Renée Swann's Blog, page 5

Guest Post ~ Intentional Healing by Jennie Sherwin

I want to thank the Members of the Board of the Rave Reviews Book Club for this incredible opportunity to be featured as the club's first “Spotlight” Author. You've all done a great deal of work to make this club a reality. To Nonnie Jules, Founder and President, thank you for founding the club and giving authors a place to hang their hats among friends. I am also grateful to my longtime friend Kathy Treat, Membership Director, for inviting me to join. Marketing and promotion are challenges for the first-time author. Being selected as the “Spotlight” Author, who receives marketing and promotion to the social media outlets as well as to print media, is truly a gift from heaven. Last, but not least at all, I send a special thank you to all the bloggers who agreed to host me on their site. I am truly grateful.

I have always loved to read, so it was natural for me to pursue a career where I could share my love of reading with others, which I did as a teacher of English. I liked writing, too, but it took years to hone my craft. I was fortunate to have wonderful mentors. One, in particular, at Random House, the trade publishing company in New York City, literally taught me how to think about writing, always holding the reader in mind and using that focus to sharpen the clarity of my text. My experience at Random House opened the door to a career in public health consulting. Working in a busy editorial office on publications for many clients, each with specific needs, gave me the perfect opportunity to gain experience writing or editing books, papers, and articles targeting different audiences at varying reading levels. As a service to all of the writers and editors who might be reading this blog, I'd like to pass along the names of the manuals that I've used throughout my career with links to their Amazon pages. They include the Chicago Manual of Style, Words into Type, New Hart's Rules, Fowler's Modern English Usage, and Scientific Style and Format.

Now to my book: In Intentional Healing…I tell the story of my transformation from a Western-educated woman who worked as a writer and editor in the field of public health, to a woman who awakened  to a more Eastern-oriented way of thinking that included a de-emphasis on the individual and ego and an emphasis on collective consciousness and the soul. After bizarre symptoms upended my life, I sought help from Western medicine. No one I consulted could explain what was happening to me. No one, that is, until I met diagnostic detective, Dr. Leo Galland, who tied my symptoms to environmental illness and referred me to a pioneer in environmental medicine, Dr. William J. Rea, in Dallas, Texas, founder of the Environmental Health Center-Dallas. While at the EHC-D, I was introduced to the view held by doctors of environmental medicine that many chronic illnesses are triggered by environmental toxins. During treatment, I unmasked (or became aware of a sensitivity I had not recognized before) for sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. Dr. Rea referred me to Deborah Singleton, founder and director of “A Healing Place”, and her energy healing team. Energy balancing helped me respond to the treatment program at Dr. Rea's clinic. With Deborah's guidance I began the process of expanding my consciousness and understanding the real roots of illness. My journey, which included initiation into Reiki channeling and healing from Navajo hataali, took me from dark nights of the soul to a new way of thinking about illness.

Jennie Sherwin, author and editor

http://jsherwinblog.wordpress.com/

January Wrapup

Wow, what a hectic month! I read nine books, edited The Truth about Love , prepped for the sequel of The Hunted , gave up coffee for nineteen days (Yes, you read that correctly), met some amazing people, drank maybe a little too much tea (see above: gave up coffee) and got to see The Book Thief movie. Sounds good, right? Well, it was. But it went by so quick. But I'm so psyched for February!

So, here's some awesome stuff I discovered in January:

That yoga + writers = better writing. Read the article here.
That LIFESAVERS are VEGAN! I stocked up on them.
I stumbled upon some YA inspired recipes. Dauntless cake anyone?
If you wanna survive in a relationship with a writer, you’d better read this.


Young Adult author Mandi Lynn discusses the topic of how to tell if your writing is good:
Katytastic's 46 minute bookshelf tour is also worth a watch! All those books! Over 600! I saw The Book Thief movie and oh it was excellent! Take a look at the trailer:
I hope everyone had a successful January and I wish you an even better February!




Want a chance to win a copy of My Never and an ARC of it's sequel The Worry List PLUS some awesome goodies? How about the songs that inspires the novellas? Head on over to the Competitions tab for your chance to win! (Both competitions end February 25th 2014)

January Givaways

It’s competition time! Are you ready?

