Cathrina Constantine's Blog, page 43
June 12, 2015
#CelebrateTheSmallThings
Hop over to Lexa Cain to join in this fun weekly Celebration. Lexa's co-hosts areL.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The EdgeKatie @ TheCyborgMom
I'm walking again, at least one to two miles a day. I know it's not much, but it's a start.
Summer is short here in Buffalo and I decided to cut back on posting. Except my blog is open to help promote authors and you'll be reading about some awesome new books and writers.
Today is my daughter's birthday. Her name is Jordan and she amazes me. She can build just about anything. She's a woodworker and makes cabinetry, tables, credenzas, and more...Here's her Instagram website:
https://instagram.com/chasewoodworks/
MY BABY!
We'll be celebrating this Sunday!
What are you celebrating this week?
June 5, 2015
#CELEBRATETHESMALLTHINGS
Hop over to Lexa Cain to join in this fun weekly Celebration. Lexa's co-hosts areL.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The EdgeKatie @ TheCyborgMom
Hello June!! Time is flying and the weather in Buffalo is fickle. I hope summer will last the season and not surprise us with any more frosty mornings.
I've been busy getting my short stories edited for three Anthologies coming out soon. On June 13th, LOVE SUCKS ANTHOLOGY will be released from Crushing Hearts & Black Butterfly.
What do you think of my poster?My old dog had a rough week, but today he seems somewhat spry. It's so sad to see them in pain, but now with the new meds I hope he can have some quality of life. He LOVES swimming in the pool, and the old man hasn't made it in yet this year. He'll be 14 years old in July.
I plan on working in my gardens and hopefully enjoying a nice weekend. And taking walks with the dogs and my husband...
What are you celebrating? I love reading your comments.
June 3, 2015
Prah, Constantine & Baryeh Reviews: Choices of the Heart
This month the review team read CHOICES OF THE HEART by Kelsey MacBride.
Lauren Bradley wants to find true love and goes about experimenting with online dating and attending church singles groups to find the perfect Godly man. But her efforts are met with disaster and her frustration grows as she becomes impatient waiting for God to bring the right man into her life. She decides to become an entrepreneur and purchase Emilia’s, an Italian restaurant. But her goals of buying the restaurant are thwarted by Andrew, a handsome man who also wants the restaurant for himself. Lauren is attracted to Andrew, but becomes involved with her boss, knowing he may not be the man God intended for her.Andrew has had a passion for cooking since childhood, spending lots of time in the kitchen with his mother. Now he wants to switch from being a teacher, to fulfilling his lifelong dream of owning a restaurant. But there’s one problem, he’s attracted to Lauren and has to fight her for Emilia’s. Will he fulfill his lifelong dream at the expense of driving Lauren away? Or will he sacrifice his dream and compete with her boss for the chance at true love?
Cathrina's Review:
I'm a Christian and proud of it! And I've read plenty of Non-
Fiction Christian books, but I believe this is my first Fiction
Christian Romance.
I read some of the reviews for Choices of the Heart
and chuckled. Especially one that said the main character,
Lauren was manipulative and deceptive. Never did this sweet
romance say anything about the main character being a nun
or holier than though. Wait I regress, even nun's have been
known to be manipulative and deceptive. Like most women,
Lauren was trying to figure out life and her hearts desire.
With that said, I'd like to say Choices of the Heart is a sweet
read and if you read the blurb like I always ask people to do,
then you know the premise of the story.
While in this day and age it sounds strange to read this:
Andrew to Lauren:
"I feel you're the one God designed for me." or "I knew deep
down you were the soul mate God had given to me."
Sweet, right?
But again, it clearly states Choices of the Heart is a Christian
Romance and I believe that to be perfectly true.
And just like any normal person, the two main characters felt
passion and desire which makes the book more real.
Now head over to read Nana Prah and Empi Baryeh's reviews.
June 2, 2015
#IWSG INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP
#IWSG
Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for this wonderful blog hop that helps to support writer's. The awesome co-hosts are M. Pax, Tracy Jo,Patricia Lynne, Rachna Chhabria, Feather Stone, and Randi Lee!
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.
After four books why do I feel like an inadequate writer?
Last weekend was the first time(YES, the first time) I read one of my books AFTER it was published because readers were finding an inordinate amount of typos. And guess what, they were right. Even after having three edits, how did these get by? Needless to say, my publisher has fixed them. 
While I was reading, I thought, the story is good. But there were parts that I cringed a little and wanted to fix a sentence or two or three. It's NEVER perfect...
