Jennifer Malone Wright's Blog, page 12

Winner of the fan video contest

There were several awesome entries for this contest I absolutely loved them all! But, only one could win. 

Congratulations to Cheree Crump with her fan made video for The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter!

Thank you so much to all who entered and to all who watched and voted. It was a fun contest and I hope to do it again sometime soon.

Here is the winning video!

When terrible things happen

The last couple of days I have been doing the same thing I always do. You know, house cleaning, taking care of the kids, school, writing, grocery shopping. But, during this whole time I’ve been doing the things I normally do, places like Oklahoma are being literally devastated.

I reflected on this with my husband today. My heart is hurting and my prayers are being sent to the victims, the survivors and anyone affected by the tornados. I did this very same thing after the Hurricane Sandy and the Newtown shooting, I was really put in my place.

By this I mean, every one of us worries about bills and work and our children, we all complain about our life and how much better we could or should be doing. But in reality, be it mother nature or a psycho, we could lose it all in as little as a matter of minutes.

It is sad that for so many of us, it takes devastation and such terrible things to happen for us to realize how very lucky we are.

Everyday, be thankful for what you have because it could be taken from you.

Be thankful, be happy, be positive and LIVE life.

You be the Judge: Fan video contest

We had a contest going on for fan made book trailers, K.B. Miller author of The Moon Coven Series and I, each had 4 entries. 1 person will win from each of us, but we need YOU to vote! Watch the trailers and click “like” on your favorite. On May 31st the trailer with the MOST likes on YOUTUBE (ONLY the youtubes likes count) will win an Amazon gift card from KB and I
PS– If this becomes popular, we might do another one of these contests later!
And, now here are the TRAILERS!!!!

Remember the votes only count on YOUTUBE so go there to do the voting!

Also, don’t forget to go to vote on K.B. Millers fan videos as well!

 

Jealousy, Writing, And The Mosh Pit

All right, I just blogged day before yesterday, so this must be some kind of record. I was totally serious when I wrote about my fear of blogging, that I was going to start blogging more. Today, I want to talk about never giving up.

I have friends who are authors who, on rough days, will call me up and tell me they feel like quitting. We both know that they won’t really quit, what they really need is a pep talk.

Sometimes all a person needs is someone to tell them that they are good enough and that they will succeed at whatever it is they want in life. This is the time that we talk about strategies and writing (or art or music, whatever it is that they are doing) we revamp the urge to continue on.

This happened to me today.

And it never happens to me.

Seriously, I never feel like I want to quit. Sometimes when sales are down I have a moment of depression or anger, but usually this only lasts about a minute and then I come back ten times harder in my mission to achieve my goals.

Today, I thought about how it would be if I just went back to the way things were. I’ve always written, but I didn’t have to face this crazy, competitive world of writers. I could still write, but at least I wouldn’t have all the other stress that goes along with it … but, I would also be broke again. Lol

Here is the thing. I got jealous.

The goal of most fiction writers is to have people read your book, love it, and to become the next Anne Rice or Stephen king, (or whoever you pick that you would put in place of those names)

The reality is that most authors never even come close to making a living off of their books.

But times are changing with the rise of ebooks and ebook publishing. Great big heavenly gates opened up when ebooks took storm. We authors were given this chance to make it, finally!

When I finished my first book and published it in 2010, the amount of authors selling ebooks was not nearly what it is now. Now, there is a vast sea of authors all scrambling to fight their way to the top, like the mosh pit at metal concert. “Let me up on that stage dammit!”

You wouldn’t believe the things that authors actually do to each other now. Crazy. When I first started this career, we HELPED each other. We shared, we pimped, we did everything we possibly could to help others to get their name seen, because we were comrades, brothers and sisters in fiction who just wanted the same thing. This reciprocal behavior is not nearly as common now as a couple years ago.

The bigger the ebook world grew, the more authors sprouted up, which is totally fine, but it seems that the more authors who publish and join the community of writers, the meaner people get. I’m literally shocked at some of the things that happen. I won’t even get into publishing companies and other such things associated with writing today, but the point of this is to explain why I feel the way I do.

