Diana Murdock's Blog, page 2
May 24, 2013
Gearing Up For Summer Reading…
Okay, if this cover doesn’t get you going, I’m not sure what will. This cover is a just a tiny hint as to what to expect on the summer reading list this summer.
Forged by Magic Origins is a collection of short stories, featuring the characters from the Forged series. This is the first out of two prequels to the series. Each story is told from a different character point-of-view. Find out the details about how the Amulet and the Dasht-e Kavir have been created, and how the powers of the Universe opened the gates to other dimensions, letting some terrifying supernatural creatures into the Human World.
If you’ve read the first in the series, Forged by Greed, you won’t want to miss this. If you haven’t yet treated yourself, then now is the perfect time.
To make it super easy, here are a few ways to get to know Angela and her work:
Forged by Greed – Book One in The Forged Series – Amazon UShttp://www.amazon.com/Forged-Greed-ebook/dp/B009CLCDTO/ref=la_B009CY4Z06_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350419064&sr=1-1%2F%3Ftag%3Dfuzzy0f-20
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Orlowski-Peart/e/B009CY4Z06/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Website: http://www.angelapeart.com/
Newsletter signup http://eepurl.com/o6syT
Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Orlowski-Peart/280412012074496?ref=hl
Goodreads Page http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6469948.Angela_Orlowski_Peart
Twitter handle @Angela_Peart
Pinterest Page http://pinterest.com/angelapeart/
Celebrate the Indies!
YAY FOR INDIES!!!
April 2, 2013
CONTEST TIME! 22 YOUNG ADULT TITLES AND COVER REVEAL
I love contests! I love books! And when you put them together… look what Sarah Billington has got going on! WINNER TAKE ALL! Enter for a chance to win a copy of SOULED along with 21 more Young Adult titles. All this in celebration of a cover reveal for Sarah’s novels, The Kiss Off and Over It.
Aren’t these covers over the top amazing??
And the easiest way to win all of these novels? Enter the Rafflecopter for so many chances. You do not want to miss this!
Click here to enter:
April 1, 2013
SOULSTICE – Cover Reveal
Photo session with Wrenee for the cover of Soulstice
I’ve been busy, busy, busy putting the final touches on my latest project, Soulstice, the companion novella to Souled. This novella puts a spotlight on Alyx, who, in Alyx’s own words, is the “dark, totally misunderstood, totally underestimated, misfit” of Sandpoint High School.
I adore Alyx – her strength, courage, and her mysterious background. What makes her qualified to stand up to Seth in his dark hours? What was her path that brought her to be who she is?
Although she will have floor time in the upcoming sequel, I wanted to satisfy the curiosity of many of the readers who’ve asked me, “Who exactly is Alyx?”
I’m fortunate and eternally grateful that my friend, and outstanding author, Fabio Bueno (his novel Wicked Sense is definitely one of my favorite reads), has taken it upon himself to give me a shout out on his blog and share with you the cover of Soulstice.
In continuing the theme of “keeping it local,” the beauty on the cover is Wrenee, a student here in Sandpoint, Idaho. Once again, Sandpoint produces a teen professional enough to step up and handle something as important as the cover of a book. Add to that the makeup expertise of Kimberlee Langford, creative cover design by Crystalyn Abercrombie (my tattoo artist), and photographer, Victoria Melendez.
Curious yet???
Then please head on over to Fabio’s site to check out the cover and to learn a bit more about what the story is all about!
March 17, 2013
Mid-Life Crisis? Me? Umm.. No.
“Girls Night Out” Me (left) with two of my amazing friends, Natascha and Kate, on my trip to California.
I was explaining to my son exactly why I went on a vacation to California, leaving him and his older brother in the care of their father.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. You’re going through a mid-life crisis.”
I spun around so quickly, I think I scared him. The only reason why my youngest boy didn’t receive my full wrath after that remark was because I figured he had been parroting the words of my ex. He had to have been. Who else would be so closely affected by me wanting to escape from responsibility for a mere week (out of 1,144 weeks that we were together)? The one man on this planet to have tried – and succeeded – to have guilted me from doing those things and seeing those people who really fed my soul. (Okay, so I allowed it, but still…)
“Mid-life crisis” is usually said with a judgmental and condescending tone. To me, this phrase smacks of negativity. As if reaching this point is a bad thing, as if we’ve stepped over to the darker side of the tracks.
Anyway, whoever whispered that choice little phrase into my son’s ear needs to hear what I have to say.
Self Discovery is the new Mid-Life Crisis.
“Mid-life crisis,” I think, is being in a place of self discovery. It’s when we look around and reassess our life and say, “Hey! There I am! I had no idea I would enjoy something like that.” So we start playing and doing things we’d forgotten to have fun doing. Stuff we’d stupidly put on hold for… what? Whatever we were doing that we felt took precedence over our own needs, could have been tailored to work around or with us. If we hadn’t shelved the fun or passion for so long, we never would have gotten to this point in the first place. And while we’re in this state of “confusion,” our loved ones sit back and patiently wait for us to “come back” to our senses. Will we ever come back? I hope not.
