Reena Jacobs's Blog, page 37
May 8, 2011
Novel Review: Bleeder by L.K. Rigel
Mid-March, L.K. Rigel mentioned she was releasing the latest addition to the Ex Post Apocalypto series. "…you can get Bleeder for .99 if you catch it when it goes live," she said. Ask me if I took advantage of her early bird offer. Oh heck yeah, I did! After clearing some of the books on my to-read list, I hopped into Bleeder. So, let's take a look at the blurb from Ms. Rigel's website:
The King of Garrick wants to kill her.
The King of Allel wants to love her.
And shapeshifters stole her baby's soul!
It's been a hundred years since sea-level rise and global nuclear war wiped out most of humanity. Mallory is a chalice, one of the world's rare fertile females who contract with the kings of the Concord Cities to provide natural-born heirs.
It was supposed to be a pampered and uneventful life, but Mal becomes caught between King Garrick's scheme for world domination and the goddess Asherah's desperate plays for another god's attention.
In her struggle to survive, Mal must confront the most terrifying threat of all — the truth of her past and the inevitability of her destiny.
I have to say, I'm so glad Ms. Rigel decided to make this into a full length novel. Whereas the first two novellas left me wanting more information, this one was full of depth. Wonderful world building!
Before I go deeper into the review, one thing you must know about me is I'm the type of person who LOVES to HATE. Many aspects of this book riled me, but in a way which was satisfying because of the realism. Think Darth Vadar: an absolutely wicked character but in such a way where you can't help but say he's a kick-ass villain.
So with that in mind, I went through Bleeder hating characters, attitudes, and situations, but absolutely loving the book because of it.
For me, this work delved a bit into women's fiction with its clash of opposing ideas. On one hand, it celebrated womanhood by making fertile women the most valuable resource on the planet. On the other hand, they were just that… resources–either breed for the planet or face the consequences.
Then there was the idea of motherhood. In Spiderwork, the women seemed to want to be mothers, but responsibilities forced on them by society denied them that opportunity. They were breeders, nothing more. This time around, the breeds mocked and criticized any birth mother for holding any emotional attachment to a child. The Chosen were brainwashed into believing that motherhood was something to be scorned. It was a rather disheartening future to think something so natural would be frowned upon. All in all, it was like two giant leaps backward for women.
Bleeder had such a deep message which dealt with human rights and politics. In many ways the society lost its spirit. Lack of choices made them complacent with the way things were. Even those in charge of making the rules were complacent. Each new ordinate chipped away freewill leaving an entire society of slaves with varying rights. I could see our society becoming like that.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. Bleeder came pretty close to a 5 star read. Like I said, it was full of issues I LOVED to HATE. I recommend this work to readers who enjoy exploring human rights.
By the way, romance lovers… this does have a happily ever after.
A few of my favorite lines:
"I kept the sun out of her eyes."
Pleasure sure did look hilarious on other people.
She had that completion tat in addition to the traditional roses, but it was impossible to imagine any man brave enough to enter this woman.
Last minute comments
The question which continued to be on my mind throughout the novel was, "What are ghosts?" 
Great news all! Ms. Rigel has added a Lexicon to her website which answers that question and many more.
This story was well beyond Char's story, Space Junque (see review here). Though we get an idea of what happened to her sister Sky Meadowlark, we never get the entire story. I do hope to see Sky's story in the future. If you didn't catch my review of Spiderwork, you can read it here.
If you don't already have the Ex Post Apacolypto series, you can find them at the following locations:
Space Junque is available at:
S[image error]piderwork is available at:
[image error]Or get both Space Junque & Spiderwork in a 2-pack deal at:
Bleeder is available at:
Sunday Showcase #2
Welcome to the second edition of Sunday Showcase. I"m pretty sure I missed last week, but I'm too lazy to go check right now. I do know, I've received two reads since my last post.
Mercy in an exile from heaven with shattered memories of who she used to be. She's doomed to "wake" repeatedly on earth in a new body, each time assuming a new life. During the day she survives in the human world on instinct and at night her dreams are haunted by her lost love, who pleads with her to find him.
