Eisley Jacobs's Blog, page 2

Still loading….

Have you ever been stuck on a website when the content won’t load? That is kind of how I believer my year could be described. I was stuck on this “life page” and I couldn’t get past the loading sign. I tried and tried and tried… and failed and failed and failed. Then I tried some more…. and well. Yeah.

The whole trying and failing was quite frustrating and caused a whole bunch of ruckus around these parts. However, I think whatever what stuck in the gears of my “life page” has finally found it’s way to the trash-bin and the content is finally loading!



Yeah, total Snoopy Dance.

Though, I desire to have a few words with the sticky gears or whatever was up, I will instead just dance. I will dance because this means progress. This means we are moving forward. And forward is a good way to move. Heck, motion is just good. Because take it from me, stagnant water stinks. Figuratively, mentally, emotionally, and literally!

So if you are one of the many who have been patiently waiting for the sequels to… anything… thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for being patient while content was loading. It will have been worth the wait, as 2016 is going to be amazing.

Here we go!

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Free Books? (Google alerts)

Google alerts are a funny tool. If you are an author, you should definitely check it out and use it. You get to find out where in the world wide web your books (or personality) is being posted about. And quite frankly it’s thrilling!

Today’s google alert brought me to what I thought was a pirating website at first glance.

*Oh boy, not another one*

But after a quick click, I read the replies of the good people on the forum (after someone asked where they could find RUNAWAY CHOICES for free) who pointed them in the library direction and repeated you should not download pirated books. Yay, for them!

However, that brought me to a really good thought. And one I want out here on the website.

If ever there is a time that you, yes you reading this page, need a book and cannot afford to purchase it for .99 on kindle or another platform… please ask. I don’t need a super sob story as to why you need it for free or anything, but if you honestly can’t afford it, I don’t mind giving it to you for free. In fact, I spent the better part of an hour trying to TRACK this high school student down to try and offer her/him a book and the forum just wouldn’t let me… even after I created accounts and logged in!

So, if you are that kid, looking for summer AP reading, and you wanted to read my Speculative Fiction Novel, RUNAWAY CHOICES. Let me know through my contact link. I’d be glad to send it over.

Happy Summer Reading!

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2015 Resolutions

I know what some of you might be thinking… “New years resolutions? Come on, isn’t that like last decade?” Yes, and I’m actually one of those people. When you see the hordes of resolutions popping up on social media I can’t help but cringe at the hundreds of things these well meaning folks just will not be doing. For some their lists should be re-titled as their New Years Aversions. Because more often then not, the things on the list never get done. In fact maybe even because it’s on their list they actually choose NOT to do it. Like it’s a challenge of wills… the list against me. I will persevere! I will show that list!

Huh.

So I started thinking, why do people make resolutions anyway? Is it because their year sucked and they want to make sure the next year doesn’t? Did they fall short of a goal? Do they so desire to make changes in their lives and feel like the new year is just the way to spring-board into the change? Are they challenged in health and know they need to make a change?

I honestly think it’s a variety of those things and maybe much more.

But what about the folks who really feel like their year was fabulous and really have no expectations for the next year? Are there people like that? I’m sure there are. The one’s who just love life and take everything in stride. Whatever happens… Happens.

This is probably a super freeing way to think. Probably less stress. More fun. Probably a little more chaotic, but if you are into the spontaneous, this might be exactly what you desire. Adventure. Fun. Friends. Laughter. Anything! Everything!

I dunno, maybe this is a good way to look at the new year. Embrace the here and now. Look for the adventures. And embrace what happens… as something that happened.  And if something horrible happens, don’t let it crush you, but learn from it. Become smarter and don’t do “that” again… but look for the positives in that situation. Heck, look for the positives in every situation. Because they are there. Trust me. They are there.

If the world as a whole started looking for the positive spin to bad situations (call it the Pollyanna Theory – The Glad Game) imagine what the world would look like?

Maybe that is my 2015 Resolution. Be Pollyanna. Look for the positive spin. See the good. Feel the love.

Ahhh. I’m in. What about you? 

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Forged Reality (POM2)

I thought I should update you on the progress of POM2, Forged Reality.

In April, I was 95% complete and so excited to put this one out to the Alpha I trust most. I had some reservations about a section, err maybe a whole plot line, but I thought surely that is just me. Well, as every good alpha reader SHOULD, this one threw up the red flags on the same issue. Good girl. However, that meant a whole BUNCH of work for me. Okay, fine. I can do it.

I can. Do. It.

However, my I can do it attitude rapidly turned into, I have to do it. I can’t do it. I’m too tired to do it. Then of course coupled with my health challenges it was I can’t do it!

Fast forward to two months ago when everything seems to sift away and it was just healthy me finding time for everything else but my beautiful novel. But something strange happened. Me, a veteran writer had a new horrible attitude. Can I do it? I can’t do it. I shouldn’t do it. I’m done.

Youch! I don’t know what exactly happened in the span of a year’s time, but things went down hill for me, my writing, and were looking really grim for all future projects.

It was a dark time. And one writers go through from time to time. The whole, “Do people care about what we write?”, “Will it matter that I never write again?”, “Will this one even sell?”, and other stinkin’ thinkin’. I call it stinkin’ thinkin’ because that is really all it is.

We’ve all gotten in this train of thought at one point in our lives, and while I did recognize the “this too shall pass” phase, I also begin to dig deeper into this thinkin’. And really question why I felt the way I did. I wish I could say how or why I pulled out of this funk, but I believe it was just a time of reflection and when I’d learned whatever lesson I was meant to learn (and I learned a lot during this time), my mind was released to continue what I’d begun.

Phew!

So, I’m happy to report that POM2: Forged Reality is on it’s way to a complete work. I working weekly on it and it’s taking beautiful shape. My Alpha reader is always right, but I won’t tell her that because it will go to her head, and the novel is coming together much more easily then the first pass. Which is epic. You are going to love it.

I’m hoping to post a COMPLETED soon. And then after a brief meeting with my editor, I should be able to have a release date hammered out. And just because I love you all, I thought I would give you an unedited  teaser line from Book 2 in Pieces of Me: Forged Reality.

The elastic that fastens the bulging pages is stretched and crumbling, as if to say it’s worn out and ready to depart this life. But I wasn’t ready to allow that to happen. I pull gently and the band comes free from the book, allowing the pages to puff open in relief. I stare at some of the varied colors sticking over the sides of the pages and inhale as deeply as I can, pulling the scent of the memories. The small beige cover is easy to move and when it’s pushed aside a breath catches in my throat.

The tattered yellow sticky-note affixed to the front page is exactly what I’ve come for.

Amnesia

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School is in session…

I know you’ve seen it… The pictures flooding the internet of parents joyfully kicking their feet in the air and praising God that their children are going back to school. It’s okay if you are one of them. I promise I’m not the kind of person who is going to call you out for being excited because your life just got a little easier. Promise.

But for me, back to school looks a lot different. Pictures are rarely ever taken and if I remember to school supply shop, it’s been a good summer. But no, I didn’t remember I needed “stuff” until the sales had already come and gone. *SMH*

Tuesday morning, August 20, 2014 was the Jacobs’ first day of school. This year I have a tenth grader, an eighth grader, and a sixth grader (*Curriculum choices below). Having two kids in middle school and one in high school sounded like a dream last year. Finally out of the elementary grades! Finally ready to be motivated on their own! Finally ready to get work done with little fuss! Finally, finally, finally!

As the day wore on, I though of all the back to school pics people would be taking. And of course those elated photographs of the parents putting kids on the bus after summer. I thought surely I was going to snap a pic of our perfectly in order day and my lovely children in their pajamas. And maybe me sitting on the porch swing with a cup of coffee in my hand, enjoying the quiet, serene landscape. Then I remembered one key element in my flawed thinking. Okay, maybe I didn’t remember, but the screams from inside the house jolted me to my senses.

CRAP–I’m the teacher.

*face palm*

Regardless of how old my children get. Regardless of how motivated they are. Regardless of how quickly and efficiently they work… I am still their primary instructor. So when new concepts come barreling through their heads, I’m up to the plate.

