Happy Sunday to all you Sixers! Welcome back and thank you for coming. Today I have a fellow Fractured Fairy Tale author, Casea Major, presenting her six in preparation for our release of all ten Fractured Fairy Tales on June 3rd. I hope you enjoy Casea’s snippet as much as I have.
Happy Sexy Six Sentence Sunday From Casea Major
Jenna has kindly allowed me to post today for the upcoming release of my new short story based loosely on Pinocchio.
Chicago’s newest wiseguy, Chio Pino has just picked up Rosaria De Luca, the boss’ daughter, from the airport. Her luscious body and direct approach have his brains and nether regions scrambled. Unfortunately for Chio, his godfather is not a forgiving man and Chio’s lies have “far reaching” consequences.
“Are you aroused, Chio? Do you want me?” she taunted him.
What he wanted was to slam on the brakes and relieve his tension in the middle of the freeway – in the middle of her. “No. Why would you think that?”
There was no need to look down. The sound of thread breaking said it all. Not only was he going to die, he was going to die with a dick as long as a fucking broom handle.
Hope you enjoyed the six. Leave a comment and let us know you stopped by. Pinocchio Syndrome as well as our other Twister Tales can be purchased on the New Dawning Bookfair site on June 3rd.
Thank you, Casea, for a great six. For more great snippets please go to Six Sentence Sunday. Or join in the fun next week with six of your own. And stop by my blog all this week for more snippets from five of the Fractured Fairy Tales pictured above.
So here are six sentences from Snowy—Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with a really modern (and sexy) twist!
It’s late at night and Snow White wants to take a shower…with her WITSEC guard, Marshal Doc DuMont.
“May I?” “You have to ask?”
She grinned devilishly and used a child’s ploy. “I’ll let you touch mine, if I can touch yours.”
He laughed. “Get in the shower, minx.”
A tantalizing tidbit that hopefully leaves you wanting more–just like Snowy!
If you would like to see more of Patricia Green’s works, check out her website Patricia Green Books.
Tomorrow, fellow author Casea Major will be a guest blogger on Jenna’s Journal with six sentences from her twisted tale Pinoccio Syndrome. Come check us out at Six Sentence Sunday.
So how did you like Snowy‘s six? Do you think Marshal Doc can handle this sassy piece?
I have a couple of updates today regarding the release of the Fractured Fairy Tales, the launch of New Dawning International Bookfair, and the Fairy-Tale Ending Contest.
First, the launch/release date has been moved to June 3. Which gives us more time to acquaint you with our authors and their fairy tales before the contest takes place.
Second, we have a new author joining the blog, another writer of a Fractured Fairy Tale, Violet Heart. Violet’s tale–Hideous, a twist on Beauty and the Beast–will join our other tales in the June 3rd contest, making your prize now FIVE brand new stories. Talk about a Fairy-Tale Ending! Take a look at Hideous:
Triselle finds relief from her peasant drudgery in the unlikely arms of Vanir, a cursed beast.
Another intriguing tale to add to you TBR list! Along with
FIVE GREAT NEW SEXY TALES ALL ABOUT THAT HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
Stop by tomorrow for a snippet from one of these new works. (Visit my previous post for one line teasers about each of the other tales.) Leave a comment telling me which Fairy Tale you’d like to read and I’ll post at least six sentences from the one with the most votes! How’s that for an HEA?
On Jenna’s Journal this week Patricia Green, Casea Major, and I will begin celebrating the publication of our short stories–fractured fairy tales that will be released on May 27 in conjunction with the launch of New Dawning International Bookfair, a new e-publisher and “bookstore to the world.”
What are fractured fairy tales? Take a fairy tale we all know and love, then give it a modern twist of some sort. The movie Pretty Woman is a twisted re-telling of Cinderella. Our tales have similar, though somewhat more provocative twists to them.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
becomes
Fed up with Femville’s wussy men, Goldie is looking for a strong-willed guy who’s not too gentle, not too harsh, butjust right.
The classic fairy-tale Pinocchio meets the Sopranos as
A rookie wiseguy with a telltale dick tries to dodge the advances of the mob boss’ daughter he’s assigned to protect.
The Three Little Pigs become Harley-Davidson riders in
A beautiful-but-frustrated woman on the prowl seduces three Harley “hogs” to gain the sexual satisfaction she craves, and the dream bike she desires.
And Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs takes on a completely new image
Hiding from her evil stepmother, Snow White finds herself in the WITSEC program, protected by tall and sexy Marshal Doc DuMont.
All of our tales have a sexy edge the originals certainly did not. But all of our tales have a Happily Ever After, which some of the originals also did not have.
We think we have improved on the originals–come check us out and see for yourselves!
New Dawning International Bookfair will release all of the Fractured Fairy Tales on Friday, May 27. Jenna’s Journal will hold a Fairy-Tale EndingContest that day. The Prize: copies of all four of the works posted here on Jenna’s Journal.
