Musings of a Mad Woman #1

I'm an author, it is true. I have written 3 novels that I am incredibly proud of with another on the way.  But what the world doesn't see are the litany of notebooks, journals, and random pieces of paper I've regurgitated my thoughts onto over the years.  They press against my skull and chant for my undying attention until I finally release them.  That stream of endless words that rushes from the pits of my soul are more telling of who I really am unlike any novel I could ever write.  As a thank you to all of you who have supported me this past year, I'm going to reveal one of those journal entries, poems, or short stories each week.  It will from now on be titled...Musings of a Mad Woman!  I can't promise you unicorns and rainbows, but I can promise you this: It is me - raw and naked (figuratively speaking of course) - stripped of my defenses and walls that I've constructed over the years.  You've been warned.  Proceed with caution.

Being the first of many posts of this kind, I'm going to give you a journal entry AND a poem!

3.12.2010
Oh, how I wish I could fly across the sky littering the clouds with all that I long to release.  But I refrain.  Struggling to keep my angst wrapped up tightly in a velvety square box tied with a suffocating bow and ribbon.  For fear of rocking this big rickety boat so big and pregnant, refusing to catch the tide.  With one menacing storm it would CRACK and be lost to the ocean forever.  Oh, how great that loud, booming, sound would feel to my tired soul!!  Setting it free!  But, it is not my weighted vessel to sink – I must stand back and wait for the bottom to drop out.  My always hopeful, forgiving soulmate will continue to rock it ever so slightly, just enough to stay afloat.  Only to make things unbalanced and lopsided.  Causing men, trinkets, and maps to slide all over the rusted old boards.  A splinter here, a splinter there.  Hmm…those tiny slivers of bark are the ultimate silent stalker.  Shooting pain with every movement…but hide so easily!  Could that be better than my big catastrophe with boards and anchor flying?  A soft tearing of nails and wood, giving way to a slow and painful journey down to the abyss?  Oh I think so!  How clever my love is!  For years of backstabbing words and hidden lies – a long, slow descent to a final goodbye

Some of you may have already read this in my 'Pieces of Me' tab, but I wanted to share again:

Harbor

Brittle breaks of beautiful bounty

Taking its toll on the tiny triumph

Chasms collide as cold winds cover

Below the brunt of bitter battle

Folk and fiction are forgotten forever

Laughing lightly at the life she loves

Sings to his soul, softens his cries

Once the whirlwind wanes of war

And cries of casualties, cast the cure

Her baby bursts of blissful bloom

Sacred he stirs, safe in her womb

Social Media & Popularity = Recipe for a Creative FAIL?

Once in a blue moon, an ephiphany will come tumbling out of the clear blue sky, ricochet off of the dogwood tree in my front yard, crash through my bedroom window, and knock me upside the head - opening a portal to clarity and understanding.  Usually I spend my days winding through the maze of ideas, possibilities, emotions, and chocolate cravings in my head so when an epiphany presents itself I pay attention. 

This most recent epiphany came about while browsing facebook.  I found an article about the effect of Instagram on Middle Schoolers (which you can read here: here).  Even though the label 'Middle Schooler' no longer pertains to me (of which I'm thankful for - who misses those awkward, acne riddled years?) the phenomenom of popularity and social media definitely do.

I was that barely-there, smaller than normal, underdeveloped 7th grader you didn't see slinking behind you on my way to class.  I was the shyest and loudest (marinate on that) cheerleader on the black squad at Carrington Middle School but 'popular' wasn't a label I carried around.  Being 'popular' sounded like a lot of work and it was much easier to go home and read my The BabySitter Club books.  Unlike kids today, I didn't have people 'liking' my every picture or 'following' my every thought.  Thankfully, I didn't have people 'unliking' my every picture or 'unfollowing' my every thought, either.  It was easy not to care about being popular when it wasn't being tracked on a website...or six.

7th grade Kday didn't have a quantifiable way to be measure her popularity but unfortunately, 34 year old Kday does.  After becoming an author last year, I've crashed onto the social media scene with a vengence.  My end goal was to simply have readers enjoy my books.  Over the last couple of months, my end goal has gotten a little foggy.  Keeping up with the Twitterverse, Facebook, Instagram, and every other social media portal invented has created a sort of vaccuum that my self-esteem has begun spiraling down into - fading away into a chasm of insecurity.

