Wednesday 16 April 2014

Author Spotlight - Janice Ross






Writing that less than perfect HEA

 

I remember growing up with the likes of: Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice…Boys are made of fishes and snails and puppy dog tails. Yeah right! Sadly, we were reared to believe the hype and that everything was either good or bad. I’m sorry to break the news but life is not so cut and dry. If you still one of the ones that have fallen into that pit of lies, please stop here and do not continue. However, if you can relate to where I’m heading, then please continue on.

 

Firstly, let’s take a look at HEA (Happily Ever After). Many people want to achieve this in life, both personally and with their stories. There was a point in time where I believed that no matter what stage we reached in life, the HEA was highly attainable. No matter what someone might’ve done, they would have a picket-fence ending and receive all that their heart desired. I believe we do ourselves a severe injustice when we bypass the what ifs and curve ball that might catch us off guard. Moreover, life is a constant process in which we are meant to continually grow.

 

My latest release is titled Loving Nate. It is about a young woman named Leah that falls in love with a man that she believes is perfect. Leah is so caught up in this perfection and wanting that ultimate relationship that she does not even realize she is being played like a banjo. In this novella, I utilize first person present tense to get into the mind of the female character and am able to allow readers to totally experience all that she goes through. Readers can fall in lust and love, and eventually follow Leah into total heartbreak. When the novella runs out and Leah is forced to make a decision, I offer two very different analogies. Might I add that the alternates are not quite what readers would expect especially the second of the two. My purpose in doing so is to show that there is more than one way to look at the longed for Happily Ever After scenario. Sometimes, HEA could mean breaking free and being able to achieve a sense of self worth.

 

*****

Loving Nate

 

Blurb

 

Loving Nate is Leah's story of falling in love with Mr. Perfect. Leah falls fast and hard, losing all sense of reasoning. Love can do that to a gal, especially when the guy is as smooth as Nathan Moore. Loving Nate is about Leah's journey of falling in love, when she should have been standing in love.

 

Author’s Note

 

I’ve decided to provide two very different endings to this novella. Have you ever made a decision and wondered whether or not it was the right choice? Or perhaps you made the right choice because you knew that the alternative would’ve been disastrous? This is my gift to readers. Regardless of Leah’s final choice, I wanted readers to be able to reflect on the possibilities.

 

*****

 

 

Bio

 

Janice Ross was born in Guyana, South America and migrated to the USA in 1980. Although her citizenship certificate now reads the United States of America, she considers herself a citizen of the world. Sure she has not physically been around the world and back, but she’s travelled in her mind and dreams.

Janice is an author. She enjoys writing about social issues and personal experiences. Janice’s debut release was entitled Damaged Girls. She uses the three books in that series to detail the effects of different forms of abuse, discussing issues that are known to be taboo. Her next release, Jumping Ship, is a dedication to her country of birth and an introductory novella to the Island Hopping Series – due out in 2014. It’s poised to be a colorful and emotional experience of life, love and family. As of present, she is also a contributor to a short story collection – Just Between Us, Inspiring Stories by Women. And lastly, Loving Nate is a novella about the realities of losing one’s self to love.

Janice enjoys reading. And is drawn to stories with distinct characters that she can love or hate, characters she can form alliances with or characters that she can swear off and despise. She is also weak for a good cultural tale, preferably in the form of historical fiction. Janice loves to be taken off guard by clever language and settings.

Janice is also a devout supporter and promoter of other authors through social media. She hosts a weekly show, Cultural Cocktails, on the largest social radio network, Blog Talk Radio.

 

You can connect with Janice on





 



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Wednesday 2 April 2014

A to Z Challenge - B is for Box


The A to Z challenge is to write a daily blog post centred around a different letter of the alphabet each day. I will attempt to write a complete story which will continue each day and hopefully draw to a conclusion when we get to Z.

It’s April’s birthday and she has just opened a box. If you missed the post for A find it here.




Davey had been expecting to surprise April when he rang the doorbell on the morning of her birthday. At first he had not heard the screams over the noise of the bell, but when he stopped pressing the bell the noise didn’t stop. He started jabbing at the bell trying to make it stop but nothing he did would stop the noise. Then he realised it wasn’t the bell, it was someone screaming.

