A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ December 2006

Posting December's Writer's Life early.

It's been a hectic time and I'm working on a novel and edits for Conquering Jazz. My plan is to have both done early 2007. The Muse is working well. Back to work. No ROM Insights newsletter in December. Next newsletter will be in Janaury 2007. I will have a 2006 recap of what happened with me in January 2007

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s. That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ December 2006

Crazy time

Working on some novels. No St. James Chronicle newsletter posted in December 2006.
Next issue is a January/February 2007 issue/

Until next time, look for the unexpected!
Kaitlyn St. James
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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ November 2006

November still can't chat. Story going well. Edits for Conquering Jazz going fine. Muse stil in control. Back to work. No ROM Insights newsletter this month.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s. That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ November 2006

Busy, busy with some novels. No St. James Chronicle newsletter posted.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ October 2006

October still under the control of the muse. Can't chat. Gotta go. No ROM Insights newsletter this month.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s. That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ October 2006

Working and working...

No St. James Chronicle newsletter posted.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ September 2006

September I was happily enjoying my break when bam I was taken from it. This darn muse would not leave me alone. LOL. Now you know I couldn’t keep away from writing. It is too much in my blood. I had to go and do some little bit of writing here then there and before I knew it I was back to writing everyday. Shoot I don’t have the concept of taking a break down.

So since my mind was still working out the kinks of how to execute the edits for Conquering Jazz I decided to work on something fresh. I did and the results were phenomenal and it also helped me figure out what I want to do with Conquering Jazz. Yippeee!!!

The ROM Insights~ August/ September 2006 issue is available on the site and yahoo group. There are many announcements in it. I will be posting the info in the next blog entry about it. Check it out here.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ September 2006

The break I planned to take was not happening so I wrote on a new novel I am working on. I have an except ion the upcoming newsletter.

The St. James Chronicle ~ May/June 2006 issue of my bi-monthly newsletter is available. The St. James Chronicle ~ September /October 2006 issue of the newsletter will be available shortly.


Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

For delivery of the St. James Chronicle directly to your email Inbox Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stjameschronicle

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ August 2006

August is my birthday. Whaoo Hooo!!!! I love my b-day. I’m planning to have fun and relax. I’m taking off from my writing from my b-day in August until mid September to rest and rejuvenate. I need to recover from my family visiting and the day job.

Before I started my rest I did my read through of Conquering Jazz. When I went back to do the edits I was stuck on how to work in what my agent suggested. I’m still stumped. No it’s not writer’s block. I can thankfully say I don’t usually have that problem. I’m stumped on the best way to execute the suggestions. This rest will hopefully help me also.

The ROM Insights~ July 2006 issue is available on the site and yahoo group. The August issue will be a joined with September. I will be posting it in early Sept.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ August 2006

Taking a break from August – September in celebration of my birthday and I need the rest.

Before my break began I worked on Johannes a little. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.


The St. James Chronicle ~ May/June 2006 issue of my bi-monthly newsletter is available. There is no July/August 2006 issue of the newsletter.
Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James


For delivery of the St. James Chronicle directly to your email Inbox Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stjameschronicle

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ July 2006

July has been hectic. I have family visiting and am distracted from my writing. Still covering for many other co-worker’s.

I’ve put aside Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends at least temporarily. I’m working Conquering Jazz. I had a discussion with my agent and she made some edit suggestions. I edit on paper. First I plan to do a read through from beginning to end without any stops for edits. Then I plan to do another read through and edit as I go. Then I will do another read through to see what the changes look like and do some more edits if necessary. Then I will go on the computer and do the edits then print it out again and read through again. That’s a lot of reading through. Thank god I love the characters. LOL. I’ll let you know how things are going.

The ROM Insights~ July 2006 issue is available on the site and yahoo group.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ July 2006

The work on Johannes has also slowed down. Still working but slower. . I plan to pick back up speed on this hopefully in. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.

The St. James Chronicle ~ May/June 2006 issue of my bi-monthly newsletter is available. There is no July/August 2006 issue of the newsletter.


Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

For delivery of the St. James Chronicle directly to your email Inbox Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stjameschronicle

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ June 2006

June had a lot happening so I didn’t get much writing done. I went out of town and when I came back it was the summer vacation in my day job. So I was covering for many other co-worker’s.

Work on Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends novel has slowed down to a crawl. I plan to pick back up speed on this hopefully in September. I’m still writing but slower that I usually do.

