Jacqueline E. Smith's Blog, page 21
April 21, 2015
Boy Band
Well, it’s here! ��April 21 and��Boy Band��is officially available on Kindle, Nook, and on Amazon.com! ��It will be available on BarnesAndNoble.com and probably iBooks shortly. ��I say “probably” with the iBooks because I swear, I have never gone through more aggravation trying to get something done than uploading��Cemetery Tours��to iBooks. ��It is a pain in the butt.
But I didn’t come here to gripe about my lack of iBooks skillz. ��I’m here to celebrate!
It’s pretty cool. ��This is a book I never planned to write. ��It wasn’t even in my head when I began writing it. ��It all began with my friend, Savannah (http://savannahrohleder.blogspot.com) telling me that she was participating in National Novel Writing Month and that I should sign up also. ��At first I thought, “No way. I hate being timed. Besides, I should write because I want to write, not because I feel pressured.” ��But the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize I was looking at it all wrong. ��NaNoWriMo wasn’t just a stupid trend. ��It was an actual opportunity that encouraged people all over the world to write. ��How could I possibly think that was a bad thing in any way? ��Besides, it might be nice to take a break and write something new, something that I probably wouldn’t have written otherwise.
May I just tell you I am so glad she talked me into signing up?
I’ve had more fun with this book than I could possibly have imagined when I first signed up for NaNoWriMo. ��I went in thinking, “I probably won’t publish this… I might not even finish it…” which might sound bad, but really, it freed me up to write the story the way I wanted to write it, as though I was the only one who was going to read it. ��And I ended up loving it. ��There was no pressure, no expectations. ��Just freedom, and as you know, freedom is the one thing I covet most (Except for maybe a date with Richard Armitage).
Now, here it is, April 21, and the NaNoWriMo project that never should have been is a book. ��The third book on my resume. ��And I couldn’t be prouder of it.
Thank you to all who encouraged me, Savannah, Hannah, Kit Kat, and especially my sister, KJ! ��I couldn’t have done it without you!
The Kind of September is here to stay, y’all!
April 16, 2015
Red and Blue and Green
Despite��my love for reading and writing, I am truly an outdoors girl at heart. ��Given the��choice between staying in or going out and hiking or kayaking or simply just being in nature, I will choose outside every time. ��Yesterday, I took a day off from the writer thing and spent time with two of my best friends enjoying the springtime sun and beautiful nature of the great state of Texas.
Here are some of the pictures.
In book related news, remember there are only a few days left to enter my GoodReads Giveaway!��https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/129034-boy-band
Don’t pass this up! ��Spread the word!
Also, The North Texas Book Festival added pictures of all the authors at their booths. ��Everyone is smiling and posing all professionally with their books.
And then there’s me.
Maybe next year I’ll learn to be socially acceptable.
Much love, y’all!
April 14, 2015
One Week!
Hello, friends! ��It’s Tuesday! ��This time next week,��Boy Band��will be available on Amazon, Kindle, and Nook! ��It will also be available on BarnesAndNoble.com eventually, but I’ve discovered that it usually takes a week or two before it shows up there.
��
This is just your friendly reminder that I am hosting a Goodreads Giveaway. ��I am giving away FIVE signed copies of��Boy Band. ��There are still seven days left to enter! ��If you know someone who loves Young Adult fiction, Boy Bands, or both, this is the perfect read for them! ��And yes, I am fully aware that I am 100% completely biased, but as I’ve said before, I would never publish a book that I did not feel 110% proud of. ��I just wouldn’t. ��Publishing doesn’t work that way. ��Not to me, not to any independent author. ��I love this book. ��I want people to read it, and I really hope that they love it too. So please enter and help me to spread the word!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/129034-boy-band
Here they are! ��These are the five books. ��One of them could be yours! ��Not signed yet because I like to personalize them.
Also, huge thank you to The S.M.A.R.T. Book Club Blog, who featured��Boy Band��in their What-To-Read-Next post! I’m honored!
http://thesmartbookclub.blogspot.com/2015/04/what-to-read-next-12.html
Keep reading, everyone! ��It’s going to be a good week.
April 13, 2015
North Texas Book Festival
This past weekend, I attended the North Texas Book Festival for the first time. ��I had an amazing time. ��The location was incredible, the speakers phenomenal, and I met so many wonderful new friends and authors. ��That’s my favorite part of these events, meeting new people and finding new books to read!
