The Art of Lying Archives - Jennifer Gregson

Who And What Inspires Me

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Jennifer Gregson

The other day I dropped one of those Question boxes onto my Instagram story so that I could do a big Q&A style blog post, but I only got one real honest-to-goodness question, the rest were spammers and bots. I was a bit disappointed until I realized that the human question that was asked was sooooo good! I decided to dedicate a whole blog post just to it. So thank you so much Amira at @GoalSetting101

She asked me — Who Or What Inspires You?

To be honest, that answer can and has changed throughout my creative life and depends on which story or project I’m working on, but today I wanted to sit down and really think about overall, who and what inspires me on a day-to-day basis.

Who Inspires Me?

My son inspires me every day to keep trying, to never give up, even when things are hard. He makes me smile and laugh and is just the sweetest 8 year old ever! My Mom inspires me by how hard she loves, how much she cares, and how much support she gives me. My husband inspires me by his strong work ethic, his wonderful sense of humor, and how much he wants me to succeed.

For my first book, The Art of Lying, a random young woman walking through Central Park inspired the character of Rachel. Other writers, both people I know and people I just read, inspire me to keep moving forward, hands on the typewriter, butt in the chair.

What Inspires Me?

Coffee – first and forever. Modern Art. Before Corona, I would just go to MoMa or the Guggenheim and walk around soaking in the colors and lines. New York City, in general, inspires me, but Broadway and Time Square specifically. Just sitting with a coffee watching the whole city walk by was always fascinating. The energy and the electricity of the whole scene just filled me up with some kind of frenzy I can’t get anywhere else. TV and movies inspire me to write better characters, to deepen plot lines, to create more.

The young adult experience inspires me in my writing – what they go through, the issues they have to face, and the decisions they have to make. Solving puzzles and figuring out the psychology of the human condition definitely inspires me to write compelling people, creating characters that my readers can fall in love with. And on a more whimsical note, tarot cards and astrology inspire me to keep reaching for the stars while keeping my feet on the ground.

So, now I have to know – who or what inspires you?

The form you have selected does not exist.

Goal Setting For Dummies … Or Maybe Just For Me

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Jennifer Gregson

I have written about my goal-setting process on here before, but as my life has changed and what I wanted out of my life changed, I knew I needed something different…but I wasn’t sure what. So, when one of my favorite AuthorTubers, Sarra Cannon – a brilliant and successful indie author and lovely human being posted about her HB90 Goal Setting Course, I jumped right in.

She taught us how to take our vision for our life and turn that into 90-day goals. Then we took those goals and turned them into little step by step tasks. YES! It felt exactly what I needed. Her last step was to set up a Kanban Board (for more about hers – check out the YouTube video below).

I grabbed baby post-it notes, color-coded my three goals and wrote all of my tasks on individual post-its and put them up on my board. There is a section for To-Do’s, Doing (the tasks I’m focusing on for that day or week) and DONE!

The thrill when I get to move a sticky note down to Done is really amazing. I’m a paper planner girl at heart so having this analog makes me happy, but you can also use digital tools like Trello or Asana or any project management app really.

The idea of only planning in 3-month chunks though was really fascinating. Usually, I plan the whole year and then crash and burn sometime in March or April. Here, you get a total reset every three months. Every quarter you get to evaluate and replan. Seriously, I’m kinda in love with this system.

So, what are my goals you ask?

Goal #1 is about writing my books and self-publishing. So I’m working on Etta in the Outfield, brainstorming ideas for my next book project (which could turn into a trilogy with all the ideas I’m writing down!!), and researching how to take The Art of Lying wide (meaning into all online bookstores).

Goal #2 is about growing my Instagram following and being more engaged and present over there. Creating a real Author Persona and Brand and developing my style. This will also bleed over into other aspects of my social media presence but for right now I’m concentrating on the gram.

Goal #3 is about growing my newsletter list and really forging a relationship with the people that are there — so, if you’re not already on that list, think about joining (you get a free Short Story Anthology when you do!).

Let me know — what goals are you working on? How do you plan out your goals? How do you track them? This fascinates me sooo much, so I would really love to hear from you and how you’re doing this year. Are you planning a vacation? Writing a book yourself? Work-related goals? Health and Fitness goals? I have all of those too and at some point, I want to get a bigger Kanban board so I can have everything up in front of me. For now – my board has my writing goals and my planner has my more personal goals – which is working…for now.

I hope you have an amazing day and don’t let the fact that it’s not January 1^st stop you from starting something new, thinking about where you want to go and point yourself there – start today, start small but start now. Think about your goals and pick one tiny thing and then plan when you’re going to do it and voila! You are well on your way!

