Articles

Jun 28 2024

Worth the Wait

Author: Jamie DeBree

I’ve been writing rather sporadically lately (fiction too, not just these blog posts). With fiction, I’m working on a tale of the old(ish) west, wherein a woman (or two, actually) runs away from her life on the east coast to find herself and hopefully make space in a male-dominated world here in my home state (newly minted just then) of Montana.

The part I’m working on is her journey – getting from point A to B, which in the late 1800’s was not a comfortable or particularly “fun” feat, though most of it would have been accomplished by train. Uncharacteristically, I had the first two-thirds of her travels planned out with a nice/odd little meet and hand-off, but when I got to the final third leg, I was stumped.

Not being Tolkien (or particularly liking descriptive passages of the landscape spanning more than a page or so), I had to take a break and figure out what I wanted to make of that final leg of the journey. I did some brainstorming and outlining (yes, I used AI for that, because it is very well-suited for such things and without that kind of efficient help, my very long-winded notes and research would most definitely never have been organized). I did a little more granular plotting, and got sidetracked by yet more research (because history is fascinating, which is why I have a history degree).

Then a couple nights ago, I sat down to write. My method for that when I don’t know what to write (dictation is useless if I don’t have some idea of where I’m going with a scene), is just to write the next word that logically follows the previous one, and keep typing, and eventually I find my way back into the story flow.

Well, I found my way into the flow that night, all right. I overshot my writing time by a good fifteen minutes just because I really had to get all the things out “on paper” before I left them to stew for the night. And I ended up with a nice little plot point that will add depth to my heroine’s story, fit in nicely with one of the overreaching themes of the book (that of how difficult it was for women to do anything on their own back then), and it will add a nice amount of both internal and external conflict to that first act of the book.

Not that I was thinking about any of that while writing, of course. Once you get into a writing “flow state”, the story literally just writes itself for the most part – I’m just the typist. And that is what makes writing so much fun.

I could have forced myself to keep writing when I got “stuck” on that part, and when I was younger, I probably would have. I’m glad I didn’t in this case, because the result was so much better than it would have been if I hadn’t waited. Patience was key, and I’m really glad I waited and just did more creative work “around” the story instead of bulldozing through. There’s a time for the bulldozer, of course, but in this case, it definitely benefited from a more patient touch.

Have you been rewarded for waiting lately? I think we should all be rewarded more often for that, don’t you?

Comment below, email me at jamie@jamiedebree.com, or catch up with me on Facebook or Instagram.

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Nov 10 2023

NaNo Excerpt Week 2: The Magpie Writer

Author: Jamie DeBree


This excerpt is in draft form, and as such, undoubtedly contains typos among other grammatical issues, plot holes, reminder brackets, etc.

*******************************

“Going to Kansas City, ma’am?” Another porter checked her tickets, and then raised his eyebrows. “All the way to Montana, eh? It’s wild country out there. Are you traveling alone?”


She gave him a small smile. “I am, but there are people waiting for me when I get there.” She offered nothing more, and he nodded, marking her ticket for the first stop and tipping his hat as he held a hand out to help her up the stairs.


The train was surprisingly full already, and she walked slowly behind a man with his arms around two scantily clad women who seemed to be happy enough in his company. They passed into the sleeper cars, and she spotted an empty seat in the last section of the general seating car, across from a well-dressed, nice-looking man and a fresh-faced young woman with flowing blond hair and a fetching blue dress that matched her sparkling eyes. It was hard to say whether they were a couple or not. They seemed to be disagreeing about something as Madeline approached.


“May I sit here?” She asked, putting her valise and basket on the seat when the young woman nodded. She sat down across from them and looked out the window at the bustling sea of people still on the platform. Most were undoubtedly waiting for trains yet to come, as hers should be departing any time now. Taking a book out of her valise, she found her place and began to read as the woman and man exchanged a few more words, and the man got up and left.


“Where are you off to?” The young woman asked. Madeline looked up and closed her book.


“Rural Montana – a town called Meadowlark,” she said cordially. “I’m taking a position as a school teacher there.”


“Really?” The young woman smiled. “I’m going to Montana too! I hear there are a lot of single men out there, and I aim to meet as many of them as possible.” She gave Madeline a coy sidelong look and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “I’ll be honest, because you may not want to sit with me once you know, but I want to become a woman of the night. What do you think about that?”

**************************************

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Aug 04 2023

Library Maintenance – Yay or Nay?

Author: Jamie DeBree

Photo of the Week

A friend of mine from work was giving away this bookshelf. Look how perfectly it fits on top of the one we already had in the bedroom! Yay more book storage! I need to add those shelves to the indexing program, now.

