S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 129

Full Moon Report – July, 2015

We’re approaching the full moon again (it’s today or tomorrow depending on what calendar you look at), and we’re back in my sun sign of Capricorn. Looking back on last year’s Capricorn full moon, it appears that I had ALL THE IDEAS. Capricorn full moon stimulates the work centers of your brain, so I don’t find this surprising. This year, I am dying to get going on old ideas and just get them down on paper. I keep getting sidetracked by other work, though, and can’t get focused on what I WANT to do. Sigh. I hope this antsy feeling takes a hike soon.

With the full moon in Capricorn, you also will be motivated to accomplish all your goals. During this time, when organization, higher concentration, perseverance are favored, it’s recommended that you work towards finishing things you have been working on for quite some time. But I don’t recommend starting anything new! No. That’s a bad idea. Instead, finish tasks that have laid dormant for a while. Now is a great time to tidy up and finish what you started.

If you have older relatives or friends, this would be a good time to pick up the phone and give them a call. Capricorn moon favors communication with an older generation! I’m guessing this is because Saturn, the Capricorn ruling planet, is an old guy. Since Capricorn is an earth sign, this time is also favorable for real estate sales, building and masonry work, and agricultural ventures. If only I had a green thumb, I’d plant a garden. My husband doesn’t want me anywhere near the green, thriving plants in our house.

Normally I would expect insomnia around this time for me, but I am sleeping pleasantly due to an overabundance of Benadryl in my life. Sigh. Unfortunately I stopped taking Claritin last week, thinking I didn’t need it anymore, but I DO. OH GOD, I DO. This full moon is brought to you by antihistamines, of which, I cannot live without.

Sunday Update – June 28, 2015

For the first time in a long time, we had a guest at our house the last two days, so this update is coming a little later than usual! It’s great to see old friends, talk, and reminisce.

We also had a really busy week around here with summer camp starting up and new routines being set in place. This past week was our strange transition week, the week between school ending and town camp starting, when I had to fill in with other camps and routines that were only going to last five days. But we all made it through despite me being really nervous I was going to mess something up.

In writing news, I finished up a read-through of SUMMER HAIKUS this week, inputted all of my changes, and heard back from my editor that no major developmental changes needed to be made. Huzzah! Now it’s just little things. And I can get ARCs out to my team hopefully by July 10th. I also worked on getting pre-orders set up on all the vendors. SUMMER HAIKUS will have a cover reveal on July 17th (Sign up here if you’re interested in participating) and newsletter subscribers will see the cover first on July 15th!

I’m also close to finishing a new short story in the Kami No Sekai series which I hope to publish around the same time as the cover reveal. This way I only have to send out one newsletter!

What else happened this week?

I bought a selfie stick. I always thought they were a little silly until I actually used one and then I thought HEY THESE ARE GENIUS. Yeah. My husband is embarrassed to be seen with me now.

Book Chat #16

I’m getting back into the swing of things around here now that I’m back from my vacation. I’m writing. I’m reading. I’m exercising.

All of which means I have finished up some books I want to chat about! First up, JAY WALKING by Tracy Krimmer (my crit partner), which is out on August 4th. This is a fun chicklit romance that’s going to appeal to anyone who may be starting again or has started their life again after a break-up or crazy life event. I love how Tracy weaves in the everyday bits of lives into a clean and easy narrative. I read the almost-final version to proofread, so I know it’ll do well for her!

I’m almost done with my last read-through of SUMMER HAIKUS as well, my next book to come out on August 6th. Pre-orders will go up soon! More on this in another post.

And I’m still also reading SHIFT by Hugh Howey. I had to set that aside to read the other two books above, but I’m still enjoying it and wondering what I can expect next!

As for audiobooks, I recently finished BLADE RUNNER or DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick. I’m a little confused by this book. I didn’t feel that the story itself was very strong. They never really explain why androids can’t be on Earth and must be killed, so the conflict felt very weak. And there was this strange pseudo-religion called Mercerism that was also cut from the narrative in the movie, and THANK GOD FOR THAT because it really lent nothing to the story at all.

I actually felt that the movie adaptation was a MUCH better story in the end. Also, maybe it was the time the book was written in, but it was VERY heavy on the male gaze. The main character, Deckerd, was extremely critical of all the women he came across, describing their breast size, legs, and body, and not in a sensual way at all. I almost turned it off at one point and stopped. I just can’t do that anymore with books. I used to be able to excuse it, but maybe it’s my rapidly approaching 40-somethings? In the end, my curiosity of how the book would differ from BLADE RUNNER the movie kept me going. I listened to the whole book at 1.5x speed because the narrator was just too slow. Thank goodness for technology.

Right now, I’m listening to UNWHOLLY by Neal Shusterman. I read UNWIND many years ago and really liked it, then the publishers took FOREVER to release anymore in this series. I’m excited to get back into it!

