2013 Resolutions: Jenna Bayley-Burke and the Literary Life

Resolve 2013 : Creating a Literary Life

Welcome Jenna Bayley-Burke, author of Drive Me Crazy. What are your thoughts on my New Year’s resolution to Create a Literary Life? 

It sounds wonderful…can I be in it?

I’m still mired in the small-children-rule-my-world life, and will be for another decade and a half. I have grand dreams of a literary life. Attending readings, signings, book clubs, conventions. I’ll wear long cardigans and flowing skirts and sip tea all day long. I’ll write in quaint, local cafes where I’ll be known by the staff and regulars and ‘the writer’. 

I’ll read as much as an agent, a story a day at least, three on a good day. And I’ll know the authors, drop them quirky notes about how I loved their latest and recognized parts of the trip they took to Spain a few years back. I’ll read on a hammock, or a fainting couch. Preferably with bonbons.

*tires squealing* 

What the heck are bonbons anyway? I mean, really. When I am ready I don’t want anything that could dirty my fingers and get on the pages of the book or mar my e-reader case. This is why true readers covet m&m’s. And while I can hear the folksy guitar scoring that life, I’ve always been more of an uptempo, dance mix kind of girl. 

My literary life takes place online. Mostly on Twitter (the break room) or Facebook (the reception area). A few times a year I’m on the ball enough to arrange the kids’ and husband’s schedules so they can do without me for a bit. Conferences and brainstorming sessions leave me energized to write and create, but unfortunately I come home to the chaos created by my absence and… I don’t feel at all literary as I decode what transpired by laundry stains and what’s missing from the pantry.

 Alas, I’m not sure I’m much help on this one, Linda. So sorry. Ask me in again in a decade and a half. 

Find Jenna : Website | GoodReads | Facebook | Twitter | Blog| Pinterest  

Keep the party rolling!

Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation

Jessa Slade - Get Organized

Paty Jager - Volunteerism

Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life

Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier

Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination

Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions

Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss

Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet

2013 Resolutions: Cathryn Cade and the Literary Life

It All Started With Barbie    Cathryn Cade 

Hawaiian Heroes III; Blooming in the Wild

My first memories of reading are such good ones—carrying home books from the public library in a pile so high I had to balance them under my chin. And then devouring them as fast as I could. Being read aloud to by my teacher after lunch every day. (My mother says she and my dad read to us every night, but darn it, I can’t remember that, even when I look at the family photos.)

Dr. Seuss was a favorite—Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Then on to The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Black Stallion, Tarzan of the Apes. Hey, I didn’t say I was into great literature, just good stories. 

So much so that when I grew up and went off to college, I fell in love with a career. That’s when I knew I wanted to be not just a teacher, but a librarian. And for many years I loved the job. Stayed home with my two boys in the middle, then went back to it.

I still love a good adventure with some mystery, suspense, a character who learns something important about herself, and a happy ending. Which is why I find it so very satisfying to read romance. I think Jayne Ann Krentz said it best in an interview with the Seattle Times. 

“While the (popular) fictional landscape may change, the players remain consistent. At the core of all the genres are the archetypes. We know what a hero's supposed to act like. He's still gotta have the classic heroic values—courage, honor, and determination.”  

And of course many of our favorite heroes are heroines! With the same qualities as the male hero, but tempered with the best of femininity—compassion, tenderness and a strong belief in family. 

And that’s why, when it was time to move on to a new career, it was romance writing that attracted me. Did I mention I’ve been writing stories since I was old enough to draw those big, crooked letters on wide-ruled paper? My stories sort of continued the wild adventures had by my Barbie and Ken dolls. 

So in a weird way, I have Barbie to thank for my career. No wonder I write erotic romance with a muse like that—boobs like a stripper and eye-makeup to match! Add the fact that she and Ken hung around naked in the dark a lot, and there you have it. (In their Barbie carrying case, what did you think I meant?) 

What’s your favorite genre of romance? And can you remember the reading path that brought you here? I’d love to know. Leave a comment!

Happy New Year,

Cathryn Cade

... red hot romance!

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Continue the blog party!

Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation

Jessa Slade - Get Organized

Paty Jager - Volunteerism

Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life

Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier

Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination

Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions

Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss

Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet

2013 Resolutions: Jessa Slade and the Literary Life

 Resolve 2013: Chaos and Creation

Jessa Slade

The Darkest Night (A Marked Souls Christmas novella) 

Whenever I have friends and family visit me in Portland Oregon, I frequently haul them up to Mount St. Helens in Washington to admire the devastation a volcano leaves behind. The visitor center shows a short film called “Chaos and Creation.” The narrator says “chaos and creation” repeatedly (with very dramatic intonation) and inevitably, for every group I escort up there, the phrase becomes the running joke of the day.

I think living a creative life is having a small thing -- a dream -- writ large. Basically you are making a mole hill into a mountain, and that means fomenting a certain amount of chaos in what other people might consider a “normal” life. To pursue a creative dream, sometimes you have to destroy the peace and quiet and sacrifice chunks of everyday life.

I’ve accepted some chaos and sacrifice to make room for my creative life:

1. Drastically reduced TV: I’m a storyteller at heart, so of course I love television. But committing to my own stories means sacrificing someone else’s. I still have a couple favorite shows, but most often I have to flip through a copy of Entertainment Weekly at the grocery store to keep up with popular culture.

2. Less-than-perfect housekeeping: Okay, admitted this isn’t much of a sacrifice, but it can definitely lead to chaos. In the end, though, I’d rather have my words written than my socks folded and put away in the drawer. I’m just going to wear them again anyway!

3. Tight finances: This is an ugly reality for most creative folk who don’t have a reliable source of income (trust fund, understanding spouse, blackmail scheme). Making a creative life takes an investment of time and resources that can wreak chaos on AND demand sacrifice from your checkbook. But who needs fancy shoes when you’re at your computer in fuzzy socks anyway?

Are you willing to let in a little chaos for your creation? Please share in comments.

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Continue the blog party!

Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation

Jessa Slade - Get Organized

Paty Jager - Volunteerism

Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life

Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier

Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination

Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions

Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss

Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet

2013 Resolutions: Paty Jager and the Literary Life.

Following Your Dream by

Paty Jager

I’m not sure when the true bug to be published bit me, but once it did, I took writing classes, tried to joining a local writing group(they ended up being all poets and not helping my fiction writing), and eventually connected with Romance Writers of America. 

The hardest part about being a writer is first believing in yourself and your craft. Anyone, be they a writer, an artist, a musician, not only have to learn how to do the art form they love, they have to be able to convey feelings, and paint pictures with words and music that others can resonate with. 

Once the craft is learned, and you believe in your work, you have to put that work out there for others to purchase and enjoy. You also need to surround yourself with people who encourage your writing, people who hold you accountable for the best work you can do, and people who believe in you. 

Never let the naysayers or jealousy pull you down. If you are surrounded by the right people, your creativity will soar and you will be able to follow your dream of creating a literary or creative life. 

 Secrets of a Mayan Moon

Places you can connect with Paty:

Website               Blog        Goodreads         Facebook        Twitter         Pinterest          

Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation

Jessa Slade - Get Organized

Paty Jager - Volunteerism

Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life

Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier

Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination

Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions

Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss

Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet