Category Archives: Kindle Press
Lollipop Lil to the Rescue: Or how I wrote a synopsis fast and sweet
I’ve been getting together my submissions after the Twitter pitch blast for two days — I had to write a synopsis for one book — but I’m nearly there.
Energy zapped a while ago, then I found out it’s Lollipop Day!
Sticky, fruity, yummy lollipops.
Like a kid again at the Jersey shore.
Meet Lollipop Lil
There once was a writer of sweet romance
Who when she wrote loved to dance
Then her energy sagged
Oh what a drag
Her book was due so she couldn’t stop
So on she wrote thanks to her lollipop
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She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
You’ll meet both my heroines and both my heroes in the excerpt. It’s a saga of love and romance and war. Believe me, I walked every road, fought every battle with my characters, even walked around in a hoop skirt to “get it right.”
This is a book of the heart…any questions? Please ask!!
Thanks for stopping by.
~Jina
What if your first kiss was just plain awful? Virgin Kiss: a high school #MeToo story
What if your first kiss, and I mean your VIRGIN KISS was just plain awful?
Meet Riley Murphy — you won’t believe her high school kissing disaster in VIRGIN KISS
#FREE July 6-8, 2018 Friday through Sunday.
A very short #kissing story
I bet we all remember teenage angst…there’s nothing more angsty (if there is such a word) than that first kiss. Even worse is when it’s not your dream guy.
It’s the guy in the school play.
And boy, does he have ‘tude. Like, power play to the max.
Riley almost lets him get the best of her, then she does something that empowers her in front of the whole school. Find out what that is in VIRGIN KISS
I wrote this before the #MeToo movement, but it was never more true today as the heroine fights back against this snarky guy in a funny and humorous way. And with a Chekhov play, too!
Grab your FREE copy of VIRGIN KISS, a YA very short story.
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Meet Riley Murphy, a new student at Holywell High:
To overcome my shyness, my mom convinced me to try out for the Drama Club. Somehow I landed the leading role in a one-act Chekhov play. Yes, Chekhov. I played this mad, beautiful countess with passion and heart. I loved it. I came alive on stage. I could do anything, be anybody, say anything, I could—
—kiss the male lead?
A gangly sophomore named Luke Vanmeer with long greasy hair and an upper lip curled in a perpetual snarl? He was going to anoint my virgin lips with my first big kiss?
Forget the Altoids. I needed a stress pill.
I quit the play. They could find another dupe. Not me. I wasn’t going to let him use my lips for kissing practice.
Then I heard this little voice in my head telling me this was acting, right? Going through the motions at rehearsals and on stage didn’t count on the kissing scale. I could pucker up with him and still be a kissing virgin.
After that, I sailed through rehearsals, knowing my lines, and “connecting to my character,” according to the director, who insisted on method acting. That’s how the trouble started. We didn’t rehearse the kiss. He wanted a real kiss on stage, he said, not some phony smooch.
Find out what happens when Luke tries to embarrass Riley on stage in front of the whole school… VIRGIN KISS is FREE July 6-8, 2018 on Kindle!! VIRGIN KISS is a YA very short story,
And check out the video with Riley:
Virgin Kiss from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Don’t forget VIRGIN KISS is FREE through Sunday!!
Based on a true story.
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If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner:
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
LOVE ME FOREVER is now available from Kindle Press at Amazon.com
Philly, Row Houses and Pretzels, oh my! #NationalPretzelDay
When I was a kid in Philly, the good Sisters of Charity welcomed the Pretzel Man every day past the iron gate and into the school yard. Oh, the excitement from the little girls in their blue uniforms–including me. I couldn’t wait to bite into the yummy pretzel during lunch recess…thank you, Sisters!
I love Philly pretzels.
They’re long, chewy, and have just the right amount of salt. As you can tell, that fond memory has stayed with me. When I wanted to write about a heroine for Sariah Wilson’s Kindle Worlds series, The Royals of Monterra, I wanted to take a girl who lives in a row house in Philly.
A girl with a dream to fly on the silks in an aerial ballet, but something is holding her back.
Until she receives a royal command to perform in Monterra.
There she meets a handsome member of the Monterran family who isn’t what he seems…
Fairy Tales & Magic:
Royal Magic The magic is in his kiss…
A Philly girl falls in love with a royal magician.
ROYAL MAGIC is available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited
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Here is a fairy tale video about an unusual Cinderella narrated by me from the stories I’ve written for Sariah Wilson’s Kindle Worlds Royals of Monterra series!
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Book 2: Royal Bride Can a sexy prince give a girl a second chance at love?
incess Violetta in Sariah Wilson’s story, ROYAL DATE.
You can meet see what happened to her afterward in rehab in ROYAL DARE.
I fell in love with the Monterra family, especially Violetta. I call her the “misunderstood princess.” She has everything—looks, money and a title—yet she fell victim to the seductive power of drugs. Why? I wondered. What led her down this path?
I was intrigued t
o answer that question, but more importantly, I wanted to know what happened to Violetta when she went to rehab. How hard is it for a princess to get clean? And will she find her prince when she does?
I answer this question and more in my Kindle Worlds “The Royals of Monterra” story, ROYAL DARE.
I hope you enjoy it!
Jina
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What if Romeo and Juliet had cell phones? #TalkLikeShakespeareDay
I can’t let “Talk like Shakespeare Day” go by without a tribute to Romeo and Juliet…a day for all romantics who love the joy of words!
Whither I should dare partake of words like the Bard on “Talk like Shakespeare Day” to regale you, but I shall attempt to drink the wine that maketh words of beauty flow from my lips . . .
Or:
I’ll just spit it out and say:
Happy Shakespeare Day!!
To celebrate, here is a fun graphic I put together with a 21st century twist.
Who knows what would have happened to the two lovers if they’d had cell phones?
~Jina
I first met Princess Violetta in Sariah Wilson’s story, ROYAL DATE.
You can meet see what happened to her afterward in rehab in ROYAL DARE.
I fell in love with the Monterra family, especially Violetta. I call her the “misunderstood princess.” She has everything—looks, money and a title—yet she fell victim to the seductive power of drugs. Why? I wondered. What led her down this path?
I was intrigued to answer that question, but more importantly, I wanted to know what happened to Violetta when she went to rehab. How hard is it for a princess to get clean? And will she find her prince when she does?
I answer this question and more in my Kindle Worlds “The Royals of Monterra” story, ROYAL DARE.
I hope you enjoy it!
Jina
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ROYAL DARE It ain’t easy getting clean. Even for a princess.
Royal Dare: It ain’t easy getting clean…even for a princess from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
0If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner:
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
Women Soldiers in the Civil War from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Smart Girls Grow Up . . . International Women’s Day
Women in every era have struggled for equality.
Especially during the Civil War when women bound their breasts and cut their hair and fought as men in both the Union and Confederate Armies.
Like my heroine.
In Love Me Forever.
As you can see in the excerpt below from LOVE ME FOREVER
Flynt grabbed the young officer and a flash of heat shot through him, a sensation so unexpected it shook his senses to the core.
My God, what’s this?
A woman’s breasts?
He drew back, puzzled then disturbed. Warm nights . . . silken sheets . . . perfume.
He couldn’t speak. He was dumbfounded, his entire being shaken. He couldn’t move and he could barely breathe. He struggled to keep from blurting out his discovery.
The Rebel prisoner was a female.
Would his nurse give her away? Or was she waiting for him to say something? He couldn’t. He felt a stirring within him, something he didn’t want to admit, that brought a hardness between his loins. Did he dare imagine that a beautiful woman existed under all that blood and dirt? He’d heard stories about women enlisting in the army, both North and South, and fighting as men. A good set of teeth to rip open a bullet cartridge, a trigger finger that worked, and a firm handshake was all that was required to join up. It was no secret the promise of a steady paycheck was often the reason behind such reckless female behavior.
That didn’t solve his immediate problem.
Flynt couldn’t see her face under the broad-brimmed hat, but the fullness of her breasts was quite evident when she fell against him. She was tall, making her charade as a man believable, with a leanness about her uncommon to most women he knew. Too often they bound their bodies with boned corsets and rounded hip pads.
He released her, though not willingly. Her lean figure added to her appeal. She was strong and lithe, like the mountain cats he’d hunted west of the Mississippi, but she was no country girl. Her manner of speaking, though strange to his ears, told him she was well educated.
An adventuress? Or was she a female physician? That would explain her disguise since women in the medical field were rare.
Her presence put him off balance, but he couldn’t stop a smile from curving over his lips.
Who is she? he wanted to know.
More important, what was he going to do with her?
Meet Liberty Jordan:
Women Soldiers in the Civil War from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Let’s celebrate the acts of courage of women throughout the centuries on International Women’s Day!
~Jina
If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner below.
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
LOVE ME FOREVER is a Kindle Scout winner and is now available from Kindle Press at Amazon.com
PS — I haven’t been posting for a while due to my computer crashing, then a second computer freezing up!
Oh, it’s been a bumpy ride, but I’m making it. Got the first computer back with most of my stuff (I use an external backup which saved me).
In the middle of all this, I’ve been working on a new project I’m so excited about. I won’t know for a while if my story will be accepted, but I’ll keep you posted!
Pink Hibiscus: An Army Nurse’s letter to her sister on December 7, 1941
If you like stories about love, war, and medicine, check out my Civil War time travel romance, LOVE ME FOREVER – a Civil War medical drama that takes place in 1862 in Virginia in a plantation turned into a hospital.
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
December 7, 1941
7:30 a.m.
Dear Peggy,
I’m bustin’ with news to tell you, little sister. I only have a few minutes before my shift at the hospital starts, 
so bear with me. I don’t know where to begin. It all happened so fast. I met Jimmy at the Officers’ Club when I first got here last summer and the handsome Army Air Force lieutenant asked me to dance. The band was playing Moonlight Serenade and before I knew it he had his arms around me, holding me so tight I couldn’t breathe.
Then he kissed me.
Oh, it was so romantic. The warm night breeze blowing in off the ocean, the smell of pink hibiscus making me wild with desire, his hand reaching under my long evening gown and sliding up my thigh. Then he picked me up in his arms and carried me down to the beach and we…
7:45 a.
m.
Sorry, I got called away by the nurse-in-charge. She was worried about a patient wheezing and coughing. She thought it might be pneumonia. Just a couple of nurses on duty this morning, so she asked me to help her with paperwork. I was disappointed, seeing how I haven’t had much chance to use my nursing skills since I’ve been here. Still, Pearl is the best duty an Army nurse could wish for. We get a few pilots scraped up after a rough landing or with a bad hangover, but it’s mostly sunny days and balmy nights.
I bet you and Mom were all bundled up when you did this year’s Christmas shopping at Wanam
aker’s. I love walking down Market Street with all the holiday decorations. The soft, white snow landing on top of the pretzel man’s cart. The hot cocoa with Mom’s fresh whipped cream. I miss you and the family so much, but don’t worry about me, I’m having the best time of my life. I’ve nearly worn out the soles on my new high-heeled pumps dancing every night with Jimmy.
Here’s my news, he…
7:55 a.m.
Something’s happening, Peggy, something awful. Sirens going off, a loud explosion, and everyone’s scrambling. I’ll write more later. I’ve got to get back to my patients. They’re jumping out of bed and yelling for their pants.
We’re under attack . . . oh, God, what’s happening?
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11:30 p.m.
It’s over. For now.
A mad, insane day that I shall never forget . . .
But my job is just beginning. I wish I could call you on the telephone and hear your voice, tell you that I’m okay, but that’s impossible, so I’ll write everything do
wn as fast as I can. Here’s what happened earlier today on December 7, 1941 . . .
The second wave of the surprise attack lasted until nearly 10 a.m. I haven’t stopped since then and I’d still be racing from one patient to the next if the nurse-in-charge hadn’t insisted I get some rest.
First, I’ll give you detailed account before I grab a few minutes of sleep, then go back on duty. My thoughts are scattered, so bear with me.
By the time you read this, you’ll know the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on a quiet Sunday morning at 7:55 a.m. I was recording a patient’s vitals when a soldier with a broken leg asked me to help him stand up. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he looked real nervous. Said he heard something that didn’t sound right. Planes flying overhead that weren’t ours. I thought he was joking, then I looked out the big, square hospital window—
Oh, my God, Peggy, I don’t know how to describe what I saw. Planes roaring overhead with red suns emblazoned on them. Loud, ear-splitting explosions. Black plumes of smoke swirling into the sky like a death flower.
It was maddening. Fear choked my throat. My body went numb. Hot tears spilled onto my cheeks. I
wiped them away with defiance.
Nurses don’t cry.
I let go with a long shudder. I don’t know what came over me. Fear, I guess, but I was okay now. Duty came first. This was what I’d spent years studying for, watching, observing, the sleepless nights working in the emergency room in the big Philadelphia hospital. It all came together for me in that moment.
Thank God.
Within minutes, the wounded came pouring in. Carried in on anything sturdy enough to hold them. The sound of antiaircraft fire ringing in our ears, bombs exploding outside and shaking the walls. I don’t want to shock you, but you and those at home must know what we’re up against in this war. The pain, the horror. Men missing limbs. Bloodied wounds. Ugly burns with exposed flesh. Others in shock. We had no electricity, no elevators to transport the wounded to surgery. Not enough nurses. Supplies running out fast.
But we did it. We saved as many lives as we could and prayed for those we couldn’t.
I went from one patient to the next, never stopping until—
I saw him. My lieutenant. Carrying a wounded soldier on his back, blood splattered all over his uniform.
“Jimmy, Jimmy!” I yelled out, trying to get his attention.
“Kitty . . . ” He looked so relieved to see me it made me tear up. I could see in his eyes he wanted to hold me close to him, never let me go. I wanted to feel his warmth, smell his woodsy, masculine scent. Prove to myself
he was here, alive.
My patient came first.
After I stabilized the wounded man, Jimmy held me in his arms and pulled off my nurse’s cap, and then ran his fingers through my hair.
“Thank God, you’re okay, Kitty,” he said, his lips brushing my cheek. He told me we lost several battleships and more than a hundred planes, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He was going to get into the air no matter what he had to do. Drive all over the island until he found a P36 gassed up and ready to go.
He cupped my chin and said, “I’ll be seeing you, babe.”
I smiled up at him. “I’ll be waiting.”
Then he left. I blew him a kiss. I knew what he was thinking. He had his job and I had mine. Whatever words and soft kisse
s we’d exchanged under the swaying palms would have to wait.
We were at war.
And God willing, we’d be together again soon.
But nothing will erase what happened here on this Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, the sun bright yellow and hot. Then the sky became dark with enemy planes set on destroying us and our way of life. My heart is so heavy with the pain of what I saw today. The suffering and the dying. It’s my job and the job of every serviceman and woman to stop them before they reach our home shores.
You have a job, too, Peggy. Take care of Mom and Dad, and tell them not to worry about me. I know everyone will do whatever they can so our fighting men can return home safe.
I can’t wait until I see you all again. When this horrible mess is over, we’ll sit under the old apple tree and eat bonbons and I’ll show you the prettiest engag
ement ring you ever saw. Yes, that’s my surprise. Jimmy asked me to marry him.
Till then, little sister, pray for me. And our boys fighting what some say will be a long, hard battle. But we’ll win. We have to. For the sake of free men and women everywhere.
Love, your big sister,
Kitty
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I hope you enjoyed reliving the events of December 7, 1941 through Kitty’s eyes. She came to me in an instant when I wanted to write a tribute to the brave men and women at Pearl Harbor and told her story to me. I couldn’t type fast enough…
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Thank you for stopping by! If you like WW2 romance, check out my holiday novella that takes place on Christmas Eve during the cold winter of 1943: “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.”
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
December 1943 Italy
He is a U.S Army captain, a battle-weary soldier who has lost his faith. She is a nun, her life dedicated to God. Together they are going to commit an act the civilized world will not tolerate. They are about to fall in love.
Winner in the Novella Category in the I Heart Indie contest
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas is available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited
~Jina
Also, my Civil War medical drama:
Women Soldiers in the Civil War from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Christmas during the Civil War in 1862 from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
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Southern Belle and Spy: Excerpt from LOVE ME FOREVER from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner:
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
My Christmas Piano Tree is there!
A war vet with a secret returns home to help a buddy’s widow get through the holidays.
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Check out my Royals of Monterra Kindle Worlds:
Can a sexy prince give a girl a second chance at love?
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The magic is in his kiss…
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A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Video Excerpt from Chapter 1 of a forbidden romance during WW 2 in war torn Italy
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” ***FREE today Saturday October 14, 2017*** 
O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1
December 1943
Italy
Two days before Christmas, Captain Mack O’Casey gets separated from his unit during battle. He makes a wrong turn and finds himself in a small bombed-out village called Monte D’Oro Rose. It appears to be deserted. It isn’t. A beautiful young woman is watching his every move…
Who is she? You’ll find out in this Video Excerpt from Chapter One of A Soldier’s Italian Christmas
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Excerpt from Chapter One of “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas:”
“American?” Her voice changed. “Oh, thank God,” she said in English.
Mack turned around slowly and saw a young woman holding a gun on him. She bent down and turned up the wick on the lantern sitting on the ground and light flooded the small courtyard. He didn’t breathe until he was certain she wouldn’t shoot him. Dark, beautiful eyes flecked with amber sucked the fatigue right out of him.
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Here is my special video excerpt with lots of photos and my voiceover. It’s 11 minutes long–I cover the first few pages of Chapter One…it was quite a challenge.
I hope you enjoy it.
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Excerpt from Chapter One from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Jina
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O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1
December 1943 Italy
He is a U.S Army captain, a battle-weary soldier who has lost his faith.
She is a nun, her life dedicated to God.
Together they are going to commit an act the civilized world will not tolerate.
They are about to fall in love.
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas“ is a holiday novella sweet romance available on Amazon Kindle
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” ***FREE today Saturday October 14, 2017***
Love is a Rollercoaster…but ain’t it grand!
Happy Rollercoaster Day!
If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner below.
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
LOVE ME FOREVER is on sale for $1.99 at Amazon.com
Love Me on Forever on Sale for $1.99 from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Once upon a story... 