Cathrina Constantine's Blog, page 64

INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

Thank you to Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting this great support group. Alex's awesome co-hosts are Tina Downey, Elsie, Elizabeth Seckman,and Julie Flanders! 



This month I've been revising and editing the ms that my agent declined on. I've come to the end and still feel more work needs to be done. Okay, do all writers do this---keep going back through you ms and rewording, changing little things.  One day I actually read and reread the same sentence and paragraph over and over. I didn't like it. I couldn't get it to mesh. Well that took a half hour. Then the ending. OMGoodness. I must've reworked that a zillion times. I needed to get it right, to make sense. It's a contemporary ya, murder mystery with elements of young love.  Now it's being critiqued. And then off to my agent.
My neurosis is just recently soaking into my brain. And it comes in the form of a writers block. I've been editing sooo much lately between getting Tallas ready for print, and this new wip, that I can't think of a new tale. Nodda! I've started three new stories and stopped. There's nothing there. 
And then book sales...ARGH! Not much happening there either.
How Has Your Writer's Month Been?

Prah & Constantine Review: STUBBORN

Welcome to the March Review of Prah & Constantine. This month Nana let me choose Stubborn by Jeanne Arnold.

I must confess that I love this genre and Jeanne definitely knows how to write young adult novels. I read this engrossing book in a matter of days. Stubborn is a fast and fascinating tale that had me smiling from ear to ear. The teenage voice is right on and I loved the main character. Like a typical teen, Avery's obstacles are overwhelming. She feels abandoned and misunderstood. As a punishment, her parents cart her off for the summer to live with her aunt in North Dakota. Please read the blurb to learn more.
I was totally wrapped up in Avery's tale, especially when the gorgeous Halden boys came into the mix. The description of these Texas boys left me breathless. And Stubborn will leave you wanting more as you read the subtle play of physical emotions and life learning experiences. I am so looking forward to Jeanne's second book in this series, Just as Stubborn. 

Now go to Nana Prah's blog to read her review. 
Stubborn Blurb: With a train ticket, a bad attitude, and an unfortunate scribbling of obscenities across her forehead, seventeen-year-old Avery Ross is tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire when she’s sent from New York to the vast oil field region of North Dakota.  When a green-eyed boy with a sultry Texan accent comes to her defense, Avery has no clue that his actions will lead her into a passion-charged summer, full of temptation and loss.Defiant and relegated to work at her aunt’s boarding house, Avery discovers a connection between her aunt and the striking boy. He and his brothers are seeking revenge for the wrongful death of their sibling, and Avery becomes entangled in their battle over oil rights, loyalty, and love.  Avery falls for the brooding, younger brother, Gabriel Halden, against her aunt’s forewarnings and creates more tribulations than any of them could anticipate.
Excerpt: I was pretty confident the vulgar obscenities scribbled across my forehead with black indelible marker got me this righteous seat on the Empire Builder heading to the flat, endless, barren nowhere land of the Midwest. But I could have been wrong. I was known to be wrong.I’d inadvertently kicked my ferocious texting habit cold turkey and wiped out all my summer plans in one unfortunate, random weekend. My parents wouldn’t listen when I swore to China and back that I was sober at my best friend Janie’s end-of-school party when some drunken joker, whose lame advances I probably shot down a gazillion times, decided to use my face as a canvas. I insisted that I simply fell asleep following a demanding cross-country meet.I failed to see what was so horrible.I failed to see why I was being punished.On top of that, it wasn’t my fault I got caught cutting the last week of my junior year of high school after somebody spread a venomous rumor about me that I couldn’t stomach to repeat.Since my original outburst when I learned I would be spending the summer of my seventeenth year with my Aunt Meggie in North Dakota, I held silent, communicating only with gestures and grunts. I could hardly swallow the truth. They were sending me to help out in the wake of the oil boom. Whatever that meant. Don’t get me wrong, Meggie was my favorite aunt, but who in their right mind would want to spend summer vacation maintaining a boardinghouse for lowly oil field hands?

