Category Archives: Jinxie_G

Track Changes 101

Posted on by Jinxie G

Today, I’m going to teach you all about Track Changes in MS Word. If you don’t know what that is, that’s okay. I’ve encountered many writers over the last few years who haven’t a clue. I’ve taught them via phone and email; I can teach you through a blog post. Actually, it’ll be easier this way because I can “show” you too. :)

I work in MS Word 2007. You may have an older version, or a newer version—or you may need to work in RTF (Rich Text Format), which still requires some sort of word processor, but I can still help you either way. Before we begin, let’s talk about what format to save your file as and how to do that. The most common type of file to save your MS (manuscript) as should be RTF. The reason for this is because you never really know who has a PC and who uses a Mac. A Word doc (.doc) can be created on a PC and transferred to and opened on a Mac, but it won’t work the other way around, Mac to PC. It’s just picky that way, at least with the older versions. If you’re on a PC and you don’t want to save in RTF, then at the very least save your file as a Word 2003 doc. A lot of people don’t have the newer versions and 2003 will not open a .docx file, which is 2007, so I think it’s pretty safe to say 2003 also won’t open the 2010 version as well. If you’re using a Mac, I’d strongly suggest saving your file as an RTF. It still looks like Word. It just means anyone can open it, regardless of their version of software or type of computer.

On to Track Changes

I’ll attempt some screen shots for you, but I’ve adjusted my Word to the point that certain things just don’t show up anymore, so now I have to search for them in order to show you. I have to “make” them happen. It’s kind of like magic. :)

To use Track Changes to apply edits for someone else, such as a critique partner, you’ll need to click on the ‘Review’ tab at the top of your page and then turn on Track Changes by clicking on it (it looks like a button; check the photo at the top of this post). If you’re a keyboard command type of person, press CTRL + Shift + E. In Word 2003, I believe you can find this under the ‘Tools’ tab. Once you turn Track Changes on, you’ll notice it’s highlighted and when you begin typing, it looks like this. Of course, it’ll be red or some other color. WordPress wouldn’t let me change it and I’m not a codemonkey, but there’s a screen shot coming up.

In this first shot, I’ve changed the indent because the paragraph wasn’t indented. You’ll notice to the right there’s now a comment indicating what I did. Only when you make formatting changes or add a new comment will this show up.

Whenever you make any changes within the document, they will look like above—adding or deleting punctuation, deleting or adding words, etc. The changes will show up in the document, and the color will change with each editor, where the author will see them and can apply the changes as they see fit. We’ll get into that momentarily. Yes, you get to see how many documents I had open while creating this post for you. And very likely, those changes you see in that manuscript (MS), I forgot to add them to my MS because I made those changes here. Such is my life, but at least I have a photo to view in order to see what I’d done.

Continue to make your changes throughout the document. You can add comments to the right by clicking on ‘New Comment’ in the top menu. These are primarily for asking the author/writer questions, or pointing things out in more detail rather than just rewriting the author’s sentences.

Accept/Reject Changes

Now we’re going to go over accepting/rejecting changes. To approve/reject edits made by someone else, you’ll also need to make sure Track Changes is turned on. I’m not certain the comments will show up if it’s not, and I’ve heard they don’t, especially when the document is RTF (Rich Text Format).

When I place the cursor before the following paragraph and then hit ‘next’ in the menu, Track Changes highlights the change I made. This is a format change, so it’s highlighting two paragraphs at once. Once I click ‘Accept’, Track Changes moves on to the next edit, which can be seen in the next photo.

As I keep clicking ‘Accept’ or ‘Reject’, Track Changes will make the edit change or not, and move on to the next edit.

The tricky part is if there are actual comments. As an editor, I advise authors/writers to read the comment(s), apply changes within the document if necessary, and then ‘Reject’ the comment itself during the Accept/Reject process. Otherwise, the comment will remain visible.

Once finished with all edits, this little window will pop up.

Congratulations! You’ve just gone through your first session of Track Changes. Liberating, isn’t it? :) Whether or not you think so, trust me, your editor will be pleased. Especially if you pay attention to Formatting, which will be my next post.

Yes, it’s just that simple. Ask your questions in the comments area and I’ll do my best to answer.

