Friday, November 29, 2024

Cliffhanger #IWSG and Native American Heritage Day


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:


Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!

Dec 4 question -


Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?

There is a major cliffhanger at the end of Fractions of Existence. There's a minor one at the end of Proof of Existence. (Both of which are on sale. Kindle Countdown!)




Native American Heritage Day #Sale!

The Existence series is an Urban Fantasy with Myths and Legends, and Paranormal Romance.

Omnipotent beings are trying to save human existence. Only united are they strong enough. If they don't reunite, the human race is doomed.

Sale on Fractions of Existence https://amzn.to/3AWVA8v
Sale


Coming soon:
Sale on Proof of Existence https://amzn.to/4fSsO86




Please follow @JLenniDorner.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social Please follow me on the BlueSky social media site. So many writer, author, and book lover friends of mine have made the switch, I find that I shall too. (X no longer favors links in "tweets," as it is switching focus to training AI with the shares of users. The platform I once used daily no longer interests me.) 


#AtoZChallenge 2024 2025 AtoZ Challenge
@AtoZchallenge.bsky.social  -  The team also has a handle on the growing Bluesky platform.
https://bsky.app/profile/atozchallenge.bsky.social


Operation Awesome Happening at OperationAwesome6.blogspot.com There is a final farewell post. We have shut down. https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Creative Activities #IWSG


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:


Diedre Knight, Lisa Buie Collard , Kim Lajevardi, and JQ Rose!

Nov 6 question -


What creative activity do you engage in when you're not writing?

I haven't made much time for other activities recently. I do have some background in sewing, weaving, and bead art. I make good jerky. I have pretty good skills in trapping and natural weapons. (Instead of Cabela's, I go into the forest with nothing or nearly nothing, and survive with whatever I happen upon. 🏹 It depends on how long I'll be there.) 

Some people have given me flack over my skill of being able to turn, for example, deerskin into pants. Or to adorn something with beads. 
"Isn't that a feminine skill?"
In case you're about to take that stance, let me be clear. I have never whipped out a 🍆 reproductive organ to sew with, nor do I know anyone who has. But if you think a needle 🧵 and thread are held with such a body part, you have very different tastes in erotica and crafts than I do. 

Also, no, I don't sell those crafts. I don't do these activities often, just on occasion. 



"The Harris-Walz campaign released a statement that more than 70 tribal and Native American leaders endorse Harris as president.
Begay said the Native Americans for Harris-Walz program’s goal is to organize and uplift the work of tribal citizens, leaders and organizations that has already been done and provide support to them." - https://ictnews.org/news/how-a-harris-walz-administration-would-impact-native-people-


I am writing this month. Due to policy shifts and last year's debacle, I am not officially participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Best wishes to those who are. 


Wednesday, October 2, 2024

#IWSG and #WEP Spooky Time #ghost #stories #Horror Horrorfest 2024


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray, and Natalie Aguirre!


October 2 question -


Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.

Classic ghost tales... classic... ummm.... 🤔
The Woman in White - as seen in the tv show Supernatural. A vengeful spirit who can cause pain and death, all while begging for help and being unaware she's not alive. I guess that sounds scary to me, enough for this prompt at least.

There's a better one I know, but to mention the word, especially in print, is forbidden. (Not that people outside of the culture don't use it. They do. Including a version in the show Supernatural. Season 1 Episode 2. Right there in the title of the episode is the word that should not be used, especially in print. Sorry, this isn't like "fear of a name only increases fear..." blah blah Harry Potter quote. No, it isn't like that. BUT ANYWAY)

Allow me to present links to some of my reviews of horror novels:


Here's a mini "lite horror" (more mystery/ myth) novella. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1015003





WEP
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2024/10/wep-halloween-flash-fiction-special.html

FEAR THEM
by J Lenni Dorner


Mother taps on the tallest, oldest tree in the forest. "Be careful, my child, for they will come for you. The time will never come when you can let down your guard. Our people have suffered for hundreds of years from this danger. Do you see this tree?"

