Works In Progress: Los Angeles Festival of Books & More

Happy New Year, Everyone!

We hope your holiday season was a warm and wonderful one. Things were a bit up and down for us, but we did manage to get the Christmas tree up and enjoy some quality family time.

We’re looking forward to several upcoming events as we continue to write our new stories and wanted to share the latest news with you…

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be represented at the 2015 Los Angeles Festival of Books, which will take place at USC on April 18-19. While we won’t be there in person,  Exposure SWAG will be made available to attendees there. If you happen to be in the area and plan to attend, be sure to stop by the BOOK fri-ENDS booth to receive yours!

On January 10th, we’ll be stopping by the Book Boyfriend Junkies facebook page for an Author Takeover from 1-2 PM.  Our good friends at BBFJ are celebrating 3,000 Likes on their page and we’re honored to be included in the celebration. There will be shenanigans and giveaways of all kinds, so be sure to stop by and join in on the fun!

Speaking of 3,000, we’re excited to celebrate a similar milestone of our own. We’re very close to reaching 3,000 followers on our twitter account (@MJLocklear)! We’re celebrating the big moment with a giveaway, and so one lucky winner will receive a signed paperback of Exposure. At last check, we were only 12 follows away from drawing a name, so be sure to enter yours into the running now before the giveaway ends.  You can do so here.

We’ll continue to make online appearances to promote Exposure and will be sure to keep you up to date via this site as new developments occur.

Stay Tuned and Take Care,

Morgan & Jennifer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works In Progress: December events

Welcome to December, Everyone!

This time last year, Morgan and I were in the midst of editing our first novel, Exposure, and wondering what 2014 would hold in store for us.

Since the novel’s release in June, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind and we’ve been so happy with how the book has been received.  Being accepted into the Omnific Publishing family has been such a joy for us, and having our very first novel distributed by Simon & Schuster has exceeded our expectations.

Yesterday morning, The Book Bellas, posted their 4.5 star review of Exposure. You can also visit their blog to enter a giveaway for the ebook.

This Wednesday (December 3), we’ll be taking over the Book Boyfriend Junkies facebook page at 8:00 PM Eastern /5:00 PM Pacific. We hope you can take a few minutes to join us for some fun.  We’ve been looking forward to this event for a while now and who knows what will happen? Be sure to give their page a Like.

On Friday, December 5 at 7:00 PM Eastern/4:00 PM Pacific, Jennifer will be stopping by the Naughty Under the Mistletoe holiday party, hosted by Lit4Ladies.com. With a name like that, you know things may get a little crazy.

Last but certainly never least, you can also join us for more holiday party fun on Saturday, December 13.  We’ve been invited by the ladies at Hopelessly Devoted 2 Books to join their Hopeless Devoted does Christmas facebook event. Meet us there at 3:00 PM Eastern/12:00 PM Pacific for an hour of Hollywood holiday fun!

We’re looking forward to bigger and better things in the year to come. We’re both back to writing. Morgan is working on a paranormal romance set within the New York City subway tunnels, while I’m writing a contemporary May to December romance set within our home state of Oregon.

We’re working hard to make sure these stories can be made available soon and hope you’ll continue on with us in the months to come.

Take Care,

Jennifer & Morgan

Works In Progress: April 2014

It’s been a busy few months for Morgan and I.  We’ve been editing a manuscript and (as I type this) it looks as though the task is nearly complete.  As you may already know, Morgan and I recently signed a contract to publish a contemporary romance and while we’ve been editing, we’ve also begun the process of lining up various appearances.

We have a few dates marked out on the Locklear calendar already and wanted to share them with you.

We’re happy to announce that we’ll be traveling to Washington D.C. in March 2015 to attend the Capital City Author’s Event.  We’re looking very forward to meeting with bloggers, readers and other authors in a great city. If you’re in the area we’d love to see you there.

 

 

You can follow updates and news about this event at the following sites:

 

Besides this great news, Morgan and I are excited to share that we’ll be giving our first radio interview as authors later this month.  We’ll be speaking with the La Literati Online Radio Show on April 27th.

Additionally, I’ll be interviewed by La Literati on April 7th at 5:00 PM Pacific time regarding my involvement with Argyle Empire, a fan site for Canadian author Sylvain Reynard.  I’ve been involved with the site since it’s inception in 2012 and am always excited to speak of my love for the Gabriel Series.  I hope you’ll be able to tune in for one or both shows.

You can follow the La Literati show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laliteraticarpelibrum and you can also follow their blog on WordPress: http://taraleigh90.com/

We’re looking forward to sharing more news about appearances as they develop, so be sure to follow our blog, our Facebook page or our twitter account for things to come.

Take Care,

Jennifer & Morgan

 

 

 

Works In Progress: Momentum

For the past couple of months, Morgan and I have been editing a manuscript.  This endeavor is a new element in our work together as a team.  Typically, one of us writes and the other edits.  Not this time.  Since we wrote a story together, we must now learn to edit together.

Most of the time it goes well. We lock ourselves away in a room and I read a chapter out loud while Morgan listens.  In this process, we are both able to hone in on errors within the manuscript and address them.  If there are bigger issues to tackle – scenes to be cut or moments to elaborate on – it means we both have to be in agreement on any change.  Even the shuffling of a word or two must be agreed upon, or else one author is unaware of what the other is up to.

Nine times out of ten, these changes are simple. But on occasion one writer wants to mess with something and the other is not so easily convinced.  That’s when things get interesting, and that’s when being locked away in a room together doesn’t always seem like the brightest idea.  And because we’re not just co-authors but also husband and wife, this means disagreements should always be settled before day’s end.

