Tag: #Author

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Dear Younger Jen,

Jen Sinclair

Hi! I know you won’t believe this, but I’m you many, many, MANY years in the future. Right now, you’re probably sitting cross-legged in our upstairs bedroom on Westminster Drive, surrounded by dolls and stuffed animals, dreaming up adventures for them. Crafting intricate plots, like the time you had Barbie’s friend Whitney talk her into sneaking out of the dreamhouse (the one you made out of a cardboard box) to steal a ride on Pegasus before Megan woke up. You see, Megan didn’t trust Whitney to take care of Pegasus, so going behind her back was the only way Whitney could get what she wanted.

You always did have a penchant for drama. For the push and pull between good and evil. For the little unexpected twist. For the ending that was only satisfying when the heroine realized she had the power to save herself and others the whole time. All she had to do was go through hell to figure it out.

I guess that’s why you really were born to be a writer. Not a pediatrician or an astrophysicist or an astronomer like you once believed.

You will eventually want to be a writer. You’ll realize that you can be anything inside the stories you create. So you’ll start writing them down. Short stories, screenplays, and eventually a novel. You won’t share a single thing for a very long time because you won’t feel like you’re any good at it. But you’ll keep writing, keep creating, keep growing.

Until one day, you’ll decide to be brave. You’ll find a community. You’ll meet friends who support you. And though you’ll go through lots of rejection, you’ll eventually choose to listen to your voice. The one that started where you are right now. The one that believed you could do anything and be anything.

And you’ll do it.

Because today, you became a published author. And that world inside your head seeped out so others could experience it as you imagined.
It may be later than you thought. It may be different than you wanted. But here we are. Doing it. Living the dream.

And it is so worth the work and the wait.

Love,

Older Jen
Author of There’s Always a Price
Available on Amazon

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What do you write?

Jen Sinclair

Aside from scary movies and haunted houses, nothing terrifies me more than someone asking me this: “What do you write?”

I mean, come on. I should be able to answer this since it’s literally what I spend hours doing every single day. But that’s not what happens. Instead, I give a nervous chuckle and then mumble and muddle through a very awful explanation.

So, what do I write? The genre I fit best in is women’s fiction. Yes, it’s an archaic term, but no one has found a good alternative. This genre has a unique feature compared to most others: the plot is advanced by the character’s emotional journey and ultimate change. While characters in many genres undergo some change at various times, they aren’t driven by it. Instead, they’re usually swept up in a huge issue happening outside them. In mysteries, it’s the crime. In romance, it’s the love interest. In horror, it’s the scary monster that’s chasing the main character.

In women’s fiction, the monster is an internal wound deeply seated in the main character long before the reader ever meets them. It gives the character a belief, or rather a misbelief, about the world and usually about themself. This misbelief directs everything the character does from the first page through the story.

Events happening outside the character—the plot—force them to apply their flawed logic. This is where subgenres like thriller, mystery, paranormal, and suspense come in. THERE’S ALWAYS A PRICE has a romantic subplot. But the heart of the story is driven by Cassie and her misbelief that bad things happen when she chooses something she really wants.

So what do I write exactly? I love writing complicated and morally gray characters. I drop them in uncomfortable and entertaining situations and put them through hell all so they hopefully come out better in the end. They fumble and fall; they fail and succeed; they have moments of clarity and then regress into their wounded selves. In short, they’re human. And while growth and change are the goals, how they get there is where the real magic of the story happens. Kind of like life.

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These are just words

Jen Sinclair

As I prepare to launch my first book, I’ve been mulling over different ways to connect with readers. One suggestion was to create a newsletter to reach inboxes. It makes sense because while social media platforms may come and go (or change the algorithms) most of us will use the same email address forever.

This strategy presented me with a couple of problems. First, how would I, who is fairly inept at tech stuff create a newsletter? And second, what the hell would it even be about? The second problem proved harder to fix than the first (because I can do hard things when I’ve got YouTube to guide me). Coming up with a concept that would appeal to a wide audience, while remaining entertaining took a while. Especially since I held the very lofty goal of keeping it short, and for a writer this is not always easy.

But, guess what? I did it! I created a newsletter! It’s short! It’s engaging! It actually works! Don’t believe me? You should sign up and find out for yourself. Just hit the shiny new “Newsletter Sign Up” button in the footer. Or you can also click here and it will take you to the same form (though I am very proud of that Newsletter Sign Up button).

Thanks for supporting me! I’ll see you in your inbox soon. 🙂

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How someone else’s book launch party launched me

Jen Sinclair

You are one decision away from an entirely different life. 

I’ve scribbled this Mel Robbins quote at least a dozen times since I came across it. I understand how one choice is all it takes to change the trajectory of a life. While I have many examples, bad and good, the one that springs to mind revolves around a book launch party.

I should start by saying that I am a true introvert who needs time alone to recharge and avoids new social situations at all costs. But a year ago, I promised to stop dragging my feet and make my writing a priority in 2022. When Tammy, a local author I had met once, scheduled her book release party on January 16th, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to further my 2022 goal.

But true to my introverted nature, panic shot through my nervous system as I drove to the launch party. I willed myself to keep the car moving forward instead of slamming on the brakes and going back. While I was nervous about this new social situation, I was terrified by the prospect of derailing my writing goals yet again.

I parked around the corner from the event and called Chris, my husband. I told him I couldn’t do it. It was going to be a disaster. My hands shook. A swelling lump suffocated me. I was sweating even though it was a mild day. Chris (always the calm to my storm) reminded me why this was important for me to do. He told me how strong I was, how cool it was that I got to do this and that he would get in the car and meet me in half an hour if that’s what it would take for me to go inside.

As he talked, my legs inched closer and closer to the door. Before I hung up, I told him I could do it but made him swear not to leave the phone just in case. And then there was nothing else for me to do except step inside. So, I did.

Here’s the thing that happens when you get brave—the universe somehow catches that wave of courage, and it rewards you. For me, it came in the form of Sheila, another writer I met at the local Women’s Fiction Writers Association get-together months before. She stepped right up and introduced me to two other writers with her, Kristi and Christel.

Before I knew it, I agreed to attend a write-in (whatever that was) at Sheila’s condo the following day. I remember calling Chris on my way home, giddy and saying something like, “Not only didn’t I die, but I’m going to hang out with them again tomorrow!” I felt like a kid coming home on the first day at a new school. Meeting people with the same passion and creative energy fed my own. Plus, it was nice not to feel so alone.

At Sheila’s the next day, she, along with Kristi and Christel, encouraged (read: FORCED) me to join a virtual WFWA write-in through Zoom. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew I didn’t want to do it. Before I could come up with a viable escape plan, we were all Zooming and meeting with a larger part of the WFWA tribe. And again, a decision I made (albeit via peer pressure) sent my life further down the writing path.

In the year since my first write-in, I have come so far in this writing journey, buoyed by the connection with fellow writers, in-person and across Zoom. I’m querying a book I am proud of and want people to read! I’ve published essays! I’ve cannonballed into the deep end of the freelance writing pool and am building my business and creative portfolio. 

My journey isn’t anywhere near done. In fact, it’s just getting started. But, had I not walked into that book launch party, I would have still been stuck wanting what I now have: a group of friends and writing allies who mean the world to me and for whom I will always carry a heart full of gratitude.

Remember, You are one decision away from a completely different life.

And once you make that decision and start living that life, you will never want to go back.