A.B. Shepherd's Blog, page 11

Steampunk? Or fantasy? The Boxcar Baby by J.L. Mulvihill #amreading #review

I don't have a whole lot of experience with the Steampunk genre in general so this was a little bit different for me.

J.L. Mulvihill  does a good job of building a world - an alternate history of the USA in which workhouses are the norm and there is a heavy Big Brother type government. The poor are oppressed, valueless and forced into servitude.

AB'Gale, or Abby is a sixteen year old young woman who has lived a sheltered and priviledged life up until the point that her father vanishes. With the family farm in jeopardy she has no choice but to go searching for him.

The Boxcar Baby is the first book in a new series that takes us along with Abby on that dangerous search.

I was rapt by the danger she faced and the horrors she endured. I feared for her and cheered for her.

Then somewhere near the end of this book it took a very different turn. There was still danger and triumph, but it went from being a Steampunk adventure, to being a Fantasy book. I'm not saying the two genres can't be done in the same book. I'm sure they can, and be done well. It's just that up to this point - as I said very near the end - this book really hadn't fallen into the Fantasy category. And then all of a sudden it did.

For me, it just felt like a bizzare turn on the part of the author. Almost as if she couldn't decide which genre she wanted to write.

I guess what I'm saying is - if she wanted this to be a Steampunk/Fantasy book from the get-go, I would have expected Fantasy elements to be introduced long before the ending. Does that make sense?

Overall, it was enjoyable - it just left me confused about this one aspect.

Have you ever read a book that you felt that way about? Where you thought it was a particular genre and then it changed on you? Please tell me about it.

Book Blurb:
The Box Car Baby introduces the character of AB’Gale Steel who was born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia, according to what her papa told her. Bishop Steel, a mechanical engineer for the Southern Railroad, found his adopted daughter snuggled in a basket of cotton on an otherwise empty boxcar in the train yard. When no one came around to claim the baby, Bishop Steel, rather than relinquish the child to the State only to end up at the Workhouse someday, smuggled her home to raise as his own. The name on the boxcar he found her in read, A B Gale Logs, and so he named the baby AB’Gale.

But if the mystery of who her real parents are isn’t enough for fifteen-year -old AB’Gale, Papa Bishop goes missing. Worried for her family and afraid of having to spend her life at the Workhouse, AB’Gale goes into town to see if anyone’s seen her papa, only to find a deeper mystery. At the train station no one seems to know who her papa is even though he’s worked for the Southern Railroad for thirty years.

An encounter with a strange Hobo-man, who claims to know her father, results in the acquisition of a leather eye-glass tube that he says belongs to her papa. Before AB’Gale can question him further the man runs away. When she gets home, she finds the Crushers taking her grandma off to the Oldies-home, so she hides until they are gone.

AB’Gale finds that the leather tube contains a map of the United States, with markers made by various towns across the country. By each marker is a word or a name written in her papa’s handwriting.

Alone, and with only the clues of the map to go by, AB’Gale has no choice but to set out on her own to find her Papa.

About the author:
Born in Hollywood and raised in San Diego, CA, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the past fifteen years. Her debut novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter of Easa, an engaing fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of steampunk, published through Kerlak Publishing.

J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication, among them "Chilled Meat", a steampunk thriller found in the Dreams of Steam II-Of Bolts and Brass, anthology (Kerlak Publishing) and "The Leprechaun’s Story", a steampunk urban Fantasy found in the anthology, Clockwork, Spells, & Magical Bells (Kerlak Publishing)

J.L. is very active with the writing community, and is the events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Arts Council of Clinton, and the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group. 

My top 5 books of 2013 #amreading

Now that the year is winding down to a close, I'd thought I'd do a post listing my favorite books I've read in 2013. Each book will be hyperlinked to my review of it, so if you want to know more all it will take is a little click of  your mouse.

There have been many great reads this year and I've enjoyed them so much. I don't feel like I can give them order of enjoyment, so I'm going to list my top five books in no specific order.