Only a few tears…

Here on day three, I’m happy to report that only two of the three children have resorted to tears. One over cursive (yes, I’m that mean mom making them learn this archaic stuff!) and the other over geometry (inferred ideals). It’s only 10:00am and I have a sneaky suspicion kid three will be next.  The tears usually trickle down to once a month or less, but at the beginning of the year, there are always tears. Sometimes it’s them and sometimes it is ME! No kidding.

School is a lot of work and this year each of them has a pretty intense learning schedule. Homeschooling a kid in high school is tough on the parent and the student. It’s a consistent battle of learning vs social activities. And then consequences come into play. That’s hard, especially when I’m the teacher. Because when you’re child is at a “brick and mortar” and has a note from the teacher saying the student isn’t completing the work on time, the parent has the “right” to put consequences into action. But when you’re at home, I find it’s much harder to deal out the consequences when I see them working so hard and desiring to hang out with their friends.

In the past I’ve always allowed the kids to work at their own pace, with the understanding that we school a traditional year. And while we still do math and reading in the summer, our school curriculum will be completed at the end of the calendar school year. This has always worked in the past. But that was before I had a high schooler with a much tougher load.

In a Pickle…

Unfortunately, this lack of assignment due dates has gotten us into a bit of a pickle here at the beginning of the school year. So, to avoid any sour bits to our school time, we’ve devised a new plan with the consequences already known and in place. I’ve given due dates to all her lessons and even addressed the consequences for missing those deadlines. At first the kid was pretty upset that the consequences were so “harsh” (cut in social time, phone, tv, internet, et el), but then she realized that she was in control of these consequences. If she just did her work and turned it in on the right due date, then she could keep all her privileges. Light returned to her eyes and she looks determined to make sure this happened.

#winning

I know it’s only day three, but I’m hopeful that we can successfully make it through this school year with little hiccups or pickle juice sloshed on our learning table.

Now if you will excuse me, I must go color a map of the Middle East while I listen to Jim Weiss read the Story of the World, Early Modern Times. Because, who doesn’t like to color?

Curriculum Choices

*Inevitably I get the question about my curriculum choices so I thought I’d jump the gun and post them before I’m asked:

10th Grader:

French (Switched on Schoolhouse)
English II (Switched on Schoolhouse)
World History (Switched on Schoolhouse
Saxon Geometry
Biology%202E (Misc Homeschool)Biology (Christian Liberty Press)
Photography (Self driven)
Music (piano, guitar, and voice)
PE

8th Grader:

Science 800 (Switched on Schoolhouse)
English  800 (Switched on Schoolhouse)
History 800 (Switched on Schoolhouse) and Story of the World: Early Modern Times (his choice)
Saxon Algebra 1/2
American Sign Language
Cursive (Teaching Cursive! This method works!)
German (All the Way)
Poetry (Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization- IEW)
Music (Guitar and Piano)
Art

6th Grader:

Science 600 (Switched on Schoolhouse)
English  600 (Switched on Schoolhouse)
Story of the World: Early Modern Times (his choice)
Saxon Math 76
American Sign Language
Cursive (Teaching Cursive! This method works!)
German (All the Way)
Poetry (Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization- IEW)
Music (Piano)
Art

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Autism, Asthma, and Toxins…

Some of you know the stories (or at least have heard little bits here and there) about my youngest son, Toby.

He struggles with respiratory illnesses and had been diagnosed with RAD (Reactive Airway Disease) and uncontrolled Asthma (I’ll inject here that Toby was also diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and might have Auditory Processing Disorder as well, but you have to go under general to find that APD out so we aren’t going to do that because the trauma that would occur wouldn’t be worth it). If you haven’t, here is the short story: Every time the boy (now 11) would get sick, it would end him up in the doctors office with around the clock nebulizers, steroids, and antibiotics. And this has been going on since he was 4 weeks old after he contracted RSV. He’s had more documented cases of pneumonia (and maybe some un-caught ones) then most doctors had ever, ever, EVER heard of. Nine times in two years or something screwy like that. And  the worst of them would be in the summer, which made no sense at all. Who gets pneumonia in the middle of July? My kid.

