JENN McKINLAY: I'm rolling into promo season for the October release of WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN so it's a lot of non-fiction stuff like an article for Writer's Digest on writing in three different genres and I'm also on deadline for WITCHES OF QUESTIONABLE INTENT (book two in the Books of Dubious Origin series) that will come out next October, assuming I ever get it done. Also, I just turned in the page proofs for BOOKING FOR TROUBLE which will be out in February. Busy bee, that's me.
Although I recently discovered that bees nap on flowers when they get tired and can I just say...sign me up!
Now out of all the projects I have in the works, writing non-fiction is the most daunting for me.
Confession: I am the student who didn't read the books for the research paper that was due. In fact, I used skip the first four classes of school, hide in a study carrel at the library and crank out the paper that was due 5th period--yes, we were allowed to turn in handwritten work back in the day--arguing my case and flipping through the unread books in a pile beside me and cherry picking quotes to prove my argument. I truly can't believe what a horrible student I was. I definitely lived the motto "B's get degrees" and didn't allow anything as pedantic as school interfere with my social life. Maybe that's why I work so much now--to make up for all of that coasting.
You can imagine how I feel about writing a non-fiction peace. First, i have to get past the imposter syndrome. I mean what do I know about writing in three different genres? I don't even know how I got here! Then I have to outline. This is nowhere near as much fun as outlining a murder, a romance, or a fantasy where an undead Viking chases my main character into a graveyard. Yes, that happens!
Thankfully, Hub is the retired music editor from the Tribune, so he will look over my article (gah!) and make sure it's journalistic enough. Phew!
Your turn, Reds and Readers, what sort of student were you? Did you work on projects ahead of time? Take it seriously? Or were you more like me, sliding in on the seat of your pants?
Oh, and I know we're supposed to share a snippet of what we're working on, but it's the article so -- no. Plus, I'd rather share the TWO starred reviews that WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN has gotten so far. If you'll indulge me, they're below:
Love the picture of the bee napping in the flower!
ReplyDeleteOh, school . . . afraid I was the one everyone disliked; always read the books and did the work, but in my defense, I have to say that I really liked school [mostly, I suppose, because when I got the work done, I could sit in the library and read] . . . .
LOL - Joan, you kept your eye on the prize. I admire that.
DeleteStraight A student, goody-shoes who read all the references and prepared & sent in all the assignments early. And what did I do for part-time work from junior high to university? I was a student librarian.
ReplyDeleteNone of this surprises me about you, Grace!
DeleteOf course, you were! I needed you to be my friend in HS, Grace.
DeleteHated school, loved university, in fact so much that nearly 50 years later I am still working in tertiary education. I used the read everything but I am a slow writer so it was often last moment submission.
ReplyDeleteSame! Loved university but high school academics not so much.
DeleteSometimes I read everything and handed it all in on time and got A's, other times, no. Sometimes I was the teacher's pet, sometimes not so much. I got through.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the starred reviews! Well deserved! My reviews of your books are always sparkling with stars so, all I can say to those reviewers is, "Catch up! Jenn's work has been brilliant all along."
I adore you, Judy!!!
DeleteI was a huge procrastinator. Lots of late night-before-it’s-due nights. I told myself I did my best writing with a looming deadline, but then how would I know since that is how I did all my writing.
ReplyDeleteWe are kin, Brenda. LOL.
DeleteI was an A student, so I must have done the reading, but there was definitely some last-minute writing going on. On the other hand, I got kicked out of high school biology for knitting in class. In Journalism, I was on track to be editor-in-chief of the school paper but was demoted because I apparently didn't take it seriously enough. My social life was important, too!
ReplyDeleteFabulous reviews, Jenn. About the non-fiction - just pretend it's a blog post...
Oh, so smart, Edith. Yes, I'll pretend it's a blog post.
DeleteAlso, knitting in biology. Ha! I love it.
DeleteLast minute, always, including spending the night in the dorm dining room revising and typing the final paper. I perfected the kleenex method: find juicy quotes and mark them with a tissue, stack the books in order, and start typing.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! And, yes, in college the typing was always the night before. Always. Usually, after I spent the evening at happy hour. LOL.
