Juliana Haygert

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Categories: #ROW80, My writing

#ROW80 Check-in 04/28

Hey guys, sorry I’m posting this late.

My goals:

  • Organize my new home and my new schedule. Getting there. This week we finished our bedroom and organized enough of my new office that I can work on it already.
  • Once my life is normal again (or almost), find a gym and exercise 3 times per week. Trying to get the strength to face execrcising this upcoming week.
  • Participate on Crafting the Sensual Novella Workshop from April 9th to May 6th. Still up for it, but going slow.
  • Finish revising my novel, DESTINY GIFT. Working on it. I revised a bunch of pages and wrote new ones. I think I got a bit over 3k new words this week. If you guys know me, you know this is low for me …
  • Start a new novel or novella and get as far as I can with it. Only after I finish revising DESTINY GIFT. But at least I already know what I want to write (I’ve been taking notes of the scenes I see in my mind).
  • In June, participate of the JuNoWriMo (probably with the novel or novella mentioned on the line above). Only in June.
  • Read 5 books each month (year total = 60). GoodReads tells me I’m a couple of books ahead, but I think it’s because I’ve been reading novellas and they are quicker ;)
  • Social network: blog at least once a week (not counting #ROW80 checkins), comment on blogs every other day, and tweet a little everyday. Done.

 

On Tuesday, I had some errands and ended up running around and writing only a little. On Wednesday, I had to travel 1 hour north to go to the local USCIS office to do my biometrics for my SSN. Next up for that is an interview … but I have no idea when that will be.

Saturday and this morning, I had that damn 8-hour course for the DMV … it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The instructor was a retired patrol officer, so he told us lot of things he actually saw on the road. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that cars can easily become weapons if you’re not careful enough … I think that, after some time on the road, we take cars and driving for granted. Well, I won’t bore you with a lecture about it lol

Anyway, I didn’t write as much as I wanted and lost focus easily on Thursday and Friday … I did write some, but I know I could have done better. It’s like they say, when you work at home, you always find something that needs to be done other than your actual job … I hate that, but it happens a lot!

Ah, on Tuesday, my NA sisters and I are launching our group blog, called NA Alley. I have a post up with a little teasing, but, to learn more about it I suggest you come back here Tuesday to check on the link for the NA Alley ;)

And I’m hoping this coming week will be better, with more writing time ;)

To support my fellow ROWers, click here and visit their check-in posts!

And how are you guys doing?

Cheers,

Categories: #ROW80, My writing

#ROW80 Check-in 04/15

Here we are! Another check-in for the amazing ROW80 crew.

Recap of my goals:

  • Organize my new home and my new schedule.
  • Participate on Crafting the Sensual Novella Workshop from April 9th to May 6th.
  • Finish revising my novel, DESTINY GIFT.
  • Start a new novel and get as far as I can with it.
  • Read 5 books each month (year total = 60).
  • Social network: blog at least once a week (not counting #ROW80 checkins), comment on blogs every other day, and tweet a little everyday.
  • Once my life is normal again (or almost), find a gym and exercise 3 times per week.

(not necessarily in this order)

So, where do I stand this week?

 

Writing: 

Monday was my first day back at writing and I managed to get 2000 words out! Though, I feel like I cheated … because, in order to get my creative juices flowing, I decided to begin writing a new story, rather than keep the revision of my other manuscript (I left off half-way through the revision before the move to the US). Yes, I cheated, but it felt great too, great because I wrote, because it’s a good new story and I’m kinda excited about it ;)

Tuesday, I participated of #teamsprinty of #ROW80 and wrote a little over 800 words in on hour, plus another 700+ words later. That got me 1500 new words ;)

Wednesday, I wrote about 1400 words and rework about 2000.

Thursday, I worked on two lessons from the Workshop I’m taking, which was plot outline and characters’ GMC.

Friday, I had many errands to do, including going to the DMV again … no writing done =(

Reading:

It’s going well. Accordingly to Goodreads, I’m 4 books ahead of schedule.

Social Network: 

All is good here too.

 

There are still many things to do at our new place yet, but we got a lot done too … but we’ve been only 1 week at the new house, so I guess we actually did a lot for such a short time. Though, now that the necessary stuff is done, I guess we’ll slow down, since getting a house done/decorated from scratch costs a lot!

