S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 48
July 5, 2020
Sunday Update – July 5, 2020
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
These summer weeks are just speeding right on by!
Between the construction on the bathroom and the kids planning stuff for almost every day, we wake up and it’s evening before we know it.
This past week was a little shorter because of the holiday. Our team got the roughs done on the bathroom and we expect to have the first inspection this coming week. There was a lot of noise here, so I took Lulu to doggy daycare whenever I thought it was going to be too busy here.
I got a few more things done for my freelance client and we are moving towards completion. I also got some things updated here on my site (maintenance stuff) and published a bunch of posts to the blog.
My friend, Charity, and I started a Facebook readers’ group together! So far, it’s been a lot of fun, and you can check it out at The Starlight Cafe! I’ll post about that on blog this week, too.
There’s lots of work to be done in this next week, so I have to buckle down and just get it done.
Lulu thinks this heat sucks. Lol. She gets 70% through our walk and then finds some cool grass to lie down on .
Her favorite spot is still at the front door.
And she really did not like the close fireworks last night.
We’ve had some good drinks this past week!
Good food, too.
And everything looks so green and beautiful around here!
Stay safe and stay healthy!
Viber
The post Sunday Update – July 5, 2020 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
July 3, 2020
Featuring THE PASSION SEASON by Libby Doyle #summerofSFR
Continuing with the Summer of SFR, I have Libby Doyle here today to tell us about her books.
Tell me a little about you, Libby…
“Libby Doyle, is the author of The Covalent Series, a romantic science fantasy in five parts. Books I and II of the series were awarded medals from the New Apple Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing.
When not tapping away at her fiction, Libby works as an attorney and an editor. She escapes real life by writing extravagant tales, filled with sex and violence. She loves absurd humor, travel, punk rock, hiking, and her husband.”
I love to travel too, so we definitely have something in common.
I asked Libby, “What inspired you to write The Passion Season?”
Libby replied…
“The Passion Season, Book I of the Covalent Series, germinated in my head after I heard about a terrible crime in Philadelphia where I used to live. A corpse was found with all its internal organs removed. Creepy, I know! From that incident sprouted a love story. You’ve got to love the human imagination. A blend of darkness and light is a hallmark of the series. Lots of violence and pain mixed with love, sensuality, and humor. As my aliens–the Covalent–would say, life is Balance! In June I published The Warlord Season, Book IV of the Covalent Series. Read book one for free. Get on the ride! It’s a real ripsnorter.”
Oh, that’s creepy, for sure. But real life often inspires amazing stories!
For centuries, Lucifer’s son paid for the sins of his father. Now, he’s had enough.
Barakiel came to accept his solitude after the rulers of his homeworld banished him to Earth. He takes solace in his duty and enjoys slaughtering the demons his father sends against him at every change of seasons.
When someone murders a helpless man and leaves his spleen in the bushes of a Philadelphia park, Barakiel suspects his father is behind it. He offers to consult for the FBI, selling them on his knowledge of the daggers found at the crime scene. Then, Special Agent Zan O’Gara shows up at his door and everything changes.
Although Zan has put her painful experiences with men behind her, she’s perfectly content to be alone. Until she meets Barakiel. She knows something’s not quite right with him, but the stronger part of her thinks he’s worth the gamble.
As Zan’s investigation brings her closer to the truth about Barakiel, his duty compels him to protect the innocent. He’ll risk his life to stop Lucifer from claiming another victim, even as Zan gives him more reasons to live than he’s ever had before.
WARNING: This book contains foul language, violence, explicit sex, and sexual violence. Adults only! This is not a stand-alone novel, but the first in a five-part series. The romantic science fantasy continues in The Pain Season, Book II of the Covalent Series, available now.
Check out THE PASSION SEASON on Amazon, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, and more via Books2Read…
Via Books2Read
Find This Author Online
Learn more about Libby Doyle on…
Website: https://www.libbydoyle.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/libbydoylewriter
Mailing List: https://libbydoyle.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=3007fd222362f5fce7ea46486&id=c134d3886d
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LibbyDoyle9
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Libby-Doyle/e/B01CUPIZOU
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3492548.Libby_Doyle
BookBub Profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/libby-doyle
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/thecovalent
Check out all my Summer of SFR posts!