Running by Rhiannon Douglas - a fabulous debut by a great new fantasy author. Thumb by John Guy Collick - another great fantasy novel. Jackrabbit Junction Jitters by Ann Charles - Ann is the queen of humorous, quirky romances. The White Thread by K.B. Hoyle - actually the entire Gateway Chronicles series. Best YA fantasy series I've read in a long time. Divergent by Veronica Roth - and again, actually the entire Divergent trilogy. This is more YA fantasy - this time of the post-apocalyptic variety. I know many don't agree with me on the two later books, but I loved them.I am a harsh critic at times and it is difficult to get a 5 star review from me. These are the only books I've rated five stars this year. There were quite a few more that got 4 star reviews though.

What were your favorite books this year?

The Beacon Party Wrap-up - Winners announced! #amreading

I want to thank all the fabulous bloggers who participated in The Beacon Launch Tour, which has now officially come to a close.
If you didn't get a chance to check out their reviews/interviews/guest posts be sure to do so. Just click on the links in The Beacon Launch Tour post. And now for what you've all been waiting for...

THE CONTEST WINNERS ARE
Grand prize of $25 Amazon Gift Card AND signed paperback copies of The Beacon & Lifeboat: 
Karen P.A.
2nd prize winners of signed paperback copies of The Beacon & Lifeboat:
Erin T.Joey R.
3rd prize winners of an ebook copy of The Beacon are:
Kriss M.Christy C.Mike M.Sherry F.Peggyanne A.
A HUGE thank you to all who entered.
If you didn't win, better luck next time - but you can still get The Beacon for only 99 cents for your Kindle or Kindle app on Amazon.

Christmas? Bah humbug. #bahhumbug #hatechristmas

I have a true love/hate relationship with the Christmas season. First, I fully admit that I am an agnostic, although I grew up in a Christian church, and family, and have fond memories of Christian traditions regarding the Christmas season - especially the singing of Carols. I spent many years trying to find my faith, and it is just non-existent. I find more reasons to disbelieve than to believe. 
But this post isn't about my religion. It is about the Christmas season. The Christmas season celebrated by those of us who don't put the Christ in Christmas, but still see at as the season of giving. (PLEASE - don't try to convert me or bash me because I'm a non-believer.)
So, although I am an agnostic, I still celebrate the season -as much as I can tolerate anyway. I still (usually) put up a tree and a few decorations. I still give gifts to people I love. I still try to enjoy this season of giving and make effort to do nice things for strangers. 
But still I find the season difficult. If it tells you anything about me - this is my absolute favorite Christmas song of all time.

I'm far away from most of the people I love best. I find the commercialism - and the expectations of society in general, and myself in particular - very trying.
To attempt to lesson my stress at this time of year, and allow myself to enjoy the season as much as I am able, I try to shop early. I've had all my gifts purchased for some time now. But there is one tiny little hitch that is driving me nuts and making each day torture for me.
My husband and I have no granchildren, but there are still three children that fall on our gift list. The children in question are not exactly hurting for toys, and other fun items. Their parents are indulgent and they have large families. So to make things easier, and because I love reading, I decided we would give the children books and a small bit of cash each year. So far, this has worked out well. In fact, I give every person on my gift list books (usually along with something else) - except my husband.
For these children on my list, I take great pains to select reading material designed to intrigue children of their ages and spend much time scouring lists and looking at specific books before selecting what I hope is just the right book for each child.
This year, I did the same, however the particular book I selected for one of the children also came in a very special "library cover" edition and while I could have gotten it in paperback very easily I decided I wanted that library cover edition. Because this edition was rare, I could only find it online. I placed my order with Amazon who reportedly had it in stock. 
Weeks went by and the item wasn't shipped. I researched why and found that it was actually not in stock and they could not give me an estimate of when it would be. They graciously offered to cancel my order. So I scoured the internet searching the globe for this specific edition of this specific book. 
I've got my heart set on it and nothing else will do at this point.
I finally found it at a book seller's in Britain. I placed my order and was told I should receive it by the end of November. 
It is now the 12th of December and I still don't have it. I have contacted the seller and have been informed that Australia has heightened it's security measures and many items are being held up in Customs.  They reported that customers who placed orders in October are only now receiving them. *sigh*
I don't know if this is true, and it really doesn't matter. All I know is that all my careful attempts to avoid stress so far this season have failed - and each day I anxiously await postal delivery hoping against hope that this is the day that damned book will come. I do have a back-up plan, but it's not one I like much. 
I know there are far worse problems in the world - please don't tell me about them. I'm well aware of them.
I also know this is a very minor issue in the grand scheme of things and five years from now it won't matter whether this child got the library cover edition of this book - or any book for that matter. 
But I also know that it is stressing me out big time.
So all I can say is this:
Christmas? Bah humbug!
Do you find the holiday stressful? Does it drive you nuts if you can't get your hands on that one perfect gift? How do you cope?

Hopping on my soapbox - Mandela vs. Walker Death Shaming. #amangry #stupidpeople

I was saddened to wake up to the news yesterday that Nelson Mandela had passed away at the age of 95. He was a man who instigated great change in this world and the world was a much better place for his presence in it for 95 years.

Facebook is a wonderful place at times. People can come together and share their sorrow over such a loss to the world.

As the day went on I saw so many memes in tribute to this great man. My feed became a wall of those expressing their thanks and their sorrow.



But Facebook is also a horrid place at time, because there are so many ignorant people on there too, including some of my family and friends. And late last night, one of my so-called friends posted this meme. And I became livid.




No one has the right to trivialize the death of one man just because he wasn't another. There is room for the world to mourn both.

Maybe Walker wasn't Mandela - so few of us are anywhere near as important to the world. But Walker was only 40 years old. Who knows what he could have done with another 55 years of life, like Mandela had lived.

Maybe his most visible contribution to the world to date was his presence in the Fast and the Furious franchise - which brought pleasure to millions. Was it life altering? Perhaps for some, but not for most.

But from all reports he was also a loving father to his teenaged daughter. An important contribution to her life surely.

Also, at the time of his death he was in the midst of a fundraising campaign for the victims of the recent catastrophic storms in the Phillipines. I'm certain his efforts there were making a huge difference for MANY. Doesn't that justify his importance to the world? Aren't we allowed to mourn him now? That MUST make him worthy of public sorrow - doesn't it?


And then there was this insensitive Facebook meme earlier in the week.




If you get your news from REPUTABLE sources - Walker's name might have been the first released following th eaccident, but it was soon reported that the driver of the car was his friend, Roger Rodas. Not some "unnamed other guy".

So in summary - a death is a death and it is right to mourn.

Some of the deceased will have more mourners than others and that is okay.

It is NOT okay to shame someone for mourning - no matter who or what they are mourning. It is NOT okay to judge how a celebrity might have touched the life of someone they never met. And it is NOT okay to display your ignorance on Facebook.

Do you really think Mandela would approve of your shaming those who mourn Walker's death? I didn't think so. 

I suspect I will always have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It keeps me in touch with people who are so far away and I will always love it for that. But the ignorance. Oh the ignorance.

Tell me what you think? Am I way off base here? Or did I get it right?

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman #bookreview #amreading

If you have ever read my review policy you might have noted that I typically don't review short stories. I've made an exception here for a couple of reasons. Well, all right. Maybe for one specific reason. My dear friend, Kriss - The Cabin Goddess, recently reviewed my new novella, The Beacon. She had a powerful reaction to it. If you missed that you can read about it here.

When she and I were discussing how she felt about The Beacon she told me that it put her in mind of this story, which she also had had a powerful reaction to. Since I had never read it I wanted to, to compare notes so to speak and to see how I felt about it.

As I was reading it today, I could have sworn I was actually reading someone's journal - which is exactly what the author had intended. At least up until the very end. 

It is the story of a woman who is seemingly suffering from post-natal depression and perhaps complications of that. Her health, both mentally and physically, are suffering, and she is rather quickly descending into a complete breakdown. Her husband, a physician, seems to feel she merely needs rest. I actually felt a fair bit of sympathy for him, even though we never heard his voice. It is so difficult to know how to help someone who is suffering depression even now, let alone back in the late 1800s when so little was known of the condition. 

I can see why Kriss made the comparison between The Yellow Wall-paper and The Beacon, and I could see the direction The Yellow Wall-paper was heading as I read it. I predicted the ending. I'm not saying that because I think it makes me sound smart or to be smug. I'm saying it because, maybe, just maybe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and I have some slight thing in common - a similarly twisted mind. 

I've read many reviews on this little gem and they all seem to come back to the same line - the narrator was unreliable. Almost as if all the reviewers took the same lit class, or feminie studies class, or some college course where this short story was required reading and that was the key element drummed in by the lecturer. 

Sure, she was unreliable because she was unstable and we only ever got to see her viewpoint. But while her unreliability was key in this story there is so much more in this tiny little book. Call it horror, call it feminist literature, call it haunting. Call it whatever you want to. 

Kriss called it powerful. I agree - it is powerful. 

Kriss also said that The Beacon is similarly powerful. 

Having written it, I know how I feel about it, but I have no objectivity regarding The Beacon. 

So I'm asking you to read both and see if you agree with her. Do they give a similar feeling? Are they both powerful pieces?

Have you read The Yellow Wall-Paper? You can get it free on Amazon. Just click here. You can get The Beacon on Amazon too for only 99 cents. Click on the links on the right side bar.

Book Blurb:
First published in 1892, The Yellow Wall-Paper is written as the secret journal of a woman who, failing to relish the joys of marriage and motherhood, is sentenced to a country rest cure. Though she longs to write, her husband and doctor forbid it, prescribing instead complete passivity. In the involuntary confinement of her bedroom, the hero creates a reality of her own beyond the hypnotic pattern of the faded yellow wallpaper – a pattern that has come to symbolize her own imprisonment. Narrated with superb psychological and dramatic precision, The Yellow Wall-Paper stands out not only for the imaginative authenticity with which it depicts one woman’s descent into insanity, but also for the power of its testimony to the importance of freedom and self-empowerment for women.

About the author:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and non fiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist during a time when her accomplishments were exceptional for women, and she served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout of post-partum depression.

Sharing the linguistc love of commas and a giveaway! by Chryse Wymer #giveaway #editing #amwriting

Well kiddies, I have a real treat for you today. Editor Chryse Wymer is sharing with all of us her love of commas - AND a giveaway of not one, but THREE Amazon gift cards! 

I'll admit, this is one area I struggle with. So let's see if we can learn something from Chryse. 

Welcome Chryse!
Thank you, A.B. Shepherd, for allowing me to stop on your blog and share the love—the linguistic love, that is. I am especially grateful because I know your blog is aimed at readers, and what I have to say is aimed at writers.

I am a copy editor and proofreader. Yes, indie authors, I’m looking at you in particular. But I am here to help. I'm visiting blogs to share what I know about grammar, usage, and great writing. I’ll even raffle off a few Amazon gift cards to get you started on filling up those bookshelves with the basic tools of the trade: grammar, usage and style books; thesauri; and dictionaries. Words are a writer’s most important tools, after all.

Go ahead and write fast. Write as fast as you can. But edit slow. Edit as slow as it takes.

I am an American editor, and, in this article, I am using American grammar and usage rules. Some things are completely different in the U.K., one of them being commas.

Feel free to e-mail me at chrysewymer@yahoo.com for more information and/or pricing, or visit my Web site: http://ocdeditor.weebly.com/ (and yes, the first letter of Web site is capitalized. Look it up on Merriam-Webster’s.)

A very talented client of mine has a hard time grasping commas, and many great authors often misuse them. It’s a broad subject, so I’ll be covering it in pieces.

PUNCTUATION – COMMAS

The basic function of a comma is to separate. Think of it this way: you’re walking down the grocery store aisle and get to the produce section. In each bin, you see produce. There are apples, grapes, blueberries, and watermelon— one bin for each. Everything down that aisle is fruit. An author’s sentence is that aisle, declaring its purpose (fruit). Each bin is a comma, separating our ideas. The ideas are the apples, grapes, blueberries, and watermelon. Without the bins (commas), it would all fall apart. The same is true with a missed comma.