Instead of concentrating only on ratings/reviews - I've found myself not only tracking the sparkly, new, tempting quantifiable ways to measure one's popularity but also comparing my numbers to other authors in an effort to see where I rank in the sea of wordsmiths out there.  Likes, follows, shares, unfollows, # of comments, and smiley faces haunt my dreams; mocking me in my sleep and laughing at me during my waking hours.  I feel as if I'm climbing the same rickety ladder as the other thousands of authors - scratching, pulling, and stomping my way to the top.

But I'm not a stomper or a scratcher!  I'm a writer!  Words, stories, characters, and creating a world that readers never want to leave - those are my passions!  And as easy as it is to forget that in the wake of 30 new followers, 7 new likes, 13 shares, and that dreaded unfollow - those passions are the reasons I began writing Daughters of the Sea in the first place.

So here and now I'm promising all of my followers, unfollowers, likers, haters, fangirls, and perpetual sharers: I will be the best Kday I can be, the best writer I can be, and the best cheerleader (of other authors and bloggers - not the 7th grade basketball team at Carrington) I can be!  I love you all and remember your worth as a person, blogger, or writer is not reflected in your facebook page stats, twitter followers, or blog shares.  Its in the smile your campy reviews evoke, the tears your heart-wrenching reunion scene has caused, and the giggles your random tweeter feed elicits.  Because bringing sunshine to someone else's life - that's what really matters, isn't it?

How I get to my Fantasy Worlds...& away from reality

Even after displaying the inner workings of my soul onto the 5X8 pages of three novels, I still find it odd that people are interested in how my mind works.  Especially since up until the last year, I hadn't really put much stock in it.  I've always liked reading and I've always liked writing, but I never really thought about why I've been able to visualize entirely imaginary worlds that I felt more comfortable in than our own reality.  So I've always dipped into those imaginary places when I needed somewhere safe to go. When I needed to make sense of the things going on around me and within me. 

Books, music, and art were the portals that allowed me passage.  They still do.  Books took me to other people's worlds - places created by someone else, but that I enjoyed visiting.  Listening to music gave me a small reprieve that would allow me to feel any and all overwelming emotions vying for my attention at any given time.  Lastly, art and photography were conceptual visual representations of those emotions and allowed me passage through those representations. 

When a story is evolving in my mind it demands I find audible and visual representations - my own passages back to the worlds my mind creates.  When its time to write again, those passages take me right back to that imaginary world I've created - in every way.  That's what it takes for me to successfully tell a story, describe scenes, and grow my characters. 

I wanted to share some of the photography and conceptual art that have become passages for my Daughters of the Sea world.  Most have nothing to do with the actual Daughters of the Sea - they have more to do with...me.

*

Visit my my Pinterest boards below to see more random awesomeness that inspires me!!

http://pinterest.com/kris10day/dre-m-a-little-dre-m/

http://pinterest.com/kris10day/d-rk-inspirations/

Daughters of the Sea #4 - brace yourself!

Who wants more Finn?? *raises hand and bounces in seat* Who wants more Stasia?? *raises hand higher and starts waving it* Who wants more Nadia?? *scowls as blood pressure rises* Ha! I can't tell you who all will be in the fourth book of the Daughters of the Sea because that would ruin the surprise!  And by the number of thrown kindles, flying curse words, and people staring daggers at my twitter page, I can tell you guys know I LOVE a good surprise - especially surprises that have an added twist.  So although I can't promise I won't subject you to more blood curdling cliffhangers, I can absolutely promise another book filled to the brim with soul-wrenching, heart-warming, blood-boiling, hair-raising, mind-numbing, and shiver-inducing AWESOMENESS.
*

heark·en

/ˈhɑrkən/ Show Spelled [hahr-kuhn] verb

1. Literary. to give heed or attention to what is said; listen.

2. Archaic. to listen to; hear.

*

Sometimes our souls hear what our minds and hearts refuse to accept.  It will whisper its continuous cadence until we're strong enough to glimpse the truth.  When the soul's whispers morph into screams, we're forced to gaze into the mirrors of time and see ourselves for who we really are.  Would you be able to handle what gazes back?
*

                                                                                               *this isn't the cover pic

I can't wait to share this next installment of the Daughters of the Sea Series!! 