But this time is different. When Mercy wakes up she meets Ryan, an eighteen-year-old reeling from the loss of his twin sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped two years ago. Only Mercy and Ryan believe his sister is still alive. For the first time since she can remember, Mercy has a purpose: she can help. So she doesn't understand why the man in her dreams cautions her not to interfere. But as Ryan and Mercy come closer to solving the mystery of Lauren's disappearance, danger looms just one step behind.
Will Mercy be able to harness her extraordinary power in time?
The first in a dazzling new series, Mercy masterfully weaves romance, mystery and the supernatural into a spell-binding tale that readers will devour.
Why I picked this book: After reading Unearthly (see review here), my curiosity about YA books with angels has risen. It's just that simple. I requested from NetGalley, and they approved.
Available: Barnes & Nobles and The Book Depository
"Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world."
Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she's been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?
Why I chose this book: My buddy, Karen over at For What It's Worth, recently finished the second in this series, Rage. Check out her review of it here. She mentioned it was a pretty decent read, so of course I was curious. But you know me, I start at the beginning of the series. Good ole Karen even hooked me up and loaned her copy out to me. I'm actually reading this right now. I read the blurb to my daughter and got her interested. We've actually been switching off with it over the last couple of days. I promised her I'd finish it tonight so she could take it to school with it tomorrow.
Available: Barnes & Nobles and The Book Depository
May 6, 2011
Novel Review: Maximum Ride ~ The Final Warning by James Patterson
As I mentioned, I purchased the first four books of this series from my local used bookstore for $2 each. What a bargain. This is the last of them. I don't see myself continuing with this series unless the other books miraculously appear at the used bookstore for cheap again. So, I'll do a summary wrap up for the entire series here. But first, the blurb from Mr. Patterson's website:
Max and the other members of the Flock–six kids who share her remarkable ability–have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the causes of global warming. Their ability to fly could help the scientists conquer this epic problem. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism–and escaping government forces who watch the Flock like a hawk.
The first thing I noticed about this book was the flock faced off against super-villains who were super-dumb. I mean, not an ounce of intelligence floated around in the brains of the bad guys. It was really sad, to be honest. They were worse than Lash in Lover Mine (see review here). Most of my notes were about how the villains were too stupid to live (TSTL). So I'll warn you now… this review won't be all intensive.
Then we had the whole thing about wanting to have a world full of only flawless super-people… one thing, we have beings that don't even have enough body parts to be mobile in control. Huh? Do the leaders plan to terminate themselves in the end? This all falls under the TSTL category.
Once again, this book was filled with repetition… so much so, I wondered if Mr. Patterson had amnesia at times. Characters verbalized thoughts other characters had. We had the kiss and run scene from the prior book in here. Come on… can't we get a little something original? I'm sitting here laughing about the entire book right now. I swear this is one of those books the author writes just to see how much he/she can get away with and have people make the purchase.
The biggest disappointment of the whole book…
If you want to skip spoilers now's the time to stop reading…
The saving the world nonsense? OMG!!!! It was about saving the planet from global warming. I can't believe the entire series led up to something as mundane as that. Yeah… I'm all for taking care of the planet and all, but a superhero book with a green peace plot? Fang and Max really got into though. It was a race between the two, I swear it was. Who could save the world first and in the biggest way. Their egos totally got blown out of the water, this time around, especially Max. I am Max; here me roar!
So my overall impression of the series:
If you want realistic plots and scenarios, don't bother… you'll just piss yourself off. If you're looking for a good laugh with quirky dialogue and thoughts, give it a try. Despite my ranting, I had a wonderful time with this series and laughed the entire way through, minus one time during book three where I considered tossing the book out the window. If you're interested in what I had to say about the other books in the series, check out my reviews here.
Find The Final Warning at:
Looking for the prior books in the series? Try the three box set (The Angel Experiment (Book 1), School's Out Forever (Book 2), and Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Book 3).
May 4, 2011
Who Art Thou Thursday: Joleen Naylor
Today, we get a little insight on what goes on in the mind of Joleene Naylor.
Tell us about your most recent publication.
Legacy of Ghosts is the second book in the Amaranthine vampire series and picks up where Shades of Gray left off. Katelina and Jorick, her vampire boyfriend, plan to get some rest and recover from all the fighting and bloodshed they've endured, but it isn't long before trouble finds them. Plagued by conflicts both at home (Just what *is* behind the locked door Jorick keeps disappearing into?) and from outside (Oren's cryptic warning that the vampiress Kateesha is after them), will they ever get a chance to sort out their relationship and get some peace?