NOTE: One last thing. PLEASE always rename the file, either with your initials attached to the end of the original title, or your name with the word “edits” at the end of the file name. I personally don’t want the edited copy to override my original document.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jinxie G

Online Dating and Me

Posted on by Jinxie G

Okay, so some of you know, if you’ve been paying attention, that I signed up for an online dating service during my apparent inebriated state after coming home from Atomic night in Scottsdale on Sunday, September 4th. I’ll admit, even with the buzz I carried, I was a tad nervous about the prospect. I mean hell, I haven’t actually “dated” in like 10 freakin’ years. I don’t even know how this works anymore. And I especially don’t know anything about online dating!

But I figured what the hell. What have I got to lose, right? If I’m cautious, that is. So I signed up…and had a friend teasing me the entire time on Facebook. Thanks James.

So here’s me a week into this thing and I’ve come up with a new idea for my blog that should be pretty easy and quick to write (translates to “weekly posts”). I’m starting a series on here about my adventures in online dating (yes, I know I’m not the first to come up with this idea) and I will also include dating tips.

Are you ready? Then let’s begin…

I’m looking for love, people! Bring me that bitch!

Alas Poor Jinxie…

Posted on by Jinxie G

I’m just exhausted from the past weekend. Let me tell you why…

Last Wednesday afternoon, I left for Chicago to spend the weekend working the Zombie Survival Crew booth at the Wizard World Comic Convention, since, y’know, I designed most of the ZSC gear, and because I hadn’t been to one of these things since January. My long weekend started off quite smoothly as I was able to hop on the first flight (I was flying standby) and I landed in Chicago around 8:30 p.m., where I then took a cab to the hotel to meet up with Juliette who wouldn’t be arriving for another hour or so. Upon arriving in the hotel, I discovered it was under construction. I’m thinking at this point that I just cannot escape construction areas on buildings I have to sleep in, between my apartment and this damn hotel, though I later discovered that it was hit by the flooding a few weeks ago, so I’ll cut them some slack. Regardless, I also discovered upon my arrival that the elevators were out of order. Okay. No problem. I need the exercise and I’m never one to decline the use of stairs.

Our room was on the third floor.

BUT WAIT…

After climbing to the third floor, which I immediately knew I’d hate by Sunday, and traveling down a short hall, I turned the corner to find this…

Yeah, tell me that doesn’t SHOUT “The Shining” to you! I know, right? Our room was the VERY LAST ONE. With each passing evening upon our return (and usually after having several drinks), this view became quite hilarious. To give you a bit of perspective, here’s Juliette starting to walk down the hallway Thursday night.

On the Red Carpet

Friday went well, and we attended the VIP party that night, but then we were slammed on Saturday. Every time I even thought about sitting down, people would walk up to the booth.

Great for ZSC, not so great for Jinxie, but I survived the day and we went out that night. *ahem* Yeah. Let me tell you about that night if you weren’t paying attention to Twitter or Facebook during my bitch storm. I’ll refrain from naming anyone, and this is my personal blog. I won’t even go into detail other than to say that when someone knows they’re going to be walking a mile to get to their destination, it’d be nice to let the woman wearing the 5-inch heels to also know this information. The result was me rolling my ankle on an incline near the end of the walk, which resulted in me tumbling to the floor. Luckily, there was a very nice couple walking with me who helped me up. I don’t know who you two are, but bless you both! Also, I’ve had a huge blister on the bottom of my foot for the last four days. It’s finally starting to heal, but it’s a real pain in the ass to walk. Regardless, once I was past my anger and finished bitching (but let’s be honest here; I’m always bitching), the night proved to be quite entertaining. We ended up at Red within the Hyatt once again, where we had the waiter of awesomesauce, Nate.

Sunday, I was mostly walking around barefoot. Though Sunday wasn’t as crazy as Saturday, where we almost had to take serious action because Juliette was bitten, we still had many people approach the booth and remained very busy. I’m certain exhaustion showed on all of our faces. I know I was dragging. Then, this guy showed up…

 …and holy crap, was he ever tall. He makes ME look really short! Paul (guy making mean face to the right) is 6’6″, and this guy (I cannot remember his name to save my life, but I think it was Dave – four days of meeting people is not good for Jinxie’s memory) was probably three inches taller than Paul, who said, “Jinxie, why don’t you get your picture taken with this tall drink of water.” *smh* Yes, I stuttered and stammered and felt like an idiot when he walked away, and I’m hoping he’s not reading this blog right now because I’ll feel even more like an idiot.

