doesn’t matter, really. With the one I can write my vampire novel, with the other, my Victorian mystery. Ha! As if I’ll be able to write watching either! Ah, well.

There are officially (as of midnight tonight) 18 days left until July. I’ve already started planning out my query. Yes, I know. A little premature, but… well, it’s the plan and I’m trying to stick to it. I have been writing, honest. Almost a whole chapter down… Ok, a few hundred words and the outline to 3 chapters. Boy, I really need to get myself in gear.

Lastly, I have bought the domain The Gilded Pen that shall be devoted to woman’s fiction, writing, etc. I am planning on having the site open on July 1st As of right now, I am offering a free month’s advertisement with every banner bought though my web site. Sound good? I hope so. We’ll see how the grand opening goes next month.

An interesting site I’ve found in my research on Victorian living, life, and etc. See if it’ll help you in your writing. http://www.gfy.ku.dk/%7Eams/sh/victorian.html

I know, I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve last posted (wow, two weeks!) but there’s nothing for it. Last Tuesday (or Wednesday, I can’t remember) I received a very terrible virus that caused all my executables to stop working. Extremely annoying, especially since I was unable to simply reinstall the programs infected. Worse of all, the virus affected my burning software and I had to back up all my documents on the thumbdrive. This would have been fine if the virus hadn’t infected the tumbdrive, too.

Long story short, it took me 5 days, the loss of several files, as well as two months worth of e-mails before my computer was back up to it’s old persnicity self.

If you haven’t guessed by this time no, I have not been able to write a word save for two pages on my outline. Ok, fine, but now I’m down to 39 days to either get this darn story finished and a query sent out, and focusing all my attention and energy on my web design.

On that note: I managed to buy the domain TheGildedPen.com. I’ve wanted to buy this domain for over 3 years now, but thought it a little overboard to have more than two domains. With the failing of aaastud.com – my equine promotion site – I’ve let it go and taken up TGP instead. Now, all I have to figure out is what to do with it. Should I make it another writers’ community, or a review site? The option that has been pounding on the back of my brain since I bought the domain is to turn it into a promotion site. I have only seen two sites that offer promotional services to authors, and while I do not have the extreme knowledge of promotion, I know enough for the e-book community.

Well, I’ll have to think about it. Feel free to let me know your ideas on the subject. For the time being, I’m going back to write. With the computer up, this blog post finished, my fingers are ready to fly (and if the above text hasn’t convinced you yet, I have a lot to say).

Happy Writing,
Amber

The Highwayman - Alfred Noyes 1880-1958

Part One

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding,
Riding-riding,
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

And dark in the old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like moldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say -

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.

Part Two

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching-
Marching-marching-
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride.

They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say-
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!

She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one figure touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.

Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up strait and still!

Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him-with her death.

He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew gray to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.

And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding,
Riding-riding,
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

The End

I know it's monday and I really should post something about my progress as of last week, but the muscles in my back are killing me when I type (not to mention on in my upper arm). Maybe it's from sitting at the computer too long. Probably. I've been working on 2 web pages, 2 banners, and a new blog layout and I'm pooped.

Well, I still should post some thing writerlly, so here it is. Info on publicists.

I did a search on publicists late last week wanting to know what they did, how they did it, and what makes them tick. I didn't come up with much original content, but I did find some stuff, but I did find some useful pages. I may just hop into this field my self.

Here you go, the links:
http://www.dnapublications.com/stories/publicist.htm
http://www.romanceauthorspage.com/hiringpublicist.htm

For those who are curious about the web work I've been doing, visit my web page [amberjennell.com]. I created a new banner for Enchanted Ramglings [link] and have it up on my site. View it and let me know what you think.

and as always, happy writing!
Amber

Do you remember that little post I made a few weeks ago? You know the one, about the new line with manga (*squeal*) covers? Yes, that's the one. Can you believe I have it up to 12 chapters already? Not completely written out, mostly outlined with pieces of story dispersed through out. It's coming along wonderfully, but I may change my mind about submitting it to Dorchester.

Right now it's branched into two books, and I'd really like to keep it that way. I know, the decision of making it two books lays (mostly) with the editor. I don't care. I've written out two alternate endings, one for a one-book proposal, and another for a two-book proposal. We'll see what happens, hum? Please, keep your fingers crossed.

Don't even ask me what I've decided to call it or the series...

I'm in the middle of two rather large web design projects. One for a motivational speaker and another for a non-profit horse rescue. One I'm being paid for, the other I'm not. Despite that, I have several projects I'd like to work on.