Give us a brief description of a story you have hidden in your skeleton closet? And will it ever see the light of day?
My "skeleton closet" book is Wednesday's Child, which I wrote when I was 17/18. It's a long, miserable story about a girl who runs away from home with a "bad boy" and gets into lots of trouble. I posted it on my MySpace blog a couple years ago, but I never intend to seriously publish it. It needs too much work and frankly it has too many "true" parts hidden in it.
How much of you/your life do you put into your stories?
I think most characters have to be part of you or else you couldn't understand or empathize with them. I think when an author writes characters that don't have any of themselves in them that they turn out "wooden". There's not really a lot of my life carbon copied into the vampire books (and here you thought I spent my nights fighting coven wars 
) but for instance Katelina is quitting smoking in the first book because when I wrote it I was, and her terminal diet of microwave food is something else I've been through, as well as the isolation thing she has started to experience when being surrounded by only Jorick, or Jorick's friends and having none of her own. The one I need to try for research is to really go a month without seeing any daylight to see what it's really like. I've gone a week or so, but never that long.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Edit. Edit. Edit. Poorly edited books give all self published authors a bad name. They're the examples that the naysayers point to as proof that self published authors are all "quacks".
What are you working on now?
The third book, Ties of Blood, is being edited, and I am working on a short story compilation called Vampire Morsels. Each one is a short story about a different side character from the series that didn't get enough "face time". I'm posting them one at a time to Smashwords as free reads (each is around 3,000 words) and when I'm done I'll put them all together into one collection.
Who would you say is your biggest fan in your writing career?
I have four who are tied: Carolyn Cason is the president of the unofficial "leave Oren alone" fan club (and also my wonderful editor!), and Sharon Stogner is at the top of the "I love Jorick" group followed closely by my mom – which came as a huge surprise and then Jonathan Harvey who painstakingly reads everything I post – even the aforementioned Wednesday's Child.
Which author has inspired you the most?
I aspire to that creepy level of VC Andrews (She's the only author I've ever read who could make a shelf of stuffed animals seem somehow dark and menacing.) and of course Ann Rice's vampires were a huge inspiration. I remember when I watched "Interview with the Vampire" for the first time when I was a kid and there were all these "new ideas" in it about vampires that just made so much sense to me and hooked me right away.
Why did you decide to publish independently?
Because I wanted to do my own cover. Okay, no that's not the only reason, but it was a factor. The only reason I wanted a contract is because I am lousy at promotion, and when I found out that most traditional authors have to do their own, I didn't see the point anymore. I'd been doing research on self publishing and I liked all of the control factors, but that just sealed it for me.
Where do you get inspirations for your stories?
Anime is a big one. Random images I run across, things I notice in other books that someone should have done, ideas other people spring at me. Just all over, really.
How do you come up w ith your cover art?
I went with a white book because when I first started I expected to do a lot of paperback sales, and if a white book is stacked with a lot of black ones then that white book will stand out more. Different is really what I was going for all the way around (hence there's no blood and it doesn't look very vampire at a glance). I don't know if that has hurt or helped, though. On one hand, a lot of people who've picked the book up have said "I don't normally read vampire books, but I liked this one", so it is attracting non-traditional readers for the genre, but at the same time I think some paranormal fans are turned off because it doesn't follow the traditional pattern.
How about some quickies!
Pencil or Pen: Pen
Print or Cursive: Cursive
Pantser or Plotter: Pantser
Favorite Candy: the old style mint chocolate Hershey's kisses
Worst habit: chewing on things.
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About the Joleene Naylor
Joleene Naylor grew up in southwest Iowa surrounded by corn and very little entertainment – so she made her own. She's been writing and drawing since she was a child, with a leaning towards fantasy, horror and paranormal. It's this love of all that goes bump in the night that lead her to write the Amaranthine vampire series. In her spare time she's a freelance artist and photographer. Joleene does freelance book cover art, maintains blogs full of odd ramblings, illustrates a webcomic and hopes to win the lottery. However, unless she starts buying tickets she may never actually win anything.