Go ahead, laugh at me. I’m laughing as I write this. We ALL know Jinxie likes tall men, and the long black hair is not helping to deter my distraction while I talked to another group.

On to Monday…and my day of hell that now officially has Mondays on the To Loathe list, slotted right up there in the Top 5.

I arrived at the airport around noon-ish, got my boarding pass and breezed through security. The 2:15pm flight I was slotted for was full. Okay. No problem. There was another at 5:15pm…which also ended up being full.

There were no more flights that night, so I was stuck at O’Hare International Airport overnight  because the next flight was at 5:15am. Once I called customer service for US Airways and got myself bumped to that early as hell flight, I decided to make myself comfortable, kick back, and have a shot of Jameson and an Amber Boch (the bar didn’t have Guinness *gasp*). I designed three of five book covers while sitting in the bar, and discovered the airport doesn’t have free wi-fi, which I think is just stupid!

Did you know that airports pretty much shut down in the middle of the night? I had no idea, but then, I haven’t flown that much. In fact, this trip was the first time in 13 years.

Thanks to my wonderful Twitterati, who kept me entertained throughout the night, even through my zombiepocalypse tweets, where I made a plan in the event the zombiepocalypse struck the airport while I was there through the night. I think I’ve officially lost my last sane brain cell after that night.

Once through the night, a wonderful gal named Leticia, who works for US Airways, got me the VERY LAST SEAT ON THE PLANE for the 5:15am flight. Bless you, Leticia! You fucking ROCK, and were my only decent experience at the airport that night! We flew over a couple of storms and I think I saw the stratosphere, as well as a forest fire somewhere in Arizona. We landed just after 7am, I claimed my bag that had to be checked last minute, and I took a taxi to Aunt J’s house to retrieve my ‘lanche.

Surprisingly, I only slept 7 hours that night, but I definitely made up for it today with a 12-hour sleep.

I’ll leave you with one last thing, which is both the reason for the title of this post AND the best t-shirt EVAH!

"Alas, poor Yorick. I ate his brains."

*I apologize if this post seems rambling. I’m still tired as hell.

The Last One

Posted on by Jinxie G

My last grandparent died on Saturday morning around five o’clock. You’ve seen me talk about her a lot. I call her G-ma. She’s the only grandparent I had left since 2003 when my other grandmother (on Umi’s side) passed away. She died on grandpa’s birthday, August 31st. Before her, grandpa died in February 1995, two months before my wedding. And 36 years ago, my paternal grandfather died. I was six, so I don’t have a lot of memories of him, but to this day, when I walk in that house, I can tell you exactly where his chair and table were, and how his pipes were laid out on that table. Every once in a while, I smell cherry blend tobacco. That’s how I know he’s visiting me. G-ma is with him once again.

Grandma Rainie was a strong woman. I mean, like you have no idea the amount of strength this woman had and the shit she carried on her shoulders. I think I got some of that from her because I always say I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. Just don’t let something happen to my mom and I’ll be fine.  Rainie was a gentle spirit, blessed with a strong faith, wonderful sense of humor and a fierce love of her family. She made friends readily and in great abundance. During World War II while g-pa Dan served our country, she was on the home front building planes in Goodyear. She was a wing girl. She was active for many years with the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Auxiliary. She was also a retiree from Arizona State University.

Grandma Rainie was preceded in death by not only her husband, my g-pa Dan, but also my father Michael, who passed away last November, the day after Thanksgiving. She is survived by her daughter Danna Jo and her son Tony, and sister Olene. Grandma Rainie leaves nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, four great-great-grandchildren, and two grandpuppies. She also had many beloved nieces and nephews.

I have now reached the point in my life where I have no grandparents, and Umi and myself just aren’t getting any younger. But I do still have some family around who care, who let me cry on their shoulders, who support me emotionally and spiritually, and who cook for me when I need it, like yesterday.

So…hugs and love to my family. G-ma Rainie may be gone, but we’ve all been blessed with loving memories of her, and now she’s with g-pa.

It’s My Party . . .

Posted on by Jinxie G

. . . and I’ll do whatever the hell I want!

And what do I want to do today, on this special day, my day of birth? Well, seeing as how I haven’t been to bed yet and I’m feeling a bit loopy crazy, I want to give away a copy of my new book Nemesis, which will release on Saturday, June 18th from Running Ink Press! One lucky person who comments on this post this week will win. Since Nemy is a bartender, all you have to do is answer the question: What’s your favorite drink?

