Nancy LaRonda Johnson's Blog, page 6

A Journal Past Blast with a date! + Indie Book Review: In The Beginning

For this Tuesday’s Journal Past Blast, I have a poem that is actually dated. Don’t know how good it is, but hey! It’s good to have a time reference, which was the winter before my study abroad in Italy after my first year in college. Anyone got any comments on this?
In my life   I see only pain.When my mind is free   I dream fantasies.But if my heart stumbles across   the wines, then my eyes open   to the truth.I cry pure and loud. If only   the gods could fee my sorrow,   there would be no end to    destruction.But the gods see only my    clear mind, and their actions    are of peace!


Synopsis:
In 1997, Justin Dickerson, a Biblical Archaeologist, jumps at the opportunity to attend the Fifty Year Jubilee commemorating the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The invitation toJerusalem could not have come at a better time. Her life is almost unbearable. Travel,conversation with colleagues, and celebrating the find that stunned the Christian and secular world alike in 1949 promises a wonderful diversion from personal angst. 
However, in the bustling metropolis of Jerusalem she learns that some of the 2,000 year old manuscripts, once hidden in clay pots in the caves of Qumran, may have been purposely destroyed. Obsessed with the discovery, Justin determines to find the truth. Family and an abiding faith are her anchors as she discovers the answer to Earth's ancient mysteries: Whatreally happened In the Beginning...
My Review:
Extraordinary book, with realistic characters, in some cases, irritatingly so – purposefully mastered by the author – and the plot is unpredictable. Great storytelling. Though the writing needs quite a bit of editing, even without it, I found the book, especially the latter half, to be a joy and couldn’t wait to get to the end of it… and am looking forward to see whether I’ll learn the rest of our history in a sequel.
About the Author:
Born and raised in Ohio, Ms. Vandiver is a former lawyer and college professor of Economics. She holds a bachelors in Economics, a masters in Public Administration and a Juris Doctor. These days, Ms. Vandiver enjoys writing and endeavors to devote all her extra time to it.Her debut novel, In the Beginning, an Amazon #1 BEST SELLER in its category was written on a whim, put in a box for more than a decade, and finally pulled out, dusted off and published in 2013. It has inspired her to write a sequel as well as start a series of books loosely based on her family. Ms. Vandiver resides in Cleveland, Ohio and has three wonderful grandchildren, Gavin, Sydne and Riley.
In the Beginning can be purchased herefor .99 on Amazon.com.

Back to Your Support! IWSG

So glad it’s IWSG. I’ve been waiting for it since I’ve missed one or two months. 
I’ve been off work since October 29th, because of a surgery I had on that day. I knew I’d be unable to do much at all for about a week or so, but then planned to do an amazing amount of reading and writing during the remainder recovery time.
The reading went well, extremely well for the first three weeks. The writing trickled along. Then it picked up, but never got to where I’d hoped it would be. I have a critique partner, which is helpful to some degree. But actually it may not be the best idea for a first draft in progress, especially as he’s getting closer to where I don’t know how the ends of the story will tie up. This can be disheartening. I start to get the feeling that the story will never come together like I want, and will never be written as well or be as concise a story as I hope, or as I feel my first book is.
But then I remember that this is a topic that I believe God wants me to write about, and I have to remember that the first several drafts of Anticipation of the Penitent were, unbeknownst to me, subpar. I’ve got to believe that after I finally get the first draft of Anticipating Dawn done and start rewriting, the story will begin to flow. Then I’ll be able to connect the two diverging storylines within it to make a cohesive, moving, shocking and revealing novel.
Well, tomorrow (Thursday), I go off to Hawaii for a vacation before I go back to work. This was planned for a Writer’s Conference hosted by Mark Koopmans in Honolulu. I’d scheduled it knowing the conference wasn’t a definite go, but decided if it didn’t happen, it’d be a nice vacation. The conference did cancel, but the cool thing is, I'll still be able to meet MK. That'll be a great end of my leisure time, as it just so happened that it overlaps the end of my medical leave from work. I get back from Hawaii on the 11th, will go to a book fair to promote my books on the 12th, then go back to work on the 16th. 
I’ve had a great time during my break, even if it wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped. I’m grateful for this group in listening to me and for your comments.
For more info on this wonderful writer's support group blog hop, click on Alex J. Cavanaugh or Facebook.