That’s it for now. I hope to get more writing done this next week and I hope to find a nice gym and join it soon.

Want to check out and support our #ROW80 friends? Click here. Happy Sunday!

Cheers,

Categories: Me, My life, My writing

The reason I’ve been MIA lately …

Hey guys!

Perhaps you didn’t notice I’ve been MIA because I try to show up on twitter every now and then, but I do feel like I’m missing out on everything lately.

Most of you know I’m Brazilian, that I lived in the US from 2004 to 2009, came back to Brazil, and now I’m moving back to the US.

And that’s all I’ve been doing lately. Packing and organizing everything for our move in one week!.

If you guys ever moved before, you know how much work it involves. But now imagine moving to a different country!

Oh, God, I can’t even start listing all the things I’ve been doing … selling cars, looking for new temporary apartment, packing bags that will go with us on the flight, packing things that will go later through cargo, trying to sell the things we don’t want to take with us, visiting all kinds of doctors and our dentists (who knows how long it’ll take till we find a nice doctor we trust, or someone recommends), visiting family and close friends who live in other cities, planning on how to keep our Brazilian house closed but clean while we are away (we plan on selling it only after we have our greencards in hand), looking for school for our daughter, coming up with a plan of action for the first week (example: look/find new apartment, enroll kid on school, buy new cars, buy the stuff a house needs to function right away—plates, glasses, sofa, bed, TV, garbage can, cleaning supply, food, etc), get my EAD then my SSN …

And much, much more …

The worst part: I’m not writing. For over 30 days now, I’m not writing.

I’ve tried writing a few nights when things are calmer, but it’s useless. The writers out there know that, after a vacation, it’s hard to get back to writing and the first days are not that productive … well, these calmer nights weren’t productive at all.

I didn’t stop writing down the stuff that my mind brings to me, as plot twists and ideas for new novels, but there is no way I can just sit down and type for hours. No way. And it saddens me. It frustrates me. I feel like a part of me is missing. I think I’m even crankier than usual since I stopped writing.

But I need to just let it go, since I know I won’t be writing for the next 20-30 days … that’s a fact and the faster I accept it, the better I’ll live with it.

Anyway, my flight to the US is scheduled for March 26th (in one week!). Hopefully, by April 15th everything will be settled down and I’ll be writing again. Hopefully.

And then, oh my, I’ll be writing. Non-stop.

My goal for this year is to write at least 4 novels (and revise them).  Even with the 2-month-break I’m taking because of the move, I’ll do everything I can to meet that goal.

Now you know why I’ve been quiet on the blogsphere and on the twitterverse. Sorry.

I’ll see you guys soon ;)

Cheers,

Categories: Awards, Blogging, My writing

The Lucky 7 Meme

The awesome Theresa Paolo at No Rhyme or Reason (by the way, love that blog name) tagged me on the Lucky 7 Meme yesterday. Thanks, Theresa!

Here is what the tagged has to do:

1) Go to page 77 of your current MS
2) Go to line 7
3) Copy down the next 7 lines as they’re written–no  cheating
4) Tag 7 other writers
5) Let them know

Well, honestly I’m working on many WIPs at the moment, tweaking here and there when I can …

So, I chose the WIP that is closest to my heart at the moment, the one I’m revising (AGAIN!) right now, the one featured on this bloghop and this contest.

It’s called DESTINY GIFT, and here it is:

 

Once it was done, he pulled his hands back and placed them inside his pockets. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
And he walked away. Just like that.
My legs gave out, and I found a stool to sit down before I fainted from breathing the toxic substance I’d been working with. Or because of my response to Victor—who was Victor but not, in so many ways.
Oh my God! I was just an object to him. A thing that he could use whenever he wasn’t feeling well. I felt like a recyclable soda can that he could use up and then throw away.

 

Ha! Now I leave you wondering what that was about =P

 

Passing along the tag:

1) Jani Grey at Life Debatable
2) Tracy at Scarlets Sanctum
3) Ladonna Watkins at The Writer in Me
4) Jenny Kaczorowski at In Somnis Veritas
5) Melissa Hurst at Chasing the Dream
6) Heather L. Reid at I’d Rather Be Writing
7) Elodie at Commuting Girl

 

Cheers,

Categories: Blog Hop, Eye Candy, My writing

If my dream came true

Because every writer dreams of not only seeing their books on the shelves everywhere, but also as a movie on every screen around the globe. Isn’t it true? It sure is.

