Jennifer Senhaji's Blog, page 6

Cover Reveal for Dawning of Light By Tami Lund

I'm excited to reveal the cover for Book 2 in the Lightbearer Series, Dawning of Light, by Tami Lund. I really enjoyed Into the Light, the first book in this amazing paranormal series, and can't wait to read this next installment releasing December 15, 2014. I've read several of Tami's books, and love both her contemporary and paranormal romances.

Tami created Lightbearers in her first book in this series, Into the Light. The Lightbearers are a group of magical beings who have lived for five hundred years hidden away in their warded and protected coterie. Now that the princess of the Lightbearers is mated to a Shifter, their peaceful lives have been turned upside down.

Finnegan Hennigan meets his match in spunky Cecilia Druthers, a woman he can barely stand. Cecelia’s opinion of Finn? He’s an oaf and a killjoy. But, opposites can’t resist each other in Dawning of Light by Tami Lund. You’ll love Book 2 of Tami’s hot fantasy series, a saga about lightbearers and the shifters who hate to love them.

In this second installment of the Lightbearer Series, shifter Finnegan Hennigan is doing his damnedest to keep lightbearer Cecilia Druthers out of trouble. His job is made all the more difficult by the fact that Cecilia doesn't want to stay out of trouble.

Despite their mutual annoyance, sparks ignite between this odd couple. As it becomes increasingly more apparent that someone is out to get Cecilia, the flares of attraction become impossible to resist, and soon, Cecilia and Finn tumble into, well, a closet together. And then the bed. And if Finn wants to keep her there, he's going to need to keep her alive.

Which means figuring out who the hell keeps trying to kill her. 


Without further ado, I present the cover for Dawning of Light, by Tami Lund.


Beautiful isn't it. I love the colors. Great job, Tami.



Here is a few notes on the author, Tami Lund:

Tami Lund likes to live, love, and laugh, and does her best to ensure the characters in her books do the same. After they've overcome a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles first, of course.

Tami is multi-published, both self and with a few publishers, including Crimson Romance, Liquid Silver Books, and Soul Mates Publishing. Chances are, there is a new book coming out soon. Be sure to stalk her on social media, so you know when.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Tami is everywhere online including Goodreads,  Twitter, Facebook, and on her Website.
PRE-ORDER RELEASE SPECIAL:

Pre-order Dawning of Light and email Tami the receipt to be entered to win!

Pre-Order Here: http://amzn.to/1rlBxRc


 

And most important, if you enjoyed one of Tami's books, please let other readers know by leaving a review on the site from which you bought it, or on Goodreads. Otherwise, how will they know which book to read next?



Good luck and enjoy Dawning of Light.

Thanks for joining me for this amazing cover reveal.

You can find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Moving Hell

Moving is always horrible. Last time I moved, the moving truck got stuck on the driveway up into my apt complex and had to be pushed by a tow truck. The clutch on the tow truck fell out of the tow truck 1/2 a block from us, and we had to wait for it to be fixed before he could help us. The moving truck finally got to the top of the hill and the breaks went out. Okay, fine. We unloaded, waited three days for the truck company to take the truck away and give us a replacement so we could move the rest of our stuff. I broke a tooth deflating my son's water wings and it was Ramadan-so my family, my husband's friends who were helping us, were all fasting.

Yeah, I'm chuckling to myself as I remember how bad it was, I had five days (three confiscated by a broken moving truck) to move and it was awful.
I'm moving again, four years later. I gave myself three weeks to move, slowly packing up stuff and taking a few boxes to the new house everyday. 
It's still horrible.
You know that episode of Friends, when they are moving the sofa that is too large for the hallway..."Pivot! Pivot!" Yeah that one. Funny on TV, not so much in real life. Not when you are trying to move a solid oak table (which was my grandfather's, so no way am I giving that up) and its matching credenza which each weigh a ton, up a narrow flight of stairs with a sharp turn. 
We did get all the heavy furniture moved, but the small stuff, oh my God. That is what takes forever. There is stuff everywhere, and we still need to make a few more trips.

Of course as a writer, the first thing I moved were all my books and my book shelf. Here is a tip: Use your luggage with wheels to move books. It's easier to handle books on wheels than in boxes.
Every muscle in my body is sore. As I type this now, my fingers ache. 
It's easy when you're young. All you have is a bed, your clothes and a TV. Not when you're an adult with two kids. So much stuff accumulates. 
This Thanksgiving, I'll be thankful that we are finally done and in a brand new house. (We better be done by then.)
God help me, I am never moving again.
Do you have a funny moving story?

Check out my website at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com for information on my books and what I'm reading now.

Just in time for the holidays, Unwrapping Love, a romantic holiday anthology by the Writing Wenches. Check it out on Amazon.
 

