Jeanette Lewis's Blog, page 12

Glass Blowing Lessons

Learning about glass blowing was by far my favorite bit of research for The Passionate One. I’d watched plenty of glass blowing tutorials on YouTube, but there’s nothing like experiencing the real thing. I’d originally planned a glass blowing date as part of the “Matt is Not Boring” plan he concocts, but the moment I stepped into the studio, I knew I’d found Matt’s passion and glass blowing had to be a bigger part of the story.

At the studio, my daughter and I met Amelia, who runs the showroom, and Vicente, the master artist. We were the last appointment of the day and when they learned I was researching a book, they gave me triple the normal time and very patiently answered all my questions. They even let me try several different techniques that were not part of our original lesson.

Here are some highlights:

Click to view slideshow.

This was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done and a heartfelt thank you to Holdman Studios. Visit their website to see some of the amazing pieces Vicente and the other artists have made. Once you’ve tried it and know firsthand how difficult it is, their skill is simply breathtaking.

Get your copy of The Passionate One on Amazon today!

The Passionate One – Release Mistake

Dear friends,

I’m so excited that The Passionate One went on sale today on Amazon! I learned late that there was a problem with the pre-order file, so if you purchased a copy before about five o’clock this morning, you might not have received the correct version. I sincerely apologize for the mistake. Please contact me at authorjeanettelewis@gmail.com and I will arrange to get a final version of the book to you.

All the best,

Jeanette

Excerpt from The Passionate One

The Passionate One

The Billionaire Bride Pact

by Jeanette Lewis (All rights reserved)

Erin went inside and slipped off her shoes, sighing with relief. She stood in the darkness inside her apartment and let it all sink in. The play, the party, and New York.

And Matt. She’d left him standing there in the parking lot, like an unfinished sentence.

She glanced at her phone. It was almost two o’clock in the morning. But this couldn’t wait and she knew he’d still be awake.

She grabbed her slippers and padded down the hallway. Matt answered her light knock. He wore striped pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt. His eyes were shadowed and tired. At his side, Roswell wagged his tail and tried to jump on Erin.

Matt turned and went back into the apartment ahead of her, leaving her to struggle with the dog. When she’d finally made it inside and shut the door, he gave her a measured look. “How’d it go?”

There was something different in his eyes, something … hard. A look she hadn’t seen before. “Good,” she said warily. “We’re going to New York.”

He stood in the center of the room, arms folded. “That’s great,” he said in a neutral tone. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks. We’re all very excited.” Only right now it didn’t feel exciting. It felt sad. Like the end of an era.

“As long as I’m at it, I may as well congratulate you on your boyfriend,” Matt said, not bothering to keep the bitterness from his voice.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Erin replied.

It was the wrong thing to say. “Really?” Matt scowled. “I couldn’t tell.”

Erin flicked her hair away from her face. “What’s with you tonight?”

He shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe it’s late and I’ve been at work all day. Maybe I’m sick of taking the dumb dog out to pee. Maybe I’m tired of being used.”

“Used?” She took a step back. “Is that what you think I’ve been doing?”

“I really don’t know anymore, Erin. For a while I thought we had a pretty good thing going, and then …” he sighed and raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end. Roswell whined and Matt glared at him. “Go lie, down,” he ordered and Roswell slunk off to the bedroom.

“Then what?” Erin prodded.

“Then when I put all the pieces together, I see a different picture. You do whatever you want and I wait around wishing you’d notice me. Only you don’t. At least not until you get in over your head. Then you holler and I come running.”

“That’s not … I don’t …” she began. But her words rang hollow. Because he was right. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said quietly. “I haven’t meant to use you.”

“Are you just saying that because you know that’s what I want to hear?” His voice had an edge of cynicism she’d never heard before, so unlike the Matt she knew.

“No! I really am sorry. I guess I didn’t realize.”

“You never do,” he said. “You are so wrapped up in daydreams that you don’t even see what’s right in front of you.”

“What’s right in front of me?” she demanded.

“You have this idea that falling in love is supposed to be some big, dramatic … I don’t know what. But if it’s not just like that, you won’t even consider it.”

“Falling in love?” She stared at him.

He hesitated, as if trying to decide whether to go for it. Then he plunged ahead. “Yes, Erin. I love you. As if it isn’t obvious.”

“I don’t …” Her mind was a jumble, her emotions a confusing mix of panic and elation. “We never said anything about love,” she finally whispered.

Matt’s eyes hardened. “I know. And I won’t say it again; I just wanted you to know how I felt, I wanted to tell you at least once.”

