My Last Friday of Freedom
Congrats to Alexis for winning books 1-4 of the It's All About Us series. Alexis, email me (jen at jennybjones dot com) and let me know where to send the books. And thanks to everyone for playing along. I think that was one of my favorite blog questions!
Loved reading your comments and favorite books of 2009. I should've picked one of your books to read instead of the one I read last night/this morning. It got such good initial reviews on Amazon, and it's a good author, but…UGH. ICK. GAG. YAWN. And normally when I dislike a book within the first fifty pages or so, I'm done. But I kept reading thinking it would pick up any moment. It did not. It's sheer crappiness kept me up 'til 2:30 a.m. And then a friend (now ex friend) called me at 7:45 just because, waking me from my Icky Book Hangover, and that call combined with wasting my life on a bad novel= I started my Friday ticked, and OF COURSE had to go to McDonald's for the antidote in the form of tea and a breakfast burrito.
So this is my last Friday of summer vacation. I'm really trying to get a good attitude about this. But that may require more fast food, shoe buying, and ice cream. I'm hearing of students and teachers in other states ALREADY back at school. WHAT IS THIS SUMMER ABUSE? That is insane. It's early August! Where is Jesse Jackson when you need him? Al Sharpton, did you hear about this? Greenpeace, fly your your Rainbow Warrior flag because this is a crime against our planet. Bill Clinton, load up on a plane and intercede once again! Anyway, teachers and students back in school, you have my deepest sympathies.
Speaking of Bill, did you guys see the two kidnapped journalists land in America this week? I totally got misty eyed watching one reporter's four year old daughter. She was so excited to see mom “returning from work,” she couldn't stand still for a second. And then I teared up again when Lisa Ling's sister made a statement and said they were mentally preparing for 12 years of labor camp, then got called out of their cells. They walk into a room and immediately see Bill Clinton. CAN YOU IMAGINE? It's like I was there when she was talking. I don't care how you feel about Democrats, Liberals, or presidents who make the entire male species look like Deuce Bigalow, if you were facing the horrible unknown in a psycho Communist country run by a man who uses nukes for chess pieces, you would PASS OUT with giddy love for William J. Clinton. I thought it was such a strange, interesting story. I don't write the darker stuff, but I couldn't help but think, what if this was a novel? What if THIS had happened instead of THAT? What if they had been gone longer? What would that do to their marriages? Their family ties? Their mental states? Their faith? Their highlighting roots?
Have I posted the trailer to Whip It? (Stay with me, this blog is rated PG today.) If I have not, OH MY GOSH. I found this about a month ago, and sent it to a ton of people. (Oh, unintentional marketing, you get me all the time!) I hope this is as good as it looks.
I think the release date is a tentative October of this year. In the words of the Beatles, let it be. Let it be.
So I'm starting a new book. But beginnings are really hard for me. So is the middle actually. Okay, and endings. But beginnings? Wow, tough. Overhwelming. Scary. It's kind of like waking up one day, packing a few belongings in your car and just driving to a new state to live. You know nothing, no one, no direction, and all you do have are the Golden Arches, yoga pants, and the occasional Starbucks to keep you company. What are things in books you don't see but would like to? (Reminder: Today's blog is brought to you by the letters P and G.) For example, one reader friend has mentioned to me that she'd like to see home schoolers in a book. I think that's such a good suggestion. There is a home schooler in the third A Charmed Life book. And while she's a really cool girl, she's not the main character. Probably time a home schooler got to be center stage.
I've said this to the point of making people gag, but I'd love to see more vamp books in Christian fiction. I am really excited about Tracey Bateman's upcoming vampy release Thirsty. Love that title and cover. And then there's Eric Wilson's Jerusalem's Undead trilogy. But so far, the vampy business has not hit inspy YA. Maybe we could have a home schooled teenage vampire? Call it Fieldtrips and Fangs? Home and Howling?
In our imaginary suggestion box, I'd also submit that I'd like to see more humor. In everything. Secular books. Christian books. TV. Church. Jillian Michaels workout videos. The DMV. So what about you? What is missing from fiction lately these days for you?
Okay, I have a dessert get together with a friend, then it's time to watch Julie and Julia, where I will stare at the screen in confusion over the J's mutual passion for something called cooking.
Have a great weekend. Next week…the first giveaways of the vampire free Just Between You and Me.
JEN