Before the release of my second book, the sequel to My Never, I am giving away a few things. Here they are:

Competition # 1:

Hey, wanna win an ARC copy of The Worry List and some other goodies? Enter on Goodreads for a chance to win one autographed paperback of My Never and one uncorrected proof of the sequel, The Worry List, PLUS:

1 x My Never postcard

1 x The Worry List postcard

1 x The Worry List magnet

1 x The Worry List notebook
Sound good? Click here to enter. (Competition ends Feb 25th 2014)

Competition #2:

Win the songs that inspired My Never and The Worry List by Blue October! I’m giving away two copies of each song. (Each winner will get 1 x My Never by Blue October & 1 x The Worry List by Blue October.) All you need to do is fill out the form under the Competitions tab and make sure to leave the email address you use for Amazon. (Competition ends Feb 25th 2014. Winners will be notified by Feb 28th 2014.)

Good luck! May the odds be ever in your favour! (okay, I had to say that once. I’m done now.)

My Favourite Books of 2013

2013 was a great reading year for me. I discovered lots of wonderful books — some tremendously sad, some too brilliant to form words — and talented authors. Here is a list of my eleven favourite books of 2013 (not necessarily published in 2013):

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Slated by Teri Terry

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Matched trilogy by Ally Condie




What were your favourite reads of 2013? What are you most looking forward to reading this year?
Some of my favourite 2013 book memories:

2013 Wrap-Up

This year whipped by at an alarming rate. Seems like it was weeks ago that my first book was released, not months. My Never was originally written as a 5,000 word short story for the Love on the Road 2013 competition. It didn’t make the cut, so in May, I took a leap into a world I knew nothing about — becoming an author. I extended the short story to a novella decided to self-pub it. Since then, I’ve learnt so much. But I feel as if there’s a never-ending stream of knowledge headed my way. Every day/week, I learn something new. In ­­­­August, I released My Never and hosted a launch party.

But the most fun/most terrifying month would be November. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I wrote just over 70,000 and it ended up being The Hunted and 1/3 of its sequel. (Speaking of The Hunted, I submitted it to a publisher: SwoonReads. If you have time, you can read and vote on it (just involves signing up, which only takes a minute). Voting ends on the 31st January 2014.)

So, this brings me to today, the last day of 2013. Last days are bittersweet for me. I don’t want the year to end, yet I’m excited for 2014 — I think it’s going to be a great one for me. I’ve got three books coming out. And I look forward to discovering more awesome books to read. (See what I read this year.)

What’s the last day of 2013 like for you? Have you made any resolutions?



(Want a sneak peek of the sequel to My Never? Click here to read the first three pages.)

Life After NaNoWriMo

Congrats to all who won NaNoWriMo 2013! Give yourself a pat on the back. And if you didn’t, no biggie. I bet you wrote something, right? That’s an achievement right there!

I was one of those WriMos who thought it was near impossible to write 50k words in a month (the closest I’ve come is 40k), but I ended up writing a whopping 71k!! Why? Because I pushed myself beyond what I thought was possible. I made myself sit in my damn chair until I was done. I also withheld chocolate until I’d reached the daily word goal (and learned it was a very good motivator for me).

Whether you won or not, go buy yourself something pretty! You deserve it!

NaNoWriMo Week 2 & 3

    Wow, those two weeks flew past! Lots of coffee and sugar was consumed - maybe that helped the days fly by? Here we are, about to venture into week four, and I’m sitting at a comfy 57,000 words. I have finished writing The Hunted and have now began on the sequel! Ha. Didn’t plan on writing two YA novels in NaNo, but we’ll see how I go, eh?

    Here’s some tips from some of my fave YouTubers to get you through the final week of NaNo. (And remember, even if you don’t reach the 50k goal, you’re still a winner if you wrote something this month!)

Current word count: 57,000

Here's to a productive and highly caffeinated last week of NaNoWriMo! Get writing! Go on.

NaNoWriMo Week 1 Update

Hello there!

Well, it’s been a fascinating, exhausting first week of NaNoWriMo. There’s been a couple glitches and social engagements I’ve had to write around, but I still managed to meet - and surpass - every writing goal I made. In fact, I just passed 20,000 words! Hoorah! Break out the chocolate and cupcakes!

