Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie and Wanless (final post)

“Please don’t tell me—” I lift my head. “Are you finking out on me now, Jonas?” I shouldn’t be treating him like this, I know, but I’m so… mad. It’s my Dad. How can I just sit back and watch him disappear like so many other people have? ~Hattie Akerman

This week marks the last installment of Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie and Wanless--a weekly thing I've done throughout the month of May where I've shared one chapter from Pity Isn't An Option a week). Click HERE to check out the final chapter on Goodreads!

The reason I decided to share the first five chapters is because I wanted people to get a feel of the book and Hattie and Jonas' story. I wanted readers to know where the characters were coming from, to understand what they were going through. PIAO is dystopian, but not necessarily in the way so many YA books are right now. It's a story of loss and hopelessness and finding a way through those to continue, and sometimes a blurb just doesn't get that point across properly.

Come June, Jonas and Hattie will be featured on a few different blogs, and I can't wait to share those posts with you! I've had a lot of fun doing them and *SO* appreciate the writerly world and bloggers who daily go out of their way for indie authors such as myself.

Also, I'm currently looking for a few (serious) readers to review PIAO, and am in a group on Goodreads where you can sign up, if you're interested. Reviews greatly benefit the writer, as you know, because they help get the word out there. So if you're interested and willing to review, let me know and I can direct you to the right thread. (There are many other authors in that group looking for reviews as well!) Keep in mind a review can be one or two paragraphs, or more than that. The point is to explain how you felt about the book in your own words. :)

Have a blessed weekend,
Jessica

There's still time to enter Local Author Wednesday giveaways!

With everything going on and the middle kid graduating 8th grade and no kitchen *still* (and #BEA--I swear I'm not glued to the internet about this... okay, maybe I am... oh and speaking of, there's an #antiBEAReadathon going on! You can check it out HERE! FYI I am failing miserably at it, though not for lack of trying!) and all the other stuffs going on, this week's Local Author Wednesday is going to get pushed to next week. But that's great, because it gives Michael and I a chance to figure out some way cool local history to share. He's been posting quite the interesting photos on his page lately, so I can only imagine what we're going to learn next week.

As for the past three Local Author Wednesdays, the giveaway dates are coming to a close and I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to enter a few more times. For those of you who've never used Rafflecopter (*ahem* my local pals), it's a simple "enter-this-little-tidbit-of-info-and-then-you're-entered" kind of thing. I have made sure to always have a free entry for those who aren't on Twitter and whatnot (that's okay, we still love you) so hey, might as well try for that freebie! I mean, they are BOOKS? Need I say more? :D

So here's a breakdown and direct links to enter to win as many days as you want before the dates are over...

1) 1 copy of Sharon Lathan's The Passions of Dr. Darcy (historical romance--Jane Austen style) HERE

2) Set of James Garcia Jr.'s Dance on Fire and Flashpoint ebooks (paranormal) HERE

3) 1 signed, hardcover copy of Kasie West's Pivot Point (YA dystopian) HERE

Feel free to spread the readerly love and share this info!

Have a blessed Wednesday,

Jessica

Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take Four)

**Photo courtesy of DP Photography

I'm a little late this week, but better late than never! 

Click HERE to read Chapter Four of Pity Isn't An Option (Jonas' point of view!)

The only way you can write the truth

MAN this spoke to me this morning.

"The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other person, and not even by yourself at some later date. Otherwise you begin excusing yourself. You must see the writing as emerging like a long scroll of ink from the index finger of your right hand; you must see your left hand erasing it."
~Margaret Atwood

HIJACKED! and Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take Three)

**Photo courtesy of DP Photography

So my friend, Lisa, at A Life Bound By Books is on a little trip. (Okay, it's a big trip. She's over in Liverpool right now. Liverpool. Yeah, she's doing just fine, yay for her and all that jazz.) Anyway. Somehow--I do not know how this happened--her website was HIJACKED by someone at Wanless Wanderer (Wanless' local paper) Radio!!! Pretty sneaky, don'tcha think? I mean, really! (If Kendrick or his guys find out... stuff's going to hit the fan.) You can check the radio announcement out HERE (but please do not tell President Kendrick, okay? Many families' lives are at stake)!

Oh and Chapter 3 of Pity Isn't An Option is up at Goodreads. Click HERE to read Hattie's point of view (though it would probably be best to read the radio announcement first)!

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!

Local Author Wednesday: Kasie West, PIVOT POINT author

Throughout the month of May I will be highlighting a local author once a week. This highlight will include information on the author's most recent book/s, a giveaway (in which the authors are being so gracious as to donate), and something cool about at least one of their books to give you a feel of their writing. I'm hoping this feature will bring awareness to new local and international readers. Plus, I like giveaways!!! (To check out this month's guests, click on my original announcement, here, or click the Local Author Wednesday tag at the bottom of this post.)

This week, I'd like to introduce to you fellow young adult author, Kasie West. Kasie is donating one signed, hardcover copy of her debut, Pivot Point (this contest is for US residents only).

Pivot Point's blurb:

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

In Pity Isn't An Option, Jonas, the male main character, writes a few meaningful words on a particular item and ends up giving it to someone, and we've carried out this theme for Local Author Wednesdays. I asked Kasie what words would describe Pivot Point best, and what item her main character, Addie, would put those words on, and here is what she came up with:

Pretty cool, right? (Are you curious about the storyline yet?) And now, for the giveaway! Feel free to come back every day to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Kasie:

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My debut novel, PIVOT POINT (HarperTeen) came out February 12, 2013, and will be followed by its sequel in 2014. I also have a contemporary, The Distance Between Us, coming out July 2, 2013 with HarperTeen. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

Find Kasie on
her website (link) Twitter (link) and Goodreads (link)

Purchase Pivot Point at Amazon (link) or Barnes and Noble (link)

Do you Libboo? And a hint about this week's Local Author Wednesday

Fun news: Pity Isn't An Option is on Libboo! (link) I'm doing the normal giveaway thing at this point--free ebooks to the top 3 "buzzers", but I am already thinking about cool ways to reward readers who get the word out there about Wanless and Jonas and Hattie. So yeah. If you're on there, I'd love to connect. If you know how to work it, here's a big cookie--please tell me your favorite things about it. :) You can read a little bit more about how it works, HERE.

Also. GUESS WHAT? Tomorrow is our next Local Author Wednesday, and I am pleased to announce it will be Kasie West, who also writes YA! (YAY!) The book I'll be featuring is her debut, Pivot Point...

but I saw today that she actually has a giveaway going on over at Goodreads for her upcoming book, The Distance Between Us, and thought I'd share it with you guys so you can enter it and add it to your TBR list, too! Check it out HERE and I'll see you back tomorrow with Kasie and Addie, her MC!

Books, a front yard library, and The Great Gatsby

Hope all you moms out there had a beautiful, blessed and relaxing Mother's Day yesterday (okay, and everyone else, too)! Not a whole lot going on around here other than the fact that I'm reading Golden by Jessi Kirby (almost done!) and trying to work on writing during construction which is kinda... hard. But there are a few things I thought I'd share from the interwebs last week:

1) Melissa at Harley Bear Book Blog posted YA Rainbow: Covers of YA Thursday and I thought it was so beautiful! Not only do you get to see quite the eclectic array of covers, but it's always pretty cool to see a bunch of YA books together. You can check it out HERE.

2) My amazing friend ST Bende is featured in USA Today because well, her book, Elsker, features Norse gods (think Thor) and I guess Norway's Constitution Day is coming up. So yeah. I thought it was pretty cool to learn a little more about that after reading Elsker (and her prequel, Nor)... though those of you who are into that stuff a bit more will probably appreciate her explaining her own personal take on things. (link)

3) I've been seeing these "free libraries" for a while now (you can check out their actual website HERE), and this is the next project I'm wanting to do (hopefully for my birthday in the fall?). You see, I've had this wish for a couple of years now to open up a coffee shop eventually (not a unique idea, I know) and I've sorta been stocking up on cool games and books to have in my coffee shop that I won't particularly have at any time in the near future. So while the games have nowhere to go, the few books I've stocked up on do if I get this:

*photo courtesy of thelittlefreelibrary.org

I mean, can't you see this in my front yard? (Well, minus the snow because there's no snow here, but still.) I can. I want it. A lot.

4) We saw The Great Gatsby yesterday. And I dunno. I'm glad I saw it on the "big screen" (we did 2D), but I don't know if I'll watch it again. Glad to have seen it, glad for the experience, but as Lovemuffin said halfway through the movie, I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that I'm gunning for the bad guy in this. Because you do, you want him to get her and then you realize wait wait wait... but she's ALREADY MARRIED! So yeah. Good. Big production. Crazy to have modern music with older movie (different, like in Romeo and Juliet). Everyone's talking about the lovely Leonardo but you know, I really like Tobey and I think he did a marvelous job and I actually like the guy and think the older he gets, the better. (And I think some people have him forever stuck in their heads as the original Spiderman but have you seen Brothers? Because... GAH.)

Okay enough about all that. Enjoy the weather (most likely cooler than it is here... high 90s already) and your loved ones and those beautiful books and whatever else strikes your fancy and have a blessed week!

Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take Two)

**photo courtesy of DP Photography

Happy Friday, guys! Okay... can I say it? I'm totally in love with my blog. Hafsah rocks. :) To quickly recap this week, we're two weeks into Local Author Wednesday, and so far, Sharon Lathan, author of historical romance, and James Garcia Jr., author of paranormal (as in, vampires), have been featured. Both giveaways are still going, so please feel free to enter Sharon's HERE and Jimmy's HERE.

And now for the second installment of Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie and Wanless! YAY! I've posted the second chapter of Pity Isn't An Option at Goodreads, so if you've already read Chapter One, click HERE to read Chapter Two! (If you haven't read the first one yet and want to start from the beginning, click HERE.) 

Have a blessed weekend!

Overexposed by Adrianne James (cover reveal)

My pal over at Indie Ignites has a new YA book coming out (and this one's a mystery)! This will be Adrianne's second release (her debut was Life on Loan) and I am very excited for her! Check out the cover for Overexposed and the blurb, below:

In the tiny town of Willowspring, just about nothing ever happens except for layoffs, hockey games, and your average melodramatic teenage angst.

But that was before.

Vi, Ashley, and Macy are just trying to make it through the school year without one more humiliation when they team up for a simple photography assignment: create a story through a series of photographs. Can't be too much trouble, right?

Wrong.

The shutterbugs happen upon Willowspring High School's darkest secret. When everything around them starts to crumble after trying to do the right thing, their only hope is to stick together.

Add to Goodreads (link) 

Find Adrianne on Facebook (link)

Local Author Wednesday: James Garcia, Jr.

Throughout the month of May I will be highlighting a local author once a week here on the blog. This highlight will include information on the author's most recent book/s, a giveaway (in which the authors are being so gracious as to donate), and something cool about at least one of their books to give you a feel of their writing. I'm hoping this feature will bring awareness to new local and international readers. Plus, I like giveaways!!! (To check out this month's guests, click on my original announcement, here. To enter last week's giveaway, click here.)

This week, I'd like to introduce you to James Garcia Jr., author of the Dance on Fire paranormal series. 

Dance on Fire blurb:

Two Kingsburg police officers have been butchered in an attack as ferocious as it is mystifying. Now two detectives and their families are being drawn into a battle that threatens to destroy them and those around them. In a marriage of horror and Christian themes of good conquering evil and redemption, Dance on Fire is the fictional account of characters drawn into the fire by supernatural forces.

This book centers around Kingsburg, California! Which is like a twenty minute's drive from here! So cool! 

In Pity Isn't An Option, Jonas, the male main character, writes a few meaningful words on a particular item and ends up giving it to someone. I thought this would be a fun theme to carry on in the Local Author Wednesdays, so I asked Jimmy about words that would describe Dance on Fire best, along what item his character would share those words on. And Jimmy wrote a brand spankin' new scene for you guys! Check it out: 

Barbara Lopez watched helplessly as Vincent climbed through the nursery window. He smiled as his hunt for a meal had apparently ended in the bedroom of her twin toddlers, with her powerless to do anything about it. They cried and she finally screamed as the vampire reached inside the nearest crib and lifted out a struggling baby. His touch was icy cold, she knew, because she had felt it herself once.

Barbara jumped in her bed and mercifully woke herself up. It didn’t awaken Michael because he wasn’t home. He was in San Francisco for training. He was the Chief of Police now and that was what chiefs did - even on the one year anniversary of vampires invading their town.

She sat up while she regained her composure. When her heart rate had returned to normal and she felt able, she climbed out of bed, put on her robe and went to check on her children. She didn’t dare turn on a light of any kind, nor to venture too far into the room, for fear of waking them. Both were that good at knowing when someone was present. Instead, she simply poked her head in the room and listened for their breathing. Unlike one year before she found the nursery window securely locked. She did the same in Jerod’s room and found him safely asleep as well.

She found herself walking through her house. She didn’t double check any windows or touch any doors, but just casually walked about the rooms. She doubted she would get any further sleep this morning and wished her husband were home to at least snuggle up against. Michael had fought to blow off the conference and stay home, but she had been adamant that life was back to normal and there was no reason for him to miss it – black anniversary or not. The family was safe. Nathaniel had seen to that.

