Jenyfer Matthews

People often ask writers if they write on a schedule. I really wish I could say yes. I would probably get a lot more done that way, but it just never seems to work out.

I’m a single-minded sort of person. Once I get my teeth into a project I just keep working on it until it’s finished. At least that is the way it is with my craft projects. I don’t like to leave things hanging around. I used to drive my mother crazy when I was in school because once I was given an assignment I would harass her to go out and get me my supplies immediately, even if it wasn’t due for another two weeks. Now I drive myself crazy by imposing little deadlines for myself and finishing projects in record time.

Theoretically I will write in the morning after my kids have gone off to school and I have the house to myself. Sometimes I actually will do that. Some days other obligations pop up that I have to take care of. Some days I have to run errands. Some days I just fritter my time away.

Writing is hard. Getting the idea and overall story line down is no problem. I can see it all vividly in my head. It’s translating the full color idea from my brain to the paper that I find a struggle. Filling in all the little details of what she was wearing, how he looked, where his hands were, where they were standing, who was talking to who in a manner that will make sense to others is where all the work begins. Right now I have this GREAT story about halfway done and I really want to finish it so I can share it with everyone. I’m as frustrated as you are
On a good day I might write a solid 3-5 pages. On a bad day I might not write at all. I was doing pretty well for a while there and then I took a vacation and lost momentum. I’m trying out what a writer friend of mine calls BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard) I did that today and got a little bit done. I am mostly pleased with the results - at least for now. My writing doesn’t always progress in a steady forward fashion. It’s more of a two steps forward, one step back sort of thing. I write, then I go wash the dishes, get an idea on how to make what I just wrote better, then go edit and tweak that section. The next time I sit down, I reread what I wrote the time before to pick up the thread and keep going. Sometimes I end up deleting and re-writing. I’m slow but I usually get there in the end.

At least I am consistent in one way. I don’t tend to start something new until I finish my current project. If nothing else, I can at least say I don’t have a lot of unfinished stories in my possession.

I’ve managed to make the Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies last until now, mostly because I know once they are gone, they are gone. And because I know that if I eat them TOO fast, they will never be gone. I’ll be carrying them around on my butt for a long time.

I’m not obsessed with cookies, truly. But today when I was grocery shopping I noticed something new - or at least something I had never seen before. Oreo cookies with white and mint filling. What new evil thing with they think of next?? It was only the fact that I was a bit short on cash that I managed to resist the urge to buy them. I stand a better chance of resisting their lure if I never taste them at all.

Unfortunately, now that I know they exist, they will call to me every time I shop…

A friend of mine sent me a link from a popular women’s magazine last week – how to romance your man. I read the article and couldn’t help but notice all the links to other related articles on how to please your man. Instead of feeling all inspired on what nice thing I could do for / cook for / wear for my man I became increasingly annoyed. Don’t we as women already do enough for the men in our lives? Isn’t the pain of having my legs waxed regularly enough? Do we really need more advice on the topic? I can’t say that I’ve actually read many magazines for men, but somehow I don’t think they are full of advice on how to improve themselves and romance the women in their lives.

My ideas of romance have shifted as I have aged. Sure, I like flowers – especially when they aren’t given for an occasion but “just because”. Who doesn’t like flowers? But my requirements for what will get me all warm and gooey inside have really changed. Let me share a few of them with you.

1) I want a man who will help with the cooking and / or dinner clean up at night WITHOUT being asked and WITHOUT expecting something in return as soon as the kids are put to bed;

2) I want a man who will assist with bathing / dressing / reading stories to kids WITHOUT being asked and WITHOUT expecting something in return as soon as the kids are put to bed;

3) I want a man who is willing to snuggle and rub my shoulders WITHOUT being asked and WITHOUT expecting something in return as soon as the kids are put to bed;

4) I want a man who will remember the important dates in our lives WITHOUT being reminded and who can come up with thoughtful gifts WITHOUT an illustrated list and a map to the store;

5) I want a man who will wear uncomfortable underwear because I think it looks sexy on him

I’m getting hot just thinking about the possibility of any of this ever happening, LOL.

Maybe I’m asking too much though. I think it’s the “without” clauses that trip most men up. If I can manage to drop enough hints to score some flowers on Valentine’s Day I’ll let you know.

If you are here reading this, you are in a select group of people - I don’t tell just everyone that I write romance novels. There are a variety of reasons for this. Some people look down on romance novels and I just don’t care enough to argue with them about the fact that most romance novels I have read are much more interesting than all the pseudo-literature that is out there. But more importantly, I don’t want to deal with people looking at me and wondering if my writing is autobiographical - if that love scene I wrote is real or memorex. I’ll tell you though that I *mostly* just have a vivid imagination

Since this is confession hour, I’ll also tell you one more secret. I’m addicted to Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. It started as a child. I was never a Girl Scout myself (thank goodness) but my friend down the street was. I used to walk around the neighborhood with her, both taking orders and then helping her deliver them all when they came in. I’m sure she must have won multiple badges or whatever the incentive is - I remember her mother being a bit annoyed because we covered a lot of ground on foot and it was pretty inconvenient when it came time to deliver them!!

It was during that time that I first fell in love with Thin Mints. I would buy several boxes from my friend and then squirrel them away in my room. Try as I might to ration them, I would nearly always succumb to their evil power and consume an entire tube at a time (we’ll talk about my childhood weight issues another time). I finally decided that it was better not to partake of them at all because I have absolutely no will power when it comes to those cookies. I have lived abroad for the last several years so I have been able to avoid temptation but this year they found me again - in Germany of all places!

It’s been a while since I have had any so I decided to get ONE box, just to see if their allure was still so strong. I had it in my possession for several days before I opened it. They are just as good as they ever were. I opened them while my own children were at school and then hid the box in my nightstand. No way am I sharing them!!

I have so far managed to only eat a few at a time, but it’s been hard. The only way to avoid gorging myself is either to leave the house or to brush my teeth. What is in those things anyway???

My favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip. I think I see a pattern here…

Jenyfer

Just in case anyone missed it in the other hundred places I’ve already posted it, I thought I’d start my blog by posting the blurb for my debut novel HERE TO STAY, available now from Cerridwen Press (www.cerridwenpress.com). It was a long road to get to this point. I first started writing this book a LONG time ago. I admit it - it’s been sent out and ultimately rejected many times. Then it was accepted and extensively revised and I ended up rejecting the publisher! I kept putting it aside, if not totally out of mind, having babies, leading my life, and the after a while it would call to me again, insisting on being seen. Finally earlier this year a friend pushed me to send it in to Cerridwen and I thought why not? It was worth a try and I am happy to say that my perseverance finally paid off. I think it was worth the wait - I hope you do too.

But happily this is not the end of the road! I have a second book accepted and coming out sometime this year and am working on a third. Keep watching this space for more news about my writing and other random thoughts…

Until next time, happy reading!
Jenyfer

http://cerridwenpress.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419908842

Here to Stay By Jenyfer Matthews

All Julia Sullivan wanted was a fresh start in a new place. But cutting ties with the past and starting over can be a difficult thing to do.

After leaving her husband and quitting her job, Julia was emotionally spent. She needed a quiet place to recharge and to think about what she wanted from life. She thought she had found just that when she inherited her aunt’s oceanfront Victorian house in Haven, New Jersey. It wasn’t going to be that simple, however. In addition to her new house being a complete shambles, her charming soon-to-be ex-husband Patrick, whom she discovers she still loves, arrives with the intention of winning her back. To complicate matters further, it seems as if her aunt’s death wasn’t an accident after all. And there’s just something about her new house that seems to interest all sorts of people.