UtopYA 2015 Wrap-Up

I’m home from UtopYA (cue sad tears) and now it’s time to get back to work. But not before I post about this amazing event. I’m so glad I went. I’ll be honest. Thursday morning when I left to get on the plane to Nashville, I was hella nervous. I was wondering if all the planning and the expense would be worth it or not. Because going to conventions, even though we can write them off, are still a huge undertaking for both authors and the planners of the event. I was worried I wouldn’t meet anybody or learn anything…

Boy was I wrong. I walked in the door to the hotel and I ran into someone I knew right away, my buddy Jade Eby. I’m sad I don’t have a photo of her, but I was so stunned after the plane ride that I didn’t take out my camera for a selfie. (On another note, I used another person’s selfie stick at the con and fell in love. My selfie stick should be here today. I thought they were silly, but I am converted now.)

Thank goodness my first interaction was so wonderful because it set the tone for the next 4 days. Mostly I spent time with my usual online crew: L. K. Lewis, E. J. Wesley, P. K. Hrezo, and Amy Evans (and Casey L. Bond to a lesser extent because she was signing a ton of books). These are all people I talk to all the time online, but it was the first time we met in person. And it was awesome knowing that we were already fantastic friends before we met in real life, and now we’re even closer. (I’m getting choked up writing this… excuse me for a moment.)

Okay. Besides seeing my friends in the flesh I also met so many new people I hope to call my friends for the future and beyond. They’re too numerous to name here, and I’m sure I’d forget names so hopefully you all know who you are!

The actual UtopYA Convention (its name is changing next year, more on that in a bit) was fabulous. I attended some really great panels on Is Time Travel Possible?, Writing Serials, a pep talk by Liz Long “Your Time To Shine,” Gender Roles and Stereotypes, and several keynotes. I wish I could have gone to more panels! I learned a lot and hope to apply what I’ve learned to my next year of writing and publishing.

And I got to meet Marissa Meyer (love her books!) and get a book signed.

We also got the chance to eat out, order great food, and drink lots of good wine, beer, and booze.

Then it was time for signings and booths. It was so fun to see all of my friends meeting new readers and having a great time.

The awards ceremony was the highlight of the event, even though I was starving through the whole thing. I promise to eat dinner next year beforehand.

Especially seeing our dear friend Casey win the award for best serial! She was so damned cute up there!

So the news about next year’s event is that it’s changing. UtopYA will now be Utopia Conference and will include more genres and age groups, most notably Middle Grade, and Adult Contemporary and Speculative Fiction. Janet, the organizer of the event, also mentioned that they’re going to concentrate on the whole person as a writer. There will not only be workshops on writing, publishing and self-publishing, but the event will include information on life coaching, goal setting, health and fitness. Basically, we’ll learn how to take care of our WHOLEselves instead of just the writer brain.

I’m super excited about this change! I’m definitely buying my ticket (and a half table for signing!) for next year and I’m encouraging you all to check it out too. It was one of the best events I have ever been to.

Thank you, UtopYA! And I can’t wait to see what Utopia 2016 will bring!

Sunday Update – June 14, 2015

Almost forgot my Sunday Update post! And I haven’t checked my blogs in a few days either because I have been killing it on SUMMER HAIKUS revisions. In fact, I’m calling them done as of now! Woo! I have 4 scenes left to run through AutoCrit and look for repetitive words and what not, but I expect to have it off to my editor, Nicole, and some readers tomorrow. Phew. I’m so glad it’s done. Now I will just be doing cleanup work before getting it up on NetGalley and out to ARC readers next month.

What else have I been doing besides edits?

It’s been hot here, so lots of sprinkler action…

And the kiddie pool, here covered with garbage bags to heat it up during the day.

We got our first CSA shipment this week with lots of veggies!

New Jamberries arrived.

And we spent Saturday afternoon at the pool, my first trip for the summer.

So, what’s ahead this week? Not much on the blog, BUT I will be at UtopYA in Nashville, TN, Thursday through Sunday! If you’ll be there, please say hi! I’ll have a bag with REMOVED on the side of it, so you can’t miss me.

I hope to be back to my regular posting schedule next week!

Taking A Wee Break…

So I’m working really hard on getting my SUMMER HAIKUS edits done before I leave for UtopYA next week and that means my brain is not up for updating the blog. I’ll be back for Sunday Update but all other posting will be sparse until I get this done! I love this book so much but I also can’t wait to start on something brand new once it’s done. Woo! And I’m also looking forward to editing REVEALED so I can get it to you all by the end of the year. So much to do, so little time!

See you soon!

RICE COOKER REVENGE Free On Amazon June 8 -12

I’m coming up on the end of my Kindle Select term at Amazon, so I decided to make RICE COOKER REVENGE free for this week! This means you can download and enjoy this quirky and fun short story for no pennies, and get a chance to see what this series is about.

It sits there on the counter, quiet and contemplative. Who knew rice cookers could be so vengeful?

Ryu must decide whether to stay or leave The Chef’s kitchen, so he turns to an unlikely ally for help.

