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[Meant to get this up yesterday, but got busy writing my intro instead and then had to go out. Sorry 'bout that...]
Chapter 5 of Christmas Cheer went up yesterday, and I'm a little amazed at the response. It's getting views. It's getting votes. And the majority of the voters seem to think it's pretty good. Thank you, thank you to everyone who's viewed and voted. Special thanks to those who've commented. You're what keeps me going!
I only hope I can do this story justice and bring it home.
Christmas Cheer was kind of a writing challenge to myself. I'd been corresponding with Cotton Nightie about The Ski Trip Surprise and Visiting Austin, and Cotton mentioned that, having just published an actual novel, these stories were just for fun, kind of like doodling on a sketch pad.
You have to understand. When I started writing erotica, I found an online writers' workshop. It was an awesome place teeming with some very strong and very serious writers, and this crowd was brutal, in the most supportive possible way. Weak writing was like blood in the water, and they could chew you up and spit you out,, all with the goal of helping you improve. And I did! I got used to doing a rewrite or two before even posting, going over my stuff with a fine-toothed comb.
So the idea of essentially winging it, posting on the fly, with actual readers waiting for the next installment to pressure me into posting, well...intriguing.
Could I?
And then the inspiration for Lynne and Mike popped into my head, and I went for it.
I'm not quite posting on the fly, understand. What I typically do is to write a chapter and let it sit while I write the next. When I finish the second, I reread the first, tidy it up just a bit, and post it. Then I write the third chapter, go back and post the second, and so on. At least in theory. In practice, real life and other stories keep crowding in, and I've actually lost my buffer. Chapter 6 is half written, and I think there are going to have to be some changes.
I had been struggling a bit with the timing. In the outline in my head, Christmas was on a Thursday, which seemed to give me too many days to fill. I've decided to move Christmas up to Wednesday which streamlines the story and makes everything work better. So, horray for magical superpowers to bend time and space.
Now, if only I could bend time and space to squeeze more writing hours into the day!
Best,
Jess
If you've taken the time to click through to my blog, thanks! And welcome.
I've probably gone about things bass-ackwards here. Read a few stories, posted a few stories, Thought about starting an author blog, finally got around to it. If I'd been organized, I'd ave started a blog as soon as I posted my first story, introducing myself and giving a little background about the story, how I came to write it and what I think of it.
Yeah, not so much with the organization there.
There's a chance I'll go back and post about the three stand-alone stories I've posted--Two Carpenters and a Lady, A Feast for the Senses, and Icicle,--and then again, there's a chance that I won't. I'll get to Christmas Cheer in a bit, in a post of its own, promise.
One of my biggest fears in starting this blog is that I'll let it slip. In 2018 I'll be posting stories, and below each one will be a note saying, "Visit Jess Barracuda's blog. Last entry way the heck back in 2015!" Or words to that effect. Let's hope not.
I've written almost since I can remember, putting words on paper because I had stories to tell. I've drifted away more than a few times, but it's been something I've come back to, a recurring theme. Putting words on paper, then pixels on screens, because I had stories to tell.
I actually sold a few stories to a couple of online sites about a decade ago, under a different pen name. Those sites, sadly, are now gone from the web. I won an honorable mention in an erotic flash fiction contest under the same name, and that one's still up, though I don't know if anyone visits it any more. I'm a little afraid to read it myself, in case it hasn't really stood the test of time. One of these days, I guess.
I started writing in earnest again around mid-2013, after a medical crisis that nearly killed me. I survived, but not without opticnerve damage that has left me permanently blind. It's been, and continues to be, a heck of an adjustment, but that's okay. I'm here.
And I'm still putting pixels on screens, because I still have stories to tell.
I hope you'll try them, and I hope you'll enjoy them. If you get something out of my writing, please consider voting, and maybe even drop me a line. I love to hear that my stories have touched someone, and I try to respond to feedback, though I can be slow. Every now and again, I'll lose track of an email I mean to reply to. If this happens to you, I apologize in advance.
So again, thanks for dropping by. If you've read this far, thanks for sticking around. I hope I'll see you again real soon!
Best,
Jess
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