I know that authors work hard. I know we all do. But, the fact is that I work my ass off. I have five kids, I market, I take care of my house, my husband, my yard, and somewhere in there I write. I don’t know about blood, but I put sweat and tears into my work, for sure. I respect other authors A LOT, so please, please don’t take this the wrong way.

It’s just … so hard when I come within mere inches of my goal, seriously, just barely making it and I’m about to climb up on the stage I am shoved backward and instead of the crowd catching me and surfing me to safety, I hit the floor.

There are a lot of authors making it right now, a lot of indie authors that I know, and I am sooooo proud of them and happy for them. But today, I was jealous of them.

I thought to myself ‘I’m never going to make it, maybe this just isn’t in the cards for me.’ I’m opening up here, and letting you guys see this for a reason now, so don’t jump to conclusions till you read it all. Jealousy is a terrible thing. Today, I let myself fall into the trap that so many do. Usually, when I see that one of us has gotten picked up by a publisher or a movie deal, I’m excited for them, happy they achieved it, and also it makes me know that it IS attainable, that I can do it. It reinforces that I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and it will happen.

Later, after the green eyed monster has left me, I feel awful, because I let myself turn into one of the meanies that I described earlier. How in the hell could I let that happen? I of all people, know that I have no place to feel that way. I know authors who work just as hard, or harder than me and they haven’t had nearly the success they deserve, they have also told me that they wish their books did as well as mine. (Which, for the record, was luck they did so well) so I have absolutely nothing to be jealous about, nothing that should make me feel the way I did today, anyway.

My point here is that we all have days we feel jealous. We all have days we want to quit. We all have days when we are fighting through the pit to rise up onto the stage with the stars and we all will make it there if we try. It is all right to feel like this occasionally, but use it … use it to drive yourself harder instead of wanting to quit.

I am more depressed now, because of how I felt today, than I was to begin with. I’m telling you this because I’m embarrassed of my selfishness and I suppose that this is a little like confession for me because it has always, always been my motto to help others climb their way up with me. I want the stage, but I’ll turn around and grab the persons hand behind me and help them up too. I didn’t feel that way today, today the only thing I could think was ‘why not me?’ And I am ashamed of that.

I know you authors have felt the same way. No secrets here, I just told you mine. So, just remember that it’s normal to feel that way, but don’t let it last long. Take that “why me” feeling and use it to become something great, but remember that those who are making it are working just as hard as you, they are earning their way with blood, sweat and tears, just like you.

We are all in this together!

My fear of blogging

Every so often, I say to myself “I really need to blog more.” and then the feeling passes and my blog remains untouched.

Here is the reason. I am afraid.

I am afraid that I wont have anything important or interesting to say. I fear the times I do have something important or interesting to say, that people will judge me harshly and it would ruin my career forever.

But, how can this be? You ask. You post on Facebook and Twitter about your life all the time.

Here is the answer to that. On the social networks, I rarely post about politics, parenting issues, or my strong views on certain things like gun control. I do, however make the occasional post about these things so it’s not like I never do. The social networks are the life blood of my writing career, my fans and friends are on there and they are the ones who buy, recommend and talk about my books. Yes, I need them, but more than anything I feel that they are entitled to their opinions and most importantly, I would never want to offend them by posting something they disliked or disagreed with.

Yes, I am a people pleaser.

My friend Kym is constantly telling me that I am the mediator, the one who wants everyone to get along and live happily ever after. I admit, this trait of mine has gotten me walked all over more than a doormat in front of a mall. But, it’s who I am.

Back to why I fear blogging

Sure, I have lots of stuff to talk about, but what if you think my ways of parenting are wrong and spread it all over the internet that I’m a crappy mom? I know, I know, why should I care, everyone has an opinion. Well, the fact is that I care because I do. I am a people pleaser remember! I can’t help it!

I do the self-publishing 101 blogs as video blogs and those are easy, to the point, instructional videos. More like, this is what worked for me and this is how you do it. That is all right, but when it comes to personal blogs, I’m not so comfortable with it.

A lot of the stuff I feel strongly about probably would offend some people. No, I’m not perfect, just like all of you aren’t either.