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn, those are beautiful stars! Love love love love love. As for me and school, I never did anything. I only read what I wanted to, and I did everything incredibly last minute. It all seemed very easy for me, which is what got me into trouble. Except for math, which I just didn’t do. I don’t know how I ever graduated from anything, honestly I don’t. I was either a triple plus off the charts fabulous, or just completely zero Truly, it is a miracle in every way.
ReplyDeleteIn my university first year mandatory Calculus, the prof was no doubt a math genius, but not a teacher. To add to that, he spoke with a very thick Indian accent, so no one could understand him. Everyone was failing - forget the bell curve here. At the end of the session, (the results were posted on the wall, so you could read everyone's mark), we all got a 50 - pass. Many a student went phew!
DeleteMargo, a college friend, an engineering major, told me about their math professor (what is after calculus ?) did not speak a word of English so the professor wrote everything on the blackboard!
DeleteLOL. I can totally see that about you, Hank. Perplexed by having to do things you didn't want to do.
DeleteAh, Jenn, is there “peace” of nonfiction, because this world at this time in history surely needs it. Cheers for all your work. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elisabeth. I'll take those cheers!
DeleteAmazing reviews Jenn, can't wait to read the books!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lucy!
DeleteGreat reviews and great picture of the bee! The hummingbirds sometimes take little naps at my feeder.
ReplyDeleteI was a good student who liked school, but I did put off writing papers until the last minute
So you're halfway there!
DeleteTwo starred reviews!!!! Kudos! And dying to hear more about the non fiction… I was not a good reader and my grades in college showed it. Up to then I’d been able to glide and get by on glib.
ReplyDeleteGlib is underrated!!! And thank you!
DeleteThose are amazing reviews! If I hadn't already been eagerly waiting to read the book, I would be now.
ReplyDeleteLike Joan and Grace, I was a star student. And like Joan, it was mainly because I really LOVED school. (OK, honestly, probably a little bit because I was a people-pleaser, too, and thrived on teachers' praise. But still, I truly enjoyed reading all the books and writing all the papers.)
I’m with you, Susan! I loved school and couldn’t imagine not trying. In HS, our English teacher capped grades at a B unless you did extra book reports. My (now) husband, an avid reader, refused to do so. I could not understand why and happily did the extra work.
DeleteIf they'd let me pick the books I wanted to read it would have been a whole different ball game.
DeleteI was physically a late bloomer so academics was was my happy place. Loved reading and research as it was a great way to avoid mingling with people. I had, and still have, a tendency to procrastinate, but I've learned that is just how my mind works. Pushing it too soon leads to disastrous results. And I'm with Susan in that I was a teacher pleaser. I never trusted my family's praise, but I figured teachers were honest in their appraisals and that meant the world to me. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting, Victoria. Whenever I was freaking out about a deadline, my brother would always chime in, "Pressure makes diamonds." I can still hear him say that.
DeleteSchool – just breezed through it, and don’t remember ever studying. Unless it was history, and that just made my brain hurt (still does as does book keeping – not hard, just boring!)
ReplyDeleteUniversity – I was in science so it was either right or not. We had a few mandatory classes for the degree – a language class, an English class, and a fluff class – art history, drama, Fortran (it was new at the time. I figured that no one looked at the degree other than to see it was listed on the CV – so, once again just floated through. My daughter was a pedantic learner with a photographic memory, and she got so involved as to worry about her sanity. She did not believe me that no one cared if she was an A or D student after the event. She learned…
Oh, I know a few students like your daughter. Brutal. Glad she caught on.
DeleteCongrats on the starred reviews and don't be surprised if more come your way, Jenn! And just because it says 'nonfiction'--doesn't mean it has to be serious! Have some fun and 'talk' to your intended audience of readers.
ReplyDeleteI was a 'just git 'er done' type of student--hated work hanging over my head. But also tended to overload on courses (that 'just git 'er done' thing applied to whole degrees as well). I could find myself running out of time and running on fumes to turn work in on time.
Does not surprise me at all that you're an overachiever, Flora!