How are you coping this month? Do you somewhat cringe when reading your stories? Do you read your books after they're published?
June 1, 2015
Publishing Journey...
Much has been said about Indie, small press, self-published, and traditional published authors. And I'd like to contribute my take and my publishing journey, which some of you might already know. Boring right? Well here goes.
After years of revising and editing I'd completed writing a book. (really?) I thought it was ready. I sent queries and actually received a partial request from a big name agent from Writer's House. Needless to say, it was a pass, though, my query was good, but my book still needed work.
I'm going to make a long, long story short. I was ready to throw in the towel and then someone suggested I try a small press. And TA-DA!! I received 3 offers.
Now I was still seeking an agent with another ms, and after many rejections I was ready to hand it over to my publisher at the small press when an offer came from an agent!!
YES!! I have or had an agent.
After much revising and re-editing, my book went on submission. Then the waiting game begins all over again. There were full requests, although, after a year, my agent couldn't sell the book. And there it goes...
After my agent declined my next ms, which I won't go into the nitty -gritty details, that book is now ranking on Amazon. I haven't sent anything else to her.
Now I have 4 published books. 3 with a small press, and, it will be 2 with an indie press. I've actually considered self-pubbing, but still wavering on that project.
I believe in this day and age writer's are very lucky to have such fantastic means of getting books published. You don't have to have an agent to jump start your writing career. If you're stuck in the query trenches for years of rejections, try a popular indie, or small press. Also I suggest an editorial service and critique partners to fine-tune your writing before sending your book into the world.
I'm learning and honing my craft each and every day. I still feel like a newbie, and cringe when I thumb through my books and find mistakes. I'm far from perfect, but trying to write stories that will take readers on a wonderful adventure...
Are you curious about the one book I had with the agent? Well, that book is close to my heart and I've yet to publish it. After considerable rewrites I'm thinking of taking it on the road again...
After years of revising and editing I'd completed writing a book. (really?) I thought it was ready. I sent queries and actually received a partial request from a big name agent from Writer's House. Needless to say, it was a pass, though, my query was good, but my book still needed work.
I'm going to make a long, long story short. I was ready to throw in the towel and then someone suggested I try a small press. And TA-DA!! I received 3 offers.
Now I was still seeking an agent with another ms, and after many rejections I was ready to hand it over to my publisher at the small press when an offer came from an agent!!
YES!! I have or had an agent.
After much revising and re-editing, my book went on submission. Then the waiting game begins all over again. There were full requests, although, after a year, my agent couldn't sell the book. And there it goes...
After my agent declined my next ms, which I won't go into the nitty -gritty details, that book is now ranking on Amazon. I haven't sent anything else to her.Now I have 4 published books. 3 with a small press, and, it will be 2 with an indie press. I've actually considered self-pubbing, but still wavering on that project.
I believe in this day and age writer's are very lucky to have such fantastic means of getting books published. You don't have to have an agent to jump start your writing career. If you're stuck in the query trenches for years of rejections, try a popular indie, or small press. Also I suggest an editorial service and critique partners to fine-tune your writing before sending your book into the world.
I'm learning and honing my craft each and every day. I still feel like a newbie, and cringe when I thumb through my books and find mistakes. I'm far from perfect, but trying to write stories that will take readers on a wonderful adventure...
Are you curious about the one book I had with the agent? Well, that book is close to my heart and I've yet to publish it. After considerable rewrites I'm thinking of taking it on the road again...
May 28, 2015
#THEWVOICEPITCH & #celebratethesmallthings & #doyouhavegoals
#THEWVOICEPITCH
Title: INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS
Query:
Instead of hanging with her longtime, usually called nerdy friends, sixteen-year-old Mary chose popularity, a choice she'd live to regret. Reveling in her newfound status, she attends her first rock ‘n roll party with the new boy, Michael Covington. It comes to a halt when she's blindsided in a dark bedroom, passes out, and wakes up in Michael’s car, bruised and beaten. The next day when the gym teacher detects bruises on Mary’s thighs and arms, the teacher is on the proverbial warpath to find the boy who did this to her. All Mary wants to do is forget the attempted rape ever happened, because kids can be cruel and her reputation is at stake.
After engineering an excuse for her black and blue marks, a traumatized Mary is summoned to the Principal’s Office. It appears the gym teacher had been investigating Michael’s past scholastic and police records, and all accusations of rape are leading to the boy she’s falling for, Michael. But even Mary doesn’t know who attacked her, though, she learns there’s much more to Michael than she ever imagined.
