Thursday, May 31, 2012

Update Thursday #61


Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:
~NONE~

Books I'm reading now (and some still):


407 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (21 this week)

~*~

Writing...

I had an epiphany Tuesday night about a scene I had been writing over the course of the weekend. I started over with it and BAM! Much better. It's funny how some scenes I can just write out naturally and others, I just can't get the scenery or emotion across. Maybe it's because when I first come up with an idea for a book, a handful of scenes are right there in front of me, screaming out all their idiosyncrasies. The rest aren't as easy to put together. Hmm... I think I'm going to write a blog post on this. I've been meaning to because it's been on my mind lately. Anyhow... I got a decent amount done with all my new free time (see under 'Otherwise' below). If I don't keep up with this, I won't reach my goal for the year. And I am determined to meet that goal!

I had some other little ideas come to mind for one of the next projects I'm going to work on after If Only We. So, of course, I had to write them out. You know, those ideas always seem to come to me out of nowhere. I am thankful for it though! It's better to have them come out of nowhere than not at all when I'm sitting in front of the laptop.

~*~

Otherwise...

I got plenty of things scheduled for the blog and ready to go next month and that will help me immensely to stay ahead in June. I just found out my boss cut me down to 2 days a week instead of 3. It's probably because of how slow summer is at our store, but it means I will have to cut down MAJORLY on expenses. Hopefully I'll have a new job by then... In the meantime, I've been getting online sales going--taking pictures and writing listings. I have a bunch of books for sale on eBay right now, please check it out! I've also added several things to my Etsy shop, and still have a coupon code to save 27% available (enter SAVE27SALE at checkout). I'm planning on going to an outdoor mall to gather up applications tomorrow after work. I'm actually happy my hours got cut because my store is falling apart and I want to facepalm every time I walk in there, lol. I can't wait for a change!


Until next time...

~Jessica

Monday, May 28, 2012

Introducing The Indie Authors Participating In My Summer Blog Series


Starting in June at Thoughts At One In The Morning will be a series of blog posts about how to self-publish your book. What better place to get advice than from the people who know: Indie Authors! I have questioned four authors about their publishing journey. For several weeks over the summer and into the fall, you will be able to read about the steps you need to take to become a published author. From rewrites to editing to cover art to actual publishing, you will learn (practically) everything you need to know.

Like I said above, four lovely authors have graciously volunteered their time to answer these questions for you. Their support in this blog series is very much appreciated. Allow me to introduce Marie Landry, A.M. Hargrove, Avery Sawyer, and Michelle Flick.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



.Marie Landry

Author of Blue Sky Days

Find her on:
~ Goodreads ~
~ Twitter ~
~ Facebook ~
~ Book Blog ~
~ Author Blog ~
~*~



What is the latest with you?

I’m currently working on a women’s fiction novel called The Game Changer. I started writing it around the time Blue Sky Days was released. I’m usually pretty tight-lipped about what I’m working on, so all I’ll say is that I never thought I’d write chick lit. I’m usually a romance girl, but the idea for this story came to me, and I had to go with it. I loved it so much, I put aside two other projects to work on this one.


Blue Sky Days


A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother - studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing - and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn't have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn't know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn't helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it's time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she's stepped back in time.

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes - he's unlike anyone she's ever met before, the kind of man she didn't even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don't always need a plan - sometimes life steers you where you're meant to be.

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it's time for her to help Nicholas the way he's helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 
A.M. Hargrove

Author of The Guardians of Vesturon series

Find her on:
~ Twitter ~
~ Blog ~
.

What is the latest with you?

I'm currently writing the 3rd full length novel (currently untitled) in my series, The Guardians of Vesturon. Survival and Resurrection are my 1st and 2nd, respectively and I also have a novella out called Beginnings, which a really a prequel to the series, but can be read any time.  In other words, it doesn't have to read first. My hopes are to have Book 3 out in late June or early July. The MCs are Rykerian and January and it promises to be quite a ride *big wink here*

 
Survival (The Guardians of Vesturon #1)

~ Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon ~
~ Smashwords ~ Goodreads ~

"Maybe I was caught between the two worlds. I was having serious trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality."

While on a backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, nineteen-year-old Maddie Pearce finds her world has been thrown into a vortex and is madly spinning toward the impossible. Abducted by a mad psychopath, Maddie narrowly escapes with her life. But that is only the beginning. Her mysterious rescuer introduces her to a world that Maddie has difficulty accepting as reality. Will this strikingly gorgeous stranger be the key to her future or will she return to her mundane world, scarred from her experience? Follow Maddie as she is forced to make difficult decisions that carry her to mysterious places.
Resurrection (The Guardians of Vesturon #2)

~ Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon ~
~ Smashwords ~ Goodreads ~

"Maddie knew she was dying. Her life started to flash before her. She had visions of running down the soccer field, scoring a goal, eating her mother’s yummy, homemade, sticky cinnamon rolls, standing in her foyer listening to the police tell her father that her mother had been killed in a car accident. Each vision was disturbingly clear—as if it was happening again."

Rayn Yarrister, the first-born son and Leader of The Guardians, has been imprisoned on Vesturon for breaking their most sacred of covenants. He is suddenly jolted by Maddie's telepathic pleas for help, as her life hangs in the balance. Can he alert The Guardians in time to save his soulmate? Or will he face his trial alone and broken without his one true love?

In Resurrection (Book 2), The Guardians of Vesturon are facing their biggest challenges as Earth is threatened by an invading species from a distant planet intent on destroying it for its resources. The Guardians, as protectors of the universe, have been assembled to defend not only Earth, but other vulnerable worlds as well. The Yarrister family is threatened by an unknown entity intent on discrediting them. Will they uncover this plot in time to save themselves from ruin? Will The Guardians succeed in stopping the Xanthians, or will Earth be invaded and ravaged by this marauding species?
Beginnings: Prequel (The Guardians of Vesturon #0.1)

~ Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon ~
~ Smashwords ~ Goodreads ~

You met the Guardians of Vesturon in Survival and Resurrection. Now read about how their parents, Rowan and Annalise met in Beginnings, the novella Prequel to The Guardians of Vesturon. Learn more about Rowan and how Annalise unwittingly captured his heart and how his chance meeting of her took him on a journey of forbidden love.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Avery Sawyer

Author of Notes To Self

Find her on:





What is the latest with you?

I’m putting most of my energy into my nonfiction titles at the moment, Planet Explorers Travel Guides for Kids. I plan to start a new YA novel this summer. The new YA novel is going to be dark and it’s going to be awesome.

 

Notes To Self

~ Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon ~

Two climbed up. Two fell down.

One woke up.

In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



Michelle Flick

Author of The Owens Legacy: Revelations

Find her on:
~ Goodreads ~
~ Twitter ~
~ Facebook ~
~ Blog ~


What is the latest with you?

I am currently brainstorming some ideas and working on the sequel. It's hard to write a sequel, but at this point, my characters and I are friends. The novel picks up right where my first novel ended. I have been making local appearances in the WNY area and my book is slowly making progress.


The Owens Legacy: Revelations


When telepathic twins, Piper and Ryder Owens are dumped at Evermore Academy, they thought that the only thing they’d have to worry about was Piper staying out of trouble long enough for them to graduate. They will not, for any reason, be separated. But someone at Evermore knows about their secret and wants to separate them permanently.

But then Piper’s Achilles Heel shows up: a good looking guy. Victor Mira is everything Piper is supposed to avoid, yet she feels drawn to him in a way she never imagined. But Victor is hiding a dangerous secret too, and what he knows could be the one thing that could divide the sisters. Forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you all again for doing this for my readers! Be sure to come back soon to see what you can learn about indie publishing from these wonderful authors.

~Jessica

Saturday, May 26, 2012

On My Mind: Vacation Pictures! (3)

Now that I'm back from vacation and beginning to reassemble some sort of normalcy to my life, it's time to share pictures from vacation! For those who don't know, my family and I went on vacation to North Carolina. We stayed in a Lake House and visited friends of ours who live in the area. The Lake House was gorgeous. It was a little old, so it was kind of musty, but it was still a decent place. We went to the state park one day, spent time with out friends in various places (a mall, a music fest near Charlotte, their homes), but we spent most of the time at the house. It was nice to just relax. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the beach. Our friends had conflicting schedules and it wasn't going to work out. Plus, we'd been spending a lot of time driving around already at that point, I was starting to get sick to my stomach. So, we're planning on a weekend trip possibly in the fall to go to the beach, so that will be great. ^_^

On to the pictures!!!

~*~

This is on our way down, my favorite part of the road trip down (I believe it's the edge of Virginia):

The countryside is so vast, it's stunning.

Inside, there were super high ceilings and wide open spaces:


The view from the enclosed porch:

 
Here is what it looks like on the outside facing the lake:

My shot makes it look like a mansion, but it's not THAT big.

Here's the view down the stairs:

My mom counted 52 steps from the house to the dock.

Here's the view of the lake:

The dock.

We had a heron that visited daily, I took this shot from up on the porch:


This was taken at Lake Norman State Park:


Hills behind the Taco Bell we stopped at on the way back (still in NC):


This is a picture of Cincinnati from on our way back:

It's the first time I've been by such a big city (boy, do I need to get out more!)
~*~

Well, that was a little slideshow of my trip. It's so hard to capture it all. I took the pictures with a new camera that I bought a week before we left. It was on sale and twice as good as the camera I had. So I got much better pictures than I would have with my old camera. More clear shots, more detailed, barely any blurry shots. Made the vacation so much better! Our family is going to make this North Carolina trip an annual thing. Our friends on NC are trying to convince us to move down, and while it is tempting (oh so tempting!), it would take awhile before we could manage such a big move. But it's a possibility. ;)

~Jessica

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Update Thursday #60


Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (TBR Pile Challenge)
Books I'm reading now (and some still):
386 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (2 this week)

~*~

Writing...

I don't think I did much more after last week. It's been a whirlwind of doing something nonstop. Once I got home, I had to write a list (ahem, MULTIPLE lists) of everything I needed to do (putting everything from suitcases to where it belongs, helping with laundry, responding to emails... etc., so much etc.). I have notes in my phone that need copied to paper for future use. Once my life gets back to the routine and everything is in its place, I will be able to write again. Especially since I'm so ahead on reading!

~*~

Otherwise...

The view of the lake where we stayed on vacation.
Oh the vacation was wonderful! Part of me is glad to be back though. Not that I didn't enjoy being away from things, I just needed to get back to my home, my room, my bed. You know? The lake house was gorgeous. We had an amazing time hanging out with our friends and making new ones. I will be compiling a post to share some pictures of my vacation with everyone by the end of the month.

Ah! Like I said above, SO MUCH TO DO. I feel like I'm running in circles. I spent most of Wednesday morning/afternoon online catching up with everything and everyone, watching two season finales I missed out on catching before I left for vacation (How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory), printing off pages for my upcoming blog post series... Then I spent the evening cleaning up my room. I probably won't have much new content on this blog until June. I have that indie publishing blog post series to get started AND literally SEVEN reviews to write. Plus, I need to put in a call for a job application I turned in.


Until next time...

~Jessica

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Review: The Probability Of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Title: The Probability Of Miracles
Author: Wendy Wunder
Source: Won ARC
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

.
Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

A debut novel from an immensely talented new writer, The Probability of Miracles crackles with wit, romance and humor and will leave readers laughing and crying with each turn of the page.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Going into this story, I was under the impression it was going to be an emotional roller coaster. And to some degree it was. There is a lot of life and death discussed and alluded to throughout. I think I may have been able to like this more if Cam wasn’t so frustrating to me.

I had mixed feelings about Cam. Most of the time I disliked her because her attitude irritated me. She wasn’t nice, constantly cynical, and made poor choices. I understand that she was facing cancer, and there was a higher chance of her dying rather than it going into remission, but she just had a way of thinking that made me want to scream sometimes. I’m not sure if it was the cancer that caused her personality to be the way it is, like this constant pessimism about life and having little remorse over doing stupid stuff. I suppose I can forgive it for that sake, but she still irritated me.

Her family was more hopeful about life, and the prospect of going to Promise, Maine in an attempt to have a miracle happen for Cam. Her mom and Perry, her sister, were sweet people. They don’t want to give up like Cam does. That’s why they travel so far to see what could happen. The town of Promise was intriguing and had a lot going for it, which made up a little for Cam’s unlikable traits. The stories and experiences they have upon arriving made me smile and gave me goose bumps, even though it was just a book.

Cam did grow up, albeit only a little in my opinion, so she redeemed herself by the end. And I have to admit, some of her sarcasm was amusing… just some though. It’s just hard for me to see someone unable to hope, just at least a little bit. If someone can’t chill out or be serious or at least hold on to a teeny bit of hope for a miracle, it just grates at me. I understand, seeing as I am more pessimist than optimist, but at some point you have to say, “I’m going to hope!” at least for a minute.

