Tag Archives: Children

It’s release day for my young adult story “The First Day of the New Tomorrow”

Posted on September 27, 2013 | 14 comments

Yay! Release day is finally here!

I’m uber excited to release my very first published young adult title into the world.

In “The First Day of the New Tomorrow” Seventeen-year-old Maya wakes up one morning to a bigger than life surprise– powers beyond her wildest dreams, but when things begin to go horribly wrong, will she find the strength to do what needs to be done?

And YES! You will finally get to see me explode something! The Little Blue Lady is so proud of me she could just spit, and that’s saying a lot.

I hope you’ll hop on over to Muse it Up to pick up your copy today for the bargain new release price of $2.00 (available in all e-book formats)

You can also click on over to Amazon
or Barnes and Noble to pick up your copy. (They may go live later in the day)

After all, what’s a little explosion among friends?

I hope you love my first romp in the wonderful realm of young adult literature!

Friday Fun: Young Adult Literature (followtheyellowstickroad.wordpress.com)
Why Young Adult Literature is Important (sideofwonder.wordpress.com)
What is Young Adult Literature? (sideofwonder.wordpress.com)

14 Comments

Posted in Marketing Madness

Tagged Arts, Barnes, Barnes & Noble, Children, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Literature, new children's book, Noble, Seventeen, The First Day of the New Tomorrow, Timber Creek High School, Young-adult fiction

I’m sorry. I like you, I just didn’t like your book.

Posted on September 22, 2012 | 34 comments

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I read a book by a friend of mine, and I just didn’t like it.

Was there anything wrong with her writing? No, not really. It was just a disappointing read for me. So, what did I do? I finished it, and I moved on to something else, kept my mouth shut, and I didn’t do a book review.

At one point, in a forum we are both on, she said, referring to me finishing her novel: “I guess no news is good news, yikes”. Well, there was no actual question asked in the statement, so again, I kept my mouth shut. I thought I had ducked the bullet.

Today she sent me a private message. (Almost a month later) She asked me if I hated it. My heart sank. What the heck do you say? I don’t want to lie. It’s not that it’s a bad book. It was traditionally published, so someone had to think it was good, and it had a few good reviews. I just happened to agree with the bad ones. I would have given the book three stars if I’d reviewed it, but in doing this, I felt like I would have to list the things that I didn’t like.

I have a policy not to review books I don’t like at all. (Although some would say I’m lethal even when I do like a book 🙂 )

The way I figure it — It doesn’t help the author any to bring their rating down because I didn’t care for it. That’s why you have only seen four star reviews so far. The stuff that I haven’t liked, I’ve set aside (except for that one I reviewed without giving the author’s name or book title)

So now, I’m stewing, and writing a blog post about it. I need to say something to her by tonight.

Whattya do?

Join the Kindred, A Christian Book Review Community (keikihendrix.com)
Paid Book Reviews: Where Do You Stand? – Ryan Casey (chazzwrites.com)
Book Reviewing Makes Strange Bedfellows (joeponepinto.com)
Hearing the Sound of Opinion Writing (twowritingteachers.wordpress.com)
No More Sock Puppets (Fake Book Reviews) –IBPA’s View (onewaytowonder.wordpress.com)

34 Comments

Posted in Author Advice, Senseless Ranting

Tagged author, Book Review, Children, don't like your friends novel, Literature, Reviews, Reviews and Criticism, sad, Twitter

The Hunger Games disturbed me

Posted on September 20, 2012 | 102 comments

The Hunger Games disturbed me. I mean seriously, seriously disturbed me. It’s funny, twenty years ago I would have thought nothing of this at all. No biggie, just another story.

Having children really changes your outlook on things.

I’m disturbed. Deeply disturbed.

I can’t look at a book (or a movie) like this the same as I did when I was single. Isn’t it strange? I’m the same person, right?

Nope, I’m not. Motherhood definitely changes you. The thought of sending children out into the woods and forcing them to kill each other makes me sick to my stomach. Emotionally sick… You know what I mean?

I started the Hunger Games as a novel. My son finished the book in two days. (He finished all three books in five days total) I unfortunately, don’t have that kind of time to read, so I was only about 40 pages in to the novel before my son had to see the movie.

So we sat and watched it. That was three days ago, and I am just about over it. Now, I cannot finish the book, because I don’t want that sick feeling to come back. You know what I mean?

I might read just a little further just to “absorb” the writing style that I feel caught my son’s attention (although I don’t think I would want to write in this tense)

But I seriously don’t think I could go through the Hunger Games again.

Callous disregard for life… for children.

If the author meant to disturb people… good job.

Have you ever read anything that made you feel sick for days?

How did you feel after reading/watching the Hunger Games?

The Hunger Games (richlandnetwork.wordpress.com)
‘Hunger Games’ Scare You? Blame Bush, Says DVD (tarpon.wordpress.com)
Catching Fire The Hunger Games (richlandnetwork.wordpress.com)
‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ begins shooting in Georgia, before moving to Hawaii (insidemovies.ew.com)
‘Hunger Games’ event teaches youth survival skills (charlotte.news14.com)
The Hunger Games Catching Fire Officially Starts Production (thepeoplesmovies.com)
Hunger Games Beauty: Get Katniss’s Opening Ceremonies Look (bellasugar.com)
Hunger Games 500 Fan Giveaway! (w3tpaint.wordpress.com)
Learn How to Create Katniss’s Iconic Hunger Games Braid (bellasugar.com)
Jeffrey Wright – Jeffrey Wright Lands hunger Games Sequel – catching Fire – Role (contactmusic.com)

102 Comments

Posted in Book/Movie Review

Tagged catching fire, Children, disturbing stories, Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, Motherhood, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games universe

The Monomaniacal Middle Grade Reviewer Won’t take time to Review!

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 33 comments

I have a problem. It’s a good problem. My kid won’t stop reading.

“Sweetie, would you like to do another book review for me?”

“After I finish reading this book, Mom.”

“Ummm, okay, but you said that after you finished the last two.”

“But this is just sooo good!”

Ugh. Now, here is my problem. I cannot afford to feed this kid’s reading habit! I filled his kindle with Literature. Tarzan, Huck Fin, etc. It’s all stuff my husband SWORE he would like. But no dice. He starts ‘em, but he doesn’t finish them. He is just not interested in the classics.

He is extremely particular. He needs high action, suspense, and comedy all wrapped up in a neat little package.

He’s interested in big block-buster novels, which shouldn’t be a problem, but he wants them when they just hit the bookstores, and some of them are $24. Okay, so, yes, I have paid that much for a book for myself, but it takes me usually a month to read it. This kid will plow through a 300 page novel in two days!

Maybe someday I will just yank a book out of his hands and say “You can have another after you tell everyone why the heck you liked the last ten so much!”

Hey… he may as well earn those books rather than me just handing them over, right?

Now if I could just get his brother to pick up something OTHER than Calvin and Hobbs, maybe I could at least get a second read out of these novels.

Maybe someday. ***sigh***

33 Comments

Posted in Senseless Ranting

Tagged Bill Watterson, Book Review, Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes, Children, getting your kids to read, Literature, my kid reads too much, World Literature, Writing and Editing