C.J. Sullivan's Blog, page 13
December 31, 2013
Looking Back: Reflections on 2013
Evening Clouds, Dec. 2013Most years, I do New Year's Resolutions. This New Year's Eve, I'm not making any. Though I think they're a great idea, I think that for me, going into 2014 would be best spent reflecting on some of the lessons I've learned (and re-learned) in 2013.Lesson #1: If you've purged yourself of any sort of harmful habit (certain relationships, diet, lifestyle, etc.) and you pick it back up again, expect the results to be the same and sometimes worse this time, and the next, and the next.
Lesson #2: Some people can drink responsibly. Others can't. Either way, it's something that shouldn't be taken lightly. Alcohol is a drug that if mishandled, can ruin lives.
Lesson #3: Being able to balance the way I spend my time is a must. Making memories with my family and friends is more important to me than making money. Along with that, having quiet personal time balanced with social time is important.
I'm going back to grad school in January, and my husband is starting a new job. 2014 will be a great start for both of us. I also turned 30 in 2013, and he'll be turning 30 in 2014. We're entering a new decade of life together. I think you learn things and make resolutions as you go along, not necessarily at the end of one year or the beginning of another. My goal for the rest of my life is to constantly learn and grow as a person and let myself change with the ebb and flow of the tides.
December 20, 2013
Clouds
I took this picture Thursday evening. The sky was beautiful with its fluffy and wispy clouds reflecting the colors of the sunset.
December 9, 2013
Snapshot From "Icemageddon"
Twitter has playfully nicknamed the winter storm that blew through on Friday "Icemageddon." Especially in Texas, we don't get nice fluffy snow; we get ICE, which pretty much shuts down the state. Close to 300,000 people lost electricity in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (me included!), making for a very cold, rather stressful weekend. But I did take this neat little picture up at work yesterday, which shows the more artistic side of this storm I'm talking about.
Pretty neat, huh?
Pretty neat, huh?
December 7, 2013
Why Is Reading Still Important in the Modern-day Technological Culture? (Guest blogpost by author Joshua J. Johnson)
Today I'm hosting author Joshua J. Johnson as a special guest blogger, and he's going to discuss why he thinks reading is still important in our fast-paced, technological culture. Check out his thoughts!
***
Today I’m here to talk about a subject that, as soon as I was invited to talk about, I knew it was a topic that I wanted to discuss: why reading is still important even in a technological culture.
The world, technologically, has advanced so much in the last ten, fifteen years, what with the Internet getting bigger,more children having laptops,more television apparently being watched, and so on. During all of this, many a times has the question of ‘But how will the publishing industry survive?’ has been asked.
However, we’ve seen that recently people are reading more and more than they have ever done. Sure, people seem to be leading busier lives, with more commitments and more hectic schedules, and finding the time to read can be a difficult thing to do— but we’ve come up with more ways to be able to read the books that we love. For example, you can read books on e-readers: the Kindle and the Kobo and so on gave us the ability to take hundreds of books along with us on planes, on holidays, on trains, whilst commuting— wherever you are. You can read on your mobile phone, on your laptop, on your iPad, and more.
Not only has reading on the go become more and more popular due to it being easier to do, but it’s allowed more people to buy and read more books. E-books, often, are priced less than a cup of coffee— something that many people buy everyday. Authors can now be connected with on the Internet, on Facebook and Twitter, sharing pictures on Instagram, blogging about their lives on their sites, doing videos on YouTube, and so on and so on. Technology has improved their relationship between the author and the reader— something that we didn’t have many years ago.
But this doesn’t answer the question of why reading is still important in the technological culture. Sure, we have more methods for connecting and reading and talking about books and authors and writing and reading, but that doesn’t mean it’s important. Just because something may seem easier in the modern day, doesn’t make it more important.
And yet reading is important. Parents encourage children to read, teachers do, schools do, libraries do, events do, book fairs do, the Internet does, and even more. Reading has become a popular thing, and— in all honesty— I do think Harry Potter did bring this back. Sure enough, children read, but Harry Potter was a large boom: it introduced so many children to reading, and they grew up with the books. It was the thing that everybody was doing, they were the books that everybody was reading. Eventually, these readers grew up, but they had grown up surrounded by this love of reading, and as soon as the last book was released, they went onto discover new books and grow in their love of reading.
Their siblings followed suit, their friends borrowed their books, reading became more popular. Sites like Goodreads were created— a place where people can connect and get together and discuss books. Authors became more interactive. Fan-sites made books more popular.
Technology enabled this, and it will continue it. Even film adaptations of books— think CITY OF BONES, DIVERGENT, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, etc.— are becoming increasingly popular, introducing yet more people to reading books.
No matter how far technology advances, reading will still be important, because of all of the above. Instead of books dwindling due to technology, technology will instead help to enhance the experience of the reader. It’s human nature that people want to tell stories and read stories and share stories, and I don’t think it’ll die out. At least, I really hope it doesn’t.
Despite the fact that libraries and bookshops have been seen closing down recently— which is very sad— it’s due to the fact that people are getting their books by other methods, not because people are choosing not to read.
To round off, reading is still important, even if this technological culture, and I think it is this technological culture that will help the book industry to grow, and to continue opening up more new experiences for both the author and the reader.
Thank you very much for having me, and I hope you continue loving books just as much as I love reading them and writing them.
Thank you.***
Author Bio:
Joshua J. Johnson is an author who lives on the East Coast of England. He began writing books after he learned that they don't just randomly appear on the shelf, but rather people actually sit down and write them. When he isn't writing his next novel, he enjoys reading, watching How To Train Your Dragon, and drinking milkshakes. He is also the author of BONES ON THE SURFACE and SOULLESS, as well as the upcoming YA novels THE SWEET LIFE, and THEIR TIME TO GO. You can find out more about him at joshuajstories.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @JoshuaJAuthor.
SOULLESS Blurb:
Mia and Roxanne have always been the best of friends, supported each other through everything, and always been happy for one another... but that's when things were simple. Fast forward to their teenage years, and life is now full of complications.. but only for Mia. Everything seems to happen to Mia, whereas Roxanne seems to have quite the sweet life-- literally. She has the family, her bakery, and the love of her life-- everything that Roxanne wants. But one day something terrible happens, and Ryan-- her boyfriend-- is nowhere to be seen, and people go missing and bodies are found. Creatures appear in your bathroom, down your streets, and inside your bakery, and along with them they bring blood, action, and hunger-- a hunger for souls. Written from different points of view, SOULLESS will raise questions about each character and humanity as a whole, whilst being packed with action, guns, cakes, blood, kisses, and romance. Because the question is: Who is the villain after all? Maybe it just isn't who you think it is... From the author of BONES ON THE SURFACE, and the much-anticipated THE SWEET LIFE and THEIR TIME TO GO, comes a story like no other...
Buy SOULLESS -->here<--.
***
Today I’m here to talk about a subject that, as soon as I was invited to talk about, I knew it was a topic that I wanted to discuss: why reading is still important even in a technological culture.
The world, technologically, has advanced so much in the last ten, fifteen years, what with the Internet getting bigger,more children having laptops,more television apparently being watched, and so on. During all of this, many a times has the question of ‘But how will the publishing industry survive?’ has been asked.
However, we’ve seen that recently people are reading more and more than they have ever done. Sure, people seem to be leading busier lives, with more commitments and more hectic schedules, and finding the time to read can be a difficult thing to do— but we’ve come up with more ways to be able to read the books that we love. For example, you can read books on e-readers: the Kindle and the Kobo and so on gave us the ability to take hundreds of books along with us on planes, on holidays, on trains, whilst commuting— wherever you are. You can read on your mobile phone, on your laptop, on your iPad, and more.