Bio: Wickedly They Come, Wickedly They Dream, and Tallas were published by Black Opal Books, and Don’t Forget to Breathe was published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly.
I hope you will be interested in this coming of age tale set during the height of the Vietnam War. Protests, drugs and a music revolution spurs a young generation to live riotously, “Cuz we’re all gonna die,” is proclaimed in my 70,000 word Young Adult novel, INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS.
Chapter 1: 250 words: September 1969The corners of my bedroom dulled to a muddy gray when my brother spooked me. He leaned, or rather, wobbled on my bedroom door. Glassy eyes floated in their sockets—high, again. “Whatcha doing, Sis?” Stevie’s words slurred as he wobbled.My gaze slipped over his pasty chest sprinkled with wiry hair, past his jockeys to stick-like legs. Did he realize he was only wearing saggy underwear? Normally I’d say gross and mock him out, yet normally he treated me like a speck of toe scum.“Nothing much.” Curious, I furtively tucked my diary into my sock drawer. Our parents weren’t home and our little sister was asleep in her crib on the side of my room.“You need to grow up,” my older brother slurred again, “here, it’s party time.” Extending an arm and blossoming his fingers one at a time, like, he’d procured the magic solution. An ordinary aspirin was revealed.“Uh-h...I don’t have a headache.”“Hey, turd. It’s not an aspirin. Stop the nerd act and get with the program. Grow up.”Our sibling behavior toppled into the belittling and ridiculing stage. Though I figured it was his uncanny gift of helping me? And yet, staring at the pill I was interested. Then a hootenanny of cymbals clashed as my sensible side screamed, You’ll Puke!—I hate puking—Wasn’t it only last week Stevie was tripping, heaving guts like a water hose.
An iffy shake of my head, rejecting his kind and strange offer, I tried simple logic to get rid of him. “Not tonight. Mom and Dad will be home any minute."
Thank you to the hosts of Writer's Voice Pitch Contest,
Brenda Drake, Krista Van Dolzer, Elizabeth Briggs, and
Monica Bustamante Wagner. Best of luck to All!!
Hop over to Lexa Cain's and add your name to the list for
this fun weekly post! Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and
Katie @ TheCyborgMom
I'm celebrating great weather! It's been feeling more like
summer everyday, and my perennial gardens are
flourishing. No flowers, plenty of greens, but the peonies
are getting ready to burst open.
I can't write a query with a great hook if my life depended
on it. I definitely need help in that department. I'm
supposed to keep The Pitch up until June 1st, though,
after reading some very powerful and awesome queries
and 250 words, they blow me out of the water.
There's many incredible writer's out there!!
Also I didn't link my blog to the first Pitch which is below
so now I lost all the comments. Oh Well...
Do you have dreams and goals? Hop on over to Misha
Gericke's, The Five Year Project, and join in this monthly
hop.
I have so much on my plate right now that all my so-
called goals for this month went south.
But I did accomplish a big goal. On September 19th my
second book for the year, SNOW ON CINDERS will be
released.
Title: INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS
Query:
Instead of hanging with her longtime, usually called nerdy friends, sixteen-year-old Mary chose popularity, a choice she'd live to regret. Reveling in her newfound status, she attends her first rock ‘n roll party with the new boy, Michael Covington. It comes to a halt when she's blindsided in a dark bedroom, passes out, and wakes up in Michael’s car, bruised and beaten. The next day when the gym teacher detects bruises on Mary’s thighs and arms, the teacher is on the proverbial warpath to find the boy who did this to her. All Mary wants to do is forget the attempted rape ever happened, because kids can be cruel and her reputation is at stake.
After engineering an excuse for her black and blue marks, a traumatized Mary is summoned to the Principal’s Office. It appears the gym teacher had been investigating Michael’s past scholastic and police records, and all accusations of rape are leading to the boy she’s falling for, Michael. But even Mary doesn’t know who attacked her, though, she learns there’s much more to Michael than she ever imagined.
Bio: Wickedly They Come, Wickedly They Dream, and Tallas were published by Black Opal Books, and Don’t Forget to Breathe was published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly.
I hope you will be interested in this coming of age tale set during the height of the Vietnam War. Protests, drugs and a music revolution spurs a young generation to live riotously, “Cuz we’re all gonna die,” is proclaimed in my 70,000 word Young Adult novel, INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS.
