Tag Archives: Arts

Wow. I Gotta Admit. If Feels Good.

Are ya looking for Romancing Your E-Reader?  25 Ebooks Up for grabs!  Click Here to Enter!

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Wow.  I gotta Admit.  This feels good.  Pictures speak volumes. There’s just something about actually holding it.  Ya know?

For the Love of Christmas books in hand

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Now… On with the Blog Tour

Over at Once Upon a Time there’s a Make Believe Anthology Book Review and ebook giveaway (Please hop over and let me know if the review is good)http://onceuponatime.jaedia.net/

My Favorite Books, Movies, and Vacation Spots are revealed in an interview with Ceri Hebert.  Hop over for another chance to win!

And last but not least, I’m also hanging out with Laura at Not Just 9 to 5 talking about finding time to write around your job and family.

Don’t forget to visit me!  I enjoy seeing friendly faces! (Or avatars, as they may be) 🙂

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For The Love Of Christmas CoverMake BelieveWhy all the hullabaloo? Well, it’s to promote my two new releases “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas”

That’s why!

And don’t forget to click on “Enter to Win” for a chance to win your choice of the two titles! Yay!

Oh, I almost forgot… A few random commentors along the tour path will win their choice of anthologies, too. So be sure to hop on over and say “Hi”

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Hop on over and send me some love!

http://onceuponatime.jaedia.net/

Interview with Ceri Hebert.

Not Just 9 to 5

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Visit my Anthology buddies!  They are celebrating too!

Jenny Keller Ford

J.A. Belfield

Kelly Said

Lynda R. Young

Terri Rochenski

Janelle Lee

Dani-Lyn Alexander

JenniFer_EatonF

Write a Story with Me Part 23 — Which Daughter to Choose– with Aparnauteur

Are ya looking for Romancing Your E-Reader?  25 Ebooks Up for grabs!  Click Here to Enter!

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Yay!  Write a Story with Me is back!  (This is my little Christmas present to myself.)  I have to admit that people have been writing away during our little break and…..  Ooooooo I feel a battle brewing! Enjoy the ride!

Now remember, we’ve got a battle on the verge of rocking.  Marci is tied to a table in her father’s ship, her sister is flying out in space, and the very lives of the faeries are on the line.  What the heck is going to happen?  Let’s see!

23 – Aparnauteur

“Poor girl, scared her, didn’t we? For a moment I thought our invisibilatrix was toast.”

“Not a chance. As for the little glitch, she’s the only one who saw us. I doubt that her addled brain would have pieced it together. Meanwhile, I want you to check if any of Janosc’s waspy pals are about to join us on our precipice rendezvous. He is paranoid enough not to trust his own self in the operation.”

“It’s all under control, Mme. I sent a Morse to Marriott. He’ll take care of those red dots flanking our target. Our target, meanwhile, drifted to two and a half sea miles port side. They seem to be having trouble keeping an even keel. I am guessing their vessel is as old as Yoran. It’s funny how we’re part of the same—Oh no! What did I just say–forgive me for my indiscretion–he’s your father–what I meant to say was–I am extremely sorry, Mme Sian”

“Oh, don’t makes a hames of it now, Jodi. Just keep up with the update. When are we getting Marci out of the vessel?”

“I slipped the sonambulator into Bethany’s toque. She never removes it when she travels. It emits a sound whose frequency would tell us when’s the right time.”

“Perfect. We now wait for your pesky pal to do what she does best—eavesdrop”

Yoran had known for some time that Sian was trailing him. What he didn’t know was which daughter to choose.

Write a Story with Me is a group endeavor just for the fun of it.  A different writer adds a new 250 words each week.  It is the ultimate Flash Fiction Challenge!

If you’d like to sign up, come on over.  There’s always room for more!

Part One – Jennifer M. Eaton

Part Two – J. Keller Ford

Part Three – Susan Roebuck

Part Four – Elin Gregory

Part Five – Eileen Snyder

Part Six – Mikaela Wire

Part Seven — Vanessa Chapman

Part Eight — Ravena Guron

Part Nine – Vikki Thompson

Part Ten — Susan Rocan mywithershins

Part Eleven — Kate Johnston  AKA 4AMWriter

Part Twelve — Julie Catherine

Part Thirteen — Kai Damian

Part Fourteen — Richard Leonard

Part Fifteen — Sharon Manship

Part Sixteen – Shannon Blue Christensen

Part Seventeen — Bryn Jones

Part Eighteen — Jennifer M. Eaton

Part Nineteen — Shannon Burton

Part Twenty — J.Keller Ford

Part Twenty-One — Susan Roebuck

Part Twenty-Two — Elin Gregory

Part Twenty-Three — Aparnauteur

Don’t forget to stop by next week to see what happens next.

 Vanessa Chapman —- TAG!  You are “It”

Who is your literary Idol?

Today I am being interviewed by J.C. Martin, the Author of the crime novel “Oracle”.  As I looked over her interesting list of questions, one in particular stood out to me.  At first I rolled my eyes, but then I really thought about it… “Who is your literary idol?”  Now, most people will want to sound all smart and all and pick out a name from classic literature that would BORE ME TO TEARS if I read it, so I decided to be honest.  You’ll have to hop on over to see who I chose.

But I am wondering… FOR REAL… who do you consider your own literary idol?  A.K.A:  Who do you want to be when you grow up?

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Make BelieveFor The Love Of Christmas CoverWhy all the hullabaloo? Well, it’s to promote my two new releases “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas”

That’s why!

And don’t forget to click on “Enter to Win” for a chance to win your choice of the two titles! Yay!

Oh, I almost forgot… A few random commentors along the tour path will win their choice of anthologies, too. So be sure to hop on over and say “Hi”

ChristmasFiligree

Hop on over and send me some love!

Click on over to see my interview with JC Martin 

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Visit my Anthology buddies!  They are celebrating too!

Jenny Keller Ford

J.A. Belfield

Kelly Said

Lynda R. Young

Terri Rochenski

Janelle Lee

Dani-Lyn Alexander

JenniFer_EatonF

Have you ever made a promise you never expected to keep? A review of “Beginning of Forever” by Terri Rochenski

Yes, I am still on my blog tour for “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas” but today is one of those great days when I can hop back here and share a little love.

This was a crazy idea, but at the time it seemed like a good one when I agreed.  Terri Rochenski, who is an anthology buddy from “Make Believe” is also in a Christmas anthology that was just released.  “Christmas Magic” is available now for your Snuggly holiday reading pleasure.

Anyway, we decided to review each other’s stories on the same day.  (Yeah, no pressure)  So, to read her review of my story “Connect the Dots” from the “For the Love of Christmas” anthology, click HERE to hop on over to Terri’s site.  I’ll be jumping over there in a minute with you to see what she said.

But in the meantime, let’s Chat about Terri’s story.

Now, Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, right?

DON’T SAY NO!  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Anyway, this is my conundrum:  I’m reading “The Beginning of Forever”, ready for an uplifting romance… and it starts off on page one with the love of her life DYING.

What

Where’s the love?  Where’s the joy? What’s going to happen to that dinner she has in the oven?

Dang, I was bawling my freaking eyes out!

I could not, in my right mind, figure out where she was going with this… and then “it” happened. I figured it out.

This is not really a story about Christmas.

It is not even really what I would consider a Romance.

This is a story about coming to grips with life, and finding a way to cope.  This is a story about moving on, about self-discovery, and using your past to guide your future.

Terri realistically weaves this 50’s based historical “romance” into a story that will leave you wiping the tears from your eyes and turning pages, begging for everything to turn out all right.

As for the title of this review: Have you ever made a promise you never expected to keep? I need to keep that to myself because it’s a spoiler… but that is also what this story is about… Keeping promises because you have to, not because you want to, and then dealing with finding out you want to keep your promise after all.

This is a wonderfully spun tale that Rochenski should be very proud of.

My only gripe is that it is sandwiched in an anthology of more whimsical tales, and I’m not sure the readers of the “lighter” stories enclosed will “get” the depth of emotion and strength of this story. This is not a light fun read.  This is more centered to someone who enjoys something with more serious content.  Absolutely well done.

Okay… now I’m hopping over to see what she said about mine… Coming with me?

Are ya back? I hope what she said was nice.  As for comments, let’s keep with the title… “Have you ever made a promise you never expected to keep?”  Well, have you?

