tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95234092024-03-13T00:14:09.973-04:00Sentimental BlocksRandom ramblings from someone who has better things to do with her time but refuses to do them.JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-49258283119501018932013-04-17T15:30:00.001-04:002013-04-17T15:30:16.080-04:00In Defense of My City<br />
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Last night I was sitting in the warm
darkness of The Birchmere, a lovely music venue in Alexandria, at a
tiny side table with a better view of the sound board than the stage.
I always sit there, not wanting to take up a larger table that a
group might need, forgetting every time that the light on the sound
board will end up directly in my eyes (I don't even know if it's a
sound board- it sounds like the right term though). Up on the stage
was an earnest young barista/songwriter who spoke of songwriting in
Paris. Just the day before I had been made to watch <i>Midnight in
Paris</i>, a ninety-minute love letter to the inspiration that apparently
bubbles up from the ground there. The place does have an impressive
list of successes, and for one moment I wondered if it would work for
me as well, even though I have never once had an urge to go to France
and try out my two years of junior high French. The feeling only
lasted for a moment though, because as I thought of iconic scenery in
Paris, I thought of similar locations in Washington. I've been down
narrow cobbled streets in Old Towne Alexandria (not recommended if
you like your heels), I've seen boats cruise down the Potomac River,
I've sat in the peace and quiet of Arlington Cemetery and walked
across the bridge under giant military statues, I've seen artists
paint on Roosevelt Island, driven past the dark and Gothic structure
of Georgetown University, looked up at the National Cathedral and
seen only stone and sky. There's Rodin sculptures in the gardens and
DaVinci and VanGogh in the museums. There are bursts of flowers and
shade under trees. Plus there's baseball in Nats Park. Nothing can
beat that. People like to characterize DC as slimy pool of
politicians with no culture. I don't have enough money to even know
about those circles and I don't really care. What I remember is
walking through a three block market of Tibetan culture the last time
I went down to see a performance at the Shakespeare Theatre, reading
my father's name on the Vietnam Memorial, knowing it belonged to
someone else, admiring the First Ladies dresses on display, and hearing three
languages spoken in any two block distance. I think inspiration comes
from leaving what's familiar and reorienting your head. Luckily for
me, I don't have to go all the way to Paris. </div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-86404107728019989812013-04-03T14:01:00.000-04:002013-04-03T14:01:04.580-04:00More Motivation than ProcrastinationI hope those of you who have read <i>Bound by Blood</i> have enjoyed it. I've heard from a few people on the things I did and the things I didn't do in it. I've answered back as best I could. We're only halfway through, and I hope the whole story makes sense as we go. I'd sure love to hear more voices, so please leave a review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or send me an email..<br />
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To celebrate being halfway done, I ordered charms made from my book covers over on Etsy from S<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/sophiesbeads" target="_blank">ophie's Beads</a>. I love them so much. Miniatures are my weakness. Here's a picture of the bracelet I made to commemorate the entire series.<br />
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I had an extra set of cover charms made to use as a giveaway once the final book is ready to be published. If you look close you'll be able to see the covers of the last two books and possibly some clues on what is coming next.JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-14940743947072070322013-01-21T16:12:00.000-05:002013-01-21T16:13:30.003-05:00One year laterExactly one year after <i>Raised by Wolves</i> was published, <i>Bound by Blood</i> is now in processing at Amazon's site. The Kindle version should be up later today or tomorrow, the paperback in a week or so and the Nook version in a few months. It is a huge sigh of relief to finally have it out and done. If you've been waiting patiently, thank you so much. This time last year it was almost done and I was sure everything could be prettied and polished in no time, but then came life and issues and a change of heart about the plot, but here we are now.<br />
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I hope you like it and the next book, <i>Caught in a Trap</i>, is already in progress.JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-53656771635618990192013-01-14T16:34:00.005-05:002013-01-14T16:35:07.242-05:00First Chapter- Bound by Blood<br />
Here I was thinking that I was keeping fairly up to date on this, but then I see my last post was in the beginning of November. Time flies. This time I mean it when I say <i>Bound by Blood</i> will be out this month, and to hold me to my word I am starting out by posting the first chapter here for all of you.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B1hC3d_SYam48Xobf5p72qToZ7XTKEVa0AFc4aQWyR8/edit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chapter One</a><br />
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Hope you enjoy it.JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-42347906490266341152012-11-03T11:41:00.004-04:002012-11-03T11:42:43.060-04:00Impatience<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