I believe those with the tsk, tsk attitude might be a tad frightened when people like me wake up one day and say they’ve had enough. I’m a threat. I can single-handedly shake their tree and leave them scratching their heads, wondering what just blew through their forest. I’m a break from their safe routine.
The reality is that this state of mind should be encouraged, for it is through the process of finding out what makes us happy, that this happiness will undoubtedly spill over into the outside world, not fester and breakdown, such as what happened to me not too long ago.
So, today, on my 50th birthday, I find myself still making up for lost time, and with a little help from my friends, the road to discovery has been over-the-top amazing.
The joy I’ve found and the joy I have yet to find will be for my friends and family as well. So, here’s to 50 more years of self discovery…. Cheers!
Mid-Life Crisis? Me? Umm.. No.
“Girls Night Out” Me (left) with two of my amazing friends, Natascha and Kate, on my trip to California.
I was explaining to my son exactly why I went on a vacation to California, leaving him and his older brother in the care of their father.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. You’re going through a mid-life crisis.”
I spun around so quickly, I think I scared him. The only reason why my youngest boy didn’t receive my full wrath after that remark was because I figured he had been parroting the words of my ex. He had to have been. Who else would be so closely affected by me wanting to escape from responsibility for a mere week (out of 1,144 weeks that we were together)? The one man on this planet to have tried – and succeeded – to have guilted me from doing those things and seeing those people who really fed my soul. (Okay, so I allowed it, but still…)
“Mid-life crisis” is usually said with a judgmental and condescending tone. To me, this phrase smacks of negativity. As if reaching this point is a bad thing, as if we’ve stepped over to the darker side of the tracks.
Anyway, whoever whispered that choice little phrase into my son’s ear needs to hear what I have to say.
Self Discovery is the new Mid-Life Crisis.
“Mid-life crisis,” I think, is being in a place of self discovery. It’s when we look around and reassess our life and say, “Hey! There I am! I had no idea I would enjoy something like that.” So we start playing and doing things we’d forgotten to have fun doing. Stuff we’d stupidly put on hold for… what? Whatever we were doing that we felt took precedence over our own needs, could have been tailored to work around or with us. If we hadn’t shelved the fun or passion for so long, we never would have gotten to this point in the first place. And while we’re in this state of “confusion,” our loved ones sit back and patiently wait for us to “come back” to our senses. Will we ever come back? I hope not.
I believe those with the tsk, tsk attitude might be a tad frightened when people like me wake up one day and say they’ve had enough. I’m a threat. I can single-handedly shake their tree and leave them scratching their heads, wondering what just blew through their forest. I’m a break from their safe routine.
The reality is that this state of mind should be encouraged, for it is through the process of finding out what makes us happy, that this happiness will undoubtedly spill over into the outside world, not fester and breakdown, such as what happened to me not too long ago.
So, today, on my 50th birthday, I find myself still making up for lost time, and with a little help from my friends, the road to discovery has been over-the-top amazing.
The joy I’ve found and the joy I have yet to find will be for my friends and family as well. So, here’s to 50 more years of self discovery…. Cheers!
February 13, 2013
Expectation Vacation
It’s All Good. No expectations.
It’s a double-edged sword. A two-faced creature. The stuff that either makes dreams come true or shatter into itty bitty tears. It’s the glue between relationships – personal or professional. It’s what raises the bar for a lot of us or, if not met, can disappoint and crush.
No. It’s not love.
It’s expectation.
Expanding on yet another post I wrote almost two years ago about boxes and labels and expectations being a big part of that, I’ve come to another crossroads in my still-developing life. I’ve been willing to accept that I cannot be contained, cannot be categorized, and I’ve reveled in that freedom. But it wasn’t enough. Others still criticized and pushed their expectations on me to be a certain way and, though I stood my ground, I’d found old habits threatening to resurface. I felt guilty and wanted to bend to their will.
So this time around I’d made it perfectly clear. Do. Not. Expect. Anything. From. Me. I am who I want to be, not who you want me to be. Not my job to fulfill your expectations.
It was easy for me to wrap my head around the fact that their expectations were their issue. Not mine.
Some people complied, some people didn’t and that, honestly, annoyed me because, damn it. I expected them to respect my request.
Ahh, but I’d gotten caught in my own box of expectations, didn’t I? It didn’t occur to me until my cousin mentioned that she was waiting for someone to do something and it wasn’t panning out. She then added, “Oh well. That’s my expectation. Gotta let it go.” This ah-ha moment hit me like a nice 2 x 4 across my ego. I had to release the expectations I had of others. Yeah, I know. I said “duh,” too.
