R.J. Blain's Blog, page 48

A note about book recommendations…

Dear humans,

In future, when we ask for book recommendations, this is not an invitation to self-promo or cross-promo with an author buddy. We want to hear about books you found and love, not about books your best friend wrote or you wrote. There is a time or a place for that, and unless invited, this blog is neither the time nor the place.

We love our author friends, but this is a space for readers sharing their love of a book, not for self-promotion opportunities.

Thank you for your...

April 19, 2020: A Mini quest, fun with allergies, why isn’t the female’s iPad Pro keyboard here yet? (She’s whining.)

Dear humans,

The female had an adventure last night with a bath bomb. It was hilarious. it was her first choice bath bomb from a bunch of frou-frou bombs she bought for self-care purposes.

She really, really likes reading in the tub.

So there she was. Preparing for a book with a bath bomb. Its one of her favorite self-care routines.

She opens the bath bomb, which is a rose-filled one, frou-frou with natural ingredients, rose petals, etc.

It hits the water. Rose petals bubble forth from its...

Book Recommendations: Week of April 18, 2020

Dear humans,

On the quest for positivity, we want to open a post about book recommendations. Please recommend your favorite books here. There are a few rules, as follows:

Warn other readers about sensitive material.

Do not recommend books that glorify child abuse, child rape, etc. (AKA, do not recommend books like Lolita. There are other sites for discussions of that sort of book. This site is not one of them.)

Do not recommend books that glorify bullying. If the book you enjoy features...

We are updating our comment policy, humans.

When we have time, we will be going through all comments and removing any that may be inflammatory or negative in nature. While we do allow unmoderated comments from those who have posted comments before, we will be removing any comments that may classify as hurtful or do not bring a positive tone to the site.

If you want to debate something, this isnt the place for it. Were sorry, but its stressful allowing an open forum, so the forum is no longer open to negativity.

We will moderate the...

Hey, authors! We will be hosting a book fair May 18 through 24. Signup details are in this post.

Dear humans,

The female is a lot closer to USA Today qualifications than she thought possible even a week ago, and as such, were opening the blog for authors to participate in a book fair between May 18 through 24. Every day, we will feature a new collection of books. We will include snarky commentary, and we will note if weve read the book, how much the book costs, and so on.

We have set up a few restrictions for the titles, but well include warnings on the type of reader the book is for,...

Let’s talk about what it means for a book to be a work of fiction, y’all.

Dear humans,

In a recent comment, someone found the concept of the Royal States series to be offensive due to their liking of the constitution. The females button has been pressed. You know that red button? The one that makes her mimic my sisters expression?

That button. Its been pressed.

The Royal States of America is a fictional piece of work that asks and answers many what if questions. This is called Speculative Fiction. In Speculative Fiction, the author delves into answering one or...

2020/2021 Schedule Updates. It is Wednesday, the 15th of Mapray, the Year of Grave Humor. (If you’re really confused about the month, it’s April.)

Dear humans,

Grave Humor lurks on the horizon. The female checked on the preorders for it today. We are officially at the if the release week goes exceptionally well, there is a chance the book might make it to USA Today stage of the game. As such, she is putting together an ad campaign for the book. Honestly, shes not expecting much, but shes going to try. There is something to be said about trying.

If you dont try, you automatically fail. So, she is going to try.

If you spot the book on...

We made a small oops with our PO Box. Zip Code is 95015.

Were sorry, humans.

Finger training had us use our home zip code rather than the PO Boxs zip code. Here is the correct address:

RJ Blain / Pen & Page Publishing
PO Box 2663
Cupertino, CA 95015

We have put ourselves in the corner and fixed the post. Thank you for the nice comment telling us we screwed the pooch!

A Letter From the Author: Want one?

Dear humans,

Those who use facebook (and follow the page) already know the female Has Opinions on the USPS, its status as an essential service, and so on. The female has decided that she is taking action.

She bought stamps, and she will use these stamps to mail letters and cards to fans in June of 2020. In fact, she bought almost $400 in stamps for this purpose.

If everyone buys even a single roll of the $11 stamps from the USPS, We the People will succeed where our government has failed.

...

April 11, 2020: Bonds sale ends tomorrow, some stuff about print editions. Newsish stuff.

Dear humans,

We meant to do this yesterday, but life happened. The female became busy picking a fight with Grave Humor, and the allergies struck again, this time bringing a rash. The rash has mostly cleared up after taking allergy medications. Keyword: mostly.

Please enjoy this picture of me taking a nap with my sister. On my sister. I do enjoy my naps.

We meant to do a lengthy Q&A yesterday and today but the female has a great deal she must do, so were going to do this quick and dirty...