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That's how I feel
about the delay of <i>Bound by Blood</i>. Back in the winter when I released
<i>Raised by Wolves</i> I thought it would be no problem to have the sequel
out by summer- it was almost finished, all that needed to be done was to
polish it up and send it out to the proofreaders. That was before the
ending fought me. It was nice but it wasn't working. Another idea
kept poking at ribs, asking to be given a shot and at the end of
summer I gave in and tried it out instead and it fit so much better
and led into the final book more like I had envisioned, so it had to
be written in and polished and now we are finally at the sending off
to readers stage so I'm hoping within the month that the new and
improved <i>Bound by Blood</i> will out for sale. </div>
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In the next few days, I'm
going to be set on a more regular schedule for blog updates and the
first one will be Chapter One posted for all of you to read. I hope
it will be worth the wait. </div>
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Thank you.</div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-37702240272823935832012-08-22T11:47:00.000-04:002012-08-22T16:26:11.833-04:00Bound by Blood- release dateDue to family events, I have had to delay the publication of the sequel to <i>Raised by Wolves</i>. The new expected release date is September 26. I apologize for the delay but sometimes things happen. I think it will be an exciting continuation of the story and I hope you all will enjoy it.<br />
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JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-57249707024118283662012-02-18T22:50:00.003-05:002012-02-18T23:04:24.825-05:00Well, That's EmbarrassingAnd now I'm worried I misspelled "embarrassing" in the title!<br /><br /> I have two new reviews up- one each on Amazon and Amazon UK. Thank you! But as I read them I saw both mentioned typos and now I'm racking my brain wondering where they could be. I have read over that story so many times in the last few years and had plenty of test readers and for there still to be errors- I hate that. I tried to put the best effort out there, so if anyone can point them out, I'd be glad to fix them. <br /><br /> I'll also address the other concern a reviewer had. It was mentioned that Chandra was okay with children outside of marriage, and I can't think of where that could be. I don't want to write spoilers, so if it's about the scene at the lake (clear enough?), those two were married. If it's about Chandra herself, well, she's trying to figure out who she is and has to consider all possibilities. Does that help?<br /><br /> I do not turn down feedback. I might read it clutching a plush buffalo in fearful anticipation because no one wants to read bad news, but I love to hear reaction and appreciate it all.<br /><br /> Thanks again!JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-13427603371594244912012-02-16T08:22:00.003-05:002012-02-16T08:35:57.185-05:00You Rule, BritanniaIn the less-than-a-month that my book has been up for sale, it has sold more copies on Amazon UK than it has in the US and was given two lovely five-star reviews there as well. This thrills me because I am a bit of an Anglophile. I haven't visited since I was two, but I watch British television and film and two of my soon to be finished books are set there. One day, I am going to go back on a long vacation. It is on the life to-do list. <br /><br /> So thank you, UK readers!JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-49500636113514552292012-01-28T16:26:00.003-05:002012-01-28T16:32:20.351-05:00Freebie WeekendThe Kindle download of <span style="font-style:italic;">Raised by Wolves</span> is free this weekend (Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th) on Amazon.com! Hundreds of people have already gotten their copies. If you don't have a Kindle, you can still download it and read it off the Amazon Cloud. Paperbacks are available now through the <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3780146 ">CreateSpace shop</a> and will be available through Amazon by next weekend. I really love the alternate cover on the paperback. Enjoy!JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-15877452321293477062012-01-25T12:01:00.002-05:002012-01-25T12:10:45.223-05:00The First SaleTwo days in, I made my first sale. It was thrilling to see the number pop up on the report page. Now I check to make sure the "refunded" column stays at zero. Also, I have started the process of getting <span style="font-style:italic;">Raised by Wolves</span> out as a paperback. The proof has been mailed, so once I check it out and make sure everything looks right, it should be good to go.JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9523409.post-21099909355121749602012-01-21T08:24:00.003-05:002012-01-21T08:27:46.843-05:00Welcome!This is my writing blog where I will post about my adventures in self-publishing. My first novella is up now for purchase at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Raised-Wolves-Canidae-trilogy-ebook/dp/B00704HKE8/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1">Amazon</a>. Hopefully more will be added as I find the time. Very excited to get this in gear. I have forty manuscripts waiting to see the light of day and life is short.JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431381489690543366noreply@blogger.com0