JenniFer_EatonF

How do you spell Dreidel? Shame on you Microsoft!

First of all, I would like to wish everyone celebrating today a blessed Chanukah or Hanukkah. (I’ve found it spelled both ways) I don’t celebrate Hanukkah, but I appreciate the holiday, and its significance.

While I was writing a guest post this morning, I found myself smacking myself upside the head over the word “dreidel.”  Why would I do such a thing?

Well, it seemed an easy enough word, but no matter how I tried to spell it, a wavy red line appeared beneath it (using the Microsoft Word program.)

So, I did a left-click on the word, all ready to choose the correct spelling.  What came up?

Deride, derided, derides, dreaded, derider.

I don’t know about you, but I figured that I must have been SO DERN FAR OFF in my spelling that it couldn’t figure out which word I wanted.  So I tried several different combinations.  No dice.

Not to be thwarted in my holiday spirit, I copied the original spelling and went to Dictionary.com.

I pasted dreidel into the website, and low and behold…

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drei·del

/noun, plural drei·dels, drei·del.

a four-sided top bearing the hebrew letters nun, gimel, he,  and shin,  one on each side, used chiefly in a children’s game traditionally played on the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

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You guessed it, I’d spelled it right to begin with.

Now, I ask.  How the heck can a big company like Microsoft not have a simple word like dreidel in their spell-checker dictionary?  SHAME ON YOU MICROSOFT!

And, I must now say, shame on WordPress too, because when I pasted this post into WordPress, I find it is being underlined here, too.

Soooooooo… This made me wonder.  How many words have you come across that a spell-checker didn’t have on file?

Road to Publication #25 – One week to Release Day – And the Reviews are in…. Deep Breath

I think I’ve mentioned that people have contacted me to say that they liked the story.  Yeah, that gave me the grins and giggles.  But the actual reviews have now started to pop up on Goodreads. (Amazon is not live until the actual release date.)

When I heard, my hands shook.  “Nope, not going to look.”  I was a wreck.  Then I got a nudge from a friend telling me that I should definitely look.

Here are the reviews of “Make Believe” so far on Goodreads… cutting out just the parts that mention Last Winter Red. Links are included in case you want to see the full review.

Brook – 4 Stars http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/459716333

Last Winter Red was probably my most favorite story. I am really into dystopian literature and this definitely had that underlying theme. I loved the world building that went on. And I liked the separation of the “classes” in the two different worlds, which is something you see in all dystopian novels. I could definitely see this story sprouting into a book or even a series. And I loved the twist to this story, it was one I was not expecting!

Jill – 4 Stars  http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/462048340

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton … was an interesting story. It reminded me a little of Brave New World. We have to civilizations living apart from each other both thinking the other is diseased and living a strange lifestyle. This follows a girl that is moving from one civilization to the other and the discoveries she makes about her life and herself. This is one of the top stories in the anthology.

Danielle Villano – 4 Stars http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/460337884

This was such a great premise for a story! “Last Winter Red” had a significant dystopian feel that was not present in the other pieces, and so it stands out in my mind. While Emily is a bit whiny as a main character, her personality is completely justified: her upbringing has her believing that she is entitled to a certain way of living, and a certain caliber of privilege. As she leaves the boundaries of the Red and enters the world of the Gray, she is faced with the fact that she is “different,” and not cut out for the hardened Gray lifestyle. The twist in this story was very well-done and I enjoyed it immensely.

Rachael Morgan – 4 Stars http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/442896275

MAKE BELIEVE is a magical collection of short stories. Just the right size for someone like me who falls into bed too late every night and doesn’t have much time (or energy) left to read! It was a pleasure to escape into so many diverse fantasy worlds, some completely different from our own, others familiar but with a dash of the paranormal. All the stories were well-written, but I think my favourite was LAST WINTER RED, followed by BIRTHRIGHT. Those two captured my attention the most, and kept me clicking through the pages when I should have been switching off my light and sleeping! Overall, an enjoyable escape from the real world. Fantasy-lovers should definitely check this one out.

Jen – At Random – 5 Stars http://lratrandom.blogspot.com/2012/11/make-believe-anthology.html      (Loved it overall and didn’t comments on any story specifically.

Aimee Lane – 5 Stars http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/327147561

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton 4/5
Another self-sacrifice story, but one mixed in with selfishness (on some people’s parts) and a totally different world in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting. I liked that this was totally different than the rest with its settings and purpose.

Sans – 5 Stars on Amazon

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton
This one is a kind of dystopian tale in that Terra is surrounded by a wall to keep out the “diseased”, the people inside are known as Reds. Reds are supposed to marry and have many children to increase the population as they all seem to die young. Outside the people are known as Grays, or vermin. The two are not supposed to mix ever. There’s a “red” doctor trying to help the grays and give them health care as they seem to be living to older ages and have age related ailments that need medical help. Emily is a Red besotted with the doctor who ferrys the doctor supplies from Terra to Outside. Emily’s husband died before they have children so she now needs to find a new husband and begin having children to contribute in Terra and be considered a good valued Red.
I enjoyed this as the dystopian genre is one of my favourites. I would also love
to read more about these characters too. Maybe this short story could be the
start of a series?  So I would give this story a 5/5 I want more!

Wow.  Ya gotta love that!  But I’m a realist, so I will now stop reading them again until someone nudges me.

This really helps me moving forward, though.  Maybe I should step out of my comfort zone more often!

How about you… have you had success with something that was far different from anything you’ve done before?

Six Sentence Sunday – Playing up the Romance card

Here is another Six from my Short “A Test of Faith”. No laughing. I know I’m not the Romance type.

Hmmm… but I can write in a rocket, and have it crash and explode into the office building….

No! No! No! This is the quiet-time… The gentle loving side of me… sit back and relax… *COUGH COUGH*

I ran my fingers down his cheek, my nails scratching against a day’s worth of stubble. “I don’t think you officially asked me out yet, mister.”

The left side of his mouth smiled before the right side. Gosh I loved that little quirk about him.

“Ya gonna get all technical on me now?”

“Sorry, a girl likes to be romanced.”

Yeah, what can I say… It’s romance… It’s just a little something fluffy I do to gear myself up to EXPLODE SOMETHING! Buts it’s nice to write a sequence once in a while that doesn’t make you tense. You know what I mean?

Write a Story with Me – Part 16 – The Unmentionable by Shannon Blue Christensen

Sooo… The plot thicken this week as Shannon blue brings in the internal thought… and a brand new backstory.  Hmmmmm…. what a tangled life daddy leads, huh?

If you are new to Write a Story with Me, please scroll down to see a list of previous posts.  Catch up on the story and have a great time!

16 (Shannon Blue Christensen)

“Bethany? Don’t just stand there. Help your mother find the herbs she needs for Marci.”

Bethany hovered for a moment, uncertain. She looked again at Marci, whose lips were beginning to turn blue, and hurried after her mother.

Yoran quickly turned back to Janosc, who had hidden behind the door while Yoran gave orders to Bethany. Janosc’s eyes glimmered. His lips quirked in what was intended to be a benevolent-appearing smile.

Yoran believed The Establishment was pure, regardless of sacrifice required. The guidances dictated by the ruling body preserved a peaceful existence for citizens. Like most young men, he was proud to be selected for service. Ridding the world of beings competing for power was noble.

A few years earlier, his unmentionable daughter was taken. She had acted out in school, asking why the Establishment came to power, who decided what was good. One evening his coworkers arrived. A summons signed “The Establishment” stated that they were taking the girl away. Yoran was warned to never think of her again.

Afterwards, his colleagues acted as if the girl has never existed, yet it was months before the usual banter resumed. The hairs on his neck told him that he was being watched. He began looking for others with hollow eyes and hesitation in their step. He wondered.

A year or two later, he met Janosc on a routine raid. He never looked the criminals in the eye, at first because he was sure they didn’t deserve the attention, now because he was afraid they did. As they tossed Janosc in the back of the wagon, the creature spoke, “I know where she is, you know. She’s not dead. They won’t allow it.”

Yoran fumbled the ropes. Janosc laughed, “Yes, wouldn’t you love to know?” Yoran pretended carelessness.

 

If you’d like to sign up, come on over.  There’s always room for more!

Part One – Jennifer M. Eaton

Part Two – J. Keller Ford

Part Three – Susan Roebuck

Part Four – Elin Gregory

Part Five – Eileen Snyder

Part Six – Mikaela Wire

Part Seven — Vanessa Chapman

Part Eight — Ravena Guron

Part Nine – Vikki Thompson

Part Ten — Susan Rocan mywithershins

Part Eleven — Kate Johnston  AKA 4AMWriter

Part Twelve — Julie Catherine

Part Thirteen — Kai Damian

Part Fourteen — Richard Leonard

Part Fifteen — Sharon Manship

Part Sixteen – Shannon Blue Christensen

Don’t forget to stop by next week to see what happens next.

Gryphonboy  —- TAG!  You are “It”

Related articles

Creativity on tap My ‘peak performance’ ritual

Jennifer M. Eaton is still tied up!  If you want to help set her free, click here to find out how.(And maybe win a copy of the “Make Believe Anthology” while you’re at it)

In the meantime, I am holding Nicky Wells at lazerpoint, forcing her to talk about one of my favorite books (Yes!  I know how to read!)

Human Nicky Wells, you may speak now!

Ummm… Okay….

Just how do you manage to churn out these books, I’m often asked. The answer is predictable: I write when the kids are at school, in between the housework, the shopping and my authorly promotional work. On average, I probably have a measly fifteen hours per week available for writing. Yet I completed the first, 145,000-word draft of my second novel in fourteen weeks.

I have a secret. When I have finished planning a book and it is ready to be born, I write every day, regardless of mood, health, weather, or inspiration. I don’t have bad writing days. I have days that go better than others, but I write regardless; and occasionally, the best scenes emerge on a challenging day.

Come what may, I cannot afford to waste time because I don’t feel like writing on a given day. So how do I produce creativity on tap?

The answer may astound you. I draw on a technique that I acquired in a previous professional life, where I was also required to write ‘on demand.’ Here, every time I had to complete a major writing project, I found myself seriously sidetracked by menial tasks. Instead of getting on with the job at hand, I’d tidy my desk. I’d empty the bin. I’d defragment the hard-drive. I’d empty the email trash folder. I’d be overcome by the urge to purchase and consume a large cappuccino. Nearly an hour into the work day, and I would still be faffing around.

This strange compulsion frustrated me senseless, until a manager pointed out that I was merely executing my ‘peak performance’ ritual. The tasks I was performing prepared me mentally for writing. While tidying and going out to buy coffee, my mind, so I was told, would already process the task ahead so when I sat down to produce, I would hit the ground running. I relaxed into ‘my’ routine, and I’ve never looked back.

These days, my peak performance ritual involves the school run, checking email, hanging out the laundry, dusting at least one room in the house, sorting the mail and… making a cup of tea. I encourage you to think about your own ‘strange’ routines and embrace them for what they are: a tool to set you up for your writing day. I bet you’ll find you can write on demand!

About Nicky Wells: Romance that Rocks Your World!

Nicky Wells writes fun and glamorous contemporary romance featuring a rock star and the girl next door. Her debut novel, Sophie’s Turn, is now available from Sapphire Star Publishing. Nicky loves rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When she’s not writing, Nicky is a wife, mother, and teaching assistant.

Visit Nicky on her blog where you can find articles, interviews, radio interviews and, of course, an ongoing update on her work in progress, the second and third parts of the Rock Star Romance Trilogy. You can also follow Nicky on Twitter and find her on Facebook. Nicky is a featured author on the innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com and has joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

About Sophie’s Turn—

One fine day in Paris, Sophie Penhalligan suddenly finds herself engaged to her teenage crush and love-of-her-life-from-a-distance, rock singer and star extraordinaire Dan Hunter. But there is the small matter of her very recent, but very prior, engagement to Tim. Reliable, honest, trusting Tim, her boyfriend of two years stashed away safely in his mews house in South Kensington while Sophie is drinking rather too much champagne with Dan in Paris. This contemporary romantic fairy tale describes how Sophie gets into her impossible situation and how she turns it around.

Sophie’s Turnis available in Kindle edition from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and many other Amazon sites. The paperback edition is also available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. In addition, you can obtain Sophie’s Turn from Barnes & Noble.