The Probability Of Miracles is a good book. While there were moments I wanted to sigh and roll my eyes, Wendy Wunder was able to give us a  journey from the beginning to end that was filled with a lot of hope. A message that miracles exist and you need to hope regardless of your circumstances. Cam may not have epitomized this, but she carried a little bit of it with her. All in all, I did enjoy this book in the end.


My Rating:

Pretty Good: Stay up until your bedtime

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Source: Purchased
Genre: Classic Mystery
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

/
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"
,

With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

A friend of mine one time at the book store was looking for this book. She said she really liked the movie and wanted to read the book. I heard from her, and then read online, about the book and movie. It sounded very enticing, and since I try really hard to read books before watching movies, I thought I would go for it. It’s not a Jane Austen era classic, but a classic nonetheless, and definitely out of my regular reading range. Yet, I found this novel fascinating.

As I sat down to type up a review, I realized that I couldn’t for the life of me remember what our heroine’s name was. She was basically referred to as Mrs. de Winter throughout the majority of the book. Turns out, the author never gave her one. Which makes this all the more strange, to be honest. In any case, the story is told from Mrs. de Winter’s perspective and it was enjoyable to see this world through her. She was so innocent and peculiar, I couldn’t help but like her. And I could see a little bit of myself in her too. Her husband, Maxim, was a sometimes charming, sometimes mysterious gentleman.

The book takes place mostly at Manderley, the beautiful mansion full of secrets. Upon reading the first chapter, you’re swept away in the loveliness of the place. That’s one thing I really enjoyed, the descriptions of everything down to the detail. Sometimes detail can be too much, but there was an air of mystery throughout that it kept you interested. Once Mrs. de Winter arrives at this place with Maxim, there is an unending atmosphere of an eerie nature flowing through the hallways and rooms. The first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca, was someone that everyone knew and everyone loved. For the current Mrs. de Winter, it is impossible for her to fill those shoes. She can’t help but wonder what happened to Rebecca, this woman that nobody could find fault with, and why everything associated to Manderley seems to be surrounded by secrets of a disturbing kind.

There are so many others in this story, members of the staff and family and friends, I don’t think I could list them all. I do have to make note of Mrs. Danvers. Oh my goodness, that woman. As I read her words, the things she dared say to Mrs. de Winter, I was in disbelief at her. I expected as much, seeing how their first encounters started, and by the end, everything she did was not shocking anymore.

The ending, however, did not go remotely as I expected. The mystery, when discovered, was more like… really? And as the time passed by after this discovery, I was thinking, NOW how will this end? How CAN it end? I was baffled. Maybe I’m just so used to being completely surprised by things. This wasn’t a complete surprise.

One thing I can say is that Rebecca did keep me wondering throughout what was going to happen. One minute you’re lead in one direction, then you’re lead in a different direction. You never know what is what, or who is trustworthy, or if the words uttered can even be believed as fact or fiction. It will definitely keep you on your toes. Daphne du Maurier wove a tale so mysterious and remarkable. I would recommend this for sure. And now, for me to see the movie.


My Rating:

Very Good: Stay up late

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Update Thursday #59


Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:
Books I'm reading now (and some still):
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (TBR Pile Challenge)
384 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (13 this week)

It looks like I'm reading too many books, LOL. I just figured I should put them all up since I'll be reading them while on vacation at some point. Save myself some time.

~*~

Writing...

I never got around to doing ANY writing before leaving for vacation. However, I bought The Emotion Thesaurus and started to browse through it at work. Totally helped add some to my characters in my novel. I took notes in my phone to write it out later. And then I wrote them out. And wrote part of that scene I've been wanting to write. And THEN I got The Emotion Thesaurus out again and came up with some more aspects to add to scenes. I'll probably add those in later on. I've been relaxed enough to get some good writing out. I love it. ^_^

~*~

Otherwise...

Well, I am on vacation, and I've been really good about not going online much. There are just those moments when you don't have anything else to do. I've been having a GREAT time. Working on the plans to go to the beach, possibly Saturday. We'll be going to a downtown music and dance fest with our friends Friday night. I get to go shopping for a dress for it in the morning. Then we'll have our friends come out to our lake house to hang out Sunday afternoon. Even just chilling out around the house is a lot of fun. I was able to write for my story, plus I did a little bit of free writing too. I don't want to go home. At all. I just love this feeling. Relaxing and stress free. Oh my goodness. It is awesome.