The ROM Insights~ June 2006 issue is available on the site and yahoo group.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ June 2006

The work on Johannes has also slowed down. Still working but slower. . I plan to pick back up speed on this hopefully in. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.
The St. James Chronicle ~ May/June 2006 issue of my bi-monthly newsletter is available.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. JamesFor delivery of the St. James Chronicle directly to your email Inbox Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stjameschronicle

For News about Kaitlyn St. James Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kaitlynstjames

A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ May 2006

May brought a lot of happenings. I was on a rollercoaster ride of writing and being under the weather.

I’m still working on Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends novel. The characters Jermaine Hamlin and Rhonda Carrington are very intense and volatile. There history is complex. I’ve been doing more plotting on various writing projects that I have.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ May 2006

Working on Johannes. I am still having problems with hating to see Johannes end. I don’t want it to end. LOL. The other characters are screaming at me for there turn but I still keep finding things to do on Johannes. Since Johannes is the first in the series I want to capture as much of the world I am creating as I can. So many discoveries. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.

The next issue of the St. James Chronicle my bi-monthly newsletter will be posted soon. Until the next issue us out you can check out the St. James Chronicle ~ March /April 2006 issue here.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

For delivery of the St. James Chronicle directly to your email Inbox Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stjameschronicle

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ April 2006

I meant to post this earlier….

April was a strange month. I caught up, got behind then had to play catching up again, and so on…..

I am still working on exploring Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends novel. Jermaine Hamlin and Rhonda Carrington has a diverse, intense, and sometimes voliatle history that takes even me by surprise. So many layers. So much wants, needs and expectations. I’ve also been working on various writing projects that I have. Plotting, character sketches and such.

Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all for my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ April 2006

I’m still hard at work on Johannes. Do you ever have a book that you hate to see end? That’s my problem with Johannes I don’t want it to end. LOL. Although the other characters are screaming at me for there turn I want to keep working on Johannes. Yes I know eventually I’ll reach a point when the book will be done but for now I can appreciate all the nuances that are coming out in the society and world around my Guardians. So many discoveries. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.

The next issue of the St. James Chronicle my bi-monthly newsletter will be posted soon. I’m planning for sometime in June around the 15th of the month or so. Until the next issue us out you can check out the St. James Chronicle ~ March /April 2006 issue here.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

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The Mystery Search

Last week I introduced a feature to my chat group (McKenna Jeffries List) in which I explored a search I’ve been working on. I decided to share it with you. Come on and share in my search …

Before I became a writer I was of course an avid reader (and I still am). Nothing is more thrilling than the hunt for a good book. Although I love romance I read all genres. I also write work in most of them. I like to mix up my reading. My bookshelves are filled with anything from Laurell K. Hamilton to Brenda Jackson.

At the end of last year I picked up a book I had on my shelf for a while. It was a Nora Roberts novel The Villa. It was good and I was hooked. I love Nora Robert’s work. She can go from contemporary to suspense without blinking an eye. She also writes as JD Robb. The In Death series is phenomenal. Before the Nora I had recently read Janet Evanovich, Plum and Full series (they were a funny). With Nora I always find something different and since I love me some Nora Roberts she opened my appetite for some more. This led me to my search for more romantic suspense/ mystery books. I went through Julie Garwood, Linda Howard, Kay Hooper, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag. This is just a few of the authors I found. I am still in the process of reading to catch up on their various series.

Although I had this great list of authors I was still on the hunt because if you notice there is not an African American mystery writer or a book that features a heroine/hero in the bunch at least not from the one’s I’ve read so far. Beside this being one of the markets that I write novels for I as a reader wanted to read more. So for sometime now I have been on the hunt to add to my already growing list of mystery/romantic suspense writer’s some good quality African American author’s or books that features heroine/hero.

With my search I checked my own to be read pile on my bookshelf and came up with a copy of Body of Truth by Deirdre Savoy. I read it in a day. It was good and I wanted more. I asked around to my friends who share my passion for great books and although I got a list of great authors (some I already had) none was what I was searching for. Since then I have been on the look out searching the book store for more. The other day I took my search to the web and stumbled on a site I wanted to share.

Mystnoir ~http://mystnoir.com/

Directly from the site:

MystNoir features mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels written by or featuring African-Americans.

