Jacqueline E. Smith's Blog, page 57
October 15, 2013
Poetic Reviews
To kick off my great indie reading and reviewing adventure, I decided to begin with three poetry books. Now I have taken several English literature and literary analysis classes, but I have only ever taken one poetry class. I haven’t read all that much poetry outside of the works of Shakespeare (love!), and I’m certainly not a gifted poet myself. Unless you count that poem I wrote about Sir Cuddly B. Cockroach, because that was awesome.
These are the reviews that I wrote for GoodReads.
Night Poems by Ben Ditmars: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
When it comes to reading as well as writing, I’ve always been more of a prose girl. I’m not a poet, nor have I studied poetry, so I’m always looking for a connection or a story to go along with the poems, and in Night Poems by Ben Ditmars, I found one. As I read, I imagined a young man, sitting all night in an arm chair by a fire, watching the night evolve, the moon rise, and thinking about everything; life, love, the girl he might be in love with who might be in love with him back, or perhaps who may have slipped away, and the complexity of what it means to be human. Mr. Ditmars effectively transforms his nocturnal musings into vivid images and beautiful words. Highly recommended for poetry novices as well as enthusiasts!
Dirt Road Dreams by Susie Clevenger: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
I loved so many things about this collection of poetry, but I think what I loved the most was how personal and relatable Ms. Clevenger is with her writing style. She bares her soul in this collection of well-written, heartfelt poetry that explores love, loss, joy, sadness, and most of all, dreams. All who’ve experienced these kind of “dirt road dreams,” the dreams that others say are impossible or silly, will find a kindred spirit in Ms. Clevenger. My favorite line in all her poetry came from Be Warned: “What fool would believe night has neutrality?”
From a Season of Sleep by Sreya Bremtin: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
The two words that come to mind as I read this collection of poetry were “artistic” and “romantic.” Sreya Bremtin is a romantic and passionate poet with a flare for description. She uses words and imagery to create scenes of love, lust, and longing in the appropriately named From a Season of Sleep. She writes from the perspective of one who has been awaked by passion, and it leaves readers yearning for more.
Tomorrow, I think I’ll begin with Sandcastle by Justin Bog and Confronting the Demon by Ciara Ballintyne. That is, if I’m not at a Bon Jovi concert! *Fingers Crossed*
Shot through the heart and you’re to blame, Darlin’ you give lo-o-ove a bad name!
October 14, 2013
Supporting Indie Authors
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I am an absolute Pinterest addict. I’m more addicted to it than I ever was to Facebook. It might actually be something of a problem.
However, I am trying to use this affliction to better myself, my writing, and my newfound life as an independent author. For example, several of my boards are actually accumulations of ideas for stories. For example, I have a “haunting” board. Guess which book that one’s for? ;)
Anyway, after all the fun I had meeting other indie authors from all over, I decided to make a Support Indie Authors pin board!!!
I realize this is not a very enlightening or important post, but I’m really excited about my new board.
Enjoy!
http://www.pinterest.com/jackiesmith114/support-indie-authors/
Also… HUGE shout outs to Jeanne Marie at http://womenwhothinktoomuch.wordpress... and momshieb at http://momshieb.wordpress.com, both of whom have purchased Cemetery Tours! Thank you both so, so much!
October 13, 2013
October 12, 2013
Indie-Vengeance Day
The other day, I took a trip to the Half Price Books near my house. I wanted to talk to them about maybe selling a few copies of Cemetery Tours to their store (they agreed!). Afterword, I got online to research more stores. On the Half Price Books homepage, I noticed a link down at the bottom of the page.
You can read more about it here: http://tracyjamesjones.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/indie-vengeance-day-weekend-begins/
Needless to say, I decided right then and there that I had to attend. I will confess, however, that I went to a party last night and was so tired, that for a short while I considered taking the day off today. However, when I woke up this morning, bright, alert, and ready, I knew that I needed to go.
I am so glad that I did.
I had the most amazing time talking with these people who traveled from all over the world to greet readers and sign their books. I expected to go, meet a few people, and maybe get some tips on marketing or any advice on making it as an independent author in general. I thought, perhaps, I might buy a book or two.
I ended up leaving with ten books, two ebooks, several business cards, and more respect for all of these wonderful authors than I ever could have imagined. Of course, I already had a lot of respect for them, knowing all that they’ve accomplished just by writing and being published, but getting to talk to them about their books, their work, their interests, their backgrounds… they are all just amazing, fascinating, and wonderful people.