1. Finish my 'manga' outline
2. Finish short story 1
3. Start and finish short story 2
4. Send off short story 1
5. Start short story 3

If I'm lucky, I will be able to start all this at the start of April. Again, keep your fingers crossed.

So, what are your monthly goals for next month? Are they the same as this month? Different? Or did you drop them all together? Well, what ever you decide to do, I hope you give it your best and keep at it.

Happy Writing,
Amber Jennell

Some times it amazes me how easily I can come up with characters. Good characters; ones that make sense, ones that fit into the story smoothly and add texture to the plot. Such is the case of the two secondary characters for my manga-style story. They, as far as I can in vision, add depth to the plot, a comic chuckle now and again, and a little extra that just needs to be added. Personally, I love these characters. They’re great to get along with, good friends to the hero, have amazingly strong personalities and strong convictions. Unfortunately, that may be a reason I need to kill one of them off.

I know, I know, how terrible! It is terrible; the character I may kill off is a very kind, loving woman. Her death will completely change the other character’s personality forever. So, if her death is going to make such a terrible impact, why do it? For that reason alone. Her death will give my story a much-needed tern. The bad guy is about to win, the hero and heroine are nearing that very curtail point in the story that will either end it there (happily or not) or cause the whole thing to fall apart. A hard turning point is needed, and this is the only one that comes to mind. Trust me, I’ve thought long and hard over it. Right now, I’m thinking. Unfortunately, not even my dinner of a Monte Cristo sandwich and an ice-cold glass of Mug Rootbeer could help.

Ah, well, things could change. I like my character, and if there is any way I can save her from being killed, I’ll find it. If not… Please, no hate mail, thank you.

Happy Writing,
Amber Jennell

OMG, I found a new genre! Read this:

Dorchester is launching a new romance line, line name as yet to be determined. Aimed at a young, hip audience, these books will feature 18-25 year old heroines and will be packaged with Manga-style covers. The stories will feature a heroine "stolen from her normal life into an alternate universe--a universe that challenges all she thought she knew.“ The hero will usually be in a position of some power or in the know in the new world. The stories should be told primarily from the heroine's point-of-view, and should have a strong narrative voice.

I’ve been in a really strange funk this week. I’ve been extremely depressed, unable to write, and been drinking tea and cleaning the house like... well, crazy. The house isn’t clean completely; I don’t have that much energy, but I’ve been drinking so much green tea and licorice tea that I think it’s making me sick. On top of that, I was watching my favorite anime Fruits Basket the night before my ‘funk’ and am now stuck in ‘anime zone’. I thought the show might have been the basis of my ‘funk’ so I haven’t watched any of it for over 5 days! It hasn’t helped, I only want to watch it more, so I just might tonight... that is, after the Sunday line up (Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, SmallsVill and others).

*sigh* Maybe I’m just getting old too fast. I found my first gray hair last week, I’ll turn 25 in a few months, and I haven’t done anything substantial my whole life. I’ve been working on my brother (manga/anime artist of the future) but he doesn’t want to be pushed, and I don’t want to push him. But I don’t want him to feel like I do, like I’ve wasted the last 6 years. The anime helps. It’s funny, inspiring, and uplifting (even though it makes me wish I was a 16 year old girl again, ^_^ )

I know, I shouldn’t be anime and manga surfing, or watching TV, but hey, I can’t write, I suck at drawing (so much for my hopes of ever writing that manga), what else is there to do?

Ok, ok, I know. Get writing. Write through the funk. Just do it. I will, starting tomorrow. Up at 7:30. Writing from 8:30 straight till noon with only 5 min brakes every hour. I need more discipline if I want to get something, anything, finished and I hope fallowing this plan will work. I’ve started making a list of what I need for my garden, so working in it should help with all future funks. If not, I’ll have an even longer list of manga to buy, and an even longer list of anime to rent.

To jump start my writing, I’ve decided, on top of writing my short stories, to write ‘fan fiction’. No, no. It’s not what you think. I’m going to write fan fiction for art. I’ve seen so many wonderful pieces of art over the past 5 days that words for them just... flow. Yes, I know, many artists have ideas behind all their work, but I don’t think they’ll mind if I ‘barrow’ their picture for inspiration. I’m not planning on steeling their art, using it or saying it’s mine. I just want to look at all the pretty pictures while I type. Hum... you know, one of those wide screen monitors would be nice for that. I could have the picture open and just type and stare. *sigh* maybe one of these days.