DeleteJenn, I would very much like to read the Writer's Digest article when it comes out. Will you let us know?
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the 1950's was an exercise in survival. Schools were intensely overcrowded with Baby Boomers--50 in a class, so individual attention was nonexistent. Right out of the box I was bored, because I could read and almost everyone else was struggling with See Spot run. I was always getting into trouble, until glamorous Mrs. Young figured out what was happening and I spent all the reading lesson time in the school library, reading The Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew.
Which was really a lousy way to start out, because it made me lazy. I had a good memory and rarely needed to study, so I didn't. Which you can imagine resulted in a hit or miss success ratio. I usually had a B average, except in Spelling and Reading, which were always A's. College was different. I loved it, loved all my classes (especially Self-Defense, Fingerprinting, and Firearms!), and had the second highest grades in our section. But I still can't tell you how I get the answers in Algebra. Had to fake that completely.
Karen, envy your A in spelling. Never could never would creep above a C…and when “penmanship” counted in the grade, until 5th grade, F was often there. After 5th grade, spelling was not a separate subject and As and Bs danced on the report card. Elisabeth
DeleteGlad you could overcome it, Elizabeth. I've never taken Physics, but am pretty sure I would struggle mightily with that subject!
DeleteAlgebra broke me. Absolutely broke me. But I loved geometry!
DeleteI kept up with the reading in college, but for the papers, Brenda’s comments about herself totally describe me, too. One thing I will say is that I never thought about not doing an assignment or writing a paper. I was a people pleaser so I could not disappoint my teachers. And while I wasn’t a party animal, I had a lot of fun in college!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Jenn, on your TWO starred reviews! — Pat S
Thanks, Pat! And I was the same in that I couldn't not do the papers. So, at least I took that part seriously, hungover or not. LOL.
DeleteJENN: Amazing reviews and I love that the reviews did not give away any spoilers. It is quite challenging for me to write reviews without giving away spoilers. Congratulations on the starred reviews. I want to be surprised when I open your book to read in October. On another note, I was like you in school because the schoolwork was so easy in the self contained class for Deaf students.
ReplyDeleteMy 8th grade Isolated class used the same materials that was used in my 4th GRADE class at the Deaf school! However, once I mainstreamed full time in high school, it was studying 24/7 to catch up on so much missed information (book reading, languages, and maths/science). I went from reading "baby books" to reading classics like The Great Gatsby, To Kill A Mockingbird, Moby Dick, amongst others.
Good grief! That is quite a jump in skills. Good for you for being able to make the leap!
DeleteExactly! Good grief!
DeleteYou make laugh, Jenn - and it seems we had the same study style. Can't remember how many all nighters I pulled writing papers due the next day.
ReplyDeleteNow if I tried and all nighter, I would die or sleep for a week. LOL
DeleteI did well in school and have always loved learning. In high school I worked really hard, and was the salutatorian of my class.
ReplyDeleteIn college I discovered that just about everyone had been at the top of their class in high school, and now I had a lot of competition. I procrastinated a lot, and I think a lot of that was because I was afraid of not doing the work perfectly. I never turned in anything late, though, even if I had been working on it up until I went to bed the night before.
I still have nightmares that I forgot that I was taking a class in advanced astrophysics, and the final exam is tomorrow. Sometimes the class in my dream was a history class, and I thought that I could probably fake that well enough to at least get a B. I graduated from college over 50 years ago, but the nightmares go on!
DebRo
The Hub has the same nightmare! He dreams his has to get to the final but hasn't been to class all semester. Eek!
DeleteDeb, I was Salutatorian of my HS school class of 488. Right after the ceremony, my older brother told me it would mean nothing in college as everyone else there was at the top of their class too. It burst my bubble, but I guess he gave me the heads up you didn’t have!
ReplyDeleteHarsh of the bro but also not wrong!
DeleteWow, Jenn, congratulations on the fabulous reviews!!! We all are so excited for this book!!
ReplyDeleteI was a terrible student in middle and high school. Not just papers turned in late--papers not turned in at all! Classes failed, etc. Then in my third college (!) something clicked and I was the best little bookworm ever.