To get there on time, I woke up at 4:30 in the morning. ��For those who know me, that’s about the time I normally go to sleep. ��I actually had my alarm set for about 5:15, but I was too excited to go back to sleep, so before sunrise, my books and I were in the car and ready to go.
I was also incredibly excited for��Boy Band��to make it’s pre-release debut!
The other displays were incredible.
Perhaps best of all, the festival kept us incredibly well-fed: bagels, Cinnabon, fruit, cake, pizza, Schlotzsky’s… I don’t think I’ve ever been fed that much in my life!
Thank you for everything, North Texas Book Festival! ��I can’t wait until next year!
Oh, and because I know you were all wondering… MY SISTER AND I TOTALLY HAVE FLOOR TICKETS TO ED SHEERAN!!!!!!!!!!
Loving Grammar with Steve Lund
Taking a bit of a break from the world of fiction with this blog post to interview the man who not only taught me everything I know about grammar, but also inspired my love for classic literature and of course, William Shakespeare. He also happens to have a brand new book out called��Loving Grammar: Mr. Lund’s Guide to Professional Clamdigging.
Steve Lund was my high school English teacher. ��You could probably say he was something of a celebrity at Lutheran High School of Dallas (now known as Dallas Lutheran School). ��Everyone, even the middle schoolers who had yet to take his classes, knew about the infamous “Lund Papers” and the enigma known as “Clamdigging.” ��Mr. Lund has us writing college level papers in eleventh grade, and I’ve got to tell you, his classes are the reason I never stressed out over a paper in college. ��University-assigned papers just weren’t a big deal to me, and all of my former high school classmates agree. ��It was all thanks to Mr. Lund and yes, grammar friends, it was all thanks to Clamdigging.
It is my honor as a published author and as a student of the humanities to welcome Mr. Steve Lund to my blog.
Hi, Mr. Lund! ��Tell my readers a little bit about yourself.��
Ok, over 40 years ago, a favorite teacher of mine in college (Dr. Prausnitz���I wrote a little limerick about him years ago.*) told me that he thought I���d make a good teacher.�� I remember saying to him������How do you know that?���
His maddeningly mysterious reply: ���I know.���
Well, as a result of a recommendation for teaching assistantships that Prausnitz put out there for me–without my knowledge–I started in 1972, teaching college students English when I was 21 years old, and it didn���t take me long to realize that teaching is what I love to do.�� So Prausnitz was right after all.�� And I���ve taught the best music and lit on the planet to HS, college, university, retirement people (and even���for one semester���a prison class), and it has never gotten old.�� I���ve gotten old, but my love for teaching is ���younger than springtime��� (to mint a new phrase).�� What I love���besides just hanging out with curious people���is taking fiendishly difficult subjects���grammar, sonata-allegro form of classical music, poetry, Joyce and Faulkner, Shakespeare, foreign languages���and making them absolutely learnable for everyone.�� That���s what lights my inner bulb!
*There once was a prof at CC
Who lectured and sang on TV,
But the networks got scared��
And calling it merde
They made it a late late at 3.
What inspired your love for teaching grammar?��
I shouldn���t say this in broad daylight, but I have always liked grammar and languages���even diagramming sentences although I would never inflict that painful exercise on my students.�� (Diagramming sentences is the equivalent of cutting your lawn with scissors.) Transformational grammar (Chomsky) was fun too!�� Honestly, my grammar/writing/teaching skills were honed teaching international students for quite a few years.�� One Saudi wrote this:�� ���*When I come to United States I was Washington, DC for two weeks.����� Okay, anyone want to know why we have prepositional phrases?�� No matter how painful it is to learn prep phrases, it is still easier than ���being Washington DC��� for two weeks.
What exactly IS Professional Clamdigging?��
Professional Clamdigging is finally getting the chance to learn and master something that you never thought you���d ever get���something that matters, by the way.�� Maybe you thought that everyone else learned this but you didn���t and never will.�� The problem with having this attitude about grammar/writing is that it can haunt you the rest of your lives���because after all���who doesn���t need to write���posts and memos and love notes���we do it all the time.�� This book is written for people (of any age���HS, college or senior citizen) who want to put any of these kinds of anxieties into the grave where they belong and begin enjoying the writing life again���and, as a matter of fact, enjoying life again.�� No more grammar worries and insecurities with Loving Grammar.�� In fact, we have a lot of fun figuring it all out!�� It���s like a party!�� That���s Loving Grammar!