Finding Time To Write-Not Always Easy

Finding time to write is not as easy as I say it is. I'm usually one of those writers online encouraging other writers to write as often as they can. I belong to the 10 Minute Novelists Group, which helps time crunched writers find ten minutes here and there to work on their manuscripts. I've got a ton of tips to hand out, many of which can be used while working on Nano projects.
Here are just a few:
Step away from the t.v.Use your smart phone when out and about to jot down notesWait until the household is asleepWrite late at night or early morningSit down for ten minutes and get as much as you can doneDo not self edit while writing, you can edit laterUse breaks at work to get your writing in.and so on...

Honestly, this month has been kicking my ass. My day job is crazy busy, and I have no time for breaks at work. My son's birthday and my wedding anniversary both hit this week. I'm in the middle of marketing for my holiday short story, Angels in Disguise, releasing December 1st as part of the Writing Wenches holiday anthology, Unwrapping Love. My son was in the Fall Ball Little League Playoffs, which means Fridays and Sundays are baseball. (Since writing this, he played and won the championship game on Sunday 11/16-So proud.)

Oh and did I mention I'm in the middle of moving. Yep, packing up and moving me, my husband and two kids to a new house.

I think the last two weeks I've written three chapters of my WIP, between 3-4 blog posts (I honestly can't remember.) That is about it. Not good. I'm having withdrawals. The important thing, I guess, is to make sure I get back to work on my WIP as soon as possible-to not give up. It's hard being a writer. It's hard finding time when all you want to do, for the one hour you have before you pass out exhausted and do it all again tomorrow, is fall into your bed and catch up on episodes of The Black List and Vampire Diaries. Life gets in the way.

My fellow writers and masters of time management, I tip my hat to you.

Bees are busy? I wish I could fly away and write for a while. I'm picturing a little cottage, stocked with great coffee, food that is delivered, and impeccable internet. Where do you write? Do you have a writer's cave or getaway. Share and let me live vicariously through you.

Jennifer Senhaji
Your Sweet and Spicy Romance Author
www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Oh and because the Writing Wenches holiday anthology, Unwrapping Love is awesome, think about coming to our release party on December 1st.

Holiday Romance-Writing Together

Writing is mostly a solitary endeavor. Not so, when writing as part of an anthology. At least not in my experience. I have my second book coming out on December 1st, 2014, Angels in Disguise, which will be published as part of the Writing Wenches Holiday Anthology, Unwrapping Love, available now for preorder on Amazon.

While working on Angels in Disguise, I was in constant contact with my fellow writers. We checked in on each other's progress, critiqued each other's work along the way, and all raced together toward our deadline for final drafts to our editor. We have an amazing editor, cover designer, and publicist. PageCurl Publishing is putting out the anthology, professionally formatted, professionally edited, and professionally designed. Twenty-one authors, all coming together to make this happen. Twenty-one authors who agreed on a theme, length, book cover, teasers, blurbs, ratings, formatting, and so many other details. How did we do it? Team work, lots of voting and lots of collaboration. The truth is, this group is amazing.  Each wench and bar keep is open minded and supportive. As individuals, we dance to our own beat, each different in our own ways. Together, we bump and grind to the same cool rhythm, complimenting each other.  We have a snow flake rating, for each of the twenty-one stories included, from 1-4. The rating is based on the melting power of the story's heat. Mine has a 2 snowflake designation. Yep, that sounds about right. Here is a little teaser from Angels in Disguise.   So let's be honest, I'm pretty much jumping up and down and squealing with glee, every time I think about having a second book published this year, but it was very hard work. Using my breaks and lunch time at the day job to get writing and editing done. Coming home from work to do more editing, marketing, and more writing. Writing and editing on weekends and in the evenings. All while also trying to keep working on the sequel to Sweet Dreams which I am scheduled to publish next year. Hard work, no free time and yet, it was fun. Want to know the best part? Getting to beta read stories by my fellow wenches. Release date is December 1st. Stop by our release day bash on Facebook to meet the authors, play some games and win some very cool prizes.    Two books in one year...Sweet!Jennifer Senhaji-Your Sweet and Spicy Romance Authorwww.jennifersenhajiauthor.com  

Wenches Revealed

I am so pleased to reveal the cover for Unwrapping Love, a new holiday anthology by the fabulous Writing Wenches. We have put together a massive collection of holiday themed sweet and spicy short stories for your enjoyment.

The authors are all extremely talented writers from across the globe, and I just so happen to be one of them. My holiday short, Angels in Disguise, is being published in this anthology on December 1st, 2014. Whohoo! That is two books in one year for me. Sweet!

Here is the beautiful cover for Angels in Disguise.