Bagging & Boxing & Shelving…Oh My (Books)!

I know some readers who “read and release”. That is to say, they get a book, they read the book, they give the book away (or turn it in to the nearest library or used bookstore). My mom does this, and she seems perfectly happy to have read the material and passed on the actual object. She does have an ereader, but she doesn’t really use it much. My dad, on the other hand, reads ebooks almost exclusively. It’s easier for him, as he’s dyslexic and the digital text allows him to adjust settings for maximum ease of reading.


I, on the other hand, am a collector. While I do read ebooks occasionally, my physical library brings me joy just by existing, the sight of all those books on the shelves (and piled up…uh…everywhere) makes me feel calm and peaceful. Unfortunately, I don’t have room for all the books (there’s never going to be enough room – it doesn’t matter where I live), but I have a hard time parting with any of them, so…cleaning out doesn’t happen often.

Books recently liberated from a storage unit, waiting for shelf space.


I also read comic books, and unlike novels, they don’t tend to stay in tall stacks very well. I also can’t just shelve them, though I do keep some of mine shelved in binders. The rest have to be bagged and boxed, to keep them in good condition and stored away efficiently. It’s the one place in my life where I don’t balk too much at using plastic, mainly because I expect the plastic to be in use protecting the books for a very, very long time.


A few weeks ago, I noticed that my “finished” comic book stack was getting too big for the space it was in, and decided it was time to bag, board and box a bunch. I bought some new boxes and bags at the comic shop, and that Saturday night, I spread everything out in the living room to work on while I watched a movie with my husband (The Out-Laws, for anyone curious…it’s mildly amusing, but not something I’d choose to watch again).


This year, I’ve been reading one issue per day (I got way, way behind for a few years, and kept buying, but wasn’t reading, so..it’s catch-up year), and because I do that before work, I don’t have a lot of time to keep things organized. So I just toss each issue on the “to be indexed” stack, and call it good. This results in a stack of mixed issues that are in backwards numerical order (apparently it’s too hard just to turn them upside down before I toss them on the stack). So my process when storing them is to grab the bottom of the stack, sort by issue and series, and then bag one, scan the barcode, index it, and then put it in the respective box or binder.


It’s not a difficult process, but it does take time, and tends to be a bit tedious. And if I wasn’t using an indexing software to keep track (I use CLZ Comics – link below in the Recommendations section), I’d be totally lost when I have to stop for any length of time and then try to remember which issue I left off with (especially since comic series are notorious for spin-offs and “series within a series” type stuff, resulting in odd issue orders here and there).


In any case, I got about 50 issues bagged and boxed in that session (I had to do a lot of sorting before I started), and then I ran out of boards. For those not familiar, the “boards” are just a piece of thick stock placed in the bag behind the comic book to keep it flat while it’s stored. So, I’ll need to grab more of those before I can continue my archiving project – I’ll do that in a couple of weeks after payday.

More TBR books – that get moved from this vanity chair to the bed every morning, and back at night. *eyeroll*


A few years ago, I decided I also should index all the “normal” books…which is a project I still haven’t even come close to finishing. But I do try to add any new book that comes in to the index, along with a general idea of which shelf it’s on in case we need/want to find it again. Which is why you’ll see labels with numbers on most of the shelves in our house. Those numbers correspond to a number in my library indexing program. I use CLZ Comics for my comic books, and CLZ Books for everything else. Currently I only keep subscriptions for the phone apps ($15 per year each, which isn’t unreasonable, IMO), because that’s the most useful – I can just scan the barcode to enter a book, and unless it’s something really obscure, it’s generally already in the database. And then I have a good chunk of our books in my pocket all the time, so when we’re shopping we can avoid buying something we’ve already read or bought.


On the occasion I get into a heavy indexing phase of older books, I’ll pay for a month or two of the web app as well, so I can enter the books a bit easier with the larger interface, since those barcodes are less likely to actually be found in the system. It all connects to my same account, so all the data is going to the same spot, it’s just the different interface I’m paying for in that case.


Then there’s my Kindle and ebook library. I used to keep my Kindle books organized into folders and such, and then just sort of gave up, but I really wish they were more organized. I’ve been thinking about upgrading my Paperwhite to the new version (just for a little faster processor), but I also use the Kindle app on my phone, so…it would behoove me to get things organized one of these days.


The rest of my ebooks (non-Kindle/Amazon), are all sitting on a folder in my Dropbox account, loosely organized by non-fiction and fiction, and since I get so few PDF books anymore, it’s not really worth my time to organize them any further than that. I really should go through my crochet/knit ebooks though. I often get those in PDF so I can load them on my reMarkable and keep track of my stitch counts as I go. One of these days. Maybe. Sounds like a winter project, doesn’t it?


