Jacqueline E. Smith's Blog, page 27
January 16, 2015
Photography Friday
Today, I thought I’d take a break from expressing my oh so important thoughts and opinions and instead, just share some pictures. ��Enjoy!
All Photographs and Images Copyright���� 2015 Jacqueline E. Smith
January 15, 2015
Beautiful Blogger Award: Featuring Seven of My Favorite Beautiful Blogs!
Thank you for the nomination, April! I’m honored!
Originally posted on A Well Read Woman:
I was nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by sister book blogger Brin @ Brin���s Book Blog! Thank you, Brin! If books are your passion, then you NEED to check out Brin���s blog and hit the follow button so you can stay up to date with the books she features and blogs about. :)
Rules:
1. Copy the Beautiful Blogger Award logo.
2. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them.
3. Nominate 7 (yes, only seven) other bloggers and say a little something about them.
I follow soooo many awesome blogs but I can only pick seven. I present to you my seven picks! : )
1.) Blahpolar Diaries�����Where folly holds her throne.��� ��I absolutely love this blog and I look forward to new posts in my reader from her. ��She writes honestly and frequently about her bipolar disorder, the medication���
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Mainstream
I had a conversation with my friend last night that really got me thinking back on my college days. ��I realize that, in the almost two years I’ve been keeping this blog, I’ve never really talked about my days as a student at the University of Texas at Dallas. ��I’ve touched on Grad School here and there, but for the most part, I keep my college days in my past.
There are a few reasons for that. ��For one thing, I��was a very different person back then. ��Not so different that I would hate myself or that you wouldn’t recognize me, but I definitely had an attitude. ��I was still bitter about a lot of things that had happened��to my family and to people I love. ��I didn’t know what I wanted to do or how I was going to get to wherever I was going.
In spite of my personal issues, UTD was a great school. ��I learned a lot and for the most part, had a pretty great time. ��There was one class there, though, that really rubbed me the wrong way.
I won’t name names or reveal the exact class because I don’t want to be the person who trash talks others online. ��I can tell you one was a study of the arts class and I took nothing away from it��except that I wanted to do the exact opposite of everything that instructor told me. ��I saw no value in what was taught and I found a lot of the material weird, inappropriate, and to be honest, a little gross. ��I was genuinely disturbed by what that professor considered “art” and truly resented the way he looked down on “mainstream” artists. ��For him, an artist or a writer or a filmmaker only had value if what they produced was “outside the box,” in other words “weird and creepy.”
Do you want to know my dirty little secret?
I want to be mainstream. ��I want my books and my photographs to appeal to a lot of different people. ��I don’t want to be a part of his stupid, snobby, elitist group of “artists” who “think��outside the box.”
Don’t get me wrong. ��I think genuinely thinking outside the box is a good thing. ��I think it’s a very good thing. ��But what this guy called “thinking outside the box,” I call “being weird for the sake of shock value.” ��And some of it was really shocking, let me tell you. ��I won’t go into detail, but one of his “projects” involved really disgusting puppets. ��It still gives me nightmares.
I don’t want to give you the wrong idea about my education at UTD. ��My academic experience was, overall, very, very positive. ��But our discussion last night really got me thinking about this one class. ��To be honest, I’m not even sure that professor is still there or if that class is still being taught. ��All I can tell you��is that if he ever contacts me and tells me that he likes my books, I’ll know I’ve done something wrong.
January 14, 2015
Hello, 27
Today is my 27th birthday. ��As always, I love the fact that it is my birthday. ��Everyone is being extra nice to me. ��I get presents and food and time with my friends and family. ��But 27 is a little intimidating. ��Somehow, it feels a lot closer to 30 than 26 did. ��Not that that’s a bad thing. ��After all,��13 Going on 30��claims that your thirties are the best years of your life. ��If that’s the case, bring them on! Still, I feel like I have so much of my 20s left to enjoy. ��Thankfully, I have three more years! ��But if the last three years are any indication, these next three are just going to fly.
I have several goals for the next three years, but my one real goal, my ultimate goal, is really the one that matters. ��That goal is to become a NYT Bestselling Author by the time I turn 30. ��That gives me exactly three years. ��The good news is that next year is a leap year so you know, one extra day (woo-hoo!). ��My other goals are more personal, but that’s the big one. ��Until that happens, however, I am going to keep working as hard as I can and enjoying every minute of it.
Oh, and on that note, it’s my birthday. ��Go buy my books.
http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-E.-Smith/e/B00F7BPXX6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1421269417&sr=8-1
January 12, 2015
Little Things Like Destiny
My sister went back to college this morning. ��It’s been so great having her back home, and I’m going to miss her like crazy, but I am glad she’s getting back to her path toward whatever is waiting for her.
Last night, we were talking about what we’re supposed to be doing in life. ��She told me that even though she knows she’s on the right track and in the right place, she can’t help but feel that there’s something she’s not doing, that there’s something waiting for her. ��I know exactly what she’s talking about, because I felt the same way when I was in college.
There’s this notion today that kids are supposed to have everything figured out, but the truth is that’s almost impossible. ��Yeah, some know what they want to do, some know their goals and work tirelessly to achieve them. ��Some know that they’ll grow up to be doctors or lawyers or engineers. ��But there are just as many, if not more so, who literally do not have a clue. ��I was one of them. ��I’m tempted to say that I’m still��trying to figure it out.
It’s weird to look back and think about how everything that’s ever happened to you has been leading up to one moment or one discovery. ��For example, my time spent working as a summer camp counselor up at Lake Texoma. ��Growing up, I was outdoorsy, but not the camping kind of outdoorsy. ��Everything about a job at summer camp was way outside my comfort zone. ��The truth is, I wouldn’t have even known the camp existed if I hadn’t, by chance, noticed a flyer for it in the mail one day.
How cool is that? ��It’s like, destiny came to me by mail. ��Because I do think I was destined to work at that camp. ��I met some of my very best friends at that camp, had some of my very best experiences, learned more about myself and grew in ways that I never thought possible. ��Working at that camp gave me everything I didn’t know I needed. ��And I still need it.
I like to believe that your destiny will find you, even if you have no idea what it is or where it will lead you, and of course, I think we all have many, many different destinies. ��It was my destiny to adopt my kitty, Midnight, and save her from the sewers. ��It was my destiny to read the book that led me to realize I wanted to be an author. ��It was my destiny to work at a summer camp in a place called Pottsboro.
I guess what I’m hoping to say with this post is that if you don’t know what you’re doing, where you’re headed, what’s going to happen, you’re not alone. ��In fact, I think you’re one of the lucky ones. ��Your possibilities are endless. ��It’s all out there waiting for you. ��And when it finds you, it’s going to be amazing. ��Take it from someone who’s been there, and who hopefully has a thousand more destinies waiting. ��Your life is going to be amazing.
January 9, 2015
Things to do in 2015
I like making lists. ��Maybe it’s a writer thing. ��Maybe it’s a mild case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder thing. ��Every week I make a new List of Things I Need to do this Week. ��They prove to be quite useful and when I have them all written down for me to see, it makes it easier for me to get them done. ��On the other hand, there are some lists that should not be made, such as What I Want in a Boyfriend. ��Because guess what? ��One day you meet a person who meets all your criteria exactly and they’re not at all right for you. ��But I digress.
As 2015 is still relatively new (9 whole days), I’ve been thinking about all I want to do this year. ��Of course, writing and publishing new books are a given. ��But I’d also like to try some new things. ��I’m not talking about things like giving up chocolate (that is NEVER gonna happen) or vowing to exercise every single day (I have commitment issues), but stuff like make a smoothie all by myself. ��You know, little things like that. ��So, without further ado, here is my 2015 To-Do List
*��Finish and publish 3rd Cemetery Tours��book
* Publish Boy Band (I’ve actually already finished writing it)
* Visit San Diego with my sister
* Make strawberry sorbet
* Go on at least three urban exploration adventures
* Complete my family history scrapbook
* Visit a wildlife sanctuary
* North Texas Book Festival
* AuthorFest
* READ! Read a LOT!
* Do more good
* See the new Cinderella movie
I’m sure there are more, so for now, this is a work in progress. ��What are your plans for 2015?
January 8, 2015
Posting or Lack Thereof
If I go a day or two without posting, it usually means one of several things. I might be busy. ��It might be a holiday. ��More than likely, however, it means I have no idea what to blog about. ��Seriously, sometimes my life is not that interesting. ��And believe it or not, something I don’t have anything to say. ��Shocking, but true.
I really didn’t think too much had happened in the last few days, but the more I look back on them, the more I realize, hey yeah, a lot kind of did happen.
For one thing,��Cemetery Tours��and��Between Worlds��keep getting great reviews. ��I think on Amazon, CT is up to 52 while BW is at 22. ��I’d love to see more, obviously, but for indie books about ghosts, that’s pretty okay.
Twenty people have already marked��Boy Band��as To-Read on GoodReads and it won’t even be out until April 21!