Stalk Joleene Naylor on her Website: http://joleenenaylor.com
Find works by Joleene Naylor at the following locations:
Barnes & Nobles
Amazon US (paperback)
Amazon US (kindle)
Amazon UK (kindle)
Kobo e-book Store
Smashwords
Sony Reader Store
Borders
Amazon US (paperback)
Amazon US (kindle)
Amazon UK (paperback)
Amazon UK (kindle)
B&N NOOKbook
Kobo e-book Store
Smashwords
Sony Reader Store
Borders
Amazon US (kindle)
Amazon UK – (kindle)
B&N NOOKbook
Kobo e-book Store
Smashwords
Sony Reader Store
Borders
B&N NOOKbook
Kobo e-store
Smashwords.com
Borders
May 2, 2011
Teaser Tuesday: Legacy of Ghosts by Joleene Naylor
My talented writing buddy, Joleene Naylor, has returned for another visit, and she comes bearing gifts! An excerpt from Legacy of Ghosts, her second book in the Amaranthine vampire series.
After the events of Shades of Gray, Katelina seeks a moment's peace with Jorick, but such peace is hard to come by in a world shrouded in secrets and threatened by a brewing storm. Though Kateesha, a former ally, builds a war coven to fight the same battle as Jorick's fledgling, a common enemy isn't enough to overcome past betrayals, and the tempest explodes into a violent frenzy. Drawn into a deathly conflict, Katelina will have to make the ultimate decision between the world of sunlight and the world of darkness. Will she and Jorick band together and lay the memory of past mistakes to rest, or will they be haunted by their ghosts forever?
It was a nightmare.
Blood; there was blood everywhere. Her clothes were soaked with it and it stained her pale skin in smears of red. She sat on the floor, a body cradled in her arms. Hot tears fell from her eyes and her vision was so blurry she could barely see them.
"No," she heard an aching voice whisper; torn and raw. "Not again. God, not again!"
She'd tried to stop the bleeding, but nothing worked. She pulled them closer and screamed to the ceiling, a wordless howl of pain. She could hear their heart slowing and she knew they were dying. They were dying and it hurt so much! Her chest felt hollow and empty, stabbed through with something sharp, and she buried her face against their bloody neck. She could stop this, she knew how to do it. There was a way, but if she did it they'd hate her forever…
She stared down at the figure in her arms and counted their decreasing heart beats. How many more would there be until they stopped completely? Fresh, hot pain coursed through her and she knew that she had to do it no matter the consequence. She couldn't just watch them die.
She lifted her own arm to her mouth and bit into it. It hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to what she was already feeling. Dark blood ran down her arm and she pressed her bleeding flesh against their slack lips and forced her blood inside their mouth. A tiny trail leaked from the corner and ran down their chin; a miniature river. The sight choked her.
"I'm sorry," the voice whispered, heavy with unshed sobs. "I'm sorry." And then she opened her mouth and clamped it around their dying throat. She didn't feel her teeth slice through their skin, but she tasted the blood as it filled her mouth. She swallowed almost desperately, her mind seeking something in the connection; some spark. No, it couldn't be too late! It couldn't!
"You can't die, Katelina, You can't die!"
She woke, startled. It wasn't her dream, but Jorick's.
Legacy of Ghosts by Joleene Naylor is available at the following locations:
Barnes & Nobles
Amazon US (paperback)
Amazon US (kindle)
Amazon UK (kindle)
Kobo e-book Store
Smashwords
Sony Reader Store
Borders
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About the Joleene Naylor
Joleene Naylor grew up in southwest Iowa surrounded by corn and very little entertainment – so she made her own. She's been writing and drawing since she was a child, with a leaning towards fantasy, horror and paranormal. It's this love of all that goes bump in the night that lead her to write the Amaranthine vampire series. In her spare time she's a freelance artist and photographer. Joleene does freelance book cover art, maintains blogs full of odd ramblings, illustrates a webcomic and hopes to win the lottery. However, unless she starts buying tickets she may never actually win anything.
Stalk Joleene Naylor on her Website: http://joleenenaylor.com
May 1, 2011
Novel Review: Maximum Ride ~ Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
the blurb from Mr. Patterson's website:
The time has arrived for Max and her winged 'Flock' to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of 'Re-evolution', a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race…and to terminate the rest.