So, do you keep your library organized/indexed? Or do you prefer the excitement of a hunt every time you’re looking for something to read or reference?


Writing & Publishing News


It’s been a bit slow-going lately, but I’m still moving forward. The biggest news is that MacKenzie Saves the World will finally be out in print August 11th! So for anyone who likes romance in print (ironically, I read most of my romance in digital form), I’ll have links up then, and it will be available at our local bookstore soon too (whenever the shipment gets here). So that’s fun. Personally, I think it’s the best romance I’ve written yet…until I finish the Magpie stories, anyways.😉


I’m working away on Magpie Shiny, slowly but surely, and I also got started on a hopefully fall release for my horror alter-ego this past week as well. So, aside from getting distracted by health issues here and there (stupid body), I’m feeling pretty good about hopefully having some fun new releases coming soon(ish).


I’m also going to take advantage of Ingram’s new mass market paperback size, and work on formatting some of my alter-ego’s short stories into MMPs. I love that size book, and while the preference for trade size seems to be trending, I think MMP is still perfect for shorter stories. That’s my next print project.


Recommendation(s)


For anyone interested in indexing your personal library, I highly recommend CLZ Books, and CLZ Comics. They also have modules for movies, video games, etc – check ’em out!

Screenshots of my indexes…I thought I had more covers in the books one…


That’s it for this week! If you have a favorite thing to share, or want to recommend a book, TV show, video or podcast, comment below, email me at jamie@jamiedebree.com, or catch up with me on Facebook or Instagram.


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Jun 22 2023

Game Therapy

Author: Jamie DeBree

Photo of the Week

My Elvenar Elven city: “Bitteroot”


On Stress and Gaming


Last week was very stressful, mostly because a lot of things happened that I didn’t like/couldn’t control. I tend to be a control freak, and not being able to change what/how things were happening was…well, I let it stress me out more than I should have. It didn’t help that it wasn’t just one thing, but several different things spanning both work and personal life, and it all just seemed chaotic and frustrating. This week has been better, but still not awesome (hence the lateness of this post).


I could have screamed, yelled, and possibly gotten my way on a few things, making everyone around me miserable in the process. And my attitude certainly wasn’t what it should be, by any means. But instead of going postal, I did what anyone who enjoys playing games tends to do, and downloaded two more titles to my phone (I prefer gaming on my phone, because I’m too lazy to boot up a console or get my laptop from the home office in the evenings).


I didn’t realize it was a coping mechanism at first. I saw a couple titles I’d been interested in for awhile, and my brain latched on and decided that it was time to finally try them. I play Pokemon Go almost daily, but I’ve been playing for awhile (has it really been 5 years?!), and you really have to get out and about to play that for any length of time. The two I downloaded (Elvenar and Merge Dragons) are “sit down and grind for task completion” sort of games, with strategy and puzzle-solving as the “grind”.


Once I realized that I was using the games as a coping mechanism, I started to wonder why. They’re two completely different games for the most part, but one thing they have in common is clearly defined long-term goals and shorter daily tasks. Completing the short tasks is what seemed to ease my stress.


A dopamine hit, obviously (due to the rewards gained for task completion), but also completing tasks “closed the loop” and made me feel like I was in control of “something”, however small or insignificant. And much of my stress was being caused by other people not closing the loop or finishing things the way I thought they ought to be completed (that’s not to say what they did was wrong, necessarily, it just wasn’t what I wanted or thought *should* be done).


In short, being in control of what happened in the games (yes, I know that’s an illusion, but my subconscious brain doesn’t) made me feel better and more able to ignore what I couldn’t control in the real world while I tried to figure out what (if anything) to do about it.


Now that I’ve calmed down a bit and figured out how I want to proceed in actually dealing with most of the various stressors, I’m already scaling way back on Merge Dragons (I find a lot of repetitive/matching games boring pretty quickly). I don’t actually have a lot of time for gaming, and my eyes really can’t handle all the screen time I’ve been putting in for this little mental “temper tantrum”, so I can’t keep up this sort of gaming “pace”.


I’ll continue playing Elvenar for awhile at least. It’s more of a “jump in, complete a few tasks, and jump out again” type long-term strategy game, with lots of different content to keep it fresh.


All in all, I think the discovery process of the last week and a half has been interesting, and I always see this sort of introspection as good “research” for future character development. So, aside from the strain of stress and irritation, win-win for me.