Unwrapping Love releases December 1st, 2014 in ebook and print formats, but you can preorder the ebook version of this amazing collection from Amazon now. Here is the link. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P72UUGK

We are having a release day party on Facebook, where readers can come and interact with the Wenches. There will be games, and giveaways (like free books and gift cards), and you can play along on Facebook from your smart phone or computer. The Cover Reveal party was a blast. Release Day will be amazing.

 Click the link to join in on the fun https://www.facebook.com/events/847785465242465/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
I hope you will unwrap love this holiday season.

Learn more about the Writing Wenches online at http://www.writingwenches.com/
Jennifer Senhaji
Your Sweet & Spicy Romance Author

A Lot Can Happen In Three Months

It took a lifetime to publish my first book. Here is a little update on my status as an author.

July 2014, I published my first book, Sweet Dreams. It's been a life changing experience. Every time I read a positive review of my work, it makes me giddy.

Right before my book was published, I joined an amazing group called The Writing Wenches. We have a website and blog that I contribute to, and we are publishing a holiday romance anthology.

In less than three months, I've written another book. It's a short holiday romance entitled Angels in Disguise, which will be published this December as part of the Writing Wenches holiday anthology, Unwrapping Love. It's been beta read, professionally edited, and I have my own cool book cover.
Here is a little teaser for you.




Currently, I'm working on finalizing the sequel to Sweet Dreams and can't wait to start the editing process.

My writing has grown leaps and bounds in the last three months. The amount of knowledge I have gained from my fellow Writing Wenches, is immeasurable. Everyday, they inspire me and help me grow as a writer.

In only three months, I can honestly say, my writing has drastically improved. I can only imagine where I will be five years from now.

Oh, and my beloved San Francisco Giants won the World Series. All is right in the world.

Thank you readers, fellow authors and my lovely Writing Wenches for all of your help and support.

What have you been up to?

Come to our cover reveal for Unwrapping Love on Facebook. Click the link below and join in on the fun.





 Thank you for reading. You can find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

5 Tips To Keep Your Writing Consistent

I've been working on the sequel to my debut novel, Sweet Dreams, and in doing so, my outline has become much more complex. I have to keep track of my main characters and my secondary characters, as well as my time line. When writing a sequel, it's important to make absolutely sure you have total recall of the timeline and characters from the first novel.

I am about 2/3 done with my sequel and feeling very good about it. But as I was going to sleep the other night, after an evening of writing, socializing on Facebook and Twitter, and scrolling through pictures on Pinterest, a picture that I pinned on my WIP board for one of my secondary characters came rushing back to mind. I sat up in bed and realized that I had completely forgotten about an important character I introduced in the very beginning of my sequel. Ah schnookies!

There's a reason for the character, he has his own story line that runs parallel to the main story, and I completely forgot about him. I left him behind, not to be heard from again. Oops.

Well, obviously I missed a few important points in my outline, that need to be fixed immediately.  Here are some tips to keep your writing consistent.

1. Outline- It's so important to outline in order to keep your plot organized. It's okay to make revisions as you write, but the outline will keep you on track. If you are a panster, and can't fathom creating an outline before writing, make sure as you write, you create your outline of the plot so far, so you can keep track of the plot and events. That way you can go back and reference what has happened in your story without having to read the whole thing from beginning to end.

2. Cast of Characters- Keep a document or list of all your characters and how they are related to each other. It will help you keep the relationships straight and keep you from forgetting anyone.

3. Keep a Timeline- It's important to know the timeline of when your story takes place, not only for setting, but for the plot. For example, you don't want your characters enjoying a hot day at the beach, when compared to the elapsed time of your story, it should be the middle of winter. This also applies when keeping track of people ages. In real life, I may be able to turn 33 for several years in a row, but your characters will age.

4. Fact Check- Make sure you check your facts. This does not only apply to historical fiction. Is your story set in a real city? Make sure the streets and towns are geographically correct. If you are writing a scene that includes a reference to a real place, time or event, make sure to make notes to go back and fact check during the editing process, so that you don't have your characters walking 50 miles from one place to the other, when you really only wanted them to walk 5.

5. Beta Readers- Make sure you have at least 2-3 beta readers, they will help you search out those inconsistencies and keep your writing on track.

Now I need to follow my own advice, and go reinsert my missing character into the appropriate chapters.

What are your tips to keep your writing consistent? Do you have a tips you can share? I would love to hear them.

Don't forget to attend the Cover Reveal Bash on November 4th on Facebook, for the Writing Wenches Holiday Anthology, Unwrapping Love. My holiday short, Angels in Disguise, is one of the romances featured in this amazing collection.


Jennifer Senhaji
Stalk me online at: www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Tragedy

This is my 18 year old niece Rania. She died on Monday, October 13, 2014, after a life-long battle with Leukemia.