Not only has reading on the go become more and more popular due to it being easier to do, but it’s allowed more people to buy and read more books. E-books, often, are priced less than a cup of coffee— something that many people buy everyday. Authors can now be connected with on the Internet, on Facebook and Twitter, sharing pictures on Instagram, blogging about their lives on their sites, doing videos on YouTube, and so on and so on. Technology has improved their relationship between the author and the reader— something that we didn’t have many years ago.
But this doesn’t answer the question of why reading is still important in the technological culture. Sure, we have more methods for connecting and reading and talking about books and authors and writing and reading, but that doesn’t mean it’s important. Just because something may seem easier in the modern day, doesn’t make it more important.
And yet reading is important. Parents encourage children to read, teachers do, schools do, libraries do, events do, book fairs do, the Internet does, and even more. Reading has become a popular thing, and— in all honesty— I do think Harry Potter did bring this back. Sure enough, children read, but Harry Potter was a large boom: it introduced so many children to reading, and they grew up with the books. It was the thing that everybody was doing, they were the books that everybody was reading. Eventually, these readers grew up, but they had grown up surrounded by this love of reading, and as soon as the last book was released, they went onto discover new books and grow in their love of reading.
Their siblings followed suit, their friends borrowed their books, reading became more popular. Sites like Goodreads were created— a place where people can connect and get together and discuss books. Authors became more interactive. Fan-sites made books more popular.
Technology enabled this, and it will continue it. Even film adaptations of books— think CITY OF BONES, DIVERGENT, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, etc.— are becoming increasingly popular, introducing yet more people to reading books.
No matter how far technology advances, reading will still be important, because of all of the above. Instead of books dwindling due to technology, technology will instead help to enhance the experience of the reader. It’s human nature that people want to tell stories and read stories and share stories, and I don’t think it’ll die out. At least, I really hope it doesn’t.
Despite the fact that libraries and bookshops have been seen closing down recently— which is very sad— it’s due to the fact that people are getting their books by other methods, not because people are choosing not to read.
To round off, reading is still important, even if this technological culture, and I think it is this technological culture that will help the book industry to grow, and to continue opening up more new experiences for both the author and the reader.
Thank you very much for having me, and I hope you continue loving books just as much as I love reading them and writing them.
Thank you.***
Author Bio:
Joshua J. Johnson is an author who lives on the East Coast of England. He began writing books after he learned that they don't just randomly appear on the shelf, but rather people actually sit down and write them. When he isn't writing his next novel, he enjoys reading, watching How To Train Your Dragon, and drinking milkshakes. He is also the author of BONES ON THE SURFACE and SOULLESS, as well as the upcoming YA novels THE SWEET LIFE, and THEIR TIME TO GO. You can find out more about him at joshuajstories.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @JoshuaJAuthor.
SOULLESS Blurb:
Mia and Roxanne have always been the best of friends, supported each other through everything, and always been happy for one another... but that's when things were simple. Fast forward to their teenage years, and life is now full of complications.. but only for Mia. Everything seems to happen to Mia, whereas Roxanne seems to have quite the sweet life-- literally. She has the family, her bakery, and the love of her life-- everything that Roxanne wants. But one day something terrible happens, and Ryan-- her boyfriend-- is nowhere to be seen, and people go missing and bodies are found. Creatures appear in your bathroom, down your streets, and inside your bakery, and along with them they bring blood, action, and hunger-- a hunger for souls. Written from different points of view, SOULLESS will raise questions about each character and humanity as a whole, whilst being packed with action, guns, cakes, blood, kisses, and romance. Because the question is: Who is the villain after all? Maybe it just isn't who you think it is... From the author of BONES ON THE SURFACE, and the much-anticipated THE SWEET LIFE and THEIR TIME TO GO, comes a story like no other...