To enter is as easy as dropping breadcrumbs like Hansel and Gretel: Visit Jenna’s Journal each day next week and read the posts by authors Patricia Green, Casea Major, and me, Jenna Jaxon. Read the blurbs and excerpts too. On Friday, May 27th I will post five questions about our Fairy Tales and their authors. Answer all five questions and email the answers to me and you will be entered to receive your very own Fairy-Tale Ending–four brand new stories to read.
I will be posting more about the Fairy-Tales, New Dawning International Bookfair, and our fabulous authors during this week, so stop by and check us out–
“Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true!”
Hello and welcome back for another six sentences from Hog Wild, my contemporary erotic short story. My big news is that Hog Wild will release on Friday, May 20 in conjunction with the launch of New Dawning International Bookfair e-publishers. (Great excitement as this is my first publication!)
At this point in the story Lula, desperately searching for 1) a fast bike and 2) sexual satisfaction, has moved on from Beau to his older brother Rob, who rides a Sportster. She has just arrived at Rob’s place and asked if she can help him remove his leather chaps.
Sight of her black hair, cut longer on one side, started a twitch down in his groin. Lips so full and red if she stuck her tongue out she would look like the model for the Rolling Stones logo. God, I hope she sticks her tongue out. The chaps were not the only thing heated now.
“You offering, honey?” Rob gave her his best Paul Newmancome-on stare. Sadie down at El Ranchito told him once he looked kind of like Paul Newman, but Sadie’d say anything to get laid.
That’s all of my six for this week. Enjoy other snippets at Six Sentence Sunday.
And come by all this week to help celebrate the release of Hog Wild and other Fractured Fairy Tales. On Friday, May 20 you could win free copies!
Today’s six are again from my WIP Only Scandal Will Do. Duncan has bought Katarina at the auction and convinced her that he believes the story of her kidnapping. His kind, soothing words persuade Kat to let down her guard and when he kisses her, she cannot resist.
All she wanted was to feel 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. His hand slid down to rest on the swell of her breast, an impudent finger nudging inside the gown’s low décolletage to brush against her aching nipple.
Blue fire shot directly from his finger throughher breast, causing Kat to gasp and arch against him. With a chuckle the man released her lips, but before she could protest, lowered his head and seized her nipple through the sheer white cloth. Another streak of fire leapt deep into her, straight to the vulnerable corebetween her thighs and Kat moaned louder at the unexpected bloom of heat.
Hope you enjoyed. Enjoy other fantastic snippets at Six Sentence Sunday. Or join in the fun next week. Thanks again to all who visit each week. I truly appreciate it!
Not long ago a couple of my crit partners wrote that they found it hard to write dialogue. I have worked in theatre and taught playwriting classes, so I shared a few tips and exercises I use in my classes. Then I decided “Why not share with everyone?”
1. Develop Your Ear. One of the easiest ways to get a good feel for the ebb and flow of conversation is to listen. Forget what your mother told you and eavesdrop on conversations of perfect strangers. At the mall, in the grocery check-out line, take note of how people talk. I mean really—take notes. Write down conversations word for word if you can (it’s great cover for what you’re actually doing). Take your little scenes back home, read them over. Remember the people’s voices. Create characters out of them. Now take their conversation and make it into a scene. Who knows where this may lead?
2. Be a Watcher. Watch television programs and movies with great dialogue. I recommend Gray’s Anatomy, The West Wing, and Frazier for TV. For movies, Notting Hill, Sleepless in Seattle, and From Hell (the development of Johnny Depp’s character through his dialogue is truly stunning). Listen for the rhythm, the imagery, the nuances the actors bring out in the dialogue.
3. Everybody’s Different. As you craft your dialogue, remember that each character should have his/her own unique voice. Think what subtle characteristics the characters have that can be brought out through dialogue. Do they curse? (Less is more where that’s concerned.) Do they use one particular word mostly? Do they use euphemisms? Do they speak in flowery phrases? Is there a certain phrase that they tack onto almost every sentence? In one of my WIPs, the sister of the hero, who I see as a bit scatterbrained, tags most of her sentences with “don’t you think?” Not often enough to be annoying, but enough to make that part of her character. People do these things in real life—make your characters real by using them.
BIGGEST TIP COMING UP!
4. Workshop. Playwrights do this to make sure their words will work in the actor’s mouths. Most sites with dialogue tips suggest you read your work aloud (which is a good tip, granted). Take it one step further. Host a Reading Party. Invite family, friends—they don’t have to be actors, just as long as they can read out loud. Then listen carefully as others read your work. Close your eyes if possible. Listen not only to how the dialogue sounds, but listen to how easily the words can be read. If the readers are stumbling over structure or difficult words it’s likely your silent readers will stumble too, in their heads. Do your words sound like the give and take of conversation? Words that look wonderful on the page sometimes sound clunky when read out loud. But if they ring true to your ear, you’ve achieved your goal.
