S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 81

Request S. J. Pajonas’s Books On Overdrive For Your Library

This is a quick note to let you know that my books are finally available to be purchased for your library on Overdrive. Are you a library reader and want to read my books through your library? It’s now possible! You just need to contact your library and ask them to purchase a copy of one of my books for you to read. This is not something I’m able to do for you, unfortunately. I just make them available in the system, and then it’s up to you and your library to order them and read them!

Find all of my books in Overdrive

I hope this helps out people on a low budget and those that have wanted my books in Kindle Unlimited, but they’re not available there. Have a great day!

The post Request S. J. Pajonas’s Books On Overdrive For Your Library appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Featuring PIRATE NEMESIS By Carysa Locke

I’m excited to have Carysa Locke on the blog to talk about her first book novel in the Telepathic Space Pirates Series, PIRATE NEMESIS. This is one of my favorite new series of the past year! I’ve read both this book and the second in the series, and I loved them both. This is also a genre I’ll be writing in next year, so it was great to have it as inspiration for more stories to come.

I asked Carysa, “Why did you write the Telepathic Space Pirates Series?”

She replied…

I write this series because it is exactly the kind of story I want to read: space fantasy with a kickass heroine and an epic storyline with fun and engaging characters. I grew up a fan of the original Star Wars, and I’ve always come back to that love of great space fantasy. I love a story with great family drama, action, romance, and stories that have a profound impact on the characters in them.

And let me tell you, this series has it all. I was thoroughly swept away by the first book, and the second book had me totally hooked as well. This book is FREE from Wednesday, June 20 through Sunday, June 24th! Pick up the first book and then get the second one too while you’re already on Amazon.

Killers. Thieves. Pirates. Family.

A fugitive from her own family, Mercy Kincaid’s dangerous telepathic gifts put her life in danger and make anyone she’s close to a target. When her best friend is captured and tortured, Mercy’s only hope is to reunite with the family that tried to murder her as a child. But will her plan be thrown off course when she falls into the hands of an enigmatic and dangerous killer?

Reaper has vowed to kill anyone who jeopardizes the survival of his people, and Mercy’s gifts are the biggest threat they’ve faced in eleven years. But as Reaper beings to trust the beautiful woman and her compelling abilities, he must decide if he’s fallen victim to her power. Will she destroy his people, or save them? If he makes the wrong choice, everyone will die.

Check out PIRATE NEMESIS on…
Amazon

Find This Author Online

Want to learn more about Carysa Locke? You can find her online here…

Website: http://www.carysalocke.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/carysalocke/

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

The post Featuring PIRATE NEMESIS By Carysa Locke appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – June 17. 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.

We’re winding down the school year here in the Pajonas household. This past week was lots of tales from school of cleaning out desks, compiling art to take home, returning books to the library, etc. Then we had a half day on Friday, the first of three to end the year. School is over on Tuesday, and though it means an end to some free time, I’m looking forward to it. I get to “sleep in” in the summer since camp doesn’t start until 8:30am on most days. I’m looking forward to the extra sleep.

On the writing front, I continued to work on the Miso Cozy novella, MATSURI AND MURDER, all week long. I mostly hit my word counts for each day, and I’m on target to finish on time. I’ve enjoyed this story and the mystery, the change in location. I’m looking forward to publishing it for you all.

This weekend was lots of pool! Yay! The weather was fabulous so we were there both days. Today we celebrated Father’s Day by going to the pool, treating my husband to a day where he had to do very little, and grilling outside. It was a great way to spend the day.

What else happened this week?

I love taking photos of wild mushrooms. This one is growing off the tree across the street from my house.

The deer have been around a lot lately.

Our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share started this past week! Lots of greens means lots of salads. Mmmm.

I had breakfast with a good friend of mine halfway through the week. These red velvet pancakes are so good.

My park has been so beautiful, so green.

I enjoyed some middle-of-the-day Ben and Jerry’s this week.

Father’s Day dinner was swordfish on the grill, corn on the cob, and dill potato salad.

And yes, my trips to the pool comprised of big floppy hats and long-sleeve SPF shirts.

Coming up this week on the blog: Top Ten Tuesday, a service update about my books, and a Book Chat (I think it’s time, it’s been a while.)

