Christine Norris's Blog: Christine Norris' blog, page 13

It’s Time to do something Awesome

A few weeks back, a friend from work posted the sign her son had made and put above his bed.

“Get up, go to school. It’s time to do something Awesome.”

Wow. I just can’t get that out of my head.

I have a friend, James, who calls himself an Awesomist. I think he’s pretty well filled the job, because he’s living the way he wants and doing everything he wants to do and being off-the-charts successful at it. I’ve been thinking for awhile that I need…something. Writing has been feeling flat, no joy....

Ode to a Faithful Car (and a lesson about choices)

Last Wednesday was miserable. It was pouring rain all night. Such a storm that a girl who was driving drunk smashed into a telephone pole down the street and took out my power. (She was okay)

I got up to a downpour (with power restored) and got myself together, which these days takes a little longer, since I have a couple of extra chores for awhile. My husband had abdominal surgery almost two weeks ago and can’t really bend or lift anything. So I was out the door on time, remembering everythin...

Being Artsy-Fartsy

I have discovered that most people I know who write, also do other creative things. Some paint or draw. Some sew. Some make music. Having a second (or third) creative outlet seems to be the rule of authors rather than the exception, which is interesting.

Among other things. I’ve done a lot of ‘crafty’ things in my life — when I had time and space, I would sew. Yes, I can sew. When I was younger, I did embroidery. I have crocheted (taught myself with instructions on the interwebz), and made can...

Why I don’t review books.

I am an avid reader. It comes with the job — both as a librarian and a writer, it’s just what you do. You need to keep up with the market, stuff like that. And I used to write reviews for a lot of the books I read. On my blog, on Amazon, in magazines.

But I don’t anymore.

See, the thing is, that reviews are for readers. Only. They are so that anyone who is thinking about picking up a book can get other READER perspectives on it and decide if it’s worth plopping down the cash. Reviews are NOT to...

Happy New Year!

Here it is again, January 1st. I was just going back over the list of posts on this blog. Yikes. I started it over a year ago, and only had 56 posts. Some of them were in 2011, so I posted less than once a week. I know I’ve let it slide, and honestly it wasn’t part of the plan, but I was also on a writing hiatus while finishing Grad School, so I guess it was bound to happen.

I don’t usually make resolutions, because I find that it puts a lot of pressure on me and, like most people, by the end...

In which I blather on for an hour…

If you’ve got the time, I did this podcast in November. I pre-taped it, so it kind of slipped my mind. Great thing about podcasts — you can listen to them whenever! Enjoy!

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Listen to

internet radio with Living In The Grace of God on Blog Talk Radio

My Christmas Tree and Black Friday

My Christmas tree was up the day before Thanksgiving. Yeah, I know, it was a bit early. I have an artificial tree, and have had one for years. When I was younger, we always had real. It was nice, but when I had a house of my own, I realized all the reasons I like artificial trees. Overall, they’re less expensive. I mean, sure, you spend $200 up front, but if you have it for 10 years, that’s $20 a year. Can’t beat that. There’s no holes in the branches to worry about, it always looks great, no...

Where to buy books (uh, that would be MY books).

I know, right? I don’t blog for two whole months, and then I hit you with a sales pitch. Well, sort of, but not really. Just being helpful.

So I noticed that on Amazon they have the trade paperback edition ofThe Crown of Zeusis listed at shipping in 5-7 weeks. Uh, that’s right through the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus buying season! This sometimes happens when Amazon runs out of copies (yay!), and I noticed it last week but it’s sticking around.

So…if you wanted to purchase a copy of this...

I am the worst blogger ever. Here’s a video.

I know! I haven’t blogged at all in weeks, and there’s no excuse. Life has been a huge hot mess. But now I’m here, and I made a video! This one is all about The Library of Athena book series that I write. If you are wondering what it’s all about, then take a look. Or, if you just like watching me play with the effects on the camera (but that doesn’t happen until the end.)

The glitter is just for you, Lisa Mantchev.

Either way, enjoy!

Book Signing Event — a Lesson

Last Saturday I went to my first PAYAevent, in West Chester, PA. I had been wanting to go to this event for three years, and this year I finally got to go. Yay!

First of all, it was really fun. Only about an hour on the road, and I got to see lots of friends that I usually don’t get to see in 3-D all that often, like Charlotte Bennardo, and Cyn Balog, and I even ran across Kit Grindstaff, who I wasn’t expecting to see. I also met some new people, like Jennifer Armentrout — who, by the way is a...