Chapter 1: 250 words: September 1969The corners of my bedroom dulled to a muddy gray when my brother spooked me. He leaned, or rather, wobbled on my bedroom door. Glassy eyes floated in their sockets—high, again. “Whatcha doing, Sis?” Stevie’s words slurred as he wobbled.My gaze slipped over his pasty chest sprinkled with wiry hair, past his jockeys to stick-like legs. Did he realize he was only wearing saggy underwear? Normally I’d say gross and mock him out, yet normally he treated me like a speck of toe scum.“Nothing much.” Curious, I furtively tucked my diary into my sock drawer. Our parents weren’t home and our little sister was asleep in her crib on the side of my room.“You need to grow up,” my older brother slurred again, “here, it’s party time.” Extending an arm and blossoming his fingers one at a time, like, he’d procured the magic solution. An ordinary aspirin was revealed.“Uh-h...I don’t have a headache.”“Hey, turd. It’s not an aspirin. Stop the nerd act and get with the program. Grow up.”Our sibling behavior toppled into the belittling and ridiculing stage. Though I figured it was his uncanny gift of helping me? And yet, staring at the pill I was interested. Then a hootenanny of cymbals clashed as my sensible side screamed, You’ll Puke!—I hate puking—Wasn’t it only last week Stevie was tripping, heaving guts like a water hose.
An iffy shake of my head, rejecting his kind and strange offer, I tried simple logic to get rid of him. “Not tonight. Mom and Dad will be home any minute."
Thank you to the hosts of Writer's Voice Pitch Contest,
Brenda Drake, Krista Van Dolzer, Elizabeth Briggs, and
Monica Bustamante Wagner. Best of luck to All!!
Hop over to Lexa Cain's and add your name to the list for this fun weekly post! Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and
Katie @ TheCyborgMom
I'm celebrating great weather! It's been feeling more like
summer everyday, and my perennial gardens are
flourishing. No flowers, plenty of greens, but the peonies
are getting ready to burst open.
I can't write a query with a great hook if my life depended
on it. I definitely need help in that department. I'm
supposed to keep The Pitch up until June 1st, though,
after reading some very powerful and awesome queries
and 250 words, they blow me out of the water.
There's many incredible writer's out there!!
Also I didn't link my blog to the first Pitch which is below
so now I lost all the comments. Oh Well...
Do you have dreams and goals? Hop on over to Misha
Gericke's, The Five Year Project, and join in this monthly
hop.
I have so much on my plate right now that all my so-
called goals for this month went south.
But I did accomplish a big goal. On September 19th my
second book for the year, SNOW ON CINDERS will be
released.
May 25, 2015
New Release: Descendant by L.J. Amodeo & The Writer's Voice Pitch in Below
[image error]
A forbidden love, a sacred bloodline, and a powerful gift, plagues the last remaining descendant with an unspeakable burden and an unforgivable fate. Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Anne Morgan is no stranger to the paranormal world. Haunted by voices and visions for most of her young life, she begins to question her sanity as a teen, setting her apart as an outcast in school.
In quatrains and sacred manuscripts, a Chosen One is prophesied, yet Elizabeth does not know she is the descendant of the holiest woman who ever walked the earth. The whispers and cries, meant her mind only, are those of lost souls pleading to be liberated by the true holder of the key.
In her senior year of high school, Elizabeth meets two strangers, both who know her secret and who turn her world upside down. Meanwhile, her only friend Freddie, loyal, devoted and secretly in love with her, stands quietly in the shadows of her life as she begins to unfold the mystery of who she is destined to become.
BuyLink:http://www.amazon.com/Descendant-L-J-Amodeo-ebook/dp/B00YAW6L02/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1432679834&sr=8-1&keywords=descendant+L.J.+Amodeo
Title: Descendant
Series: Book One
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Release Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Publishing House: Crushing Hearts and Black Butteryfly
Book Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7oyHS9wtM EXCERPT: Another morning, another night with the same dream; my father applauding my performance of Beethoven’s Silence. He sat beside me on the bench of the baby grand, clapping exuberantly and cheering, “Bravissima!” I could almost feel his lips brushing over my hair as I sat there staring out my window. I missed him. Not a day went by that I didn’t feel his absence, in my heart, and in our home. Feeling sluggish from a restless night’s sleep, I thought about my father, reliving the last time I saw him. Remembering him as the kind, loving father who had nurtured me as a child, got harder every day. My memories now, were of a man who shouted obscenities instead of praises. A man who had lost his mind. Terrifying me, until I felt broken. The man who walked out on us almost eight years ago, no longer resembled the one I called Dad. He became a stranger, yet he still haunted my dreams. The ghost who lingered in my mind and soul. A burden I wondered if I could handle much longer.About the Author
LJ Amodeo was born and raised in New York. A wife and busy mother of three, she juggles many jobs as a devoted NYC middle school foreign language teacher, owner/founder of BizzyMom Productions, and author of the Descendant Series. LJ, always had a flare for writing and attended St. John’s University with hopes of someday becoming a journalist. However, her passion of working with adolescents, inspired her to become a public school teacher. She always knew that working with kids would be her greatest reward and joy.