The fabulous ladies Kyra Lennon at Write Here Write Now and Rachel at Writing on the Wall created this bloghop called WIP: The Movie.

Here is what Kyra says: “Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to post a photo of the actors or actresses you would like to play the characters in your WiP if it were to be made into a movie. It can be just one character, or the entire cast! Secondly, we want you to soundtrack your movie! Head over to YouTube, and post a song that best describes one of your characters, or your story as a whole. Again, you can pick one song, or several, it’s entirely up to you!”

My first challenge was to choose between my WIPs.

But it wasn’t a challenge really. I’m super excited about my new idea, my totally pantsed new idea, one that doesn’t have a title yet (I’ll probably come up with one after the first draft is finished), but I know the name of my characters and I love it.

 

NAYELI — means “I Love You” in Native American

She is 19 and a shaman—shy but powerful.

The first actress who popped on my mind was Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones with her blonde-white hair and leather attire. But, oh well, that image was taken, and I thought of another one: Avril Lavigne.

Despite her messy life, Avril is beautiful and talented. Look at that face. I even played on photoshop and gave her a whitish hair (under 30 secs, guys, don’t look for quality). I guess it doesn’t look that bad. Perhaps a little less white later ;) Or, hum, I could blame the background for not helping too lol

Imagine Nayeli as a regular girl, with jeans and flats, then, during rituals and missions, she wears suede pants and vest and leather boots.

She lives under the shadow of her extroverted and eloquent sister, until *something* happens and she is forced to take action. Ha! Quite a tease, right? *wink, wink*

 

ALEC — means “Defender of People”

He is 20 and a bounty hunter—loner and quiet.

First, I thought of Jared Leto, Shane West and/or Taylor Kitsch, but they are too old (hot old, yes) to play my character. Then I remember another younger actor but equally handsome: Nathan Keyes.

I found out about Nathan when watching Ben 10 the movie—recognize the car on the pic above? Yes, I’m a 28yo girl who is a fan of Ben 10, especially of Kevin and Gwen (and their “relationship”). Since then, I follow him on Facebook (btw, he links youtube videos of his next series where he appears shirtless!!).

As a great actor, I think we can expect many great things of Nathan in the future.

Anyway, he would be a perfect Alec. Mysterious, with that killer stare and the hint of a smile. Yum!

 

Aren’t they a GORGEOUS couple? I think they are!

 

As for the soundtrack. Well, that wasn’t easy. I wanted to find a song with lyrics and by someone famous, but the truth is, I like to dream and write about this wip and let my mind wander through it when I’m listening to songs by Two Step From Hell.

Here are a couple of examples:

 

 

Did you like it? Would you watch my movie? lol

How about your WIP’s cast and song?

Cheers,

 

UPDATE: On Twitter, I told Nathan Keyes that I had chosen him for this bloghop and he RT’d to his followers! Look here! *fans self*

Categories: Blog Hop, My writing

Is It Getting Hot in Here?

I wasn’t going to, but because I admire many of the ladies on this blogfest and know I’ll meet many other awesome writers, I decided to join the Is It Getting Hot In Here? bloghop hosted by Cassie Mae and Hope Roberson ;)

The following scene is from my beloved wip, DESTINY GIFT, a new adult paranormal romance. Here I give you Nadine and Victor:

 

“Please, get out!” I tried to push him back, but he wouldn’t budge. “Why are you doing this? Please, let me be.” I punched his chest. “I opened up my heart to you, and you shut me out. Please. GET OUT!”

“I won’t!” he yelled. Anger radiated from his eyes. “What do you want me to say?” He paced forward, making me retreat. “Want me to tell you that you get to me? That since the first time I saw you, you affected me?” His voice was high and rough. “That I tried not looking for you every time I felt the pain because I knew I would be weak and would fall for you? Do you realize that all the people I ever loved are now dead?”

He trapped me between the bed and him. His eyes shone, and he gritted his teeth, but he was on a roll. I couldn’t stop him. “Should I tell you that I’m scared of getting close to anyone because they might end up dead? That I’m scared of getting close to you?”

My heart went still. I was sure I had died. What was he saying?

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me up, and covered my mouth with his.