The form you have selected does not exist.

Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Jennifer Gregson

Baby New Year is about to make his appearance again as we say goodbye to 2018 and ring in 2019. Every year around this time, as I’m scrambling to buy Christmas gifts (seriously, why do I always wait until the last flipping minute?) I’m also thinking, planning, and gearing up for new goals, new dreams, and new experiences.

Goodbye 2018

2018 saw so many of my big writing goals come true – I started a newsletter/mailing list (psst…if you haven’t signed up yet, you get a FREE short story anthology eBook and awesome notes from me twice a month – sign up here ) and I self-published my debut novel, The Art of Lying (available from Amazon), in April! I started working on my 2^nd novel and started outlining my 3^rd novel. I took classes, started working with my writing coach, and wrote more words than I have in the past two or three years combined!

2018 also saw us taking a non-Disney vacation and having a great time – we went to Great Wolf Lodge and did all the big water slides and enjoyed the lazy river! We spent time with family, we hung out with friends, and my kid started second grade (how is that possible?!?!). This past year I also quit working for the VA company I was working for and went out on my own – and immediately got two kick ass clients (swoon!). It’s been a pretty good year, and next year looks to be just as amazing!

I always choose three words to help guide my year – this year it was Courage as my main word and Magic and Open as my support words. I definitely called upon my inner courage to achieve my goals and to quit the VA company and have faith in myself to go out on my own. I started reading and studying and practicing witchcraft and using magic to manifest my dreams and I was open to ideas, people, and things that came into my life – seemingly from nowhere – to help guide me toward my big goals. So this year, I sat and I thought and I journaled and I came up with Joy as my main word and Sacred and Balance as my support words.

Joy

The past few years have been filled with grief and sadness and I want to enjoy the little moments in every day, I want to write with joy every day, and I want to enjoy my time on Earth for as long as I’m gifted. I want to enjoy hobbies, friends and family, and my day job. I want to feel lighter, happier, and be more pleasant to be around.

Sacred

I want to treat my body and my apartment and the Earth as sacred places. I want to treat myself with kindness, find movement that’s fun and helps me feel like my best self. I want to clean up and organize our apartment so I can have friends over and know where things are – not be so frazzled. And I want to continue finding ways to treat our home planet with love and understanding and that includes the people that inhabit it as well.

Balance

I want to have time for everything, including myself, every week. My son, my husband, my parents, my family, my friends, my hobbies, my writing, my day job, etc and so on and so forth. We all wear so many hats and I want each hat to get its time during the day, week, or month. I want to feel whole and centered throughout the day knowing that each thing will get its time.

Hello 2019

And with my words come my big goals…and this year I decided to be a little loose with things. I want to have certain areas of the apartment “finished” by mid-year. I want to have Etta (book #2) done and up on Amazon by the Fall. I want to have started Circus (book #3) by end of year – meaning, first draft done and to my editor and possibly starting the edits by this time next year so we can self-publish in early 2020. I want to have a rotating list of fun movements that I can do every day depending on energy level and weather.

I want to have a rotating list of activities that bring me joy that I can do at least once a day. I also want to learn to play my guitar so I can actually play one song by this time next year. I want to attend a real life NYC planner event and make some planner girl friends. I want to be consistent with Instagram (I have a whole plan for how to do this – but I don’t want to bore you – just know I want to post every week day, do some stories and engage with other writers and YA readers online).

I also want to take another vacation this year – most likely over the summer – with my husband and son. We just need to see if we can swing Disney or if we need to branch out and try something else. I have a ton of dreams, plans, and mini goals to help me with these steps – but I’m not being super rigid. I mean, this past year I had to throw out 78K words of a first draft because my story idea completely changed and I need to make sure that I have space for those kinds of things, because life happens.

Now, it’s your time — do you choose a word for the year? Do you big goals for the new year? Or do you do 90 Day or Quarterly goals? Do you have a vacation or ideas already in the words for 2019? I want to hear from you, so share in the comments below. And have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s Eve!!!

See you next year!

The Art of Lying is NOW Available!!!!

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Jennifer Gregson

Someone pinch me because I’m not quite sure this is really happening right now – my book, this labor of love, is available for people to actually buy on Amazon, right now! What?!?! I checked my notes and I’ve been working on this baby since 2011, that was the same year my son was born and he’s SIX! What??!?!