Writing News


I didn’t write much last week – I didn’t really have (give myself) the mental space, what with all the stressing out and gaming. But I did do something I think is equally important. I went back through all my various notes on the Magpie series, and reminded myself why I want to write it. I also started sort of building an outline, which is something I normally don’t do, but I feel like I could really benefit from changing up the way I write – at least for this series.


There’s just so much I’ve already thought out, and that means more to keep track of from the outset. I like “just writing” and seeing what happens, but I do not like getting to the end of the draft and realizing that I didn’t find the actual story until I got to the end. Rewriting an entire story is…daunting, to say the least. But, so does outlining, in a different way, so…just coming at it from a different angle.


So, I’m going to try a different process, and see how it goes. I have the Plottr software, and the writing software I currently use has a plot grid outline included as well. I think I’ll use Workflowy for most of the outline initially (I use Workflowy for pretty much everything note or planning related), and then move it into whichever formal outline “spot” seems like it’ll work best.


I also went back through some notes I have on a few short-story collections I want to work on. I’m going to spend a little time each week on those, because I can’t work on just one project all the time, or I get bored. So that will be a good compliment to/break from the Magpie world.


Now I just need to set some reasonable deadlines. I’ve been letting myself just “skate” for too long now. It’s time to get busy and actually get some books written and published again.


Recommendation(s)

I just finished reading The Portrait by Antoine Laurain. It’s a fun and kind of twisted little tale by a French author (translated – it’s been a long time since I could read reliably in French). It’s a short book big on drama. If you can find a copy, I think you’ll find it very intriguing.


That’s it for this week! If you have a favorite thing to share, or want to recommend a book, TV show, video or podcast, comment below, email me at jamie@jamiedebree.com, or catch up with me on Facebook or Instagram.

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Mar 28 2023

First Quarter Well-Fillers (Reading/Watching/Listening)

Author: Jamie DeBree
March Books

This is going to be a bit long, so you might want to get yourself a nice beverage and get comfy.

I’ve been doing a much better job of protecting my nightly reading time this year, and I’m actually finishing books! Yay! So I thought I’d do a quarterly report of what I’ve read/am currently reading, in case you see anything you might like. I’ll also add what I’ve watched or am currently watching below, in case that’s of interest as well.

Two of the novels below are first person narratives, which I didn’t used to enjoy at all. I’m finding I have more tolerance for them the more I’m exposed, though they still aren’t my first choice. As storytelling changes, I find I have to as well, as more authors are using first person these days, and I’ve been experimenting with writing in it myself (as one of my pen names) just to keep up. Jury’s still out on whether it will be a long-term thing for me or not.

I’ve read two novels this quarter, and am well into a third, all of which are engaging and entertaining in their own ways. Here are my thoughts on each, with no spoilers (because that would just be wrong).

Bloodless by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

I love pretty much everything by these guys, though I’ll admit, I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one. It seemed to move slower at the start than normal for them, though the pacing at the beginning did match the overall “deep south” vibe. It definitely picked up toward the middle, and raced to the end. And it was very intriguing to finally learn more about Constance, such a long-running enigma in this world.

There was one side-plot that both took me aback, and made me squint a bit at the pages. I’m still not sure I’m completely on board with it, and…well…I may never be. The ending is also a big “huh?!” moment, that could and should have major implications on the series going forward, so I’m anxious to see how that turns out in the next book (The Cabinet of Dr. Leng). Which I have to wait a year for, because it’s only out in hardback and I hate reading hardbacks. Stupid publishing idiocy.

All of You by Elisa Lorello

Elisa is currently one of our local authors and a huge Duran Duran fan, so I picked this music-themed romance up at our local bookstore expecting a nice band-oriented romp, and instead got an orchestra of emotional angst that built to a crescendo of growth and healing for the characters. I was up late more than once for “just one more chapter” because I wanted to know what happened next.

If you love angsty romance, music, and some comfy pop culture references for those of us who are a bit older, grab a copy. I think you’ll be surprised at how much depth it contains. Or maybe not, if you’ve read Elisa’s books before.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I haven’t read The Martian yet, though I know we have a copy somewhere. This one was close to the top of my TBR pile, so I decided to give it a go. There’s a lot of mystery in the beginning, that could easily get frustrating in a hurry, but Weir does a great job of not letting things hang too long before moving the story along. I’ve just reached a somewhat confusing point where I go back and forth between hopeful and hopeless as the story bounces around the timeline, and I’m compelled to keep reading not just as a reader who wants to see “what happens next”, but also as an author who is insanely curious where the story will end up, from a craft/storytelling point of view.

We’ll see, for sure. I just really need to set an alarm to put the book down in time to get ample sleep…because that hasn’t been happening lately.