Before I start, I will mention this is not exactly spoiler free.
I mentioned in my prior reviews (The Angel Experiment and School's Out — Forever) that the flock had an established routine. The Baddies came, the flock fought, the flock fled. Rinse and repeat. This time Mr. Patterson switched it up on us a little. The Baddies came, the flock fought, the flock was captured, the flock fought, the flock fled. Rinse and repeat. So I asked myself, why in the world am I continuing to read this book if it's so predictable. Then the answer came to me on the next page where I cracked up laughing. I turned the page again, and I had another bout of the giggles. This book is just plain hilarious. And the dog, Total, his dry sense of humor is just too much for me sometimes. I have to hand it to Mr. Patterson, he knows how to keep me amused.
As for the plot… sucky sucky. Like I said, predictable and stale. Well… not always predictable. Sometimes the story was just plain fantastic. And when I say fantastic, I'm not talking about awesome, great, I'm talking about outrageously unbelievable.
For one, the head honchos had some serious faulty logic going on, which made the entire villain aspect crazy dumb. Which brings us to the intelligence of the scientist–crazy dumb. I still don't understand why Max and her flock are alive. How hard is it to kill a bunch of kids confined to cages? Call me crazy dumb (tee hee), but a few bullets to the head at close range could do it, right? It's not rocket science. It's just ridiculous. They can gene splice but can't figure out how to exterminate a bunch of kids in cages.
I could deal with the scientist taking oxymoron to a whole new level, but it was an impossible escape which had me in an uproar. Here's the thing… the book is in Max's POV most of the time… first person. So it would make sense that I would know what she knows, right? After all, she's telling me her story. Only thing… we get to the place where the flock is doomed… no way out… the end. Then all hell breaks loose and then Max hits us with the bomb. She's planned it this way all along. What!??! I didn't hear about any plan, and I should know cause I was right there INSIDE Max's head!
The only logical explanation I have for this is Mr. Patterson wrote this by the seat of his pants and backed himself into a corner. Instead of having a viable solution he build a secret magic door and let everyone hop through. OMG! Just thinking about that lame ass escape upsets me. I thought about not finishing the book. That lasted about an hour then I continued. Two pages later, I was laughing again. Did I mention this book is highly amusing despite the below substandard plot?
So we know Max et al. are looking for their real parents. This time Max gets thrown a bone. It was so Jedi like too… except it wasn't. If Max had been Luke, the scene would have gone like this.
Darth Vader: Luke, I am your father. *yeah… for you fact nuts, I know he doesn't actually say that… but go with me.
A few scenes later, Luke meets up with Obiwan.
Obiwan: Darth Vader is a liar. I am your father.
Luke: What?
Obiwan: And Yoda is your mother.
You don't believe me? I swear, it went down like that in Saving the World. Read the book if you think I'm lying!
Anyway, I picked out my favorite line from the entire book. I swear this sums up my reaction perfectly… if you take out the "probably life threatening part." Spoken by Max:
"Something asinine, probably life threatening, and guaranteed to make me angry every time I remember it for the rest of my life."
Now tell me she didn't nail that one!
And yes, I am going on to the next book. Why? I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure I'll be in for a lot of laughs.
Find Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports at:
Or try the three box set (The Angel Experiment (Book 1), School's Out Forever (Book 2), and Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Book 3). Three books in, and I'm still enjoying this story. Find it at:
April 29, 2011
Novel Review: Maximum Ride ~ School's Out — Forever by James Patterson
As you might remember from the last review, I picked up the first four books of the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. Up next is School's Out — Forever. I hopped right into this one right after reading The Angel Experiment, which took me two days to read. Two days later, I'd finished School's Out — Forever. Before the review, the blurb from Mr. Patterson's website:
Max's heart-stopping quest to protect her "family" and investigate the mind-blowing mystery of her ultimate destiny continues in the scariest, strangest, and funniest James Patterson thriller yet.
THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT WAS JUST A TEST DRIVE. NOW, BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE MAXIMUM RIDE!
School's Out — Forever had a similar theme to The Angel Experiment. The only real difference was a change in scenery. The flock met new friends they'd ultimately have to leave and were constantly on the run from the Erasers who seemed to pop up out of the blue. The on-going question was, how were these freaks finding Max and her buddies?