Mine is a White Russian. ;)

You have until the 18th (Saturday) and I’ll pick a winner the following Monday and announce it next Tuesday, the 21st.

Prince Charming was a putz.

Prince Charming number two was even worse.

After the last prince ran off without any notice, breaking her heart and their engagement along the  way, Nemesis Mussolini swore off  men and passed the time kicking ass and slinging drinks, something her mafia father would never approve of. But, when her boss Clancy ups his flirtations, it’s difficult to remember she’s not interested, especially when he gets that delicious evil glint in his eye that has her melting. Just when Nemy starts to think all men might not be bad, she hears whispers about Clancy’s less than legal past, and wants to run like hell from the idea that he could be just like her father.

Great … Prince Charming number three may possibly be on FBI’s Most Wanted.

While Nemy and Clancy tumble down the romance road, hitting potholes every step of the way, Nemy discovers how much of her heart already belongs to Clancy, and how much of a Don’s daughter she really is. When Clancy’s daughter is kidnapped, they must work together to use every talent and connection they have to get her back, which means Nemy must learn to trust again. If they fail, Clancy could lose his daughter forever. Can Nemy surrender in time to get her happily ever after, or is she hell-bent on letting her past keep her from the one man who could be her true Prince Charming?

Nemesis has her own blog: Foxy’s Den

Nemy can also be found on Twitter: Nemy_girl

You can preview part of chapter 1 here.

Good luck!

Cooking Tips #8

Posted on by Jinxie G

Do you know how to contain a grease fire? Most people don’t. The picture below will show you what happens when a grease fire gets out of control.

My oldest niece, who recently graduated from culinary school around the same time this fire happened (I know, it’s hysterical), now knows what a grease fire is like. She used a fire extinguisher. I’m guessing that’s because the fire got completely out of hand, judging from the photo. However, she and I no longer speak to one another so I had to pull this from Facebook.

But if the grease fire has just started, cover the pan with a lid quickly. Do NOT spray water on a grease fire EVER. Water and grease don’t mix together well. The water makes the grease pop, and what happens when grease pops? It pops right out of the pan. Kind of like when you’re cooking bacon.

But the most important rule of this tip is that if you’re ever cooking something greasy, like bacon, do NOT walk away from the pan, even for a minute. That’s why the microwave above is melted. She walked away. If you have to leave the stove, either turn off the burner or remove the pan from the burner.

It’s pretty simple, really. Kind of like “don’t leave your kids around water.”

Mangia!

Spaghetti with a Kick

Posted on by Jinxie G

If you don’t know, I’ve been house-sitting all week for a friend of mine who had to go to Texas. However, her youngest son, who was supposed to house sit for someone else, has been here off and on throughout the week. On Wednesday, I wasn’t expecting him when I came home from doing some work at g-ma’s house, but here he was and he’d made spaghetti for dinner.

“You can have some if you want.”

“Okay, wow, thanks,” I said.

“It’s a bit spicy, though,” said Josh.

I gave him the Spock eyebrow and said, “What do you put in it?”

“Some Tapatio sauce and some chili powder.”

“Really? I might have to taste that.”

Sure enough, I tasted it and it definitely has a kick to it, so here’s his recipe in case you’d like to try it. You can follow him on Twitter here, but he hasn’t tweeted much. Let’s show him how the Twittersphere works.

Spaghetti with a Kick

Ingredients:

1 can tomato sauce

1 Tblsp chili powder

Tapatio hot sauce, to taste

salt and pepper

1 lb hamburger, browned

1 lb spaghetti noodles

Brown the hamburger and drain the grease. Pour tomato sauce into a pot, add Tapatio sauce (or your own preferred hot sauce) and chili powder. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Boil noodles. Add hamburger to sauce. Strain noodles. Mix with sauce when it’s finished.

Looks like a pretty simple recipe. Give it a try! It tasted great.

Piacere!

Vive bene, spesso l’amore, di risata molto!

(live well, love much, and laugh often)

Conversations with Umi

Posted on by Jinxie G

If you follow me on Twitter and have for some time, you’ll know that I’ve tweeted things my mother says from time to time. I used the hashtag #umisaid for a long time before finally creating this Twitter account – @umi_said. Shh, while Umi knows I tweet the shit she says (which hasn’t been much lately due to my lack of internet), she does NOT know about the actual account. I might get in trouble, especially for that picture (not the one posted here).

