S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 74

Featuring RIVAL STATE By Drew Avera

Drew Avera is one of the hardest working writers I know. When he gets an idea, he runs with it, whether it’s in writing, music, or life. He has a lot of talent! I asked him here today to talk about one of his newer novels, RIVAL STATE.

I asked Drew, “What inspired you to write RIVAL STATE?”

He replied…

I was inspired to write Rival State after witnessing many political posts on social media dissolving into irrational arguments. The more it happened, the more I felt that it could be the result of orchestrated chaos. People into conspiracy theories often refer to the deep state as an entity involved in trying to usurp the government and control the people. As the madness escalated, the idea of some deep state entity doing that really took shape in my head. Ultimately, the division in America would lead to inevitable war, and further division. So, I picked up the story in Rival State nearly half a century after the events broke our country apart. Rival State is very much a dystopian novel, but it has elements of general science fiction and horror as well.

I can easily see how this one idea grabbed Drew and took him to this inevitable conclusion. Sometimes even the most mundane of daily events can inspire an author!

The future of America is a nightmare of the deep state agenda.

In the beginning of the 22nd Century, just decades after civil war ripped America into thirds, our now divided country is but a shadow of her former self. Martial law prevails in every major city, with armed guards marching in the streets, fighting to restore balance and order as freedom and liberty become fading memories of a time best forgotten.

President Fulton, leader of the American Union, has spent most of his adult life preparing to seize power. With his eyes set on a newly unified country under his control it appears to be his for the taking. But a lack of trust from his opposition, and riots in the streets may just bring his world crashing down.

As revelations of blatant corruption draws unwanted attention to the American Union, Fulton executes the final steps in a plan designed to bring the rest of North America to its knees in subjugation to his will. But even the best laid plans have their faults, as once again America is brought to the brink of war.

And her final destruction.

Check out RIVAL STATE on…
Amazon

Find This Author Online

Learn more about Drew Avera on…

Website: http://www.drewavera.com

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Sunday Update – October 28, 2018

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 busy week! I feel like I don’t have easy, relaxing, carefree weeks anymore. Even my vacations are go go go.

Monday was my chillest day of the week. My husband worked late and we had nothing we had to do after school. So the girls and I had dinner together and watched some of The Flash.

Tuesday, I went for a lovely walk in the morning. The trees are all changing color around here and temperature is getting brisk. I’m really enjoying my walks! In the afternoon, we drove to get our CSA share and a rainbow popped up. That was a nice treat!

Wednesday, I had chiropractor and acupuncture. I really love this combination and I always leave there feeling at peace and relaxed. Acupuncture and I get along really well. I get my treatment and I just melt into a puddle. It’s been really good for me. In the late afternoon, we had tennis and then got takeout fish tacos and quesadillas for dinner.

Thursday, I walked on the treadmill and went to pottery class. This week I got back the first bowls I ever made! They look ugly and wonky but I MADE THEM. I’m clearly learning a whole lot there every week and I’m enjoying the process of making pottery. This week, I glazed five bowls I made and then made two new bowls.

On Friday, I went for another walk and spent the rest of the day working. The kids had their pottery class in the late afternoon, then they hurriedly ate dinner, and I took them to the school for the Halloween festival. I was there for about an hour with them, we came home, and I ate a late dinner.

Saturday, it rained and rained all day. We stayed in as much as possible.

The good news is that I finished writing Flyght Book 2 yesterday! YAY! I’m so happy with it, and I’m glad with where I took the story. I also got the cover for Book 1 from my awesome cover artist and we work on Books 2 and 3 this week. I have her booked for early next year for Books 4, 5, and 6. Today, I plan to work on a few blog posts for this coming week and then add a few things I forgot to Flyght 2 and then get it out to first readers early this week.

What else happened this week?

Saw these cool mushrooms/fungi climbing up a tree in the park.

The park has been really pretty lately.

This surprise rainbow was a treat last Tuesday.

The kids did the majority of work on their own pumpkins this year. I’ll get a shot of them all lit up this week.

Here are the five pots before glazing. I took individual pictures of each after I dipped them so I can do before/after comparisons. Thanks, Evernote!

And here are my first four bowls I made! They are ugly but they’re mine. I’m very happy with them.

Have a great week everyone!

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Do You Nap? – Let’s Discuss

It may seem like an odd question today, but I’m literally four thousand words from finishing this book I’m writing, and I want a nap! But I don’t nap… Or I try to nap and it rarely ever happens. Sigh. This was a discussion post on The Writer’s Well podcast two weeks ago, and I found both the discussion and the comments on the post fascinating.

