P.J. Schnyder's Blog, page 21

Literary Parlor at Steamy Screens

I was invited to do a reading of Evie's Gift at a Literary Parlor a couple of weeks ago along with Stella Price and Leanna Renee Hieber. This new adventure was full of corset chaos, shenanigans and awesome Pimms cups cocktails.

Held at the Waystation, a little steampunk style bar tucked into Brooklyn NYC, this fundraiser event turned out cozy and well attended. The place was decorated with all sorts of interesting steampunk items to catch the eye, and honestly, I was delighted by the TARDIS. Oh yes, the place had a TARDIS and it really was bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.

A little nervous to do my first reading, I decided to avoid the stage and perched up on the back of one of the booths. Pros: I sat comfy and could see everyone, meaning they could all see me. Con: Voice projection is a must. For the most part, I believe everyone could hear me. It may have been easier, had I been on the stage with the microphone, but I think speaking properly into the microphone might have taken up one too many of the multi-tasking resources of my brain and I might have read flat and sort of "wah wah, wa wah wah wah". Instead, I sat comfy and was able to read with at least a little interesting inflection.

Watching Leanna was an education. She has quite a bit of experience in stage presence and read most beautifully. She had occasional eye contact, arm gestures and great voice inflection for every one of her characters. I truly admire her ability to put accents and personality into her dialog. Stella was quirky and fun, reading with lots of great personality. She also thought fast on the fly to keep her segments PG 13 – ish.

Once the three of us completed our readings, we were free to mingle as various musical performers also took the stage. We set up a little table to display promotional items and books. Promo and pens seemed to be the most popular items of my swag. I think, or hope, Evie's Gift will be a popular purchase this coming holiday season when it comes out in print as part of an anthology.  All in all, it was a very fun afternoon – steampunk style.

The fundraiser was held in support of the SteampunkPictureShow.com and this very fun video captured the event. Take a look and you'll see Stella, Leanna and myself popping in and out of the video.

 

Steamy Screens – for SteampunkPictureShow.com from The Surface Of Things on Vimeo.

Spring Blog Carnival

Spring is my favorite time of the year and I most definitely love carnivals so how could I miss this blog hop?

For this giveaway, I'm offering up both ecopies of Heart's Sentinel and Red's Wolf with a special sneak peak from the draft of Full Disclosure, the third book in the Terra's Guardians series. To enter, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite carnival ride, booth or food is.

Also, sign up for my newsletter and be entered to win a free ecopy of Evie's Gift, my steampunk holiday short.

Naughty spice is a little nice

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Make your vision appear in your reflection ~ self-portrait project by PJ Schnyder on http://pjschnyder.tumblr.com/

Oh the ongoing adventures of getting fit and eating well.

I'd mentioned earlier I'd lost a significant amount of weight and more importantly, body fat.  The new goal for this year isn't about losing , it's about toning. It's about enjoying what I eat without worrying that I'm going to swell up into a balloon. A part of that is understanding my body and how it reacts to what I eat.

I have reactive hypoglycemia, not the temporary acute occurrence but the long term – this is the way life is – kind. I also have insulin resistance. It means I don't burn calories the way most people do and I have to be very careful to walk a thin line between burning and shoving myself into a blood sugar crash. My body is prone to storing everything as fat and not as likely to convert that fat to energy.

So to people who say, "I wish I had your metabolism. It's not as easy for me to lose weight…"

Oi. What makes you assume it's easy for me?

I spent time recently with a coworker who also drastically changed her body. We chatted about our workouts and eating habits. Gotta admit she is more educated about the science of healing and diet than I. She referenced pH and ways to control the pH of your body with food you eat. She also pointed out I've come far, but could achieve even more if I'd tweak my food. I'm still lazy with sugary granola bars. The protein powder I use is ok but there are better choices. I could eat better fruits to deliberately promote a better performance from my body.  I could choose better grains.

So this year, I'm learning more. I'm tweaking my choices when I go grocery shopping. I'm trying to remember better snack habits (no more high sugar granola bars).

As a part of the week, I got hooked on an old favorite: cinnamon.  It has a lot of benefits and it's an under used spice, I think. It makes me feel like I'm indulging in a naughty dessert when I sprinkle it on fruit and it makes sweet potatoes even yummier than I already find them.  It's a must on oatmeal for me. Oh yea, and it has benefits for insulin resistance. Fancy that.

http://www.tylermcpeak.com/articles/health-benefits-of-cinnamon/

I also gave hemp milk a try. Never thought I would, but my coworker and I were feeling adventurous.  It was in a green tea latte and the drink turned out to be pretty darned tasty. Before you do what I did and say, "Hemp milk?!? Really?" Go read this:

http://www.examiner.com/fitness-in-national/the-420-10-things-you-didn-t-know-about-hemp-milk

Eating healthy doesn't have to be a parade of torturous diets. It shouldn't be an evil regimen.

It's being good and letting yourself indulge occasionally in treats. Be a little naughty and spice it up…sometimes the spice isn't a bad thing.

"A little bit of naughty is a little bit nice

She's a whole lot of glam, sweat, sugar, sex, spice…"

~ Show me how you burlesque, Christina Aguilera

Guest Post at Authors After Dark

I've got a guest post at the Authors After Dark blog, talking about why I've added Authors After Dark to my con schedule.

For those of you curious about cons in general and why I chose this con in particular, please check it out:

http://authorsafterdark.blogspot.com/2011/04/authors-after-dark-on-con-schedule.html

Monday Fun

I'm MIA this week due to the day job, but I'm still kicking off Monday with an interview & giveaway over at Jo Jo's Book Corner as part of the Authors After Dark Meet and Greet. Stop over and show me some love for a chance to win a free ecopy of one of my books!

Also, I wanted to take a moment to announce the following winners:

Teresa won a signed print edition of Heart's Sentinel and one of our lady Demonlover's hot Man Candy Calendars for 2011, signed by Brand Will from the March Mayhem Blog Hop.

Viki won an ecopy of Red's Wolf from the March Mayhem Blog Hop.

Susan won an ecopy of Red's Wolf from my giveaway as part of the TRS Treasure Hunt.

Congrats to all the winners and thank you so much for entering!

 

TRS Treasure Hunt

Welcome TRS treasure hunters!

(if you don't know about the TRS Treasure Hunt, quick, go here -> TRS Treasure Hunt)

One of my heroines, Carri, believes a man might only be a lone wolf because he was never given the option to be something else. Who is Carri's wolf and what is his nickname for her?

I've included an excerpt below to help you find the answers, plus I think you'll be able to figure out the title too.

Best of luck winning the the grand prize over at The Romance Studio!

For added fun, I'm going to give a free ecopy of one of my titles to one lucky commenter here on this post. Leave a comment, show me some love.  xoxo

Excerpt:

"Watch yourself!" A strong hand grabbed her upper arm, roughly pulling her against a rock-hard surface, steadying her. Actually, the hard surface was a very muscular chest, under a soft flannel shirt.

The hood of her jacket framed the view of her rescuer's chest and she abruptly wondered if the rest of him was as appealing. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she clutched at the soft fabric beneath her hands. Her blood sugar was bottoming out after the long train ride.

"I'm so sorry." Carri unclenched her fingers, speaking carefully through the moment of weakness. "I'm really clumsy, and I guess I tried to do too many things at once. I'm fine now, really."

A deep chuckle rumbled around her, and she peeked out from under her hood. From the strong, stubble-covered chin to his wide smile full of straight, white teeth and eyes a startling steel grey rimmed in stark black, he embodied the rugged wilderness she'd come to visit. And he still held her up close and personal.

Heat rushed into her face as she stepped to one side, mentally congratulating herself for not stepping backward and wasting his timely save with a second fall off the platform.

"No apologies needed." His dark voice rolled over her in a slow wave, sending shivers through her despite the layers of clothing she wore. He paused for a heartbeat, his gaze roving over her face. "I will take a 'thank you' though."

Before she could say just that, he leaned in lightning quick, capturing her lips. Heat seared through her as his mouth sealed over hers, and a strong hand caught her jaw, tilting her head up to meet him. His tongue teased her, smothering any protest then darted into her mouth to taste her. A low moan worked its way up her throat, nothing like the protest she'd intended.

Releasing her, the stranger flashed a feral grin and hopped off the platform before she could take a swing at him. Sputtering, Carri watched him land the dozen feet below with ease, her heart pounding in her chest. Every part of her skin tingled as he turned back to look up at her.

"Let Ben know Jason decided to take the long way into Glacier Valley pack territory." He grinned up at her. "See you around, Red."

Forget the contest, I want to Buy This Story Now!

Mayhem at the Anachronism

If you were in NYC this past weekend, you may have heard music in the streets. You may have caught a glimpse of corsets and top hats, fantastic weaponry or even a random fire gypsy.

For heavens sake, why didn't you investigate? LOL.

I had a lovely time at the Anachronism with fellow authors Stella Price, A.L. Davroe and Leana Renee Hieber as well as some awesome friends. We talked books a bit, discussed genres and generally laughed a lot. More importantly, we discovered the wonders of chocolate covered popcorn with bacon bits and cayenne pepper. Another lesson learned: do not mix buttershots with whiskey. Ever.

The best part about Anachronism for me was leaving with ideas for my next steampunk story brewing in my head. The gears are turning, my friends.

Pre-gaming the Anachronism

In NYC on Sunday? Come out for chaos, mayhem and shenanigans. I will be joining several other steampunk authors for nibbles, sips of tea and our special brand of miscellany. Come join us at Le Pain Quotidien (corner of Broadway and 11 st) at 11am, pull up a chair and listen to some fantastic steampunk fiction.

I'll be reading from Evie's Gift, my holiday short, available now in eBook and to be released in a Print anthology this coming holiday season.

Afterward, we'll be headed to the main event at Webster Hall, the Anachronism for Expedition to Candyland at 3pm.

March Mayhem Blog Hop

Welcome to my little stop on DemonLover's March Mayhem-Blog Hop & Giveaway!

This month was full of ups and downs for me in so many ways, my head is still reeling.

So I'm gonna keep it sweet and simple, giving away a signed print copy of Heart's Sentinel plus one of our lady Demonlover's hot Man Candy Calendars for 2011, signed by Brand Will.

How's that for hot?

 

Plus, how could I let the release of Red Riding Hood in theaters go by without giving away an ecopy of Red's Wolf? So, a second winner will be picked to win an ecopy of Red's Wolf, Book 2 of the Terra's Guardians series.

Leave a comment to enter the giveaway.

 

Creative Outlets

Where does your creativity take you?

Writing is one of the major creative outlets I have in my life. I've written my stories for a long, long time.  Being able to share them via published format is a wonderful thing. Taking the fits and figments from my imagination and pulling them together to build characters and a plot line, a tangible story, that's creativity at its best for me. It's an outlet for my feelings, an escape from a stressful world and a tangible something I can make of how I see the world.

"What you are imagining right now? That place can be as real anything."

Another creative outlet for me is photography. Not only do I use my photography to capture how I saw a place that inspired me for my stories, I've been starting to use it to take snapshots of how I see me.

When was the last time you smiled, really smiled, without posing for those watching?

If you're interested in seeing new facets of PJ, feel free to drop by my Tumblr account and get a look at my self-portrait efforts. I'm learning as I go but sometimes, a self-portrait tells me more about myself at a specific moment than any mirror could.