Jennie Bennett, Romance Author

That I'm hanging out at Catie Rhode's blog today. Stop by and say hello!

Welcome, welcome! Today is another great day to be inspired, and I'm happy to announce that Carrie Mumford will be taking over for another edition of the #lifelistclub! I will be posting tomorrow at Catie Rhodes blog, so be sure to check that out then. Without further ado, I give you Carrie. Last year I set a really big goal for myself: run a marathon. Several of the Life List bloggers have set big goals for themselves this year. In fact, many Life Listers, including my gracious host, Jennie, would like to complete a novel . To me, setting out to complete a novel is the marathon of the writing world. Short stories and articles require fewer words, and thereby less time and planning to complete. I think of these as the 10 kilometer races of the writing world. Obviously this rule isn’t steadfast – there are some novels that come easy, and some short stories that take forever to perfect, but overall, it seems that writing a novel is a big, giant, marathon of a commitment. Here’...

Happy Thursday all! First I just wanted to let you all know that you can still vote for my short story ' Existence ' over at Heather Howland's blog . Next, I was featured over at Emily Moir's blog with my worst date horror story. This week (okay it happened in the last two weeks) I was given another award from Taylor at Duely Noted and tagged in a meme from Cherie at Ready. Write. Go. I've decided the two honors should be combined (just like Cherie combined her meme's) so for the award specifics I'm going to answer meme questions. Sound good? Okay, let's get this party started. 1. Are you a HOT rutabaga? Describe yourself in two words. You know, I actually had to look up what a rutabaga was. I knew it was food, but... #CulinaryFail 2. When was the last time you ate lion meat? I've heard that it's rather tasty with baked rutabaga. I wonder what allrecipes.com would recommend? 3. Upload a heartwarming picture that makes you smile. This is my pri...

You guys are so amazing that I am honored to announce that I passed 10,000 page views yesterday! So today, were havin' a little party with some funnies. I also brought some mini bagel pizzas, so enjoy! Harry Potter Math Happy Tuesday!

This September I will be attending my first ever writers conference. So if you happen to be in Utah on the weekend of September 16-17th I would love it if you came so we can chat! As I noted on Saturday, I created a new Life List. My first goal was to re-write/edit at least five and a half pages a day. The reason I choose this amount was so that I could be finished with the first edit in time for the writers conference. I think it will be more enriching to have at least a sensible story in hand. You know what I've discovered? I work well under a deadline. Having something to look forward to, and wanting to show something for it, it's really pushed me. There will be no more I can't do it posts, although I won't go so far as to say I won't complain. Sometimes editing hurts. I kinda feel like I'm about to go to my first day of school. I've always loved writing, but I've never focused on it like I am now. I know I've talked about this a lot but it real...

Hey y'all! I just wanted to tell you guys that I have a new life list which you can read by clicking the tab above ^ I've enabled the comments on the page and I would love some feed back. Thank you!!

First of all, I am so sorry this posted yesterday. Dang me getting my dates all switched up! I wasn't in love with my flash fiction piece and I'm still not. So instead were going to play a game. Before I get to that, let me back up a little. This post is all because I had Violeta at Lyn Midnight: Against the Odds ask her all knowing entity, Winamp what my next blog post would be. The answer is always in the form of a song. The song Winamp gave me was The Kill, by 30 seconds to Mars. Here comes the game part. I'll take this song and think of a word. In this case I am choosing the word 'kill' I'll take that word and think of any song that uses the word. I came up with four songs. Your goal is try and trump me by thinking of more songs than me that contain that word anywhere in the song. Sound fun? Okay let's go! Here is the video for the first song, the one Winamp gave me - My next thought lead me to Jimmy Eat World - Kill This song was inspired By Jess - ...

If you haven't already heard, I'm a finalist over at Heather Howland's blog! (okay everyone was, but still) Go on over and read my story, Existence , then if you like it, please vote !! I'm also joining the HUGE contest at My Writer's Craze for the chance to win Divergent, Graceling, and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, plus a $50 amazon gift card. (yes that is just one of the prizes, pretty cool huh?) so hop on over there to check it out. I can't forget the pretty fun Harry Potter tour going on that began at S.P. Sipal's blog , so go enjoy the posts, the chat, and win some cool prizes too! Last, and most importantly , I wanted to thank you guys for your amazing support yesterday! You don't even know how much you guys have impacted my life and helped me through so many hard things. Then you go and bl ow my socks off with your amazing generosity and kind words. The reason I was so down was simply the fact that I am practically re-writing my entire boo...

There is something I need to be completely honest about. You all know I'm a positive upbeat person for the most part. I like to look for the good in things, it's what makes me happy. Writing is my passion. I had no idea I would enjoy it so much. I feel like a whole new person since I've started this blog, kind of like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. But the truth is, right now, I feel completely inadequate. I have so many weaknesses. I'm not a great speller. There are so many grammar rules I have yet to learn. I can't seem to stick to a plot. I really don't feel like I have much going for me when it comes to being a great writer. So, what do I do about it? The first thing that comes to mind is that I want/need to learn more. I truly believe that learning is what keeps us young. The problem is I don't ever think I can learn enough, and that's what's holding me back from editing. For the past week and half, I haven't really touched my book....

The other day on Facebook I asked if any of my non-blogger friends would like to write a post for me. I was really surprised when I actually got a response. I'm just curious as to why other people who frequent social media haven't made the leap to blogging yet, because I am sure it has crossed their minds. So when my friend (almost sister, really) said she wanted to blog for me, and she wanted a topic. So, I gave her the title "Why I don't blog, and still watch old movies." I was joking of course, just trying to give her ideas but she took it and ran. Her post is so sweet and funny I have NO issues sharing it with you all today. Please in enjoy - Expectations When I was 15 years old, my mother forced me to watch “Tammy and the Bachelor”, a movie from 1957 starring Debbie Reynolds and Leslie Nielsen. My immediate reaction when she presented this movie to me was the typical teenage reaction, “This is gonna be dumb and boring.” It turned out to be one of the sweete...

Those of you who have been long time followers of this blog know that I like to write about that which inspires. For those of you who are new, now you know! (and thanks for following ^_^) It's funny how inspiration can come at the most random moments in life. You may not even be thinking about a project when BAM ! something hits you right between the eyes and you're just itching to write. I often find it happens at the most mundane times, when a writing instrument is the furthest from your hands. It's almost like that distance makes the creativity that much stronger. For me, it often strikes in the shower, or on a long car ride. In some ways that's good. It gives me time to think through my idea and put it down on paper better than if I had the chance to write it immediately. Other times inspiration doesn't come until you've been hashing it out for awhile. I found in the editing process I can read over a scene twenty times and think it's okay, but when I ...

Hello Everyone! Welcome to the second round of guest posting brought to you by the Life List Club . The Life List Club is for writers and readers to connect with each other by supporting one another in their goals, whatever they may be! You can check out Jennie's Life List at the top of her page, and read more Life Lists by following the bloggers in the Life List Blogroll on the sidebar. I have a quote on the wall above my desk, conveniently located right above my time-sucking, selfish computer. It's a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnemese Buddhist monk, poet, and peace activist. The quote says: “If you do not give right attention to the one you love, it is a kind of killing. When you are in the car together, if you are lost in your thoughts, assuming you already know everything about her, she will slowly die.” Those words have alway s stood out to me. The advice may be simple, but it's the hardest thing to do in a relationship isn't it,...