Jodie Leigh Murray

 

I'll prelude this blog by saying that I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. One fiction and a couple non-fiction. Reading non-fiction is difficult at best. It's dry reading for me, even if the subject is interesting. I need to alternate between reading non-fiction and fiction. I can only read one fiction book at a time, and I only want to read one at a time to give that author's story my undivided attention.

 

Fiction

So . . . what am I currently reading in fiction? When I knew this blog was coming up, I didn't know what I would be reading. It was toss up between five or six books that I'm eagerly awaiting reading. I'm reading A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, the third book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Originally, I didn't want to read this series. There was so much hype about it, I wasn't sure if it was a series I would like. I do not pay attention whatsoever to reviews posted on Goodreads and FOR GOOD REASON. While there are some people that write an honest review, most of the reviews are based on an opinion. And opinions on books will vary just like they do for music and movies. What someone else may thoroughly hate, I might really enjoy. Therefore, I will read the back blurb and judge a book by its cover before I ever put any stock into someone's bad review.

 

The first book in this series was actually fantastic and had me hooked. The story itself was good. So good that I had to read the next book, which wasn't until a few books later, but I did pick it up and finished it last week. The second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, was SUPER good and hooked me every further. There are two other books in this series, A Court of Frost and Starlight and A Court of Silver Flames. I'm looking forward to reading them, too.

 

I've been reading a lot of romantasy lately, but I've mixed it up, some having read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst recently. Though I'm not sure I would recommend The Starless Sea unless you want to be thoroughly confused, I would recommend The Spellshop. It was a delight.

 

I've not decided which fictional book I'll be picking up next. There are so so many to choose from right now. So many that I want to read. I might have to flip a coin to decide.

 

Non-Fiction

For my non-fiction selections, I'm reading Writing into The Dark by Dean Wesley Smith, which is about writing without an outline. For those of you who know me, or have read my blogs, you know that I heavily outline each book before I start the book. Well, my fifth book–the third in the Gangster series–has NO outline. You heard me right. I've done very little as far as outlining. Instead, I'm writing into the dark on it. I've had to pause to ensure The Aristocrat's Wife is published in time, but this book is helping me through unknown territory while I navigate without an outline. The other non-fiction book that I'm reading is How to Write a Successful Series by Helen Scheurer. Again, those who know me or who've talked to me at events know that I never intended for The Gangster's Daughter to turn into a series. It was by pure chance that I wrote the characters into The Gangster's Mistake as supporting characters, which turned it into a series. And if you don't know already, I have at least five more Gangster books coming. Those who have not purchased those books yet, I'll be adding a page to the inside of those books that will state: This series is best enjoyed in this order  . . . I'm not planning on changing the book covers to have Book One, Book Two, etc.

 

That's what I'm reading right now! If you need any recommendations, let me know!!

 

Happy reading!

Jodie

 

Whether you're a published author, a writer thinking about publishing, or a small business (even the smallest of businesses), a business card is a way to tell people they can get in touch with you. Yes, probably 9 out of 10 times mine get tossed in the garbage, but I like to think that they're at least looked at for a bit before they're tossed. I got the idea of a 'bookmark' business card from author friend Jennifer DeVries, who writes under the pseudonym Brenda Lyne.

 

The Benefits of a Business Card

When you're doing a craft show or even a pop-up market, you want people to leave with your product in their hands along with a way to get in touch with you if they want more. You want me to leave you with a way to get in touch with you, especially if they don't leave with your product in hand. You don't have to have a website, which can be costly for a small business, but you should at least have a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or any combination of these social media presences for people to follow or subscribe to besides an email address. A google email address is free, as are social media pages. The last thing you want is for people to forget you exist. Leave a lasting impression!

 

How to Design a Business Card

You can leave a lasting impression by having a decent business card. Get a logo, free to design through Adobe Express or Canva. Both will constantly bug you for a free trial and they have locked designs, requiring a subscription, but I've designed three decent logos (one for myself, and two for others) without having to do either. True enough, I could do a lot more paying for a subscription. I wouldn't do both, and I'm not to where I feel the need for a subscription. With either of them, I could design flyers, invitations, business cards, even my book covers (if I want to design my own, which I don't). Another perk to Adobe Express, free QR codes. You can get a QR code linked to anything URL you want. Make sure you put that on your business card when you design it. When you design your business card, you will want to create your 'brand', which means color and font will matter. Consistency will matter, and I preach even though none of the fonts and colors match on my three book colors and that is because my book covers are pre-made. If I hired an artist, I'd have more consistency. Also, not ready for that yet. I'm doing find as is, but will probably want to consider a redesign in the future. Make sure your business card contains your logo, business name, contact information (unnecessary to include a phone number, although you can link a FREE google phone number to your actual phone number, as well), and I would strongly recommend at least one QR code for people to capture a picture to lead them to something whether it be your website or a social media page. Whatever else you have on it, especially if you've paid for back and front, MAKE AN IMPACT. I have covers of my books, hoping that it sparks memory for someone who purchased, or maybe didn't purchase, one of my books. Maybe a quote might be good, if I could come up with a good one.