Viber
The post Featuring THE PASSION SEASON by Libby Doyle #summerofSFR appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
July 2, 2020
Book Chat #57 – Jessie Mihalik and Tasha Black #summerofSFR
It’s the first Summer of SFR Book Chat! These are books that I read in preparation for the Summer of SFR, and they were total winners! I’m reading another great book right now that I hope to share with you next week. Onward!
THE QUEEN’S ADVANTAGE by Jessie Mihalik (Via Books2Read)
I think I liked this one better than the first book! There was more of a mystery and I saw a conspiracy around every corner. And the relationship between Queen Samara and Emperor Valentin was well done too. It was interesting to see how Mihalik fleshed out the worlds of this empire and the people who inhabit them. There was plenty of intrigue in this story to keep you guessing. I’m looking forward to the last book in the series!
CHAOS REIGNING by Jessie Mihalik (Via Books2Read)
A fantastic end to this series! It was great to see the youngest daughter, Cat, hold her own and figure out how to save her family AND the Earth. Mihalik brought together several storylines in a way that paid off and made sense. And the sex scenes with Alexander were blistering, even if the poor couple kept getting interrupted. Lol. I adored Alexander as a hero, always encouraging Cat to try harder or shrug off the expectations of others. And I LOVED the ending. All in all, this series is not to be missed! From beginning to end, it was fantastic.
BOND by Tasha Black (Via Books2Read)
I picked up BOND in a box set sometime recently and wondered what the story would be like. I really enjoyed it! I love the little “space” town where everything is named for something astronomical. The fair games were a great way to show off the characters, and Posey and Bond had a great connection. I also loved Posey’s friends who have stories of their own in same box set. I hope to go back and read those in the future. This one was a fun and quick read!
What have you been reading lately?
Check out all my Summer of SFR posts!
Viber
The post Book Chat #57 – Jessie Mihalik and Tasha Black #summerofSFR appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
July 1, 2020
Featuring SILENT LUCIDITY by Tiffany Roberts #summerofSFR
Continuing with the Summer of SFR, I have Tiffany Roberts here today to tell us about their books.
Tell me a little about you, Tiffany…
“We are a husband and wife writing duo who writes science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance. We met online when we were around ages 16 and 17. Rob lived in New York, and I lived in Idaho, and after three years of dating online and seeing each other a couple times in person, Robert decided to move to Idaho to live with me. Crazy, huh? We’ve been together ever since, have three kiddos, and we’re currently writing full-time, a dream we’ve both always had.”
Oh, that’s so sweet! And cool that you’re a husband and wife team!
I asked Tiffany, “What inspired you to write The Infinite City Series?”
Tiffany replied…
“The Infinite City series is our blend of sci-fi and fantasy, two genres we enjoy. Fantasy was where we began, but sci-fi has become our love, so we mixed the two together, creating our own versions of elves, orcs, trolls, and more in a setting loosely inspired by Altered Carton.
We had such a blast writing Silent Lucidity, in part because the characters, Tenthil and Abella. While a little different from their original iterations, they are characters Rob and I used to roleplay years ago in a text-based fantasy RPG. They’ve always been favorites of ours, and we hoped to someday write their story, and we finally did! We never imagined they’d be written in sci-fi/cyberpunk type of setting (the original was fantasy), but it fit so perfectly for them. It was wonderful to revisit these characters and create them into something new.”
I love hearing about authors that use RPG to roleplay their characters! This is something I’ve seen a lot of authors to do and it’s a fascinating way to explore themes and worlds.
She didn’t ask to be abducted. She didn’t ask to be torn away from her simple, happy life on Earth. She didn’t ask to become a pet to a powerful alien merchant.
Abella hasn’t allowed four years of slavery to break her spirit, but after numerous failed escape attempts, the chances of making it home to her family seem bleak. That is until she shares a passionate, forbidden dance with a silent stranger. His piercing silvery eyes haunt her with a taste of hope.
Intense, mysterious, and deadly, Tenthil may be the key to Abella’s freedom. But as she finds herself increasingly drawn to him, she realizes the truth—Tenthil has no intention of taking her home.