Anyway, since I’ve not been able to really tweet the crazy things she says to me lately, I thought I’d share them with you here on my blog.

Welcome to my insane world.

* * * * *

Last night:

Me: *looks at book Umi’s reading* Reading John Matthew now?

Umi: Yep, I’m preparing for the next book that I’ll get on my birthday.

Her birthday is May 6th and I’m broke.

Me: LOL Right. I’ll make note of what you want.

Umi: You’d better or you’ll no longer be my favoritest daughter.

Shit.

* * * * *

Text Messaging about Soylent Green:

Me: Are you gonna wanna watch this horrible movie?

Umi: Really bad huh?

Me: It’s a 70s movie. I can’t watch it again. If you don’t want to, I’ll just put it in the mailbox with the other one.

Umi: I told you it was crappy! Nah, I don’t want to see it.

Me: Lol I knew it would be, but I had to watch its horridity!

Umi: Is that really a word? I need my trusty dictionary for that one!

Me: No, it’s not. I made it up. Lol

Umi: It figures. I’m about to go to bed. So see ya tomorrow!

Me: Yep. Be home in a bit.

* * * * *

As I type this post:

Me: *reads texts from Umi and laughs* You are hysterical. Lol

Umi: Great, you’re making me the laughing stock of the Twittersphere.

Me: You are NOT a laughing stock. People laugh because you’re funny, you have a great sense of humor. People laugh at (censored) because she makes herself look like an idiot before all of Twitterville.

Umi: Don’t ever put me in the same boat as that stupid bimbo.

Me: ROFLMFAO! Not to worry, Umi, you never will be!

* * * * *

In the past:

Me: I have Zombie Survival Crew work to do.

Umi: I don’t understand that whole zombie thing.

Me: It’s okay, Umi, I’ll take care of you when the Zombiepocalypse happens.

Umi: I certainly hope so! Are you gonna shoot me in the head?

Me: Absolutely, if I must!

* * * * *

On Palm Sunday last year:

Me: Jesus fucking Christ!

Umi: It’s Palm Sunday.

Me: I know. *pause while surfing web* Jesus fucking Christ.

Umi: It’s Palm Sunday.

Me: And your point is?

Umi: *glares*

Me: What?

Umi: *glares some more*

Me: WHAT? Do you not want me to say that? LOL

Umi: It’s Palm Sunday.

Me: Okay. So I shouldn’t say that what, 3 days a year?

Umi: Yeah, that’d be good.

Me: What about Ash Wednesday, you want me to add that?

Umi: *shakes head and walks away*

* * * * *

On moving:

Umi: I don’t want to talk about moving. I hate moving. It’s why we stayed in one place when you two were kids.

Me: Um, we moved every 3 years.

Umi: That’s not the point!

Me: *falls over laughing*

* * * * *

Umi: It’s one of my umi-isms.

* * * * *

Are you scared yet? You should be!

Minions Assemble!

Posted on by Jinxie G

I have minions! Yes, I do!

Okay, I only have a few minions, but whatever. I’m looking for more, so . . . do you have what it takes to be my minion? Let’s find out, shall we?

For my minions, I will hold contests! That’s right, you can win things on this here little blog whenever “minions” is in the title of the post, which I’ll attempt to post once a month, minimum.

And yes, there’s a catch. Each contest will be a mission.

* * * * * * *

The requirements for being my minion:

You must follow me on Twitter (and don’t be afraid to talk to me, for the love of God).

You must be a subscriber to my blog (I get an email when you subscribe)

You must like my Facebook page —-> there’s a shortcut on the sidebar. :D Or click on Jinxi3G.

* * * * * * *

So, today’s mission is this:

Perform the requirements above (if you haven’t already), and we’re going to have a scavenger hunt. Woo hoo!

* * * * * * *

What we are looking for (images):

A fluffy unicorn

A Tucson sunset

A shrink ray

Burro

Gru’s mom’s glasses (on or off her face)

A cookie robot

Kyle (from Despicable Me)

My Moonbug

Dave and his rocket launcher

Dead me (this is a pic of me where I’ve claimed I’m dead)

*Hint: I twitpic a LOT of pictures. You may find some of what you need in there.

* * * * * * *

The Prize:

The prize for this Minion scavenger hunt is . . . A MINION! That’s right, you can have your very own inflatable minion.