Tell me about the experience you had teaching Clamdigging to your own students.
So in my Washington DC example above, I spoke of students learning English as a Second Language (ESL).�� Little did I know (since I had a BA and MA in English) and had been accepted into the doctoral English program at University College, Cambridge (England), there were a lot of things that I didn���t understand myself���things like commas, for instance.�� I���m sure we���ve all heard or said this kind of thing:�� ���Uh, I think you need a comma here,��� without having the foggiest idea why.�� We���re operating on native intuitions���and frankly a lot of bamboozling, but an ESL students can���t even fall back on those intuitions.�� So I figured that I need to find a way to teach students exactly where and why to put commas in their writing using clear structural information that ANYONE can learn.
Of course, when I came to LHS (with virtually all American students) in 1984, I had no idea that I���d still be teaching English as a second language, if you know what I mean.�� And why should I be so shocked.�� If I didn���t know all the stuff with degrees up the wazoo in English, then who does?�� It was an adventure, I guess you could say.�� It still is!�� It reminds me of the story of the two shoe salesman who travel to Africa.�� One wires back, ���Situation hopeless���no one wears shoes here.��� �� The second one sent this telegram:�� ���Endless market available to us���no one wears shoes here.���
Any favorite memories?
Standing on my desk and doing the Watusi dance (pic attached) when my students all mastered using commas with non-restrictive adjective clauses.
What do you love most about grammar?
I love seeing how logic works with language.�� Grammar brings the chaos of that ocean of words out there into an order that allows billions of people to communicate anything they want.�� Just like math has gotten us to the moon and to the edges of the solar system and back.�� No math, no computers!�� No grammar, no communication–period!�� What a dark world we���d live in without grammar!
Are there any more Loving Grammar books on the horizon? �� (Jackie: my current plan is to use Professional Clamdigging����� rather than Loving Grammar as the generic label for these writing books.)
Yes, grammar just gives the basics for good writing.�� I have taught a kind of writing that I call ���jazz,��� which allows for us to shape our language into beguiling styles���funny, celebratory, snooty, sarcastic, seductive���just the kind of writing that lights up our world.�� I���d like to do a book on that too as a companion the Loving Grammar book.
Do you have any other books planned besides the Loving Grammar series?
Yes, I hope to write a book about some of the secrets of Shakespeare plays that are rarely understood or discussed.�� And I have a book about growing up in Chicago that is beating me up black and blue from the inside and will continuing doing so, apparently, until I get it done and out there.
I know this question is so cliche, but tell me about your favorite books. �� My favorite books are always new every time I read them���whether fiction, or philosophy or psychology or theology or history or whatever.�� It���s true for all of them, ���King Lear, Dubliners, Heart of Darkness, The Tempest, Sound and the Fury, Hamlet.
What do you most love about reading?�� Well asking me this is like asking me what I like about food or nature or oxygen?�� I have a feeling that I���m only sometimes vaguely aware of how much my life depends on reading books and other stuff.�� When I need a laugh or encouragement or a kick in the butt or challenge or diversion or consolation or inspiration or holiness or danger or adventure, I know right where to find it in books.�� And my constant reading���both fiction and non-fiction, you could say, is research for finding news areas to mentally bookmark for help in all those categories I mentioned above.�� And I know that in talking to you about this, Jackie, I���m preaching to the choir.�� Anyone who has read any of your books, sees these qualities in spades in your writing.
What inspired your love for classic literature?
My mother read to me as a child���Hans Christian Anderson, Grimm���s Fairy Tales, Bible stories, Nursery Rhymes.�� Shakespeare and Kafka and Joyce and Dante and Faulkner are just another stop on the same bus line, when you think about it.�� I know that it���s a hyberbole to say that I wanted to have kids to be able to read to them, but believe me, we wore out the books, Seuss and the Nursery Rhymes and all of it.�� My favorite poem is still this:�� ���Hey diddle diddle.�� That cat and the fiddle.�� The cow jumped over the moon.�� The little dog laughed to see such sport and the dish ran away from the spoon.����� Kind of funny when you consider that I don���t have the foggiest idea what the heck it���s ���about.���
��Finally, tell me something about Shakespeare that most people probably don���t know.
