Sonya Rhen's Blog, page 4

13 Days Left in the GoodReads Giveaway! #Freebook

Win a paperback Copy of Space Tripping!

Celebrating the release of The Shredded Orphans and the Space Pirates I have a GoodReads giveaway for book 1 in the series.  See where it all began.

There are 13 days left (and counting) in the Goodreads Giveaway for Space Tripping with the Shredded Orphans.  I have two actual, smell-the-new-paper, paperback copies to send to a lucky winner.

Click here to enter!

Then scroll down and click on the “Enter Giveaway” button.  Good luck and Happy Tripping!

“The Shredded Orphans and the Space Pirates” Book Release and #FREEBOOKS

Hi all, just wanted to let you know that I am celebrating the release of my second book in the humorous Shredded Orphan series with free books.

They can best be described as an intergalactic “road” trip with the seismic rock band, the Shredded Orphans.

Get book one, “Space Tripping with the Shredded Orphans”, for free on Smashwords with the code “SFREE” here. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view…

Or look for the Goodreads giveaway for a paperback book starting on August 2nd.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1…

Book 2, “The Shredded Orphans and the Space Pirates”, will be free on Amazon Kindle from July 29th to August 2nd. (Always free on on Kindle Unlimited.)

http://www.amazon.com/Sonya-Rhen/e/B0…

Happy Reading!

 

Multi-Author Book Signing | July 29, 2016

Book #2 in the Shredded Orphans series is out,  The Shredded Orphans and the Space Pirates.  The cover may get a bit more tweeking in the future, but I think the inside is pretty finished!

If you live in the Seattle area, I’ll be signing my books at the PNWA summer conference Autograph Party.  Stop by and say “Hi.”   I’d love to meet you!

If you plan to go bring money, as authors will be selling their books. This should be all local authors, except for the few speakers that have come in for the conference.

Autograph Party on Friday, July 29th from 8:30 – 10:00 pm

This is for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) http://www.pnwa.org/page/conference

Over sixty award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors will attend the Autograph Party.

Location:

DoubleTree Hilton Hotel SeaTac Airport

Grand Ballroom A

18740 International Blvd, Seattle, WA

Seattle, WA 98188

(888) 370-0998

Take the SeaTac Light Rail and then get the shuttle to the Hotel which leaves every 20 minutes

Or use

Self parking

$24.00 (+ applicable taxes) (I would suggest carpooling.)

Happy Record Store Day 2016 #RecordStoreDay

This Saturday, April 16th is Record Store Day.  Just hearing those words gives me a thrill.  It’s no mistake that my Shredded Orphans series books are about a band.  I love music!

I try and do my part by buying CDs when I can and have even been known to buy vinyl.  Yes, I’m old school and I have a turntable or as I like to call it, record player.

Be sure to check out the website for Record Store Day, where you can download a list of special releases and find a participating record store near you.

http://www.recordstoreday.com/

There are a ton of records I would love to get, so you might consider making a list before you head out to the store.  I’m thinking David Bowie, Monkees picture disc and Tom Petty are at the top of that list.  Who’s on your list?

Support your local record store this Saturday and Happy Shopping!

April is National Poetry Month! #npm16

Happy National Poetry Month!

Two years ago, I did a marathon blog of posting one poem a day for the entire month.  It was a blast, but a little nuts.  Check out the archives for April 2014 starting with the one linked here to read the great poems that I posted with the help of a lot of fellow poets and writers.

Also, you can click on the banner below to find 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month.  I’m celebration by buying a book of poems.  (Bought one two weeks ago, but Darn! it wasn’t April)

Enjoy this month of poems and I’ll leave you with one from the new Shredded Orphans book out soon, The Shredded Orphans and the Space Pirates.

This Mine is Mine

You might own me,

but I own this mine

Because this mine is in me

It burns through my skin

It fills my lungs

This mine comes alive within me

Red dust

Red dust

Tap a vein

Red flows

Red flows

Liquid gold

Swallowed by darkness

I travel inside

Scraping the life from within

Spilling my guts

And gutting the mine

This duel has come to a draw

Red dust

Red dust

Tap a vein

Red flows

Red flows

Liquid gold

You take my life

I take what’s mine

My blood is in the soil.

You can not own

What you do not know

Forever this mine is mine.

Forever this mine is mine.

