Category: Promote & Publish

The Author bio – it’s been harder to compose than the 90k manuscript I just finished.

The submission process demands a biography. Information such as: Who am I? What have I done? What am I doing now? What have I published? What have I won? etc, etc, etc.
The problem is…well…what if I’m not published yet? What if I’ve come really close to finalling in a competition, but not close enough to count? What if my career has not allowed me to express myself creatively (unless you call political speeches and press releases creative writing LOL)
So, who does that make me? Who am I?

I mulled and stressed and in the end decided to write what I’d like to see on the inside back cover of my first published novel.
Here we go:

About me
If we’re lucky, life will sometimes throw a second chance our way.
Some of us see it.
Some of us don’t.
Some shy away from it.
I like to think I grab hold and make it count.

My life has been filled with second chances – opportunities to start again, try something different, take a new and exciting path. After school I climbed the corporate ladder and studied part-time. Towards the end of an exhausting range of work experiences I decided it was time for a change – a sea change. I now write full time and run a dog-friendly bed and breakfast on the mid north coast of NSW (Australia) where my mutts – Strawberry and Daiquiri – are my muse.
I write stories about life, love and second chances, blending elements of traditional romance with fresh ideas and compelling twists. They are contemporary stories spiced with humour and intrigue and all the heart-warming highs and labyrinthine lows to make you want to laugh, cry and embrace a second chance.

That’s me – author in waiting.
I am jennjmcleod
Romancing the possibilities … in life, love and second chances

Remember those words? We all drove our parents mad with them on those long summer holiday car trips.

Well I’m back there. I’m a kid again and very excited. It’s like the car is loaded and on its way. At least from my backseat booster I can see the road ahead. I know that my final destination is getting closer. But I have no control over anything from this point on. I just have to wait.

So I ask, “Are we there yet?”
My mother would answer the same way. “We’ll be there, when we get there.” (I always loved that one!)

But she was right.
And her words echo in my mind today as I load my competition entries online so they can start their cyber journey to STALI and Selling Synopsis contest coordinators and judges.

Now comes the big wait for the results. Will I reach that ultimate destination?
I know I’m going to want to ask every day, “Are we there yet?” So pity help my partner at this time in my life.

Given my second favouite thing to do is watch movies (my first being writing, of course) to be told that watching movies can help me understand the writing concept of ‘show & tell’ is very good news. I actually tried it tonight. But rather than watch with the volume up, I muted the DVD. (I know the dialogue anyway!)

You see, I struggle with writing those sensual/love scenes. I just can’t seem to find the words while sitting at the keyboard. What I discovered was the movie talked to me even more without sound so I grabbed my old dictaphone and started describing what I was seeing on screen.

It worked.

I still need to practice. (It will be a real hardship watching that scene in Unfaithful between Olivier Martinez and Diane Lane over and over again!!)
Come to think of it, there’s stacks of potential silent sensations – there’s The Notebook’s boat on the lake in the rain scene, the pool house scene with Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black, and then there’s Meryl Streep and Clint Eastward for the entire Bridges of Madison County. You probably have your own favouites.

Worth a try.