My Writing Process ~ Round Two

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

I’m helping out a friend, Lola Karns (who can be found here), by writing about my writing process today. I’ve done this before, but I’m working on different books and the process does evolve.

1) What am I working on?

At the moment, I’m finishing up the polishing phase of my current WIP, To Woo A Wicked Widow. It’s the first book in my Widows’ Club series about five friends who were widowed by the Battle of Waterloo and how they find love again (and sometimes for the first time!). This book is my first Regency and I found the period quite challenging after the medieval and Georgian eras I’m familiar with. Readers know the period quite well, so you have to be on your toes about your historical accuracy. Even though it’s fiction, the history has to be right.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think of my works as being a blend of steamy and historical. There’s nothing new under the sun and people in history were just as sexually active–both with or without marriage–as we are today. They just didn’t flaunt it quite as brazenly as we do. 🙂 So I try to inject my historical romances with a “spicy” side that offsets the strict rules of society at the time.

3) Why do I write what I write?

I love history and I love doing research. The logical thing for me to do, then, is to write historical romances where I have all the history and twice the research! The perfect match.

4) How does my writing process work?

I am a very linear writer. I start with an idea–sometimes a scene pops into my head or I play “what if?” Then I immediately plot that idea out with a detailed outline. Once that’s done, I sit down and start with chapter one and write straight through until The End. Along the way I usually have some input from my characters about what they want to do, how they will react in a particular situation, etc., but always minor stuff. Until I started writing Widow. Those characters just took over! They kept doing things I didn’t want them to do and they wouldn’t take no for an answer! I almost became a pantzer while writing it! To the point I had to take the detailed outline and chapter by chapter make it even more detailed to keep these characters in line. I hope the rest of the series isn’t like that!

Now, because I’ve been at Disney World for the past week, I clean forgot to line up three more writers to reveal their processes for next week. If any of you would like to play, just let me know and I’ll add your name to this post. 🙂

Posted in About the Author, On Writing, On Writing Historical Romance, On Writing Romance | Tagged historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, writing process | 1 Comment

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 6/22/14 Betrothal ~ The Oaf Has Wits

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

For the Sundays in June for WWW, I’ve decided to share snippets from each of my back listed books. This week is Betrothal, the first novella in my medieval serial novel, Time Enough to Love.

In this scene, just after their betrothal is announced, Sir Geoffrey is supposed to be escorting Lady Alyse back to her table. However, he instead parades her around the Great Hall, showing off his bride to be. Alyse, however, is less than thrilled at his attention.

Could this great hulking oaf not see her discomfiture? Did he not care about her feelings at all? And she must be married to this man?

Oh, Father, what have you done to me?

As they continued down the long side of the Hall, Geoffrey leaned over to ask, “Why so quiet, my lady? Are you in awe of me or merely stunned by the good fortune of our betrothal?”

Outraged by the conceited fool, Alyse opened her mouth to explain exactly how unimpressed she was, both with him and her so-called good fortune, but instead met eyes of darkest sapphire flickering with merriment at her indignation.

So the oaf has wits.

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet of Betrothal. If you want to read more, it’s available on Amazon right now on sale for only .99!

They are betrothed by law but can he make it an affair of the heart?

Lady Alyse de Courcy has fallen in love with Lord Braeton, a nobleman in King Edward III’s court and a man to whom she has barely spoken. Fate, however, has decreed her betrothal to his best friend, Sir Geoffrey Longford—a handsome and imposing knight, yet hardly the man she wants to wed.

When Sir Geoffrey is bound in betrothal by his father, he could not have expected the beautiful stranger to win his heart the moment they meet. Nevertheless, the fascinating Lady Alyse has done exactly that, and his feelings for her only grow as he learns more of her gentle yet spirited nature. But Alyse’s infatuation with his friend casts doubt on whether she can ever return his regard and their wedding day is fast approaching…

Will he have time enough to win her love?

And don’t forget, Beleaguered releases in July!

In the mean time, check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

Posted in Betrothal, On Time Enough to Love, On Weekend Writing Warriors, Promotion, Weekend Writing Warriors | Tagged Betrothal, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, medieval romance, Time Enough To Love, Weekend Writing Warriors | 10 Comments

Horny Hump Day 06/18/14: Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

WARNING: MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Participating authors in Horny Hump Day post three sentences from their published works or WIP, hot like a firecracker! LOL

Welcome back to Horny Hump Day!