That���s kind of a funny question because what I love about most Shakespeare is that I���m always discovering things about his books that I didn���t know���even after reading them and studying them and watching them and teaching them for many years.�� That���s why I love to teach Shakespeare, and I still do���my students (young or old) are always showing me things that I���ve missed on my previous treks.
But since you may not like that end run around your question, let me say this.�� I have a funny feeling that Shakespeare may have participated in the rendering of Psalm 46 in the King James Version of the Bible.�� Read 46 words into it from the beginning and see what you get and then go to the end (not counting Selah) and count back 46 words.�� See what you make of it that!�� Remember, it has to be the KJV!
Website:�� LovingGrammar.com
Can buy book and answer key there.
Can also buy the book on Amazon.com.
Full title:�� Loving Grammar:�� Mr. Lund���s Guide to Professional Clamdigging ���
Outskirts Press,�� 2014.
April 9, 2015
Character Interview: Luke Rainer
Okay. ��I’m finally getting around to giving��Luke, the lead investigator of the oh so popular ghost-hunting show,��Cemetery Tours, the opportunity to��interview me. ��It’s been a long time coming, since I haven’t posted a character interview since the one I did with Kate:��https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/character-interview-kate-avery/
That being said, let’s get started!
Jackie Smith (JS): ��Welcome, Luke!
Luke Rainer (LR): ��Thanks, Sweetheart. ��Good to be here. ��I gather you’re a fan?
JS: ��Probably one of your biggest.
LR: ��Awesome. ��That’s what I like to hear.
JS: ��So, what questions do you have for me?
LR: ��Here’s one. ��How come I don’t have a girlfriend?
JS: ��Do you want a girlfriend? ��You don’t really strike me as a “relationship” kind of guy.
LR: ��Not really.�� I’m just wondering. ��I mean, I’m gorgeous. ��I have a great personality. ��What gives? ��Why am I still single?
JS: ��Well, aside from the fact that you just confirmed that you don’t want one, I’m kind of of the mindset that you’re too focused on your career to have time for a serious girlfriend. ��You might find one eventually. ��But for now, you’re kind of man candy for my readers. ��You know what I mean?
LR: ��You’re using me as bait.
JS: ��Yeah, sort of. ��But really attractive bait.
LR: ��Fair enough. ��Okay, here’s another question. ��I’ve been chasing ghosts for a while now, yes?
JS: ��Yes. ��Basically your whole life.
LR: ��And that’s awesome. ��But when do I get to hunt something a little more sinister? ��You know, go after some demonic entities or evil spirits?
JS: ��Never.
LR: ��What?! ��Why not?!
JS: ��I mean, if you really want to go hunting demons, knock yourself out. ��Go for it. ��I’m just not going to write about it.
LR: ��That’s not cool.
JS: ��Too bad. ��I’m the author. ��You have to do what I tell you.
LR: ��Not necessarily.
JS: ��Okay, you’ve got me there. ��Sure, when you’re not in my books, you can hunt as many demons and evil spirits as you want, but they scare me, so I’m not going to write about them. ��Besides, these are��ghost��stories. ��Not demonic entities stories.
LR: ��But you believe there are demonic entities out there.
JS: ��Enough to not want to mess with them, even in fiction, so yeah. ��Besides, I don’t think Michael can see those, and these really are his stories.
LR: ��Yeah, yeah, I know. ��Everyone loves Mikey. ��He’s the main character. ��Whatever. ��When are we getting a Luke Rainer series?
JS: ��That’s a good question. ��If I ever feel so inclined, I might write you one.
LR: ��Really?
JS: ��I never rule anything out. ��Except demons.
LR: ��Drat.
JS: ��Sorry.
LR: ��You never let me have any fun.
JS: ��You’ll have fun in the next book.
LR: ��Really?
JS: ��Well, I hope so. ��I’m kind of rewriting it. ��But you’re a lot better off in this new version. ��I promise.
LR: ��Okay, good. ��I don’t know why, but I trust you.
JS: ��You really don’t have a choice.
LR: ��I have one more question.
JS: ��Shoot.
LR: ��Can I be in the new��Ghostbusters��movie?
JS: ��Probably not.
LR: ��Why not?
JS: ��Because I’m not associated with that franchise in any way whatsoever. ��But if I was, I’d totally write you in.
LR: ��Aw, really?
JS: ��Promise.