The nap idea seems to vary widely between people. One of the podcasters, Rachael Herron, loves to take a long nap in the middle of the day. The other podcaster, J Thorn, has always had trouble napping and has found that 30 minutes now works best for him. My husband came home yesterday and told me about a man he saw napping on a couch in an office common area with people ALL AROUND HIM. The man was OUT and snoring even! While five or six people talked around him. Impressive.

I have tried to nap for many years. My husband can lie down in bed and fall asleep within a few minutes, that lucky bastard. It takes me a long time to fall asleep, if I do at all. I’ve tried meditations, extra blankets, heating pads, and a ton of other little tricks to get my body to wind down and sleep. No dice.

There are only a few instances where I’m able to fall back to sleep during the day…

if I wake up in the morning and I’m still exhausted, I can go back to sleep within an hour or two of waking.

if I’m sick.

In the current book I’m writing, my main character has “space lag.” She got into a really stressful situation, jumped on a ship with little-to-no circadian time clues, and has been having nightmares when she DOES sleep. So her internal clock is all out of whack. One moment she’s holding it all together. The next moment she’s a puddle on the floor. Writing her has reminded me of my own sleep troubles. I need pharmaceutical help to sleep most nights, and yet, I’m still tired most of the time, but I can’t nap! It’s totally infuriating.

My next step is to try getting in a warm bed and meditating for 30 minutes. I hope that works for me, to refresh me and get back in the swing of things.

So, do you nap? How do you nap? If you don’t nap, do you do anything else to refresh yourself when you’re feeling tired? Let’s discuss!

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Featuring WAKING HER WOLF By Tori Knightwood

And now for something different! I love featuring new authors on the blog and this one is especially close to my heart. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this particular collection can be downloaded in exchange for a small donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. SHADES OF PINK features some great authors, over 20, and many great stories including one from Tori Knightwood.

I asked Tori, “What part of WAKING HER WOLF did you enjoy writing?”

She replied…

Waking Her Wolf, featured for October only in Shades of Pink, Volume 3, is the prequel to my upcoming Reverse Harem PNR trilogy, the Paris Harem. One of my favorite things about this series is how girly and feminine Catherine is, which is so opposite of me! She loves pink and frills and everything feminine. She’s also strong and caring, which made her really fun to write.

So few of my own characters are ever girly and feminine! I should try to mix it up some and add some femininity to a future character. :)

Wolf shifter Catherine Malraux left her family behind in Paris for a new life in the south of France. But a tragedy left her alone and unwilling to risk falling in love again. When tensions rise against shifters in her new home, Catherine turns to her best friend, Nico, for comfort. The only problem is that Nico wants more than friendship. Can Catherine overcome her fears, or will she lose her best friend and a chance at true love?

This friends to lovers story is set in Knightwood’s Wolves of Paris world and is the prequel to a new series, Paris Harem.

Check out WAKING HER WOLF in the SHADES OF PINK Vol 3 ANTHOLOGY by…

Donating to BCRF

Find This Author Online

Learn more about Tori Knightwood at…

https://linktr.ee/authortorik

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Featuring ALL THAT MATTERS By Tracy Krimmer

Today is the release day for Tracy Krimmer’s ALL THAT MATTERS, the final book of the ALL THAT Series. People, I’m SO PROUD of Tracy for finishing this series. She’s not really a series writer, so this is a big deal for her to finish this off. I really loved ALL THAT MATTERS! I cried twice reading it. Lol. So yeah, it’s that good. If you love a romance book with mature, developed characters, this series is for you… and it’s complete now!

I asked Tracy, “What’s your favorite part of the ALL THAT Series?”

She replied…

My favorite thing about the All That series is the main character’s grandma, Stella. Of all the characters I’ve written, I’ve found her to be the most fun. She’s sarcastic, opinionated, and has so much love to give.

The last book of the series, All That Matters, I dedicated to my grandmother’s, Phyllis and Dorothy. One I had in my life for a short time–I was eight or so when she passed away–and the other I never had a chance to meet. I wanted to explore a grandmother-granddaughter relationship, one I never really had. I was important to me that Stella play an important role in Dory’s life.

Stella is one of my favorite characters in the series! I love watching Stella and Dory interact and spend time together. It was such a wonderful, sweet, and sometimes tense relationship. But ultimately, family wins over!