Spurred into action Davey dropped the large bunch of flowers and vaulted the three feet high fence that surrounded the house. Running round the back he could see April standing at the dining room table with a box in her hand, screaming. Davey tried the back door but it was locked. He tried the patio windows but they were locked too. He started hammering on the glass.

‘April, April. Let me in.’ Davey shouted through the patio doors.

April didn’t move. Davey pounded on the doors once more and finally, as if in slow motion, April turned her head towards the doors and saw him. She dropped the box and running over to the door, opened it, and fell into his arms sobbing.

‘What is it baby? What happened?’ Davey asked holding her close and gently stroking her back.

April was still crying and gasping for air as she pointed behind her to roughly where the box lay.

‘It’s okay. I’m here now. Will you be okay while I go see what it is?’ Davey lifted April’s chin with his index finger so she looked into his eyes. He usually melted when he looked into those cornflower blue eyes, only this morning they were red with crying. She looked so frightened and vulnerable. April nodded and Davey placed her gently onto the garden bench whilst he ventured inside.

As he crept through the patio doors, not sure what to expect, something crunched under foot. He looked down to see large white crystals scattered all over the floor and the box upside down under the table. Davey bent down and lifted the box leaving its contents lying on the floor. It was then that the smell hit him and he started to gag. He gulped in air twice and then, remembering old detective shows, started to try and breathe through his mouth. He composed himself and turned away carefully following the same route back to April. Behind him the severed finger lay rotting on the floor.

 

Is the finger real? Whose is it? Why has it been sent to April? Who sent it?

 

Want to find out what happens next?
Get the full story from Amazon click here


Jo Jenner is on twitter @jojenner40 and on facebook

Check out her short story anthology available on Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DOCK3S0

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 1 April 2014

A to Z Challenge - A is for April


The A to Z challenge is to write a daily blog post centred around a different letter of the alphabet each day. I will attempt to write a complete story which will continue each day and hopefully draw to a conclusion when we get to Z.




Everything about April screamed summer. Her fine shoulder length blonde hair, framed her face like a halo. She had alabaster skin which served as a perfect backdrop to her cornflower blue eyes. Even on the dullest days a light seem to shine around her. She was petit, no taller than five feet, and she wore ballet pumps which made her look even smaller, as all her friends wore at least a three inch heel. Her dresses were nineteen fifties in style and people often remarked that she made them think or Sandra Dee or Peggy Sue.

April was everyone’s friend and everyone liked her, but there was one small problem and that was her birthday. April had been born on April first and that was why her mother had called her April. All her friends thought it was great fun to send her joke presents on her birthday. April had a good sense of humour but not when it came to her birthday. Everyone else got treated special and spoilt on their birthdays and all she got was to be made a fool of. They always made up for it later on in the day but she had lost her excitement by then.

This year April had sworn it would be different. She had warned all her friends that she would never speak to them again if they didn’t treat her birthday with some respect and they had promised to make this year special.

April was going to be twenty one and she really hoped they would keep their promises.

When April the first arrived April woke up to the sound of the birds singing. Even early in the morning the sun was already shining through her window. She checked inside her slippers and her dressing gown. Nothing. She carefully walked through to the bathroom and checked the toilet seat for cling film and the shower head for ink. Nothing. She slowly edged down the stairs checking each step before putting her weight onto it. Nothing. In the kitchen she checked the milk and upon finding it was fresh, made her breakfast.

There on the table were a pile of cards and five presents. She carefully opened all the cards and read the greetings. April found a strange warm feeling enveloping her. This must be what it’s like for everyone else on their birthdays she thought. She placed the cards on the mantle and started to open her presents. An ipad, a couple of cd’s she wanted and a copy of 1984. She couldn’t believe how lucky she’d been. The final parcel didn’t have a tag on it. April wondered who it could be from. All her family had bought her something and she would see most of her friends later.

She slowly eased open the celotape and the wrapping paper fell away to reveal a small box. As she carefully lifted the lid, the smell hit her. Putrid, almost rotten. It was the worst thing she had ever smelt. The box was open in her hand and all she could do was stare at it.

The silence was broken as the doorbell rang. At the same time April started screaming.

 

 

 

Want to find out what happens next?
Get the full story from Amazon click here
 

Jo Jenner is on twitter @jojenner40 and on facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/jojennerauthor

Check out her short story anthology available on Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DOCK3S0

 

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