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7260466.Jacqueline_E_Smith
I’m signed up to participate in two book events in the springtime – The North Texas Book Festival and AuthorFest in Dennison, TX. ��I’m trying to find a time also to visit a few independent bookstores around here as well as getting into urban exploration. ��That has nothing to do with books or anything, but I find it really interesting and I think I could get some pretty cool pictures. ��Photography, as you know, is my other great love besides writing.
I’ve also been reading a lot more than I got to near the end of 2014. ��I used all my Christmas money to buy a mountain of new books and I’ve been able to read them regularly. ��It’s been so great! ��I also bought a new summer candle to burn while I read, so it’s kind of like paradise in my living room.
The books I’ve read so far are:
As You Wish��by Cary Ewles. ��I loved this book. ��I love��The Princess Bride��(both the book and the movie) to begin with, so getting read about the filming experience from the point of view of The Man in Black himself was really great. ��It also really made me want to watch the movie again.
Alienated��by Melissa Landers. ��Fun and fast-paced Young Adult novel about a race of aliens who participate in a student exchange program with earth. ��I never thought I’d say this, but��Aelyx, the alien, was kind of dreamy.
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway. ��My sister recommended this book to me and may I just say that it is laugh out loud hilarious and an all around great read. ��Imagine your ex-boyfriend writing a song about you and having it become an international hit.
Twenty Boy Summer��by Sarah Ockler. Oh boy. If you want to read a book that will break your heart and have you tearing up throughout the entire story, this is the one. ��Very rarely do I cry so easily at anything, books, songs, or movies, but I was fighting back tears the entire time.
Right now, I’m reading��Maybe One Day��by Melissa Kantor. ��It’s good so far, but again, it’s kind of sad. ��I’m really enjoying it though. ��I realize that as I approach the big 27, I’m getting more back into reading Young Adult than I was in college, which is kind of weird, but whatever. ��I’m really enjoying all my new books, and i’m especially enjoying them because I have my own YA book due out in a couple of months.
In other non-book related news, I was in my first Earthquake the other day. ��Well, technically, I’ve been in Earthquakes before, including that enormous one out in California, but I slept through them so they really don’t count. ��Being in an Earthquake is really weird. ��It’s like a giant gust of wind traveling through the foundation of a building. ��I saw the walls shake and everything. ��Crazy.
Finally, I’m just really looking forward to celebrating my birthday this weekend (even though it’s not till the 14th) before my sister has to go back to school. We’ve had a great holiday and i’m going to miss her like crazy, but I’m pretty sure the next few months will fly. ��There’s just so much going on!
Later, gators.
January 6, 2015
AWRW Book Review: Between Worlds (Cemetery Tours II), by Jacqueline E. Smith
Thank you, April, for another AMAZING Review! To all you authors out there, you want to know this woman!
Originally posted on A Well Read Woman:
Now that his secret is out, Michael Sinclair finally agrees to join paranormal superstar Luke Rainer and the Cemetery Tours crew on an investigation. Not just any investigation. The biggest investigation of their career. Once home to the wealthy Sterling Hall and his beloved wife, Joanna, Stanton Hall Manor in Maine is famous for the love story that inspired it��� and the ghosts who now inhabit it. For Luke and the crew, Stanton Hall is a dream come true. Unfortunately, some dreams turn out to be nightmares.
���Someone always dies. Someone is always left behind. Someone is always caught between worlds.���
Title: Cemetery Tours
Author: Jacqueline E. Smith
Paperback, 252 pages
Published July 1st 2014 by Wind Trail Publishing (first published June 28th 2014)
Genres: Paranormal, New Adult, Romance
Series: Cemetery ToursMichael Sinclair is coming to terms with his new-found pseudo-celebrity status, when pro ghost hunter, Luke Rainer comes back���
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Just For Fun: Questions All Women Need to Answer
Like so many in the modern age of technology and the internet, I am a big fan of Buzzfeed. ��I can spend hours and hours browsing��and enjoying��articles like��What It’s Like to Watch Harry Potter for the First Time��or��Reasons Matthew Gray Gubler is the Nerd of Your Dreams��(he really is). ��Yesterday, I stumbled across one I hadn’t seen before. ��41 Questions that All Women Need to Answer. ��Upon reading through the list, some of the questions are silly and some I truly cannot answer due to lack of experience or whatever, but I thought it might be fun to go through and answer the ones that I can to the best of my ability.
Note: I answer only for myself. I cannot and do not speak for all women.
Another Note: There were questions that are not family friendly and will not be included.
Q: Why do women lie?
