Since I seem to be on this Friday Vlog kick, I figured I’d show off another piece of “exclusive content” I created for one of the vlog appearances. This is a teaser trailer told from David’s point of view.
And in case you have not seen the actual trailer for FIRE IN THE WOODS, here it is. This one I am super proud of. I think it really shows off Jess’s voice, and what the book is all about. Enjoy!
Posted in Marketing Madness
Tagged David, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, trailer
I’m in a very interesting position right now. My novel FIRE IN THE WOODS comes out in about two months, and the early chatter isn’t about my quirky main character. Instead, people are talking about the guy who changes her life forever.
By accident.
This is part of an “introduce your character” game that posted a list of questions for the character to answer, but I couldn’t see David just sitting there and spilling his guts, so I’d rather give you a little character study that will do pretty much the same thing. And for grins and giggles, I’m going to do it in 80 words or less.
Let me introduce you to the current literary love of my life, David.
DavidIt was a simple mission. Fly over the planet Earth, and send a signal to our people on the surface.
Earth was supposed to be a primitive world.
That was the first lie.
They shouldn’t have been able to detect me.
They shouldn’t have been able to defend themselves.
They shouldn’t have been able to shoot me down.
More lies.
Now my life is in jeopardy.
I was never supposed to set foot on Earth.
I was never supposed to interact with natives.
I’m really glad I said yes when Richard Leonard asked me to join in this game, because I LOVE that little introspection from David. I can see my character standing in the woods, with the fire raging behind him, speaking these words before he starts running for his life from the United States military. This really sets the tone for the beginning of the book.
Thanks for the idea Richard!
And thanks everyone else for spending a few minutes with David.
Richard Leonard writes software and documentation for a living, and fiction for pleasure. He writes elements of sci-fi, romance, mystery, psychological thriller, religious conflict, action, but the common theme of his fictional writing is always based on what makes people tick. Living in the picturesque Yarra Valley wine region, east of Melbourne, Australia with his lovely wife, two teenage offspring and mischievous dog. Neither Richard, nor his dog, drink wine.
Website: richardleonard.wordpress.com
Twitter: @RichardELeonard
Posted in Marketing Madness
Tagged David, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton
Manuscript bloopers. Aren’t they a gas? I sometimes look forward to that first read-through after I’ve finished a novel, just to see the funny things I accidentally typed.
What’s even better is when I completely read over them and send the novel out to beta. Boy do my beta-partners get a blast out of that!
If you write at all, you’ve had your share of manuscript bloopers, whether it’s a novel, term paper, short story or newspaper article. Manuscript bloopers come in the form of misspelled words, incorrect words in wrong places, nouns doing odd things they can’t do, misplacement of words and dangling participles. Here are five examples of manuscript bloopers from my own writings. Go ahead. Laugh. I did. After I bonked myself on the head.
Marci laughed as Jason hip-bumped around the room, signing an old Aerosmith tune.
(Really? He signed a tune? Interesting.)
David shuffled to the bathroom and let out a long yarn.
(The imagery here is too comical for me. Poor David.)
Standing at the window, Eric’s hands rested on the sill.
(Don’t you hate it when hands can’t decide to stand or rest?)
Lily laid back and sighed as her eyes following her father around the room.
(I’d do a bit more than sigh if my eyes were out of their sockets and following someone)
“Where is that blasted hat at?”
(I NEVER place participles at the end of a sentence. Ever. It’s like a huge pet peeve for me, and yet I found one!! Agghhh. To tell you the truth, I think my son snuck in and added it when I wasn’t looking just to make me cringe and turn 10 shades of red. And yes, he would do that.)
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About J.K. Ford:
As a young Army brat, Reader’s Choice award winner J. (Jenny) Keller Ford, traveled the world and wandered the halls of some of Germany’s most extraordinary castles hoping to find the dragons, knights and magic that haunted her imagination. Though she never found them, she continues to keep their legends alive. Her story, The Amulet of Ormisez, is available as part of the MAKE BELIEVE anthology. Dragon Flight, is part of the One More Day anthology. When not at her keyboard breathing new life into fantasy worlds, Jenny spends time collecting seashells, bowling, swimming, riding roller coasters and reading. She works as a paralegal by day and lives on the west coast of Florida with her family, three dogs, and a pretentious orange cat who must have been a dragon in his previous life.
Posted in Author Interview
Tagged Blooper, Christmas, David, Fiction, Florida, Germany, Manuscript, Reading (process)
This is going to be a tad longer than a normal Sunday Snippet. Sorry, but I need a few last-minute set of eyes.
Fire in the Woods is days from being done, and I decided I needed to add a little something, and I don’t want to send the work out to query without another few opinions on this.
I am adding a phone call/message from Dad. A beta mentioned that if their daughter were missing that they would be ringing her cell phone off the hook. I added a ringing phone, but I now decided to add a message, and I need to know if it’s believable.
Here’s the set-up: You are a Dad, and a Major in the Army. Your daughter just took off with Public Enemy Number One. There is a huge manhunt going on. She’s not answering her phone. Does this sound like a believable message to leave on her cell phone? (From Jess’s point of view)
My fingers tightened on my phone as I began to slip it into my pocket. The thought of the message from unavailable tightened my chest. What if it was Dad?
“David, hold on for a second.”
I leaned against the back of the building and turned on my phone. David propped himself beside me and grabbed a banana from the bag. He perused each end, and I quickly opened it for him.
He smiled. “Thanks.”
I moved past Maggie’s message, touched unavailable, and brought my phone to my ear.