* * * * * * *

Once you have found these items, email the links to me here: jinxieg13 (at) gmail (dot) com. Don’t leave them in the comments, please. This way everyone has to look for their own. :)

You have until Saturday, April 30, 2011 to finish your hunt.

Good luck!

Go!

Interview with Sharon Gerlach

Posted on by Jinxie G

Today, I’m interviewing my partner in crime (fighting), in business, and in all things writing. Sharon Gerlach is an extraordinary writer and has always astounded me with her attention to detail and description, an area I’m severely lacking in when I write. Her character development is awesome, her sense of humor is quirky, and her love of tequila . . . oh wait, that’s the next book. *grins*

Let’s move on to the questions, shall we? Sharon has some wonderful advice for aspiring writers!

What types of books do you write; genre and such? And do you read the same genre you write?

I write contemporary romance bordering on Chick Lit, and paranormal romance. I read just about anything I can get my hands on—suspense, mystery, romance, fantasy, general fiction, horror, lots of YA (isn’t the YA these days fantastic?), the labels on shampoo bottles (seriously).

What was your inspiration for your book, Malakh, or how did it come about?

Malakh came about because I wanted to try my hand at a little urban fantasy, but I wanted to do something a little off the beaten path. I didn’t want my heroine to be your normal kick-ass half-human, trained in martial arts, currently possess supernatural abilities, or work in law enforcement of any sort.

So I thought, what if she’d once had supernatural abilities, but they were on loan from a supernatural being who was her lover, and she lost them when he left? That thinking of course led to finding such a creature who possesses supernatural abilities who could also mate with a human. During a random search on the internet, I saw the passage from the book of Genesis about the Sons of God—angels—taking wives among the human women, whom they found beautiful. Aha! I had my supernatural being.

Can you name any books that you absolutely MUST read the moment you see it?

Harry Potter was one such series; I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book. Right now, Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series has me impatiently waiting for the next book. (I did say I read a lot of YA, right?) There’s really nothing else right now that I MUST HAVE when I hear about it, but sometimes something will jump off the shelf at me, and after reading the synopsis, I simply have to take it home. Usually I’m not disappointed. Richard Russo’s Straight Man was like that—brilliant red cover with the picture of a goose on it, totally appealing blurb on the back. I can’t say enough good about the book. I’m a pretty eclectic reader—I can go from supernatural YA to general fiction to murder mysteries (I’m reading the rest of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels right now) to Harlequin romances (yes, Harlequin. Why not?)

Why do you write in general? What motivates or inspires you to write or is inspiration for your stories?

Haha—a loaded question. Why do I write. I often joke that I write to keep the voices in my head quiet and to stay off Thorazine. Sometimes I’m not so certain that’s not pretty close to the truth. If I don’t write, the stories are still there, knocking around in my head. The characters are still in there too, clamoring to be let out, and they aren’t quiet about it. If I don’t write, I’m still running dialogue between characters and building scenes and devising conflict—and I become a regular bear.

Then there’s venting the frustrations of life. Some people play racquetball to blow off steam; I knock off a bad guy in my books.

As for inspiration, sometimes it’s just a random line that occurs to me, and I write it down and build a story around it. Sometimes it’s a song, or a line from a song. Or an article I read. Or a dream I had. Or a personal experience.

Can you give any hints as to what’s in store for future books?

*grin*  Oh, there’s so much coming in the future!

Two women’s fiction books to be released this year (part of a series)—there will be margaritas and romance! A paranormal series, the first of which is completed and the second is near completion—there are witches and werewolves and demons and yes, a bad guy so appealing you can’t help but fall in lust with him just a little bit. And I’m entertaining the thought of doing a bit more with the angelic urban fantasy. Whether that entails expanding Suzanne’s story or taking up another thread remains to be seen.

Tell our readers what books of yours are available and where they can purchase them.

Currently, Malakh is my only release. It’s available on Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, and direct from Running Ink Press.

The release of my first full-length romance novel (Office Politics) is tentatively scheduled for late summer/early fall.

Any advice to aspiring authors out there on where to start in publishing?

Where to start wholly depends on each individual’s goals. I don’t think there’s a right way or a wrong way to publish in regards to choosing traditional publishing or independent publishing. I think authors like Amanda Hocking have proven that indie publishing can catch the eye of the Big Six publishing houses; anyone who thinks trad publishing has turned a blind eye to the whole indie movement is delusional. They watch, they take note of the successes, they read the samples offered. I think that’s a very important piece: samples. How else will someone know what kind of writer you are or whether they’re interested in following your movements in the writing field?

