This week's writerly news, smores, and smore < --- pun... ha ha

So... I have a lot to say this week. Considering I don't have much time and I know you guys don't want to read for ten years, I'm going to break it down as quickly as possible. (Because I care.) But first, a quick FYI... I have some kinda cool news at the end of this post. (*wink wink*) Okay, here goes:

1) Last week I totally forgot to share our neat-o, homemade fire pit that we made while on vacation. We didn't want to go down to the beach for smores (although we ended up doing just that the last two nights we were there, anyway), so we bought a clay pot and well, I'll let the pictures tell the story. :D*

 YUM!!!! And also...

Our first itty bitty bonfire AT Oceano.

*Note: wanting to go to bed but wary of leaving the charcoal burning away in the alley behind the home we rented, we poured a bottle of water over the charcoal. BAD IDEA! The amount of smoke was enough for someone suspect the worst and call the fire department! So make sure you let it go out on its own.


2) The other day I asked for help on Twitter and my Facebook page and BOY did ya'll come through! If you missed the six character names chosen from your suggestions, check it out HERE.


3) I'm excited to announce that I'm participating in I HEART YA 2014! Yay!

I'll be doing two separate features, one being a character interview (which is cool because I'll be doing a *different* character interview a few weeks later for the Open Thy Heart release blog tour)! The feature will be right around when By Sun and Candlelight comes out (August), so I'm excited. It's so awesome of Annabell and Bridget to do this for us authors!

4) I've officially joined the Goodreads Ask the Author feature. You can ask questions HERE. 

5) I'm looking for a few teen readers to interview. I have one more lined up (and one so busy, they can't participate right now, hence the lack of one this month), and then I'm going to need a few more peeps. If you're interested or know someone who is, email me at coffeelvnmom (at) gmail (dot) net!

6) Don't forget both the She's the Man #JLBgivesawayaDVD giveaway AND the Open Thy Heart cover reveal giveaway end SOON! 

7) Last, as you may or may not know, I try to give those subscribed to my Let Me Tell You A Story e-newsletter a heads-up on things before I announce them officially online. (It's only fair, you know?) In keeping with that idea, I've decided to share a rather long excerpt of By Sun and Candlelight with my pals via the Let Me Tell You A Story e-newsletter a few days before it's available to the public on August 15th. So... if you're itching to read a bit of Rowan's perspective, but aren't a subscriber yet, well, PLEASE let me tell you a story!!! (I only send out one to two emails a month, so no worries about spam or anything.) You can subscribe right over there ----- >


WHEW! I believe that was about 9 1/2 years! Coffee, anybody?


HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND, and read SMORE books, my friends! ;D

LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS -- this week's writerly news

Just a quick warning: This post is going to be full of exclamation points. (!!!!!) 

Hey, all! It's Friday! Which means that, in a couple of days, If I Speak True's blog tour will begin! This is me right now:

And guess what? Both the ebook AND paperback are already available on Amazon! (Please again refer to the above gif.) (link) 

Also, today the giveaway on Goodreads finally appeared! (link) The giveaway is US only though--sorry guys--because the cost of mailing books is INSANE. (I will share the blog stops, though, throughout the tour, starting Monday, so ya'll can enter to win stuff here AND internationally that way.)

Another thing: the first review came in today--thanks, Beryl!!! (Do I need to mention the above gif?) (link)

There are only a couple more posts on my Tumblr If I Speak True photo-a-day feature... please check it out if you have a chance because the photos and excerpts really do give you a great visual of the storyline! (Remember to start at the first ever entry of the book's cover if this is the first time visiting, and work your way up and to the first page!) (link)

And, last but most certainly not least...

Though I haven't done this in YEARS... I am so excited about If I Speak True's release and the fact that Rowan's novella is almost done and the second book is well under way that I just HADDDDD to share an excerpt from the novella. (SQUEE) This is Rowan and Briscoe at Castle Lennox (Rowan's POV, obviously). Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress and has not yet been edited (or revised) so (minor) things will most likely be changed. Enjoy!

***

I wave my hand. “I was angry at first, I am not going to lie. You had no right to--”

“Yes, I know,” Briscoe interrupts, “and that is why I came today, to tell you--”

“Will you let me finish?”

He clamps his mouth shut and nods.

“You had no right to step in and tell Dahlia the severity of the situation," I continue, "Not because she does not deserve to know--we know she does, she is a part of Ambrosia... but with us being unsure how long it will be until she can come back, sending her home with more reasons to be concerned whilst there, unable to speak to anyone about it at all, is not the proper way to go. But..."

Briscoe's eyes widen. “Yes?”

“But once we arrived back last night, it occurred to me what you were doing. And for that, I am grateful.”

 “She needed to know," he says, sucking in a deep breath, "and you did not want her mad at you--”

“Well that did not exactly happen.” I rub my arm, and we both laugh. The tension dissipates, and I know Briscoe is back to being my brother again.

“But I knew you would not want all of that animosity aimed at you, for who knows how long.”

“I appreciate it. I am sorry for not recognizing it sooner.”

“It did make for a good show." Briscoe grins. He gets in my face and growls. “You are out of line!”

“I am sure I was not that dramatic.” I chuckle, shoving him away.

“No,” He rolls his eyes, “You were more.”

“One day, one day you will see, brother. A lady will look up at you through thick eyelashes of wonder and your heart will stop and your body will melt into pitch and you will lose all reason and want to follow her wherever she goes.”

“Is that what Dahlia makes you want to do? Follow her to Shaver?”

“Dahlia…” I set a hand on his shoulder. “Dahlia makes me want to bring her here and destroy both the Door and the Gate, so she can never leave again.”

***

Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for putting up with my exclamation points!!! 

Have a blessed weekend and see ya'll here on Monday! :D

What makes a favorite?

Image source: Pinterest

Over the weekend, I made a new Goodreads shelf titled, "favorites". (Which means I now have like, four shelves. Yeah. I'm exciting like that.) Anyway, I realized that I didn't have to have even given them a five-star rating to love them, and it got me thinking: What makes a book a favorite?

Obviously no (or a very limited few) books are perfect. So what makes a book go from being just a book, to being one of those you gush over and are willing to read over and over?

As I went through my list, I realized there were a few particular reasons a book made it to my favorites list--they all had at least one (but usually more) of the below attributes:

1) The prose was beautiful.

2) Great storyline.

3) The book stuck with me and made me think about it long afterwards.

4) I fell in love with the characters.

5) The book gave me all THE FEELS.

6) I simply found the book entertaining.

What about you? What makes a book your favorite, and which ones are you currently in love with?

Pity Isn't An Option's character inspiration photos and well, happy weekend!

After a bit of thought, I've decided to go ahead and share my character inspiration photos for Pity Isn't An Option. This is one of those iffy things where there's a potential to change the reader's visual either for the better or for the worse, which was why I've held back from sharing since starting PIAO over three years ago. I didn't want to push anyone into the "for the worse" category; but now that it's out in the world, I really want to share because I think it will give readers a new connection.

I would love to be able to share these photos here on the blog, but I think the copyright issues aren't as big (yet) on Pinterest, so that's where I'm doing it. If you would like to see how I saw Jonas and Hattie and Heath and Gran and Lucy and everyone else from the very beginning, head on over to my board by clicking this link. I'd love to hear what you guys think!

Quick reminder: The Goodreads PIAO giveaway ends SUNDAY. If you haven't entered and would like to, look right over there at the sidebar --- > and click the Enter to Win link.

Have a blessed weekend, everybody! 

Jessica

Lots o' links on how to support your favorite authors

You know that feeling you get as you read the last few words of a favorite book... that feeling where your brain is still absorbing what you've just read, but you already know you want to shout from the rooftops (or yell across the interwebs) that everyone needs to read it right now?

Or maybe you know of a certain author who writes pretty good stuff, but you've never really been sure about how to tell other people about it.

Either way, you will never have to deal with a how-on-earth-to-I-tell-people-about-this-book problem ever again, because I have the solutions below!

See, I thought about writing my own post on how to review and/or rate books online, but then I realized that the internet is already full of helpful posts about spreading author/book love around and figured, why not share those? The best book recommendations I've ever received were the ones that made me jealous to have the same great reading experience as the person who told me about it.

And... viola! Here are a smidgeon of the many helpful posts I've come across, all in one place for future reference. :)

***

How to Support Authors You Love Without
Spending Another Penny by Sarah Nicolas (@sarah_nicolas) at YAtopia

How to Support An Author's New Book: 11 Ideas for You 

by Chuck Sambuchino (@ChuckSambuchino) on Writer Unboxed

20 Easy Ways Readers Can Help Promote

by Jody Hedlund (@JodyHedlund) at Author, Jody Hedlund

10 Quick and Easy Ways to Help Support Your Amazon Author 

*neat for someone who could use a step-by-step example to navigating Amazon.com

by D. M. Andrews at Creative Conflict 

36 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love

by John Kremer (@JohnKremer) at Bookmarketing Bestsellers

How to Write a Book Review on Amazon 
*this is actually helpful for a review on any site 
by Katherine Lowry Logan (@KathyLLogan) at kathrinelowrylogan.com

Supporting Authors When Your Heart is Bigger Than Your Wallet

by Lisa Schroeder (@lisa_schroeder) on lisaschroederbooks

Ways to Support Self-Published Authors

by Amy Martin (@ThatAmyMartin) on theamymartin

5 Ways to Support an Indie Author

by Nancy Fulda (@NancyFulda) at Chrysalis

8 Ways to Help Your Favorite Author

by agent Rachelle Gardner (@RachelleGardner) on Books & Such

Goodreads Help Topics

**For people who have just boarded the Goodreads train 

on Goodreads (@goodreads)

***

The Runaway King

It's here! I thought it wasn't coming for another week, but guess what showed up in my mailbox yesterday? THE RUNAWAY KING by Jennifer A. Nieson! (Naturally, I abandoned all household chores and holed myself in my room in order to read it today.) You can check out my review at Afterglow Book Reviews here.

Also, if you're looking for a freebie read, today's the last day my ebook, PITY ISN'T AN OPTION, is available on Goodreads for free. (My whoopsie-daisy announcement is here. I really need to learn how to work this stuff better.)

Be blessed, and HAPPY READING!

Jessica

Get PITY ISN'T AN OPTION ***FREE*** on Goodreads

...because I was trying to set it to allow a readable excerpt and didn't realize I'd uploaded the entire book!  (Duh.)

So... let's just do a freebie thing for the rest of the week!!! YAY!!!!

**throws confetti**  

**and coffee beans**

Sometime over the weekend I'll fix it to where it can only be *purchased* on Goodreads (like it is everywhere else), so take advantage of this (accidental and yet quite convenient) offer before it ends! 

To read PITY ISN'T AN OPTION, CLICK HERE. To read an excerpt ON Goodreads, click on the read book tab underneath the cover photo. To download the entire book, click on download ebook beneath the description. (And be sure to add it to your "want to read", "reading now" or "read" shelves, as well)!!!! 

ENJOY!

**throws more coffee**

**and a few chocolate kisses**

Jessica