My father’s sigh tore my soul in two.
“I guess I can’t blame you for not answering.” A slight hum vibrated the casing against my cheek. “I saw the surveillance footage, and it’s pretty obvious you’re not a hostage. I can only imagine what he told you to make you trust him.” I glanced at David as he chewed his banana. Dad’s voice quavered. “Sweetheart, you need to understand that he is a soldier, wounded behind enemy lines. He is not above lying to a seventeen-year-old girl to get what he wants.” I could imagine Dad pacing the floor, rubbing his hand across his tightly cropped head. “Jess, you’ve always been like your mother, and I know there’s no changing your mind once you’ve made it up, so I’m not going to bother asking you to turn him in.”
Really? You gotta be kidding me.
“But what I do want is for you to get away from him. Just wait for him to be distracted and run as fast as you can.” I could almost sense him gritting his teeth. “We will find him, Jess. And you know that I’m not going to sleep until you’re safe.” Muffled voices spoke in the background behind my father’s steady breathing. “Please come back. I can’t lose you, too.”
The call ended, and I powered down my phone. I stared at the blank screen as my father’s words bled into me.
I can’t lose you, too.
I’d never considered the possibility of anything bad actually happening to me. I was safe with David, wasn’t I?
David popped the last of the banana into his mouth and tossed the rest into the trash beside a loading dock. What would happen if the Army cornered us? Would there be shooting? Would David protect me, or use me as a shield?
David slipped his hands into his pockets as he strolled back to me, his smile easing any uncertainty.
My conscience fought to call Dad— to let him know everything would be all right, but I knew he’d just try to convince me to come home. I slipped the phone into my pocket.
“Are you all right?” David asked.
I nodded, biting my lip as Dad’s voice haunted me. You know that I’m not going to sleep until you’re safe.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Sorry, Dad.
“We need to find a place to hide for the night.”
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http://mermaidssinging.wordpress.com/
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http://richardleonard.wordpress.com
http://itsjennythewren.wordpress.com/
http://wehrismypen.wordpress.com
http://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com/
http://ashortaday.wordpress.com
http://www.michellezieglerauthor.com
http://joeowensblog.wordpress.com/
Posted in Critique Blog Hop
Tagged critique, David, Eatons, Every Sunday, fire in the woods, Short story, Sunday Snippets Critique Blog Hop, WordPress
Oh Yeah! It’s the Sunday Snippets Critique Blog Hop!In this hop, participants post 250 words of their work in progress to be critiqued. Then everyone hops around to critique others. Don’t have a post of your own? We’d love a critique anyway! And next time you can sign up yourself (see below)
I think if I look at this passage one more time I’m gonna puke… so I’m going to make YOU GUYS look at it. This is a scene from “Fire in the Woods” that I’ve edited to death this week. What do you think?
The underbrush shuffled. I gasped as fingers dug into my flesh. My body lifted into the air, and my lungs struggled against an overwhelming pressure against my ribs. The moon sank behind the clouds, darkening the forest and hiding my captor. Held from behind, I struggled and kicked. “Let go!”
I twisted and tugged. My feet dragged across the forest floor as someone pulled me further from David’s shivering form. Another set of arms shot out of the dark and clutched my hands, tying my wrists together with a coarse rope before drawing me into the air.
The pressure against my sides subsided, and I drew in a deep breath. My shoulders burned and screamed from the strain as they maneuvered my hands over a tree branch and hung me like a Christmas ornament. “What are you doing? Let me down!”
I trembled as the cloud cover shifted. The trees, like sharp shadows, seemed to lean towards me, watching. A large broad man walked away, his gait somewhat familiar. A woman adjusted my bindings, her face partially covered by a fuzzy-edged hood.
“What do you want?” I asked.
Her silence hung in the air like a veil. She either didn’t hear me, or didn’t care that I spoke. Sweat ran down my temples as she turned and joined her friend. I writhed in my bindings.
My captors brushed the dirt with their hands before gathering something from the woods, stacking it on the ground.
“Please, let me go. I didn’t do anything.”
Want to join up? Click here for the rules, and leave a comment to have your name added to the list. The more the merrier!
Click on over to these great writers to check out and critique what they’ve posted!
Note: Those who have not been participating have been removed.
http://mermaidssinging.wordpress.com/
http://caitlinsternwrites.wordpress.com/
http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com
http://richardleonard.wordpress.com
http://itsjennythewren.wordpress.com/
http://wehrismypen.wordpress.com
http://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com/
http://ashortaday.wordpress.com
Posted in Sunday Snippets
Tagged beta partner, critique, critique blog hop, critique group, David, online editing, Publishers, Sunday, sunday snippets, WIP, WordPress
David jumped and landed on the soft turf. A trail of desolation lay behind him: fallen trees, scorched soil, and burning branches. Sparks drifted over his head, silent among the roar of the growing flames.
His plane, burning and cracked in two, lay on its side. A total loss. A Failure. His failure— just like everything else he touched. It was a miracle that he survived.
Dual beams of light broke the darkness behind the trees. Red and blue lights swirled. A moaning high-pitched sound broke the night, echoing above the crackling flames.
David backed away from his aircraft, away from the lights, and the subsequent voices that came from the same direction. He’d be blamed for this. He knew it. He slipped into the trees, away from the warmth of the flames.
He had no choice. He had to run.
Posted in Flash Fiction
Tagged David, Fiction, fire in the woods, Flash Fiction, Short story, Tree, work in progress, writing
Jennifer M Eaton 