J.R. Rogue's Blog, page 28

Last September my friend Kat Savage and I hosted a series of creative prompts called When We Outgrow Our Bones. Over 4,000 pieces were created using our guidance. Amazing. 

So, we decided to give it another go!

Starting June 1st you can join many other creative minds on Instagram and other platforms as we make art together. 

For now use our series title to get warmed up! 

Hi,

I’ve signed up for the 2016 Great Cycle Challenge…

The idea is that you ride your bike (or spin bike) and log your miles throughout June.

How does it work? You set yourself a personal ride goal and pedal throughout the month, logging your miles through a free app that will display your progress on your rider profile page. Your page will track your rides over the whole month and you can upload blog posts, add photos and share your page with your friends to update them on your progress.

And if you do not want to use the app to log your miles, you can use Strava, MapMyRide, your own device (Garmin etc) or simply add the miles manually through your personal dashboard.

It’s a great excuse to get on your bike and it’s for a great cause – to fight kids’ cancer!

But that’s not all…

It’s FREE to sign up and if you register this week, you’ll automatically be entered in the drawing to win a Diamondback bike – valued at $4,500!

Check out the website below to learn more:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/home/index/f

How far can you ride? Find out.

Thanks,

Jen

Recently Robert Thornton, the founder of Paper Clouds Apparel reached out to me to have my words put on a t-shirt to raise money for a charity of my choice. How could I say no? I am always in awe of the amazing things they are doing over there.

To purchase my design, visit papercloudsapparel.com May 2nd-15th

Here is a little info on their organization.

Our Story

My mother was a bus driver for children with special needs in Chico, CA. One of the little girls on my mother’s route would spend the duration of her ride drawing. When the bus arrived at school, the little girl often gave my mother her artwork. During a visit home, I saw one of the little girl’s drawings on the refrigerator and thought the characters she’d drawn were fantastic! Being the ‘t-shirt junkie’ that I am, I commented that the artwork would look great on a shirt.

I’d been searching for a new professional path, after pursuing a career in baseball, and always knew I wanted to do something to help others. Paper Clouds Apparel (PCA) was the idea I had been seeking. For almost two years, I worked construction, bartender and worked other odd jobs to raise start-up funding for PCA.

Thank you for reading PCA’s story and your support in helping some amazing friends of mine!

– Robert Thornton, Founder and CEO

OUR PURPOSE: Paper Clouds Apparel was formed to showcase the creative minds and artistic abilities of individuals with special needs while raising funds to provide financial support for special needs schools and organizations. We achieve this goal by selling t-shirts, hats and totes featuring artwork designed by individuals with special needs. Paper Clouds Apparel also hires individuals with special needs to package all of our sensory-friendly clothing. Fifty percent of the net proceeds from the sale of all merchandise is given to the cause we are promoting in each campaign.

The charity I have chosen for proceeds from my t-shirt design to benefit is the Special Olympics of Missouri. Below is a little about their organization!

About Us

Special Olympics transforms lives through the joy of sport, every day, everywhere. We are the world’s largest sports organization: with nearly 4 million athletes in more than 170 countries — nearly 16,500 of them here in Missouri. We are also a global social movement. With initiatives to activate youth, engage kids with intellectual disabilities, build communities, and improve the health of our athletes – we’re changing the game for people young and old and asking you to be a part of it all.

What We Do

Through the power of sports, people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success. Our athletes find joy, confidence and fulfillment — on the playing field and in life. They also inspire people in their communities and elsewhere to open their hearts to a wider world of human talents and potential.

For 40 years, Special Olympics has been spreading the message: people with intellectual disabilities can – and will – succeed when given the chance.

With training and competitions in 21 Olympic-style sports, our athletes push hard and play harder. They strive to beat their personal bests, defying the odds again and again. From the local ballfields to the shining stage of the World Games, from swimming to skiing, our athletes showcase the talents and triumphs of people with intellectual disabilities.

Activate Youth

Project UNIFY is acceptance. Project UNIFY is unity. Project UNIFY is youth driven. Project UNIFY is friendship. Project UNIFY is fun.

Project UNIFY is a U.S. national project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It is much more than a re-naming of existing school-based programs; rather, it is an innovative response to the unequivocal research that shows Special Olympics local programming can contribute to eradicating the social and environmental walls to inclusion.

Engage Kids

Young Athletes starts everybody on the right track. Children 3-7 learn skills and push their limits in a fun way. Family members and supporters see more of the children’s abilities, not their disabilities. And everyone becomes part of the Special Olympics community.

Building Communities

Special Olympics works to spread compassion and acceptance in a way that can unite the world. Our goal is to awaken everyone — and every community — to each person’s common humanity. This vision of inclusion starts at the local level. It is expanding on a global scale.

There are about 200 million people with intellectual disabilities around the world. We want to reach out to every one of them – and their families and communities as well.

Healthy Athletes

Special Olympics is also the world’s largest public health organization for people with intellectual disabilities. Many of our athletes come to us with neglected health problems. At State Games and other events, we offer a wide range of free health screenings and care.

Our goal is to bring better fitness, nutrition and healthier lifestyles to everyone involved in Special Olympics — from athletes and their families, to coaches and volunteers.

Hi,

This June, I am taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge and my goal is to pedal 100 miles throughout the month to fight kids’ cancer!

Why am I doing this? Because cancer is the largest killer of children from disease in the United States – 38 children die of cancer every week. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

The challenge will be tough, but nothing compared to what these brave kids face every day as they fight for their lives and battle this terrible disease.

And so to show my support, I am taking on my own personal challenge to raise $1,000 towards cancer research to give these kids the brighter futures they deserve.

But to achieve my goal, I need your help.

Please support my challenge and join me in the fight to save little lives by making a donation through my fundraising page.

Here’s the link to my page: http://www.greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/JenRobarts

All funds raised will support Children’s Cancer Research Fund to continue their work to develop innovative treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer.

Thank you for your support.

Jen

My BFF Kat Savage and I would really like to organize a meet & greet this summer. And we need your help to do it. Please fill out the form below to assist.

Savage/Rogue Meet & Greet questionnaire! 

AMAZON- http://amzn.to/1TouQiB

BARNES & NOBLE- http://bit.ly/1MGYH4w

APPLE- https://itun.es/us/oOfHbb.l

SMASHWORDS- http://bit.ly/1Y1UjxD

KOBO- http://bit.ly/1RMqO1d

I’ve burned muses. 

I’ve felt little remorse. 

I stored our tales. 

I sold them for this life— 

this luxury, 

this ease. 

Their sighs and lies 

led me to believe they 

enjoyed the dance too. 

I’ve burned muses. 

I laughed at those tales. 

Then I met him.

EXCERPT-

The cool April air danced in my hair, I moved my right arm in the air outside the window. Beside me, Chace had begun to sing softly to the radio. Too afraid he would stop, I kept my face away from him. I assumed he didn’t sing with his guitar playing due to an unpleasant voice. Very wrong. His voice didn’t sound like one you would associate with country, which is what his music sounded like. His singing voice matched the one that spoke to me earlier. Calming, soft. In no way feminine, but never booming.

“I thought you didn’t sing,” I said to the passing air.

“This doesn’t count.” I heard a smile in his voice. The light one that I loved.

“Why?” I turned to him.

“Singing to the radio doesn’t count. Everyone does that.” He reached over and lowered the volume.

“So?” I wanted to hear more. That voice, there was nothing like it. He was letting his guard down. From the moment I had met him, I had the pesky feeling that he was more reserved in my presence. These little glimpses of the guy I felt he truly was had emerged recently.

“So that would mean everyone is a singer,” he countered, playfully.

“You know what I mean.” I turned the volume up, just a little, testing.

“I just don’t sing what I write. And it is very easy to sing along to someone else’s voice.”

“You have a nice voice.” Did he sing for anyone at all? Maybe he sang on the deck, before I moved in.

“Thanks.” He turned the radio off.

“Now you’re not going to sing?”

“No, we’re just almost here. We have to be quiet.” His voice fell to a whisper and he lowered his head slightly; I mimicked his movements, like a shadow.

“Where?” The moon shone high in the sky, illuminating everything. I had no clue where we were.

“You haven’t figured it out?”

“I never went down past the house. Where are we going? Are you going to tell me anything?” I started to take a good look at my surroundings. All I could see were trees and the glow of the lines on the road from our headlights. We pulled off the road to the right, before the bridge ahead of us, onto a worn down path, leading us below the overpass. Chace killed the lights and turned to me.

“You ready?” His excitement was electric. It felt tangible. I was afraid it would grab ahold of my arm and never let go. I wanted it to. I was afraid I would follow it, and him, anywhere.

This was not what I signed up for. A bitter spring creek? Snakes? Slime covered rocks? No. It was not warm enough to get in that running water. A summer float would be amazing, but it was definitely not summer. “I am not swimming in this cold ass creek at night.”

“Good me either. C’mon.” He exited the jeep and began walking back the way we entered, towards the main road. I cursed and flung my door open, scrambling after him. At the top, he crossed the highway to the road that would have lead us left. I caught up and saw his destination, freezing on the centerline.

“No, way man. No way. Nooooo way.”

“What?” He turned and began walking backwards, grinning. He crooked a finger at me and beckoned.

“I’m not breaking into a church camp pool.” I furiously shook my head to emphasize my point. I didn’t move from the middle of the road. Luckily the pavement stretched out on both sides. No one would be popping around a corner to lay me out.

“It’ll be okay.” He turned again, walking forward once more.

“No way. I’m not doing it,” I protested, yet I still followed him. It was true, I would follow him anywhere. Fuck.

“You can’t just sit down in the jeep.” He called over his shoulder, making his way down the hill, the pool sat at the bottom of it. I could see tiny little cabins surrounding the water. A large grassy area had two soccer goals and a large building was at the far edge of the field by the tree line.

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t let you sit down there alone. We’ll just have to leave. I really want to swim though. Please.” He had stopped and was giving me large exaggerated puppy eyes. I was sure they worked on everyone. They probably got him out of trouble time and time again. The moon made them glow eerily.

I turned to the right and saw my way out; I flung my arm out and pointed. “There’s a house right there! Someone is going to see us!” He couldn’t argue with that one.

“No, I know who lives there. They are out of town. See, no garage, no cars. It’ll be fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. There’s a spot where the chain link fence separates. It’s easy to get in.” I followed him, reassured by the fact that no one was home across the street. Once at our destination, Chace bent and began tugging on the chain link fencing.

“How many times have you done this?” I glanced back the way we came as he unwound wire holding two sections together.

“A dozen? I don’t know, I’ve lost count,” he shrugged. He knew I had given up.

“I’m surprised. I never would have pegged you for the trespassing type.” I knelt down next to him, hiding from the road.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve done this. It was a common thing before I started college, the year I was acting like a huge ass hat.”

“A huge ass hat?” I couldn’t imagine him as anything but the saint he was. I was seeing a new side tonight.

“Yeah. Your mom’s words. A big loser who drank a lot and didn’t give a shit.” He yanked his hand back and stuck his index finger in his mouth. “Fuck. Ouch.”

“I can’t imagine that. You’re Mister Responsible.”

“Yeah, Mister Responsible who got a C on his test today.” His tone deflated. He went back to work on the very top of the opening.

“Hence the bad day?”

“Hence the bad day.” Finished, he pushed the fence to the side and slipped in. Once inside he pulled it back for me to slip through. “So, I quit the bar. I should have given two weeks’ notice, but I was so mad at myself that when I showed up for my shift I told Sheila it would be my last one. I felt bad after but I didn’t know how to take it back. I could just hear your mom’s voice telling me I need to focus on school more. So I did it. I’m glad I did. Just kind of pissed with myself.”

“Tomorrow will be a better day.” I walked around the pool, peering into the water. I couldn’t tell how clean it was without the lights on at the bottom and on the sides. I hoped nothing was swimming around in there.

“Today has already improved.” He walked the opposite direction.

“So, who did you come out here with during your brief irresponsible phase?” I imagined him skinny-dipping with pretty girls. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since high school. I wondered if he played the field often. I wondered if he was more like me than I thought. I didn’t know if I wanted to know the answer to that.

“Well, your brother would come out here with me. And, girls of course.” I was right. I smiled to myself.

“Oooohh. Were they super impressed with your breaking and entering skills?”

“They were easily impressed,” he answered, his tone was matter of fact. “How was your day?”

“Crap, too. I’ve been sitting in that damn bed all day staring at a blank screen.” The dull ache in my temple was nearly gone. The Ozark air was healing and my mind was thankful for the stimulation. For life, not the digital imitation of one.

“That bad?” He laughed.

“I’m dramatic, I know,” I sighed.

“Do you always write at home?” He leaned up against the fence and laced his fingers into it above his head. I tried not to look at the sliver of skin that was exposed below the edge of his shirt.

“Not necessarily at home, but always in my room. I’ve rented a place north of New York where I can write. I can write in a hotel room. Always in bed. I hate sitting at a desk.”

“So you do your job from bed. Rough.”

“Shut up! It can suck.” I stopped and stared full on at him from across the pool. I was beginning to feel nervous. I was alone in the dark with this beautiful man and despite resisting, I was beginning to desire him.

“So you aren’t one of those authors who sit in a little coffee shop with her iced caramel latte writing all day?”

“No. I get distracted by the people and the noise. I need to be in a room, in bed, with music playing softly. No television. It’s best if my iPad is across the room. Sure, I can surf the web right there on the computer but for some reason my iPhone and iPad tempt me more.”

“Have you ever thought of trying something new? Maybe it will lift the block.”

“Maybe.” What could I try?

“When something stumps me I try to attack it from a new angle. That’s what I want to teach children. To think outside the box and to step outside their comfort zone.”

“I could try something new and still be in this spot. A big fat boulder with no chance of moving.”

“You act like you have something to lose.”

“You’re right,” I surrendered. “I’ll try it.” I didn’t know what exactly I would try. I had exhausted everything. I had flown all over the world.

“Tomorrow, then. I know exactly where to go.” He pushed off the fence and edged towards the pool.

“Shouldn’t I choose?”

“Nope. I know where we can go. I have the day off since I won’t be at the bar anymore.”

“I don’t write around other people. I have to be alone. That’s why I don’t go to coffee shops. And, I guess that’s why I live alone. Hey, maybe you’re the problem.” I pointed at him and faked angry eyes. “You should move out.”

“No chance. And I’m not taking you to Starbucks or anything. Give me more credit than that. Do you have hiking shoes?”

“So once again you’re asking me about specific clothing I own and planning to take me to an unknown destination.” I liked it. I liked this small trip here, more than any destination I had went to in years. I was seeing this small county that raised me with new eyes. This place that was nothing more than a synonym for too many ill words… Boring. Stale. Stifling. Wounding.

“Are you regretting coming here?” He broke me away from my thoughts.

“No.” I felt calm for the first time in months, in this moment. He was safe. I had run from anyone who reminded me of those words for years, because safety was a lie. This did not mean I felt that he was dull, or ordinary. He had wildness in him. It was standing here with me now. His playful side. His childish side.

“Then shut it.”

“Rude ass.”

“Ass hat.”

“Well, what are you going to swim in? You are swimming right?” He bent his knee and reached down to one of his feet. He pushed off his worn converse and slipped his sock off, dipping a toe into the water, swirling it around. “It’s a little chilly, but we’ll warm up.”

I had changed into a matching set of undergarments. Black. They didn’t show much less than any of my bikinis did, but I was reluctant to undress. The moon was in full force. “Yes I am.”

I slowly made my way to the small ladder. Chace’s eyes left me as he turned his back and pulled his shirt over his neck with one hand. I found it hard to keep my eyes from his skin, it glowed in the light. It was unblemished, it begged to be touched. This was a horrible idea. Desire was burning inside of me, and it felt foreign.

I had lusted after many men, but this was new and left me feeling weakened and lightheaded. I turned and began undressing. I was overly conscious of my exposed skin. Lines of script were tattooed all over my surface. My arms, my back, my ribcage, my collarbone, my thighs. I loved words more than anything in the world, so I had branded the combinations closest to my heart all over my body. My left arm was covered in various pieces of art, a newly completed sleeve. I sensed his gaze on my back.

“I know you’re thinking about it.” His voice was low, I turned slowly.

“About what?” Suddenly I knew what he was referring to. I met his eyes. The blue was unreal in the light. He was open. I wanted to be as open as he was in that moment.

Pre Order – http://amzn.to/21Ltm3Z

I have really been slacking on my Sunday Ebook giveaways. Give me some .99 book recommendations below. 

Nine weeks ago I reached out to my Instagram followers. I wanted them to help me with a project.

I write about it. So you know. I suffer from anxiety and depression. I was sexually abused as a child. I have repressed memories bubbling below the surface. I have so much anger inside of me and I don’t know what to do with it. I know many of you can relate to what I write because you have these demons in your life. So I need you to help me. What are some questions you wish people would ask you? What are some questions you have for those who share your pain? I hope to use this information in a future project.

Now, I am hoping to hear from you all individually. What are the questions you wish people would ask you? I want to use your questions in the beginning of my new chapbook.

If you would like to be a part of this project email me at [email protected]

My original post can be found here.

Below you will find the playlist for my novel, Burning Muses, that releases in April. 

Enjoy. 

http://tinyurl.com/BurningMusesPlaylist