Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 151

Re-Release Day! &Weekend Roundup

It’s here!! After all the work and worrying, Blood Magic has re-released for 99¢!

Kindle / Nook / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

Amazon Print

 

If you want to enter the $25.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest, here is the entry widget:

http:// Blood Magic Re-release

Now onto chatting. My weekend was good. Friday night we celebrated Biker Witch (my sister) and her Biker Hubby’s birthday, and that included some lemon pound cake It was a fun night. I’m also writing a little bit, and of course, spending time on Blood Magic’s re-release. It’s amazing how distracting it is. Even the second time around, I worry about the book.

But then Middle Son’s girlfriend texted me a picture that helped me take my mind off it. Unfortunatley it’s a bit blurry and I had to cute middle son out of it (I really didn’t want to!) but here’s Bailey dog. It seems Middle Son and Girlfriend were having a date night on their patio, and Bailey had to get right in the middle of it.

Yes, Bailey is spoiled now that he’s getting older. But look at that face…who can resist?

How was your weekend?

Welcome Niki Daninger! Guest Post Interview

We have a new feature today – Guest Blog/Interviews. And here to launch it is Niki Daninger (aka Ban) with her very first release! Niki wrote a short story that is part of an anthology collection titled: BEWITCHING DESIRES: A SAVANNAH COVEN ANTHOLOGY

Niki has graciously agreed to let me interview her hero, Micah. Okay maybe I begged, because once I found out he’s a witch, I just had to talk to him. I knew you’d all want to hear from him too. So grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea (or wine or martini, we don’t judge here) and settle in for a fun interview with the hero of MICAH’S MESS by Niki Daninger.

Jen: Hi there Micah. Thank you for stopping by today.  I know you’re busy, so I’ll jump right in with the first question. From the blurb of Niki’s book in the anthology, MICAH’S MESS, it looks like you’re a witch. That’s cool, but all of us here on the blog need to know–are you a hot witch? Like the kind of hot that could entice us to get on the back of your bike and ride off into all kinds of sexy trouble?

Micah: No one would ever mistake me for some pre-teen wizard, waving a wand around, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve turned more than a few heads, and I’ve seen my share of fights because of it.

Jen: What’s the deal with you wanting to take over the Savannah Coven? Do you really feel you’re the best leader for the coven or do you have ulterior motives that make you a bad boy kind of hero?

Micah: Would I the best leader? Probably not but I’d be better than my sister. No one wants this more than I do. No one has worked as hard as I have— Hell, I’ve memorized every single one of my grandmother’s potions. Now SHE was a leader. Someone has to honor her memory. That someone should be me.

Jen:  Tell us about this angel who gets in your way. Is she hot? Are you thinking about her when you should be thinking about your goal?

Micah: Isa is beautiful in the way that makes breathing hard so yeah, she’s a distraction. And that’s why I didn’t want to take her with me.

Jen:  What is your favorite part of Micah’s Mess?

Micah: My favorite part… good question. I guess it would be learning I can be more than I have been.

Jen:  Since you were “born” in Niki’s mind, maybe you could leave us with one thing about Niki that we probably don’t know about her.

Micah: Well, she just put this on her bio page but— Niki never wanted to be an author. She hated writing growing up! She loved reading but she’d rather take 100 tests than write a paper, even a creative one. Me and the others ‘living’ in her mind took care of that

Jen: And last, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

Micah: Yeah, don’t let your past define you. You can be the person you’ve always wanted to be. Life starts anew every morning. Don’t give up or in. Ever.

Great advice! Thank you Micah for coming by today! It’s been a pleasure to have you here. But one word of caution. All the witches who hang out here REALLY like hunky guys. Beware of innocent looking women offering you cookies…more than one hunk has fallen for that trick and ended up under a witch’s love spell until she decided to release him.

If you’d like to get to know Micah, pick up a copy of BEWITCHING DESIRES: A SAVANNAH COVEN ANTHOLOGY and check out Niki’s story in there!

Amazon Kindle  /  B&N Nook

 

Author Bio:

Niki grew up reading fantasy books, day-dreaming about elves, magic, magnificent beasts and worlds that only she could visit. Those imaginings were sketched onto every piece of paper she could find. After High School she went to Manhattan, majored in art, and planned to enter the field of animation but that was not to be. After college, she moved to Pennsylvania, found her husband, and had two daughters. But those stories kept coming back to her and she took up pen and paper for a different purpose. To write. Inspired by her author friends, she joined NaNoWriMo. That’s when her dreams took a new turn. They became insistent. The ideas and characters that had slowly taken up residence in her mind demanded their stories be told. Micah’s Mess is Niki’s first short story, but she hopes to finish her current WIP soon, so she can share more of her dreams with those who have supported and encouraged her over the years. Find Niki on  Facebook  or her Blog

 

Wednesday Worthy

Wizard and I went to see The Intern yesterday — I liked it. Anyone seen it yet?  I thought Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway did a good job.

