Pseudonym (Pen-Name), Real Name. Who Cares?

Sundays are Good Book Days.

Sundays are good book days.

What i will be reading. . . Or trying to read.

Good afternoon everyone! Well, it seems that I might be able to catch up in some reading. I have so many books that I should be reading before January. If I don't get them done, I can get them read/reviewed later. But I normally get my reviews up within a day of reading the books . . . which means, I am rather behind. I thought I would put all the books I have waiting for reviews. (Most of the books I will mention are from either Xpresso book tours, ya bound book tours, net galley, or via the author(s) - I will also give a brief explanation why i request the book, or what intrigued me. If I don't, I ran out of words and decided to just share the book.) I will add goodreads links to all the book Titles so that you can add them to your reading lists, if you wish. (This post went live on Haddie's Haven a short while ago.)

First on the list (Well, maybe not first) is: 

The Last of the Firedrakes (Avalonia Chronicle, book one) 

by Farah Oomerbhoy

I got a review copy through Xpresso Book Tours - I have yet to read the first page. And it has been sitting in my laptop for a little over two months now. Yikes, I know. I usually will get a book done within a day of receiving it. This is the case with the majority of the following books, but I will say which ones.

Emerge (The Awakening, book one)
by Melissa Craven

I also got this book through Xpresso Book Tours. I did read the first page, but had to put it down because life got busy. I know that I am going to love it once I get to it. And it is a very cool cover!

I think it was the cover that grabbed my attention, That usually is the case.

The Urban Boys:
The Discovery of the five senses
by K. N. Smith

Via xpresso book tours - I was intrigued by this book because it is not traditionally published. And who doesn't like a book about a group of friends on adventure. 

Immurement
(The Underground series, book one)
by Norma Hinkens

Via xpresso book tours - Similar to the ones mentioned above, the cover caught my eye..

Crystallum
(The Primordial Principles #1) 
By Laney McMann

via Xpresso Book Tours - 

Forget me not by allison whitmore

Via xpresso book tours - This is a more "darker" read, but I am in the first couple of pages. I keep losing my place whenever I have to get up.

Without a doubt by lindsey paige

via xpresso book tours - this is a NA-lit novel, and I want to get straight into it. the last time I requested a na novel, i loved it! I could not get enough. (The sad thing was that the file was from net-galley and it expired after 50 days. I believe)

No Promises by N. Raines

via xpresso book tours for a review tour that is coming in january, so keep an eye out for that.

I've already started this one, though the first few pages have me a little iffy about it. The first chapter contains an element that I do not support, but I am going to try and push passed that and keep going. The plot is what intrigued me at the start. Also, the guy on the cover is pretty good looking.

Bound (The Caelian cycle, book two)
by Donnielle tyner

I got this via the author, shortly after reading the first book. I still cannot get over the first portion of the book. it had me in tears, covered in goosebumps, and on an emotional roller coaster. I actually hope to get to this one ASAP, since the third book in the caelian cycle is to have a cover reveal soon . . . 

A horse named dog
by Lauren Oliver

via ya bound book tours

What girl does not love horses? Well, though the main character is a young boy, I still wanted to read and check this out. I have several books from the black stallion series, so imagine how intrigued i was to hear about this.

Distraction (Westbrook, book one)
by Laura Clark
via the author - when I RECEIVED the email about reviewing this book, I was so glad. I rarely get emails about review requests, I mainly request them myself. This book seems to be right up my ally, in terms of "contemporary". 

Outsiders by tammy ferebee

via the author - This book is going to take me to a new level in my comfort zone. Granted, I have read my fair share of NA-Lit and a few adult fantasy novels, so it is not going to be too far off. The author had read my reading preferences and thought I might not like it, due to a certain element of passionate love. But that preference list needs to be updated, since I read a wide VARIETY of book genres now. definitely looking forward to this one. 

Annabeth Neverending
by Leyla Kader Dahm

via the author - The author of this book contacted me through goodreads, and this book should be arriving to my house within the next week or so. This will be one of my first print ARCs. (I do have others, but those were from contests through publishers.)

I really think that this will be a quick read for me, because it will be in my hands, and not on my laptop.

Return Once More (The Historians, book one)
by Trisha Leigh

via the author (twice) - I got an e-arc of this book from the author, twice, because it was in a swag-pack she was giving out to readers, and because I requested it from her website. This has been sitting in my laptop for too long. Every time i look at the book button, i say to myself: "You have to read that!" Even my mom said it sounds pretty cool. Who doesn't like a good time travel book?

 

The CHICAGO war series by Bethany-kris
Book One - Book Two - Book Three
via the author's publicist - I saw this book through a cover reveal, or a book blitz, on another book blog, and loved the covers. I went to look at the author's website and she was giving out arcs of the THIRD book, along with the first two books for the people who are not familiar with the series. Are the covers not the coolest!

THE ANDY SMITHSON SERIES 

BY L. R. W. LEE

Book One - Book Two - Book Three - Book Four - Book Five - Prequel

Via the author - I own the first book and the prequel already. When the author mentioned wanting more reviews for the series, i went for it. she gave me books 2-5 for review, and I will be reading the sixth book towards the end of next year. I am in chapter 2-3 of the first book, blast of the dragon's fury. This is technically a middle grade fantasy series, but i think the prequel is ya.

Blood Moon
(Everealm series, book three)
by J. D. Wright

Via the author - This was in my email last night! I have raved about the first two books left and right! I am so happy to be reading this; I have been anticipating the release forever. It is to be released in january, so I will try to save it for when it becomes available. Fair warning: adult content; intended for mature audiences.

The Return of Brody McBride
By Jennifer Ryan

giveaway prize - I won this through a Western FB-readers group. it is a Western novel, obviously. I have only read one Western in my life, but that was when I was 17, and a week later, my sister gave let someone have it. I am supposed to have received a picture card of the cover, but IDK what happened there. I am on page 3 of this book, for three months now. I do not know if I will be reading this one along with the ones on this list, but I do want to read it soon.

Well, that is 25 books, but the list still goes on. I have a few books that I have not mentioned yet. mainly they are giveaway winnings, with the request of a review once i have read them. if I feel like it, I will add them. 

Books. Who does not love books? There is a bookworm in all of us. it just takes the right book to activate that love for literature. (A similar saying can be found in "This book will change your life" by Amanda Weaver)

Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone! Firstly, I have to wish you all a very merry Christmas! I actually wrote this post a full few days ahead of time. Mainly because I knew I would not be on my laptop at all. Here is what I will be doing when this post goes live!

On Tuesday, my dad and my mom (one of them) went to the fish market to buy loads of fresh fish for Sushi, for Christmas dinner. (I might or might not have gone) (This sushi will last until Friday evening) You see, there were few years that my family did nothing but Sushi for Christmas, for a week. As it turns out, the last time we were able to do that was when I was 14. O.O Yeah, I know, so long ago. My sister was the one who planted the hint and my dad said "Let's do it!" I will be assisting in the making of the sushi rolls; at least I hope so. Another thing I will be doing is reading. I have my little collection of print books and I want to read the over again.

I won a $5 Amazon GC, so I bought another Jody Hedlund book (Unending Devotion), which left me with $1. So I was thinking to myself "What e-book can I get that is under the usual price?" So I went to my wish-lists and looked around when one caught my eye. Finding Perfect by Kendra C. Highley. I may have mentioned reviewing that book (via Netgalley) a couple months ago. Anyways, I love that story so I could not resist getting a copy for myself.

Speaking of books, I have so many books that I have to read and review. And I just added, like, six more to the growing list. If you would like to see that list, you can CLICK HERE, and scroll to the bottom of all those books, to the reviewing montage. I know, its a very long list, and some of those books were from NetGalley, which means they are long expired for my reading use. The last book on that list (Annabeth Neverending) is coming via snail-mail, in print, from the author. I look forward to reading/reviewing that one.

It's been a pretty good week, in terms of writing, but I will say that I have not written as much as I would have liked. I mean, I have inspo for PoY, but I keep needing to get up. I do have a great idea for a new story, which I think I mentioned in my Sunday post. I decided to write an outline (which I don't usually do when I come up with a new story. I usually just write the first chapter to not lose it). I don't want that idea to get lost. But I know that if I were to work on it, I will get distracted from PoY. So that story is definitely on the back burner until I finished my current goals.

I am constantly trying to do everything that is requested of me, which kind of takes me away from my stuff. But living in a big family means giving up what you want for someone else. I have that mastered, and to be honest, it feels good most of the time. It makes you feel like you have pleased someone. At least, there are people I love to please and others who take it to a new level of nagging. But you gotta brush it off and move on. That's my mom always says. ☺

Well, I hope this post finds you merry and full of joy. I gotta go. God bless you and see you next time!

Note to Self: You are getting very close to completing your goal!

Good Mythical Morning! (Yes, I just finished watching GMM on YouTube)

So, I am here at the table, in my usual spot, mentally preparing myself for a day of writing. At least, I hope to get some writing done. Tomorrow is my "posting day" for PoY, but the new chapter is not finished yet. I had managed to write a good portion of it last Sunday, but not enough during the week. But as I often say, it is not a big deal. You gotta take each step as it come. Don't jump and try to skip over things. That can cause you to not see a coming step and you can trip.

Something smacked me in the head yesterday, mentally. I cannot get a book self-published without having some sort of income to pay for it. *SIGHS* I already know how will get an income, but more on that another time. I also have been planning the final cover(s) for a certain novel (or two) for when they are published. But I am not going to show those off. . . . Not on my blog anyway. I am testing a few finalized covers on PoY, but not on Wattpad. I am using it on my Write On (Amazon branch) account, and hoping it will get some love. Speaking of that, I have to post a new chapter of PoY over there.

Scarred Hearts is also going to have a final cover for publishing, but I have not worked that out yet. It is posted to Write On, and I have been getting the feedback I was hoping. I only have a few chapters up, but the feedback is helpful. Now I have to work all those details into the book, and fix it. Which means. . . . I will need an actual editor. Another thing I will need to pay for. To be totally honest, I was going to try and eek by and go as cheap as possible, because I thought I was not going to have the money for all the special stuff. But like I said above, more on how I will earn for my book in another post.

I was looking at the Entangled Pub submissions page the other day. As it turns out, I meet most of the requirements to submit a manuscript. My problem? There are some things about my novel(s) that . . . they might not fit along the other books that are published there. I mean, I write very clean fiction, that would be suitable for all ages. The thing with Entangled is that their imprints fit a certain box (age of characters/readers, content, etc.) and I don't know where the novel would fit. 

Entangled's CRUSH imprint is for Teen & YA readers (16-18). My novels would fit there, but I made my characters ages 21 and older, even though I can say the content is appropriate for everyone to read.

Embrace is the NA imprint, which means intense content for new adults (and readers who like reading that genre). I have had my share of NA plots and they are not all that bad. I always say that I rarely find a book that I do not like, but believe me, I still feel like the Beast when I read books like that.

Entangled Pub has many imprints. I would not mind publishing with them, but I need to focus on the things I am doing right now. Maybe, one day, I will submit something to them. I have read a good few books from them for reviews, and a lot of my writing has been inspired but CRUSH. I often say it, and I think it is because CRUSH is my favorite genre. YA novels are my peeve. No, I take that back. Books that are based on Biblical history are my peeve. (Stephanie Landsem, Davis Bunn, Janette Oke and R.J. Larson are my favorites [so far] in this genre, go check them out ASAP!)

Along with my notes for Amazon KDP and CreateSpace, I am also looking into Smashwords. I have had an account there for a while, because some of the books I am currently reviewing came directly from there, (special promo code from the authors). It is a lot of fun to look at other people's experiences with self-publishing. 

Mandi Lynn is someone that I have found particularly helpful. I think it is because we are close in age, and I can relate to her. She has a series of videos on YouTube (BookTube) that follow her journey to publishing her two novels. (I am planning to get her fist novel and see if I like it.) She talks about editors and formatting, even down to recording her conversation with the bank when she was trying to pay for everything, because she was a minor at the time. Anyways, most of my notes that I have are from her videos.

My mom was very surprised to see how many pages of notes I wrote on the first day that I got my new notebook. I filled three pages, and there are no lines of separation. The entire page is filled with notes. I have since filled more pages of notes, but that first day was surprising. I am not a very good note-taker, unless it is something I enjoy. (the Script - It's not right for you)

I think that I can safely say that I am very close to completing one of the goals on my list. I should write that list on actual paper, because I have it on my blog and in my laptop. But I should have it somewhere I can see it, when I am not on my laptop. Another thing to work on. I might just put it into one of the notebooks I have going. Or . . . I could get another journal like the one I got for my self-publishing notes. More organized, in my opinion.

Oh! I woke up with the most awesome novel idea, but I need to finished my current works first. The idea was so perfect! I wrote it down and I m going to make sure it does not collect dust. It will be memorable; the plot will be captivating, and inspired by my favorite authors. I will say no more. ☺

Anyways, I hope you all had a great weekend. Lots of fun this week; let the holidays begin! Bye!

Reading, Writing, Nathan Sykes, and Nathan Sykes!

I just have to say this: though I did not enjoy The Wanted until recently, I love Nathan Sykes' voice. And my favorite song of his is Over and Over Again. So you all know, I have not actually watched the music video until a little while ago . . . I'm crying!

This week has been a rather writing filled week. But I have also been trying to pull together all that I can to know about self-publishing. I went to the extent of buying a new notebook (journal, really) to keep myself organized.

It fits me perfectly, at least I think so. A good friend of mine once called me a princess, a few years ago, on my twentieth, and the nickname sort of stuck. But I am not stingy ;) Anyways, yeah, I bought it to keep my notes together, and even organize myself for when I am ready to self-publish. (BTW, I made a second FB page, but to separate the book blog from the rising author, CLICK HERE) I am very happy with the information I have been gathering, and I feel that, with a little funds, I could publish a book or two. I could do it; I already have the know-how and the tactics to get my platform built, all that jazz.

Well, that is all for today/night. I will see you all on Sunday!

Another Sunday, Come and Gone.

Hey all! Just so you know, I did start a post on Friday, but I stopped because I got carried away. When you are working on a laptop or a PC, it is so easy to get distracted. The reason why is quite simple. Compared to most tablets and other hand devices, it is very easy to get the INTERNET working. Whereas, on a hand device, you have to, LITERALLY, stop what you are doing to get the browser open. Laptops and PC are a click away.

Anyways, my book order (BookOutlet via Amazon) arrived last week, but I did not get it in my hands until Saturday evening. Actually, my dad had gone to the post office in the afternoon, but forgot all the mail in the trunk of the car. But when they got to my hands, I was happy. Here are the covers of those two books (which I cannot read until after all my sisters have taken their turn)

 

The Thief and The Tomb are books 2 and 3 in the Living Waters series, written by Stephanie Lansem. These books follow The Well, but do not necessarily follow the same story, though some of the characters are re-introduced as their own lead character. I cannot wait to start reading them!

I managed to get Pictures of You running again. I finished the chapter I was stuck on, and I started a new chapter this morning. I am taking quite a "dark" turn for this chapter, in terms of plot and emotion. I do not mean "dark" dark, I just mean it is not as light and carefree as the previous chapters. A hint: something tragic. 'Nuff said.

Another thing I have managed to do is nothing. Yeah, I am the princess of nothing, hahaha! Well, I take that back. I have received MILLIONS of emails, promoting giveaways, and I have entered almost every single one of them. And right as I am writing this post, I am participating in a FB event, hoping to win one of the giveaways they are holding there (Kindle!).

Well, that is all for today. I do not have anything else I wish to say. So, live, laugh, love and cry a little. :) God bless!

How forgetful am I? - December Goals List

Hello! Well, it seems that I did not post at all last week, nor have I stated my new month ideas/plans. *Gasp* I can offer only one explanation: I am forgetful. Now, I did not "forget" to post, per-say, I just forgot to open my blog page. I had a post idea ready to roll, I just never got around to opening a new post page. Anyways, I am here now. 

Wow, can you believe November has come and gone? It feels like only yesterday I was getting ready to post my first post of November. I did not complete that many goals for November, but I hope to get those things done this month. Here is a list of what I hope to do:

1. Complete Pictures of You.  

   
   
   
   I was unable to work on this book ever since receiving a comment about some details taking away from the plot. Of which I completely agree, I just feel that the reader was not understanding it from my perspective. As most author will understand, there are some things that MUST happen in a book so that it all comes together later. With this in mind, I have tried my best to push aside the comment, though it was not entirely negative, as insightful and helpful as it was, and I am going to continue where I left off.
   
   
   
   
2. Start posting Heart and Soul, and Public Enemy.
   

   
   I have been silently writing both of these novels, trying to re-spark my eagerness to write Pictures of You. So far, I have managed not to do that. However, I can say that all my ideas for these new novels are folding together nicely. I am even thinking of putting a character cameo into one of these books. Meaning: I will have a known character from one of my other works have a "guest appearance" in one, or both, of these novels. 
   
   
3. 
   Edit Scarred Hearts for self-publishing.

   
   I recently posted in the Beta-Reader's forum on Wattpad, in hopes of getting more feedback on this novel, so that I can "test-publish" it, using either CreateSpace, Kindle Direct, Kindle Scout, or by submitting my manuscript to Entangled Publishing (because I think I meet their guidelines, and they accept un-agented submissions). Now, I think self-publishing will be my quickest route, and it will help me to help my sister.  But to do any of these routes, I still need my own bank info.
   
   
   
4. 
   Prepare my Rescued novel.
   
   I have mentioned time and time again that I plan to put my Rescued short story "series" into a single novel. But to do that, I need to go back to the beginning and fill in the gaps. I may or may not be ready to do that, but I have pulled out the story several times in the last week, so I am already wanting to work on it.

Well, that is my short list. I have those things at the front of my head, I am constantly thinking over these things and how I can get them done. But I do push to hard on this list, because I try to put my work at home in front of everything else. For anyone wondering if I have done any sort of reading . . . I have, indeed, been reading quite a bit in the last week. I just finished the second book in the DIMILY trilogy, by Estelle Maskame. I am not going to talk about it here, because I will be posting a review in a couple of days, so keep you eyes open for that. I will share the link once the post is live. 

I recently posted Scarred Hearts  to Write On, from Amazon. My hopes are to expand the readers and get more feedback. I don't know how I came across it, but I like what the site does and I will be posting more novels there soon. CLICK HERE

Well, that's all for now. God made you special, and He loves you very much. BYE!

Earphones are Awesome!

Hello! Another week gone, and a new one arrives. I did not post on Friday because there was nothing really to blog about. Anyway, let me get this going!

So, last week was not really my prime writing week, and that's okay. I guess I needed the break. Taking a break from writing never hurt anyone, and I think I will benefit from that. I've taken several breaks in past years, and they benefit the author's mind. Sometimes, the brain needs a break to clear the imagination chambers. *winky-face*

I managed to get myself a nice pair of earphone, since my laptop speaker died a couple months ago. I was sharing earphones with one of my brothers, along with several other people, and it was just getting to me. Most of everything I do on my laptop involves some sort of sound. I can't do anything without earphones. So, I think my $10 were well spent.

I pulled out all my old notebooks and have decided that it is high time I finished some of those amazing story ideas. It will change the pace and get me back into the swing of writing. I think they deserve to be put out there for people to see and enjoy. Especially the stories that are halfway completed, I just need to TYPE them up. *rolls eyes* I don't favor typing after writing it on paper. Which I do a lot, when I have a brilliant idea and I am not on my laptop. (When my sister uses my laptop, it puts a small pebble in the road.)

As I often mention, I am looking into CreateSpace for my sister. I have learned all the ropes and I think the final thing to do is actually utilize the online publishing platform, and send myself a hardcopy "draft" of one of my stories to see what it looks like. Having a hardcopy of a story that I wrote would be awesome.

Well, that is all for now. See you later! God bless!