 

Where To Get Business Cards

There are many places to get business cards for a decent price from. I started with Vistaprint, who had a good price for a bulk order of business cards. But after several reorders in which they changed how they looked without me changing the design, I switched to Texas-based Print Place. My husband still gets his business cards through Vistaprint and has had no issues. No matter who you could go through, do a price comparison. While I go through Print Place for my business cards, or bookmarks, they are more costly for other things I would otherwise get from Vistaprint. And that could likely be because they are of better quality, but I've since cut down my marketing costs considerably.

 

My bookmarks will be a marketing cost that follows me for a while, regardless if people throw them away. If they don't, I have a better chance of them remembering that they should look me up to see if I have a new book or maybe someone swiping a card from my table and remembered when they got home to follow me on Instagram or Facebook, or subscribe to my newsletter. Business cards give you a better chance of someone remembering that they met you and what your product was. Easy marketing, I like to think.

 

Jodie

 

If I got lucky enough to get a free plane ticket to go anywhere, where would I go? Hands down, without a doubt or even a second to think about it . . . England. I've never been there, but I've dreamed about going there since I was a kid. I'd live there, if I could. That might sound ridiculous for someone who has never been there before, but this is a place I've done extensive research about. The country and everything about it fascinates me. It isn't perfect, but I'm convinced there isn't a country that is.

 

This is a fitting time to write this as I'm leaving for Las Vegas this week. There are so many places to go if there was a free place ticket with no strings attached. Fiji, Jamaica, Scotland, Italy, Disney World, hell . . . Alaska. But I would go to England, and I would soak up every detail I could.

 

My second choice would be some place like the Bahamas or Fiji, some place tropical with warmth, sandy beaches, palm trees, and drinks by the pool. In fact, at one point, my husband wanted to move to Belize. I'm not sure how serious he was, but I could move anywhere. Just not into a colder climate. I wouldn't mind visiting there.

 

Where would you go if you have a free plane ticket anywhere? And why?

 

Building a scene isn't as easy as it sounds, unless you're a daydreamer like me. I have a knack for submersing myself into a place where I've never been, situations I'll never find myself in, with people I've never met. There is much more that goes into a scene than meets the eye.

 

Dialogue

By the time you get to writing a scene, you should know your character's well enough to know how they speak. It's easy to slip into sounding like a robot. Trying to remember how normal people talk with all their quirks and speech patterns sometimes takes a few rounds of edits, while other times, you nail it right away. By the time you're finished, readers should be able to distinguish the character through dialogue, but I still use dialogue tags periodically or an action following dialogue.

 

Weather

This is easily forgotten, and sometimes something that can be very brief. Weather can be something very important in a scene, creating ambience or friction, maybe even a reaction depending on what you're going for. Equally, it can be something merely mentioned and you move on. It should, at the very least, be mentioned.

 

Ambience

This is the mood you want to set for your scene. Is the scene in a restaurant you want to create a sense of romance? Are your characters on the top of a roller coaster that you are going for a sense of anxiety? Words can create the ambience you are going for.

 

Props

Props are the items in the scene that are vital to it. In my fourth book, The Aristocrat's Wife, there are many scenes (if not most) that have horses. Horses have saddles, bridles, usually a blanket under the saddle . . .  those are props. Food, clothing, those can be props.

 

POV

I've written all four of my books in first person, but there are some authors that use first person but alternate who is the POV by chapter. This is something I'm considering doing this in future books, and I likely will. I'm not sure which ones, though. Point of view can be important for the scene, too.

 

Subplots

Subplots play a part in the scenes. It can be a side romance, another motive, an illegal activity . . . anything. These can be a major or minor part of the scene, but don't let them overshadow moving the plot along. Be careful not to draw the reader too far off the course of the story.

 

When I have the order of my scenes, I fill in the gaps with the other details that I don't already have. Each scene has a page where I detail everything out. Chapter number, scene number, characters, location, date/time, props, weather, description and subplots. I also try to note what I want the scene to be memorable for.

 

Happy Reading!

 

One of my favorite movies, Pride and Prejudice, is based on a book. And that isn't the only Jane Austen book made into a movie. There are several others. There are so many movies based on books, this would be one long blog if I were to delve into them all. So, I'll cover my favorites.

 

I almost always read the book before I watch the movie. This is because I don't want the movie to skew my imagination of how the scene is and what the character looks like. Chances are I don't like the book if I've watched the movie first. These are not in any order.

 

• Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant by Veronica Roth
• Hunger Games, Catching Fire, The Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
• Cold Mountain by Wiliam Frazier
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• Princess Bride by William Goldman

 

I have watched movies before reading the book, and it wasn't on purpose. Sometimes, I just couldn't wait. Take, for instance, the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. Reading The Hobbit took me so long, I said forget it and watched the movies. I just haven't watched the last one yet. Those movies are quite a time commitment. The Color Purple by Alice Walker . . . never read the book. I didn't read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, either. I will admit it's been a long time since I've watched these movies, so I might be fine with reading the book now.

 

There are a few that I refuse to watch the movie until I read the book. These are oldies, but goodies. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Haven't read the book, haven't watched the movie. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. I have these books on my bookshelf. It could be why I'm holding out on watching these movies.

 

Then, there are the movies that I didn't know were books first. Forest Gump by Winston Groom and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. There are several more on my list that I didn't know were books, too.

 

What are your thoughts about reading books before seeing the movie, or the opposite? Do you read the book before the movie, or do you watch the movie first? I'm interested to know if I'm in the majority or the minority here.

 

Happy Reading!