The best advice I can give is this:

  • Polish your work. Proofread for typos, and proofread again. Read it aloud to find missing words and awkward sentences.
  • Find a beta-reader or three. At least one should be a writer, and at least one should be an avid reader. Make sure they aren’t afraid to tell you the truth. If something doesn’t work, you not only should know—you need to know. And you have to listen to them—they’re your guard; they keep you from committing an unforgivable faux pas before your readership. I have three beta-readers who are writers, one who is an English major, and two who are avid readers. The advice I get from each covers everything from content to mechanics to plot plausibility to characterization, and is invaluable.
  • Find an editor. Writers these days are generally a helpful bunch. I met my editor at an internet writers site, and she literally does not let me put anything stupid or unworkable into my writing. She questions things, marks things for rewording, even puts in comments like “Ummm….WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?”
  • Build a web presence. Get a Twitter account and start interacting with other writers, agents, and publishers. Get a blog, and blog about your writing. Post a few samples. Enter some blogfests—which are another way of gaining support from other writers. Get a Facebook and link your blog to it so your blog posts automatically post to your FB page.
  • Shop your work. Don’t be afraid of all the negative press out there about the Big Six publishing houses or uncaring, unfeeling literary agents. Their jobs are hard, and they have to wade through a lot of crap. Go ahead and shop your work to them, see what they say. Sometimes you get some great advice when one of them has the rare time to respond to your work on a personal basis. It’s worth the experience, and you never know—you could be one of the lucky ones that get picked up.
  • Don’t be afraid of going indie! It’s a big step, and there’s a lot of work that comes with it. You should know at least some basic HTML. You have to step out and pimp your own work. You have to make sure your work is as polished as it can be before you present it to the outside world.
  • Be able to take criticism. Because it’s coming. Not every piece of writing appeals to every reader, and sometimes reader expectations fail to coincide with what you’ve penned, or their understanding of your writing is flawed.  I know one writer who’s been dinged in some reviews because of strong language when the reader mistakenly thought the piece was YA. I’ve heard of others who received mediocre reviews because the reader simply didn’t like the story. Don’t go nuclear in the public eye like certain readers have recently; you’ll burn down your own career before it’s begun. Have your meltdown in private and then do two things: (1) Research the reviewer. I got a 3-star rating on Malakh from one reader, and my ego deflated really fast until I took a closer look at the average rating this person gives: 3.5 stars. So she rated me right along with everything else she reads, including famous traditionally published writers. (2) This is the hard one. Consider that the review has valid points. Did it point out plot flaws? Shallow characters? Great plot and finely drawn characters, but it’s like they’re walking through an empty world because you give no setting descriptions, or so few that the reader can’t form a visual of the story world? Listen to your reviewers—they’re taking the time to read your work and review it, and they’re usually avid readers who know what they like.

Who’s the best editor in the entire world?  =)

Ha ha!  Why you, of course! Who else?

For those of you who don’t know, Jinxie & I met almost five years ago at a writers website. We’ve read just about everything the other has written, edit each other, and are now business partners in Running Ink Press. And we’ve only spoken on the phone once!

That’s right, and we don’t need to go into why we spoke on the phone that one and only time. ;)

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HE HUNTS, SILENT AND UNSEEN

The string of mutilated bodies points to a madman, but the police are stymied. Trace evidence yields no DNA, animal or human. Male, female, young, old—the victims fall without a struggle to the killer in the shadows.

HIS NEXT VICTIM HAS BEEN CHOSEN

For a brief time, Suzanne Harper wielded supernatural abilities and super-human athletic prowess, but that was while she had been the lover of an angel. The murders point to her former lover, and the trail of bodies tells a terrifying tale: he’s working his way to her.

PREY BECOMES PREDATOR

Icarus, an angel who hunts those of his kind who have fallen from grace, enlists Suzanne’s help to stop the killer, for only one as close as a lover can anticipate his next move. Now she must reconcile her heart’s longing for her lost love with her sense of justice and honor, and she must do it fast … because the next murder could be hers.

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Thank you, Sharon, and yes, I am the best editor in the world. ;p Kidding, Sharon’s actually better than I am.