PlAyLIsT fOr YoU

Hey guys!  As I am currently lacking inspiration for all writing, I came up with a playlist. I have been listening to all my favorites, along with some new/old ones. So here is the playlist for you guys to see what I am listening to, along with a playlist I made for my new story. There may also be some Latino songs in here, but if you don't understand Spanish, you don't have to listen to them. ☺(P.S. It took a LONG time to get the story playlist uploaded)

Coming of Age . . . Young Adult Writing!

(Written over the course of a few hours)

Hey peoples! Well, it is a new week and I am only just getting started. I did not start today like usual. I am pretty much at the beginning of my Sunday. That's okay, its been slow today anyway.

I've been trying to do some writing for . . . pretty much everything that I have been working on, but it's not that big of a deal. I will get into it as time flies by. Which brings me to announce what I am planning . . . Or should I announce it? 

Yes, this is my new idea, and it is my desktop background. I have not done much with it, except create a small outline, character outlines, and as you can see, the lovely graphic(s). I sat or a few hours last week and just goofed around with the idea. I'm going through a Grant Gustin phase. He just fits the character's physique, with a bit of my own character-imaginations. I am really experimenting with this story, and I think it will be pretty cool when posted. 

Heart and Soul is coming along, though I have only just begun to add to it today. It is coming along, and I hope to start posting it soon, but that all depends on how my writing goes with Pictures of You.  Which brings me to that book. I am at a stand-still. I am supposed to post the next chapter tomorrow, but I am worried that nothing is going to fall into place like I originally planned. Chapter ten was posted and the people who commented thought the characters were being too French, and too much. I agree with them, but the thing is that it folds into the plot I am planning. I can't go back and reconstruct a chapter now, I've already got a few chapters written afterwards. To reconstruct that chapter means reconstructing the chapters that follow. It is because of this detail that I am halted. So, to keep from discouraging myself in writing this book, I want to keep moving and hope people see how it all fits later.

Anyway, That is all for now . . . OH! Check out these cool giveaways I am entered in! 

10 signed YA books, an Amazon GC, and a really cool, vintage typewriter! CLICK HERE

YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy giveaway! CLICK HERE

Book Outlet Black Friday - Get Book Outlet Bucks! CLICK HERE

The entry requirements are super easy!

Now I'm finished! God bless you all and I will see you later, ciao!

Classic Friday Night

Hey everyone! It's just another typical day on the homestead. Not much going on, except that I am now expecting . . . New books!! Whoa, wait a second. Did you think . . . You guys are nutty if you thought that.

Anyways, it is now the weekend, and I am stuffed from my huge slice of pepperoni pizza. My family is planning a movie night, if we can find something on good old Netflix. I did not do any writing today, or yesterday. It's been rather slow and I need to get back into it. I'm also cramping, so I want chocolate and peanut butter. Luckily, my mom is going to pass out some sweets in a little bit.

This post is not really going to be anything, since I have nothing else to talk about. See you all on Sunday!

I won two new giveaways!!

Yes! I won two giveaways last night! Okay, so some of the authors for Entangled TEEN got together to celebrate the publication of a new book and I attended (social-media wise). I won a copy of Mia and the Bad Boy by Lisa Burstein. Okay, well that was my choice, since it was choice of an e-copy of one book from the Backstage Pass series. 

There are five books in the series, so far, and they all revolve around the boy band, Seconds to Juliet. Each book follows a member of the band and his love story. And each book is written by five different authors! 

The second giveaway was a $10 Amazon GC. Which I have already used and I bought the rest of The Living Waters series to complete the series.

So, yeah, I had to share that with you guys! I got more writing done these last few days. I am into the fourth chapter in Heart and Soul;  I have been working on my NEW idea quite a bit, but nothing to say about that yet. I have not moved forward more than fifty words in Pictures of You. That's okay, I will get back into it really quick. 

I saw The Best of Me! I loved the movie so much, I think James Marsden was a great choice for the older version of the character.

I'm gonna stop here, because I have nothing else to share, LOL. For now  . . . I will see you guys on Friday! God made you special, and He loves you very much! Bye!

I Am WAY Too Creative!!!

Hello everyone!

Well, what can I say? I am just way too creative for my own good! I am trying to get this chapter going for Pictures of You, and getting Heart and Soul going. I should not be coming up with a new fiction right now. But I did, and I really want to move forward with it. However, I have decided to keep it "unrevealed" until Heart and Soul is moving along, and until Pictures of You is finished.

Anyways, this new fiction is definitely going to up my writing and hopefully reach a bigger audience, since I am trying a different genre. Um . . . I am 22 years old, so I should not feel weird about this particular subject, but I kind of do, and my mom would think I am losing my mind because I don't write about this thing. I will not give too much away, but I will give you some details on how I came into this idea.

You all know that I fell in love with A Noble Groom by Jodi Hedlund. That is the inspiration for the my plot, but I am bringing it to a more modern setting, along with a dystopian twist, or two. Along with the "most wanted" theme, there is going to be a major point in the story where a character has to choose between two options, of which I will not go into detail about. And the story basically follows both main characters for an entire year.

That is all I will tell you about that. *Sneaky-grin* So, yeah, I am too creative for my own good. I have been on pause learning about KDP and CreateSpace. I think it is good to take a break now and then. Too much information does not help me retain it. But I have been busy practicing formatting books to be ready for print. That has been a lot of fun. I am still very choosy of which book I will test print, but it will be so cool to see it in print.