I am sensitive.

My husband tries to joke with me all the time and I end up crying. (poor guy) I’m sensitive to what people think about me. That is part of the people pleaser persona (say that three times) so obviously, I’m going to be sensitive to what others think. Do you guys know how long it took me to realize that I had to get a back bone when it came to reviews on my book? FOREVER! I don’t even look at most of them now, but when you have a new book out you want to know what they are thinking about it. It’s tough, really tough when people don’t like something you put your heart and soul (blood, sweat and tears) into. But there is always going to be someone who doesn’t like it. Always! And that, getting the back bone and over the fear, I did conquer.

So I have to conquer this one too.

Hence forth, I must blog about my life experiences and not give a crap what you think!

Till next time…

The Vampire Diaries Convention 2013 Pretty Disappointing

So, who wants to know how my trip to Las Vegas and The 2013 Vampire Diaries Convention went? Ok, I’ll tell ya!

I have been super excited about this trip for quite a while. I bought the gold package tickets because you seem to get so much more with the gold package. The best part was I got to choose my seat. I got the sixth row back right smack in the center with an aisle so I wasn’t in between anyone.

Well, the original plan was for my husband to go with me, but he ended up not being able to go because of military stuff. So, I took my bestie, Rose, with me.

So, we made the plans, she got a gold ticket too and her seat was actually just down the row from mine, so it wasn’t too far away. I bought the super duper expensive photo op with Ian and Paul, then another with Steven R. McQueen. (who ended up not coming because of filming, more on that later) Anyway, we got the room reserved, plane tickets, and began our countdown.

Once we arrived in Vegas it was already early morning Friday, technically late Thursday night for us.. We looked around a bit and then went to bed.  When we woke up friday morning we had an awesome breakfast with Author Alexia Purdy and my team leader Eric, and his wife. Then we went to the tournament of Kings at the Excalibur hotel. It was AMAZING! you have to see it if your ever in Vegas.

Friday night we were able to go and get our pre registration for the gold members. Once we got there, there was a huge line already and it wasn’t moving fast at all. One perk was that Nathaniel Buzolic (Kol) was walking around the line shaking hands and meeting the fans. Well, we waited in this line forever, then the volunteers came around and asked if we had a Ian-Paul photo op ticket that was printed out. Yes, me, me me! I waved mine and they said when we were done in that line that we had to get in the other line to get the actual ticket. Oh well, that is to be expected right? Well THEN they asked if we had a Steve McQueen photo op. Yes! Me, me, me! I waved it. Well, he couldn’t show so we had to exchange it for someone else. Ok, thats cool, but we had to get in yet another line to change that one over. *sigh*

Before I go on, I want to tell you what the gold package tickets come with. Here is the description.

GOLD WEEKEND ADMISSION PACKAGE

The Vampire Diaries Comes to fabulous Las Vegas at the Rio Suites Hotel and YOU are invited to “Go Gold” for what will surely be a fantastic experience. Our famous Gold Packages are the most upscale way to attend the entire convention, here is what you get (and we expect our greatest line-up of TVD stars yet):

1) The absolute very best reserved seatings for daytime convention main auditorium events both days. Great for photographers too!

2) Complimentary in-person autographs with great guests including IAN SOMERHALDER, PAUL WESLEY, MICHAEL TREVINO, ZACH ROERIG, NATHANIEL BUZOLIC and SEAN FARIS. The value of these autographs if purchased separately is $240 so you can see why the Gold Package is such an outstanding offer! Take advantage of this deal and grab your seats today!

3) First for autographs done row by row. Gold does have its privileges!

4) Pre-Registration (a convenience, not a necessity) so once you get your admission credentials (before other patrons you don’t have to wait again.

5) Complimentary admission to the famous Saturday Evening Decade Dance with celebrities in person and tons of fun. Hosted by The Hillywood Show and featuring Nathaniel Buzolic, Sean Faris and Charlie Bewley! An awesome night to enjoy! A TVD Centerpiece contest also takes place!

6) Admission to the vendors area!

7) A special exclusive panel just for our Gold Patrons featuring Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley! Awesome!

