Author J. R. DuBois

 Howdy Ho! ((Why won't this thing let me post a picture!? It says I have to sign into Google, but I did, dang it.)) Since my previous post, I've had some significant traction, where the creative process goes. I heard back from one agent, but she desired me to cut my words down from 173,000 to 120,000. Give that this story was already going to be a trilogy turned duology turned single book (with series potential), it had already had a plethora of words sliced from it, but I did my best. Instead of 50,000 words, I was able to slice a little more than 11k. Not too shabby, considering there was little I could slice from the plot. I did reach back out to her, but am still awaiting feedback. Additionally, I submitted to the last remaining agents on my list for 2024, and have already received one rejection. I am grateful I was even given an actual rejection, as ofttimes, you are waiting until a certain time passes to know if you were rejected. (Perhaps I shouldn't say YOU, but tra...

 Hello and good morning. Except it's afternoon. Actually, I think it's the start of the evening. Is 4pm evening? *shrug* It is when you wake at 330am for your 5am clients! Anyway. Conduit of Fire is officially complete. The only thing that remains to be seen with it is for me to hire a professional editor and follow the publishing procedure--ASSUMING I don't get picked up by trad-pub. It has officially been 4-5 months since my last submission to the 3 folks prior to. No dice. I have 6 other names I can submit to, and I intend to, but it's weird how life interrupts your intention. So the James River Writing Conference is coming up, and one of the agents I paid to speak with suggested I go to it. It will be about $400. The cost isn't the reason I'm deciding not to go. It is because 1) there's also the Hampton Roads Writing Conference I want to go to, and 2) it is also $400, and 3) [the main reason] I really want to have a full rough draft of my second book bef...

How can you rest in the Lord when all you fear is the day His hand will not protect you? Just yesterday, my own struggles were ripped from my chest in such a visceral way that I had to pull over (I was driving). I hadn’t even cried so hard when I watched Mom die. I saw something that took the culmination of the last two years--of the last five deaths (two grandparents, two cats, and my mother), several illnesses and subsequent relational issues, my fear of losing yet another loved one, and the pain of watching the rightness in this world being made wrong--and ripped it out of me. I know people talk about being torn down, about being brought to their knees and rebuilt, but I don’t think folks who haven’t felt that realize what that means. There are no words to that sort of pain. That level of despair. Of hopelessness. If you'd have asked me to stand, I don't think I could have. People like to approach Christians and expect them to have the answer to the problem of evil, only t...

 Hey conduits. Maybe I shouldn't call you that. Who knows how many conduit-based books I'll write... Conduit of Fire is, after all, written as a stand-alone with an open ending "just in case." So, I'm done with my book for now. Which is amazing! This said... I'm not writing anything at the moment, simply reworking and fine-tuning the existing multi-edited draft, and it's not enough. I need more. But, given that I've legit been working on this story for so long, turning it from a single book to trilogy to duology and back, I'm listless. I've finished the story I began ten years ago. What now. CP Angela suggests I write something different. Get out of that land and play. I think I want to? But I do love it. But also I'm trying to decide WHAT. When I first wrote this story, I was just messing around with it, writing for fun and to fill the time between school and work and life. Then come 2020, I took it seriously and gave it a theme and fleshe...

 Hello conduits! It's been nearly one full year since I've written. My last post was about the grief I've been wrestling with losing two cats and my mother within three months of each other. It's been rough. God and life are still good, though, but the main reason I've been M.I.A. (A.W.O.L.? Both apply.) is that I realized that this journey of writing this story could be altered just slightly to reduce a trilogy/duology into one book. And I did it! The book, and the story I intended to write which I've been avidly working on since 2020, is complete. Done. I have three CPs reading it right now to give me final feedback, and I've signed up for the Virginia Writing Conference next month, and have registered for all services offered. I have, in actuality, entered into the phase of beginning to get my book out there--even if it takes a wee bit longer than intended. So. I recently read the stats. Given the fact that most businesses are overworked and understaffed,...

Hey there, conduits. It's been several months, after which I'd said I didn't want to do to this blog as I had all the others. Well, in this case, there wasn't simply one good reason, but three. If you all have been following me, you know that 2022 was a heck of a year where cat health was a thing. It started in January when my grandfather died on the same day that my eldest cat got diagnosed with IMHA. Throughout that year, my husband and I battled how to help serve our elderly boy without going deep into thousands and thousands of dollars in debt, all while having various issues with the others -- none due to environment; our house was and is fine and healthy to be in. So, Granddad died. Jynx developed IMHA. Ozzy (Oswald) suffered chronic UTIs throughout the entire year, developed stress-related cystitis, which he still has today (just brought him back from the vet for another round of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, but we're figuring it out). Romeo swallowed...