J. R. Nakken is up and running..... again!
oCTOBER 1, 2016
I want to thank the (many) (several) both of you who "contacted author" to ask where I had been for lo, these many moons. It's like this:
First, I was inordinately busy with the winning of the Grand Prize in Readers' Digest's Reminisce Magazine's inaugural memoir book contest and the subsequent publication of the prize winner, Confessions of a Martian Schoolgirl.
(Have you read it yet? It's on Amazon and e-book, of course [and a review there is always welcome!] It's my life from ages four to sixteen on the South Dakota prairie. The book begins "My grandmother thought I was a witch" and ends with "I married an earthling." In between is, according to the review by Courtenay Smith, Executive Editor at Readers' Digest, "an easy read of an honest story. Humor abounds amidst dark moments in an entertaining coming-of-age tale."}
Secondly, Michael Chadwick, the dear friend who set up this website for me, died suddenly in March. Although this was after the whimper of hoopla accorded to Martian Schoolgirl had subsided , I found it impossible to use Michael's hand-listed instructions on writing for you here. Salty tears are not good lubricant for computer keyboards. I'm able to write today because, while time does not actually heal, it seems to quiet grief and make memory soar to more pleasant times. Thus, today I was able to giggle at his Step 8 instruction and smiling stick man illustration: "Do happy dance!"
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Belated thanks is due to those who sponsored me in Hugo House's annual write-a-thon. We raised $200 and I got a good couple of chapters in the can for Jacey and the Lost Gold, volume #2 in my Magic Necklace Trilogy for middle-graders.
(Volume #1. Jacey Cameron in the Lost State of Franklin, was published in both hard copy and e-book this year by the Preservation Foundation of Nashville, TN. Available on Amazon, of course. Author's tip, though: Jacey is a 12-year-old middle-schoolgirl who goes back in time. While the series is exciting and well-researched historical fiction, young readers have dubbed it a "chick book." Your girls are going to love it. Your boys --- not so much!)
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I made a quick car trip to South Dakota last August. Some of the dark moments to which Courtenay Smith's review alluded were laid to rest while I was there. On www.storyhouse.org, the Preservation Foundation's website dedicated to "preservation of the extraordinary works of ordinary people," I posted a story called Home Again. You may want to visit the site and read it, especially if you have read the Martian Schoolgirl's memoir. Much of my unpublished short stuff resides at Storyhouse.Org, and the site has some ... well.....extraordinary....tales from many others.
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Showing four of my books at Everett, Washington's annual Home and Garden Show, as part of the Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest, of which I am a current member. September 30 through October 2. More than a dozen of our authors' books are represented. It is uplifting to find that there are still many folks who want the feel of the book of pages in their hands, as well as those who are committed to supporting local authors and artists. If you visited ... thanks!
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Do use the CONTACT AUTHOR. I want to hear from you, whether critique or just to chat. Thanks for visiting today. jrn
First, I was inordinately busy with the winning of the Grand Prize in Readers' Digest's Reminisce Magazine's inaugural memoir book contest and the subsequent publication of the prize winner, Confessions of a Martian Schoolgirl.
(Have you read it yet? It's on Amazon and e-book, of course [and a review there is always welcome!] It's my life from ages four to sixteen on the South Dakota prairie. The book begins "My grandmother thought I was a witch" and ends with "I married an earthling." In between is, according to the review by Courtenay Smith, Executive Editor at Readers' Digest, "an easy read of an honest story. Humor abounds amidst dark moments in an entertaining coming-of-age tale."}
Secondly, Michael Chadwick, the dear friend who set up this website for me, died suddenly in March. Although this was after the whimper of hoopla accorded to Martian Schoolgirl had subsided , I found it impossible to use Michael's hand-listed instructions on writing for you here. Salty tears are not good lubricant for computer keyboards. I'm able to write today because, while time does not actually heal, it seems to quiet grief and make memory soar to more pleasant times. Thus, today I was able to giggle at his Step 8 instruction and smiling stick man illustration: "Do happy dance!"
************************************
Belated thanks is due to those who sponsored me in Hugo House's annual write-a-thon. We raised $200 and I got a good couple of chapters in the can for Jacey and the Lost Gold, volume #2 in my Magic Necklace Trilogy for middle-graders.
(Volume #1. Jacey Cameron in the Lost State of Franklin, was published in both hard copy and e-book this year by the Preservation Foundation of Nashville, TN. Available on Amazon, of course. Author's tip, though: Jacey is a 12-year-old middle-schoolgirl who goes back in time. While the series is exciting and well-researched historical fiction, young readers have dubbed it a "chick book." Your girls are going to love it. Your boys --- not so much!)
**************************************
I made a quick car trip to South Dakota last August. Some of the dark moments to which Courtenay Smith's review alluded were laid to rest while I was there. On www.storyhouse.org, the Preservation Foundation's website dedicated to "preservation of the extraordinary works of ordinary people," I posted a story called Home Again. You may want to visit the site and read it, especially if you have read the Martian Schoolgirl's memoir. Much of my unpublished short stuff resides at Storyhouse.Org, and the site has some ... well.....extraordinary....tales from many others.
****************************************
Showing four of my books at Everett, Washington's annual Home and Garden Show, as part of the Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest, of which I am a current member. September 30 through October 2. More than a dozen of our authors' books are represented. It is uplifting to find that there are still many folks who want the feel of the book of pages in their hands, as well as those who are committed to supporting local authors and artists. If you visited ... thanks!
******************************************
Do use the CONTACT AUTHOR. I want to hear from you, whether critique or just to chat. Thanks for visiting today. jrn