I nod.

"The danger has existed longer than this tree has lived. Put your arms around it. Feel the years the tree has stood."

I hug the tree. The bark scratches the delicate skin on my young cheeks. My arms cannot wrap even halfway around the tree. "Why do they come for us?"

She frowns. "That question does not matter. You must focus on not being taken. Not only would you be separated from your family and home, but from yourself."

"From myself?" I rub a spot on the tree where the bark has been removed.

She pulls at my chin so I meet her stare. "The very essence of your being. All that you believe, all the knowledge your father and I have imparted, it would be taken. You would not know nature, and it would no longer know you. For that is their way. They do not share our connection to life. This is why we stay apart from them. To be taken by them is a horror beyond repair." 

The lesson was said before and would be taught again many times. 
Too bad I didn't listen well enough.
They came for me. And all that my parents warned proved to be true. Far worse than what they claimed. 

"Mother? Father? I have returned!" It took many years to find them again.

"We see you. But you cannot return beyond visits." Father hangs his head. The campfire illuminates the tears on Mother's face.

"I am myself. I know nature."

Mother tisks. "Nature does not know you as it once did. You are not who you were. The change is clear."

I still see myself. They see a changed being. I sit at the fire, staring at the flames.

"Show us that you are aware. Point out all that we see, the proof of your difference." Father motions his hand up and down, as if pointing out all of my variations.

I start at my feet and work my way up. By the time I've listed twenty differences, I stop. "They did separate me from myself."

Mother wipes her tears. "Awareness is the true horror. Some are spared knowing. I'm sorry you were not."

Father extinguishes the fire. "Soon the sun will rise. You will go. Perhaps, one day, you might return to us. I wish it could be as who you were. We cannot save you, nor turn you back."

I move to the river, wishing I could wash myself clean of the changes, though I know there is no river strong enough to clean what remains of me.  


FCA 477 words
Tag: Some changes cannot be undone.



Carved pumpkins with car warning lights image to scare adults


Wednesday, September 4, 2024

#IWSG Writing Rules Mess Up Writers


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:


Beth Camp, Jean Davis, Yvonne Ventresca, and PJ Colando!

Sept 4 question -


Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

I don't really remember any rules that messed me up back then. Years later, the "rule" about not putting more than four characters in an opening chapter was difficult to manage. Most rules for writers are broken all the time.


Finding Forrester 🎬


📚https://www.nationalbook.org/adventure/Summer Reading Adventure (based in the United States). 🕮 Adventurers must submit by August 31, 2024. I plan to keep track this summer here, on my blog.


Completed!

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

AI in writing #IWSG #WEP


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:


Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen!

Aug 7 question -


Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

Not really. I have Grammarly, but I use that as a spelling and grammar check. I do use the proofread option on https://wordcounter.net but I'm not sure that's really AI. Text-to-speech isn't especially new technology.  

https://www.grammarly.com/referrals/redeem?key=jj7qkjax276b5hju

I feel like we've had this discussion question before. I tried AI to rewrite my book summary/ "back page." 




📚https://www.nationalbook.org/adventure/Summer Reading Adventure (based in the United States). 🕮 Adventurers must submit by August 31, 2024. (There doesn't appear to be an actual "signing up" stage. You just kinda do the activities.) I plan to keep track of these this summer on my blog.

Summer Reading Adventure 2024

I'm not sure what genres I haven't read? 
https://kingdompen.org/genres-youve-never-heard-of/

Cli-fi  -- Anyone have a suggestion
Cashier Memoir?
Solarpunk? (This sounds really interesting...) 
Growing Seeds from Stones: A solarpunk novella  I found this. Does anyone have any better suggestions?



WEP

Life tossed a lot of curveballs my way. My spouse and I dealt with the loss of a cherished family member. Which resulted in dealing with the state of Florida. I was nearly deported. (DO THE MATH, I'm a Native American. 👨🏽 I've got over 10,000 years of ancestors beneath my feet. Even when you build a stupid freaking convenience store and gas station over their burial sites, it is still sacred ground. Put a few fuel pumps on Arlington ⛽ and watch people get all protest-y, but do it to us -- no one cares. This is the place where generations of my people spilled blood. Where are they going to sell me? That was the case my lawyer made. I was very lucky to be saved.) 