The Comic Book TBR Project

You may or may not remember, but one of my resolutions this year is to get through the insane stack of comic books in my “to be read” pile. I sort of stopped reading comic books sometime in 2019 (due to a lot of stress going on at the time), but I never stopped amassing them (I have a pull-list with my local comic shop that I go retrieve every month or so). To meet my goal, I’ve tasked myself to read one comic book before work every weekday, and I’ve been succeeding admirably with that (two on days I take off work). It also tends to start my day on a more creative note than just thinking about everything I need to get done, so win-win there!

That said, here’s a run-down of my progress on the various series I read:

Harley Quinn: Issues 71-75, 1-10 (next run)
I’m not digging the artwork on this particular run. The story is okay, though not awesome, but the artwork is really detracting, in my opinion. But, it makes for a quicker read, since I’m not overly concerned with taking in the details of every panel. So there’s that.

Deadpool: Issues 4-10, Issues 1-3 (current run – caught up, yay!)
I love Deadpool. I love Jeff the Shark. ‘Nough said.

Daredevil: Issues 18-30
This is a very philosophically deep run of Daredevil, with a lot of moral and ethical pondering by both our hero, and Electra, who is filling in for him temporarily. It’s very thought-provoking, and the art style is gritty and very well-matched to the story.

I Hate Fairyland: Issues 1-3 (current run)
If you like an insane amount of “so dramatic it’s obviously not real” blood-spatter, and the constant juxtaposition of overly-sweet with horribly-sour, this series is for you. Start with the first one though, not the current run (you can get them in book-form too). You need the background of the first runs to appreciate the current one. You’ll either love it or hate it – there’s no in-between with this one.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Issues 25-35
When I first started reading comic books, I was doing research, because I thought it would be fun to write a novel about the owner of a comic book shop (McKenzie Saves the World). I also wanted to know if I was potentially missing out on something great. I wanted to pick one major superhero to follow, and after reading a sampling of the big ones (Batman, Captain America, Superman, Spider-man, etc), I settled on Spider-Man. I’ve been reading ever since, and while the plot goes a bit wonky occasionally, for the most part, I enjoy the web-slinger’s more casual attitude about his odd life and I appreciate the off-beat humor at inopportune times. This run has an interesting plot going, but the recent issues have been in the 2099 mini-crossover-series and it’s…a bit weird. Maybe because I’m not really reading much of the other comic series involved. Luckily, it’s only a few issues and then back to normal, so no biggie. Happens all the time in comics.

Venom: Issues 1-11
This run seems very…Gaiman-esqe to me. It’s sometimes confusing, and I really don’t know if I’m enjoying it or just hanging in there because I’m curious how the writers are going to get themselves out of the seriously loopy weird symbiote loop they’ve gotten themselves into. We’ll see, I guess.

Predator: Issue 1
I read this as a trial run…it’s the current series. It was okay, but not really my thing. I don’t plan on getting any more.

Two Graves: Issue 1
This was a one-off trial run too, and I’m interested in reading more, but by the time I got back to the comic shop, they didn’t have any of the subsequent issues. I might see if they can order the rest of the series in for me when I go this month. The art style is really nice, and the story is quite enigmatic.

TV/Movies

We’re watching quite a few series at the moment, and honestly, I’d recommend all of them. I love it when there’s so much good TV on! Here’s what we’re currently watching, divided by where they are so you can find them if you wish:

CBS/Paramount +
NCIS, Season 20 (and yes, we’ve watched them all!)
The Equalizer, Season 3
Picard, Season 3

Netflix
Shadow & Bone, Season 2

Disney +
The Mandalorian, Season 3

As for movies, we haven’t watched anything super-exciting lately, but we are definitely planning a date to see John Wick 4 in the near future.

Music

Not much to report here, except that I am looking forward to getting copies of Theory of a Deadman’s Dinosaur and Pop Evil’s Skeletons very soon. I think I’ll get them on vinyl, and hopefully a digital copy as well. We also have two new LPs from Vinyl Moon to spin. Now that the storage unit project is winding down, we should have time to do that very soon!

Now it’s your turn! What are you reading, watching or listening to? Anything noteworthy? Comment wherever you’re reading this, or reply to the email – I’m always looking to add to my “To Read/Watch/Listen” lists!

 

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Jan 24 2023

Bibliophile or Bookworm?

Author: Jamie DeBree

When I was younger, I never really made a distinction between being a reader and being a book collector/bibliophile. I thought it was all the same thing. I loved reading, and I also loved books as objects, so it never occurred to me that there might be readers who didn’t also love books.

I’m not really sure how I missed that, considering that my mom is one such person. She reads (and has always read) constantly…she was even a school librarian for many years, but somehow, she never needed more than one bookshelf for herself. And even that wasn’t ever full.