Stay tuned for the Blurb and Cover Reveals this summer!!

Guess That Book Title!

It's time to put on those thinking caps, meditating mu-mus, contemplating shawls, and pondering ponchos!  If you are without all of the aforementioned items I would suggest closing your eyes really tight and channeling your inner dictionary.  Because I've got a totally awesome and equally pointless game for us to play!!  Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to play Battleship with thousands of people (best game EVER), so I had to be a little more creative...

As you may or may not have noticed, all current books from the Daughters of the Sea series titles are adjectives or verbs ending in -en.  So taking that into consideration, there are a limited number of words left in the english language ending in -en that could be used for the fourth book in the series. 

Here's where your caps, muu-muus, shawls, and ponchos come in.  What could that elusive fourth book title possibly be?!  Take your best guess and WIN!  The very first person to get it right will win a free signed copy of Forsaken! 

Please either tweet your guesses to me @kris10_day or email them to me at kris10day@yahoo.com I'll give out hints periodically - below are the first two…

HINT#1: 7 letters

HINT#2: contains the letter ‘a’

HINT#3: Listen closely and it might come to you

Ready, set, start guessing!!!!!

Blurb Reveal - Promise Me This by Sarah Ashley Jones

I don't usually post the normal book blogger type events, but because I truly believe in this amazing new author, I wanted to be a part of her blurb reveal.  AND it's her birthday!!  Happy Birthday Sarah Ashley!!

BLURB:

Welcome to the South - where the tea is sweet and the accents are sweeter. This Southern way of life is all Charlie has ever known.  It’s not until she loses the only person who pushed her to break free of the Southern Belle mold that she starts living the life she needs and not the life her parents forced on her.

Jhett has lived on the edge for as long as he could remember - constantly teetering back and forth between being a rock star and living a normal life.  His rebellious and sometimes arrogant attitude is known to get him into trouble, especially with the girls who hang on his every move.

Charlie never thought that a trip to pack up her brother’s apartment would leave her feeling even more unsettled about the grainy details of her brother’s death.  Her quest for information leads her straight to his old hangout and into arms of Jhett, who suspiciously knows more about her situation than he ever should. 

Only a few questions remain - Can you trust someone based on their word alone? And if you make a promise, how far will you go to keep it?

TEASER: Here's a little treat from Jhett's POV. 

“It’s kind of hard to think when you have me in such a compromising position.”  She wiggled against the hands beneath my grasp.  I never held her hands down too tight or against her will, but I’d figured out what she liked, and it was exactly that.

“I could guess one thing you’re thinking about right now.”  I let go of one wrist, which left me free to explore the curves underneath me that continued to drive me wild.  My hands slid down her chest and side, blazing a trail straight to her thighs.  Her unsteady breaths let me know that she was enjoying every minute of the sensuous torture I had planned.

Charlie’s hand slipped up to my face, and she locked her eyes onto my own; the deep blue color acting as my kryptonite.  “I’ve only got one thing on my mind…”   The soft pad of her thumb ran across my bottom lip, sending a shiver down my spine.  She caught me off guard as she pressed her lips on mine with only the slightest amount of pressure, causing me to breathe in deep through my nose.

“How many hours of sleep you’re going to get after I rock your world all night?”  I couldn’t even recognize my own voice anymore.  It was deep and husky, filled with a kind of need and lust I’d never heard come out of my mouth. 

Charlie took my earlobe into her mouth, only running her teeth lightly over it before she released my sensitive flesh.  “What bathing suit I’m going to wear tomorrow at the bonfire…”  

EXTRAS:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahAshleyJones

GR: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465633-promise-me-this

BLOG: http://sarahashleyjones.blogspot.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/sarahashjones

Goodreads Forsaken GIVEAWAY!!!

Who wants FREEBIES!!!  (If you replied no to said freebies, please have your pulse checked).  Everyone likes freebies!  And so do I!  So I'm giving away two signed copies of Forsaken on Goodreads!!  The giveaway is only available until Tuesday, April 9th!  Go sign up right now!!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Forsaken

by Kristen Day

Giveaway ends April 09, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win