Kelly Jensen

The Things They Don’t Tell You

As far as I know, there is no definitive manual on how to be an author. There are hundreds of books about the craft of writing and dozens of places to go for advice on how to write a good query letter and synopsis. You can take a course on everything from nailing that first line to marketing your backlist. But there are still surprises. There are aspects of being an author that you’ll only figure out after you’ve been doing it for a while.

It’s like raising a kid. You’ve heard a rumor you might be up at three in the morning cleaning pink vomit off the carpet on the stairs, but you didn’t think it’d happen until it does. There wasn’t really supposed to be pink vomit, was there? Not when no one had eaten anything pink.

This is my list of things I sort of (definitely) wish someone had told me.

What I’ve Been Reading

The #WritersRead prompt for November was: a book debut author. Bryan Washington isn’t a debut author, but Memorial is his first novel, so I’ve decided it counts. Also, I really want to talk about it.

Memorial was my November Book of the Month Club selection, and I picked it because it reminded me of the beautiful movie, Lilting. I also really enjoy stories about people who wouldn’t choose to spend time together. This is that, twice over.

Let’s Go Out

Writing a newsletter serial worked out so well the first time, I’m doing it again. Or… have done it again. As with Let’s Connect, Let’s Go Out – Robin’s story – is a complete novella that I’ll be sharing a chapter a time with my newsletter subscribers, starting this Sunday, November 22!

Let’s Go Out
(Let’s Connect #2)

Being dumped is oddly freeing. It wasn’t as though Robin could have met Dan in the real world, anyway. To do that, Robin would have to leave his house. But uploading his picture to the dating app Let’s Connect, only to have Dan let him down, is disappointing. Now Robin has run out of excuses not to look outward, and for the first time in three years, he’s seeing many of the things he’s been hiding from—including his next-door neighbor, Sean.

The very same obstacle remains, however. Sean lives in the real world too. And if Robin wants to get to know him better, to move beyond friendship to something more, he’s going to have to step outside his front door.

Robin will have to go out.

Let’s Go Out will be delivered one chapter a week to newsletter subscribers starting November 22! To catch up on the story, read Let’s Connect, now available at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

Remember When I Said I No More MMOs?

I really meant it last time. I also really meant it when I said I was giving up cheese. (Why is it so hard?)

So, here I am to report failure on two counts. I’m still eating cheese. I’m also playing another MMO. In my defense, The Elder Scrolls Online isn’t the most MMO-y of MMOs. You could, quite happily, exist in a solo bubble. It’d be a sad way to play, though, because like the best multiplayer games, ESO is better with friends.

Ordinary Heroes

When the world shut down and everyone learned to make bread, we decided to re-watch Star Trek: The Next Generation from beginning to end. It is, quite literally, the best thing I have done for myself this year.

I remember watching TNG when it first aired. Later, if I caught rerun, I’d nearly always sit to watch it. There were episodes I saw several times, and episodes I missed. I felt as though I knew TNG and its characters pretty well. I have always been a confirmed fan. But watching it again, from beginning to end, has been an entirely different experience, and I am now more than just a fan.

Let’s Go Out(Let’s Connect #2)

Let’s Go Out
(Let’s Connect #2)