Ever since I made the decision to self-publish, I’ve been wanting to make more connections in the Indie world. That includes reading and reviewing their works. I am thrilled to have so many new books to read. Sadly, I couldn’t purchase all of them, but I did find most of them on GoodReads, so I thought I could at least share them here and then review them later.
Scott Morgan is a professor at Collin County Community College and he has written several books on writing. This one, I think, was written for his class that he teaches.
Ben Ditmars was one of the first authors I met today. I’m a downright lousy poet, so I’m really looking forward to reading his work!
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5132689.Ben_Ditmars?from_search=true
I didn’t get to talk to Amber Jerome-Norrgard for very long, but I very much look forward to reading her poetry!
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815310.Amber_Jerome_Norrgard
Lynn Hallbrooks was a sweet woman and the story of how she and David McKoy collaborated to write their novels was fascinating.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4950577.Lynn_Hallbrooks?from_search=true
Tracy James Jones was absolutely one of the sweetest people I’ve had the privilege to meet. I didn’t get to talk to him very much about his work, because he had several fans surrounding him, but his romance novel definitely sounds like a good read!
http://tracyjamesjones.wordpress.com
M.E. Franco was the first paranormal author I talked to at Half Price. She was very enthusiastic about everything vampire, ghost, magic, etc… This was the first book I purchased at the signing.
She also penned a cowboy romance novel which, as a true blue Texas girl, I really want to read.
Another paranormal/vampire novelist I met was Melissa Zaroski. I purchased her novel too. I actually haven’t read any vampire stories since the Twilight series. I’m interested to see how these new paranormal books will compare.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7255267.Melissa_Zaroski?from_search=true
I talked to Sydney native Ciara Ballintyne for a while. She was absolutely delightful as she told me about her novella, Confronting the Demon, a combination of deep fantasy and paranormal. We also had a lot of fun discussing other books we’d read.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6591156.Ciara_Ballintyne?from_search=true
I love dragons, so I picked this book up almost immediately. I am really looking forward not only to reading this, but also its sequel.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5824220.Dionne_Lister
Melissa Craig and Charity Parkerson are Australian authors too. I didn’t spend quite as long talking with them as I did others, but they were both lovely women and very funny. They had with them selections of their works, mostly erotica. I have nothing against the genre, but it’s not my favorite.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5307783.Melissa_Craig?from_search=true
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4506281.Charity_Parkerson
James Peercy was just a fun guy to talk to, and I’m especially curious to read his book, The Wall Outside, a work of fantasy set in modern-day Washington. I love fairy tales and fantasy, so I’m really interested to see how it will work in our world.
http://www.jameswilliampeercy.com
Sreya Bremtin is a photographer as well as a poet. She had a book of photographs as well, but as someone who really struggles in the poetry department, I was a lot more curious to read this.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7233499.Sreya_Bremtin
Meeting M. A. Rogers and talking to him about zombies was a lot of fun. I’ve probably mentioned before that I am a new Walking Dead fan and that zombies absolutely scare me out of my wits. For some reason, that means I love watching them on television and reading about them in books. I’m often told that I am loud and awkward, but M. A. Rogers told me that my enthusiasm made his whole day.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15745432-chivalry-is-undead
Sandcastle is a collection of short stories by Justin Bog. I haven’t read a book of short stories since about the eight grade, so I was more than eager to purchase his book. A cool fact about this book is that his father painted the picture on the cover. I thought that was so incredible!
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5832178.Justin_Bog
Julie Frayn is a Canadian author and I ended up purchasing both of her books. Well, technically I purchased one on Kindle and she gave me a free download for the other. Not only to both stories sound totally awesome, I absolutely love her cover designs.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6967128.Julie_Frayn
The last author I met was a poet named Susie Clevenger. She was so sweet. I had run out of cash by that point, but she handed me a copy and told me to write her a good, honest review, and I intend to do just that!
Everyone I met today was so amazing and wonderful and I hope I’m lucky enough to connect with all of them in the future.
October 10, 2013
Glee
My sister and I used to be two of the biggest “gleeks” you’d ever met. I was wary of the over-the-top musical comedy series at first, but you know that any show that gets Josh Groban to appear in one of the earliest episodes is going to be worth watching, and for a while, it really was. My sister and I had all the music, we never missed an episode, and of course, we loved all the characters.
As the show progressed and got a little more preachy and campy, we started watching more sporadically until eventually, we stopped watching altogether. We’d catch up every now and then, but for the most part, our Glee days were behind us.
Although I was no longer a huge fan of the show, I was still shocked and devastated to learn that on July 13, Cory Monteith, who played Quarterback with a Heart of Gold, Finn Hudson, had been found in a hotel room, dead of an apparent drug overdose.