When the tension builds and we need a few minutes to work through a problem, Morgan and I go for a walk.  There is one particular trail we gravitate to, and we’ve spent countless hours there over the past several years. The fresh air and change of scenery always does wonders for us. We tend to break through mental blocks as we walk through the woods, over boardwalks and bridges above a winding creek before ending up on the ocean beach.  It’s become a special place for Morgan and me, and we refer to it simply as Momentum.

Once we set foot on the path, life seems to slow down. More often than not, we’re alone. We hold hands, we smile and recall other days spent walking the same trail. Most importantly of all, we relax. And once we’ve settled our minds, solutions to our writing dilemmas present themselves. Usually an hour is more than enough time to work out the pressing issues of the day.

We’re still in the throes of editing, and I’m happy to say that Morgan and I are feeling good, not only about the progression we’re making with the manuscript but about how much we’ve grown as a writing team.  Although there have been a few passionate flare ups from time to time (remind me to share the story about when I almost kicked Morgan out of a car in the middle of nowhere over the suggested premature death of one of my most beloved characters), Morgan and I agree that our time spent writing together has only strengthened our marriage.  Together, we’ve found an activity that gives us both great joy, challenges our ways of thinking and even gets us out of the house for a bit of physical exercise.

During the next few weeks, Morgan and I will have some new and wonderful things to share.  We hope to see you here and that you’ll enjoy some momentum along with us.

Until then…

Take care,

Jennifer

Works in Progress: December 2013 – The Plot Bunny

One afternoon several years ago, I was spending a day at home doing the laundry.

Laundry is never my favorite thing to do, but according to the rest of my family I have some talent for it so I own it.

Not surprisingly, my mind began to wander while I plodded through the chore. As I was trying to carry a particularly large and awkward load of clothing from the utility room, I began thinking about what I’d really like to do with the bundle of clothing obstructing my line of sight as I negotiated some stairs.

That’s when I suddenly pictured something  fictional and specific in my mind’s eye. And as I folded, hung up and put away the clean laundry, I kept replaying that picture and adding more and more elements to it until an entire scene was completely formed in my imagination.

This is the occurance commonly referred to in writing circles as the birth of a Plot Bunny.

I had the most basic beginnings of a story idea, and over a period of time I continued to let the idea grow.  I developed a main character, supporting characters, a partial story outline, a few conflicts and some (but not all) resolutions.

At the time I was allowing these ideas to multiply in my head,  I was in the middle of writing and posting another story online. It was my first attempt at sharing my fictional writing with a wider audience. I thought I was happy and content with posting the seven chapter short story and calling it good. When it was done, I’d planned on going back to editing work for my husband and a few author friends of mine and leave it at that.

I can’t tell you exactly what date the Plot Bunny formed or how long I kept developing the idea. I don’t remember going through any stages of denial, anger, bargaining or depression over a period of months, but I can tell you that I finally accepted the fact that the Plot Bunny wasn’t going to leave me alone.

I didn’t know exactly how big this housekeeping inspired Plot Bunny would ultimately be, but I knew it would be a lot more than seven chapters and would include a big cast of characters. I also knew I wasn’t yet ready to tackle writing a full-length work of fiction all on my own.

And yet the Plot Bunny continued to demand my attention.

Bastard.

One summer evening in 2011, my husband and I were enjoying a date night.  We were sitting in an ocean side lounge enjoying appetizers, cocktails and a gorgeous view of the ocean. It was a perfect evening out with my best friend in the world, and in a relaxed state of mind I let it slip that I was being stalked by a Plot Bunny. Morgan immediately took an interest and asked me to share the details with him.  

The more I shared with him, the more animated he became. I have to say there has been no one more enthusiastic  or supportive than Morgan when it comes to my writing, and I wasn’t surprised at the end of my presentation when he told me I should pursue writing the story as soon as my other one was completed.

I told him no way was that going to happen.

He blinked and asked me why not. I responded by confessing that I didn’t feel ready to tackle it on my own.  Being somewhat tipsy and sarcastic I asked if he wanted to help me write it.

So then he smiled and told me not to worry, he would.

I wasn’t expecting that.

But then again…

I’d been editing his stories for a couple of years by this point and he was helping to edit the short story I was working on.  Many of my fears in trying to tame this raging Plot Bunny had to do with specific challenges that I knew Morgan would be able to work through.  He clearly liked my ideas and we both realized it would give Morgan and I an opportunity to write something a bit different than either of us were used to.

We were always talking about writing in one form or another, so why not try to work on it together?

Still tipsy (but no longer sarcastic), I accepted his offer with confidence.

The Plot Bunny no longer seemed so terrifying.  It just needed the two of us to manage it.

To be continued…

Works In Progress: November 2013

Hello and Welcome!

One summer evening in 2012, Morgan and I were sitting outside, enjoying some quiet time at our fire pit and chatting. The time had come for us to make an important decision in regards to our writing hobby: keep it a hobby or try and take it to the next level?

The chat continued until the fire pit grew dim but by the time we were done our minds were made up about which path to take.

In January we set to work with one goal in mind for 2013.

So, what’s happened for us this past  year?

Well … stay tuned and we promise to share more of that story in the months to come.

In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll be launching new social media accounts and modifying existing ones.

With the launch of this site, Morgan and I will be sharing many things that are important to us in our online lives.  You can expect frequent and (hopefully) entertaining segments and posts. 

We’re both looking forward to the new year and hope you’ll join us for the journey.

Take Care,

Jennifer and Morgan