Dory Walker finally has both feet on the ground and looks forward to one thing only–becoming Mrs. Harris Malone. Her wedding is coming up, and she’s put her music career behind her for good so she can focus on what’s important in her life. Family comes first.

Harris Malone is getting used to his young daughter living over an hour away but now faces a new challenge–unemployment. With a wedding in a few months, he’s in need of money, and he’s not sure how he’s going to find it.

But as Dory and Harris plan their happy future together, a trail of lies follows them. From secrets to hidden truths, every aspect of their relationship will be tested. Will they say “I do,” or will a web of deceit force them into saying “I don’t?”

Check out ALL THAT MATTERS on…
Amazon iBooks Nook Kobo

Find This Author Online

Want to learn more about Tracy Krimmer? You can find her online here…

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KrimmerAuthor

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tracykrimmer

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tkrimms

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/tkrimms

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracyKrimmer

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tracy-krimmer

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Sunday Update – October 21, 2018

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 that raced by with tons of stuff going on!

All week I did my best to walk or exercise or work in the mornings. I have this book I’m writing and I want to finish it on time!

On Monday, I took the kids to get the oldest child her new glasses. Man, buying new glasses nowadays is so easy! They just take a picture of your face while you wear some funky looking glasses and the iPad measures everything! Amazing. We picked out glasses and were done with the whole affair in 30 minutes.

On Tuesday, we went to get our CSA vegetable share and we made it home in one piece. Much better than our scare last week! My husband left for a work trip and we had the place all to ourselves. Me and the girls watched The Flash together during dinner.

On Wednesday, we had our usual trip to tennis lessons for the kids, and I decided that I really just want to watch Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop is my favorite anime, and I believe we used to have a bunch of episodes on VHS (VHS! I’m so old!). I didn’t have them on DVD, so I bought them on Amazon Video.

On Thursday, I had pottery in the morning. I showed up and I had FIVE bowls to trim and FOUR bowls to glaze! So that’s all I did while I was there. Didn’t make anything new. But now I’m excited to show up next week and see what my glazed pots look like! After I was done there I went grocery shopping.

On Friday, I dealt with some online business and then met my friend, Amy, for lunch and chatting. I love her. She always has the right things to say.

On Saturday, I spent the morning supervising my oldest child as she and her friends painted a store window in town for Halloween. This is a Middle School ritual around here and supposedly they’ve been doing it for over 25 years. In the afternoon, I took a nap and then got to work with writing.

Today, I’m dealing with some family business, updating the blog, setting up posts for the week, backing up, switching out ad campaigns, setting up evergreen social media campaigns, switching out my youngest child’s clothes, AND baking bread. Phew! Lots to do!

What else happened this week?

Love the Cowboy Bebop opening credits!

Here are all five pots that I had to trim up this week. If you don’t know what trimming is, once a piece of pottery is sculpted on the wheel, you take it off to dry out for a week or so. At this point, you put it back on the wheel upside down and use tools to “trim” off the excess clay and make a nice bottom out of it. You can then turn it top side up and trim a little out of the inside and fix any other problems. Then the pots dry out some more before they’re fired the first time in the kiln BEFORE glazing.

I processed all our peppers this week. I cut them up like this, flash boil them for 1 minute, let them cool, then freeze them.

The salad turnips were great this week!

Here are the girls looking at glasses.

The park was awfully frosty on Thursday morning.

I made some awesome apple crisp last Sunday!

Here’s the window my kid and her friends painted. It turned out nice!

And finally, I made excellent progress this week on this book AND I’m even further along than this now.

Have a great week everyone!

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Writing Update – Miso Cozy Mysteries and The Flyght Series – October 2018

I haven’t done a purely writing update post in a while so I figured it was time especially since I don’t have enough content for a Book Chat yet (the audiobook I’m listening to is quite long).

What’s going on with the Miso Cozy Mysteries Series?

So, as you all know, MATSURI AND MURDER, the Miso Cozy novella I wrote earlier this year is out and available. The Miso Cozy Series now stands at 4 novels and 2 novellas. I would like to write 9 novels in this series so up next is another novel to write. I have some great ideas for this next mystery! A sort-of “ripped from the headlines story” that I’ve had saved for some time. Plus I just got inspiration the other day from a news segment I saw on NHK World. Funny how those little news programs really inspire me. I’m really looking forward to writing it! When will that be? I plan to start writing at the beginning of November so that I can publish it early in 2019.

What am I working on now?