On the work front, I’m writing! It’s slow and crazy-making as I write a scene, then find I only like one-third of the scene. So I dismantle the scene, keep the third I like and toss out the rest, and rewrite the scene around the part I kept. Then I write another scene and realize  I need to move change two things in the first scene, so I go back and fix that…and somehow out of this insanity a book will emerge…eventually. But I have learned to trust my writer instincts.

Plus this is fun! Seriously, I get to meet these new people and play in their world

Now for our candidate. I chose this guy because as I was scrolling past all the options, I saw him and he reminded me a little of Hugh Jackman. Then when I looked closer I didn’t see it as much. But you decide.

 

 

So what do you think? Is he worthy?

And be sure to come back Friday for a Guest Blog/Interview with Niki Daninger (aka Ban).

Weekend Roundup!

Okay, so Wizard is trying to convince me that if I drink beer — which I don’t like — I can lower my risk of heart disease by 30%. He heard that in some “study” on TV:

“Witch, did you hear that? You can lower your risk of heart disease by drinking beer!”

Me, “I don’t like beer.” I don’t care that he drinks it, I just can’t do it. Ugh.

“But you’d look so sexy.”  (Okay I can’t help his weird fixation on this. Sorry!)

Me, “Not happening.”

“But it’s good for you.”

Me, “I’ll take my chances. Besides the red wine I’m drinking occasionally–” I frowned at the loud choking sound coming from Wizard. I glared at him. “Did you want to say something?”

“Uh..no? You only drink wine every night…uh occasionally.”

I wisely let that go. “Anyway, I’ll take my chances on heart disease. I’m not drinking beer.”

He tried another tactic. “I’ll eat broccoli if you try beer.”

I fixed another glare on him. “You’ll eat your broccoli anyway.” I stopped negotiating on vegetables a long time ago and just put them on his plate. He eats them unless they are something he truly hates like Brussel sprouts or lima beans. Otherwise, he eats them because I want him healthy and he knows it. But I wasn’t done. “It’s a stupid study anyway.”

That got his attention. “What about the study saying red wine is good for you?”

What the hell kind of logic is this? Wine obviously trumps beer in any study. Seriously I sometimes wonder how Wizard accumulated all those degrees. But I explained it slowly. “The wine study is a true medical breakthrough. The beer one is stupid college kids making up an excuse to drink and play beer pong.”

He gave me a look as if he had me cornered. “How do you know that?”

I considered that for a moment. “Same way I know that if you keep harping on this, you’ll be having lima beans for dinner tomorrow night.”

He made a hilarious face of disgust.  “I’m done talking to you.”

LOLOL!! I won! I’d totally have done the happy dance, but the last time I tried to dance, I managed to (mildly) tear my Achilles so I settled for gloating

Otherwise, I had a great weekend. Saturday I went to lunch and shopping with my sister, Biker Witch And we may have indulged in some incredible cheesecake Sunday I wrote, getting to know my characters and really loving just letting myself work on a the early part of a book without too much external pressure. Then last night, Wizard and I had some wine and made steak and lobster.

How was your weekend?

And just a reminder:

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

Every few weeks, Wizard goes to get his hair cut early in the morning.  The night before we always end up with some version of this conversation:

Wizard will announce. “Witch, tomorrow after my haircut I’m going to buy a dozen donuts.”

Me. “No.”

“But–”

At this point, I look up from whatever I’m doing. “Veto. The kids aren’t here, we can’t eat that many donuts and you’ll get sick. I’m using my Veto Power.”

Wizard smirked. “Who gave you Veto Power?”

“Who bought a dozen donuts while I was in NY and posted it on the internet?”

His smirk dimmed. He actually did that, which a message that went something like, “When Jen’s away, I get all the donuts I want!”

“Busted.” I told him and may have cackled,  laughed.

“Fine,” Wizard says, “I’ll get two. Jelly for me. And that stupid one you like. Uh…”

Of all the freaking things Wizard remembers, including how many years we’ve been married when I can’t recall, he can’t remember this one donut I love but haven’t had in YEARS. “Chocolate Buttermilk.”

“Right, that. I’ll get it tomorrow after I get my hair cut.”

That’s how the conversation goes. But it doesn’t happen! He comes home without donuts. Last time he got his hair cut this happened, and I said, “Don’t talk to me about donuts again. It’s like the Jelly Bean Torture.”

He’s completely baffled. “What?”

“You know, when I had to have the tooth extracted (a baby tooth, I never had an adult tooth there — weird) and that same day, you bought a bag of jelly beans and ate them in front of me? Then these promises of donuts and you don’t deliver? That torture. Don’t talk to me about donuts. (Ok, full disclosure here, he doesn’t bring home the donuts, because I’m usually trying not to eat a lot of junk, but still…he should know when I mean that and when I really want a donut, right?? He’s a Wizard–he should be able to read my mind!)