Some great sites I’ve found while in my ‘funk’:

http://www.hyung-taekim.org/
http://www.raingate.net/
http://www.dlanham.com/
http://www.demonlab.net/
http://www.tokyopop.com/
http://www.writenews.com/2005/072905_darkhorse_harlequin.htm

For the past several months (well, only one month shy of a year) my family has been taking care of a little kitten named Emma. Emma was born with no tail, a trait of the Manx cat. Because of this trait - she had no tail, not even a stub - Emma had bladder problems. When we took Emma to the vet, we also found out that she had coccidia, a trait often seen in animals that have been kept in small, unlearned cages even though her space was cleaned daily.

After several trips to the vet, three months in a diaper, and most of her life confined - Emma could not wonder the house because she ‘leaked’ - as well as her daily dose of medication, Emma passed away Monday evening. She had started to turn the night before, her left hind leg grew slightly stiff and her back side became raw and sore. We moved her into a comfortable area, with an extra soft bed and some special food. The next morning she was worse. Her hind leg had grown limp and her backend was spotted with blood. We made and appointment with the vet for 4:00 pm and waited. As the day grew, Emma grew worse. We left for the vet early, but on our way I noticed Emma’s eyes dilate. Having cared for many, many cats and kittens, I knew what this meant. As we rushed into the vet, Emma had a small seizure. Another sign I was familiar with and not happy to see. We waited to see the vet for over 10 minutes, and by the time we saw the vet, dear Emma had passed. The vet suggested that Emma either had a heart attack or one of her organs failed.

We brought her home and put her to rest with a handful of wiled California poppy seeds as her grave marker. A fitting one for such a playful little kitten.

Emma was one of the spokes kitties to my mother’s web site: DobbyCat.com. With Emma’s help, we where able to fix 3 cats, 1 dog, and are soon to see one cat’s teeth fixed. Thank you Emma for the laughter and the hope. Because of you, many cats and dogs will live a little happier.

~Amber Jennell

Well, it's Monday again and I'm posting on time. Life has been fairly dull around here. The weather is wonderful (around 77 F all last week and 73 F this week) so I've been doing some housework. Now the house looks wonderful so I should be able to write guilt-free all this week; something I really need to do since I have been remiss and written less than 300 words all month.

I plan on writing out two synopses this week, one for ADE and one for my Luna. Maybe. I'm not sure exactly which I would aim to finish first: my historical or my fantasy. I know the fantasy is currently popular, but so is the historical, especially with Pride and Prejudice coming out on video soon (I can not wait to see it!!). Well, they aren't so bad. Perhaps I'll write them both out and have my critique partner read them over and give me her ideas.

Now, since I don't have anything more to add, I'm off to write.
Happy Writing,
Amber

take the WHAT BAD BOOK ARE YOU test.

Procrastination is my middle name, though I am beginning to think it should have been my first. It has been over two weeks since I actually sat down at the computer (or even at my desk with simple pen and paper) and wrote. I do not have the right to use the excuse “I’ve been busy” because I haven’t. My web site has slowed to a trickle. There have been no new banners, no site designs, nothing and I’ve grown a little desperate to the extent that I’ve lowered my prices again. There doesn’t seem to be much of a need for web designers right now, unless they are part of the larger review community. I guess this just means I’ll not make it in the web design community.

Well, that means I need to write. And write I will! ADE is up to 12,000 + words. I have stopped working on the outline for my LUNA since it was taking way to long and I was loosing focus. I’m sorry, but I’m not a planer, I’m a pantser. I am 1,500 words shy of finishing my short story. This one has taken me so long to finish it’s amazing; I can’t wait until it’s completed and sent out!

That's it, now I’m off. A friend of mine (Aline De Chevigny) is having an author chat over at the Coffee time Romance’s message board. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/karendevinkaren/) I also need to get writing. I would rather have my books finished sooner than latter.

Happy Writing,
Amber

Sunshine

Have you ever had one of those days? You know the type; it’s wonderful out side, your body is full of energy, you’ve completed all your chores, and all you need to do – want to do – is write? Yah, I thought you’d know. It’s a wonderful kind of day, isn’t it? So you sit down at your desk, open your MS, open a window to let in the nice, cool air, place your fingers on the keys and then… Nothing happens.