The post Sunday Update – June 17. 2018 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Visit Omicho Market – Traveling In Japan Series 2018

One of the highlights of my trip to Kanazawa was spending a morning at Omicho Market, Kanazawa’s famous produce market that’s been around since the Edo Period. Learn more about Omicho Market on japan-guide.com.

I have a suggestion for you. If you really want to see Omicho Market then devote a whole morning to the place. I slept in, checked out of my hotel, left my bags there, and went to the market for the whole morning before my train at 13:30.

This ended up being a great idea. I arrived at the market in the hours when it wasn’t crowded. This gave me time to walk up and down the big aisles and see what was on offer. And there was a lot on offer from fish and oysters, to sushi and oden, and even cut flowers and kitchen supplies. It really knocked me back to see everything under one big roof.

But after making it around the place once, I was hungry and I needed breakfast, so I went back to an oden restaurant to get something to eat.

Here we have a boiled egg, daikon radish, and a few fish cakes, one wrapped around a shrimp. If you’re not familiar with oden, it’s a bunch of individual items simmered in a light dashi stock. You pick and choose and you’re only charged for what you order. There’s usually soy sauce and spicy mustard too as condiments, but I was fine with what I had.

Once I had some good food in me, I walked around the market again, taking photos, listening into conversations, watching the hubbub of both customers and vendors.

I stopped to get coffee too, and while I was sitting and drinking, I watched fish arrive on trucks and people running out to work or home with cut flowers or breakfast.

After my coffee, I walked into several of the larger supermarkets and got a feel for what I could grab for lunch on the train later. I figured I’d love some fried shrimp and some inari sushi.

Now it was time for something different. Time to explore the area outside the market! Once I had been through the market twice, I left to walk around the neighborhood and visit the local temple, Ozaki Shrine.

This is a small shrine and temple but pretty nonetheless. It’s also a very short walk away and you can see some of the older buildings in the area along the way.

When I returned to Omicho Market closer to lunch, the place was crawling with people and getting crowded. But because I already knew what I wanted and where everything was located, I found my lunch quickly and got back on the bus to my hotel with no problems. With my lunch in hand, I grabbed my bags at the hotel, crossed the street, and met my train to Kyoto! It was a great way to end my trip to Kanazawa.

Next week: The Nomura Samurai Estate in Kanazawa. This one will have a great video.

The post Visit Omicho Market – Traveling In Japan Series 2018 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Mid-Year Goal Reflections

Since we’re coming up on the mid-year mark, I’ve decided to reassess the goals that I made in January and see how I’m doing with them. It’s also time to delete some goals and add in a few new ones that cropped up in the last month or two. Let’s go back to January!

The Year I Don’t Compete

I declared 2018 the Year I Don’t Compete and so far that main goal is going really well. I haven’t been paying close attention to what other authors are doing. I haven’t been competing. In fact, I have pushed even farther out of the rat race because I am pulling a ton of stuff from sale on the major vendors and selling direct. More on that below.

Writing Goals

I will publish three books this year. Instead of them being 1 cozy and 2 sci-fi, it’ll be the opposite. The second Cozy will be a hefty novella at 40k words.

I will write in a new series. Doing it! All is going well here.

I will participate in NaNoWriMo in November again, and Camp NaNoWriMo in April. I still plan to do NaNoWriMo in November but I skipped Camp in April due to spring break, Easter, and loads of other things including edits on FUKUSHA MODEL EIGHT.

Advertising, Marketing, Blog, and Social Media Goals

I will start a niche website Love Japanese Fiction. I have decided to scrap the niche website. I plan to redirect that URL to Pinterest.

I will continue to advertise and spend money on both promotions and ads. I’m doing fine with ads though I’ve cut back on AMS and Facebook. I will be concentrating on Google Adwords and Pinterest for the rest of 2018.

I will be raising my prices on some books. I will be doing the last of my price raises tomorrow on the Hikoboshi Series. Everything else is in line with my pricing goals.

I will be using Kindle Unlimited strategically and only when it’s truly working for me. Right now, with all the KU drama going on, I’m becoming more and more anti-KU and anti-Amazon. I have FEELINGS about this topic, but none of them are appropriate for polite company. Ahem. Right now, I don’t foresee using KU at all in the coming months or year.