For the month of June I’m showcasing different works from my back list (I’m coordinating this with my Weekend Writing Warrior posts). And I’m continuing today with my steamy, Georgian historical, Only Scandal Will Do.

This snippet follows closely after my Weekend Writing Warrior 8 last Sunday. The masked man is doing a great job of seducing Lady Katarina into a very compromising position.

All she wanted was his hands on her, his tongue in her. Of its own accord, her tongue thrust into him, bringing a growl of approval that encouraged her to frenzied explorations of his warm, wet mouth. He slipped a hand down and rested it on the swell of her breast, impudently nudging a finger inside the gown’s low decolletage and brushing it against her aching nipple.

If you’d like to find out if the masked man succeeds, Only Scandal Will Do is available at Amazon for only .99!

Please continue to the Horny Hump Day blog site for additional sites on the hop and go check out the other hot authors.

Thanks so much for visiting the Journal once more for Horny Hump Day!

Posted in Blog Hops, House of Pleasure Series, On Horny Hump Day, On Only Scandal Will Do, Promotion | Tagged Georgian romance, historical romance, Horny Hump Day, Jenna Jaxon, Only Scandal Will Do, sensual sex scene | 5 Comments

Spotlight on Patricia Green’s Latest Release: The Blacksmith’s Bride

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

Sunny Winslow knows exactly what she wants: a mature man, solid, reliable, true to his convictions, and handsome, who is established in her new town, Carrollton, Texas. When she meets the blacksmith, Abel Armstrong, she’s immediately hooked. Unfortunately, her mother has other plans for her that do not include a blacksmith. Her mother is determined to tie Sunny to a town counselor who has a suspicious past. Sunny is desperate to escape the counselor, so she embarks on a series of schemes to get what she wants.

Abel Armstrong has some skeletons in his closet. In the nineteenth century, it’s quite the scandal to be a divorced man. Over the course of the last ten years, he’s had to work very hard to get his reputation back. Meeting Sunny is like a breath of fresh air, but he can’t afford to throw caution to the wind and force their joining by doing something disreputable.

Can spankings teach Sunny to have some patience and trust that Abel’s way is the right way? And, can Abel deal with Sunny’s impulsive scheming and keep his standing in the community intact?

This book is one of the five books in the historical romance box set entitled, “The Sons of Johnny Hastings.” It includes books by Patricia Green, Patty Devlin, Renee Rose, Maddie Taylor, and Mary Wehr. All bestselling authors. Five books, all of one theme, for a great low price. Over 500 pages of spanking romance goodness.

In the old west, a divorced man is a pariah, but Sunny wants the blacksmith. Right now!

Excerpt for The Blacksmith’s Bride:

As he put on his hat against the afternoon sun, he observed a game of blind-man’s-bluff a group of young women, somewhere between seventeen and twenty-one years old, were playing. They were laughing and giggling, flitting around each other and trying to confuse the one with the blindfold over her eyes. She was laughing as hard as the others and her attempts to tag one of them were vigorous but fruitless. Her hair was dark blonde with sunlit streaks, and her mouth was a rosebud, pink and tender. The girl’s laugh trilled in the air like the crystal bells the ladies played at church concerts. She had a fine figure, too, petite and perfectly proportioned. A woman that size would make Abel feel like a giant among men.

Eventually, the woman tagged someone, and then fell to the ground with breathless giggles, pulling off her blindfold as she fell. Her eyes were as blue as cornflowers, glowing with youth and vitality. Abel pegged her age at nineteen or twenty. And, best of all, she was new around here. He’d never seen her before. It seemed unlikely that anyone was already courting her…unless she was maybe already married. It was common enough for women of such an age to be married, some with children already. She probably wouldn’t know about his societal scar.

He tried to make out if she had a ring on her finger, but he couldn’t quite tell.

His friend Bruce sauntered up, offering him a glass of lemonade, which Abel took and absentmindedly sipped at. “Now that’s a pretty sight,” Bruce said with a smile, as they watched the girls playing.

“Yes, indeed.”

“A single man like you could have his pick, Abel. I don’t know why you haven’t settled down yet. It’s been nearly ten years.”

Looking at the new girl, he was wondering the same thing, but it didn’t take him long to remind himself that a giggly girl barely out of the schoolroom was hardly the right mate for man of his age. He needed a widow, maybe. It wasn’t as exciting as having a young woman, of course.