Oh, and I joined Pinterest! So follow me on Pinterest. And I'll love you. ^_^


Until next time...

~Jessica

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

On My Mind: Road Trip--Ready? Set? Go! (2)

It's time!!!

Time for my vacation, that is. Oh man, it is ABOUT TIME. Last time I went to North Carolina was in 2007. We only spent a long weekend there, but this time it's going to be a whole week AND we're renting a lake house. A FLIPPIN' LAKE HOUSE. It's so awesome I can't express in words the awesomeness of it.

It's going to be a 9-10 hour drive down (and back) so that means plenty of time to possibly read... I mean, as long as I don't start feeling sick from the driving anyways. I'm making sure to bring some good books with me, some I've been dying to read for awhile (plus my Nook, because WASN'T THAT THE POINT OF GETTING ONE?! Lol). I was originally going to bring only three physical books with me, but as I was going through my books I ended up picking out five instead.


Here's what I am bringing with me:


1. Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads)
2. Forgotten by Cat Patrick (Goodreads)
3. The Babysitter Murders by Janet Ruth Young (Goodreads)
4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Goodreads)
5. Heat Wave by Richard Castle (Goodreads)


I don't think I'll be able to finish them ALL by the end of the vacation, but that would be awesome if I could. Now that I'm reading about 2 books a week, I might be able to start posting 2 reviews a week soon. ^_^

EDIT TO ADD: Well, I added TWO MORE to the pile last minute because I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF. I saw them on my shelf and thought, OMG I want to read that. Those other two are Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky (Goodreads) and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally (Goodreads). Yes, I am crazy.

Anyways, back to the vacation!

Like I said above, we're staying at a lake house. From the pictures I saw, it looks GORGEOUS. I can't wait to take pictures when we get there to share with you guys later. We'll be spending time with some friends of ours that used to live in Ohio with us. There is no doubt that we will have a great time when we hang out with them because whenever we do, there are moments where you're laughing out loud for five minutes straight and you do the craziest things that are what memories are made of. We'll be making a trip out to the beach at least one day (it's about 4 hours away) and it will be the FIRST time I've seen the ocean. SO EXCITED!

Well, I'm going to go ahead and schedule this now, because I'll probably be running around at the time this gets posted. I may be able to get to Update Thursday this week, we'll see. I have a couple other things scheduled in the meantime. Anyhow! I'll chat with you guys later. I might be able to read the comments/emails you make/send while I'm down there, but I'll respond to them when I get back. ^_^

HAVE A GREAT WEEK WHILE I'M GONE EVERYONE!
HAPPY READING! XOXO!!!

~Jessica

Monday, May 14, 2012

Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ!

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and celebrate our happy moments on Facebook.


Kindness ROCKS!

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

My RAOK is for the wonderful Angie at Eastern Sunset Reads. She has been with me from the start of this blog (and before), has been an encouragement when it comes to my writing (I may not have done NaNoWriMo otherwise), and is willing to beta my book when I finish it (which is awesome). Angie, my RAOK gift to you is a surprise box of writing goodies! ^_^

Please stop in at Eastern Sunset Reads and tell Angie that she is an awesome person!

Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments! ^_^

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Update Thursday #58

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:

Books I'm reading now (and some still):


Writing...

Hmm... I didn't do as much as I'd hoped this week! Been too distracted by getting ready for vacation, messing around with a new camera, scheduling all my blog posts for the next couple weeks... Okay... new plan: Spend today through Sunday at least getting what I wanted done LAST WEEK done. Index cards and a couple scenes. Not that I didn't come up with some scene ideas or anything. I'm always doing that. I came up with an alternative for a couple. So that's progress...

Otherwise...

OMG OMG OMG, less than a week until vacation! I've been gathering various things off and on over the last week and packing them. There are so many things that need to be packed last minute, it kinda frustrates me. I keep worrying I'll forget something. It's been so long since I've gone on vacation. I'm hoping to still be able to do this post next week since we have internet access where we're staying. I know I shouldn't be concerned with my blog while on vacation, I just can't help it! Being away from work alone is vacation enough for me. The travel to another state and going to be beach is just a bonus. LOL.


Until next time...

~Jessica

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

50 More Barnes & Noble Nook Book Deals Under $5!

(I thought I'd do this again because there's always new great deals on the Nook. I've copy/pasted what I wrote the first time below. Here's a link to the first B&N Nook book deals post. Some of them may still be for the price posted.)