5. Feedback. Let your readers help! At your party ask for feedback. Let them be crit partners of a different sort. Ask if anything felt stilted as they said the lines, or if they have any suggestions. You don’t have to take their advice, but you’ll have it if you need it.
These two websites have some of the same tips as above, but they have additional ones as well.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back for another Six Sentence Sunday. And thank you to all who have been coming to read my snippets. I do appreciate your time and comments.
This week I am returning to my WIP that is out with agents right now, Only Scandal Will Do, set in 18th century England. This scene occurs in the House of Pleasure, an exclusive brothel in London, run by Duncan’s ex-mistress. Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam has been kidnapped and put up for auction in a tableau scene depicting a Roman senator and a Christian slave girl. This is Duncan’s first look at Katarina.
The slave was dressed in an almost transparent white gown, in the popular, flowing Grecian style, its folds torn in places and streaked with dirt. A daringly low bodice displayed full, enticing breasts, with a hint of dark nipples showing through the gauzy fabric.
Duncan’s labored breathing sounded harsh in his ears, and when he tried to swallow, his mouth was so dry he had to peel his tongue from the roof.
The scenario itself did not appeal to him, but that girl. . . that girl with the incredible hair. The mass flowed shiny clean, obviously well tended, and would fall well below her waist. But the most alluring attribute was the fiery, bright auburn color of the long tresses, like molten flame spilling down the slave girl’s back and around her breasts—temptation incarnate.
That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed my snippet. To take a look at the other fantastic sixes click on
Well, not really. But I must confess I learned a lot about writing from seasons 1 & 2 of the award winning television show, Grey’s Anatomy. Not about script writing, either. But about how to hook an audience, how to reveal character, how to write memorable dialogue, and how to leave an audience wanting more.
How to hook an audience:
Introduce your main characters not at their best. The series begins with the heroine, Meredith Grey, waking up after a wild night out on the town. ( The first minute of this video, until Meredith disappears upstairs, illustrates this point, but if you watch a little more you will see how several characters are revealed beautifully and succinctly.)
Then, about ten minutes into the episode, we find out Derek is her boss. She wants to maintain a professional relationship, he wants to keep it personal. Now we’ve got to continue to watch to find out if she sucuumbs or if she resists. Same principle applies in writing novels–grab the reader with a great hook on the first page. Jump into the middle of a situation, reveal a character’s weakness, start with an embarrassing situation that just gets worse.
Revealing character is another skill vital to the writer and one that I learned from watching Grey’s. If you watched the whole of the video above, you have solid character concepts for all four interns and Dr. Bailey. Her nickname, “the Nazi,” sums her up beautifully! What these five characters do and say in a miminal amount of time creates their characters vividly in the audience’s mind. I strive to pack that much info into concise dialogue or description.
Even though I have an ear for dialogue (having worked in the theatre most of my life), Grey’s showed me that dialogue isn’t just words the characters say–it is an art form. The following scene is my very favorite in the whole of the Grey’s Anatomy series, because the use of language and dialogue is mesmerizing:
I can watch that scene over and over. The rhythm of the language almost makes it poetry. People don’t talk like that nowadays–but they should. And when they do, it reveals so much about their characters. That is what dialogue is supposed to do–reveal the characters to the audience. When we craft those words so that the reader can hear the intonation, the inflection, the way the character’s brow arches when he says a certain phrase, then we have done our job.
What you also need to do as a writer is to always leave the reader wanting more. Make the hook at the end of each chapter so tantalizing that the reader has to turn that page NOW to see what happens. Grey’s Anatomy did that in spades at the end of Season 1.
Just when you thought the HEA was in sight–everything changes. And you CANNOT put that book down until you know everything’s going to be all right.
I’ve enjoyed sharing my favorite and most inspirational clips from Grey’s Anatomy. In my opinion, the writing in Seasons 1 & 2 was stellar and I go back from time to time for a refresher course. We can learn the craft of writing from any number of sources. Keep your eyes open; you never know when or where the your next best tip on writing will come from.
Do you have television shows or movies whose writing has inspired you? Changed your style? Made the light bulb go off about something you never really got before? If so, please share a comment!
Welcome back for six more this Easter Sunday. This week’s sentences are again from my new work Hog Wild. Not exactly Easter fare, but hopefully a fun way to wake up this morning. This six begins almost exactly after last week’s sentences. Enjoy!
“I want to measure you.”
“I think there’s a tape measure in my toolbox.” Beau couldn’t help his proud grin.
Lula’s gaze rested on his long rod, standing like a lone pine tree. “I have a much better way to measure such things.” She reached out and pushed his shoulders back onto the mattress, then dropped to her knees.
That’s it for this week! Go have fun and check out other snippets at http//sixsunday.blogspot.com. See you next week!
Happy Sunday to all you Sixers! Welcome back and thank you for coming. Today I have a fellow Fractured Fairy Tale author, Casea Major, presenting her six in preparation for our release of all ten Fractured Fairy Tales on June 3rd. I hope you enjoy Casea’s snippet as much as I have.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 