Jennifer Fischetto

Why am I so excited?

Because school in my town begins today.I started homeschooling my kids on Monday, so it’s not about having time alone. What is that again?  No, I’m thrilled because the mornings will be quiet. Ahhhh! The neighborhood children’s time outside won’t be as late, which means more quiet time. And of course with school comes Fall and beautiful New England weather. LOVE this time of year!

So Yay! I’m jumping for joy!

Today, I’m starting a month long editing challenge with several other members at Romance Divas. Like NaNoWriMo — National Novel Writing Month — we’re doing a Romance Divas’ Editing Month.

My book Simon Says is a paranormal mystery about a sixteen year old Jezzie Santiago and how her soul crash lands in the body of her ex-BFF Aubrey, after a car accident. Little does she know, Aubrey has her own problems. Like a family that’s distant, a roaming eye boyfriend and a stalker. Not only must Jezzie deal with Aubrey’s issues, she must figure out how to get back to her own body.

So, I have to edit and polish 68K words in 30 days. Definitely doable but at the same time this is happening, I can’t get the new book idea out of my mind. A haunted house, ghost story. I’ve been wanting to write one of these for a while now and couldn’t come up with an original twist. I almost have it, just a little more brainstorming to do.

My focus needs to be on Jezzie though. She’s been in my head for a year and it’s time for her to move out into the world of submissions. Wish me luck!

Last weekend, I made a choice to watch The Crazies over Shutter Island. Baaaad choice!

This movie was simply amazing. It’s right up my alley of what I love most in being entertained. The mystery and puzzle are so tight, I had to watch it twice. The second time was almost funny, smiling at the little clues along the way.

While it’s totally worth discussing every detail, I’d hate to ruin it for anyone else. I will say that the performances were excellent. I went back and forth many times with wondering if the doctors and staff were good or evil. I also knew from the beginning that Teddy would end up a patient somehow (or already was). You can’t have a mental institution setting and NOT wonder that.

I’ve heard the book is awesome too. I don’t like to read something after I watch it, but I may make an exception for this book. It has to be more amazing than the movie, which is saying a lot, but the books usually are.

I highly recommend this movie for fans of mystery and suspense.

Me!

My daughter and I went and pierced our noses Friday night. She picked out the light pink stone–of course! And I chose the clear one.

I’m super happy about it.

The crit group I belong to is called Young Adult Fiction Fanatics. It’s a private group–membership determined by vote as well as availability. There are 11 of us at the moment, and I’m privileged to work with them.

The rules are to crit one chapter per week. Many of the members crit ALL the chapters per week. I, unfortunately, don’t have that kind of time, but I try to follow a story or two from beginning to end. Right now I’m working my way through a fantasy tale by Rebekah and a thriller by Min.

Both are so fascinating and well written. I can’t say enough about the talent of my fellow critiquers. Their knowledge and perception has helped me enormously in my current ms, Simon Says.

But we’re more than just CPs.We’ve become a family, chatting about the craft, the industry, our work and our personal lives. I’m very fortunate to be a part of the group.