Again we saw the first point of view (POV) for Max and the third POV for everyone else. One of the joys this time was the villain POV, Ari! Ooooo. Ari was an odd sort of fellow–a seven-year-old trapped in an Eraser's body. At times, he seemed very childish then all of a sudden he'd have a grown up moment. I was never quite sure about him. One thing for certain though, that kid needed some serious hugs.
Max met a few questionable entities this time around. I'm wondering what roles they'll play in the future, and if they'll be the good guys or the bad guys. Plus, I'm hoping to find out what happened to some missing villains in the next book. School's Out — Forever left so many things up in the air. All I can say is that I'm thankful I have the next two books lined up, and the next three after are available in bookstores.
I wish I had more to say, but really the story line was simple–stay one step ahead of the bad guys, and when that fails, fight like hell and fly like your life depends on it.
Find School's Out — Forever at:
Or try the three box set (The Angel Experiment (Book 1), School's Out Forever (Book 2), and Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Book 3). Three books in, and I'm still enjoying this story. Find it at:
April 27, 2011
Who Art Thou Thursday: Benjamin Jones
My buddy Benjamin Jones, author of the H.U.B. series, returns for an interview. Let's find out what he's up to, shall we?
Tell us about your most recent publication.
My most recent publication has been Humanity's Ultimate Battle (H.U.B.) Volume 2: Blowback which is a continuation of H.U.B. Volume 1 which came out last March.
H.U.B. is a series set around vampires who, long believed to be nothing but myth and legend, do in fact exist. For years they have lived peacefully amongst humans but all that is about to change. Not content with being considered an equal to the human race, a faction has arisen that is threatening to fracture the delicate truce and engage in a global war pitting humans against vampires.
Why did you decide to publish independently?
I decided to publish independently due to the freedom it allowed me to have. I like being able to put my work out WHEN I want and HOW I want, plus I get to keep all of the profit w/out having to split it with a publishing company.
What's your favorite part about the publishing process and why?
My favorite part so far has been the book conventions. I attended one in Tulsa, Oklahoma in March and I had a BLAST meeting all the people and being able to talk about my book. And then, for those that actually purchased the book, it made me so happy!! I loved being able to take pictures with everyone that bought my book. It was truly an amazing experience and I'm looking forward to my next one which is in June.
What is your character development process?
When I initially start I have a general idea about what each character is going to be like but what I've found is that, as the story gets written, the characters start taking on a life of their own and they end up evolving as the story does. So, I sit back and let them grow and they usually end up being vastly different than what I had anticipated but it all works out in the end.
For you, what's the hardest part of the writing process?
The hardest part of the writing process is getting noticed because, without that, you essentially have nothing but this great piece of work that no one knows anything about. This is where the frustration and stress comes in.
What's the easiest part?
The easiest part to me is actually the writing part itself. It's very easy for me to put pen to paper because I feel that's what I was born to do. It's everything AFTER the work is finished that gets hard.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
My advice to writers is to KEEP WRITING – that is the single most important thing that you can ever do. After that, network with your writing peers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc… Also, invest in yourself and you will always have a good return on your investment.
What are you working on now?
Right now I'm actually working on two projects simultaneously, the first being H.U.B. Volume 3: The Tipping Point which is to be released on 9.10.11 and I'm also working on my romance novel entitled Head Above Water which will also be released sometime this year.
Who would you say is your biggest fan in your writing career?
My wife, most definitely. She's been SUPER supportive in everything and always offers constructive criticism/feedback. She's been great.
How about some quickies!
Pencil or Pen: Pen
Print or Cursive: Cursive
Pantser or Plotter: Pantser
Favorite Candy: Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
Worst habit: Eating too much ice cream!
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About the Benjamin Jones
Who am I? My name is Benjamin Jones and I'm what's known as an independent (for the time being) author who is working tirelessly to make this dream of mine to be the world's greatest writer a reality (right now I'm simply the greatest writer that 99.99998% of the world hasn't heard of but I'm working to get that percentage a little lower).