Only 30,000 to go.

I’m taking the afternoon off for a well-deserved break and might even crack open one of the many (eleven) books I bought yesterday (Someone please  ban me from book buying for the rest of the year …!). I suppose I could’ve picked up a worse habit/hobby - like being a caffeine addict (oh wait, I am) or watching too many crime shows (yikes, I do that, too!).

Until next time … Current word count: 20,018

NaNoWriMo Day 1

The "Honeymoon phase" I had nightmares all week about November 1st. That I'd sit in front of my computer and have absolutely nothing to say. Of course, that's silly. This is the novel I've been looking forward to writing since the idea first came to me months ago, and have been absorbed in the outlining of it in October. So, I was pleased, to say the least, when thousands of words came tumbling out and onto the screen. 

The first day of NaNo has been thrilling and relatively easy.  So far, I’m not overdosing on caffeine. Or sugar. And, dare I say, it’s been fun! My aim is to get as many words out in the first week as possible, so I can relax a bit. Take a day off if I need to. I have  written 50,000 words in a month before, but not under any sort of pressure like NaNoWriMo.

Good luck to my fellow WriMos! And keep writing!

Current word count: 4,013

My NaNoWriMo page.
Wanna support me or The Office of Letters and Light (the non-profit charity that runs NaNoWriMo)? Click here to donate.

NaNoWriMo 2013

Challenge: NaNoWriMo, 1st-30th November.

What is it? “A fun, seat-of-you-pants approach to creative writing.”
For some, November is the month of getting your Christmas shopping done before the December rush. For writers, it is a month of noveling and over-caffeinated madness. Writing a novel in a month. Sounds impossible, right - without a massive amount of caffeine and all-nighters? Not true (well, except for the masses of caffeine part). It is, in fact, an achievable goal if you have the determination to do it. Also, if you turn off your inner editor (beating him/her over the head works, too) and just write, write, write for 30 days straight.

Goal: Write 50,000 words in 30 days.

Can it be done? With a lot of determination, planning and coffee - hell yes!

Technique: Some WriMos (participants in NaNoWriMo) are planners, some pantsers - as in fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants - and some use a combination. I happen to fall in the combination category, where I like to know the major things in a novel and fill in the minor things as I go. But whatever your style, if it works for you, then use it! It doesn’t matter what shape your story’s in at the end of the month, only the experiences and thrill of writing it matters. You can always fix it in
December.

Software: I like writing in Scrivener. It’s organised and has electronic note cards where you can plan your story and … and puurrty. You can highlight and tag and make comments as you work. It’s well worth the $40(USD). There’s also a 30 day free trial. 
 
Though, Microsoft Word works just fine, as well. So does the highly technical concept of pen and paper. 
 
Writing Books/Links:
Writer's Digest. Writer’s Digest is a fantastic source, for writers at all levels and stages of their career - from newbies who need a bit or a lot of guidance to published authors. There are thousands of articles waiting to be discovered. And check out their of writing books while you're there!

Need some more help with dialogue and plotting? Writing4Sucess is the place for you.

What I’ll be working on: I’ll be writing The Hunted, a Young Adult Paranormal Romance, centred on an ancient story of the
Navajo Native Americans - the Skin Walkers. And I’m so excited to begin! Bring on November!

Ever wanted to write a novel? Have an idea in mind? Yes? I strongly encourage you to partake in NaNoWriMo. It’ll be a blast and you get to meet some pretty cool people! Some published authors are recruited to give pep talks throughout the month. Is there really a better time to write, when a whole month is dedicated to noveling? 

Remember, all first drafts suck. Earnest Hemming way agrees.

If you’d like to support me during November, and the non-profit charity that runs NaNoWriMo (The Office of Letters and Light), you can make a donation through my supporter’s page here. Whatever you can give helps The Office of Letters and Light run NaNoWriMo and their Young Writers program. You’ll also be helping them build a more engaged and inspiring world and aiding thousands of other novelists who are taking part.

Interested in participating in NaNoWriMo and don’t know where to begin? Start here.

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month.