So last night, Wizard says, “Tell me again what kind of donut you want. I’ll get it. Really. This time I will.”

I politely told him, “Chocolate Buttermilk.”

Then I left pictures of it on my computer and around the house.

If he doesn’t bring me that donut this morning…there’s going to be trouble

So what are your weekend plans?

Wednesday Worthy

At this very moment, I am on top of the Wing Slayer Hunters! The electronic versions are all done, final files uploaded! The print version are getting final tweaks and things are moving along.

Finally! I’m so happy.

Now if I can just NOT think about Primal Magic (Eli and Savi’s book) until I write this current contemporary, I would be golden.

Okay enough of that, let’s  talk Wednesday Worthy! This guy dropped by for a little chat and volunteered to be our candidate.

So what do you think? Is he worthy?

It was a good weekend here! First up, Bailey and his Drag...

It was a good weekend here! First up, Bailey and his Dragonfly. When gets a new toy, he LOVES it.

He played with it the whole weekend. Here he’s giving my “Please Eyes” because he wants to play tug of war.

I play with him.

Bailey wins! Bailey always wins

This has pretty much become Bailey’s chair in my office. He hangs out there when I’m working.

In other news, did you all see that Jackie Collin’s passed away? I met her when I was co-president of Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America, and she came to speak for our group. It was such a great experience. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but she was lovely and kind. She had a wicked case of stage fright before before going on stage. I know this because our program director was out in the car (limo) with her, helping her settle down. Then my co-president and I went out to greet her, and Jackie told us exactly how nervous she was, and asked if we’d walk with her to the stage. We did, and she was grateful.

Then she went up the four steps to the stage and boom, it was like a switch flipped and she was calm and AWESOME.

After that, she stayed and signed every book, and spoke to every single person who was excited to meet her.

I don’t know anything more about her than my one experience, but I was so very impressed with her.

So how was your weekend?

Happy Friday!

It’s a happy day for us because Bailey is here! I’ll take pictures this weekend. When we went to pick him up last night, Bailey was like:

It was hilarious. He adores Middle Son and Girlfriend, and when they come to pick him up, he’ll be wild with excitement and won’t leave their sides. But he was thrilled to go with us last night. The funny thing was when Middle Son first got Bailey, the dog was devastated when he left him here, and would stand on the couch and stare out the window for hours. It was heartbreaking to see. But now Bailey’s totally at home here and plays or hangs out totally relaxed.

I’m also happy to be working on my new project when I can. But I’m not going to talk about that too much yet And this weekend, I need to work on a re-edit of Forbidden Magic. I had my copy editor take a pass at that novella since it was the first book I self published and I think it could be cleaner. (Yes, I’m a little nuts like that but no one is surprised, right??)

So that’s my happy today. What is making you happy?

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Worthy Abs & Question

I’m putting a little thought into this blog–how do you guys feel about Wednesday Worthy? Do you want me to continue or move onto something else? The options are:

1) Like, I stop by for a fun to brighten my day.

2)Meh, don’t really care. Or

3) Bores me, move on.

I buy most of the images so I’m wondering if I should continue.  Plus the selection, and my time spent searching for them, is limited.

Okay, now lets talk about abs. Not my abs, LOL! But hunky abs that probably only exist in touched up photos. Here are your three choices:

Candidate #1 Wall Guy

Candidate #2 Strip Tease Guy

Candidate #3 Dramatic Background Guy

So which guy has the most worthy? And don’t forget to tell me your vote on Wednesday Worthy!

 

Weekend Roundup

How does life keep getting busier? And no matter how much I do, there’s so much more to be done. Anyone else feel that way?

Wizard and I went to CPA Boy and Special K’s house, and we met Max the Maltipoo. He’s such a sweet little pup even though he had to put up with the cone of shame. Max was neutered on last Friday, so the cone stays on until they are sure he’s healed enough. But he’s doing great, recovering very quickly. Cookie and Corky were there too so we had plenty of dogs to play with! Once again I didn’t take pictures I always plan on it, but once I’m there, we’re too busy talking and playing with the dogs to stop and grab my phone.

This next weekend, we get to have Bailey Dog. Middle son and his girlfriend are going on a trip, so Bailey’s coming over to hang out with us. We are both looking forward to that. All these dogs are getting to Wizard — one day he’s going to want one…or two

Moving onto book news: For all the Bloggers/Reviewers who have an account at Netgalley, Blood Magic is available by request. Here’s the link.

And all the books, Blood Magic, Soul Magic, Night Magic and Sinful Magic have been uploaded for pre-order. Sinful Magic may not be showing yet at iTunes and Nook, but it will soon. Now I’m getting the print versions ready and working (slowly!) on the new book (not a Wing Slayer Hunter book).

How was your weekend?