All jokes aside, I'm a person who has a family (wife, kids, dog, cat, all that good stuff), who works a 9-5 (actually a 7-4) job by day, and writes whenever he can find the time. My goal in life is to be a writer, and it's something that I take VERY seriously. Not having an agent at the moment I spend all my time either writing, promoting myself on Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads.com/etc…., or thinking of ways to get myself noticed by people.
Keep up to date with Benjamin Jones at his Author blog or Author Website.
H.U.B. Volume 1 & 2 by Benjamin Jones is available at the following locations:
Working Wednesday #3
Okay. Quick look at my goals for last week. I'm afraid I didn't accomplish too much. I'm condensing this a bit, but to see the full plan, please refer to last week's goals.
Edit Chasing Shadows
One scene a day
Last week 5/57 scenes
This week's progress 6/57 scenes I'm about halfway through scene 7. Overall, I was just lame this week. I'm having a bit of issues with motivation.
Maintaining 100+ words a day over at Word Count Union
This will be accomplished either by working on Trinity's Awakening
Last week's word count: 21,717
Current word count: 22,519 I missed a couple of writing days, including tonight. Shame, shame.
Clean up blog and update links
I haven't addressed this problem, but I've been on top of current posts… making sure all the links are dandy.
2011 Reading Challenge ~ basically just stay on top of this. Last week I was at 18 books. My progress:
2011 Reading Challenge
Reena has read 18 books toward her goal of 60 books.
hide
18 of 60 (30%)
view books
Really I just need to find some motivation. I haven't even been reading like I should these past few days.
April 26, 2011
Tuesday Teaser: H.U.B. by Benjamin Jones
Welcome to another addition of Tuesday Teaser. Humanity's Ultimate Battle continues in Author Benjamin Jones' saga, H.U.B. Today, he presents a piece from Volume 1. Enjoy!
Vampires, long believed to be nothing but myth and legend, do in fact exist. For years they have lived peacefully amongst humans but all that is about to change. Not content with being considered an equal to the human race, a faction has arisen that is threatening to fracture the delicate truce and engage in a global war pitting humans against vampires.
The first volume of an epic series is here and the world will never be the same.
Santa Catalina Island, twenty-two miles south-southwest of Los Angeles. The place that some considered a paradise – visited by more than a million visitors each year – was now a paradise lost; it was if the island had fallen asleep and had never woken up from the nightmares that continued to plague it. The smell of the ocean was damned near non-existent now as it was drowned out by the aroma of death and despair that showered the island like the most acidic of rain.
What used to be a population of thirty seven hundred residents had been reduced to a little more than two hundred, the majority of which were not native to the island – they had been transported here against their will. Those that were physically able, roughly eighty of them, congregated on the beach, tattered underclothes clinging to their sunken in frames as they washed what little bit of clothes they had in the cold water of the Pacific Ocean. The darkest circles surrounded their eyes, eyes that had lost the little flicker of hope that they once contained; that flame had been extinguished a while ago with no signs of ever returning. Most had made peace with the fact that they had ceased living and now simply existed, if that's what you would call what they were being forced to do.
Things were not supposed to be this way. How did they let them win? Buildings were eternally dark from the absence of electricity that had been shut off long ago. Decay was widespread with trash piled up everywhere and houses falling apart from neglect. Weeds and grass penetrated the cracks in the sidewalk and streets while trash barrels were kept ignited for warmth and to cook food. This was not humanity. There had to be some kind of resistance still going. Good is always supposed to defeat evil.
H.U.B. Volume 1 & 2 by Benjamin Jones is available at the following locations:
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About the Benjamin Jones
Who am I? My name is Benjamin Jones and I'm what's known as an independent (for the time being) author who is working tirelessly to make this dream of mine to be the world's greatest writer a reality (right now I'm simply the greatest writer that 99.99998% of the world hasn't heard of but I'm working to get that percentage a little lower).
All jokes aside, I'm a person who has a family (wife, kids, dog, cat, all that good stuff), who works a 9-5 (actually a 7-4) job by day, and writes whenever he can find the time. My goal in life is to be a writer, and it's something that I take VERY seriously. Not having an agent at the moment I spend all my time either writing, promoting myself on Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads.com/etc…., or thinking of ways to get myself noticed by people.
Keep up to date with Benjamin Jones at his Author blog or Author Website.