I never thought that Cory was the best singer. In fact, my sister (a vocal performance major) and I used to tear into him on a regular basis. We gave him credit for trying, but neither of us ever believed that a real music teacher would pick him for a solo. At least not on the ballads. He had a pretty decent rock n’ roll voice.
I did, however, love the character of Finn, and Cory always portrayed him in a raw, emotional way that I’d rarely seen in television actors before. Most actors know the standard happy, sad, in love, angry, but Cory always seemed to bring genuine feelings to his roll. He wasn’t Cory playing Finn… he was Finn.
I could go on forever about all the reasons I thought Cory was a talented young man, but I’ll stop because I know gleeks from all over have been posting about it for the past three months.
There really isn’t a lot that I feel I need to say that hasn’t already been said.
I did watch the Tribute episode tonight. It was a fantastic tribute to a beloved costar, beautiful and heartbreaking. I can’t remember the last time I cried for forty-five minutes straight. It’s a little strange to think that this show used to bring me so much joy, and maybe it will again, but for the time being, I think any episode will just make me sad, because I know what’s coming. I know how Finn’s story ends. The saddest part is that it wasn’t some dumb, out of left field plot twist that the writers threw in to jerk a few tears. This was a real loss of a very talented, and from what I can tell, very caring and genuine young man. My heart and prayers go out to all who knew and loved him; his family, his friends, his cast mates, and Lea, who has been so brave in the wake of this tragedy.
“Goodnight, sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
- William Shakespeare
A Few New Cemetery Tours Photos!
My college buddy texted me this picture the other day. As far as I know, we have no connections on Amazon, so I think it’s pretty neat that Amazon is recommending Cemetery Tours to readers… especially with Stephen King!
Love from my office. :)
A picture from one of my youngest readers!
Love from San Francisco!
My sister, who is a freshmen in college, has been recommending Cemetery Tours to new friends she meets on campus. Apparently, one of them approached her the other day and demanded to know if there would be a sequel! So exciting! And yes, in fact, there will be a sequel! It is being written at this very moment. :)
October 9, 2013
Day is Improving
We were able to get a hold of the girl who hit me. She was very nice and cooperative. There was simply a miscommunication in the email address. Maybe today doesn’t suck that bad after all. 
One of Those Days
So, I love to complain. Give me the chance, and I will complain about anything to anyone who will listen, especially about silly stuff like plot holes in stories or the Oakland Athletics. However, I try not to complain about the things that really get under my skin, because in the grand scheme of things, I really have nothing to complain about. I have enough food, a roof over my head, wonderful family and friends, and I am very healthy. Whenever I have “one of those days,” I tell myself to suck it up and remember how good life is and how I should be thankful.
That being said, today really sucked.
It started off with me spilling my breakfast all over the table. I am a messy person, so that means it got all over a bunch of stuff that I had left on said table. Fortunately, I was able to clean it up and go on my way. No harm done.
Then, I get to work, and notice that unmistakable gooey feeling of freshly chewed and expectorated gum beneath the sole of my shoe. Gross, but still manageable.
As I was about to leave work, one of my coworkers announced that they there was a nurse giving free flu shots. Having been a victim of the seasonal flu in past years, I lined up to receive one. It was as unpleasant as any shot, but instead of the needle popping right out of my skin, the little thing didn’t click, so the nurse had to pull the needle out manually. Uncomfortable. Starting to worry about this day.
I thought things were finally looking up after my friend and I took a quick grocery/Halloween candy run to Target. However, after I dropped her off, I was getting ready to pull out of her apartment complex when the car in front of me got stuck on the curb and zoomed into reverse, slamming my poor little car right in the bumper.
I’ve been in a car accident before. It was terrifying, but at least I sort of saw it coming. It was an icy day and, as a Texan, Lord knows I cannot drive when there is any sort of frozen liquid on the ground. I ended up driving right over a patch of black ice and slid head-on into a streetlight at about 40 MPH. I totaled my car and the lamp on top of the street light ended up sailing off the pole and across the street. It would have been really impressive if it hadn’t been so scary.
Needless to say, when I realized this girl was going to hit me, I blared my horn and tried reversing as quickly as I could, but I wasn’t fast enough. She hit me with a jolt that felt very much like the one I felt when I hit the pole. Sadly, I was more worried about my car than myself. I really love my car and I REALLY can’t afford another one. Fortunately, Niles (my car), is still drivable, but he has several cracks and will probably need the entire front bumper replaced. I asked the girl who was driving for her insurance, but she didn’t speak English very well and I’m not sure she understood what I was asking. That, or she didn’t think I needed her insurance information. I did get her license plate number, a phone number, and an email address, but upon emailing her to ask again about her information, the message bounced back. Super.