When we moved back to California (he has never lived here. Was born in South Dakota during our military life and we moved to Colorado post military) we had high hopes for good health. The air is much moister here (very dry in SD and CO) and though there are different kinds of allergens running around Northern California, maybe it would be what would “do him good”, because something had to give. But, alas he was not better. In fact, things seemed to escalate to point break! The pediatrician sent us to a pulmonologist last summer and it felt like an uphill battle as we were seen every month or two for something, trying to figure out what was best. They’d switch a med and he would get horribly sick. They’d add it back and move around another, and again he would get sick. However, they couldn’t pinpoint what was making him sick. They did the basic prick/allergy test and he was allergic to NOTHING. The doctor was shocked. How and WHY was this boy getting so sick then?

AND furthermore, all these meds he’s on, he shouldn’t be getting that sick, right?

Yeah.

I really thought it was just germs and the lack of personal hygiene of OTHER people who interacted with my son. Anytime I would hear someone cough I would practically run from the area, fearful that they would give my son some bug that would put him down for 3-4 weeks and cost me $300 or more just to  make him “well” again. So we were pretty proactive about keeping him well. And he didn’t mind wearing the mask, most of the time. During flu season this is what my kid looked like wherever we went. Really. It was that imperative he did not get sick!

New way to think

I don’t even know when the switch in thinking happened but it was sometime after I took Toby off wheat and milk, to gauge his reaction. I honestly thought he was doing much better. So I told his pulmonologist what I’d done and he said, “Why did you do that? If that helped I’d be out of a job.”

Ummm. Say what? Is this doctor not up to date on research? Even years ago I’d heard about milk being an asthma contributor. So.. what?!

Needless to say I ran to facebook and BEGGED my friends for a whole health doctor reference that my insurance would cover. Because I was at my wits end. All these meds my son was on and the fact the pulmonologist had no idea about whole body health had me perplexed. Thankfully someone came through and told me about a local pediatrician who was taking new patients and was a WHOLE HEALTH MD. Which means she prescribes the stuff you need but treats the whole body not just the symptom.

For instance, you have a rash. Instead of giving you rash ointment, she would trying to get to the underlying cause of the rash and while the rash might no go away immediately, when it does go away it will NEVER come back because she has equiped you with the knowledge of WHY you ad it to begin with and gives you the support and tools to see it out the door and never to return. Know what I mean?

New doc, new life

So, here we are at this new doctor and she is ready to turn our lives upside down. Like literally. At first glance, she knew something was wrong with Toby. The color of his skin, his eyes, his belly, just tell-tale signs of gut health issues. So she took blood and put us on a total food make-over : the Elimination Diet. This was a pretty overwhelming prescription, especially when I already had my own allergies to deal with. But darnit, we are going to do it. So off we went on the diet and as we progressed, we saw results immediately!

Then his blood test came back and sure enough he had all the markers of leaky gut (in an 11yo?!?!) including low iron, low vit-d, and multiple other vitamin deficiencies. Ugh. At least we had some answers though right? Right!

Equipped with this knowledge we pressed on and tried to add some new foods back into his diet with some successes and some failures. But then we did an IgE food allergy blood test and it came back with major markers for Rice, Corn, Wheat, Soy and more… so we made sure those were taken out too. All of them.

Now, this whole time, Toby is pretty well. I mean we had a few hiccups here and there, but we didn’t land ourselves in any distress that couldn’t be handled outside our home. So we thought we were doing pretty good. In fact, of the five medications Toby was on, in three short months he was off four of those and still doing 100%!

Say what?! The kid who spent last summer in bed due to pneumonia is well with NO MEDS?! What is this sorcery?? Could it really have been due to his food intact/gut health? Apparently!

NutrEval FMV Amino Acid Test coming right up!

Now, fast forward to two months ago when the doctor recommended we do a test called the NutrEval FMV by Genova. It was an expensive test and I was worried (honestly) that we’d be paying for fluffy information. Heresay, if you will. Because this isn’t completely backed up by medical practitioners yet…and I stress yet. So we did it.

This whole test process was an undertaking in and of itself. Lots of instructions and time frames and one hyper-sensitive kid (SPD). The morning we were going in for the test, I had all of facebook praying for us because I knew it had the potential to be BREAKDOWN CENTRAL to my little man. Last time he gave blood there were blood curdling screams and terror because of his SPD.