Find out how 
Stubborn Buy List:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stubborn-Jeanne-Arnold-ebook/dp/B00HPPHREK/Champagne Books: http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=128&controller=productAll Romance EBooks https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-stubborn-1382969-149.html
Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/stubborn Bio: Jeanne Arnold is an author of young adult romance. At a young age she found her creative outlet in art, and for years her fictional characters came to life in drawings and paintings, until they demanded a voice. Now they grace the pages of her stories. Jeanne shares her time with her fictional teenage counterparts and her human family in Central New York. Her young adult romance Stubborn is available now. The Haunt of Thirteen Curves will be released in June, 2014.

Website: www.jeannearnoldbooks.comBlog: www.jeannearnoldbooks.com/blogFacebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Jeanne-Arnold-BooksTwitter: twitter.com/jeannesbooksGoodreads: www.goodreads.com/jeannesbooksTumblr: jeannesbooks.tumblr.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jeannesbooks/boards/

IT'S ALL ABOUT GRATITUDE

HAPPINESS IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION
A BIG THANK YOU TO SA LARSEN FOR IT'S ALL ABOUT GRATITUDE BLOG HOP!

All my Gratitude is wrapped up in my faith for God. I wonder where I'd be today if it wasn't for Him. Through the turbulence and rocky roads He has been by my side.
I'm blessed to have a wonderful husband who provides unselfishly for his family. I've raised 5 beautiful children and enjoy watching them grow into decent, respectful, loving human beings has been a gift. I've been surrounded by extended family and friends who are a great support system. 
And then there's you. 
Two years ago, I never thought I'd be in the company of so many fabulous people. We might not meet for coffee or lunch, but we are friends and my gratitude runs deep.   

Share a Goal and Celebrate

 I've joined into a new monthly blog hop-- thanks to Misha Gericke. We are to update our goals on the last Friday of each month. I felt that was easy enough so I added my name to the linky list and you can too. Just press HERE to learn more.

My Goal: Publish A Novel A Year. 

My goal is simple and hard rolled into one. Simple because I reached that goal on February 1, 2014 with the release of TALLAS. 

However, that doesn't mean I'm taking a break. I've upped the ante. Can I get 2 books published and surpass my goal? 


Also, it's Friday and time to Celebrate the Small Things. 

Last weekend was filled with family, laughing, savory food, and game playing. What more can I ask for?

What are you Celebrating? Thank you Vikki for creating this Hop. Sign up HERE to join and learn more.

My fellow Author and Review Partner, Nana Prah has a New ...

My fellow Author and Review Partner, Nana Prah has a New Novel!! Release Date is TODAY!!

Ghanaian nurse Aurora ‘Ora’ Aikins never expected to find the love of her life while on vacation in South Africa. Engaged to another and believing that love has no place in her life, she returns to Ghana, and puts duty and honor first. 

Three years later, Dr. Jason Lartey still can’t get Ora out of his mind or his heart. After learning she never married, he takes a risk and moves to Ghana hoping to rekindle what they started. His sudden appearance in Ora’s Emergency Department sends sparks flying all over again. 

They’re in the same country, working in the same hospital, and together but distance creeps between them. Can they make their destined love one for the ages? Midwife to Destiny available on Amazon

Coming March 6, 2014
 Leslie R. Wright has re-released her novel 
BASEMENT LEVEL 5: NEVER SCARED Blurb: Alexa Martinez was raised to believe that murder, deceit, and lies were a part of life. A trained killer, she follows in her father's footsteps, specializing in political assassinations for Martinez Security--contracted through the CIA. She thrives on the power, money, respect, and--most of all--the adrenaline rush. 
Despite the danger associated with her profession, Alexa strives to give her children a normal life. But when her past catches up with her, they become pawns in a deadly game of revenge. Operating from a secret base, five levels below ground, Alexa struggles to unravel the puzzle, uncovering secrets that will alter their lives forever. Now she must make a choice--is she willing to die to give her children a life outside the bullet-proof glass?

If you are looking for something to do, here are a few su...

If you are looking for something to do, here are a few suggestions:

  Do You Have a Goal? You're more than welcome to join this Blog Hop. All you need to do is read and follow the guidelines.

1) Misha Gericke and Beth Fred will be co-hosts of this list.
2) If you do enter your link into the list, please be supportive of the other entrants.
3) Keep us up to date with how you're doing. Update Day is on the last Friday of every month. Even if you don't think you achieved much or anything, write a quick post to say so. We can't encourage if we don't know. 
4) When you enter your blog's address write your goal as the link title. For example, my link's title will be "earn $7500 per month." Not your name or your blog's. This is so we can keep track of who's doing what. AND it will serve as an easy indication of the fact that you're not the only crazy one.
5) Please please please spread the word! I know this is nuts, but I know a lot of people need encouragement, and making a decision and figuring out how to get there is half the battle...

Who else has a crazy goal? Press on Misha's name or the logo and it'll take you to the sight to learn more and join the Linky List!


This is a Gratitude Blog Hope Created by S.A. Larsen!Press on her name or below to see the video and sign up!
S.A.Larsen would love you to join in with my blog hop scheduled to take place March 3rd to March 5th. All you need to do is watch the video she uploaded and share how watching it affected your attitude of gratitude. Tell us how you've changed and what you're grateful for. You can post any of those three days. You can still sign up HERE.
Starting April 1, 2014 is the Great A to Z Challenge created by Arlee Bird! Press HERE to be directed to the site to learn more and to sign your name to the list!

CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS

 Today is Celebrate the Small Things!

1. I'm happy to report I'm on schedule with my walking 1-3 miles a day.

2. Tomorrow, the entire family is getting together for a big family dinner! So Excited!

3. What made my week--my agent said, "Wow" on my revisions to my ms. 

Thank you VikLit for this blog hop. What are you Celebrating this week.

Constantine Reviews: CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh

From the Amazon best-selling author - A Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Winner!

CassaStar was just the beginning...
The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron's days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it's a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren's civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan's technology and strange mental abilities.

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron's unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy...

Constantine's Review

First I must tell you this is the second book in a trilogy. I liked it so much I am now reading the third book CassaStorm, and then I'll go back to where it all started with CassaStar. I do things backwards sometimes.

Alex J. Cavanaugh is a strong and talented writer. His world building sets the stage on so many levels. I like the main character Byron. Even though he comes across as harsh and cold at times, he hides his feelings and love underneath his rough and tough exterior. I especially like the action sequences in space where Bryon kicks into gear. And the love interest Athee is a treat. I can easily see CassaFire on the big screen along with movies such as Star Trek and Enders Games.

Has anyone else read this marvelous trilogy? If not I'd start reading today.

The Rafflecopter Giveaway for TALLAS Has Finally Ended!!&...

The Rafflecopter Giveaway for TALLAS Has Finally Ended!! 
We Have 3 Winners!
*Drum Roll*
The $25.00 Amazon Gift Card is Awarded to Loni Townsend!
An EBook of TALLAS is awarded to Debbie Christiana!
A $5.00 Amazon Gift Card is awarded to Rhonda Sachs Albom!
Congratulations to all the Winners!
I'd like to thank all my blogger friends for their uplifting comments!Also, if you happen to take a journey through TALLAS please help out a fellow Author with a Review!

Celebrate Valentine's Day!

Thank You VikLit for this weekly hop.  Isn't just about everyone Celebrating Valentines Day in one way or another?!


Happy Valentines Day to One and All! What do you do for Valentine's Day? Do you go out to dinner? Snuggle in for a movie and popcorn? Do you wear something red? Or is it just another day?

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but 
into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, 
but my soul...Judy Garland