Life has a funny habit of getting in the way, but I always came back – more determined and more capable with each derailment. I had freak outs and false starts. I had mini-breakdowns and crying fits. But I loved this book, I loved this main character – I mean, she wouldn’t leave me alone – I loved writing so I kept coming back and little by little I finished. I wrote a full first draft, I edited this thing twice on my own, then searched for an editor (I found an amazing one by the way- if you need an editor, check out The Bookish Fox – Sarah is the best!), she went through it twice with me fixing things in between. I found a cover designer (did you see that cover?!? She totally rocked – Mariah Sinclair for the win, people!) and a Self-Publishing 101 course that helped me figure out the ins and outs of indie publishing and Amazon and keywords and…well, you get the picture. It was a lot of work, but I’m so proud of myself and this book.

The Art of Lying has been an amazing ride and I’m so, so glad I get to finally share it with you, my lovely readers. To read more about the book, head to my new Books page HERE and to purchase (thank you!) head to my Amazon Author page HERE.

I have had some twisty turns the last few years, but I now know that I am a Writer and that I’m meant to write Young Adult books – to connect with teens and young adults, to entertain them, to help them through this awkward phase and show them that they are not alone. If you have a teen or young adult in your life that loves books by Rainbow Rowell, Julie Murphy, or John Green then send them here because they will love The Art of Lying! Thanks!

The form you have selected does not exist.

Rachel’s Painting Playlist

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Jennifer Gregson

When I write, I need music so I assume that my Main Character, Rachel – in The Art of Lying (available starting April 17^th on Amazon) also needs music to create. She’s a painter and getting ready for her own solo art gallery show and is working on her final painting. She loves pop music, alternative, music her parents listened to the house and car (they’re from New Jersey – so think Bruce and Bon Jovi!), and crazy random girls rock type songs (Cyndi and Beyonce!). Below is the link to my Amazon playlist that I first used to write and edit my novel, but I’ve since also added some songs that I thought Rachel would listen while painting – some Belle and Sebastian, Paramore, and Arcade Fire.

Amazon Music Playlist

Do you need music to create? Or do you like silence, letting the muse speak to you? What do you think? Does this random playlist get you ready to read my book? Are you getting a better idea of who Rachel might be? Come back next week and find out!

The form you have selected does not exist.

Visualization Inspiration for The Art of Lying

Posted on April 4, 2018April 4, 2018 by Jennifer Gregson

Guess what? My debut novel is almost ready to launch! That’s right, The Art of Lying will be available for purchase on Amazon (eBook and Paperback) on Tuesday, April 17^th — whoohoo!!!!

To get you lovely readers in the mood, I thought I would share some of the visualization inspiration that I used when writing my characters. I have a whole Pinterest board about my book with everything from art pieces that remind me of my main character’s work, to art studios, to actors that I used for the cast. That’s what I thought I would share with you today.

Rachel

My main character. An artist with short, spiky black hair; extremely pale skin; and light blue eyes. For Rachel, I used Elvis’ granddaughter, who is a model. She looked perfect – she even had the right attitude!

Mom – Veronica

If you joined my Reader’s Group and downloaded The Hit Parade, my short story anthology (and if you haven’t – you should! You can add your email down below) then you read Papa Don’t Preach which was all about my Mom and Dad character finding out they were pregnant at 17! For my Mom’s visual representation I kept thinking of Mila Kunis or Katie Holmes. Brown hair, tan skin, young and fun!

Dad – Michael

Michael is New Jersey tough! He’s young but started balding so he shaved his head. I kept picturing a young Bruce Willis but with his older bald head look. It worked for me and now that’s all I see when I think of my main character’s Dad.

Noah – the mysterious boy

I used Matt Bomer (from White Collar) because he was perfect – a little older than Noah’s character – sure, but totally cute, business suits, gorgeous eyes, and a killer smile – yes!

Mystery Woman

I know…fun, a mystery woman! For this character I kept thinking about Lauren Graham (Lorelei from Gilmore Girls) who just looked perfect – but the first season of GG as she’s a bit too old for the part now – hey, that’s the beauty of Dream Cast! They can be any age, from any time/movie/TV – whatever helps when you write and work on characters.

I have a few other smaller characters, but I didn’t use actors for those – just some random images from Pinterest. Here’s an example I used for Cassandra, another artist, and a friend of Rachel:

What do you think? Are you falling in love with my cast yet? Because I sure did and I can’t wait for everyone to read and get immersed in Rachel’s story! Next week, I’m going to share Rachel’s playlist that I used when writing (and what I imagined she used when she was painting) and will give you more details about Launch day!!!

The form you have selected does not exist.