Buy Links:

The Blacksmith’s Bride on Amazon: http://goo.gl/FbxotZ

The Blacksmith’s Bride on Blushing Books: http://goo.gl/80tXLW

The Sons of Johnny Hastings Box Set on Amazon: http://goo.gl/sv4Cra

The Sons of Johnny Hastings Box Set on Blushing Books: http://goo.gl/qRVgyt

Patricia Green is a full-time fiction writer specializing in erotic romance. She provides the reader with love stories that emphasize fun characters with quirky personalities. Patricia is the author of more than 20 published novels and novellas.

In her personal life, Patricia is married and the mother of twins. When she’s not being the angel of domestic harmony and a semi-crazed creator of fictional friends, she loves to read, crochet, knit and watch hockey and baseball.

You can reach Patricia Green in the following ways:

Email: pig (at) patriciagreenbooks (dot) com

Website/Blog: http://www.patriciagreenbooks.com

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Patricia.Green.Romance

Twitter: @PatriciaIGreen

Google+: http://plus.google.com/+PatriciaGreen

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Patricia-Green/e/B002RCB0IK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4541511.Patricia_Green

Posted in Book Spotlights, Guest Bloggers, Historical Romance, New Release, Promotion | Tagged historical romance, Patricia Green, spanking romance, The Blacksmith's Bride, The Sons of Johnny Hastings, western romance | 4 Comments

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 6/15/14 Only Scandal Will Do ~ Pleasure to be Had

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

For the Sundays in June for WWW, I’ve decided to share snippets from each of my back listed books. This week is Only Scandal Will Do, my first full length historical.

He has the woman of his dreams, but what price will he have to pay to

win her heart?

Kidnapped and sold at auction in a London brothel, Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam squelches an undeniable attraction to the masked stranger who purchased her, pits her wits against him, and escapes him and the scandal that would ruin her life.

Unable to resist temptation in a London brothel, Duncan Ferrers, Marquess

of Dalbury, purchases a fiery beauty. She claims she’s a lady, but how can

she be? No lady of his acquaintance in polite society is anything like her.

Then he discovers she is who she says, and that this latest romp has

compromised her reputation. He knows how that is. One more scandal and

he’ll be cast out of London society, but he needs a wife who’ll provide an

heir to carry on his illustrious family’s name. He seeks out Katarina,

intending only to scotch the scandal, but instead finds his heart ensnared.

He’s betting their future he’ll capture her heart, but does he have what it

takes to win the wager?

WARNING: A blade-wielding heroine who crosses swords with a master of

sensuality.

In this scene, Lady Katarina meets her buyer, a masked man:

She jerked away and insisted, “You may have paid for a slave, sir, but what you find in this room is a lady in distress. Will you prove a gentleman or a rogue?”

“A lady in distress?” he laughed and straightened. “How did a lady come to find herself on display at an auction, scandalously clad in a transparent Greek costume, in Madame Vestry’s House of Pleasure?”

“House of Pleasure?” she squeaked.

“Where else would such a thing occur?” The man’s amusement seemed to deepen at her indignation. “And there will certainly be pleasure here tonight, slave.”

Hope you enjoyed this little taste of Only Scandal Will Do. If you want to read more, it’s available on Amazon right now on sale for $1.99!

In the mean time, check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Weekend Writing Warriors, Promotion, Weekend Writing Warriors | Tagged brothel scene, Georgian romance, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, Only Scandal Will Do, Weekend Writing Warriors | 17 Comments

Alphabet Post: L is for Lavender

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

L is for Lavender, one of my favorite plants.

Lavender has been used in a variety of ways since the days of the Egyptians. The word “lavender” likely comes from the Latin word “lavere” meaning “to wash.” Ancient Romans used lavender oils in their public baths. And it was a major medicinal herb during the Middle Ages.

According to The History of Lavender, “During the Great Plague of the Middle Ages in Europe, some criminals who looted the belongings of plague victims were rarely affected by the disease themselves. When caught, the robbers credited their health to cleansing with “Four Thieves Vinegar” after their “work” was done. Legend has it that they were released after sharing that the secret of their “Vinegar” was lavender oil.”

