Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Softly, Quietly, Calmly

According to dictionary.com an adverb is " a word that modifies verbs, clauses, and in English and Latin modifies other adverbs and adjectives."  Most of us know them as the "-ly" words with some other ones like well, very, rather, more, etc.

There is a quote by Stephen King that is plastered everywhere, "The road to hell is paved in adverbs"
But if you read Under the Dome (and this is another whole blog post) there are a lot of adverbs. There tends to be this school of thought among the literati that adverbs are bad and if you use them then you are bad.

Am I really concerned about what the literati think of me? I know I am not part of that snobby class. Here's a quick side note on my place in the literature- I once joined an online writing group and it was open season for the new girl. Basically (adverb), I was mainstream and I had no place in the group. There were some to defend me. Needless to say, I quit the group. Back to adverbs...

We learn adverbs in school. If good writing doesn't use adverbs (might want to tell Dan Brown because he used "quietly" a lot in in the DaVinci Code) Then what is the sense of learning adverbs? So we as writers know to delete them right away? Or is it so we can play "Mad Libs" effectively(adverb)? Are adverbs really all that bad? No, they are not. And I highly doubt the road to hell is paved with them, really the road to hell is paved in Nazi skeletons, blood, murder,  and the hands of serial killers.

But, you say, doesn't the quote mean to show not tell? An adverb tells and doesn't show us anything... That is true but sometimes an adverb is the right word. It adds ambiguity. Which the literati just love ripping apart creative writing looking for the why- why did the writer do this or do that? My question, as a writer, why do I have to show you everything? Can't you come up with your thoughts and use your imagination? Using adverbs makes the reader the judgment for himself on the motive of the sentence.

And when it comes to poetry an adverb, sometimes, is just to nice to say, it glides off the tongue.

I don't know who makes up the rules for writing and who says what is in and what is not in. You know what I don't give a crap about the rules. I don't give a crap about the mysterious literati. I if I want to use adverbs, then fuck I will, sparingly of course...

Till we meet again.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Mickayla Margarella on Sale Now

Hey all, This is a quick post just to let you know my ROMANCE novelette is one sale now through Kindle countdown deals. It is called Mickayla Margarella and it is about a woman who leaves her family for the seductive high life of Hollywood but does she find true love in the end? That is the question you will answer when you read the book. It is one sale through 10.16.2014 and right now on this day it is a 99 cents but will rise in price as the days go on.

On a side note, I just want to know your opinion, why am I ignored? Why don't I get reviews on my books although I know people buy them or borrow them so I am guessing they read them? Am I boring? Do I not incite any thoughts at all?

I am tired of being ignored. And the thing is, I don't know how to encourage anyone to talk about my work. I've tried begging and then reverse phycology but nothing is working. Any thoughts on how to encourage reviews. What makes a person take that step and write a few words?

Until next time...

Friday, October 3, 2014

Santa's Shorts- Christmas Short Stories and Poems by JM Scott

Yes, I love things that go bump in the night, blood, guts, gore, zombies, vamps, werewolves, witches and Christmas. I've always loved Christmas, the good will toward men, the cookies, the presents, being Santa Claus, the Christmas movies,  and all that happy horseshit. I've had plans for this book for a couple of years now and it is come to fruition (I really like the word fruition so I plan on using it a lot.) Anyway, two of the stories you may have read before because there were on here. Were is the operative word because I only left samples of the stories this way you would buy the book.

So what in tar nation is Sannta's Shorts? It is a collection of short stories and poems that center around that red and green, silver and gold holiday- Christmas.   Every year, for the last couple of years  I wrote a Christmas themed poem and every year for the last three, I wrote a Christmas short story.  (Yes, Nikolaus is a Christmas story in some demented way) and I wanted to put them all together. If you look at the sample the first poem is a sonnet. Yes, a sonnet. I wrote it for my poetry class at school and I think it turned out really nice.

Here's what's included in the book:

Christmas Memories, sonnet
Welcome Christmas, renku (linked haiku)
And He Gave Them Christmas a short story that takes place in the Great Depression where a boy learns the meaning of Christmas and family
Christmas Spirit, acrostic poem
Holly and Ivy, short story about twins who find each other and had no idea the other existed and learn how important family is
Every Christmas After the Last, free verse with rhyming
Christmas with Gramma, brand new short story about a woman who lives with her elderly grandmother and she has to pay her cousins to come for one last Christmas but in the end they discover what Christmas and family is all about
Yule Greetings, acrostic poem

About the cover- my husband really rescued this cover. You should have seen the one I made, it wasn't so good. In fact it was B-O-R-I-N-G. He really did a nice job with because he made the background come alive and that is exactly what I wanted.

Santa's Shorts is $5.99 now but will go on sale at the end of October. I wanted to release at the end of September so people would be more willing to buy it since it will be on sale and close to the holidays.

One last thing....
I don't know why I am a writer, I guess I've always been a writer even when I wasn't writing. I was always thinking of  stories. I publish my work, I write in my blog because I want to be read. I can write all day long and it doesn't mean much unless I have people to read it. I want to be read, I want to entertain you. You want to be entertained, don't you? I can't do this (whatever this is, the word is just so dramatic) without you.

Until next time....