Thankfully all the prayers worked and we were in and out of the lab in ten minutes with no tears, no screaming, and only a tiny amount of panic. Hallelujah. Now we just keep doing what we are doing and wait 6 weeks for these results.

Toxic levels of toxins found

Results came in yesterday. And I’m still shocked at what they discovered about my littlest man. The most shocking of news was the level of TOXINS in his body. Everyone has toxins floating around their body but when a COLORED chart shows your son’s levels of toxins very near to the TOXIC RED SECTION, it can make a mom panic.

Arsenic, MTBE, and PLASTIC were found in very high levels in his blood. Plastic was the worst of them.

I’m sure when the doctor shared the results I looked a bit like a ghost. How? What? Are you sure? What? How?

After the initial shock wore off, she explained that plastic is everywhere in our foods. Nearly everything is sold in plastic. Everything is drank through plastic. Everything is stored in plastic. And the list goes on. And on.  And. On.

She also mentioned shampoo is one of the worst offenders because of the phthalates it contains (Good article on Toxic Plastic).

The link to Autism and Asthma

So now what? Now freaking what? I’m putting his food in plastic. I’m allowing him to drink out of plastic cups and water bottles. My ignorance is poisoning him. OH. MY. GOSH. My child is slowly dying in MY CARE.

After a brief panicked mind-spin, the doctor began to give me hope. She said there have been studies that link kids on the autism spectrum (SPD/APD) with high levels of toxins in their bodies.  One article states it like this:

Phthalates, given their extensive use and their persistence, are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. They are EDs (endocrine disruptors) suspected to interfere with neurodevelopment. Therefore they represent interesting candidate risk factors for autism spectrum disorders pathogenesis. (ASN Neuro. 2012 May 30;4(4):223-9. doi: 10.1042/AN20120015.)

She also shared with me that data has pointed to the fact that these toxins are in direct correlation to asthma, as this artical suggests:

During the last decades more than 100 000 new chemicals have been introduced to the environment. Many of these new chemicals and many common consumer products that include these have been shown to be toxic in animal studies and an increasing body of evidence suggests that they are also impacting human health. Among the suspect chemicals, the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are of particular concern. One such chemical group is the phthalates, used in soft poly vinyl chloride (PVC) material and in a huge number of consumer products. During the same period of time that the prevalence of these modern chemicals has increased, there has been a remarkable increase in several chronic illnesses, including asthma and allergy in children. In this article we outline the scientific knowledge on phthalate exposure for asthma and airway diseases in children by examining epidemiological and experimental peer review data for potential explanatory mechanisms. Epidemiological data point to a possible correlation between phthalate exposure and asthma and airway diseases in children.  (Bornehag, C. G. and Nanberg, E. (2010), Phthalate exposure and asthma in children. (International Journal of Andrology, 33: 333–345. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.2009.01023.x)

Cure Autism and Asthma? Really?

At this point in our day I  had no idea what to think next. NONE. I mean, we could try to detox him using all the tools she was supplying me and a healthy diet, but can I reverse the damage that has been done? Doc says yes! Not only can we make him healthy but it will help his body to heal itself neurologically. But wait, I thought autism wasn’t curable? Or asthma for that matter?

Again I went to facebook for the freak out moment and got a gem of hope that I will hold fast to:

I did all the things you are doing and more for my son when he was very young and diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. It worked also and he was “cured”…hmmm, I thought that wasn’t possible! Seriously, no issues since. Toxins in our environment bring about these conditions. Your boy is high in plastics, mine was high in arsenic. And all these kids have the same overall issues: breathing problems, gut problems, bowel problems, behavior problems, concentration issues, speech sometimes, etc. These are reactions to the toxins which have wracked havoc to their bodies and also depleted them of all functioning nutrients. I don’t know why more people don’t research and do the hard work. I had to do it in the late 90s and early 2000s when there was little info out there but I found it and did it myself for my child. Congratulations to your family though for doing it! If you haven’t done it already watch the pesticides in the lawn and home, go with natural cleaners in your home, no carpet cleaners, natural bathing products, aluminum is not good, the list goes on and on but he may not be the only one affected (don’t you have some gut issues? IBS even is caused by toxins). and it helps everyone live healthier longer lives. Everyone should research ailments they have ON THEIR OWN and quit masking the problems first and foremost with prescription meds.  (E. M.)