Well, I should get back to whatever I was doing before I got distracted . . . eight different times. I will see you all later this week! God bless!

Still Behind . . . But Awesome Writing!

No, I did not make the cover, but overall ad is my work. Good morning lovely people! Yes, if you click the image above, you will be taken to the new story I have been working on. It is only the summary at the moment, but I do give a brief explanation on a few details. Oh! and look at the new cover for Pictures of You!

by DanielleRo on Wattpad

Well, it is officially Friday again. Another week flown by. This week has not been as "busy" as it would have been. I did not do as much writing as usual, nor did I do as much reading. I know, but its just a phase. I will get out of it. . . Eventually.
Now, I may not have done so much writing, on Pictures of You, but I did do some writing on Heart and Soul. The reason for that is because I got a little discouraged by a comment from a reader, but they have no idea where the story is going and the details they mentioned are crucial to the coming plot points. The character need to go through their stirrings so that they can realize what they are doing and seek out the solution further.

Who else is excited about 1D's album release? I know I am! I was able to get the album this morning! YES!

Anyways, I am going to try and get some more writing done this evening. I am not going to go nutty with it this morning, because I want to get some other things done. I have a few books that I need to review ASAP, but I am in a slump again.

I have been using Pinterest to keep track of m ideas for Heart and Soul, saving character outfits and appearances. If you would like to follow that board, CLICK HERE. I also have just my story characters' outfits in general HERE.

Well, that is all for now. If anything exciting happens, I will blog about it on Sunday. See you then! God bless!

I'm Behind in My Work! \o/

Good morning everyone. I sincerely hope you are all well. I am quite behind in terms of reviewing books on my TBR. I hope it is not because I am losing interest. How could I lose interest? I mean, I do go through such phases at times and then come back later, but I don't want that to happen in this case. If it does, I will deal with it.

Anyways, I have decided what will be my next posting book. As a matter of fact, it is a brand new idea that I pulled together this weekend. I was inspired by the TV series, The Flash, which I have been watching with my siblings the passed week. Anyway, I do not have a full outline of it in my head yet, but the main male character will have an obsession with the The Flash. The two main characters are also going to have hearing and speaking impairment. I do not plan to stray away from my usual Christian elements. This book will have that in there, as always. 

Grant Gustin. Now, due to my inspiration from watching the TV series, I believe he would be perfect for the main male character. I have this really neat idea: Because his character is going to be OBSESSED with The Flash, it made sense that I would make it ironic that he likes that hero, to give him the name Barry Allan. Now, yes, that is ironic enough, but the story is not a fan-fiction. Barry will the one with hearing impairment, but he will not be born with it the way my leading lady is mute from birth. 

Barry is going to be a very cool character to write. Along with this fantastic character, there has always gotta be the main female character, who will be his equal. Shall I introduce you to her?

Monica Dawson. Now, you all know my respect for Lucy Hale. Looks-wise, she plays many of my main characters, and I always go back to her when I do not have anyone else in mind. 

Monica is going to be a great character for me to write as well. I am really stepping up my game with some of the traits she will have. She is going to be an EPIC guitar player, but she will have her every day troubles as well. I have decided to incorporate the element of bullies. Monica is going to have speech impairment, and she is going to be made fun of a lot because of it. 

Now, Barry and Monica are going to strike up a friendship and become each other's missing sense. As I have decided to write in the summary: Barry will become Monica's voice; Monica will become Barry's ears. They are going to meet in a therapy program that encourages the impaired in their hobbies and helps them build their language skills. Sign language. I intend for them to fall for each other later. I requested a cover on Wattpad, so I am waiting for the artist to accept my request and state the payment options. This book will also have some supernatural elements. Do not ask me what or why, but that is what I plan to do. :D

I know that I said I do not really have an outline yet, but as I am writing this post, I am getting all these ideas. So, you guys are learning about the story right now as I am thinking of it! Anyways, this is going to be fun for me to write. (To read my almost ready summary, just highlight the white section below this paragraph.)

Monica Dawson wants nothing more than to play the guitar. There is one problem: She was born mute. Without a voice, Monica is unable to speak up for herself when people make fun of her. The only way Monica can express herself is through her guitar playing. She joins a local music therapy program, meant to help her become more comfortable with the use of sign language while letting her learn to play the guitar more professionally. It is in this therapy program that Monica meets Barry, a young man obsessed with The Flash comics, and a guitar wizard. However, Barry is in the program recovering from a recent accident that caused him to lose his hearing. Monica and Barry strike up a friendship unlike any other. He becomes her voice; she becomes his ears.

Pictures of You is coming along, at a slower pace, but it's coming. I will be posting a new chapter tomorrow, so keep an eye open for that. I also a new cover for this story from the same artist as above. (The cover was a premade, but I love the style, so I was eager to get my hands on them.) Because I would like to use the current cover for my published book. Yes, I want to publish this book, because I want to see it in my hands. Whenever I want something in my hands, it is because it is AWESOME!

This book is one of my babies, I have to say. I mean, all my writings are my babies, but this one steals the cake.

A lot of people are doing NaNoWriMo and I love watching their progress. I will definitely participate next year. Well, that is all for today. I will be back later this week. God bless you!

Let the Weekend Begin!

Hello everyone! At this present time, I am learning to market books, using what I have. This is to help my sister in self-publishing her memoir, and I will be assisting her in the process. I have been goofing around with CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing (as I have mentioned before) and I have been learning the tricks of the trade, learning the proper formatting, everything. I have not gone to the extent of testing the published side of the deal, but seeing one of my stories with an ISBN is really awesome.

I have tried to see what my readers on Wattpad would think if I published a book next year. I got one response and it was pro-publishing. Of course, this reader said "If I had the money" which means it would go fine, but I would need to work at getting the book out there myself. Which I am already doing and learning more each day.

I am going to be rather helpful to my sister when the time comes that she will begin the self-publishing process. I may not be her editor, translator, and/or cover maker, but I will be her formatter and marketer. Which is my area of expertize, as well being a graphics artist. But my style of graphic is not exactly what she is looking for, as I have tried repeatedly to give her some examples. She has the platform and audience. Once they know she is publishing this memoir, they will be after it. She just needs to see that.

So what I have been doing this week is learning those tricks of the trade. I spend most of m mornings doing that before getting into my regular routine. Then after lunch I am spending another hour learning about the trade, and then an additional hour to add some writing before I let my sister use my laptop.

My writing is going pretty well. This weekend I intend to try and get more writing in tonight, and on Sunday. (And my dog won't leave me alone. He keeps coming into the forbidden dining room area of the house.) I have been following the NaNoWriMo participants' progress, to see how everyone is doing. I might just jump into the game later on, but not likely. I like writing at my own pace, and I am doing quite well for now. If, in the future, I feel more confident to enter NaNoWriMo I will. But I am happy with my current writing/word building process.

Scarred Hearts was my test-subject for learning how to format a manuscript to fit CreateSpace requirements for review. I did not submit the complete project, because I do not know if that is the book I will publish first . . . Yes, I do intend to publish my books, now that I am learning this stuff I cannot resist. I have a completed wrap-around book cover that I made, which you can see here -

Might not be the final product.

Granted, it is not the best, but I followed the guidelines from A to Z. This would be a pretty decent size book. I sized it 6x9 and learned how to create covers on MS Word. xD Yes, there are tutorials to make PDF (print ready) covers, which I am watching constantly. I am also very happy to say that my skills are probably only for personal use at the present time, but I am still open to requests, should I ever get any. I have a new link in the page(s) section that will direct you guys to a nifty site I made to index all of my social-media. Which means you can find the link to all of my graphics examples.

I think that my first published work will be Pictures of You, because it is meeting my high-set standards much better than I expected. I need to complete the novel, reach my goal of 80K+ words (because I am pushing my limitations and boundaries with this novel). By doing this, I will know my estimated page-count, word-count and will have more statistics for when I go to start creating the paperback. (Yes, the paperback will come first, because I love print books.) I am working on e-book copies as well, those projects are test subjects as well. 

Anyways, that has been my week thus far. Keep your eyes open for more updates from me. I hope to share more soon. Check out my FB page, you will get notifications from me. You will get my tweets, my GoodReads updates, my blog posts. Everything! I have it all figured out. Also, you will get links to giveaways that I entered or that I am hosting/sharing. 

Have a splendid weekend and I will see you all on Sunday!

New Month, New Week, New Day! New Books!

<By the time this post is live, it will be after lunch time?>
It is November 1st, and you know what that means! Its a new month. This year is flying by! This post is going to be just a "wrap-up" of what I did over the last week, and a brief update on what I plan to do this week/month. As well letting you all know that right after I posted my last post about the two books I was waiting for . . . they arrived five minutes afterwards, thanks to the landlord who brought the mail over. xD I am nearly finished reading Prophet by R.J. Larson. And I have already completed The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund. Amazing book(s) that you need to check out!

As you all know, I had thought about participating in NaNoWriMo. However, the month of November has just been filled with a massive amount of family related things and I do not think I will have the time to sit and write excessively, nor would I be writing more than my usual quota. My sister still uses my laptop during the week days, in the afternoons, as well as a full day on Saturday.

Now, I have been making slight changes in the music I listen to, and one of my step-mothers (yes, we will get into that later) received a box of CD's from one of her friends and they are all artists I would listen to! I asked her if I could make a copy of them for myself, and she gave them to me! Here are the artists/albums I now own.

     

 I am super excited about listening to these albums. I already have a few songs from Misty Edwards, but I am so glad to have the entire album . . . . If I can get my stinking laptop to acknowledge the disc drive. . . . Okay it acknowledged. 

On another note, I am attempting to get my next book going so that I have some chapters ready and waiting when I finish Pictures of You. I have a little "poll" happening on Quotev.com, so that I can share then next two story ideas I have and see what my readers want more. I already have one vote . . . No, not my own, because mine do not count. If any of you would like to help me out, just click HERE. You do not need an account to take the poll, so if you would help me out, that would be fantastic. The two ideas I have in the poll are Escaping Reality and Seeking Shelter. The poll contains all the details about each book, so click that link and go check them out.