Chalk it up to the self-centeredness of youth, but I actually never realized she didn’t keep books after reading them until I’d moved out, and started buying them as gifts for her here and there. She would read them, and pass them on, and I was a little put off by that for a great while. I couldn’t understand why she’d give such a gift away, even after professing to having “loved” it.

Of course she was constantly asking if I wanted this or that book she’d just read, and some I’d take, and others not, depending on if they interested me or not. Of course those books are all still on my shelves, because unlike her, I can’t bear to part with books, unless I absolutely hate them (and even then, I tend to keep them around because…

Well, I’m not sure, exactly.

My book hoarding/collecting tenancies started when I was young. We didn’t have much money (or any, a lot of the time), so we checked a lot of books out from the bookmobile, which parked by our apartment complex once a week. On occasion, we rode the bus downtown to the library, which was like a giant candy-store to me, and checked out large stacks of books to take home and read before they had to be given back.

So when I was gifted a book on my birthday or Christmas, often inscribed with a short message from the giver just inside the front cover, that was special. I treasured those books and couldn’t imagine ever giving them up. My personal library grew slowly but surely over the years, and when I finally got a job, I paid for my own clothes, gas, insurance, fast food, and bought books every chance I got.

I kept fiction and non-fiction alike, and I drooled for weeks over a beautiful leather-bound, decorative version of Gone With the Wind seen in our local used bookstore when I was in college. I wanted it, so badly, but it was $200, and I did not have the money. I still think about that book, over twenty years later, lamenting that I never was able to add it to my collection.

When I finally bought my first house, moving my books was the first thing I thought of, and four years later when I got married and moved into our current house with my husband, there was never any doubt in my mind that I’d be moving a bunch of books. Although…I’d say that’s definitely the thing I dread most about moving – carrying boxes of books.

I have a Kindle, and a Nook (somewhere), and the Kindle app on my phone. I do read ebooks occasionally, as they’re easy to access when I’m not home. But it’s not the same for me. They feel…ethereal, and when people complain that ebooks shouldn’t cost as much as a print book, I kind of agree with them, because there’s a large part of the experience that’s missing for me when reading an ebook. Yes, the story’s there, and theoretically, it’s no different than turning real pages, and it’s far, far easier to make the text bigger when necessary, but with an ebook, I don’t have the actual object to keep, to look at, to take down off the shelf and thumb through the pages, getting caught up in a random page of text that suddenly makes me want to read the whole thing again.

Though obviously, that’s why attics and basements are notoriously difficult to clean out.

This isn’t a “are ebooks or print books better” post (I am all for stories existing in every form possible), but a recent conversation with a friend about the “problem” of collecting physical books and not wanting to get rid of them has me thinking about books and what they are to different people. I think it’s interesting to note that while some of us readers are also book collectors, others are not, and the two perspectives can make for a rather wide abyss.

Will I ever get to the point where I can let go of my physical books and be content with only the “content” in digital form? Perhaps, I suppose, but I dare say only when I’m unable to move with and enjoy the physical collection any longer. And probably never for some things, like recipe books and “how tos”. Because it’s comforting to me that if someday all the electronics get fried by an electromagnetic pulse, and Google ceases to exist (along with ebooks), the information on how to survive and prosper will still exist somewhere in a physical book, for people to find and decipher.

This thinking of books as collectable objects has given me renewed motivation to get my own books back into print…or the ones that have been languishing waiting for me to finish the updates, anyways. What better books to keep in my collection than those I’ve written myself, eh?

What about you? Are you a bibliophile, a bookworm, or both?

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Sep 13 2022

On Shelf & Screen in September 2022

Author: Jamie DeBree

It’s been awhile since I could read for pleasure, but having finished my duties as an award judge, I’m finally getting back to my “normal” book fare. And the contemporary romance novel I’m reading right now is Rainy Day Friends by Jill Shalvis.

I love Jill’s stories – they’re funny and heartwarming and her heroines are real and down-to-earth, for the most part. They’re almost like a palate cleanser for me – in life, not just in the book sphere. She’s one of my “always buy” authors, and while I’m not too far into this one yet (a couple chapters), I’m already loving it. If you are one of those people for whom anxiety is a very real and crippling ailment, you’ll definitely identify with Lanie Jacobs, the main character.

Next on my to-read list for romance:
The Gilded Girl by Pamela Kelley, which is supposed to be a “Cinderella story – sort of.”