Let’s get more specific. First, the comma separates items (including the last from the next-to-last) in a list of three or more—e.g.: “When I went to Jupiter, I got gangrene, dysentery, and a bug up my nose.” The final comma in the above example is variously called the serial comma, the Oxford comma, and the Harvard comma. Whether to include this comma has caused many fiery debates. I personally believe that it should be added. Leaving it in will cause no confusion. Omitting it could cause confusion.

Here’s a wonderfully dorky video to help you remember a comma’s basic function: to separate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3h42R...

There are eight more uses to a comma but not enough space for me to include them here. The next few uses will be covered on John Abramowitz’s blog tomorrow, December 3rd, 2013: http://onthebird.blogspot.com/

Thanks again to A.B. Shepherd for being the first official stop on my Linguistic Love blog tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us Chryse, and thank you for such a fabulous giveway! 

Folks, Chryse is an awesome editor and if you are looking to have your manuscript edited be sure to contact Chryse. Her email address is chrysewymer@yahoo.com. She will be glad to help you out. Now tell me, did you learn something today?

About Chryse:
Chryse Wymer is a freelance copy editor and proofreader whose main focus is on indie writers. Her clients have been well reviewed, and one was recently chosen as a top-five finalist in The Kindle Book Review's 2013 Best Indie Book Awards in his category: mystery/thriller. 

For some years, she has been particularly obsessed with William S. Burroughs’s writing, who happened to coin the term heavy metal ... her favorite music. 

You can contact her at chrysewymer@yahoo.com, follow her on twitter: @ChryseWymer, or like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChryseWymer

And don't forget to check out her Web site: http://ocdeditor.weebly.com/. 

The Beacon official launch day party and Amazon GC Giveaway!!! #thebeacon #launch #giveaway

It's finally here - the day I  - and I hope YOU - have been waiting for:
 The official launch of my novella, The Beacon!


The Beacon is available NOW on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats (including a Large Print version)! Click here to get your copy.

To celebrate I am having a little party right here and a few of my friends will be helping with the celebration over the next two weeks. They will be sharing their reviews of The Beacon, an interview with me, and a few Guest Posts I've written. So check back here and I'll give you links in the comments on where to find them.

And what does every party need? Prizes!
You can enter here - and on the blogs for each of my participating friends - to win some great stuff!  

This is an international giveaway. Grand prize is a $25 (USD) Amazon Gift Card PLUS a signed copy of both The Beacon AND Lifeboat!Second prize is a signed copy of both The Beacon and Lifeboat!And five third prize winners will win an ebook version of The Beacon in the format of their choice! (Prize will be distributed as a Smashwords coupon code.)a Rafflecopter giveaway


And OH! I almost forgot to tell you! 

To celebrate the launch of The Beacon - 
from December 1st through the 3rd (Pacific Time) you can pick up the Kindle version of Lifeboat for just $.99 (USD).
  
Regular price is $2.99 so get it now! (Be sure to verify price shows as $.99 before you click "buy".) Just click here to get your copy now.



So join the party - 

Get your copies of  The Beacon  and Lifeboat ebooks now and enter to win! 

Stop #2 on The Beacon's launch tour is now live. Stop by Jess' blog to read her review and enter to win. Click here to get there.  

NaNoWriMo 2013 is coming to a close. Are you a winner? #amwriting #nanowrimo

There are only a few days left before NaNoWriMo 2013 comes to a close. Did you win? If you haven't yet, are you on target to win?

I do hope so.

For me, this year has been good and bad. I started out strong writing my sequel to Lifeboat, but got sidetracked preparing for the launch of The Beacon (just 3 more days!). It has been much more work than I anticipated and although I am usually pretty good a multi-tasking I really haven't been this month.

I won't win NaNo this year, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I do have one more write-in coming up on the 30th and when it is done I hope to be about a quarter of the way through the sequel (I haven't yet come up with a name because I am a pantser and I'm still uncertain where the story will go).

That may not seem like good progress to you, but I'm happy with it. I've found that while NaNo is a good tool to push yourself - especially if you've always made excuses why you can't make the time to write - I don't only write during November now. This means that I WILL finish the sequel even though it won't be done by November 30th.