God, I had dreamed of this moment so, so many times. Yet, this Victor wasn’t my Victor, was he? In truth, right at this moment, I didn’t care. All I wanted was to kiss him back.

And I did. His kiss was sweeter than I could have hoped for, his tender lips eagerly moving against mine, his tongue exploring my mouth as if it was a new, rich land to be discovered. One of his hands traveled up my spine until his fingers knotted my hair. The other hand went down, cupping my hips. Oh, and I was all over him too, my hands already under his shirt, exploring his lean, hard muscles.

Gently, Victor pulled my hair back, making me tilt my chin up. Helplessly, I moaned, startled by how avid he was. In my dreams, I had believed he would be gentle and calm. Very different from this Victor. And I loved every second of it.

With his tongue, Victor traced a line down my neck to my collarbone. He bit and pecked it, scorching my skin, using his hands to press me against him. I felt intoxicated by his scent, by his touch, by his breath. I had had time to imagine this, to picture the perfect moment when I would surrender to his charms and make love to him. Yet, this was far more perfect.

 

*fans self*

I hope you liked it ;)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cheers,

Categories: Blog Hop, Blogging, My writing

My Writing Story

Welcome to the ORIGINS BLOGFEST!

This awesome blogfest is being hosted by DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Katie Mills atCreepy Query Girl, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and Matthew MacNish at QQQE.

To sign up or view the participants click here or here and scroll down to find the linky list.

 

WHEN DID MY WRITING DREAM BEGIN?

On freshman year of high school in Brazil, my Portuguese teacher assigned a group project to my class: to write a short book. Just like that. Well, my best friends and I got together at my house, I baked a cake for them and left them eating while I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. The only part they took in it was to give me ideas of plot twists and then reading and telling me if it was good or not.

Next year, we had the same project to work on. This time, I wrote a book twice longer and more dramatic.

After that, I just wrote. I carried a notebook with me and wrote every single minute I could, even during classes.

I started a diary to keep notes of the interesting things that happened in my life, thinking that it could give me ideas for some books.

My stories revolved around my friends and I at first.

Then it changed and I wrote about fictional characters from my mind.

However, I never ever thought about being published. Not once.

Over the years, I wrote short stories and started stories, but never finished them. I collected interesting news from magazines and newspapers, things that could give me ideas or be added to other stories.

When I began college, my free time ended and the writing died. But not the ideas. Never the ideas.

And I never stopped reading. Yes, I read less than I had ever read, but books meant a lot to me, so I tried to keep reading at least.

For the next few years, my life went crazy. I went t the US, I couldn’t finish the major I started in Brazil, I didn’t know what major to choose, I graduated and couldn’t work since my visa didn’t allow me to, I thought about going back to college and do something else or go for a master degree so I didn’t just sit around at home waiting for my visa to change … I was lost and couldn’t see any lights at the end of the tunnel.

Then, something happened.

Disclaimer: please, don’t judge (too harshly) the following part. It just happened.  

TWILIGHT came out.

The buzz around it was so huge, I had to read it and find out what it all was about.

I loved it! I read all 4 books in 6 days.

I thought about how good it made me feel, how I loved those books, how I wanted to pass on that feeling. And, to pass on that feeling, I had to write a book that made others feel like I felt.

It’s almost embarrassing to admit this, especially now that I feel kinda sick of TWILIGHT and all behind it. Just so you know, I didn’t even watch the last movie of the saga (yet). But it’s the truth.

Because of the way I felt reading and after having read The Twilight Saga, I went back to writing.

After that, we went back to Brazil and I started writing full time (it was March 2010).

Since I didn’t know anything about writing a real book other than the stories I wrote for myself, I took a few workshops and read lots of craft books.

And I’ve been writing full time ever since. In almost 2 years, I wrote about 5 novels, 2 novellas and 1 novelette and began several others that never saw an end—I know my writing improves with each new manuscript and that someday not too far in the future I’ll woo some agent with one of my manuscripts ;)

Right now, I’m organizing things to go back to the US (in the end of March). Things are crazy and for that I can’t find enough time to write. But once we’re back to the US and everything is settled down again, I’ll dig in. I can’t wait to write.

But like before, my mind is always working and the ideas are always brewing.

 

Sorry about the longish post =P

How about you? How did you begin writing?

Cheers,