If it had been anyone else sharing this gem of wisdom, I might have had to take it with a grain of salt, but this gal has nothing to gain by blowing hot air. She is passionate about the healing of her son and is genuinely excited for us and our “adventure” of “discovery”.

So yeah. Bye Bye plastic.

 

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One Summer, Many Worlds Winners!

If you didn’t have the opportunity to pop over to the One Summer, Many Worlds event, you really missed out. Twelve authors, for twelve hours of book chat and winning. It was amazing. When the final list of prizes posted, even I was in awe! Everything from swag to $100 gift cards. I’m pretty sure the prizes equaled over $1000!

Just for fun, I thought I would post ALL the winners so the next time we have an epic event as such, you might really call in sick to participate! Just don’t tell the boss I said that was totally acceptable.

One Summer, Many Worlds Winners: 

GRAND PRIZE WINNER $100 gift card: Jenny Stein

**Jamie Grey

Signed hard copy of Ultraviolet Catastrophe and Star Thief: Miranda Lewis

**Susan Kaye Quinn

Paperback copies of Mindjack series: Ann Kidwell McCambridge

eBook of Synchronic: Stephanie Sandefur

Lee Strauss’ Perception Box Set: S Frankie Blooding

eBook copies of SAVING YESTERDAY (5): Veronica Rundell, Paula Wilson Udell, Kelly McCurdy, and Sandra Poray Salinas, and Doyle Pendergrass

eBook KNOT IN TIME: Samantha Loving

Print KNOT IN TIME: Susan Voss

**Elana Johnson

Box set of ELEMENTAL RUSH: Joelle Schnorr

eBook of BLOOD CROWN: Louisa Fae Dent

eBook THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN: Jane Yendle-Davis

eBook of POSSESSION: Christie Lagarde

**Amy Bartol

Picked three winners: Sara Miller, Melinda Leffert and April Bryant Gibson

**Leighann Kopans

T-shirt: Tabitha Langford

Ebook/print or audio copy of ONE : Emma Fordham

Copy of SOLVING FOR EX: Brenda Howard Perkins

**Brenda Pandos

Be yourself swag: Jessica Surgett Smith

Caption the photo: To be announced

**Eisley Jacobs

Complete Eisley Jacobs library in print PIECES OF ME, RUNAWAY CHOICES, THE UNSEEN CHRONICLES, BORN TO BE A DRAGON, BLINK OF A DRAGON, and DRAGONS OF THE DEEP: Sara Miller

Signed copy of PIECES OF ME and swag pack: Kristy Petree

Digital copy of PIECES OF ME and $10 Movie GC: Shanty de Vries

Digital copy of Jill Cooper’s 15 MINUTES and digital copy of PIECES OF ME: Veronica Rundell

$10 gift card to favorite retailer: Danniell Hampton

$10 gift card and complete Eisley Jacobs library in print PIECES OF ME, RUNAWAY CHOICES, THE UNSEEN CHRONICLES, BORN TO BE A DRAGON, BLINK OF A DRAGON, and DRAGONS OF THE DEEP: Tina Carl

**Teresa Verra

Shattered Veil book giveaway: Paige Buffy Cetnor

Signed copy of BROKEN SKIES: Tabitha Langford

Ebook copy of HAVEN: SB Morales

eBook copy of LEGACY CODE: Coco Chadwick

**Gennifer Albin

Audiobook of CREWEL: Kayla Tirrell

Signed CREWEL or ALTERED: Jeanine Denzer

Signed copy of ALTERED: Ambur Hostyn

**MG Buehrlen

Giveaway #1 Copies of 57 LIVES OF ALEX WAYFARE (2) Kija Hart and Emmanuelle Pensa

Giveaway #2 Signed copy of 57 LIVES OF ALEX WAYFARE and bookmarks: Stephanie M. Stephens