I've been seeing a lot of Amazon Kindle Book Deals posts. That's all well and good, but when I search for the book on Barnes & Noble, it's not always on sale there too. Which is disappointing. So, I thought I'd compile a little bunch of Nook Book Deals for my lovely fellow bloggers who own Nooks and not Kindles. And oh boy did it take some time! But I think it was SOOO worth it because I discovered some good deals that I had to take advantage of. So I hope you can find something you like too. ^_^

I haven't read all of these books, nor do I own all of them. This is just a compilation of some good deals that are out there, whether they are traditionally published and now available at a low price or are indie and are already low priced. It's a low cost way of trying out new authors.

Note: These prices are the current price as of the hours prior to publishing this post. Some of these prices may change by the time you click on the links. I am not in control of Barnes & Noble or indie authors in the pricing of their e-books. I am also not affiliated with Barnes & Noble and I am not receiving any monetary compensation for this post. The reason is just because I wanted to.

FREE SAMPLERS
(These are great when you want to try out some new authors without having to invest in a whole book and find out you don't like it.)


Epic Reads Book Club Sampler
Pitch Dark: Dark Days of Summer Sampler



PitchDark: Dark Days of Winter Teen Sampler
Pitch Dark: Dark Days of Fall Sampler


PitchDark: Even Darker Days of Winter Teen Sampler
Breathless Reads Sampler


Hunger for Dystopian Teen Sampler
Story Crush Teen Sampler

 
Lauren Kate's Fallen Series Ebook Sampler
Kristin Cashore eSampler

$0.99


What's Meant To Be by Kels Barnholdt ~ $0.99
Mere Enchantment by Alicia Rivoli ~ $0.99


Pandora's Key by Nancy Richardson Fischer ~ $0.99
Between Balloons by Kimberly Russell ~ $0.99

$2.99


Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan ~ $2.99
Monster High by Lisi Harrison ~ $2.99
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad ~ $2.99


13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson ~ $2.99
Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley ~ $2.99
The Duff by Kody Keplinger ~ $2.99


The Light Tamer by Devyn Dawson ~ $2.99
Here by Denise Grover Swank ~ $2.99
The Fake Boyfriend Experiment by Stephanie Rowe ~ $2.99


Love and Other Things I'm Bad At by Catherine Clark ~ $2.99
Kiss Crush Collide by Christina Meredith ~ $2.99
Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik ~ $2.99


Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday ~ $2.99
The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell ~ $2.99
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park ~ $2.99

$3.99 - $4.99


Fissure by Nicole Williams ~ $3.99
Skater Boy by Mari Mancusi ~ $3.99
Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald ~ $3.99


Shot Through the Heart by Niki Burnham ~ $4.99
Breathe by Abbi Glines ~ $4.99
The Iron Knight (Iron Fey Series #4) by Julie Kagawa ~ $4.99


NOVELLAS BY YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS
(Since we're always looking for anything related to our favorite series. Here's some you may or may not have known about.)


Dark Eden: Phantom File (Dark Eden) by Patrick Carman ~ $0.99
Letters To Elise: A Peter Townsend Novella (My Blood Approves) by Amanda Hocking ~ $0.99
The Goddess Hunt (The Goddess Test) by Aimee Carter ~ $1.99


Divine Beginnings (Divine) by P.C. Cast ~ $2.20
Dream Dark (Beautiful Creatures) by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl ~ $1.99
The Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel (The Dark Divine) by Bree Despain ~ $1.99


Regret (Possession) by Elana Johnson ~ $1.99
Stopping Time (Wicked Lovely) by Melissa Marr ~ $1.99
Winter's Passage (Iron Fey) by Julie Kajawa ~ $2.89


Hana (Delirium) by Lauren Oliver ~ $2.99 
Treachery: A Nightshade Novella (Nightshade)by Andrea Cremer ~ $2.99
Before That Night (One Night That Changes Everything) by Lauren Barnholdt ~ $2.99


I Am Number Four - The Lost Files: Six's Legacy (I Am Number Four) by Pittacus Lore ~ $3.99
I Am Number Four - The Lost Files: Nine's Legacy (I Am Number Four) by Pittacus Lore ~ $3.99 
Beastly: Lindy's Diary (Beastly) by Alex Flinn ~ $3.99


 ~*~

Hope you found something good!!! (I think I have ^_^)

~Jessica