Buy SOULLESS -->here<--.November 17, 2013
The Beauty of Transition
Autumn is such a colorful time. It's one of my favorite times of year. It's ironic to think that the leaves take on such vibrant hues because they're at a time of death, a time of transition...The transition of the leaves is a good reminder for us to stay strong during transitions in our own life. When we experience death, whether literal or figurative, it can feel cataclysmic. But these times are also beautiful times because our souls have the opportunity to be like the phoenix, who rises from the flames, even more beautiful than before.
It's hard, but transition can be beautiful. Instead of fighting it, maybe we should embrace it peacefully like the autumn leaves...
November 5, 2013
New Author Interview
Please check out my newest author interview over at Jon Herrera's blog -->here<--. He asks me some questions about The Divided Trilogy, as well as what advice I have for other writers and what I'm working on these days.
Hope you're all having a good week!
Hope you're all having a good week!
November 3, 2013
Don't Fear Silence (or A Realization that People May Talk Too Much)
This weekend, I've come down with an incredibly annoying case of laryngitis. I've been battling a cold all week, and I didn't take enough care of myself when I should have. (I'm am also dealing with some Life Stress, such as my husband losing his good job with the health insurance...not knowing yet if I got into grad school...etc.).
So long story short, I can't talk. I've realized I've taken many things for granted when I had my voice. Simple things like answering someone's question, being able to pick up the phone, grabbing the attention of my hyper dachshund when he's chasing his tail--these are all things I now cannot do. And it's frustrating.
I don't know how long this is going to last. But in my enforced silence, I started thinking about some of the positive benefits of not being able to talk. Let me start off by saying...
I think people talk too much anyway.
Some personal info: over the past couple of months, I've been trying really hard not to speak negatively about anyone just for the sake of conversation/entertainment. (Speaking to a confidant about a personal issue is different.) What I'm referring to are those moments when you're with a friend or your significant other and a small silence ensues, so you panic and immediately think you have to fill it. So you come up with the latest gossip, and you fill that silence with something that's ultimately petty and useless and sometimes even poisonous.
Have you ever noticed how it's the people with the least amount of maturity that can't seem to handle being quiet?
If you think about it, there really isn't a whole lot to talk about on a day to day basis. Sure, there are those times when you have more to say, like when you visit with a friend you haven't talked to in a while, and you catch them up on things going on in your life. It's fine to discuss movies and books and talk about the plans you have for the week, you know, positive, harmless things. It's also cool to have discussions about personal philosophy and life observations. Just don't venture into pointless, negative topics that don't do anyone any good. It can turn into a really nasty habit that is hard to kick.
Another habit of people who talk too much is what I call "The Neverending Problem." These are generally personal problems, often fixable, but they continue to remain unfixed. For whatever reason, the person cannot or does not want to fix this problem. Despite that, the Neverending Problem continues to be talked about every day. OMG. There's nothing worse than replaying that same old "My life sucks, but I'm not doing anything about it" record over and over and over. If you're not going to have respect for yourself, then at least keep quiet about it, for heaven's sake.
Finally, and perhaps the worst trait of the incessant talker, is the problem with staying silent even when others are talking. These are the poor folks who interrupt any and all conversations they walk into, and they sometimes even manage to make that conversation about them. Good grief! That's taking the obsession with talking to a ridiculous degree.
All this silliness could be avoided if we learned how to keep our mouths closed. What's wrong with keeping some of your thoughts to yourselves? What's wrong with simply observing life, quietly, and letting there be peace instead of drama?
When I was a young girl, and even through high school, I was considered by many to be "too quiet." The popular girls would often quip, "You're so quiet, Carrie," like it was a crime. I talk more now than I used to, but I can sense myself slowly returning to my old quiet ways. I've developed a new respect for silence, and I'm not afraid of it.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for today.
So long story short, I can't talk. I've realized I've taken many things for granted when I had my voice. Simple things like answering someone's question, being able to pick up the phone, grabbing the attention of my hyper dachshund when he's chasing his tail--these are all things I now cannot do. And it's frustrating.
I don't know how long this is going to last. But in my enforced silence, I started thinking about some of the positive benefits of not being able to talk. Let me start off by saying...
I think people talk too much anyway.
Some personal info: over the past couple of months, I've been trying really hard not to speak negatively about anyone just for the sake of conversation/entertainment. (Speaking to a confidant about a personal issue is different.) What I'm referring to are those moments when you're with a friend or your significant other and a small silence ensues, so you panic and immediately think you have to fill it. So you come up with the latest gossip, and you fill that silence with something that's ultimately petty and useless and sometimes even poisonous.
Have you ever noticed how it's the people with the least amount of maturity that can't seem to handle being quiet?
If you think about it, there really isn't a whole lot to talk about on a day to day basis. Sure, there are those times when you have more to say, like when you visit with a friend you haven't talked to in a while, and you catch them up on things going on in your life. It's fine to discuss movies and books and talk about the plans you have for the week, you know, positive, harmless things. It's also cool to have discussions about personal philosophy and life observations. Just don't venture into pointless, negative topics that don't do anyone any good. It can turn into a really nasty habit that is hard to kick.
Another habit of people who talk too much is what I call "The Neverending Problem." These are generally personal problems, often fixable, but they continue to remain unfixed. For whatever reason, the person cannot or does not want to fix this problem. Despite that, the Neverending Problem continues to be talked about every day. OMG. There's nothing worse than replaying that same old "My life sucks, but I'm not doing anything about it" record over and over and over. If you're not going to have respect for yourself, then at least keep quiet about it, for heaven's sake.
Finally, and perhaps the worst trait of the incessant talker, is the problem with staying silent even when others are talking. These are the poor folks who interrupt any and all conversations they walk into, and they sometimes even manage to make that conversation about them. Good grief! That's taking the obsession with talking to a ridiculous degree.
All this silliness could be avoided if we learned how to keep our mouths closed. What's wrong with keeping some of your thoughts to yourselves? What's wrong with simply observing life, quietly, and letting there be peace instead of drama?
When I was a young girl, and even through high school, I was considered by many to be "too quiet." The popular girls would often quip, "You're so quiet, Carrie," like it was a crime. I talk more now than I used to, but I can sense myself slowly returning to my old quiet ways. I've developed a new respect for silence, and I'm not afraid of it.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for today.
November 2, 2013
Win The Divided Trilogy in Paperback!
Kim Miller is holding a drawing to win my angel trilogy in paperback! To be transported to her blog where you can enter, click -->here<--.
October 31, 2013
October 19, 2013
Dallas Arboretum Pumpkin World (Picture Post!)
To celebrate my 30th birthday this month, my friend Bethany was so sweet to take me to the Dallas Arboretum!
(Actually, there were three of us if you count B's unborn daughter!)
The Arboretum is doing a Fall/Pumpkin theme right now, which is quite the sight to see. It's really magical! Take a look:
Entrance Pumpkins
Pumpkin Path
Flowers and Pumpkins
Pumpkin Labels
Very Orange Pumpkins
Pumpkin Vine
Jack O Lantern
D for Dallas
Pumpkin House
Pumpkin and Squash Circle
Rows of Pumpkins
Haunting Path
Intriguing Tree Circle
Pumpkin Love
(Actually, there were three of us if you count B's unborn daughter!)The Arboretum is doing a Fall/Pumpkin theme right now, which is quite the sight to see. It's really magical! Take a look:
Entrance Pumpkins
Pumpkin Path
Flowers and Pumpkins
Pumpkin Labels 
Very Orange Pumpkins
Pumpkin Vine
Jack O Lantern
D for Dallas
Pumpkin House
Pumpkin and Squash Circle
Rows of Pumpkins
Haunting Path
Intriguing Tree Circle
Pumpkin Love