I will spend less time on social media. I’m spending less time on social media so that goal is going well. I’m enjoying pinning and working on Pinterest instead.

I will blog more. I will do at least one discussion post per month. I’m blogging more and I love it. I realize that I’m not an author who blogs. I’m more of a blogger who writes. I’ve been blogging since 2005. It’s in my blood and it’s where I’m happy. I need to work on making more discussion posts.

I will develop a new method of income. My new method of income is coming along with the start of me selling my books direct. More on that in July when SUMMER HAIKUS and FACE TIME are both out of KU. I will be pulling them from Amazon and selling them direct exclusively. I’ll be doing the same with all my Kami No Sekai short stories as well (except for the box set). Then I also plan to do exclusive boxsets on my website and launch new series on my website as well.

Personal Goals

My personal goals are not doing as well.

I will read more. I will listen to 30+ audiobooks. I am reading more and listening to audiobooks which is great.

I will walk 1000 miles in 2018. I will lift weights twice a week – Tues and Thurs. FAIL. I will not be walking 1000 miles this year. This goal was sidelined early in the year when I got the flu and two sinus infections in a row. I’m also not lifting weights yet. I just haven’t found the time for it. I need to.

I will finish the shawl I’m knitting and knit another one. I will meditate more. I am knitting but I’m not meditating. I should really be meditating but I’ve been napping instead. Does that count?

New Goals

I will be taking a break this year from the Hikoboshi Series. I plan to write the last two books of this series next year. The series itself has not done well, and I need to take a break from it. I promise all 25 readers who are enjoying this series, I will finish it.

I will be focusing more on Pinterest. I’m interested in driving more traffic to my blog and Pinterest is the way to do it. Plus, it’s fun and more productive than Tumblr.

I will be writing the first 3 books of my new series because I can and want to. Because this is the Year I Don’t Compete and I still want to have fun, I have given myself permission to do what I want so my main new goals for the year are…

To have fun blogging and have fun writing what I want.

Because these are my two main passions: blogging and writing.

And I’m going to make them both my focus for the rest of the year.

As for everything else, reading and knitting are the most important goals after that.

Okay! Time to get back to work!

The post Mid-Year Goal Reflections appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Featuring SKYE BYRN By Drew Avera

I’m excited to have Drew Avera back on the blog to talk about his latest release SKYE BYRN. Believe it or not, I’m actually in this book! Lol. This one is on my summer reading list so I’m looking forward to seeing my name in action.

I asked Drew, “What is your favorite thing about SKYE BYRN?”

He replied…

My favorite thing about Skye Byrn is how ridiculous it is that I put about forty of my friends into the book in some form or fashion. It’s a gritty cyberpunk book, full of violence and a little bit of dark humor, but it didn’t feel as dark as I wrote people into it. If anything, it was a fun escape from my space opera series and something I didn’t take overly serious. Hopefully that comes across in the book in hushed undertones.

I bet I recognize other author friends in this book. I’ll have to make a list of the body count.

Revenge is a dish best served with two smoking barrels.

Doing a favor for her mentor Sammy P., Skye Byrn runs in one of the usual suspects on Ter, a small time Crunkhead named Trudy, another one of Sammy’s works in progress. Then a crime lord’s bomb rocks the station and Skye’s world will never be whole again.

Determined to find the bomber and put an end to their takeover attempt—and their existence, Skye enlists an unlikely ally, Trudy. As the station descends into madness, she finds herself in the fight of her life. If she fails to stop the takeover, she’ll be just another victim in their growing body count.

Skye brings the heat and there’s no price she won’t pay for vengeance.

Check out SKYE BYRN on…
Amazon

Find This Author Online

Want to learn more about Drew Avera? You can find him online here…

Website: http://www.drewavera.com

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/authordrewavera

Have you ever been featured in a book?

I think this is the first time I’ve been featured in someone else’s book! But maybe this has already happened to you? Let me know which book in the comments.

The post Featuring SKYE BYRN By Drew Avera appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – June 10, 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.

It’s been another busy week around here!

