Eisley Jacobs's Blog, page 5

New School Year

As most of you know, I’m a homeschooling parent. We have homeschooled our three kids from the beginning so I have no big story about how the system failed my children or how my children failed the system. No, we just thought it was the best fit for our family and continue to feel that way nine years later. Wow, has it been nine years? I guess it has!

Homeschooling isn’t for everyone, but it is for us. And we continue to evaluate each school year and make sure the fit is still there.

The benefits of homeschool, for us, far outweigh and negative aspects. People ask all the time how I can handle being with my kids 24/7/365 and I can’t really answer that question. We have adapted, just like public school kids do. We know there are moments that we need to step away and allow each other to have our own space. We have mastered the social cues of “NEED INPUT” or “DON’T TALK TO ME”. Our children appreciate the hand of guidance and even recognize the benefits of hard lessons they learn when they are wrong. And in turn, they recognize that we are not perfect as parents and that we can be wrong, thus making us human. It’s an excellent system. One we have worked at since they were born. It’s hard as a parent to admit we are wrong, but it does open up a whole new thought process for our kids.

Anyhow, our school year started again last week. There were no typical back to school pictures of our kids in their new outfits or boarding the bus. No fancy lunch boxes or school lunch cards. In fact, I’m pretty sure only one of the children got dressed before starting their first day of lessons. The other two stayed in their pajamas and only dressed/showered when they’d completed. The two love to do school in their jammies, so it’s probably the way it happened.

This year we decided to go with a charter school because I have a ninth grader. Yikes! She has a full schedule with French I, Advanced Photography, English I (which might be switched to honors English), Algebra I, General Science III, History and Geography, and Guitar. I’ve always been an independent homeschooler, but we are willing to go with a charter this year for some added benefits that will hopefully make her freshman year remarkable! The good thing is that if it doesn’t work for us, we can dis-enroll pretty easily. But because all of my children are pretty good at working at a good pace, I think this will be a good choice. Only time will tell.

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Pieces of Me has a new cover!

When cover talk came to the table regarding Pieces of Me, I knew I wanted to use my fabulous niece, Danielle for the cover. She fits Braidan to the “B” and she was available for a photoshoot. As luck would have it, the photographer (who happened to also be my daughter) took some amazing shots (about 1,000) and we had a great spread to choose from.

Overwhelmed when the sheet beauty of my niece, I could hardly pick… but I did. And then with my folks at Complete Pixels (Annette, myself, Iona, and Jake) we came up with the first cover. Which we thought was pretty amazing. Really. But something was off.

See the genre for Pieces of Me is light sci-fi young adult thriller… so I didn’t want anything super sci-fi because I didn’t want to turn folks off. Well, it seems I really make a bad choice with that stinkin’ thinkin’. Not that the original cover wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t finding it’s way into the hands of my readers. Because of the cover.

I hem-hawed about it for a few weeks and decided it was in the novels best interest to change the cover and we came up with this concept… and we LOVE IT!!!

What do you think?

Totally swoon worthy, yes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dragons Forever 3 – Dragons of the Deep

It’s here! Dragons of the Deep has been released!

Dragons Forever BOOK THREE – Dragons of the Deep

A legendary secret lies hidden in the Loch Ness. A secret best left undisturbed.

The Dragons of the Deep, sole protectors of the secret, are being sabotaged with false sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. If the Scottish authorities dredge the waters, the dragons will have to flee, leaving it unprotected and vulnerable to attack.

Those responsible for the treachery will stop at nothing to ensure their plans succeed, no matter whose life is endangered. Both the failure and success for protecting the legend run through only one blood line—Meia’s.

Paired with his best friend Carik, Deglan flies into action to help save Meia and the dragons, but who will save him?

 

Purchase

To purchase your copy of DRAGONS OF THE DEEP, please use one of the following links:

CreateSpace: ($6.99 plus $3.59 U.S. shipping) Order from CreateSpace.

Amazon: ($7.99 plus shipping or free shipping with Prime) Order from Amazon.
Amazon Kindle: ($2.99 electronic delivery) Order from Amazon.
Barnes and Noble: ($7.99 plus shipping) Order from Barnes and Noble.
Barnes and Noble Nook: ($2.99 electronic delivery) Order from Barnes and Noble.
KOBO: ($2.99 electronic delivery) Order from Kobo.
Teachers: Please contact Eisley directly for a discount on class room orders.

 

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I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it…

*dances around singing the 80s tune*

The contest has ended and I’m picking a winner today! So check your email shortly for your winning email– you get to name some characters! Woot woot!

In the Dragons of the Deep news, a release date is coming within the week! Can you stand it? I’m so excited… and I just can’t hide it. Ha!

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Happy Release Day!

Happy Release day to The Unseen Chronicles – An Unseen Realm Anthology!

Starting on Monday, June 17, 2013 and running through the 24th, $1 from every book sale of my new collection of stories, The Unseen Chronicles - An Unseen Realm Anthology, will be donated to the Shriners Hospital for Children in memory of Jessica (an inspiration for one of the stories in The Unseen Chronicles). Jessica was born on June 17, 1981 and went home to dance with her Savior on February 10, 2013. May her story and the others be an inspiring look at the unseen hands that guide, protect, lead, and fight for you every day of your life and help you know… you are never alone.

Purchase Links:

- Amazon Print - $6.64 – Click here
- Amazon Kindle - $2.99 - Click here
- CreateSpace - $6.99 - Click here
- Barnes and Noble Print – $6.99 (Coming Soon)
- Barnes and Noble Nook - $2.99 - Click here
- Kobo – $2.99 (Coming Soon)
- iBooks – $2.99 (Coming Soon)

 

For our battle is not against flesh and blood… Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. – Hebrews 13:2

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. – Psalm 91:11-12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

The stories in this novella are based on actual events. The names, however, have been changed. While writing these stories, I personally interviewed or watched interviews and/or read the accounts from the individuals that experienced each story. I interpreted what may have happened if we could see, with human eyes, the battles waged against the darkness in the unseen realm. The results came to be The Unseen Chronicles.

This anthology is not intended to idolize angels nor place them higher than our Almighty Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God. The Bible says he gave the angels charge over you (Psalm 91:11-12 NAS), so if you’ve experienced the unseen hand of one of his warriors, then it was by the Lord’s command, and apart from Him they can do nothing.

The idea behind this anthology was to show that while we struggle with our circumstances, we are not alone in our fight. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

Purchase Links:

- Amazon Print - $6.64 - Click here
- Amazon Kindle - $2.99 - Click here
- CreateSpace - $6.99 - Click here
- Barnes and Noble Print – $6.99 (Coming Soon)
- Barnes and Noble Nook - $2.99 - Click here
- Kobo – $2.99 (Coming Soon)
- iBooks – $2.99 (Coming Soon)

 

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Votes so far!

The facebook voting is off to a running start! For those of you who have no idea what I refer to here is a screen capture:

(And for some reason, facebook won’t let me directly link to the post… so you might have to search for it *throws fist in the air*)

The voting so far is heavily weighted in favor of TWISTED, which is my Young Adult Dystopian. Which I find odd and exciting. I’d think on the heels of the Pieces of Me release, more folks would want to see what happens in FRACTURED SOUL (Pieces of Me 2 – written in another POV not Braidan’s). Equally surprising are the votes for Runaway Choices 2 (Colin’s POV).

So if you want a say in what I write next, head over to Facebook and vote! Voting ends May 10th.

And if you’ve been busy with end of school preparations, you probably missed my NAME THE CHARACTERS contest! That I do have a direct link for right here –>. The entries for that one don’t end until JUNE. So you have a little while to get all your bunnies in a row! *smile*

“So how is that supposed to work, Eisley? If you are writing this new novel which you start May 11th, but don’t have the naming characters contest end until June 30th, how does that work?!”

Simple answer. I name them Jane, Joe, Jim, Jen, Jax, Jasper, Jemes, Jackie… etc until the winner gives me the names. I’m hoping to have the novel finished (Delusions of Grandeur?) before the contest ends (that is nearly two months, I can doo eeeet!) so that maybe the winner can have an advanced copy and rename the winning characters whatever they want! *smile* Cool, yeah? Cool.

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Name the Characters

Guess what? I’m writing a new book!

Pieces of Me


Runaway Choices


Born to be a Dragon

Blink of a Dragon


Unseen

*To Be Released Shortly

No not one of those. A NEW ONE. NEW NEW. NEW!

I know, I know. Some of you are like, “Wait a minute! How is that possible, weren’t you just reading through that RINGS book?”

Why yes, yes I was. But now, I am not [clears throat]… so I need to write something.

“Why?” Well, because I’m a writer. Oh oh, you mean why no RINGS? It’s a long drawn out story that can be shorten with: “it was written a long time ago and I have to write it again if I hope to ever publish it.” AKA, it sucked. No really, just trust me. And with the trends right now, it just shouldn’t be the next in line for me to write. The good news is, it’s still near and dear to my heart. And while it’s still roaming around in the fantasy section of my mind, I will be taking notes on it while I write other things. And trust me when I tell you it’s much better this way. Mainly because RINGS will be much stronger for the reboot. And it will be a complete reboot with none of my old drafts around to influence me. Zip. Zero. NONE. But it will have to happen at another time.

“Well, then what’s next Eisley? Don’t tell me those cute goats have anything to do with this? If you tell me you’re writing a goat book, you’re totally fired!”

Hey now, don’t be so harsh. But, you’ll be happy to know the new book has nothing to do with goats. At least, I don’t think it does. [shakes head] No, it doesn’t. But what does it have to do with? Hmmm that is the real question. I have three possibles and I’ve decided to let my reads dictate which book I write next.

No really. REALLY! Check Facebook to get in on that action… FaceBook Link

Oh but there’s more!

Because I like to have fun, I want you… [yes you!] to help me name some of the characters in said next book. And the person that names the characters will receive a special dedication in the novel! How cool is that? Your name will be IN a novel! Well it could be in there twice if you choose to use your own name to name a character.

But how on earth will I choose a winner for such an honor?

For every review you leave on one of my current books (on any forum, anywhere) you will be entered into the pot to NAME THE CHARACTERS. And to add to the awesome, the winner will receive five autographed copies of the novel to hand out to their friends/family/co-workers/monkeys/whomever you want.

 

Pieces of Me


Runaway Choices


Born to be a Dragon

Blink of a Dragon


Unseen

*To Be Released Shortly

So here is the break down in three easy bullets:

- Comment on this post. Easy one entry.
- Share this contest and you’ll receive one entry. Anywhere on  social media: your blog, twitter, facebook, tumblr, pinterest, etc. Anywhere. Just don’t spam please, that’s not fun.
- Review any of my current novels (Pieces of Me, Runaway Choices, Born to be a Dragon, Blink of a Dragon or The Unseen Chronicles[released soon]) and receive one entry per review. That can be a lot of entries for just one book! And old reviews DO COUNT! Just leave the link in the rafflecopter tracker.

On June 30th, this contest will end and after the links are verified through rafflecopter, I will contact our winner!

VERY IMPORTANT: You must enter with rafflecopter to log your entries into the cool spreadsheet they send me. They pick the winner, not me! So if you can’t get rafflecopter to work, email me and I will manually enter your information.

And as always, if you have any questions, let me know!

LET THE FUN BEGIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Welcome Summer… err end of Spring?

Wow, it’s quite a difference to be in Northern California this time of year and reading on Facebook about all the snow that’s still happening in Denver area. I remember the snow, quite fondly at times, and then thank the Lord I don’t have to deal with the bone numbing cold that comes along with it! While they got 18 inches of snow, we had an 81 degree spring day. Ahhh! I know this novelty will fade quickly when it’s 75 in Denver and 103 here, but right now I’m certainly enjoying it. So are the kids.

In fact, we’ve spent most of the afternoons outside preparing our property for goats! Yup, you read that right. The Jacobs family is about to take on goat herding. Que the peanut gallery, because I’m quite certain we will have some stories you all can poke fun at.

The middle kid and I have been working our behinds off putting up a fence. We are sore ad so glad the process is almost over. We will have our reward in the cute little “meh meh meh” that I’m quite sure will become annoying at one point. BUT, we can rest soon with a job well done. Or at least done. WE aren’t professional fencers or anything.

We did used some old bricks we found on our property to make a fire pit, which was beyond cool. Because while Denver was getting the 18 said inches, we were roasting mallows. Oh it was fun. I love California. I’ve missed it so.

Novel Updates:

Dragons Forever 3 – Dragons of the Deep: is in process. The Editor will be done with it in June (gosh I hate waiting my turn LOL) but it looks like we are still on schedule for a July release! Hooray!

The Unseen Chronicles – An unseen realm anthology: is in the final stages of production. Proofer is going over the text shortly and then it will be ready for the specific genre readers. It’s an anthology of angel stories, so it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I accept that.

Pieces of Me: The reviews are slowly rolling in and I’m happy to report have all been very positive. It makes me happy to see folks enjoying the novel. And some have shown their love in various ways. Posting pictures, reviews, and Amber from “The Borrowed Book” even wrote an open letter to IAN. (You can read that letter here).

Rings of Time: Next Question? LOL I’ll have an update on that soon… I hope.

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Never once did you ever walk alone…

My heart and prayers are with the people of Boston this week. Even my coffee is paying tribute. I hope they catch and punish the cowards responsible for this.

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You’re welcome.

I felt like you needed to giggle… so you’re welcome.

Can’t wait!

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