As for other entertainment, I’m still working my way through The Good Witch TV series on Netflix (originally Hallmark). I love Catherine Bell’s character, and the whole series has been/is loosely inspiring for the core part of my Magpie, MT project. I like the relationship interplay and chemistry between the characters a lot, as well as the slower pace of the overall story – a nice change from all the fast-paced shows I normally watch.

The last romantic movie I watched was on Netflix also – A Perfect Pairing. It’s a romance set “down under” in Australia involving both sheep ranching and wine that was cute, amusing, and a relaxing way to spend an hour and 40 minutes or so.

What are you reading, watching, or listening to this month? You can reply here on the blog, reply to the email (if you’re a blog subscriber), or comment on your favorite form of social media. Don’t be afraid to jump in – I’d love to hear from you and add your recommendations to my lists!

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Sep 06 2022

Character Interview: Madelaine Rae (Ellison) Henry

Author: Jamie DeBree

This week, I invited one of the founders of Magpie, MT to chat for a bit and give us some insight into how she ended up homesteading a farm by herself in a remote mountain valley. While Magpie Shiny isn’t her story, her experiences are integral to how the town and its occupants survive and react to outside influences.

How old are you?
I was born in 1896, which I suppose would make me 126, if I were still alive. Good heavens, that’s old! Thankfully, my body gave up about thirty years back, and it was older than dirt then…or it felt like it, anyways.

What would you say your best physical feature is?
Before I left the east coast, I would have said my flawless ivory skin. Mama always said if I’d wear lower necklines and get the men looking at the smooth expanse of my chest, they’d forget about my plain face. But years in the dry northern climate working out in the sun for hours at a time with only a bit of lanolin for moisturizing occasionally did away with that right quick. Now, I guess I’d say my hands are my best feature. They’ve done far more than I ever imagined they would (Mama would be positively beside herself if she knew), and Lord knows I put ’em through the wringer more than once (literally).

How would you describe your personality?
I’d say I’m pretty reserved, and tough-as-nails, as Charles used to say. I do what needs to be done, and I don’t tolerate people who don’t show proper respect.

Where are you from, originally?
I was born in the town of Boston, Massachusetts. Left when I was twenty-one and never saw it again. I’d imagine it’s quite a bit different these days.

Where do you live now? 
The Magpie Cemetery, up on a little hill overlooking our town, and shadowed by one of our “guardian” mountains at the back. I like it – it’s quiet, and my daughter, Addison planted some wild rose bushes around the perimeter about ten years ago. Very fancy when they’re all bloomin’ and the scent perfumes the whole area.

Do/did you have a significant other?
Charles Henry was my husband, until he disappeared shortly after I buried my third child. I never missed him much, and never wanted another one, though I was tempted a time or two.

What’s your favorite food?
Ain’t nothing like a fresh apple right off the tree in my orchard. Or a pie baked with those apples.

What’s your biggest fear?
I was always afraid of being beholden to anyone for anything, which bit me in the butt a time or two. And I have my secrets that had me looking over my shoulder on occasion. But I’m not afraid of much now that I’m not drawing breath. Ha! There’s a certain clarity that comes with death.

Now I think I’ll go watch my great, great, great granddaughter eat an apple from one of the trees I planted so long ago. Her mama told her not to, so you know she’s gonna. Lauren named her after me, you know, and I think she’s got some of my ‘zing’. She’s a damn sight prettier than I was, thank goodness. She’ll be breaking hearts all over the valley before you know it. Though that might be more of a curse than a blessing.

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Aug 30 2022

New Feature & Email Subscriptions

Author: Jamie DeBree

Once upon a time, I posted my draft novels here on the blog in serial form, one scene or chapter per week. I stopped doing that for a myriad of reasons, even as things like Wattpad and most recently, Kindle Vella, became popular (where writers do the same basic thing). I know some authors are using Patreon for this as well, where drafts and draft chapters are available for subscribers.

The whole reason I started serializing in the first place was to give myself a good, solid deadline for getting a certain amount of writing done per week. And it worked. It’s very motivating knowing that someone (even if it’s just one or a few people) is/are looking forward to reading the next part of what you’re working on as you write. I got books and stories done, and I had fun doing it, even though I did end up with a fair amount of editing/revising to do (when you’re pantsing it, that’s a fact of life).

When I stopped, my productivity went down instead of up. Turns out, that external accountability is far more powerful than one might expect. I’ve been writing a lot more lately, but I thought it would be fun to reinstate the “Friday Fiction” feature and give myself a solid weekly deadline again.

To that end, a new serial novel will begin this Friday, September 3rd. The title is Magpie Shiny, and it’s going to be the start of a trilogy that I have been plotting and prepping for awhile now. I’ve been working on the draft, too, though I’m not as far ahead as I’d hoped to be (more motivation!). There will be no charge for reading the story, but I am going to include a “tip jar” link with each installment (if I can figure out how). If you enjoy what you read, please consider leaving a tip! All tippers will receive a nice thank-you gift when the novel is published.