Giveaway #3 YA Central bag with books and swag: Fallon Vaugh

**Trisha Leigh

Wrinkle in Time boxed set: Dana Prorok Kerns

Signed copy of GYPSY: Jennifer Ann Fischetto

eBook boxed set of THE LAST YEAR: Angela Bonnie Shockley

eBook copies of authors from event: (3) Ashley Streeter, Stephanie Erickson, Joanna Ward

**Denise Grover Swank

eBook copies of Here and There (5) Lenore Kosinski, Diane Chardon, Debbie Young-Danis, Gabriela Perez, Christina Carter

Signed print copies of The Last Year series—Chrissy Wolfe

Name a character—Nancy Doublin

Congratulations winners!

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One Summer, Many Worlds

What are you doing Monday? What ever it is, I’m sure after you read this you’ll want to clear your schedule of everything. Maybe even work. Unless you can facebook at work, then maybe you can do that… but don’t tell your boss I said that was okay.

So what am I talking about? Epic fun. Like out of this world fun. Almost literally.

Monday from 10am to 10pm twelve indie authors will be assembling in one location ( https://www.facebook.com/events/1549361711957780/ ) to talk about their YA Science Fiction novels currently released and releasing this summer!

Guest authors will be: Denise Grover Swank, Trisha Leigh, Eisley Jacobs (hey that’s me!), MG Buehrlen, Jamie Grey, Susan Kaye Quinn, Elana Johnson , Amy Bartol, LeighAnn Kopans, Brenda Pandos, Theresa Veraa, Gennifer Albin.

MANY prizes will be given away. That means every hour each author will have a chance to win some of their swag and books, along with other prizes for each hour and the epic GRAND PRIZE of $100 iBooks, Amazon, or B&N gift card.

No Joke. I told you, you need to get Monday off. Call in sick. Or better yet, tell your boss you were whisked away to another world. You wouldn’t be lying… technically.

And if that wasn’t the coolest thing, then maybe the fact that I’ve started off the weekend with a major ebook sale will find your fancy! All of my single titles are on sale for 99 pennies! EVERY ONE!

Purchase links: | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo |

So, I hope you’ll join us for this awesome day of fun, books, other worlds, and winning!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1549361711957780/

 

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Writing Process Blog Tour

Thank you for stopping by for this week’s Writing Process Blog Tour!

This is a travelling blog tour that pops up every Monday for writers to share a little about what, how and why they write. If you’re a writer, I hope it cheers you on your journey — and if you’re not, hopefully it will give you some little insight into the lives of the people who create the stories you love.

First things first. Thank you to the lovely LK Gardner-Griffie for inviting me to participate. Lk and I met on twitter a couple years ago and then in person several times. She is an inspiration to many and does really care about what is going on in my world. She writes young adult fiction and is working on some super secret things that we can’t talk about, which makes her all the more cool. Check our her part of the world, griffieworld.com, and possibly find your next read!

As part of this tour I have to answer some specific questions, so without further ado…

1. What am I working on?

Right now, I’m working on finishing up the 2nd draft run through of Pieces of Me 2, still mostly unnammed.  I think I have a name for it, but I’m not going to release it yet for fear it is snatched up. That has happened before, so I’m being careful with it.

I’m hoping to have this run through completed in June. I feel like my dates keep changing for this, but I’ve had some medical things happening and now that we are at a middle ground, I think I can focus on life again. Which in turn means writing… maybe.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Oh goodness, I have no idea. It’s not like anything people have read before, so I’ve been told. The genre is YA Sci-Thriller but goes so much deeper then that. Maybe the biggest difference is that the character is not motivated by love, but knowledge. While there is def a love story intertwined, this is not the goal of the book. It’s not getting the main character together with the guy. It may happen, but it’s not the main focus. The driving force is definitely knowledge.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I mostly write YA and MG because my children are of the age right now that they enjoy those books and I truly love sharing the finished works with them. Sometimes they are even beta readers and let me know what they think before it’s published.

4. How does my writing process work?

This is also a hard question because it looks different every time I write a book. Sometimes I plot the pieces out and put them in order and try to stick to it. But most of the time I write by the seat of my pants. Like I’m watching a movie in my head and just writing along behind, following my character through his/her scenes. Sometimes what I think it going to happen actually doesn’t! And then other times it certainly happens the way I “planned”.