Monday was such a day, and Tuesday as well. I wanted to write, needed to write, but nothing wanted to come out. I sat staring at the screen for more than 2 hours, and still nothing would come out. Now I have to do double the work this weekend to get caught up. At least I was able to write up a couple of outlines for some short stories. I’ll work on one next month and the other, well, the next. It should be no problem, now. Rain is on the wind and dark clouds are blanketing the sun.

E-Books

I was talking with a friend the other day. She had just published her first book with Samhain Publishing and was very excited. I was excited for her, and it got me thinking. I’ve been working on my story for LUNA books, but what about e-books? My mind started whirling, full of questions as well as pros and cons about the e-publishing world.

Since they are a growing industry, acceptance is relatively simpler than house publishing. They also accept new authors with open arms.

But e-publishing feels so fake to me. If I can’t hold my book in my hands, it doesn’t feel real. Besides that, I hate reading long novels on the computer screen; it gives me headaches. Nothing beats curling up on the couch with a cat sitting in your lap, the sun shinning through a window, a good book in your hands.

Then again, Samhain gives their writers 40% on each book sold. With an average sale price of $3.99-$4.99, that’s comes out to about $1.59-$1.99 per book. Wow. Much more than the $0.59 from each house published book.

Of course, how many people actually buy e-books? House published books are sold to millions, while e-publishing closer to the hundreds. Right? I’m not really sure, and have yet to find any information about it.

Oh, there are so many questions and things to consider. I still plan on sending my LUNA off to … well, LUNA. And if they don’t accept it, I’ll polish it and send it off to another house. But this e-book idea is still another possibility I may consider. If any of you readers have anything to add – questions, facts, or information – please feel free to add them. Hopefully I’ll have an answer or idea on what I’m going to do. Before I loose faith all together.

Happy Writing,
Amber

I sat down to write last night, and the words flowed from my fingers like water. Not a river or flash flood, filling up page after page. Simply a small stream, the kind that winds it's way through the trees and over meadow. One page, than another fell be hind the onslaught of my pencil until, more than half way into chapter 3, the stream dried up. Well, it didn't actually dry up so much as fork into two directions. One way, the path my story was to take, was bone dry with only puddles to mark where water once flowed. The other way, that of my characters, flowed full and fast. A virtual rapid amidst washerwomen and daffodils. Though I wished to fallow my original path, the idea dry save for a few known moments that where crucial to my story, the path of my character beckoned. A sparkling, rushing stream is much more inviting than that of a dried up one. And the laughing conversation of the washerwomen a reprieve from castle life. But I was dedicated. I would not deviate from the chosen path. And I would pound that into my character if need be. Low and behold, a voice from the shadows encouraged, encouraged, my character to revolt. Of course, like any good character, that is exactly what she did. So now I stand here, at the edge of a waterfall with no end in sight, waiting for my character to take the plunge. And she will, it's in her nature. As I once told a friend: Characters are a lot like children. When you tell them to do something, especially when it is for their own good, they'll quickly go they other way. For if given half the change, a character will spit in your eye and laugh. Happy Writing, Amber

It's that time again. Time to change your calendar, send the family home, and write out those ridiculously long resolutions that you have absolutely no plan on keeping (and if you do, I'm sure you've already broken half of them by now). Yep, I'm talking about the New Year's Resolution. I've made them for years and have failed to keep a single one of them. But, as with any sort of tradition, I sat down on December 31st, went over my plan, and wrote out my Resolution.

1) Finish my MS. Not very hard if I put butt-to-chair and fallow my plan of writing 600 words (about 3 pages) each and everyday.

2) Finish 2 shorts and submit them. Ok, come on. A short should be verry easy, right? Not! You have less room to finish your plot, and in my case they seem to grow to novel size. I plan on writing 200 words/day (1 page) each month for this.

3) Walk the dog more. Yes, we all have the scary "lose weight" on our list, and they never seam to work. So I've decided to change mine a bit. Instead of 'losing weight' I'm goint to walk the dog 2 blocks in the morning and 2 in the evening. Nough said.

4) Update my web site and blog more often. Once every couple of moths is some what pathetic. I'm aiming for twice a month at the least.

5) Finish MS. Yes, I need it on their twice, just in case ;-)

Well, now that my goals are down and in front of millions of eyes (ok, at lease 50 pair) I feel confident in completing each and everyone. With a little (or a lot) of hard work, I'm sure I can do this. And if I start to slip, feel free to give me a swift kick in the right direction.

How about you? What are your New Year's resolutions? Do you even have any? I'd love to know! It's always interesting to see what other people expect for themselves.

Happy Writing and a Happy New Year,
Amber