Space Tripping Free this week on Smashwords

A day late and almost three dollars short…

So I missed the first day of the sale, but I’ve added Space Tripping with the Shredded Orphans for free on Smashwords for their ‘Read an EBook’ week sale.

Get it now for free until March 12, 2016 using the promo code “RW100” at checkout.  Click the link below for my book page.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/434508

Check out my book, then hit the HOME page to see what other great books are on sale!

Happy Reading!

Love

Source: Love

Picture from Liz’s page and some nice words about love by fellow author Liz Fountain.  Check it out here.  https://lizfountain.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/love/

Death of a Hero #DavidBowie and the Gifts We are Given

I was so saddened today to hear of the death of David Bowie. To come so close on the heels of the death of my father is fuel to my grief. One of my heroes has passed.

I did not grow up with Bowie in my early childhood, but came to know him from his popularity in the 80’s with “Let’s Dance”. His distinctive voice resonated with something in me and since then I have been a fan. I never could understand why Jeniffer Connelly didn’t run off with him in Labyrinth.

This brings to mind other heroes that I have lost, in particular Jim Henson, who wanted David Bowie for Labyrinth, because he couldn’t think of any other rock star “big” enough to take on the role of Goblin King. Jim Henson was to the world of puppets what David Bowie was to the world of music.

The significance of art and final tributes brings to mind another hero lost, Charles Shultz, whose health had been failing and passed away the night before his very last Peanuts strip was published in the Sunday paper. David Bowie’s last gift to the world, was his final album, “Black Star”, released on his birthday last Friday.

January 8 is also the birthday of Elvis Presley and I can still remember that day, when I was in elementary school, I was sitting on my bed in my room listening to my clock radio, the one with the numbers that rolled over, and hearing the news that Elvis had died. Just like that day, I think I will always remember that I was driving my son to school when I heard the news that David Bowie had died.

David Bowie died just two days after his 69th birthday and the significance of birth and death is so poignant and personal. Less than two months ago, my dad passed away, exactly one week before his 72 birthday. He was 71. My mother passed away on her 71st birthday: All heroes to me and a great loss.

The thing about David Bowie is that he was never one to look back. He certainly could have tried to relive his glory days many times over. I regret that the only time I ever saw him in concert was when he opened for Nine Inch Nails. I was disappointed, as were many other fans, that he chose to only play music from his new album. He’s the only reason I went to that concert, since I am not a NIN fan. It was short, to say the least, but you have to admire him for not living in the past and to keep creating new music and art.

He was such a prolific writer, that his body of music spans so many decades and when asked for a favorite song, the answers will be so varied. His creativity influenced so many. An interview with David Bowie, he talks about being up at 5 am in the studio and working on a piece of music, waiting for everyone else to get up, anxious to get started. This made me feel compelled to work harder on my writing.

I feel more comfortable living my life at a slower pace, but I worry that I won’t have the time to finish the stories that I want to tell before that time when I can no longer do so. All these passings of the heroes in my life just emphasize the short time that we have here on earth. That we should live our lives to the fullest every minute is a given. That we should create our art to leave as a legacy to those we love is a gift. And I have always been one to be thankful for gifts given to me.

So to someone who was never boring and inspires us to be more creative…David Bowie, you will be greatly missed!

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Richard Young/REX (100574d) David Bowie DAVID BOWIE AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL – 1983

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” –David Bowie

#PNWA Holiday Catalog: books make great #ChristmasGifts

Happy Holidays to all!

This holiday season is going to be a tough one for me, since I lost my father a few weeks ago.  He loved Christmas and he loved stories.  He would have been so thrilled to see my books in this Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association holiday catalog.

Here’s to an awesome dad and to warm cozy winter nights curled up with a good book.

I just love giving books as gifts, don’t you?  Let me know if you have a favorite holiday story.  I love the classics, so I might say either Gift of the Magi or A Christmas Carol.

Click the link below to see the catalog of books by PNWA authors, including me.

PNWA Holiday Catalog

Review for Space Tripping #BookReviews #LongAndShortReviews

Long and Short reviews gave a book review of Space Tripping with the Shredded Orphans last month.  Lets me know about some things to work on and what things they liked.  Unfortunately, I just finished formatting book 2, so those will have to be things to work on for book 3.  You can read the whole review here:

http://www.longandshortreviewsya.com/book-reviews/space-tripping-with-the-shredded-orphans-by-sonya-rhen/

Or it’s also posted on Amazon.

Thanks to Long and Short Reviews for their support of authors!