LJ first started her writing career on a whim of imagination, subliminal messages in 2009. She is enthusiastic about her first novel DESCENDANT scheduled to come out in the spring of 2015. Long hours and many sleepless nights, her thoughts are transcribed into this high paced, dark young adult/crossover paranormal romance. This epic novel is the first book in a series. Book two, THE CONCEPTION will be released late summer, 2015.
Web page: ljamodeo.comAuthor Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ljamodeo.1Instagram Page: @lj_amodeo
Twitter: @ljamodeo
A forbidden love, a sacred bloodline, and a powerful gift, plagues the last remaining descendant with an unspeakable burden and an unforgivable fate. Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Anne Morgan is no stranger to the paranormal world. Haunted by voices and visions for most of her young life, she begins to question her sanity as a teen, setting her apart as an outcast in school. In quatrains and sacred manuscripts, a Chosen One is prophesied, yet Elizabeth does not know she is the descendant of the holiest woman who ever walked the earth. The whispers and cries, meant her mind only, are those of lost souls pleading to be liberated by the true holder of the key.
In her senior year of high school, Elizabeth meets two strangers, both who know her secret and who turn her world upside down. Meanwhile, her only friend Freddie, loyal, devoted and secretly in love with her, stands quietly in the shadows of her life as she begins to unfold the mystery of who she is destined to become.
BuyLink:http://www.amazon.com/Descendant-L-J-Amodeo-ebook/dp/B00YAW6L02/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1432679834&sr=8-1&keywords=descendant+L.J.+Amodeo
Title: Descendant
Series: Book One
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Release Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Publishing House: Crushing Hearts and Black Butteryfly
Book Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7oyHS9wtM EXCERPT: Another morning, another night with the same dream; my father applauding my performance of Beethoven’s Silence. He sat beside me on the bench of the baby grand, clapping exuberantly and cheering, “Bravissima!” I could almost feel his lips brushing over my hair as I sat there staring out my window. I missed him. Not a day went by that I didn’t feel his absence, in my heart, and in our home. Feeling sluggish from a restless night’s sleep, I thought about my father, reliving the last time I saw him. Remembering him as the kind, loving father who had nurtured me as a child, got harder every day. My memories now, were of a man who shouted obscenities instead of praises. A man who had lost his mind. Terrifying me, until I felt broken. The man who walked out on us almost eight years ago, no longer resembled the one I called Dad. He became a stranger, yet he still haunted my dreams. The ghost who lingered in my mind and soul. A burden I wondered if I could handle much longer.About the Author
LJ Amodeo was born and raised in New York. A wife and busy mother of three, she juggles many jobs as a devoted NYC middle school foreign language teacher, owner/founder of BizzyMom Productions, and author of the Descendant Series. LJ, always had a flare for writing and attended St. John’s University with hopes of someday becoming a journalist. However, her passion of working with adolescents, inspired her to become a public school teacher. She always knew that working with kids would be her greatest reward and joy.LJ first started her writing career on a whim of imagination, subliminal messages in 2009. She is enthusiastic about her first novel DESCENDANT scheduled to come out in the spring of 2015. Long hours and many sleepless nights, her thoughts are transcribed into this high paced, dark young adult/crossover paranormal romance. This epic novel is the first book in a series. Book two, THE CONCEPTION will be released late summer, 2015.
Web page: ljamodeo.comAuthor Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ljamodeo.1Instagram Page: @lj_amodeo
Twitter: @ljamodeo
New Release: Descendant by L.J. Amodeo
[image error]
A forbidden love, a sacred bloodline, and a powerful gift, plagues the last remaining descendant with an unspeakable burden and an unforgivable fate. Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Anne Morgan is no stranger to the paranormal world. Haunted by voices and visions for most of her young life, she begins to question her sanity as a teen, setting her apart as an outcast in school.
In quatrains and sacred manuscripts, a Chosen One is prophesied, yet Elizabeth does not know she is the descendant of the holiest woman who ever walked the earth. The whispers and cries, meant her mind only, are those of lost souls pleading to be liberated by the true holder of the key.
In her senior year of high school, Elizabeth meets two strangers, both who know her secret and who turn her world upside down. Meanwhile, her only friend Freddie, loyal, devoted and secretly in love with her, stands quietly in the shadows of her life as she begins to unfold the mystery of who she is destined to become.