I am heartbroken.

I'm supposed to be a writer, able to find words, but I'm at a loss as to how to describe all of my emotions coherently.

Angry-So angry
Furious-Want to hit and scream and yell at the top of my lungs
Sad-How can this happen
Devastated-The tears won't stop
Heartbroken-A piece is missing
Unfair-Too young, such a fighter, only child
Why-There is nothing anyone could say that can ever make this okay


My husband took the first flight out to Morocco to be at his sister's side. I can't imagine the pain my sister-in-law must be going through.

All I keep thinking is, she just celebrated her 18th birthday on September 25th. She looked healthy and beautiful and so grown up in her birthday photos.

She was sweet, kind, loving, beautiful, smart and so much more.

I miss her. She is truly missed. Our whole family loved her. Such a precious wonderful girl who grew into a beautiful young woman.

I can't find the words, but I loved her. I am so sorry she is gone.

I can still remember when she was a little girl, sitting in my lap, playing with my hair.





That is all. Thank you for reading.

www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Embrace Your Flaws-They Build Characters

   Everyone, real and fictional, has flaws. If they didn't, we would be an entire society of robots reading about robots.  How boring. Real people have idiosyncrasies and are imperfect. Real characters have flaws. When building your characters, make sure to embrace their flaws. It will be those flaws that make your characters unique. There are so many different ways to describe someone and none of them should be perfect. Even the hero or heroine should have imperfections. It is those imperfections that will make them perfect for one another. (Thank you Mr. Knightley aka Jeremy Northam, for wording that so well.) Looking to put a little humor in your writing? Think of an embarrassing situation and see how your character responds. You could see how complete opposites interact when required to work together toward a common goal. They are bound to get into to trouble. Everyday issues can be funny.  In my current work in progress, I wrote an extremely emotionally charged scene. The heroine ends up crying hysterically. Guess what comes next? Snot. Yep, that highly emotional scene is immediately followed by a humorous one, because crying like that produces mucus. It's not dainty and not pretty.  Writing a romance? No romance is without conflict. What causes the conflict? A misunderstanding or insecurities? Does the outwardly confident hottie have insecurities rooted deep inside that prevents him/her from trusting? Infidelity or tragedy can cause a lot of drama. Does your hero/heroine push others away to avoid getting hurt? Is there a sordid past they are trying to hide? Are they clumsy, twitchy nail biters, or phobic, clean-freak know-it-alls? They could be shy, awkward geeks, or sexy, over-the-top hotties. Whatever their traits, make them relatable, and make them human.  Just a suggestion.  What flaw do you find most endearing? Leave a comment.  Jennifer Senhaji, Your Sweet and Spicy Romance Author Find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com    

Pirates-Walk the Plank

 Piracy, I'm not talking the swashbuckling you encounter at your annual pirate festival, or in your local movie theatre. I'm talking about thievery. Little ole me has been the victim of piracy. Arrr.   A friend of mine, who's also an author, recently discovered four different places online where her books were being offered for illegal free download. This was the first time I'd heard this from someone I knew. Yeah, I've read about it, but have never known anyone that was a victim. While my friend advised of how she reported these illegal websites, I randomly decided to look up my own book. Dun, dun, dun. I found three pirate websites that were also offering illegal downloads of my book. My book! My baby! My creation, I love and cherish it, and some jerk thinks it's okay to upload it to an illegal site and offer it up to everyone and their mother? Hell to the no!  I filed my forms and sent messages to the sites, warning they were infringing on my copyright, and to please take my book down now! One site boasted of almost 1200 copies downloaded that week. That is 1200 copies of my book, downloaded for free, without my permission. Where's my sword?   Now, many authors will use free promotions, once in a while, as a marketing tool. However, those promotions are sanctioned and controlled by the author. The author uses and tracks that information.  Piracy, is unconscionable.  For a newbie author, every sale is important. Every time someone reads my book, it's a thrill. I anxiously await a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I hope that fans of my work will spread the word and recommend it to other readers, or leave reviews, which is its own form of recommendation. The thousands--because if it was 1200 in one week, I can only assume the total is in the thousands--of twerps that illegally downloaded my book, didn't even do me the courtesy of posting a review. If I had thousands of reviews, I could maybe forgive this, but no.  I feel violated.  What is a writer to do? Google yourself and your book titles. Do not feel guilty for stalking yourself online. It's a necessity. Once you find these sites, report them. Send a message. You have rights! If the site or blog is hosted, contact the host.  
   Do not allow pirates to plunder yer booty.  Writers, has this happened to you? How did you deal with it? Do you have a process in place?Please leave a comment. Find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com Jennifer Senhaji#YourSweetandSpicyRomanceAuthor