I have a few books that I need to get to reading, because they are either part of a blog tour, or I am reviewing them for someone. I really need to get to them ASAP, but every time I sit down to do them, my mind goes somewhere else and I end up doing my own work. I am not slacking, I am just maintaining that balance I was talking about . . . I am not requesting as frequently on NetGalley as I used to, because I still have so many books that I did not read before the protected files expired. I think I can open them again as  a "new" file, but I need to finish the other ones first.

I am thinking about making a FB page. I mean, I can handle a page. I am always updating my Twitter and Tumblr, which I can link to the page. Boom! Content for a FB page. But like I said, I am only thinking about it. I do not intend to actually upkeep a page.

You guys might notice that I have a new tab in this blog called: Sister Promos. Well, it is going to stand as a promotional blog/site to promote certain content. Not like my book blog, that is forever remaining as is. No, not like this personal blog. I am going to be a promoter in this family thing so I need to get something going for that. I am a big sister, I love sharing, so Sister Promos. Also, the #HashtagMagazine blog is still on hold. I may not keep that going.

My writing! I am on a roll with Pictures of You, with the exception that I have not finished the chapter I am currently working on. However, I do work on it in bits and pieces when I sit down. I have received some feedback on it, so I feel good about how it is coming along.

Well, that is all for now. I hope you are all well. Keep watch on my book blog this week. Really cool things happening! God bless you and see you soon!

My Book Finally Came!

Okay, well technically it is still sitting in my post office box, but I got the email confirmation that Prophet by R.J. Larson has finally arrived to Invisible Island! It should have arrived two weeks ago, before A Noble Groom, but it was in transit from Florida for three weeks so I assumed it got lost. Nope, it is in my post office, waiting for me to go get it.

I would have went two days ago, when I got the email, but my family was without a car. O.O No worries, my dad worked on it for two days with his mechanic friend, and now we are back in motion. My mom is currently using the car to get groceries, so I could not convince her to go across town to get my mail. o.o

Well, I just wanted to update you guys on that. Lots of writing to do this weekend! Remember, God made you special and He loves you very much! Bye!

Sunday, Fun Day. For Writing, Of Course!

Good afternoon! So, it is Sunday again. I am just sitting down to start my writing (and whatever else I end up doing), after eating two LARGE portions of lunch. I think this post will inform you what I have partially planned for this week and give you a little insight on what I did over the weekend.

Firstly, it poured rivers of rain yesterday. So much, that the streets of my city(I am not going to give that location away at the present time) were full of water. I think it was just under two-three feet. Literally, it only took about ten minutes to get that flooded, because it was that much rain. My family's property is in the mountains, so we did not really see the flooding until later when it was shared through friends FBs. But our street was covered in water, that was flooding off the mountain as it passed our house. Yeah, it was a lot of rain. But thank the Lord because our garden needed the rain after crazy drought a couple months ago, and we have only had maybe . . . six major days of rain. So the dry earth is finally returning to its usual moist state.

I have always mentioned that 10 of my younger siblings form a choir. On Thursday, K and C (two members of the camera crew) came over to re-film a campfire scene for the choir's next cover video they are doing. Remember the week that the choir and other select members of my family were not in my house with me? Yeah, one of those filming days needed to be redone, that's why the campfire scene was redone.

My writing is still going very good. I now have several chapters ready for their appropriate posting dates, and I now have half of another chapter going. I have been receiving a few comments on Pictures of You, so I am extremely motivated to keep going. I have my idea(s) journal in my lap, open to the page of my "Harper Collection" so that I can remember what I am doing and where I am going next.

I do not remember if I mentioned this, but I am looking into CreateSpace for my sister. I am also looking in KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), probably for myself. Just to experiment and see if that is something I want to do. I am even setting up a PDF file of some of my books to see how I would like them to look. I really like what I did with Scarred Hearts and PoY, because I am making them sort of similar.

To add to both topics I have just explained. the "Harper Collection" is not a series. It is just a selection of m books (both the complete and the unwritten) put together as a set. Like I said, I was inspired by EntangledPub's imprint CRUSH. So I do not mean to steal anything from them, I just really like the way they did that. So I am borrowing that idea with the "formatting" of the book content. Here is a sneak-peek at what I mean.

This is still just an IDEA, but I really like it! I am even adding my personal twist of making the chapter titles have blue/orange hearts and font. Alternating the colors for both characters. This is what it looks like for Ebony, and then Merick is the same but the opposite. The blue becomes orange and the orange becomes blue.

 And it is raining again! xD Praise the Lord for the rain. (The thunder and lightening sounds like on Disney's Aristocats)
So, yeah that is what is going on at the moment. I am still waiting for a couple books to arrive in the mail. I have a few bookblitz-posts going live this week, so keep an eye out for those. Both have giveaways, of which one I am hosting and announcing the winner to the author. I am happy to say that I am getting the balance that I was looking for, and I intend to keep that balance. Well that is all for now. God bless you all and see you soon!

My new favorite song!