I'm not calm. I want to make noise. There's a woman running for President, and a nutjob running for Emperor. "In four years you don’t have to vote again." -verified source (Sometimes it comes with a claim that he just means he'll change everything in four years. Other times, there's mention of Project 2025 and Agenda 47, where the American government is dismantled and replaced by a Monachy of sorts. "Dictator for life.") My spouse and I are terrified of November. I remember being attacked four years ago by "red hat" people. 🥚Egged on my way into a hospital. That's the dystopian nightmare that could happen again soon.

I'm trying to get back into writing and reading more. Honestly, I'm dealing with PTSD stuff and just fighting for my mental health right now. And looking at the real possibility of letting down my ancestors by fleeing our land next year. My spouse has family in Europe. I don't know. We don't desire to leave. But it might be our only way to survive. I can't do another 4 or more years of being under constant threat. I do not have it in me. 

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Writing Software #IWSG @ScrivenerApp @ScrivenerCoach


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and Natalie Aguirre!




July 3 question -


What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

Plot Your Book In A Month...With Scrivener
Joseph Michael's course on using the Scrivener App, the writing program, really helped me. Plot Your Book In A Month...With Scrivener by Stephanie Draven REALLY helped. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25816650-plot-your-book-in-a-month-with-scrivener My review has mysteriously vanished. The book is no longer for sale, so... sorry. 🤷🏽‍♂️)

I like the way I can organize by Chapter. Also, I like the split-screen option, so I can have my notes up in one area and type in the other. Before Scrivener, I would open multiple instances of Word, or multiple tabs on Google Docs, or have notepad open as well as the word processor. 

Scrivener requires some learning to be useful. Just messing around isn't honestly the best way to master it because there are cool hidden features. Apparently, there's a fair difference between Windows and Mac.

I dislike it when I'm in the midst of a project and the app wants to be updated the next day, and then I have to figure out how to navigate the changes. I love the autosave feature (set to however many seconds). I've never used an "app" version on a mobile device, so I cannot speak to that. 
  




📚https://www.nationalbook.org/adventure/Summer Reading Adventure (based in the United States). 🕮 Adventurers must submit by August 31, 2024. (There doesn't appear to be an actual "signing up" stage. You just kinda do the activities.) I plan to keep track this summer here, on my blog.

Summer Reading Adventure 2024

WEP


#AtoZChallenge 2024

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

IWSG, Summer Reading Adventure, WEP, updates


Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!


June 5 question - In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?



I'm happy with this monthly bloghop check-in. There was a book club, and I LOVED that. I loved finding new-to-me books there and discussions with others. But I guess it wasn't popular enough. I don't know an answer here. Maybe members with popular social media pages ("Bookstagram") accounts would want to offer to showcase new book releases from members??? I don't feel that I qualify as such a person, so I can't detail the plan better. I believe my socials really only reach the speculative fiction crowd (fantasy, sci-fi, etc). I'm not a marketing expert, I just learn what I can. 

This question is hard. I'm going to talk about a reading challenge now.




📚https://www.nationalbook.org/adventure/Summer Reading Adventure (based in the United States). 🕮 Adventurers must submit by August 31, 2024. (There doesn't appear to be an actual "signing up" stage. You just do the activities.) I plan to keep track this summer here, on my blog.

Summer Reading Adventure 2024

WEP - June is an update month. My spouse and I have been dealing with some rough life stuff. I've got family members going through hard times. I can't talk about everything that's going on right now, but some of it is definitely stranger than fiction. I'm having Internet issues lately, too. It is always something, isn't it? And a friend who usually helps me has dislocated her wrist, so she's not available right now. 


#AtoZChallenge 2024 - Road Tripping. I'm behind on visiting the Reflections. I'm behind on everything right now.