I decided this week to go back to spending time on Pinterest. I was tired of Tumblr and the fact that it doesn’t really bring me anything concrete for my business other than looking at pretty photos. But Pinterest has more potential to do well for me, especially with my Japan obsession, so I went back to it this week. I really like Pinterest again! There was a time when I used it a lot right in the beginning, but I stopped when they had copyright issues and their app was unstable. Now it’s a lot better. I’m excited to see where all of my pinning takes me.

This brings up another point, that it’s around the mid-year point of 2018 and it’s time to evaluate my goals for this year so watch for a post coming up this week about that.

This week I was really saddened by the death of Anthony Bourdain. Tony was a part of my life for almost 10 years though he didn’t know it. I remember watching his show, wishing I could travel and taste the foods that he ate, while my babies were small and I couldn’t go anywhere. His insights into culture and food were inspiring, and they kept me enraptured until I could make those travels myself. I also loved his outlook on life. He was no-holds-barred and honest. He gave no fucks. He was an inspiration to me. I’m going to miss him dearly. I’ll be rewatching his shows until the end of time.

As for stuff that happened around the homestead, we had a week of pool parties here. Monday was my youngest’s year-end pool party for softball. Tuesday was our only chill day of the week. Wednesday we had our year-end Girl Scouts pool party. Thursday was a half day so we had a THE FLASH marathon at home and dinner in front of the TV together. Friday, the husband was home, so we spent the evening together as a family.

Saturday was our busiest day. My husband ran a local 5k race in the morning. The youngest had her very last softball game at 12:30. The oldest went to a birthday party, and the rest of us went to a family reunion in the evening. It was so nice to spend the evening with family! I love everyone in my family dearly, but we don’t always have time to spend together. This was so nice. I hope we can do it every year!

In work news, writing continues on my MATSURI AND MURDER novella. I’m on track to make my self-imposed deadline so I can make the real deadline for the box set. All is going well there.

What else happened this week?

I’ve been enjoying the mochi I brought back from Japan!

I enjoyed lunch outside this week. Included in my salad was some baby kale too from the greenhouse.

Pool party meant I sat off to the side and got some work done.

I’ve become obsessed with pineapple. Yum!

And some photos from my family reunion yesterday. I know you don’t know any of these people, but here they are anyway. I love my family so very much.

Coming up this week on the blog: Top 10 Tuesday, a reflection on this year’s goals, and a trip to Omichi Market in Kanazawa.

The post Sunday Update – June 10, 2018 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Using Classic Sci-Fi To Influence New Stories In The Hikoboshi Series

My mom was the first person to hand over a science fiction book to me.

I remember that moment when she produced CHILDHOOD’S END by Arthur C. Clarke and said, “I think you’ll enjoy this.” I was already a Star Trek and Star Wars fan, so she knew what I was into. She understood my need to dream amongst the stars. And that book? It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Growing up a child in the 80s and 90s, I spent a lot of time in the library. I can still see in my head our two local libraries, the two places I spent the most time pouring over every book in the science fiction section and hoping for something new to pop out at me. No science fiction book was safe! I read the blurbs on the back cover, and I paged through the first chapter. Each trip, I took home at least three or four books and was back in a week for more. I even joined the Science Fiction Book Club and looked forward to each book sent to me. My appetite was insatiable.

So it came as no surprise to anyone when I started writing my own science fiction series, The Nogiku Series and The Hikoboshi Series. The advice for most authors is to write what you want to read, and I wanted more adventures in space, preferably with women at the helm. Because you know what all those stories I read as a kid lacked? Women. I rarely saw a three-dimensional woman, someone I could look up to. Yet, those stories still grabbed me, despite the lack of role models. Since deciding to write my own series, I have focused on women while still paying homage to the great authors who came before me.

The series I’m writing now references two of my favorite science fiction stories from my childhood: Phillip K Dick’s BLADE RUNNER/DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? and Isaac Asimov’s Robot Series, THE CAVES OF STEEL, THE NAKED SUN, and THE ROBOTS OF DAWN. With androids on the loose in the Hikoboshi Series, it seemed proper to access the classics and use them to guide me. But I thought, “What if my worlds had never read those books? What kinds of things would they do the same? What would they do differently?”

