Mere Joyce's Blog, page 6

Celebrate the Small Things

Hosted by Lexa Cain, this is a great weekly chance to talk about the small things worth celebrating in life!

This week, I'm celebrating:
Blank Canvas has a release date! It's coming incredibly soon...June 19th (one week today!) I'll have more info on the blog tomorrow, =) Finishing a book that's taken me ages to read. You know that dreadful feeling when you get a ways into a book, only to discover you're not enjoying the read, but you've read enough you don't want to stop now? Yeah...it's such a relief to finish those reads, especially when they're immediately followed by a much better one! 
What are you celebrating this week?

Celebrate the Small Things

Hosted by Lexa Cain, this is a great weekly chance to talk about the small things worth celebrating in life!

This week, I'm celebrating:
Nice walks with the family. We discovered a new park yesterday, surrounded by an absolutely beautiful old neighbourhood. It's amazing how different your own city can seem when you experience different areas of it. Growing babies! My baby boy learned to crawl this week, =) ...he's getting into everything, of course, but it's so much fun watching him explore new areas of the house now that he can move himself. 
What are you celebrating this week?

Celebrate the Small Things

Hosted by Lexa Cain, this is a great weekly chance to talk about the small things worth celebrating in life!

This week, I'm celebrating:
My sister is back in Canada for a few weeks after being in Oman for the past year! I haven't seen her, or my two nieces (who are 3 1/2 & 1 1/2) since last June, and of course, that also means none of them have met my son yet. It sucks they were away when he was born, but today they'll get their first in-person introduction!
What are you celebrating this week?

Blank Canvas has a cover!

Woke up to an exciting message in my inbox this morning...Blank Canvas now has a cover!


Pretty, isn't it?

Since the cover is now out, I thought I'd share a little about the book itself.

~*~*~*~
Three years ago, sixteen-year-old Maddie Deacon was abducted on her way home from her school’s Art Showcase. Five months ago, she escaped the madman she calls The Painter. Before being taken, painting was Maddie’s life. Now, it’s her nightmare.

Maddie wants to forget her years in captivity. She’d rather spend her time getting reacquainted with her parents and her sister, not to mention her cello-playing, beautiful boy next door and childhood best friend Wesley. But paint is everywhere, and tormenting shadows linger in every portrait she encounters.

When the yearly Art Showcase once again approaches, Maddie has the chance to win a scholarship and start planning a future far away from the horrors of her past. She knows she has to make a choice–confront her memories of The Painter and overcome her fear of the canvas, or give up painting forever.

~*~*~*~
Coming soon from Evernight Teen!

The Muse Party Blogfest!

Today I'm participating in The Muse Party Blogfest! Hosted by Sarah Foster of The Faux Fountain Pen, this is a party for writers and their muses!


I don't have a muse of my own, so for the party I decided to bring along Autumn Deacon. Autumn's the little sister of Maddie, the main character from my upcoming novel BLANK CANVAS!

Autumn's excited to get mingling, so while she runs off to the dance floor, I'll answer the blogfest questions!

Here it goes:

1. Who is your muse (or character)? Tell us a little bit about him/her and why you brought them.

My party companion today is Autumn Deacon, an energetic, athletic, outgoing thirteen-year-old. I'm not much of a party person, but Autumn's great at keeping spirits high. She's the kind of girl you definitely want around at a shindig!


2. What are you guys wearing? Dressing up or keeping it casual?

It's spring! Which means a sundress and sandals for me. Autumn's gone about as dressy as she ever does with a cotton skirt with a zip-up sweater. She had sandals on, too, but–*watches her dancing in bare feet*–I think she left them in the car.

...I hope she doesn't have any clumsy dance partners.


3. It's a potluck! Did you bring something yummy?

I baked cookies! Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, to be exact. There were supposed to be a lot more of them, but we got hungry on the way over. Sorry(not sorry)


4. Open bar! What are you both drinking (booze or otherwise)?

Hmm...cherry-coke? seems like a good party beverage. Yeah. We'll take two!


5. Wallflowers or social butterflies?

I'll be stuck to the wall for most of the night–I prefer pajamas and a good book or movie to a party. But Autumn will flutter all night! That's why I brought her, =)


6. What song(s) will you and your muse sing for karaoke?

"A Fine Life" from Oliver! If you're going with karaoke, you might as well pick something fun. A plus if we can get everyone else to join in!


7. What's your favorite party game?

Well, I'm a fan of Victorian era games like The Minister's Cat (it's a fantastic game, I promise!) But Autumn would be more likely to enjoy something like Truth or Dare. She's not afraid of secrets, and she loves a challenge.


8. Which one of you is more likely to end up dancing on a table top?

Autumn, definitely. But if the right song came on, something like "We Are Not Alone" from The Breakfast Club, I might not be able to resist.


9. Has your muse been a good date and would you ever hang out with them again?

Hanging out with Autumn all night is exhausting. But I would totally do it again! Just...after I've had some time to wind down from her endless chattering. Maybe we'll make some tea. Something nice and calm.


But we had a great time at the party! Autumn would never admit it, but I think she needed a little break from home, a place where she could burn some energy and just have fun. I think this did the trick!

Now we'll head over and visit some other party-goers.

Celebrate the Small Things

Hosted by Lexa Cain, this is a great weekly chance to talk about the small things worth celebrating in life!

This week, I'm celebrating:
Announcing that my debut novel, BLANK CANVAS, will soon be published by Evernight Teen! My husband's birthday, and both our anniversaries (dating and marriage) were this past week! We had a nice dinner at a lovely riverside restaurant in town, and to celebrate it being a decade since we started dating, we... Got our first ever tattoos! Both mine and my husband's represent our son, Finn Caspian. My tattoo is a raft on a river with a quote from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and my husband's is the Dawn Treader. They're both amazing...our tattoo artist was fantastic! 
What are you celebrating this week?

A Grimm Challenge - Month 3 Recap

Three months into A Grimm Challenge!

Last month we were a bit behind with our stories, but we're all caught up now. I can't believe we've almost reached the halfway point in this challenge!

This month had some of the longest stories so far. It's interesting to see how similar tales can be told at such varying lengths. I love the super short stories, as they're usually the quirkiest ones. But the long stories take you on a journey...they never get too complicated or bogged down in details, but rather take the hero through several different obstacles, often ones completely unrelated to each other. You really can't guess where each story will take you!

My favourite tales from this past month include The Golden Goose, Allerleirauh, The Goose-Girl, and The Raven.

Looking forward to reaching the halfway point!

Exciting News!

Yep, the title is correct...I've got some exciting news!

Remember back in the winter when I was working on an old project of mine? (Okay, I'm always working on a project, or two, or three, but let's pretend you know exactly which one I'm talking about right now...) Well, today I get to hop up and down in excitement and tell you I'll soon get to share that project with readers everywhere, =D

That's right! The awesome folks at Evernight Teen will be publishing my first novel, a YA Contemporary called BLANK CANVAS.

*Jumps up and down some more*

I don't know a lot of the details yet, but I'll be sharing what information I receive here. The book's scheduled for release next month, and when I have a firm date I'll post it here as well! I'll also be doing some fun things as we get closer to release date, and of course there will be prizes to be won once the book is out. So stayed tuned! You can also keep up-to-date on the Evernight Teen website.

I'm super excited to share my story, and to share more about the process of writing it. It's going to be a great time, and I hope to see you around for the festivities!

Cover Reveal: The Sky Child and Other Stories

Today I'm happy to share the cover from Danielle E. Shipley's newest collection, The Sky Child and Other Stories! Find out about the book and its always awesome author below, and read an excerpt from the collection, too!

~*~*~*~
Today is the cover reveal for The Sky Child and Other Stories by Danielle E. Shipley. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours.


~*~*~*~
The Sky-Child and Other Stories (The Wilderhark Tales #6.5)
By Danielle E. Shipley
Genre: Fairytale Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: July 7, 2015

Blurb:
Born into a world his heart knows as beneath him, an extraordinary boy becomes a man of music, hopeful that someday he'll find a way higher.

As the first day dawns, a world comes awake, order and disorder striking a dangerous balance.

Under the stars, a princess and tailor trade age-old lore, little dreaming of the future that could trap them in the past.

All of it in, around, and far above the timeless trees of Wilderhark, the forest whose secrets reveal themselves slowly, if ever at all.

Tales of beginnings. Tales of quests for belonging. Most of all, tales of true love.

Once upon a time, you knew something of Wilderhark's tales. Now for the stories that fall in between.

The Sky-Child and Other Stories
A Wilderhark Tales Collection

You can find The Sky-Child and Other Stories on Goodreads


About the Author:
Danielle E. Shipley's first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She's also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she's not living the highs and lows of writing, publishing, and all that authorial jazz, she's probably blogging about it.

Writing credits include: Inspired (a novel); short stories in paranormal, fantasy, and Steampunk anthologies via Xchyler Publishing; and, of course, her series of fairytale retelling mash-ups, The Wilderhark Tales.

You can find and contact Danielle here:

- Website
- Blog
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Pinterest
- Amazon

Excerpt:

A farmer’s life was irreconcilably different from that of a traveling entertainer. It was the sort of life where years were marked in seasons, not in miles; a life of sameness where, rising morning after morning on the same piece of land, one got to know that piece of land as well as one’s own self. …Assuming, that is, that one could be induced to take any part in the never-ending tilling and sowing and growing and reaping – all tasks in which Jackillen took no interest whatsoever.

For the most part, his adoptive father would let him alone. Not so at harvest time. During the late summer and autumn months, virtually every creature breathing was called upon to do its share. And though Jackillen may have been able to get by well enough with little food and sleep, breathing was an essential he was unprepared to go without.

Jeromey first assigned Jackillen the simple task of helping to dig up the ripe root vegetables, but soon observed with dismay that the youth appeared to wilt a little more with every row.

“It’s this business of rooting about in the dirt,” Jackillen said droopily, when questioned. “Everything focused down, down, and farther down… It’s torment. I don’t want to burrow deeper into the earth, I want to be free of it – I want to fly!” He tipped back his head to stare with longing at the vivid blue expanse above him. “What I wouldn’t give to reach the sky…”

In all truth, Jeromey Gant understood his son as little as Jackillen did him, and was at a loss in trying to comprehend how such a lively, sturdy body and personality could coexist with such a strangely sensitive spirit. Whatever the reason, it was at least clear that this particular aspect of the harvest did not at all suit the lad, so Jackillen was reassigned to the barn, under instruction to thresh the freshly harvested grains.

Hours later, Jeromey thought he had better go see whether the boy found his new chore to be more to his liking, or if he considered the dust of the beaten wheat or the confinement of the barn to be killing him by inches. He got as far as poking his head around the door. Then he froze, mouth agape, eyes blinking repeatedly as they attempted to make sense of the sight before him.

Everything in the barn was in motion. The grain swirled through the air in a golden cyclone. Twirling in the center of it all, smiling and laughing with delight, was Jackillen, a stout wooden staff a whirring blur in his hands. The spinning staff stirred the air, holding the grains aloft, and rapidly rapped out again and again, beating the wheat as it whirled past.

The late afternoon sunlight slowly waned as the implausible scene continued until, upon some variation of Jackillen’s extraordinary dance, the wheat rode the air into the harvest sieve, the edible grain separating from the unwanted chaff. Then at last, his work completed, Jackillen let the air go still and lowered himself to one knee, visibly fatigued, but just as visibly pleased.

He gave no sign as to whether Jeromey’s presence was a surprise or had been long since noted, only announcing cheerfully, “Threshing’s done.”

Jeromey stared at the boy in silence for another moment before remarking, “Most people can’t do that, you know.”

Jackillen grinned, the color of his eyes brighter and more erratic than ever. “Oh, yes, I never doubted that. But I am not most people: I’m Jackillen Gant.” He leapt to his feet and breezed through the doors past his father, turning to add in casual afterthought, “I can do anything, you know.”

No, Jeromey hadn’t known. And “anything” was a big enough word that he wasn’t prepared to admit he knew any such thing even now. However, he thought it reasonable to assume, if ever there were someone capable of anything, that one would most likely be Jackillen Gant.

Celebrate the Small Things

Hosted by Lexa Cain, this is a great weekly chance to talk about the small things worth celebrating in life!

This week, I'm celebrating:
Beautiful weather! A couple of weeks ago, I lamented the lack of spring-like weather around here. Luckily, Mother Nature took pity on us, and it's been warm and lovely all week. We've been able to start working on some outdoor projects around the house, which has been great! New discoveries. Yesterday we took our little guy (he's seven and a half months old) swimming for the first time. I've been meaning to take him for months, but I'm terrible with actually getting out of the house and doing things, so it took a bit longer than planned. Nevertheless, we made it to the pool yesterday, and our son loved it! It's adorable and amazing to watch him explore new things.
What are you celebrating this week?