I’ve been talking about this on and off for a few months here and there so you may already know. I’ve started a new science fiction romance series, the Flyght Series. I love writing the Hikoboshi Series (more on that below) but I wanted to write something fast paced and fun with an emphasis on the romance, much like my Nogiku Series. I realize that SFR (sci-fi romance) does not have a huge audience but this is where my passion lies, and since my 5th anniversary, I’ve decided that I need to be writing what I love, what I want to read. The majority of the books I love to read are sci-fi, sci-fi romance, and cozy mysteries. So that’s what I’m concentrating on.

I’m doing the majority of my first draft on my Alphasmart Neo! I get so much done on it without distractions. It’s pretty awesome!

The Flyght Series is a lot of fun. The books are all a good, meaty 60,000 words, with a satisfying story arc in each. Here’s the deal though. I’m not going to publish this series until I have at least 6 of the planned 9 books completed. Complete as in edited and ready to go. I’m writing the 2nd book now. I have the whole series somewhat planned out. Next month, when I normally do NaNoWriMo, I will instead be editing these two books and outlining the Miso Cozy Mystery. Then once the mystery is done, I plan to write another two books in the Flyght Series back to back. I plan to put the first book on LONG pre-order on the non-Amazon retailers next month and aim for September 2019. I know that’s a long time to wait, but I figure it’s worth it to have several books ready and not make people wait a long time between them.

What happened to the Hikoboshi Series?

Speaking of waiting, apologies to the few people who have read the Hikoboshi Series and want to know what happens after FUKUSHA MODEL EIGHT. As you know, this series has not sold well, if at all, and it has not earned back any of the money I put into it. This means it gets a short time-out while I work on something else (Flyght). But never fear! I will finish this series. I have the cover and title for book 4 all ready to go! And I planned out what I want to do with the next two books for a total of five in the series. But these are all emotion- and action- heavy books. They take a long time to write and research. So I’m putting off writing on them until 2020.

Are you working on anything else?

I’ve been considering other writing on the side which I hope to get to sometime next year if possible. I have this idea for a stand alone book that would be fun to write, so I’ve set that idea down in Evernote for later. I always have ideas for writing!

So that’s what’s going on here with writing! I hope to share some snippets from my WIPs soon. Stay tuned!

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Featuring THE LAST LIBRARY By Jill Cooper

When I saw my friend Jill was writing this book, I squealed with delight. First, the cover is gorgeous. Second, the story! As authors, I think we’re required to love libraries, right? But we really do. And seeing magic surrounding a library is so perfect an idea.

I asked Jill, “What’s your favorite thing about the Last Library Series?”

She replied…

My favorite thing about the Last Library series is that it’s a love letter to books and how much I love them. The weight of them, turning that crisp page, the smell of old books, and remembering what it was like those first few times you fall in love with a book.

The main characters relationship with books is new and forbidden, setting her on a harrowing journey.

Doesn’t that sound intriguing? I can’t wait to read this one!

For the love of books everywhere…A rebel girl with the hidden ability to read sets off to save the world one book at a time.

One girl, Tarnish Rose, rescues what was meant to be destroyed. Finding an occasional book long forgotten, those heart-warming tales speak to her very soul and could land her in the hands of the Dark Lord Creighton.

Her ability to read is a closely guarded secret, but as the man she’s betrothed to is set to be killed for violating the code of conduct, Tarnish finds her secret on the verge of being discovered.

Unable to let this happen, Tarnish is about to launch on the journey of her life not only to free him but to stop the Dark Lord Creighton himself. With the hunter death squads on her tail, she’ll rush for a waiting train and discover the world is full of secrets and join forces with other rebel librarians.

If the death hunters don’t get her first.

Check out THE LAST LIBRARY on…
Amazon

Find This Author Online

Want to learn more about Jill Cooper? You can find her online here…

Website: http://www.jillacooper.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jillacooper

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jillybug

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Featuring LEGEND By Nicole Zoltack

I’m featuring a few new authors (and a few you already know) on the blog this month! I’ve known Nicole a long time now and she’s one heck of a prolific writer. Today, I asked her to stop by and tell us about her new release, LEGEND.

I asked Nicole, “What inspired the story of LEGEND and The Queenmaker Series?”

She replied…

I’ve always been a big history and legends buff, and King Arthur and Camelot has always been one of my favorite folklore heroes. I also love the what if game. What if King Arthur had been a teenage girl when the sword was pulled from the stone? What if she were a maid and had that as another obstacle? And The Queenmaker series was born.