Bewildered by the number of books out there? At The Fussy Librarian we can choose from 40 genres, select content preferences such as amount of sex and violence, and get daily ebook recommendations. Check it out. www.TheFussyLibrarian.com

Journal Past Blast: An Open Book of Self

It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month, which means it’s time for the rescheduled once-a-month Journal Past Blast.
I have to tell you, it’s been too long since I’ve done this… blog on what’s written in my old journals, and it’s darned hard to start up again! This is a test of humility, an allowance of vulnerability, and a belief in the growth of oneself. If only I could be so sure of myself!
Well, here goes nothing:
My Dear Sweet Robert
I continue to think about when we will met again. This is only one of the many daydreams I have of you.
The plane just arrived and people begin to get off. I am to the side of them, mostly hidden behind a wall. Then I see you come out.
I stare at you while you walk slowly looking around for me. Your beautiful hazel eyes are glowing and smiling. I don’t want to move, and stay behind the wall, taking you all in: Your handsome brown skin, face, arms, and your beautiful body I imagine underneath your clothes.
You come closer and closer to where I am hiding, and I can tell that you are getting a little worried that I probably hadn’t come yet.
When I think you are right up to where I am, I run out from behind the wall into your arms and give you a long, passionate, loving kiss. Then you hold me close to you, and I whisper, “I love you Robert” in your ear. You say, “I’m not ever going to let you go. We’re going around NY just like this,” and we both laugh.
I guess I read too many trashy novels, huh Robert?

It's been WAY more than 3 weeks! + Indie book review

Okay, I’ve been gone for longer than three weeks. It’s been closer to six weeks, but oh how the time flies! It wasn’t all just fun and games, and, I’m sorry to say, not as much writing as there could have been. But it’s picking up now, and I still plan to be done with my first draft of Anticipating Dawn by the end of the year.
Over these six weeks, I had two surgeries, one oral – had a tooth pulled, which started to become infected, and you know the people didn’t give me antibiotics. So had to get that later on, and this was more painful than the inpatient surgery I had (nothing serious, and that went well). 
What I did do a lot of is read. :) I’ve read seven indie books – which I plan to review and highlight along the way. And I watched a million movies, both at the movies and on TV. (I've signed up for Amazon Prime... and I've fallen in love with the Jesse Stone movies... Okay, I've fallen for Tom Selleck... again. :))
There are some things I’ve come to realize during this extended break. One, is that I was blogging too much! With work, no matter how much I love blogging, it’s impossible to keep up with it as much as I was and do other things going on in life, and writing was going by the wayside. So, I’ve decided to blog one to two times a week.
As I’m not one to stick to patterns, I’m not sure just yet whether they’ll be the same day of the week or not. My Tuesday Journal Past Blast will be once a month – the third Tuesday of the month. I also do not plan to be involved with as many blog hops as I was. Although I truly love them, it’s just too much. :(  The ones I will try and definitely be involved with are ISWG, and Celebrate the Small Things, though likely only twice a month.

So, for now, here’s the first of my indie book reviews:
Life Begins The Day You Start A Garden by Anthony Johnson


Life Begins is an endearing story of a man who wishes he were resigned to just survive instead of really living life. When given an unlikely opportunity to change his unsatisfying existence, he grudgingly grabs at it, and his life changes much more and much less than he ever dreamed.
This is a well-written story that takes you into the main character's mindset, which is ripe for the manipulations and twists of his fate. It's a story that gets you thinking of what things in our lives we are unsatisfyingly letting fallow instead of cultivating them to let blossom.
This one was written by my brother, Anthony Johnson, an avid gardener and herbalist, who is fluent in Japanese and speaks Mandarin (he refuses to say he's fluent in Mandarin). His blog, Herbadelic, speaks of dishes he cooks and tinctures he makes from herbs he gathers from his garden.
Life Begins is a short story based on a Chinese proverb, and is available only in print, but for just $5.36, which you can get here.

He and I will both be at this amazing Indie Authors Book Fair:

Indie Authors Book Fair December 12, 2013 6:30 - 9:30 pm The Hub 1423 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612 http://t.co/u9szhJ0nPU
— N. LaRonda Johnson (@NLaRondaJohnson) November 18, 2013

I appreciate all you folks for visiting me again after so long! :)

Get your free Kindle download today (Halloween) and tomorrow!

Still on my blogger break, but wanted to announce my 2-day promotion for Anticipation of the Penitent. Get your free download today (Halloween) or tomorrow.  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZQCEEA/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_6tLCsb0VV0D7C

Get your free Kindle today, Halloween and tomorrow!

Still on my blogger break, but wanted to announce my 2-day promotion forAnticipation of the Penitent. Get your free download today, Halloween, or tomorrow.  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZQCEEA/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_6tLCsb0VV0D7C

Celebrations and Breaks

I’m excited about this week’s Celebrate the Small Things, hosted by VikLit of Scribblings of an Aspiring Author. There’s been much to celebrate, and there's an announcement to make.
This week, I’m happy that:The weather’s still beautiful. Always something to rejoice about.I went to my mom’s church on Monday night, the church I was raised in. She invited me to hear a guest preacher, and it was good to remember the church – with some of the same deacons and musicians as when I was a child. The sermon was nice and the worship pretty good, and my mom was happy I was there.Had several work meetings to go to that were quite interesting, but which allowed me to get off work early. :))I won Brandon Ford’s book Merciless in a giveaway, and am excitedly awaiting it in the mail.Was able to help a new friend, Lissa Bryan, in the reveal of her book The End of All Things.
Now, for the announcement: I will be taking at least a three week break from blogging starting Monday, October 14, but will do some blog visits during this time. 
Work and life have been very busy and I feel bad when I’m not able to visit others. Also, because of lack of time, I hadn’t been writing much or submitting stories to eZines. After this weekend, I'll be a bit more silent. :( :)                                                                                                                                        See you this weekend! - as I’ll try to do lots of visits before my break.

Cover Reveal of Lissa Bryan's The End of All Things

From the author of The End of All Things  comes a collection of short stories about the Infection that swept around the globe, decimating the population, and leaving behind a small number of survivors, unprepared to deal with the brutal new world which had replaced the one they'd known.

 The End of All Things  told the story of Carly Daniels, a young woman in Juneau, Alaska, left in a state of shock after the virus ravaged her home town. She ekes out a meager existence by scavenging for herself and Sam, the wolf puppy she found starving in the streets. Sam gives her a reason to keep going when giving up seems like the more attractive option.
Carly is discovered by Justin, an ex-soldier who is intent on making his way to a warmer climate before the winter sets in. Justin coaxes her out of her hiding place and convinces her to join him on his journey. They travel across a shattered nation in search of a safe place to settle, but it's also a journey into love. There is still hope, a light among the shadows. If the old world is gone, it is up to the survivors to build a new one.


Carly finds strength in her faith that things can be even better than they were before, that compassion and charity are not luxuries; they are what make us human. Life endures, and so does love. The End of All Things is only a beginning.
And now, Lissa Bryan gives us three new stories in Tales from the End. 
Three of them introduce us to new characters you will meet in the upcoming sequel to The End of All Things, and the fourth, "Birthday" is a visit with old friends.


The HorsemenL.A.'s mayor has declared quarantine to try to halt the spread of the Infection. Pearl sets off across the city to buy supplies, but already the world is changing. Something strange is in the air. The Horsemen are coming ...
VeronicaWhen Veronica's mother doesn't come home from work and no one answers the phone when she calls for help, a nine-year-old girl is thrown into the chaos of a world coming to an end. The television shows her nothing but confusing images she doesn't understand. Veronica decides it's up to her to find her family. "Veronica" is the story of a little girl's courage in the face of the end of all things.
"I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud"They called her Shadowfax-- the mare Carly and Justin found on their travels. But before she was found by Carly, the retired dressage horse was known as Cloud. An unusual tale of the end, told through the eyes of a confused and lonely horse, left in her pasture.
BirthdayA previously-published bonus story. Carly knows Justin has never celebrated his birthday, and after society crumbled, no one knows what date it is, anyway. But she wants to do something special for him. Celebrating the little things helps them keep hope alive, and as a blizzard rages outside, a small gesture of love warms their home.

Tales of courage, tales of survival... Tales from the End.

Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete's foot ... though only in her head. Real life isn't so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.
Her first novel, Ghostwriter, is available through The Writer's Coffee Shop (which is the least expensive option), Amazon, iTunes, and Kobo. Her second novel, The End of All Things, was released on January 24, 2013, and is available through TWCS, Amazon, and iTunes. She also has a short story in the Romantic Interludes anthology, available from TWCS, Amazonand iTunes. Her third novel, Under These Restless Skies, is scheduled for release in spring of 2014.
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Author Links
Website ♥Facebook ♥ Twitter ♥ TWCS (Publisher) ♥ Amazon♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ iTunes ♥ Youtube book trailers

Journal Past Blast: What's strange about love?

It’s Journal Past Blast time again, a weekly posting of my old journal entries. As with many of my journal entries, there is no date on this one. All of my journals are from college years on, that’s from 1986 on through 2009, when they tapered off significantly. 
Yes, many of my journal entries, though not all of them, have to do with love – yearning for love, fear of love, the lack of love. Some of the postings are fictional or poetic, but many are factual or creations based on my real emotions. This poem is based on real emotions, although I don’t think I was talking about anyone in particular.
Here’s the untitled poem:
Strange wasn’t whenyou looked at me.Strange was whenyou let me worryabout your love.Strange was whenyou let doubttouch my heart, whenyou let my eyes wander,and my tears flow, whenyou followed the paththey ledto your lips whichwere there all along.Strange wasn’t whenyou saidnever leave me.
Do you have any old writings that express those yearnings from years gone by? 

Celebrating: I'm Here!

I tell you, I’ve been off a day all week! This is starting to be a pattern. ;)  But, because of that, VikLit’s Celebrate the Small Things post is late, but I didn’t want to not do it.
This week I’m celebrating:A good busy week in my new office. The move was delayed a few days because of IT stuff, but now I’m there, and it’s great.Looking forward to the future. Things feel almost static right now, but I think it’s just a holding period for something more to come soon.Being grateful for so many great blogger friends.Three days off of work, starting today!
What do you have to celebrate about this past week?