A: I think the more accurate question is��Why do people lie, because as Dr. Gregory House so eloquently put it, everyone lies. ��But women in general? ��Like, why do women lie to men? ��Probably because we don’t want to hurt your feelings or we want to get out of something. ��Or we’re being sneaky and trying to figure something out. ��Or we want to make ourselves look good. ��But I feel like those aren’t specific to women. ��I feel like those are the main reasons that people in general lie.
Q: Why do women always want to “squeeze” babies?
A: I am not a baby squeezer. ��I’m always afraid I am going to somehow hurt a baby or hold it wrong, so I try to be as gentle as possible. ��But I do know what it’s like to want to squeeze a cute animal. ��We like hugging cute things. ��It’s that simple.
Q: Why do women bring the whole family to doctors appointments?
A:��N/A
Q: Why do women wear 1-inch heels? Like, what is the purpose?
A: Heels are stylish. ��Heels make my legs look good. ��Heels make my feet feel fancy. ��True, it is difficult to walk in heels and yeah, they can be uncomfortable. ��But I like my heels. ��I like to feel pretty.
Q: Why do women have small feet?
A: I wear a size 9. We do not all have small feet.
Q: Why do women complain about their relationships and still stay in them?
A: I’m not in a relationship, and when I was and I was unhappy, I did end it. ��But I felt very guilty about it. ��I felt like I owed it to him to try to make it work. ��I felt like I didn’t have a good enough reason to end it. ��He was a good guy. ��He’d never hurt me. ��Complaining is really easy. ��Taking action and making a decision that affects not only your life but another person’s as well is hard.
Q: Why do women have to be so hard to understand?
A: Why do men have to be so hard to understand? ��In all seriousness though, what I’ve come to understand is that men and women’s brains work in different ways. ��Women are very analytical. ��We’re dwellers. ��We have like, fifty things running through our heads at once. ��We remember every moment from every interaction we’ve ever had and we consider every possible reaction and every possible outcome. ��Being a woman is actually very stressful.
Q: Why do women get so upset when you unfollow them on social networks?
A: If I don’t know you, then I don’t care. ��If I do know you, I’m going to be wondering what I did wrong. ��Forever.
Q: Why do women dislike each other so much?
A: ��I don’t dislike other women. ��Most of my friends are girls. ��But if one woman doesn’t like another, it’s probably because she makes her feel insecure. ��Or maybe she’s just not a good person. ��It has nothing to do with gender. ��I don’t like men who are jerks either.
Q: Why do women in rock songs always wear cheap perfume?
A: This is a very good question. ��Maybe the��women that rock stars like��can’t afford expensive perfume.
Q: Why can’t women sit still? ��They’re always fiddling with something!
A: ��I definitely do this, but to be honest, I don’t know why. ��I just have to be doing something with my hands. ��If you give me a sheet of paper, it will be folded and crinkled and ripped within ten minutes. ��Maybe it’s because if we just sit there, we think, and when we think, we overanalyze and suddenly we end up reliving some embarrassing thing that happened in high school and worrying that everyone still remembers it, which I’m fairly certain they don’t.
Q: Why do women need to use more than 4 towels to shower?
A: One to step out on, one to wash your face, one to dry you off, one to dry your hair, and one for when you need to wash your hands.
Q: Why do women take pictures with half of their faces cut out?
A: It’s artsy.
Q: Why do women get mad when guys approach them?
A: Half the time we won’t. If we’re in the mood to flirt, then we love it. If we’re just trying to enjoy a night out with our girlfriends and want nothing to do with men (it does happen), then it’s annoying. ��Unfortunately for you men, you’ll never know. ��However, I think most of the time we’re flattered. ��Again, can’t and do not speak for all women. ��Only myself.
Q: Why do women friend zone the nice guys and then date jerks?
A: Oh man. This requires��a long, long, long answer. The short version is we don’t intentionally “friend zone” anyone. ��It’s either there or it isn’t, although I do think it is possible to escape the proverbial “friend zone.” ��And believe it or not, we do date good��guys. ��We love good��guys. ��All the guys my friends have married are lovely people and totally nice. ��However, I do encourage anyone who has ever wanted a more thorough and thought-out answer to this question to google��Good Guys vs. Nice Guys.
Q: Why do women get upset when someone gives their baby the same name as theirs?
A: I don’t have a baby. ��I do, however have two little cousins, the exact same age, who are both named Cade.
Q: Why do women wear form-fitting and revealing clothes?
A: I like to wear clothes that flatter my figure. ��I think all women do. ��I don’t wear clothes that reveal. ��If I want to look good, then I’ll do my best to dress well. ��Most of the time, though, I’m happy in sweats and t-shirts.