I’ve always loved the tales of King Arthur as well. Did anyone else watch EXCALIBUR as a kid? My father loved that movie and I remember watching it a lot. I mean, who doesn’t love a lady in a lake giving out swords??

A maid who will become legend…

Sixteen-year-old Alena longs for a world where peasants, servants, and nobles are all equal. Truly, that will never be possible until the day when she removes a sword from a stone and might have the chance to become queen… if she can rally those same peasants, servants, and nobles behind her.

Legend is a King Arthur retelling with Arthur as Alena, a maid who can possibly become so much more than she ever dreamed possible. Perfect for fans of The Mists of Avalon, The Selection, and Red Queen.

Check out LEGEND on…
Amazon

Find This Author Online

Want to learn more about Nicole Zoltack? You can find her online here…

Website: http://www.NicoleZoltack.com

Author newsletter: http://www.subscribepage.com/m0k3l8

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PpYUI0

FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/authorNicoleZoltack

FB Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NicolesRockinReviewCrew/

Blog: http://nicolezoltack.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicoleZoltack

Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/NicoleZoltack

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nicole-zoltack

Google+: https://plus.google.com/112850281244279638997/posts

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2887586.Nicole_Zoltack

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolezoltack

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nicolezoltack

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolezoltack/

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/NicoleZoltack

Tumblr: http://nicolezoltack.tumblr.com

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Sunday Update – October 14, 2018

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.

I must be getting older because I feel like the weeks are just slipping by. Weekends are nothing but an eye blink. Where does the time go? I’m not sure. I guess when you’re always busy, it just cruises right on by.

Monday, my kids had a half day for Columbus Day. We didn’t do much in the afternoon. I think we watched some Flash and I did some writing. That was about it.

Tuesday should’ve just been any normal Tuesday but it wasn’t. We went to go pick up our weekly CSA veggie share and almost got killed on the way home. I was driving along minding my own business, when a woman veered into my lane after turning a corner and came at me head-on. I slammed on the horn and swerved out of the way, nearly missing her. She just stared at me with a slack face and drove off. I’m pretty sure she was drunk. Only someone totally impaired could’ve done what she did. My heart was pounding and the kids cried in the backseat because it was seriously scary. Almost met my maker that day.

On Wednesday, thankful to be alive, I handled a bunch of stuff. The cleaning ladies came, groceries were delivered, and I went to the chiropractor and acupuncturist. I was feeling pretty crappy because, on top of the death scare, I feared I was coming down with a sinus infection. My acupuncturist gave me extra immune points and worked on the digestion meridians. I felt better by the time I left and my sinus issues were cleared up by Friday!

On Thursday, it was more pottery! I’m so enjoying pottery. It’s a lot of fun and I’m learning a lot. The women in the class are pretty great too. I told the instructor that I will always be coming to class unless I’m sick or my kids are sick. I wanted him to know that I’m not going to quit, as it seems that many people do quit pottery after a short time when they realize it’s not easy. In the evening, my youngest had a Girl Scout thing to go to and it was raining. But she went and it was fun for her.

On Friday, I went grocery shopping and worked at home during the school day. Then the kids had their pottery and my oldest had a “Social” to go to at school. It was a long day but my husband worked from home and helped out a lot.

Yesterday, we drove out to see family for my nephews’ birthdays. It was great to be there. To eat pizza, enjoy some drinks, and hang out.

Today, I’m getting work done! Blog posts, ads, making apple crisp, and writing!

There’s been a lot of writing going on here. I’m at around 38,000 of a 60,000 word book, so that’s coming along. I’m right on schedule too, according to Scrivener. My current plan is to finish writing this book, edit Book 1 and then this Book 2 in November so they’re done. Then start writing a Miso Cozy Mysteries book so I have something to publish in early 2019. Because I think I’m going to write at least 6 books in this new Flyght Series of mine before I publish anything. Yep. I want the series at least 2/3rds finished before I publish anything. I think that’ll be best for readers and best for my sanity too. I get a lot of time to just live in this world without having to listen to feedback. I think it’s gonna be pretty great. :)

What else happened this week?

She still loves running the maze at the CSA location pickup.

My nephews loved their birthday presents. Lots of trains and recycling trucks.

I had a few nice days of weather this week! The park looked pretty this day.

New pots! I wonder how many wonky pots I’ll have by the end of this class. Lol.

More writing on my Alphasmart Neo.

I’m trying out something new to me, sherry. I quite like it!

And I love it when my kitchen looks nice and clean. Love!

Hope you all have an awesome week!

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