Buy Link:Title: DescendantSeries: Book OneGenre: YA Paranormal RomanceRelease Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015Online Release event: (don’t have one set up)Publishing House: Crushing Hearts and Black ButteryflyBook Trailer: https://youtu.be/JIaDhpnGocA
EXCERPT: Another morning, another night with the same dream; my father applauding my performance of Beethoven’s Silence. He sat beside me on the bench of the baby grand, clapping exuberantly and cheering, “Bravissima!” I could almost feel his lips brushing over my hair as I sat there staring out my window. I missed him. Not a day went by that I didn’t feel his absence, in my heart, and in our home. Feeling sluggish from a restless night’s sleep, I thought about my father, reliving the last time I saw him. Remembering him as the kind, loving father who had nurtured me as a child, got harder every day. My memories now, were of a man who shouted obscenities instead of praises. A man who had lost his mind. Terrifying me, until I felt broken. The man who walked out on us almost eight years ago, no longer resembled the one I called Dad. He became a stranger, yet he still haunted my dreams. The ghost who lingered in my mind and soul. A burden I wondered if I could handle much longer.About the Author
LJ Amodeo was born and raised in New York. A wife and busy mother of three, she juggles many jobs as a devoted NYC middle school foreign language teacher, owner/founder of BizzyMom Productions, and author of the Descendant Series. LJ, always had a flare for writing and attended St. John’s University with hopes of someday becoming a journalist. However, her passion of working with adolescents, inspired her to become a public school teacher. She always knew that working with kids would be her greatest reward and joy.
LJ first started her writing career on a whim of imagination, subliminal messages in 2009. She is enthusiastic about her first novel DESCENDANT scheduled to come out in the spring of 2015. Long hours and many sleepless nights, her thoughts are transcribed into this high paced, dark young adult/crossover paranormal romance. This epic novel is the first book in a series. Book two, THE CONCEPTION will be released late summer, 2015.
Web page: ljamodeo.comAuthor Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ljamodeo.1Instagram Page: @lj_amodeo
Twitter: @ljamodeo
A forbidden love, a sacred bloodline, and a powerful gift, plagues the last remaining descendant with an unspeakable burden and an unforgivable fate. Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Anne Morgan is no stranger to the paranormal world. Haunted by voices and visions for most of her young life, she begins to question her sanity as a teen, setting her apart as an outcast in school. In quatrains and sacred manuscripts, a Chosen One is prophesied, yet Elizabeth does not know she is the descendant of the holiest woman who ever walked the earth. The whispers and cries, meant her mind only, are those of lost souls pleading to be liberated by the true holder of the key.
In her senior year of high school, Elizabeth meets two strangers, both who know her secret and who turn her world upside down. Meanwhile, her only friend Freddie, loyal, devoted and secretly in love with her, stands quietly in the shadows of her life as she begins to unfold the mystery of who she is destined to become.
Buy Link:Title: DescendantSeries: Book OneGenre: YA Paranormal RomanceRelease Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015Online Release event: (don’t have one set up)Publishing House: Crushing Hearts and Black ButteryflyBook Trailer: https://youtu.be/JIaDhpnGocA
EXCERPT: Another morning, another night with the same dream; my father applauding my performance of Beethoven’s Silence. He sat beside me on the bench of the baby grand, clapping exuberantly and cheering, “Bravissima!” I could almost feel his lips brushing over my hair as I sat there staring out my window. I missed him. Not a day went by that I didn’t feel his absence, in my heart, and in our home. Feeling sluggish from a restless night’s sleep, I thought about my father, reliving the last time I saw him. Remembering him as the kind, loving father who had nurtured me as a child, got harder every day. My memories now, were of a man who shouted obscenities instead of praises. A man who had lost his mind. Terrifying me, until I felt broken. The man who walked out on us almost eight years ago, no longer resembled the one I called Dad. He became a stranger, yet he still haunted my dreams. The ghost who lingered in my mind and soul. A burden I wondered if I could handle much longer.About the Author
LJ Amodeo was born and raised in New York. A wife and busy mother of three, she juggles many jobs as a devoted NYC middle school foreign language teacher, owner/founder of BizzyMom Productions, and author of the Descendant Series. LJ, always had a flare for writing and attended St. John’s University with hopes of someday becoming a journalist. However, her passion of working with adolescents, inspired her to become a public school teacher. She always knew that working with kids would be her greatest reward and joy.LJ first started her writing career on a whim of imagination, subliminal messages in 2009. She is enthusiastic about her first novel DESCENDANT scheduled to come out in the spring of 2015. Long hours and many sleepless nights, her thoughts are transcribed into this high paced, dark young adult/crossover paranormal romance. This epic novel is the first book in a series. Book two, THE CONCEPTION will be released late summer, 2015.