I was so happy to find this site and after exploring I came to find out the creator of the site is actually Angela Henry who is also a writer. I went out quickly to search for her book The Company You Keep which was released in May 2005 under BET Book's Sepia imprint. I took me a little time to find it but I have and am in the process of reading it. So now with the help of the info on the MystNoir site I have added to my already growing list (the authors I listed above) romantic suspense/mystery. What I love about the site is they also give you a breakdown of the Author’s and the characters that they write about. Yes there are a bunch of author’s who has continuing series that follow the same characters. I didn’t realize. For those of you out there who did why didn’t you share the wealth? LOL. Now onto my question.

I am still looking for more reads. Both with African American heroine/hero and without. As long as it is a good story I’ll read it. Yes it’s a miracle my shelf still has space.

Who are you favorite romantic suspense/ mystery author and why?

A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ March 2006

March was my month of catch up. Catching up on my wirting, groups, email, and so on…..

I sent out Conquering Jazz to my agent and am now playing the waiting game. As a writer you learn to wait to here. Now I’m not saying that I am patience while I wait. I look at the phone and sometimes feel like yelling. “Come on and ring damn you.” I conatin myself. LOL. So now as I wait I am working on other projects I have. Another things about writing you shoud always be writing. Writing to build the amount of completed novels.With each book there are so many dynamic to explore and discover.

For now I’m working on exploring Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends novel. Jermaine Hamlin and Rhonda Carrington has a diverse, intense, and sometimes voliatle history. It is taking careful planning for me to lay the layers of who they are. There wants, needs and expectations. I know what I want to write. I alredy have the outline for Turning the Tables and the three novels in the Hamlin family & friends series. My work on Turning the Tables is very hot and emotional.Look for what is going on with my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James under the blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s.

That’s all so far in my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ March 2006

I’ve been working on Johannes. Shifted some things around and cut some others. The time I am taking to build the society and world around my Guardians is paying off. Each day is another layer of discovery. They are coming clear and crisp from my head down onto my computer screen. My hope is that when it gets published (no dates yet I haven’t submitted it) it will come to life for you as it has for me. With eachj new thing I am surprised and pleased. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.
The next issue of the St. James Chronicle my bi-monthly newsletter will be posted around in April around the 15 th of the month. I’ve decided that it will be posted on a bi-monthly basis around 15 th of the month from now on.Until the next issue us out you can check out the January /February 2006 here.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

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Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ February 2006

Since I’ve been ill I’ve had time to sit, think and plan. I've gone back and re-read Johannes. Cut a lot out of it and added a lot to. I’m having a great time building the society and world around my Guardians. I can clearly see it in my head and want to make sure I get ot all down on paper so that when it gets published (no dates yet I haven’t submitted it) it will draw you in. I’m digging into the story and the surprises keep on coming. There is a blurb and excerpt on the Kaitlyn St. James site for Johannes.

Since St. James Chronicle is a bi-monthly newsletter the January 2006 issue was actually a January /February 2006 issue. Sorry for any confusion I have corrected the newsletter to reflect this. The next issue will be March/April 2006. It will be posted sometime before the end of March. For now you can check out the January /February 2006 here.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!Kaitlyn St. James

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A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ February 2006

This month’s A Month in the Writer’s Life (explanation on what this is here) is a little late. I’ve been under the weather and battling a nasty flu.February was a month of evelaution. I was to sick to do anything else except sit and think. Think of all the new possibilities waiting for me. With my reevaluation of my writing plans in January I know where I am going and how I will be getting there. My organization of the books I want to write this year and the time frame I want to complete them has helped me a lot.

Due to my being sick I didn’t get to send out the edits on Conquering Jazz althought they are done I didn’t get to mail them but I will by this weekend to early next week at the latest.

For now I’m working on Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends novel. I’ve gone back to what I have written and made changes that now make the story flow better. The story is shaping up to be another hot and emotional.

My plan to write books to help build my various families I have created is right on schudule. Stay tuned as I introduce you to them.I’m also working on a few things for my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James. In this blog I will give you a monthly run down about what is happening with Kaitlyn St. James under blog’s usually titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s. I’m still getting another blog ready for my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James which will have more in deapth posting from Kaitlyn.That’s all so far in my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

A Month in the Writer’s Life ~ January 2006

I’ve decided to try something different with this blog. Beside the blog’s I write whenever the mood or topic strikes me I will have A Month in the Writer’s Life. Basically this will let you know what I have been up to writing wise, a look into my life and various other things. Also this will make sure I post more regularly to the blog. LOL. So onto the first A Month in the Writer’s Life.