FREE THROUGH JUNE 12!

Not sure if you want to give this a try? Here are some reviews to get you motivated.

“The main characters (and yes, I consider the rice cooker a character) were likable, and the plot was immediately interesting. It was light, unique, and a nice little story. If you’re looking for something different, I highly recommend you check this out! ” – Brianna, Biblio Belles

“I loved this little short story about the revengeful Rice Cooker. It is fun and put a smile on my face, it’s one of those books that made me happy just because it’s such a fun book. Both the Rice Cooker and Ryu are interesting characters and I liked following their story and seeing them become friends. It thought it was fun we got the perspective of the Rice Cooker as well. And I can’t wait to read the next short stories in this series!” – Lola, Lola’s Reviews

“This was such a great little story. I’ve read the author’s previous work and this was completely different! It was not at all what I expected. It was hilarious and fun, quirky and original. I didn’t fully realize that the rice cooker would actually be a main character, but it totally works! Very well executed. If you’re looking for a quick, fun read, I highly recommend this one.” – Laura Taylor “bookgrl”, Amazon Customer

Sunday Update – June 7, 2015

Thank goodness this Sunday is bright and sunny! We had a week of cool temperatures and rain here. In fact, it was so cool, I actually had to turn the heat back on! I woke up one day and it was 64ºF in the house. Brrr. I just couldn’t live with that.

I had a busy and tiring week. My husband was in London all week so I took the time to work hard on SUMMER HAIKUS edits (this is my next contemporary romance). I worked every day until 11pm and then got up at 6:15. I was exhausted by the weekend, but I made A LOT of progress and I’m on schedule to publish this one in August. Today I’ll be working on more edits and I’ll also be attending the orientation meeting for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share my family bought into for the summer. I’m looking forward to getting our first share this Tuesday!

What else happened this week?

Lots of edits in bed. I worked every single night.

I had a few tough days without my husband. Drinking was necessary.

But I did head out for a little midweek treat of Italian ice with my youngest…

And then gave myself a new Jamberry manicure as a treat for doing so well with my edits.

I’m not sure what I’ll be posting about this week on the blog. I did enjoy writing about my Dreams last week so maybe I’ll think of something similar. But I will probably be very quiet as I’m trying to hit a deadline Oh! And I’m going to UtopYA in two weeks! That’s something I’m really excited about. See you soon!

And my next contemporary romance is… SUMMER HAIKUS

I woke up this morning and decided to announce my next upcoming novel. I’ve been hesitating since I wasn’t sure I could get it done in time, but after kicking butt on revisions all this week, I feel confident I can make this book happen.

So here are all the details!

Title: Summer Haikus

Release Date: Aug 6, 2015

Series: Happily Ever Asia (More on this below…)

“When it comes to fight or flight, I always choose to run like hell.”

Isa planned the perfect summer:

Tokyo and the Summer Olympics — check.

Helping her best friend prepare for the marathon — check.

Forgetting she’s in love with Masa — double check.

But when Isa’s mother is hospitalized, she has to abandon her summer plans to run the family’s Tokyo business. Masa’s offer to help makes it impossible for Isa to ignore him — and the firecracker kiss they shared half a world away. Everyone expects the world of her, but the pressure to please them all is as oppressive as the Tokyo summer heat. The simplest answer to all her problems? Run.

Sounds good, right? At least, I hope you want to read it! This is the book I’ve been referring to as “Tokyo Run” for the last couple of months. Yes, it has the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Yes, there’s a love story (it’s a romance!). And it has all the Japanese elements I love so much in my books. It was also fun to write a lot of haikus.

You can find the book on Goodreads now: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25671055-summer-haikus

I will have pre-order links available at the same time as the cover reveal scheduled for July 17th. This book will also be available on NetGalley for a month around that time! If you’re a book blogger and want to read this, please drop me a note and I’ll add you to my ARC list for SUMMER HAIKUS or you can request it on NetGalley once it’s available.

Happily Ever Asia?

Since FACE TIME covered A LOT of ground about love in the digital age, I’ve decided not to write more books about that topic, but I am instead going to continue to write about romance in Asia! FACE TIME will now fall under the Happily Ever Asia umbrella (it will have an adjusted cover soon) and any other books I write with this theme, like SUMMER HAIKUS, will also fall into this series. They will all be stand-alone novels with happily ever after endings.

Sign up for my newsletter to be alerted when this title is available!

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Nogiku Series Sale Ends Tomorrow!

Hey everyone! A quick note to you that the Nogiku Series Sale ends tomorrow. I’ve decided to keep REMOVED free for the foreseeable future, but all the rest of the books will go back to their normal price as soon as the vendors update. Here’s all the information for you again.

REMOVED is free!

RELEASED is 99¢!

REUNITED is $2.99 ($2 off)!

And of course…

RECLAIMED is $2.99 ($2 off)! (Pre-order now and get it on May 28!)