My favorite thing about NaNo 2013 though, is that my good friend DeAnn has won and it is her first attempt. DeAnn has always wanted to write and has legitimate reasons why making time to write has been quite difficult.

She's a dedicated mom of three and while her eldest two are grown, her youngest is only fifteen and has cerebral palsy amongst a host of other serious physical conditions and caring for him - seeing to the heavy demands of his needs due to his medical conditions - is her full time job.

There are no vacations, no knocking off at 5 o'clock, and no weekends off. It is a 24/7 job that she handles with love and grace every single day.

Somehow, in spite of those demands on her time, with a little encouragement from me and a ton of determination and perseverence on her part, she has managed to make her dream of writing - at least one of the many stories in her head - come true and she is thrilled. I think I am almost as delighted as she is! I keep telling her - and anyone else who will listen - that I get all the credit when she becomes a best-selling author.

There will be a long road ahead yet if she wants to publish what she has written but I am so, SO proud of her. Well done De!

As for me, I'll be back for NaNo again next year, and maybe even for Camp NaNo before November. In the meantime I'll keep plugging away at my sequel.

How about you? Did you make your writing dream come true this year? Tell me about it.

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse by Jennifer Malone Wright #bookreview #zombieapocalypse #amreading

Don't ask me why I picked up this book. Although I've read zombie books before it is not my favorite genre. I think I snagged it because it is short - only 50 pages according to Amazon - and I was looking for a quick read. Plus I saw that the main characters were two authors who had been attending an author conference when the zombies appeared. Kind of intriguing, don't you think? At least from an author's view.

What I like about this series is the concept. The series is written by two authors who are collaborating on these "episodes" as they are calling them. The first two novellas in the series are written from the two perspectives of the main characters - Jade and Kaylee. Following that, I've read that the episodes are no longer written from separate perspectives.


What I didn't like. The story in this first episode was written fairly well and was a bit funny, intentionally so. The were two little problems for me - and maybe you wouldn't even notice them if you were reading this. I found that the characters reactions to the zombies were a little bit far fetched. I realize these characters were writers of vampire fiction and maybe that was supposed to be why they didn't react as I would have expected, but it did bug me a little bit.

Also, the writing style was annoying for me in a few places. Again, it probably wouldn't bug the average reader. It just bugged me.

Overall though, I did get a kick out of this little book and the concept is really pretty cool. I'd give it a solid three and half stars.

What do you think? Is episodic fiction published as novellettes (they are calling it a novella, but I'm not sure it really qualifies as one) the next new phase in Indie fiction?

Book Blurb:
Jennifer Wright Malone***Mature audience ONLY. This series includes graphic language and violence.***

****This book is NOT intended for a young adult audience****

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

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

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

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

***Once Upon A Zombie Apocalypse or (OUAZA) as the fans call it, is a short story episodic saga written by K.B. Miller and Jennifer Malone Wright. The first episode is from both Jade and Kylee's perspective and is two separate novella's. The same story, but from two different characters. It is done this way with the first episode only, so that you can meet our girls and really get to know and love them like we do.Each following episode is written solely by one of the authors and available through their links.

Novella 1. KB. Miller and Jennifer Malone Wright
Novella 2. Jennifer Malone Wright
Novella 3. K.B. Miller
Novella 4. Jennifer Malone Wright
Novella 5. K.B Miller
and so on...

About the author:Jennifer Malone Wright is best known for her short story series, The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter. Other works include the follow up to The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter series called The Arcadia Falls Chronicles and her vampire novel called The Birth of Jaiden. Jennifer also co-authors a series called Once Upon A Zombie Apocalypse as well as another project which hasn’t been announced yet.

She resides in the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho with her husband and five children where she practices preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Just kidding!

But seriously, between the craziness of taking care of her children, Jennifer has little time left for herself. The time she does have left, usually leading far into the night, is spent working on her beloved fiction or chatting with her equally crazy friends.

Jennifer also loves coffee, has a passionate affair with red bull, wishes the sushi were better where she lives and dances while she cleans.