Read Cemetery Tours:��http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-E.-Smith/e/B00F7BPXX6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427829800&sr=8-1
April 8, 2015
Gathering Thoughts
Hi, friends.
It probably comes as no surprise that I find myself very scatterbrained at the moment. ��I’m trying my best to concentrate on what needs to be done, but you know, there’s just so much that needs to be done that instead of concentrating on one thing, I end up trying to do three or four things at once, resulting in… nothing, really. ��Just a lot of crazy.
As you probably know by now, when I find my brain muddled and cluttered, I sort everything out with a list. ��I find it very therapeutic to literally separate my thoughts. ��That way, the don’t get all mixed up, kind of the way they are now. ��It really permits me to focus on one thing at a time. ��So, here are the things rattling around in my huge head.
* NORTH TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL THIS SATURDAY! ��I need to get everything organized. ��I need to make sure I have everything. ��I need to set everything out that I need to take. ��I need to figure out what I’m going to wear (this is a big one)! ��Get organized, brain! ��Get organized!
* Keep working on��Cemetery Tours 3! ��Since I’m doing a bit of early revising, I’m going to have to go back and work even harder than I would have had I stayed on track. ��The good thing about being an independent author and publisher, however, is that I make my own deadlines. ��And if, for some reason, I miss a deadline, I can choose not to fire myself. ��Granted, it is very unprofessional to miss deadlines and all the official ones, I work like crazy to keep, but that’s another story.
* Don’t forget other events! ��Not only my upcoming events, like Authorfest in Denison, but friends’ events! ��For example, a couple of my friends are speaking at the Melissa Library. ��My dear friend, Paula, has a couple of book signings coming up that I want to attend! ��You can check out her blog and her new children’s book,��Jack Learns to Grill, here:��https://paulawalkerbaker.wordpress.com
*��Boy Band��is out in less than two weeks. ��It’s okay. ��Don’t panic. ��Breathe. ��Breathe. ��You’re excited for this! ��It’s an awesome book! ��You love it! ��Just make sure everything is okay for formatting for Nook and Kindle.
* Don’t forget about you GoodReads Giveaway! ��You have to have FIVE copies to send to people! ��https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/129034-boy-band
* BOOK SIGNING AT HALF PRICE! ��Yay! ��This is exciting! ��If you’re in the DFW area, stop by and see me on June 24!��https://www.facebook.com/events/1114004495292639/permalink/1114004941959261/
* I am WAY behind on blog posts! ��I need to post some more Character Interviews as well as an interview featuring Steve Lund, author of��Loving Grammar: Mr. Lund’s Guide to Professional Clamdigging.��http://lovinggrammar.com
* Oh! ��And I really need to step up my advertising for��Lurking in the Deep! ��This is a big deal and after everything that’s been going on, I’ve really been neglecting the new anthology. ��It’s going to be AMAZING, y’all.
* This isn’t really something that I need to be doing or thinking about, but my sister totally got to meet Country Musician Wade Bowen this morning. ��So jealous.
I think that’s about it. ��I pray that all your brains be far less messy and cluttered than mine.
April 6, 2015
Unexpected Happenings
Hello, friends.
I hope you all had the most pleasant of Easter/Passover weekends. ��If you don’t celebrate either, I hope your weekend was just as pleasant. ��My weekend, while weird in perhaps not the best possible way, still managed to be wonderful.
I spent Easter with three of my best friends. ��Since none of us have kids, we hid treats��for two of their dogs around their parents enormous backyard. ��It was like a doggie EAster egg hunt. ��I really didn’t expect to get so into it, but we all had so much fun trying to guide the puppies to treats.
Speaking of doggies, Lucas here really wants you to read Boy Band��when it comes out in a few weeks!
Anyway, after that, we headed back to the apartment for an indoor spa session. ��We filled the bathtub up with bubbles and soaked our feet. ��Then we painted our nails and made s’mores with Nutella. ��I now know what Heaven tastes like.
Finally, to end our night of Eastery festivities, we set up fish tanks so my friends could go buy some fish (because there are several other reasons why someone would bother setting up a fish tank). ��Anyway, while we were emptying the bags and getting everything set up, we found this:
Someone thinks they are either very funny or very clever. ��Either way, we got a good laugh. ��So I guess they would be right.
So yeah, Easter was pretty fun in a very unconventional way.