As for email – if you visit the blog to read (as opposed to reading in a feed reader), you may have noticed the subscriber forms changing in the sidebar. I’ve been testing out different email platforms, and have finally settled on one I like (Aweber). So if you want to get these blog posts in your email so you don’t have to look for a link elsewhere or keep checking back on the blog, sign up in the sidebar or here, and you’ll receive an email every time a new post goes live (twice a week, unless I have a new release or important news that just can’t wait for the normal Tuesday post).

Also – I am restarting the monthly newsletter! The first issue of Wafting Pages will go out on September 5th, and you can expect a new issue on the first Monday of every month thereafter. The newsletter may include bits of trivia from my research, a general writing update and/or excerpt, links to the month’s blog posts, news about new releases or sales, and occasional recommendations for a book I enjoyed reading and think subscribers might enjoy too. Subscribers will also receive special pre-release deals, free stuff and sneak-peeks before anyone else. If that sounds like fun to you, sign up here.

If you were previously subscribed to my old/defunct Variety Pages newsletter, you should get an email before September 5th, asking if you’d like to remain a subscriber, or if you’d like to unsubscribe (and how to do that).

One last thing – both of my pen names will be restarting their newsletters as well, as well as a Friday Fiction feature in the coming weeks. If you are interested in erotic romance, then you’ll want to check out https://trinitymarlow.com and if you’re interested in thriller/horror stories, check out https://alexwesthaven.com. Trinity’s latest post will be up on Thursday of this week, and Alex’s will be up on Friday. Both of the fiction features on those blogs will tie into the new Magpie series I’m working on here, but from decidedly different perspectives and voices.

Thanks for reading, and for those of you on or joining the email lists, thanks for subscribing! Writing and sharing stories is what I like to do most in this world, and I appreciate anyone who chooses to come along for the (often wild) ride, no matter how you choose to do so.

Now, back to our regular (and new) scheduled posts. Tune in Friday for the first chapter of Magpie Shiny!

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Jul 12 2022

Writing Notes: Planning? Plotting? Who Am I?

Author: Jamie DeBree
As you can see, I’ve finally settled on a new name for this blog. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to add a banner to the blog page on my site, but I will, because I’m quite fond of this one I whipped up last night. It makes me chuckle. And we all could use a good chuckle, right?

Welcome to Writing Lint. 🙂

As a friendly reminder, the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale for ebooks is in full swing, and this week,The Biker’s Wench and The Minister’s Maid are discounted, and The Handyman’s Harem Girl  is free! They’re campy and fun and perfect summer reading.

I’ve been doing some planning. Or a lot of planning, actually. I follow Holly Lisle’s blog, and she’s been doing something very inspiring over the last few months (moreso because she’s also been moving her entire online presence to a new platform, which is about the least fun thing ever for anyone, but she has an entire course load and community to shift, which is about like moving the Titanic).

Holly’s been writing/revising a five-book series all at once. Well, one at a time, but consecutively, without releasing any of them until they’re all done. She wrote all the drafts, and now she’s going back through and revising them all, to ensure continuity and cohesiveness throughout the series.

Which is genius, when you think about it. Once you have all the books in a series done, the hard work is finished. And then you can release them all at once, or one per month, or one every other month…which means people can finish one, look forward to the next, and pre-order the rest, since they’ll all be scheduled out and public.

Genius, I think. Especially when you can write as steadily as she has for the past…nearly a year.

In any case, I don’t know if I have the patience to do the same thing Holly’s doing, but I love the concept. And just watching her work has inspired me to, if not write all the books at once, at least plan all the books in the series out before I even start writing, getting as much detail down as I can, and making sure the plots mesh as much as possible before digging in.

Things will change as I write – they always do, but even though I like to just start writing and see what happens, it’s a lot less work to have a roadmap when I have to make the most out of every little bit of writing time I can grab.

So I’ve been planning, and plotting, and laying out a series that’s getting bigger the farther I dig into it. Once I decided that I really wanted to write a family saga, the floodgates kind of just whooshed open, and suddenly I had three families involved, starting with mail-order brides (which I now have to research) and ending up in present day with the tangible items that each of the first three women deemed important enough to pass down through generations.

The story feels big – really big. We’ll see what happens as I get deeper into the storylines, but I’m excited to explore the different legacies swirling around in my head.

More to come as I dig deeper into The Magpie Legacies.

Of course, I also recently got an idea for a series themed around lamps….
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