It’s brilliant. Obvious and simple, but brilliant. I’d thought of all of the little expectations I’d had of other people and I just had to laugh, starting with the expectation that others will release their expectations of me. A close second was how events or situations should turn out. Unpredictable at best with all of the possible outcomes, it was far easier to release that expectation then to try to control something I had no control over.
So, yeah. This expectation thing is a two-way street, a journey that if everyone took, could very well circumvent a lot of frustration. As much as we might like to, we cannot control and we cannot predict what another will do. We can only observe and try to respect.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
January 31, 2013
Letting Go… Again
There are so many ways to say it and it all boils down to choice.
Us or Them. Ultimate Joy or Ultimate Misery. Yin or Yang.
I’ve recently had to let things go in a few areas of my life, because the energy coming in didn’t come close to what was going out. I had sped through Burnout City and crashed into the Major Deficit Dump. And that was just physically. Mentally I’d gone into autopilot mode, not fully experiencing anything on any level.
Last summer, I’d first written about taking it all on, making myself miserable in the process, and how it affected me. I’m very skilled at filling up my minutes with activities or people or obligations, but not so skilled at releasing them once it no longer serves me or weighs me down.
And making the decision to walk away hurt. A lot. There were things that had been a part of me for months that had become embedded under my skin. I hadn’t even recognized it as being separate from me.
But as much as it hurt to close the door on some relationships, to permanently or temporarily cross events off my social calendars, and to readjust my goals, the result for me was absolute relief. I’m not up there in the frenzy of the mosh pit anymore, and because of that, my priorities have taken on new life.
As certain as I am that this was the best choice for me, I’m equally certain I’ll find myself back in the same predicament in a few months from now. Letting go of the old stuff allows the new to flow back in, which will more than likely create backlog. Then the shedding process will start all over again. That’s just one of the laws of nature – the law of my nature.
How about you? Do you find yourself taking on more than you should? At what point do you draw the line? Is there a line at all?
December 30, 2012
Jillian Dodd, YA Author, Pretty in Pink
“Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there… to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be but when you lock eyes with them, you know that every moment that you are with them, they will affect your life in some profound way…” ~ Unknown Author
I’d first read this poem so many, many years ago. Over the last year and a half I’ve found myself thinking about it whenever I’m interacting with Jillian Dodd, the best selling Young Adult author of That Boy, That Wedding, Stalk Me, and Kiss Me. In the time that I’ve known her, she has navigated the publishing waters with frightening speed and accuracy, getting her novels to the top of the charts.
What’s even better is that not once did she take it all and run. Nope, she gathered everyone around her and brought us along on her journey, sharing her experiences along the way. Talk about giving back.
You may recall the huge 99 Authors/99 Titles/99 Cents event we had on December 21? That entire promotion was masterminded by Jillian. Through her orchestration, Amazon jumped on board as well to assist with the event. Because of her efforts, many of us sold hundreds of books. Many were in the top five of their specific category genres. Readers were ecstatic; authors were excited to see well-deserved recognition for their novels. I’m quite certain that Jillian had little or no sleep for the days leading up to this amazing day, just making sure everything was in place – all in addition to her personal obligations.
I don’t think I need to tell you I’m a huge fan of hers. I met her through a blogging class in July 2011 and that’s when I fell in love with her and her book, That Boy. It is such a fun, witty novel, complete with hot boys, hot kisses, and big emotion. Here’s a bit of the description:
“One boy will give me my very first kiss.
One boy will teach me to make out.
One boy will take me to prom.
And finally, one boy will ask me to marry him.
They will both be my best friends.
But only one of them will be the boy I fall in love with.
Only one of them is That Boy.”
How can something like that not knock your socks off? Umm… fan for life over here. *waves*
Jillian’s characters in the That Boy series and her latest series, The Keatyn Chronicles are huggable, drool worthy, and well-rounded. Dive in. You will not be disappointed in the slightest.
I hope you check out what her loyal followers already know about Jillian Dodd. You can find Jillian and her books at the links below:
With over 100 reviews on her books and hundreds of 5-star ratings… yeah, she’s that good. Thank you, Jillian, for all that you do!
December 20, 2012
99 AUTHORS/99 BOOKS/99 CENTS HOLIDAY SPECIAL
These prices are available on Amazon only.
For a listing of books offered and to enter to win, click here!!
Can you believe this? 99 of the biggest and brightest stars of the writing world have gotten together to offer you 99 of their titles at a sizzling hot 99 cents… Right before the holidays! This is your one-stop shopping place for amazing titles ready to download on your Kindle or Kindle app.
Also, did you know that gifting these titles on Amazon is incredibly easy? This sale is another great way to get some shopping done. The ebook gifts can even be scheduled for a later delivery to that special someone on your holiday list.
It doesn’t get much better than this! Well, maybe the fact that you can enter to win $990 worth of prizes after you’ve finished shopping would qualify under the “Definitely Better” category. So what are you waiting for? Shop for yourself, shop for friends and family, then enter to win!
Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!!!