So I took two paths and made Blade Runner my “positive” guide and The Robot Series my “negative” guide. With lifelike androids who were so human they needed to be tested, the Blade Runner model pushed the story along for my heroine, Yumi. She could never tell who was human, who was android. And her Blade Runner hero, Rin, would devote his career to figuring out the difference. Choosing the opposite of The Robot Series model, the Hikoboshi androids would have no rules or laws that they operated by. It would lead to chaos and upheaval… until the two models could be reversed and go in the opposite directions at the mid-point of the series.

As someone who loves a good plot twist, this model has been a lot of fun to work with! And I’m sure I’m leaving readers with lots of questions and looking for answers that I look forward to answering as the series progresses. And of course, I’m enjoying referencing my favorite stories from my childhood.

What are your favorite sci-fi classics? Have they influenced your choices of current science fiction to read? Tell me all about them in the comments.

The post Using Classic Sci-Fi To Influence New Stories In The Hikoboshi Series appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Let’s Walk Around Kanazawa Castle – Traveling In Japan Series 2018

I had one day in Kanazawa, Japan to see all the major sights, so after I was done wandering around Nishi Chaya and the Teramachi district, I walked along the river, got back on the Left Loop bus, and made my way over to Kanazawa Castle.

According to Wikipedia, Kanazawa Castle was built by Sakuma Morimasa and was in use from 1580-1871. It’s also partially reconstructed. There are two main portions of the castle: the castle and its grounds, then the huge Kenroku-en Garden which is across the street (I did not make it to this garden) and served as the outer gardens to the castle. This castle was ruled by the Maeda Clan for 14 generations. If you have read my Nogiku Series, you will know that I used the Maeda Clan in those books as one of the ruling families in Nishikyö.

I was really fortunate to visit the castle when it wasn’t too busy. Most of the areas in the castle park were quiet and not crowded with school groups. I think the best day to go sightseeing in most of Japan is when it’s cloudy and threatening to rain. I still got a sunburn this day though! (Because I’m special.)

I didn’t go into the castle proper (I don’t even know if this is possible) because I spent so much time wandering around the grounds that I was starving by the time I was done. When you enter the grounds there are a few different ways you can circle around the castle. I went to the right and down the hill first, before deciding to go back up the hill, and circle to the right of the moat.

I love this path alongside the moat. It stretched out in perfect symmetry to the side of the castle, and at one point, for several minutes, I was the only person there (you can see this in the video below.)

But one of the best parts of the park is the sunken garden, Gyokuseninmaru Garden. It’s way down a hill to the back of the castle, and if you don’t look at the map, you wouldn’t even know it’s there. I caught my breath when I saw it, and I’m sure I uttered a shocked, “Wow.” With little rolling green hills, a mini-lake and bridge, and a tiny waterfall, this garden does what all good Japanese gardens does, it mimics the terrain of Japan. This garden was added during the restoration of the castle in 2015.

An older man was just past this waterfall, painting on a canvas. I wish I had gone over to see what he was painting, but I left him alone.

This was such a beautiful place! I spent a good amount of time taking deep breaths and really feeling the serenity of a garden like this. If I lived in Kanazawa and needed some peace, I would come here all the time.

Want more of the Kanazawa Castle and grounds? Check out this walking video I made of the place.

Coming up next week, we’ll take a walk through Higashi Chaya, the other geisha district in Kanazawa, and a land that time forgot.

The post Let’s Walk Around Kanazawa Castle – Traveling In Japan Series 2018 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Featuring SCANDAL By Athena Grayson

Today, we have Athena Grayson here to talk about SCANDAL: SCIONS OF THE STAR EMPIRE #1. I love Athena’s writing! It’s sharp and smart, driven by timely what-ifs and contemporary ideas turn into future theories. I love it!

I asked Athena, “What inspired SCANDAL and the SCIONS OF STAR EMPIRE Series?”

She replied…

One of the most baffling things I find about the world Financial markets is futures trading in the commodities market. In the movie “Trading Places,” Randolph and Mortimer Duke (played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche) explain to Eddie Murphy’s Billy Ray Valentine character a simplification of what commodities brokers do, to which Billy Ray replies, “Sounds like y’all are a coupla bookies.”

The original concept for Scions was “Gossip Girl meets Dune.” Social media has become so prevalent in our lives that celebrities live and die on “likes” and “shares.” Yet no one seemed to be accepting “likes and shares” in exchange for coffee or car payments.