Thinking of him caused her to pause in the dining room. He had been gone one year as well and she wondered how he might be. They had received e-mail from him. He claimed he was doing well, but she wondered how true that was. Their last discussion had been in the front yard, sitting upon her bench. She went to the front window, pushed aside the curtains and peered out at it only to find someone sitting there.

Barbara gasped, but quickly composed herself.

She tapped the window. When the shape turned her direction, she closed her robe tightly, unlocked the door and went outside.

“Why are you awake?”

“I’m up the same as you,” Barbara replied, quickly taking a seat beside him.

“I see you still have your sense of humor, but you are not a vampire.”

“No,” Barbara grinned at him. “Why are you here, Nathaniel? And more importantly, why didn’t you tell us you would be in town?”

“I won’t be here long, my friend,” the vampire said. “Yet, it is an anniversary for us all, so where else would I be? I only came to deliver a message.”

“Oh”, she asked. “What is it?”

Nathaniel shook his head. She couldn’t see much in the dark, but she could see that.

“It is a secret that I will share with you tomorrow.”

“But, Nathaniel,” she begged. “I don’t do well with surprises.”

“Tomorrow. Come out here tomorrow with your morning coffee. I, of course, will not be here…”

“I see your sense of humor is coming along nicely,” Barbara quickly interjected.

“Yes. So I’m told. One monk in particular at the monastery sees to that. In any event, I am well and just wished to deliver you a message you will discover tomorrow. Now, before I go, tell me of Jerod and the twins. Michael only e-mails me so much. I want the mother’s description…” 

***

Jimmy chose this bench as the object on which Nathaniel would share his words.

And those words would be: Thank you for believing in me.

***

Thanks so much for sharing, Jimmy! And now for the Dance on Fire giveaway (feel free to come back daily to enter)...

a Rafflecopter giveaway



About James



James Garcia Jr. was born in the Central California town of Hanford. He moved up the road to Kingsburg with his family as a child. After graduating KHS, he attended Reedley College where he met his wife. They, along with their teenage sons, still make their home in Kingsburg which is also the setting of James’ vampire series. Dance on Fire was published in 2010 and its sequel Flash Point was published Halloween 2012. His third book entitled, Seeing Ghosts, a stand-alone paranormal romance, is set for a June 2013 release.

James is an Administrative Supervisor for Sun-Maid Growers of California. 

Buy Dance on Fire at Amazon (link)

Find James on
Goodreads (link)  Facebook  (link)  Twitter (link)

Connect with James at his blog (and read recent posts featuring excerpts
from Dance on Fire and Dance on Fire: Flashpoint, plus info on his newest book, Seeing Ghosts) (link)

Getting to know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take One)

**Photo courtesy of DP Photography

Happy Friday! :) I'm so excited to have a new and bee-au-tiful new blog design thanks to my amazing and talented pal, Hafsah! This girl rocks (she's a writer, book blogger, designer... and all around awesome gal)! I mean, the cover to Pity Isn't An Option is a testament in itself to her talent--but THIS? I love love love it (possibly even more than PIAO's cover. Gosh. That's a hard one.) If you've been wanting any kind of design (or even if you haven't) feel free to check out her business, IceyDesigns (link).

In honor of the new design and hosting Local Author Wednesday here on the blog and well, a lot going on around here (middle daughter graduating from 8th grade; kitchen being, well, gone at the moment; writing; and other stuff--oh and let's not forget Lovemuffin and my 16th wedding anniversary, too), I thought it would be fun to take each Friday this month to share a chapter from Pity Isn't An Option. This is mainly because I love Jonas and Hattie so much and want to share their story with you all (and introduce you to the town of Wanless), but also because I'm working on the companion novel to it right now and am so excited I just can't help but share a part of them. :)

So, without further ado, click HERE to check out Chapter One (Jonas' point of view) of Pity Isn't An Option on Goodreads.

P.S. Have you checked out this week's Local Author Wednesday author, Sharon Lathan and entered the giveaway? If you're a Pride & Prejudice fan (or even if you aren't yet but love historical romance) you'll love her books! Click here to enter the giveaway! Enjoy!

Have a blessed weekend,

Jessica

Local Author Wednesday: Sharon Lathan, author of The Darcy Saga

Welcome to the first ever Local Author Wednesday! 