Will he be her salvation, or will she trade one master for another?
Check out SILENT LUCIDITY on Amazon via Books2Read…
Via Books2Read
Find This Author Online
Learn more about Tiffany Roberts on…
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTiffanyRoberts
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tiffany-roberts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14737283.Tiffany_Roberts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiffanyRobertsF
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authortiffanyroberts/
Check out all my Summer of SFR posts!
Viber
The post Featuring SILENT LUCIDITY by Tiffany Roberts #summerofSFR appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
June 30, 2020
July 2020 Goals
June is over! And it flew on by… Now, it’s time to get to July’s goals!
What Happened With June’s Goals?
Launch Flyght Book 6! Done! The Flyght Series is now complete! Yay!
Continue with freelance work. We’re closing in on the end of this work. I got the majority of it done in June.
Start on my branding redesign for S. J. Pajonas. All I did here was update the logo on the website and disable some plugins I felt were creating lag. Instead, I launched my pen name and now that’s done.
Close out my Move Rings every day on my Apple Watch. I did great with this! I only took two rest days the whole month, yet I still closed on my Move ring every day.
Finish off the school work for the kids. We’re done with school! Yay!
Come up with a summer schedule. It’s not really a schedule like I thought it would be, but each week I tell the kids to concentrate on something new from our list of activities.
Start the Summer of SFR! Off and running! I have several posts up and plenty of social media posts surrounding the event.
Read CRASH LAND ON KURAI and make edits to it. I started this task but I haven’t gotten far yet. There’s been a million other things to do.
Audiobooks, reading, and knitting. I’ve been reading and listening but not knitting. No surprise there. Sigh.
Goals For July
Read CRASH LAND ON KURAI and make edits to it. I’m going to finish this task this month, and with new covers coming for this series, I hope to have them all up and fresh by September, when I write the last book in the series.
Finish with freelance work. I suspect I’ll be done with my freelance project soon. We identified the last few things that need to be done, and we’re making progress to the end.
Update the Onigiri Press website. I plan to install my new theme and everything on Onigiri Press and get it up and running as my publisher website. It is up and running now, but very bare bones. I want to build a one-pager with Elementor and learn how to use that tool better.
Continue the Summer of SFR! I have lots of posts for the blog! I can’t fall behind on this. I am excited by all of the authors I’m featuring.
Schedule posts for my pen name. I am moving posts about the Miso Cozy Mysteries Series to my pen name’s website little by little. I’d like to put something new there every other week.
Close out my Move Rings every day on my Apple Watch. Keep going!
Continue with the bathroom renovation. This doesn’t require much from me except answering questions and being here, making decisions, and possibly running a few errands. We hope to be done by August!
Audiobooks, reading, and knitting. The usual and I’ll be listening and reading to SFR, of course.
Have a great July everyone! Stay home and stay safe!
Viber
The post July 2020 Goals appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
June 29, 2020
Featuring RORAN by Clarissa Lake #summerofSFR
Continuing with the Summer of SFR, I have Clarissa Lake here today to tell us about her books.
Tell me a little about you, Clarissa…
“I’m an Indie author and a scifi fan who grew up watching scifi reading marvel comics. My vacations often involved a science fiction convention while I was struggling to get published traditionally. I met a number of well known authors, and studied with Nancy Kress. I was writing science fiction romance before it was cool. I learned that it was selling on Amazon and discovered that I could self publish. I don’t have any best sellers but I have a small following.”
I’ve been to my fair-share of sci-fi conventions too!
I asked Clarissa, “What inspired you to write Farseek Warrior Series?”
Clarissa replied…
“The Farseek Warrior series is a spin off of the Farseek Mercenary Series which began with the Farseek Brigade returning to find their world bombed and over a million people missing. They believe the Trans-stellar Consortium betrayed them by leaving their world unprotected. In Argen’s mate, Commander General Maktu reveals who was behind the attack. Roran is the story behind the discovery. After he finds his best friend brutally murdered, he makes it his mission to find who killed him.