Web page: ljamodeo.comAuthor Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ljamodeo.1Instagram Page: @lj_amodeo
Twitter: @ljamodeo
May 21, 2015
#THEWVOICEPITCH & #celebratethesmallthings
What a nice surprise to read my email this morning. This post is for The Writer's Voice Contest 2015. Good Luck to everyone participating!!!
#THEWVOICEPITCH
Title: INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS
Query:
Amid a music and drug revolution, the Vietnam War spurs a young generation to live riotously, “Cuz we’re all gonna die,” is proclaimed in my Young Adult novel, INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS. This project is complete at 70,000 words.
Sixteen-year-old Mary chose popularity, a choice she’d live to regret. Accepting her newfound status she attends her first rock ‘n roll party with the new boy, Michael Covington. It comes to a halt when she's blindsided in a dark bedroom. Passing out she wakes in Michael's car. Bruised and beaten she’s a mess. When the gym teacher detects bruises on Mary’s thighs and arms, the nightmare escalates. And worse, all accusations lead to the boy she’s falling for, Michael.
After his dad is killed in Nam, Michael's life is unraveling and succumbs to adolescent anarchy. He's sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle, though, takes a disobedient detour to the happening spot, Woodstock. Michael is attracted to Mary and realizes she’s on a wayward journey. A girlfriend is not on his agenda and neither is being drafted. His goal is to graduate with a football scholarship and leave everyone behind.
Chapter 1: 250 words: The corners of my bedroom dulled to a muddy gray and the nightlight shed a subtle glow over the pages of my diary. I propped the heels of my bare feet on the bed frame and hunched over to write:September 28, 1969Six more days and I’ll turn 16!I wiggled happy toes and smiled: Candy promised me a make-up lesson. She said, “I’ll zap those ugly freckles.” I never thought my freckles were ugly until now. Today I got caught passing a note to— My brother spooked me as he leaned on my bedroom door. Glassy eyes floated in their sockets—high, again. “Whatcha doing, Sis?” Stevie’s words slurred as he wobbled.My gaze slipped over his pasty chest sprinkled with wiry hair, past his jockeys to stick-like legs. Did he realize he was only wearing saggy underwear? Normally I’d say gross and mock him out, yet normally he treated me like a speck of toe scum.“Nothing much.” Curious, I furtively tucked my diary into my sock drawer. Our parents weren’t home and our little sister was asleep in her crib on the side of my room.“You need to grow up,” my older brother slurred again, “here, it’s party time.” Extending an arm and blossoming his fingers one at a time, like, he’d procured the magic solution. An ordinary aspirin was revealed.“Uh-h...I don’t have a headache.” “Hey, turd. It’s not an aspirin. Stop the nerd act and get with the program. Grow up.”
Thank you to the hosts of Writer's Voice Pitch Contest, Brenda Drake, Krista Van Dolzer, Elizabeth Briggs, and Monica Bustamante Wagner. Best of luck to All!!
Hop over to Lexa Cain's and add your name to the list for this fun weekly post! Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and
Katie @ TheCyborgMom
As you can see above, I made it into The Writer's Voice Pitch. I had to post my query and the first 250 words from my ms. I again feel like such a newbie and have terrible anxiety about posting my baby for all to read.
Other than that I wish I had more celebrations to report. My family has had a rough week. I don't like to post personal problems, but if you have a spare prayer on the tip of your tongue please send it to my family.
Thank you and God Bless!!
May 17, 2015
FABLED by Vanessa K. Eccles and BLOOD, BOOBS & CARNAGE
Ever dreamed of a life that reads more like a book? Rowena did until she stumbled into a fairy tale that wasn't so friendly.
Fabled by Vanessa K. EcclesPublisher: Bound and Brewed Young adult fantasy/fairy tale
Rowena thinks the Grimm’s infamous podcasts are simply another teen fad until she finds herself trapped in a land of nightmarish storybook characters. She tries desperately to flee Mezzanine and return home, but Dresdem, Mezzanine’s wicked monarch, plans to use Rowena’s access to her world to bring dark magic and absolute rule into Georgia and beyond.