 

 

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The Day the Paper and Pencils Quit (Grammarly Guest Post by Nikolas Baron)

Help me welcome Nikolas Baron, with Grammarly: The World’s Best Grammar Checker. I don’t know about you, but when I write I’m always having a silent discussion with the grammar police.

“Is that right?”

“No, you’re over thinking it.”

“You know it’s right.”

“No, that’s wrong.”

“It’s got to be wrong.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had ONE location to search (or copy and paste) in order to get our answer? Maybe Grammarly is that place?

—//—

With technological advancements moving almost as fast as the speed of light, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day in the near future, paper and pencils simply stomp their feet in protest of their under-usage and quit altogether. Will our children’s education be the same without the good old tools we used back in the day?

For the past year, I’ve been working at Grammarly, an intuitive language processing start up, researching on various online and offline tools available to enhance the entire writing experience. In recent years, new technology and proofreading software specifically targeted to master the art of the English language have been popping up like mushrooms. Education is being redefined in a completely different way, and let me tell you that this change has to be embraced fully because it’s clearly here to stay.

Here are some amazing tools you can use to give your child the neural stimulation they need without the use of paper and pencils.

Learning Alphabets

- As a start, if you’re still sitting on the fence about using technology when your child can barely recognize alphabets, you can start with a tried-and-tested technique – shaving foam. Simply spread some shaving cream onto the tabletop or a tray and allow your child to experience the sensation before attempting handwriting exercises. Write different alphabets and allow them to observe and imitate. This hands-on activity is a perfect way to induce some fun into learning.

- An application on the iPad you can start off with is Squiggles. Squiggles is suited for young toddlers who haven’t yet learned how to form letters. The idea behind Squiggles is that every doodle they make can become something significant. Hitting the “GO!” icon turns their page of nonsensical scribbles into something significant, such as rocket exhausts, planets around the moon, clouds, and more. Simply put, Squiggles teaches kids that every thing they draw can signify many different things. This is fundamental in drawing the link between alphabets and words.

- The Little Writer application on the iPad is another perfect tool for beginners. This tracing app includes upper and lowercase letters, shapes, and numbers for your little one to follow.

Reading

- The best way to induce the joy of reading in young children is to read to them daily. There are many online resources such as MagicKeys.com that provide free e-books for beginner reading levels. Bring as much energy and personality into the characters as you read to your child to engage them in the story.

- To personalize your own stories for your kids, technology such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote can help to bring stories alive with pictures, animations, and sound effects. Children can also write their own stories and enhance it with these presentation platforms.

Writing

- When children are ready to express themselves through writing, there are many tools to give them inspiration beyond the usual boring manuscripts. One such program to expose children to different forms of writing is Toondoo.com, where kids can produce their own self-written comic strips and select a wide selection of cartoons and characters to complement their stories. Besides comics, other websites emphasize on other writing mediums, from poetry to lyrics. Creativity is key in encouraging children to enjoy the process of writing.

- And of course, there’s Grammarly, which can act as their personal grammar coach correcting and giving detailed explanations of why certain grammatical errors are wrong. Grammarly provides that 24-7 support needed for self-sufficient learning. This interactive method of using their writing to learn grammar breaks the rigidity of the language and brings back a renewed excitement in every text.

Education has evolved beyond the use of the traditional paper and pencil. Getting your child comfortable with different mediums from a young age will open up their world to endless enjoyment when it comes to learning. Try out these resources and let us know how it helped your child.

By Nikolas Baron

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Nikolas Baron

Nikolas discovered his love for the written word in Elementary School, where he started spending his afternoons sprawled across the living room floor devouring one Marc Brown children’s novel after the other and writing short stories about daring pirate adventures. After acquiring some experience in various marketing, business development, and hiring roles at internet startups in a few different countries, he decided to re-unite his professional life with his childhood passions by joining Grammarly’s marketing team in San Francisco. He has the pleasure of being tasked with talking to writers, bloggers, teachers, and others about how they use Grammarly’s online proofreading application to improve their writing. His free time is spent biking, traveling, and reading.

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