Q: Why do women dress up in dresses and high heals to go to the airport?
A: I don’t. ��Again, sweats and t-shirts. ��But maybe they’re on their way to a business meeting. ��Maybe they’re meeting a guy at the airport. ��They could have someone important waiting for them.
Q: Why do women cut their hair and then cry about cutting it later?
A: We’re complicated and we change our minds. ��We’ve all regretted haircuts. ��I cut my hair two months ago, and immediately after, I was missing my long hair.
Q: Why do women think that leggings are an acceptable substitute to trousers?
A: Good question. ��I can’t just wear leggings. ��My legs are my worst feature.
Q: Why do women hate Leos?
A: ��I’m not really partial to any specific astrological sign, so I can’t help you here.
Q: Why do women have like 8 purses?
A: Different outfits require different accessories. As do different season. ��I don’t carry my summer purses in the winter.
Q: Why do women try to get their man to propose?
A:��I’ll ask all my married friends and get back to you.
Q: Why do women text you “hello???” if you don’t text them back right away?
A: We’re paranoid creatures and we want to know you’re not ignoring us! ��Though I like to think I’m pretty tolerant of the��delayed texter. ��Sometimes it will take my best friend a whole day to text me back.
Q: Why do women like to drink wine and watch sad movies?
A: Why would anyone not like��to drink wine and watch sad movies?
Q: Why do women want to look like men?
A: Guys get to keep it casual and your clothes look comfy. ��I’m totally jealous of your clothes.
Q: Why do women throw things when they get angry?
A: I’ve seen men do this too. ��I don’t think I’ve ever thrown out of anger. ��I did throw a pillow once because I was in a lot of pain though.
Q: Why do women always have the final say?
A: We’re stubborn and proud and we like to have the last word.
Well, I have reached the end of the article. ��I truly hope I didn’t offend anyone or give women a bad name! ��This was all just for a bit of fun. ��And again, I do not in any way speak for all women or any woman other than myself. ��I’m interested to know how others might answers these questions, though!
The original article can be found on Buzzfeed here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tabathaleggett/questions-for-women#.laelmQK0A9��
January 5, 2015
Something More
There’s a song I love by Sugarland called Something More. ��It’s a great song about life and living it the way it’s meant to be lived. ��There has to be more than the daily rush and hustle. ��These lyrics have always stood out to me:
Some believe in destiny and some believe in fate
But I believe that happiness is something we create
You best believe that I’m not gonna wait.
Ever since I began working for myself as an independent author, I’ve never been happier. ��I’ve waited my entire life to really learn to love myself. ��In college, the thought of being alone with my mind and my thoughts was terrifying. ��I wasn’t happy with me. ��I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do. ��I thought I’d never figure it out.
Now, as I approach my 27th birthday in nine short days (agh!), I find myself looking forward to the future, able to spend countless hours by myself (and enjoy them), and most importantly, I’m still determined to work and make things happen. ��Perhaps more so than ever.
I used to think that the best thing about writing was that I got to create worlds and characters and stories that I wanted to see and know and read. ��Believe me, those are still some of my very favorite things in the world and I have so many worlds and characters and stories in my head that need to get out and onto paper. ��But I’ve had so many people just this week reading��Between Worlds and telling me, “I’ve missed your characters! ��I can’t wait to find out what happens next!”
That, my friends, is the coolest thing ever. ��It not only reassures me that I’ve written something that is worth reading and enjoyable, but it makes me miss my characters, too. ��I’ve taken some time off from the next��Cemetery Tours��to work on my new YA novel/NaNo project, but I really do miss Michael and Kate and Luke and Brink. ��I can’t forget about them. ��And I won’t.
As much as I love those characters, however, they’re not alone inside my head. ��Along with the rest of the��Cemetery Tours��series and��Boy Band,��I have at least three more series and five stand alone novels in my head right now. ��If at all possible, I’d like to get them out sooner rather than later.
For some reason, I’ve always had it in my head that I can only do one book a year, but the more I read about other independent writers, the more I realize that’s simply not the case. ��I could probably easily produce four or five high quality books in a year. ��I’ve always been a big believer that more often than not, the only thing standing in your way is that little voice inside your mind telling you that you can’t. ��You can’t. ��It won’t work. ��It’s impossible. ��The mind is a powerful thing and I believe that it can hold you back. ��This year, I’m going to do my best to remind myself that I can. ��Great things are so possible. ��Too many people who’ve gone before us have already proven that. ��Who are we to believe otherwise?
PS – I’m adding this picture in because posts always look better with pictures than without.