But when Rowena’s dear friend Madeline falls into Dresdem’s
grasp, her battle with him becomes war, and all hopes of home are temporarily thwarted. With the help of an invisible hero, a beast, and an owl, she sets out to free Madeline from a deadening sleep. But Rowena must become her own hero when she finds herself bound by the kingdom’s darkest family. She must make the
ultimate choice – align herself with her enemies or live on the run forever.
Excerpt:
“Heads or tails?” Lil asked as she opened the door and stood in front of me.“Tales.”“When are you going to learn that heads always wins?” She snickered and rolled her eyes in amazement of my apparent naivety.“Not always. Besides, tales are more interesting.”Not understanding my word play, she shrugged and searched her pockets for a coin.I leaned into the porch swing, coffee and book in hand, and watched as autumn's first leaves sunsetted
the deadening grass. I rested the mug on my knee and let the cool breeze sway me back and forth while I waited.
Trying to ignore my little sister's attempts to aggravate me, I looked down at the fantastical book in my hands and realized how beloved, yet unrealistic it seemed. Most of us lead relatively dull lives and are content but never satisfied. The “happily ever afters” they crammed in our minds as children were merely lies, but I couldn’t help but dream of an adventure like the one I was holding. I wanted my life to be epic. Who was I kidding? Only characters in our favorite stories experienced magical lives. Mine had already been planned out for me − go to college, land a mediocre job, get married, and have 1.8 perfectly groomed, smiling children. That was it. The end.
Links: Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads
(See author's website for all available outlets.)
Meet the Author: Vanessa K. Eccles graduated Troy University with a degree in
English. She currently serves as executive editor of Belle Rêve Literary Journal and is founder of the book blog YA-NASisterhood. When she’s not writing or devouring books, she enjoys the lake life
with her Prince Charming and their four dogs.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What better Books, turned into a Television Series that exemplifies Blood, Boobs, and Carnage than:
BLOOD
CARNAGE
BOOBS
The GAME OF THRONES Trailer for Season 5:
Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/ and Heather Gardner http://hmgardner.blogspot.com/For the Fun Hop!
Linky List html:
Fabled by Vanessa K. EcclesPublisher: Bound and Brewed Young adult fantasy/fairy taleRowena thinks the Grimm’s infamous podcasts are simply another teen fad until she finds herself trapped in a land of nightmarish storybook characters. She tries desperately to flee Mezzanine and return home, but Dresdem, Mezzanine’s wicked monarch, plans to use Rowena’s access to her world to bring dark magic and absolute rule into Georgia and beyond.
But when Rowena’s dear friend Madeline falls into Dresdem’s
grasp, her battle with him becomes war, and all hopes of home are temporarily thwarted. With the help of an invisible hero, a beast, and an owl, she sets out to free Madeline from a deadening sleep. But Rowena must become her own hero when she finds herself bound by the kingdom’s darkest family. She must make the
ultimate choice – align herself with her enemies or live on the run forever.
Excerpt:
“Heads or tails?” Lil asked as she opened the door and stood in front of me.“Tales.”“When are you going to learn that heads always wins?” She snickered and rolled her eyes in amazement of my apparent naivety.“Not always. Besides, tales are more interesting.”Not understanding my word play, she shrugged and searched her pockets for a coin.I leaned into the porch swing, coffee and book in hand, and watched as autumn's first leaves sunsetted
the deadening grass. I rested the mug on my knee and let the cool breeze sway me back and forth while I waited.
Trying to ignore my little sister's attempts to aggravate me, I looked down at the fantastical book in my hands and realized how beloved, yet unrealistic it seemed. Most of us lead relatively dull lives and are content but never satisfied. The “happily ever afters” they crammed in our minds as children were merely lies, but I couldn’t help but dream of an adventure like the one I was holding. I wanted my life to be epic. Who was I kidding? Only characters in our favorite stories experienced magical lives. Mine had already been planned out for me − go to college, land a mediocre job, get married, and have 1.8 perfectly groomed, smiling children. That was it. The end.
Links: Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads
(See author's website for all available outlets.)
Meet the Author: Vanessa K. Eccles graduated Troy University with a degree inEnglish. She currently serves as executive editor of Belle Rêve Literary Journal and is founder of the book blog YA-NASisterhood. When she’s not writing or devouring books, she enjoys the lake life
with her Prince Charming and their four dogs.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What better Books, turned into a Television Series that exemplifies Blood, Boobs, and Carnage than:
BLOOD
CARNAGE
BOOBS
The GAME OF THRONES Trailer for Season 5:
Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/ and Heather Gardner http://hmgardner.blogspot.com/For the Fun Hop!
Linky List html:
