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The Art of Storytelling



Win a Free Kindle Edition of Love!
Our Friends at Reader's Choice are giving away a free Kindle edition of Love: a novel of grief and desire. You can enter the monthly...
jrblackburnsmith
May 27, 20231 min read
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Meet the Author! (or at least read about the author.)
Our friends @booktrib took the time to ask several questions about Love: A novel of grief and desire and how I write. I thought I would...
jrblackburnsmith
May 6, 20231 min read
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Free Love!
No, it's not the sixties. Thanks to our friend @booktrib you have the chance to win a free copy of Love: a novel of grief and desire....
jrblackburnsmith
Apr 24, 20231 min read
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New Praise for Love!
"Jefferson’s portrayal of these complex emotions is breathtaking, his story insightful and moving. You might shed a tear or two, but the...
jrblackburnsmith
Apr 15, 20232 min read
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My Writing Support Team
This is the first face I see every morning. As soon as the alarm rings Poppy is on my chest, staring down at me, telling me "Get the hell...
jrblackburnsmith
Feb 25, 20232 min read
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Writer's Block is a Myth!
Says the man who has spent the last week avoiding anything related to work on my latest project The Devil's Interval. A couple of weeks...
jrblackburnsmith
Feb 19, 20233 min read
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Support Your Local Library!
Just learned @Columbus Metropolitan Library will be adding copies of Love: a novel of grief and desire to their catalog in the next few...
jrblackburnsmith
Jan 19, 20231 min read
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Amazon #1 New Release!
Love: a novel of grief and desire is ranked on Amazon as the #1 new release in LGBTQ and Literary fiction! Order your copy today to find...
jrblackburnsmith
Dec 30, 20221 min read
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Readers Favorite Delivers Five Star Review!
Love: a novel of grief and desire just earned a 5-star review from Readers Favorite reviewer Essien Asian: "Love is an emotional...
jrblackburnsmith
Dec 2, 20221 min read
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Every Letter is Important
The other day I was editing a document in a zoom meeting while on shared screens as a work group prepared for a presentation. I was...
jrblackburnsmith
Oct 30, 20222 min read
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Pardon my Re-write
Someone much smarter and more articulate than me once said "Writing is re-writing." Someone else said "Revising is drudgery." (Okay, that...
jrblackburnsmith
Oct 22, 20223 min read
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Hot damn! I finished a draft...
I just finished the first draft of my next project, The Devil's Interval, and I need to celebrate. Hallelujah! There that's done. The...
jrblackburnsmith
Oct 8, 20222 min read
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Are You a Morning Person?
I usually get up at 4am during the week. This is when I write, a habit I acquired when my three children still lived at home and it was...
jrblackburnsmith
Sep 24, 20223 min read
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Transformation
My daily commute is about sixteen miles each way, much of it over rural country lanes, with only the last few miles in a more suburban or...
jrblackburnsmith
Sep 10, 20222 min read
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Salman Rushdie
Author Salman Rushdie spoke at Otterbein University, where I work, a few years ago. He spoke before a packed house, many of the guests...
jrblackburnsmith
Aug 13, 20221 min read
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Laid to Rest
Rather unexpectedly, we buried my father this week. The thing is, Dad died in 2016. He was cremated and Mom didn't think it made sense to...
jrblackburnsmith
Aug 12, 20222 min read
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Time Travel
Have you ever wished you could travel through time? Write a book. My next project, The Devil's Interval, is set in Reims, France in 1942....
jrblackburnsmith
Jul 30, 20222 min read
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Preorder Love Today and Save 15%!
Called 'bold and perceptive' and 'powerful, moving and poignant' by early readers, Love: A novel of grief and desire is available for...
jrblackburnsmith
Jul 18, 20221 min read
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Check out this cover!
Thanks to Zach Tyler for designing the cover of my newest novel, Love A novel of grief and desire, due out December 15, 2022 from Black...
jrblackburnsmith
Jul 8, 20221 min read
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16 Gallons!
Have you ever seen 16 gallons of blood? Me neither, although I can visualize 16 plastic milk jugs filled with the dark red liquid....
jrblackburnsmith
Apr 14, 20221 min read
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