Throughout the month of May I will be highlighting a local author once a week here on the blog. This highlight will include information on the author's most recent book/s, a giveaway (in which the authors are being so gracious as to donate), and something cool about at least one of their books to give you a feel of their writing. I'm hoping this feature will bring awareness to new local and international readers. Plus, I like giveaways!!! (To check out this month's guests, click on my original announcement, here.)

This week, I'd like to introduce you to historical romance novelist Sharon Lathan, author of The Darcy Saga (link), including her most recent release, The Passions of Dr. Darcy. If you love Jane Austen (or even if you haven't read her before or seen any of her books-turned-to-movies), The Darcy Saga is a great view into the "what ifs" had Ms. Austen continued on with her stories. 

 

The Passions of Dr. Darcy synopsis:

George Darcy is the second son of a wealthy landowner in Georgian Era England. At 22 he is one of the youngest medical doctorate graduates of Cambridge University and admitted licentiate from the London Royal College of Physicians, and thus considered a brilliant, rising star in England’s field of medicine. Yet Dr. Darcy refuses the easy, comfortable pathway and enlists as a physician with the British East India Company, embarking on a personal quest to broaden his education and practice his craft without the restraints imposed by British society.

The Passions of Dr. Darcy spans thirty-four years in the life of this incredible, eccentric man. Using vivid descriptions of the culture and atmosphere, the story traces his early steps as a new doctor in a strange land on to his eventual return to England and his childhood home decades later. This is a story of India and the people as well as of the diseases and medical care available. Primarily, however, this is the story of one man who strived to change the face of medicine while yearning to fill the void left within his soul upon the death of his identical twin when they were 12. His search for family, enduring love, and lost companionship is a quest not wholly realized until returning to England and Pemberley. There a new generation of family and friends will heal the physician, and to his greatest surprise, the true love of his life awaits.

***

Sounds pretty great, right? And now, for something a little different...  

In Pity Isn't An Option, Jonas, the male main character, writes a few meaningful words on a particular item and ends up giving it to someone. I thought this would be a fun theme to carry on in the Local Author Wednesdays, so I asked Sharon what few words would describe The Passions of Dr. Darcy best, and what item her main character would choose to share those words on. 

In Sharon's own words: 

Dr. George Darcy would etch his memorable words onto the lid of his massive traveling trunk. He would not wish to mar the thick deerskin, so would use a surgical scalpel to scratch onto the strips along the edge.

1.    Alex - the name of his identical twin who died at age twelve

2.    Pemberley - his ancestral estate, home of his heart, and where his family resides

3.    India - his adopted country and home for thirty years

4.  Healer - physician, surgeon, or apothecary... Western medicine or Ayurvedic techniques... for Dr. Darcy the only goal is to heal

5.   Humor - innate in his character, an epiphany while reading Proverbs 17:22 enforced the necessity of cheerfulness and humor to aid healing and live a happier life

6.   Passion - whether for medicine, life, adventure, friends, family, women, or even food and clothing, passion drives George Darcy onward and keeps him young

7.   Children’s laughter - after three years of introspection, George told a dear friend that this was his “favorite sound in all the world”

8.   Marriage - a deeply held desire not to be realized for a very long time

9.   Learn - George’s conviction is to never cease in his quest for more knowledge 

***
Thanks so much for sharing, Sharon! :) And now, for a giveaway!!! Sharon is giving away one free copy of The Passions of Dr. Darcy (ebook or paperback--winner's choice)! Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win (feel free to come back every day to enter)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Sharon

Sharon Lathan is the best-selling author of The Darcy Saga eight volume sequel series to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Sharon began writing in 2006 and her first novel, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One was published in 2009. Her eighth novel was released in April 2013, The Passions of Dr. Darcy, an epic tale of an English physician in Georgian Era India.

Sharon is a native Californian currently residing in the sunny San Joaquin Valley with her husband of twenty-eight years. When not hard at work on her faithful MacBookPro laptop or iMac desktop, Sharon is at the hospital where she works as a Registered Nurse in a Neonatal ICU as she has for twenty-eight years.

Sharon is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, the Romance Writers of America, the Beau Monde and Hearts Through History chapters of the RWA, and serves on the board of her local chapter, the Yosemite Romance Writers. In 2010 Sharon created Austen Authors with novelist Abigail Reynolds, a group blog for published Jane Austen literary fiction authors.

For more information about Sharon, the Regency Era, and her novels, visit her website/blog at: www.sharonlathan.net or search for her on Facebook and Twitter.

 Buy The Passions of Dr. Darcy on Amazon (link)

Find Sharon on 

Goodreads (link)   Facebook (link)  Twitter (link)