I wanted to write a steamy romance adventure space series, and let the idea simmer in the back of my mind for a while. The opening paragraphs of Commander’s Mate came to me like a bolt out of the blue. Believing their consortium betrayed them, they go rogue in search of their missing people who have been enslaved in the Sargan Empire. They end also collect other humanoid species including humans from Earth.
In this universe, humans have been seeded on various planets in the galaxy, including the Farseekans. These humans have that extra sense that lets them recognize their fated mates. I just put together a space romance series with all my favorite tropes and made it super steamy.”
Getting to write your favorite tropes is always a lot of fun!
Passionate romance combines with science fiction adventure.
After the Sargans bombed his world and abducted the survivors, Roran sets out to locate his missing family. Instead he finds Becca Clayton, abducted by the Chavilians, about to be sold on the Sargan auction block as a slave.
He immediately recognizes she’s his soulmate. But rescuing her means taking her with him on a dangerous mission that could get them both killed.
Emotionally wounded by their situations, they indulge in the sizzling attraction between them even though they are barely acquainted. It lets them forget the pain for a while, and the physical intimacy promotes their bonding.
As their feelings grow, Roran worries. There is nothing he fears more than losing Becca. Can he keep them alive so they can make a life together?
Check out RORAN on Amazon via Books2Read…
Via Books2Read
Find This Author Online
Learn more about Clarissa Lake on…
Website: http://clarissalake.authors.zone/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorClarissaLake/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarissalake1
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/clarissa-lake
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/clarissa.lake.author
Check out all my Summer of SFR posts!
Viber
The post Featuring RORAN by Clarissa Lake #summerofSFR appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
June 28, 2020
Sunday Update – June 28, 2020
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
Another week has blasted by us!
This week featured the demolition of our old bathroom and rough construction of our new bathroom. It was a noisy week around here! I took Lulu to daycare for the whole day of demolition. She would have just spent the day barking her little head off, so that was for everyone’s benefit. Right now we’re close to rough inspections but we’re missing the shower diverter. We’re hoping to get that on Monday or Tuesday so we can move forward.
I launched my pen name for cozy mysteries! So if you missed that announcement, you should probably go check out the post on it. Now that that’s done, I should be finishing up my freelance soon, and then I’ll be moving onto other web development.
We had a beautiful week of weather! It was in the 80s every day and sunny up till yesterday. No complaints about that! The kids went on several walks (to get ice cream, of course) and played in the pool.
I got my hair cut! Yay! My salon re-opened and everyone was wearing masks and everything was sanitary. I was nervous about it, but it turned out well. I’m so glad to have my hair short again.
The Summer of SFR continues this coming week with 3 new authors to highlight and I’m reading a great book right now too. I hope to have a Book Chat on Thursday with a bunch of SFR picks.
This was our bathroom (and outside alcove area) before demolition. It had to go!
The bathtub is in now and this is a sneak peek at the vanity and tile choices.
This is the face of a naughty dog who was clean, then decided she was TOO clean so she rolled around in days-old cat poop outside. And we had to wash her again!
My niece had her First Communion yesterday and we watched it all online via FB live.
I enjoyed some outdoor reading and relaxing this week.
Look at this princess puppy sleeping on all the blankets. Looks comfy!
And finally, my new short hair. I’m so happy I got it cut!
Have a great week! Stay safe and healthy!
Viber
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June 27, 2020
My Summer of SFR 2020 Goals
Now that I’m concentrating on reading and listening to sci-fi romances this summer, I decided I needed a few goals for my journey into the stars with these authors and characters. Sometimes it’s not enough to just aimlessly read whatever you want! If that happened I wouldn’t get into the meat of this genre enough.
So I’ve set some goals for my reading this summer!
I will read a variety of sub-genres in SFR. My main attractions are definitely space opera, action adventure, and dystopian. But I’m also going to try some alien abduction, cyborgs, and time travel. Gotta spice things up a bit!
I will only read first-in-series or standalone books. This way I get to try a bunch of different authors and not get stuck reading everything from one author’s catalog. After the Summer of SFR is over, though, I plan to go back and read the series that interested me the most.