January a time to take stock on what you have planned for the new year. The time to make resolutions, to get so much you promised yourself last year and rebirth. When January 1 rolled around I was so happy to see it. As many of you know 2005 was a rough year for me with the loss of my mother and a lot of other things. My mom’s loss threw me in a tail spin that echoed into everything else. I was functioning but seemingly in a cloud. Christmas found me in bed curled up and unable to do anything. Afterwards I was mad at myself but then realized this was just what I needed. Grief comes in many forms sometimes all at once and other over time. Mine is over time and with the dawn of 2006 I knew it would be better. I would still be hurting with loss but with a new year there was so much new possibilities.

This January found me exploring those moments of possibilities. I reevaluated what was on my writing plans. In 2005 I got very little that I had planned done. But I don’t plan to make it up. I made revamped the old plans into new ones. I’ve organized the books I want to write this year and the time frame I want to complete them in. I won’t be giving you my goal now but at the end of the year I will let you know if what I planned worked.

One of the things that I’ve wanted to complete and couldn’t seem to be the edits on Conquering Jazz. I was working on it but another story kept nagging at me. So I finally had to sit down sketch out my thoughts in order to get my mind focused on Conquering Jazz. With that done I’m happy to report that the edits are done and I’ll be mailing the manuscript to my agent shortly.

As for that other novel (I still haven’t come up with a title yet). Now that the idea is down I can’t write it at least not yet it is to close to all I went through last year. So I’m waiting on that one.

For now I am working on Turning the Tables, the next Hamlin family & friends novel. I’m already half way through the book and it is shaping up to be another hot and emotional story.

A reader mentioned to me once that they like my work because I write about families. To me family is the corner stone of everything. No matter if you’re close or fight like crazy it’s all about the family dynamic. And not the typical one either. After all there are many types of families. Hmmm… I think I found a couple of future blog topics to explore. LOL. This year I am writing books to help build my various families I have created. Stay tuned for more on them.

I’m also working on a few things for my alter ego Kaitlyn St. James including a separate blog. (For now I blogged about what is happening with Kaitlyn St. James under the blog titled Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ January 2006)

That’s all so far in my A Month in the Writer’s Life until next month.

McKenna

Kaitlyn St. James Happening’s ~ January 2006

I've been working on Johannes. The delve deeper into the story has brought some new surprises. It's going to be interesting to see how it turns out. Check out the blurb and excerpt on the site.

I've posted the first issue of my Kaitlyn St. James newsletter ~ St. James Chronicle. Check it out here.

I've also started two yahoo groups for Kaitlyn St. James.St. James Chronicle ~ Newsletter

For delivery of the St. James Chronicle directly to your email InboxSign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stjameschronicle

News: Kaitlyn St. James Sign up today: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kaitlynstjames

I have a few other things that I am working on.

Until next time, look for the unexpected!

Kaitlyn St. James

What makes a family?

I’ve been thinking a lot about families lately. So today when I introduced a new feature to my chat group I started with family. Before I get into why I was thinking of family let me first give you the typical definition and my own.

The Typical Dictionary Definition of Family ~

A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.

The McKenna Jeffries Definition of Family ~

Individuals who share ties either through blood or through a deeper bond that surpasses friendship that shares in each other’s lives to create a close knit unit of familial relations.

Some examples of family are what I have at my chat group McKenna Jeffries List. Another is the one that came out of the blue to me last week.

Last week I had something to celebrate and I was a little sad because my mom wasn’t here to share with me. I celebrated by phone with my sister who lives close to me (she was busy so we didn’t get together to celebrate) and my other family who is to far away to celebrate with me in person. I gave these two ladies I have lunch with everyday who I think of as good friends my news. Even now as I think about this I get teary-eyed. A couple of days after giving them my news they said we were going out to lunch to celebrate. When I said (since it more easy for me to give than receive) why and that wasn’t necessary. One of them said because if your mother was here she would do the same and since she isn’t we’re doing it. The other said because we want to. I was overcome and in that moment I realized that we had surpassed the bonds of friendship and became a family. Thank you P and T (you know who you are) for being there and showing me heck surprising me with a new family.

You see family isn’t about the blood it’s all about what is in the heart. There are millions of definitions you can have of family. Think of some moment in you life and give me what is your own definition of family?

McKenna