So, that’s my day. I’m very happy that my family is all happy and healthy and so are my friends and kitties. I’m happy that I’m alive and healthy and it’s a beautiful fall day. However, I am very ready for this day to be over.
I did get some good news on the marketing front, however! I will share more when I’m in a better mood. For now, I’m going to gorge on chocolate and wine and watch sad girl movies. Good night, all. I hope your day was better than mine.
October 7, 2013
It’s A Miracle!
This is pretty much irrelevant, but I just had to share.
I am one of those people that attract mosquitoes like a freaking magnet. During certain times of the year, I can’t be outside for more than a few seconds without getting bitten. I really can not believe I haven’t contracted West Nile yet.
In the past few years, my body has decided that it is going to be allergic to just about everything. This apparently includes reacting to those pesky mosquito bites about ten times more than it used to. For example, mosquito bites used to be itchy, but tolerable, and they used to get to about the size of a dime, if that. Now, every bite causes whatever part of the body it’s on (arm, leg, etc…) to swell, get hot, and turn red. They also itch like the dickens.
And yes, that was probably more than you ever wanted to know about me. But I’m getting to the cool part, I promise.
Tonight, I stepped outside for a few minutes, barefoot, because I’m a southern girl and I don’t believe in wearing shoes unless I absolutely have to, and guess what? I got three huge and extremely itchy mosquito bites on my feet.
Fearing that my only option for comfort might be to actually saw my own feet off, I suddenly remembered something I had glanced over on Pinterest. It was a picture of a spoon and it was captioned, “Take the itch out of bug bites.”
I’m the kind of person who will try anything once. Except food that I think looks like it could be gross or make me sick, but that’s a whole other kind of crazy.
Anyway, I Googled “Mosquito Bite Spoon” and sure enough, I found several articles that said that all you had to do to take the itch out of mosquito bites was to run a spoon under some hot water and press it against the bug bite. Now I’m thinking, This has got to be some kind of placebo effect, but I figured there was no harm in giving it a shot.
I grabbed a spoon and ran back to the bathroom, where I did exactly what the article instructed. It was soothing on the bites, sure, but I didn’t think it would actually get rid of the itch. And it didn’t, immediately. I decided just to forget about it.
Well, as I’m sitting here, watching Bad Ink, reading about marketing, and thinking it might be about time to go to bed, I suddenly realized, Hey… I can’t feel those bug bites at all.
I looked down at my feet.
Those bites are gone.
I can’t even remember where they were.
Astonished, I read through the article again. My allergist had told me that the reason that people react to mosquito bites is that we are allergic to their saliva. I’m sure that’s true. However, according to this article, it’s the protein in the bite that makes us itch, and pressing a hot spoon to the area effectively kills off all that protein. What does that mean?
No more itch. Ever.
I’m not gonna lie… I kind of feel like a Hogwarts student, because this is definitely some kind of magic.
Finally, I have dominion over those pesky buggers that treat me like their own personal all-you-can-eat blood buffet.
Well, not really. Technically, they’re still going to try to drain me every chance they get, but at least now I won’t have to suffer through the miserable after-effects!
Take that, you miserable little blood-suckers.
Hitting the Ground Running
Book Published: Check
People Reading: Check
Book Release Party: Check
Next Step: Marketing.
Every time I stop and think, “Wow, I can’t believe it’s all over,” the little publishing bug in the back of mind laughs and says, “Not so fast, my silly human! Just because you published a book, it doesn’t mean people are actually going to buy it!”
So, that’s my next adventure. Selling and advertising and marketing.
This afternoon, I made my semi-monthly trip to the library. As I was perusing the business aisle, I realized that starting up your own business is a lot like still being in college or graduate school. You work to support yourself, you make frequent trips to the library, you do a lot of research, and you do a heck of a lot of writing. You barely make any money, but that’s okay, because you’re working toward an even bigger goal and hopefully all of that work will eventually pay off. I’ll keep you updated on what I learn.
In other news, my best friend and I went to the State Fair yesterday. I love going to the Fair. It’s like a welcome to autumn and a prelude to Halloween. I didn’t take that many pictures this year, but I’ll post if there are any I think are worth sharing.
Finally, now that the whole party planning business if over (thank goodness!), I need to get back to clearing out the back room and putting my office together. I also really need to clean out my closet to make way for cold weather! I know, it’s absolutely riveting! So glad I’m sharing all this with you.
If anyone has any tips on marketing (or cleaning), please let me know! Happy Monday!