I will put down books that don’t interest me and move on quickly. Just because I’m doing this event/challenge doesn’t mean I should stick with something I’m not enjoying. Like always, I won’t talk about the books I’m reading until I’m done. I tend to DNF a lot of books anyway, not just SFR books, so this is staying true to my policy. I only ever talk about the books I’ve read and loved! I never talk about the books I couldn’t get into. I want to remain true to my mission of helping other authors, and I can’t do that if I’m bashing their books. That’s not what this is about. This is also why I don’t take review copies from authors. I buy books that I’m interested in, and if I read and like them, you hear about them!
And that’s it! Those are some good summer reading goals.
Do you have any summer reading goals? Let me know in the comments!
Viber
The post My Summer of SFR 2020 Goals appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.
June 26, 2020
Book Chat #56 – Tracy Krimmer and Erin Morgenstern
Happy Friday everyone! I have a slight back-up of books for Book Chat so the first Summer of SFR Book Chat will be next week, not this week. And I already have books for that one lined up! I have been reading! :) Also, I’m changing things up here too with linking to books. I will be including both an Amazon and a Books2Read link with each post. Books2Read does Amazon too but my links are tracked via my website so it’s easier for me to see what people are clicking on and when. I have to go to Books2Read in order to get stats and I don’t always remember to do that. Anyway, I’m sure I have readers from outside the Amazon ecosystem, so I’m going to be sure to include you both.
THE MASH-UP SUMMER by Tracy Krimmer (Books2Read)
I really enjoyed this summer contemporary romance from Tracy Krimmer! I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, I played MASH (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House) with my friends. It’s a little fortune-telling game that was all the rage with all the girls. Lol. It was fun to see it incorporated into a contemporary story! When Sadie finds the MASH paper while cleaning out her attic, she wonders how the boy from her fortune is doing. It turns out that boy, Joey, now grown-up, is back in town! They have a fun meet-cute and go on to date. But things are not what they seem with both Joey and Sadie’s family. Krimmer did a great job of bringing the story together and ending on a satisfying ahhhh.
THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern (Books2Read)
I had heard about this book for ages so I finally listened to it in audiobook. I have mixed feelings about it, to be honest. First, I thought the writing was lovely. The details were rich and added a lot of depth to the story. The narration by Jim Dale was well done too, though I’m so used to him reading Harry Potter that it was tough to divorce his voice from THAT magical world. What I found lacking from the story was deep character development. I wanted more from the main characters! I wanted to find out more about the challenge and why they were locked in it. So, while I did listen all the way to the end and enjoyed it, I think there could have been more here. I would definitely read something by this author again! She has a great imagination, that’s for sure.
Next week, lots of SFR!
What have you been reading?
Viber
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June 25, 2020
Introducing Steph Gennaro, Cozy Mysteries in Japan
It’s the announcement I’m sure many of you have been waiting for!
I have moved all of my cozy mysteries to my new pen name, Steph Gennaro! This was a long, arduous process involving MANY steps and town of work, but I’m finally ready to reveal this transition to all of my readers.
BTW, isn’t the logo adorable? Thank you to Najla Qamber for such an awesome design that I totally love! And another big thanks to Lola Verroen for helping me with all the Goodreads stuff.
I know many of you are only sci-fi romance readers or only cozy mystery readers, so this division of my books will help you get the news you want to get. You can unsubscribe from this website/newsletter and subscribe to the newsletter for Steph Gennaro, and never miss one of her books! Or you can subscribe to both! It’s up to you. I want to provide you with the most flexibility available.
The new pen name, Steph Gennaro, not only has a new website, but she also has a new Facebook page, BookBub profile, Amazon author page, and Goodreads profile. So be sure to follow all of them as well.
Besides the name change, on the covers and in the manuscripts, and the new website, nothing major has changed with the Miso Cozy Mysteries books. Everything about the stories is the same. If you’re in the middle of the series, you can keep going with the books under the name, Steph Gennaro, and you will miss nothing!
So I hope that by separating these very distinct genres under the two names will help people decide on what to read of mine. As you can see, I’m not keeping the pen name secret or anything. It’s just a way to differentiate my work.
Thank you for bearing with me as I make this transition!
Viber
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