Many documents in the Middle Ages show that monks and nuns used herbs and flowers for medicinal purposes, including lavender. It was used to soothe the nerves, assist in sleep, and cure headaches. Lay people, however, thought it was an aphrodisiac or it helped a person remain chaste as long as they used it.

Lavender is also used as a bug repellent. With this in mind, I used lavender as the plant associated with Geoffrey and Alyse in my medieval serial novel, Time Enough to Love. Its use helps repel fleas and therefore helps keep them safe from the plague. Lavender sachets are still used in clothing drawers today to make clothes smell fresh and to repel insects. In fact, my swag for this book at RWA will be a sachet bag of lavender flowers with Alyse’s, Geoffrey’s, and Thomas’s initials stamped on it. If you attend RWA be sure to look for them!

One more thing lavender is still used for is food. You can use lavender as an ingredient in almost any dish: Auberge French Lavender Pancakes, Lemon-Lavender Muffins, Lavender and Honey Roasted Chicken, Lavender Salad Dressing, and Grilled or Baked Salmon with Lavender just to name a few. If you’re interested in any of these recipes, you can find them here. And one more, a Lemon and Lavender Posset, is a dish going back to the middle ages. A posset is a very simple pudding but it looks elegant and delicious!

Do you like the scent of lavender? Have you ever used it as a remedy?

Posted in Alphabet Post | Tagged Alphabet Post, Jenna Jaxon, L is for Lavender, lavender as bug repellent, lavender as medicine, lavender flowers, lavender sachets, Time Enough To Love | 7 Comments

A Mind of Their Own—Wandering Body Parts

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

His lips caressed her cheek with a butterfly touch.

I’m sure most writers have struggled with this particular writing problem. Most editors want you to stifle these recalcitrant parts and make them behave, preferably with a whole character attached. And I have gotten better at it over the years—I’ll write “His fingers trailed down her arm,” then go back and change it to “He trailed his fingers down her arm.” But I still don’t see the problem with the first version.

One editor, Teresa Stevens, in her post called “Wandering Body Parts, Oh My,” actually agrees that this construction, in some instances, is acceptable writing. Her take on the wandering body part phenomenon has to do with the verbs used. If the action is not something the body part is capable of doing, then it must be changed. But if the part is capable of the action, it can stand. “The cure for this problem is careful editing and attention to the nuances of verbs. Whenever you name a body part in a sentence, identify the verb describing any action or motion of that body part. Can this body part actually act in this way? If the answer is yes, then you should be fine. But don’t be too quick to answer yes.” She does say that she would have no problem with the sentence “His fingers raked through the hair on his chest,” because the verb “to rake” can mean to scratch and fingers are capable of scratching and are the only part doing the scratching, not the whole body.

There are other editors who are completely adamant about rooting out any body part that wants to act independently. My former editor with Lyrical Press, Mary Murray, is one who insists on strict adherence to the character taking charge and completing the action, rather than the part. In her post “Wandering Body Parts: A Cautionary Tale,” she explains the rationale. “If a character is acting even in the smallest way, unless they can’t help it, that character is in control of their actions. Every eye movement, gasp, sigh, motion of their hands, feet and every body part in between. Lips do not just nibble–the female character nibbles using her lips. His feet don’t pound without him making them pound; he pounded the path with his feet. Remember that.” She goes on to add that when the author is writing in deep third person, “the reader feels as though they are the character, so sometimes even the slightest WBP can bump the reader out.” A very big reason to corral those parts.

I have always equated the wandering body part with literary conventions, akin to metaphor or simile. “My love is a red rose.” Well, unless she’s Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, she’s not. But readers have been trained to understand this type of comparison so it’s an acceptable sentence.

In her post, “In Defense of Wandering Body Parts,” author Bernita Harris also cites literary devices that are acceptable in literary fiction. “In synecdoche, a part of something is used to signify the whole; such as “ten hands” to indicate ten helpers. In metonymy, the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely related; so “crown” may stand for a king, a “sword” for a warrior, “eyes” for a ring of enemies.” If these usages are correct, surely “hands” or “fingers” can reasonably stand for the character using them?

But I’ll let you judge. How do you stand on body parts with a wanderlust?

Posted in On Writing | Tagged craft of writing, editor's advice, Jenna Jaxon, wandering body parts, writing problems | 24 Comments

Horny Hump Day 06/11/14: 7 Days of Seduction ~ Damn Good

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

WARNING: MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Participating authors in Horny Hump Day post three sentences from their published works or WIP, hot like a firecracker! LOL

Welcome back to Horny Hump Day!

For the month of June I’m going to showcase different works from my back list (I’m coordinating this with my Weekend Writing Warrior posts). And I’m continuing today with my erotic contemporary, 7 Days of Seduction.

In this scene, Hunter has joined Ashley in the shower, even though he’s a complete stranger–except for the hot sex they’d had last night. Hunter’s just put on a bright orange condom.

“I think sex should be colorful in all ways.” He pulled her back into his arms, lifted her and thrust his erection all the way into her slit like magic.

The unexpected fullness strained her insides almost to bursting—if he moved she’d explode—but damn, he felt good.

If you’d like to find out about those other six days, 7 Days of Seduction is available at Amazon.

Please continue to the Horny Hump Day blog site for additional sites on the hop and go check out the other hot authors.

Thanks so much for visiting the Journal once more for Horny Hump Day!

Posted in Blog Hops, On Horny Hump Day, On Seven Days of Seduction, Promotion | Tagged 7 Days of Seduction, contemporary romance, Erotic Romance, Horny Hump Day, Jenna Jaxon, shower sex | 12 Comments

A Synopsis Checklist

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

As I’m getting ready to send out a new novel to agents, the dreaded synopsis has become my nemesis once again. I thought this checklist might be helpful to some of my readers. I know it will be helpful to me. 🙂

Writers In The Storm Blog

by Shannon Donnelly

Years ago I was struggling to try and figure out how to write a synopsis. It took a lot of input from other writers, and some workshops, but I finally became comfortable with syopsis writing—and now it’s one of my favorite tools. I’m now doing my “Sexy Synopsis workshop again for Outreach International Romance Writers, but I wanted to offer up my synopsis checklist.

A synopsis is one of the most useful tools you can have. It keeps you from getting stuck. It starts you thinking about blurb and marketing copy. It can even show up flaws you might have in your plot, as in maybe the conflict really isn’t strong enough.

The checklist I developed came from looking at a bunch of synopses and from taking a lot of classes on synopsis writings. Feel free to take this list and customize for your own use…

View original post 511 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Spotlight on Author Carrie-Anne Brownian

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Jenna Jaxon

I’m so pleased to introduce you to a friend and fellow author, Carrie-Anne Brownian. You may know Carrie-Anne from her presence on Weekend Writing Warriors and earlier on Six Sentence Sunday. Carrie-Anne has shared many snippet from her many historical novels, all set in the early to mid twentieth century. Carrie-Anne has just published one of her books (under the pen name Ursula Hartlein) and another is set to release later in June.

I do a lot of drafting, editing, and revising in my head. I’ve had quite a few books and storylines memorized backwards and forwards in my head before I finally wrote them down. Inevitably, many things change while they’re in the mental queue. And as I’m writing a first draft, many times even planned storylines, characters, and plot developments change from what I had long envisioned, as more of the story takes shape.

One of those moments came when I was creating my World War II Bildungsroman And Jakob Flew the Fiend Away from a long short story/piece of back story about a longtime secondary character. The story had always been that he met his future wife Rachel on a brief relief assignment at Westerbork near the end of the war. However, as I was expanding Jakob’s story into a full-length novel (which turned out to need two volumes for all the material!), I began thinking of how much more interesting it would be if he and Rachel had actually met earlier, and he’d become obsessed with her. It would be destiny that they ended up meeting again so much time later.

With this important change, there’s a lot more meat to their love story. While a lot of people who barely knew one another paired off at lightning speed after the liberation, they’re compelled by more than just feeling lonely and wanting to start a new family after being left alone in the world. It also gave Jakob more inner turmoil, since he’s put up an iron wall around his heart and is denying to his friends his obvious feelings for this girl he met by chance and couldn’t stop thinking about. Later on, he stumbles upon her former hiding place and finds some of her belongings, which only creates an even stronger connection to her.

A number of other important plot shifts happened while writing my contemporary historical Bildungsroman Little Ragdoll, which was inspired by the story behind The Four Seasons’ famous song “Rag Doll.” I got the idea for this story back in May 1993, at age thirteen, after I first heard the story behind the song. I just had to give that unknown young girl a happy ending with a rich boy who loves her just the way she is, though there are a lot of dark twists and turns on the way to happy ever after. The discontinued original first draft of 1993-94 was even darker, like a Grimms’ fairytale on acid!

My favorite subplot was the love story between Allen and Lenore. My original plan was for Allen and Lenore to get together a lot sooner, but to my adult writer self, it made more sense to wait awhile. Lenore is only fifteen to Allen’s eighteen, and isn’t comfortable with letting any man touch her after what she’s survived. Forcing them to wait created great dramatic tension, particularly after they each lead the other to believe they’re in unrequited love with someone else. Lenore runs away in the middle of the night in a snowstorm because she’s so heartbroken, and Allen goes to find her, slowly nurses her back to health, and finally tells her how he feels on her eighteenth birthday. I was looking forward to writing the chapter about their romance with such anticipation, and felt so satisfied and excited when it finally arrived.

One of the numerous other changes was the age of my protagonist Adicia’s eventual husband Ricky. I’d always planned them as the same age, but that couldn’t work with the big plot twist in Part IV, when Ricky is drafted. During my research, I discovered 1972 draftees were born in 1952. He had to be two years older than Adicia. And since I wanted to make him a Cancer like Adicia, I got the unexpected, added bonus of the lottery number 88, one of the last numbers to be called during the last active year of the draft.

And Jakob Flew the Fiend Away (written as Ursula Hartlein):

Jakob DeJonghe can think of nothing but revenge when the Nazis coerce his father into suicide and his little sister mysteriously disappears the day before Yom Kippur 1940. As conditions in Amsterdam worsen, Jakob is determined to fight back and be the master of his own destiny, just as his heroes the Maccabees did in ancient times.

In November 1942, he feels his chance has finally come. Knowing it’s now or never, Jakob seizes an opportunity to jump from a death train, severely breaking his foot as he lands. As he limps for his life towards a forest, he’s found by four young resistance fighters and taken to a safe house. Even though Jakob has been left with a permanent limp, he’s still determined to defend his country and track down the men who killed his father.

His dream comes true when he joins his new friends’ resistance group after his seventeenth birthday, but after a chance meeting with a spirited young woman on one of his missions, he’s jolted by emotions he thought he’d buried. As much as he tries to deny it, he can’t stop thinking about her, even during the dark days of the brutal Hongerwinter. After he’s recruited into the Princess Irene Brigade and made a real soldier, Jakob realizes his battle is only half-won. If he ever wants to survive a world that will never be ordinary again, love and not hate will have to carry him through. And if he finds his dream girl again, this painful readjustment just might be easier.

And Jakob Flew the Fiend Away is available now on Amazon.

Little Ragdoll: A Bildungsroman (written as Carrie-Anne Brownian):

In the world Adicia Éloïse Troy is from, life is more like a Grimms’ fairytale than a Disney fairytale. But sometimes even the darkest, most twisted fairytale has a happy ending, even for a poor girl from the Lower East Side.

Adicia’s oldest sister Gemma becomes a sacrificial lamb when their parents derail her plans to go to college and force her to marry an awful much-older man, but Gemma gets the last laugh, and shows her sisters it’s possible to break the cycle of generational poverty. Gemma’s escape is only one of many dramatic developments which unfold over that year. These trials and tribulations reach their height when Adicia’s mother is arrested for embezzlement, but it seems like hard times are over forever when her one decent brother makes good and moves his sisters into his new apartment. However, this paradise only lasts five and a half months, and Adicia and her sisters are forced to move to Hell’s Kitchen on Christmas Eve.

During all the highs and lows of her youth, Adicia’s one constant is the loving bond she shares with her sisters, brother, and friends. Unlike her older sisters, however, Adicia cannot bring herself to leave home underage. She feels she has to passively stay to protect her baby sister Justine, particularly after she becomes the oldest sister left at home. Their fortune starts to change when they’re befriended by their new neighbor Ricky Carson, a wealthy young man who falls in love with Adicia. By this point, Adicia’s parents are desperate to salvage their family’s reputation, and plot to marry Adicia to a man forty years her senior.

With the noose tightening, Adicia has little choice left, and finally acts instead of being acted upon. Her plans to run away don’t go exactly as planned, though, and it seems as though she’s thrust back into a passive role when Ricky rescues her with a marriage proposal. However, this seeming rags to riches happy ending has an unexpected, nightmarish twist. Will Adicia find the strength to survive this final ordeal and leave her role as a little ragdoll behind forever?