But now that it’s Monday (almost Tuesday), it’s really time to get down to business (no, not to defeat the Huns). ��I’ll be attending the North Texas Book Festival in Denton this Saturday. ��I’m SO excited, not only because it sounds like an AWESOME festival, but because��Boy Band��will be pre-released! ��Agh!!!
HOW COOL IS THAT!?!!?
I have a few more events lined up in the upcoming weeks and months, including, I found out just a few hours ago, a book signing at Half Price Books Flagship in Dallas!!! ��It’s the same Half Price where I met Kathleen Kent and Anne Rice! ��It’s my first ever personal book signing! ��I’ll let you know more details as they unfold, but I am ecstatic.
Finally, in other career news, I find myself in the mindset of… rewriting��Cemetery Tours 3.��
Don’t panic! ��It’s still coming! ��And I’m not deleting what I have. ��I just find myself struggling along and trying to convince myself that I’m happy with where the characters and the story is going and I’m just… not. ��I’ve been doing some brainstorming recently, though, and I’m thinking I know what I want to happen. ��It’s more of a tweaking than an actual re-write. ��But you know, sometimes as writers, if it’s not working, it’s not working. ��And that’s okay. ��I’ve discarded manuscripts and half-manuscripts before. ��This is nothing new. ��I just want, not only what is best for my characters, but what is best for my readers. ��I want to write a book that they’ll enjoy, the kind they deserve to read.
And yes, I’m still going to write the rest of the character interviews. ��Busy, busy, busy. ��But in a good way!
I’ll talk to y’all soon.
April 3, 2015
Gardening Journey Part II
Well, it’s the end of another week and my tomato sprouts are thriving.
However, after almost two weeks, I still hadn’t seen any sign of my bell peppers. ��I was beginning to worry that I was over-watering them, or that maybe they weren’t getting enough sunlight. ��So I turned to the infinite source of all wisdom and knowledge, Google.
The articles I read reassured me that depending on the temperature and environment, bell peppers can take longer to germinate than most seeds. ��I decided no to give up on them.
Last night, my patience paid off. ��I have several new bell pepper sprouts and more are popping up every hour!
The weather has been absolutely beautiful, so if I have time this weekend, I’m going to try to get my sunflowers and milkweed in the ground! ��I’m just hoping the squirrels don’t dig them up again. ��Grrrr.
In book-related news, I’ve decided to make my sister my new marketing supervisor.
Happy Friday, all!
April 2, 2015
Reasons Why My Sister and I Need to Go See Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is coming to Dallas on September 5. ��I am determined to go see him and, if at all possible, I am determined that my sister go with me. ��The only reason that might be a problem is because she goes to school kind of far away and she might be involved in a musical production at that time. ��But we’re going to hope for the best.
Tickets for some stadiums go on pre-sale on April 6, but I’m not sure if Dallas will be on that list or not. ��If not, then the tickets will be on sale April 10. ��I’m guessing that they’ll be a bit pricey. ��It is Ed Sheeran, after all. ��But I don’t care. ��This is one of those concerts that’s like… I have to see it. ��I just have to. ��And I’ve comprised a list of reasons to justify this need.
1. ��Ed Sheeran is a very, very talented musician. ��He started out on the streets. ��Now he’s one of the biggest artists in the world. ��He deserves the support.
2. ��He’s also a very good person. ��He performed at a couple’s wedding recently after they’d struggled to finance it. ��He’s just a good guy. ��Again, we need to support him.
3. ��I recently wrote a book about musicians and I need to go to this concert for research.
4. ��My sister is a music major and it will be good for her to see a professional musician in action.
5. ��I intend to marry Ed Sheeran one day and it might be awkward if, after he proposes to me, I have to confess that I haven’t been to any of his shows.
6. ��This is a high-quality life experience, like drinking fine wine or seeing the ocean. ��Life is short and I’ll regret it forever if I don’t take this opportunity.
7. ��The “Thinking Out Loud” music video.
8. ��I bet you anything Ed Sheeran would totally come to my book signing if��he actually knew who I was. ��He just seems to be��a caring and generous person like that.
9. ��I believe sharing this experience with my sister will make me a better person. ��In fact, it will make both of us better people. ��Ed Sheeran has that effect.
10. ��He’s British.
You see? ��I don’t really have a choice here. ��I need to go to this concert. ��I’m sure you all will agree with me.