8) Ability to pick your own seat in the theatre (you’ll see the floor plan when you order)

9) Collectible lanyard and credentials

Ok, so you see here that you get six autographs. Well every other convention I’ve been to they give you something to be autographed along with said autograph ticket. Well, not this place. Discouraged because we were on a budget, we went to the vendor room. Uh… well, what they called the vendor room. It was four tables. FOUR! There was a line that we stood in for an hour to look at photos that we could get autographed. The pics were six bucks, six times six is thirty six dollars. Or we could get one small one and have them all sign it. *sigh* decisions, decisions. Both Rose and I ended up getting the large one with a mat that had space for signatures for thirty dollars. After that we left because there was nothing else to do.

Saturday morning, we got up and got ready for the convention events which started with the special panel with just Ian and Paul for gold members only. Cool! It was a great panel with them. I had a good seat and got good pics. My hearing may have been jeopardized by the fangirls behind me though. lol The screaming was unreal.

After that we had to go get ready for the Ian Paul photo op. Yay!! Now… here is where I really start to get annoyed. Normally, at conventions when you have a gold ticket or VIP, there is a special line along side the photo op lines for the gold members and you go in first. No… we waited for hours in line just like the (no offense) people who paid 30 bucks to get in for the day. What??? No!!

Yes, that is what happened. Not to mention that they made us leave our purses and bags out on a table outside the photo op room. I totally get this, but normally you can leave your stuff inside the photo op room, just inside the door so at least you can see it. Two purses that I know of got stolen that day.

We took a break before autographs and went to gamble and get drinks. During which time someone stole Rose’s giant photo for autographs!! Shitty!! Bad, bad people!

Then, when we came back Ian and Paul were on stage. Talking about all the same stuff that they talked about in our special panel. Boo!! We paid for gold people!

Then, it was time for autographs. This went well because gold goes first and its row by row. This was the ONLY organized part of this convention.

After that we had to go pick up our photo. The line was crazy long and merging with other lines. We didn’t even know which line was what. So, we waited for an hour and then when we got to the front we discovered that all the photos were just laid out all over the tables. Normally they are in some kind of a file in a brown paper cover so that it doesn’t get harmed. That photo cost 170 dollars. Yes, One Hundred and Seventy dollars and it has a scratch on it from all the fingers tearing through the photos to find their own. *sigh again*

By this time, Rose is pissed and I don’t blame her one bit. We were exhausted and then it was time to go eat and then get ready for the founders ball. Ok. Founders Ball. Imagine in your head, the worst prom ever with about 200 girls. Yeah. That was the founders ball. The Hillywood girls were hosting and I got a pic with them, but still. They came around and gave us two drink tickets, and then they came back around and took one away. *sigh* we left early.

The next day was pretty much the same. I got my pic taken with Zach Roerig and it turned out cute. Better than the Ian-Paul one. I got the rest of my autographs. Rose skipped that, she was depressed about the day before and actually kind of pissed off about it. Other than that, there was nothing to do at the convention so we went gambling and gave the casino our money. Then we went to the strip and saw some of the sights.

Let me just say. I will never, ever attend another convention by Creation. I don’t care who it’s for. We didn’t even get a freaking swag bag. Most places give you a swag bag.  This was disappointing for me, a huge fan. I almost feel differently about the show, even though I know it wasn’t their fault.

Breakdown,

350 dollars gold tickets

170 dollars Ian-Paul Photo op

40  dollars Zach photo op

Not including Room for 4 days or plane tickets, food, and all other crap we had to buy.

 

If you want to see my photos of the convention visit my FB page

So, friends and fans, please let me know your experience with conventions. Were they like this one? Were they good? Let’s hear it!

 

 

 

 

Winners Were Drawn for the Twitter Giveaway

Hi everyone, this is just a quick note to let you know that the winners for the ebooks in the Twitter giveaway were drawn and emailed. Please check your emails and respond so that I can send out your ebooks.

 

 

Giveaway Time!

Everyone loves a giveaway!

Enter to win some awesome ebooks with the rafflecopter below. This one is simple and has very few entries.

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chemical Warfare has turned most of the world’s population into flesh eating Zombies. These are the accounts of two survivors.

Kylee and Jade are on their way from one author convention to another. After saying goodbye to all their friends, they never dreamed the plane would land with them fighting for their lives.

Jade Warwick has been preparing for the end of the world for years, but she never thought the world would end with zombies. The only thing salvaging her almost lost sanity is the fact that she is with her best friend, Kylee.

With their first mission being to find their families, will the girls manage to save their families while trying to save each other?

 

A war is brewing between the hunters and the vampires and Chloe is determined to strike against the vampires before they have a chance to attack the hunter community.

While Chloe tries to convince the hunter community, and most especially tries to convince Drew, that they should move against the vampires first instead of waiting for an attack, the group of new friends—Oscar, Alice, Drew, Chloe and Christina—are distracted by news reports of a vigilante who is saving innocent humans against what can only be vampire attacks. Fearing this vigilante will cause unwanted attention that will expose the vampire-hunter community with each person he rescues, the group attempts to discover who this mysterious potential vampire hunter is.

When they catch up with him, the group learns a shocking revelation that might just change everything for everyone in Arcadia Falls, but will have the most profound impact on Chloe herself.

The Arcadia Falls Chronicles is the continuation of The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter. Following the format of The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter, The Arcadia Falls Chronicles is serialized into several novella-length stories.

This special edition of The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter contains parts I-VI, the complete collection. Fourteen-year-old Chloe witnesses her mother’s murder at the hands of a vampire. Before the vampire can kidnap her, there is an unexpected rescue by a group of vampire hunters.

Overwhelmed by the feeling of safety, Chloe passes out and they whisk her away to their small community. When Chloe wakes, she comes face to face with the only other living relative, besides her mother, whom she has ever met: her grandfather. Chloe’s mother kept her hidden from the family; now, Chloe tries to unveil the family secrets.

Through her grandfather, she learns her mother was a vampire hunter. In fact, her entire family is descended from the powerful bloodlines of vampire hunters. Chloe agrees to join the family she has never known for one reason only: Chloe vows to kill the vampire responsible for her mother’s murder. With vengeance in her soul, Chloe is even more determined to follow through on her vow when she discovers the true identity of her enemy and how he is connected to her.

Experience the world of vampires hunter’s, vampires and mythology with Chloe in this exciting series.

 
 

Self-Publishing 101Episode 11: Make it with love

Today we are talking about the importance of adding love to our writing. This doesn’t mean the romance kind of love, but the love of the words that we are putting onto the page and will soon release into the world.

 PS. I am just tired during the making of this video, I promise I’m not under the influence. Lol!

Jennifer Malone Wright
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K.B. Miller
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Secret Project Reveal

Today is a very special post that we have been dying to reveal to everyone. Secretly, Willow Cross, K.B. Miller and I have been working on a project that is going to blow your mind!

And here it is!

 

 

Once upon a time, something wicked was woven. A magic formed by darkness and pain, a magic that only the victim of a broken heart could have created. 

The death of her one true love has forced Goldalynn to use dark magic. Determined to bring him back she discovers she must acquire the pelts of three bears under the light of the blue moon to fulfill the spell.

The blue moon has risen and the three bears are caged, awaiting the fate of Goldalynn’s deadly spell. But, their cries for help were heard across the magical realms and their Fairy God Uncle has been called. A collision of spells, magic dark and light create a curse, a curse that turns the bears fur into soft skin and their paws into delicate arms and legs… a curse that turns them human.

The girls are now the charges of their Fairy God Uncle until they no longer need him. Not knowing what to call them, he gives them the most important part of their human identities … their names, Katya, Nita, and Leilanni. With his help, these three bears in human bodies journey through the lands of modern fairy tales trying to find a way to break the curse.

This dark fairy tale is not the book your mother read you when tucking you in at night, you won’t find a fairy tale princess who needs a rescue, but there might be a prince or three in this world. Find out as Beary Tales takes you on a magically twisted adventure.

Please visit the website to find out more about how this book came about, you can also see pics of the cast members and other fun stuff. Beary Tales also has a Twitter for you to follow!

WEBSITE/TWITTER

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