Her head was fuzzy from exhaustion and champagne; it took her a minute to work out what he meant. “So that’s it?” she said. “We can’t even still be friends?”

He met her eyes with a steady gaze. “I have enough friends,” he said evenly.

She blinked through the sudden tears. This goodbye was the one she’d dreaded most and it was coming too sudden, too early. She’d been counting on having a few more weeks with him.

“Please don’t say that,” she begged. “I thought … I thought you would …” Her words faltered. What had she thought? That he’d be content to stay in the shadows indefinitely?

She could see the muscles in his jaw working as he ground his teeth. “Goodbye Erin,” he said softly.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she wrenched the door open and fled.

The Passionate One is available now on Amazon!

Happy Holidays!

When I started planning The Billionaire Bride Pact, a release date only a few weeks after Christmas seemed totally doable. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, I was thinking I’d magically become an organized super-mom who could have everything done well ahead of time and save myself any stress. Haha.

It’s required many late nights, but the good news is that The Passionate One is almost done and is on Amazon now for pre-order. Release date is January 11. I’ll be posting more info here so check back for updates, contests, and useless trivia about the characters and the writing process. I got to take a glass blowing class as part of my research. It was amazing and definitely requires its own post.

Are you at the point where you start reflecting on the last year? I have to admit, 2015 has not been my favorite – what with the THREE hospital stays and emergency surgery – but it was still a good year. I feel very blessed and am so grateful for my family and friends, my freedom, and for you. You’re fantastic, did you know?

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and that 2016 is the best yet!

As the creator of the Billionaire Bride Pact, Erin Parker is determined to see it through. And now that wealthy, gorgeous Brennan Avery has been cast as her costar in a play destined for Broadway, things couldn’t be better. But Erin’s best friend, Matt Walters, isn’t ready to give up on her. He has a plan to escape the friend zone and prove to Erin that there are more important things than money and fame.

Available here for pre-order, to be released January 11.

New Series! The Billionaire Bride Pact

Hi readers! Take a look at the cover for the first book of my new series, The Billionaire Bride Pact. Isn’t it beautiful?

I was hoping to have more info for you, but have been sidelined by an emergency appendectomy. I got home from the hospital this morning and will be taking it easy for a few weeks. In the meantime, please join my newsletter or follow me on Facebook for updates on this series, Skyriders, and my next Snow Valley book.

All the best!

Jeanette

Masaru Emoto and the power of the positive

I took my daughter to San Diego last week to see Lindsey Stirling in concert. It was over 1600 miles round trip and so worth it. My daughter is a little quirky — we’ve had her tested and she’s not quite Asperger’s, but she struggles socially. No matter what we did or what we tried, she’s had a hard time and it breaks my heart.

Then we found Lindsey Stirling. She has been very open about her own quirkiness and her struggle with growing up “feeling different” from everyone else and her journey toward self-acceptance. My daughter identified with her immediately and has taken her words to heart. She is doing better now.

At the concert, Lindsey talked about Masaru Emoto and his water experiments. In a nut shell, he exposed water to various stimuli including music, pictures, and words, some positive and some negative. Then they took photographs of the water and observed the crystal structure after the stimuli.

It’s amazing! The water that was exposed to positive things produced delicate, complex crystals while the water that got the negative stimuli produced only dark, lumpy masses. It was a literal representation of how important positive stimuli can be.

Our bodies are more than 60 percent water. So by choosing to expose ourselves to positive things, can we literally change the makeup of our cells?

I’ve been making an effort to be more conscious of my thoughts and I’ve been surprised how quickly my brain jumps to “worst case scenario” in almost any situation. Now I am working to retrain my brain to see the positive first. It’s a process, but it’s already having an impact. I feel happier than I’ve felt in a long time.

I invite you to join me. Find joy and hope instead of sadness and despair. Choose faith instead of fear and love instead of hate. I think we can all agree that the world could use more happiness and there’s no better place or time to start than here and now.

See the photographs and find out more about Masaru Emoto

Find out more about Lindsey Stirling

With love,

Jeanette

Song Contest Winner!

The votes are in and Kyle and Cameron’s love song is … (drum roll) …

I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden

I love it! Christina Riggs submitted the winning song and will get the $25 Amazon gift card. Congratulations, Christina.

You guys came up with some really good contenders, thank you so much!

Poll for Kyle and Cameron’s Love Song

Wow, you guys came through! Look at all these great suggestions for Kyle and Cameron’s love song. Voting will go through August 15 and the results will be announced on August 17. Winner gets a $25 gift card from Amazon!

PS.  If a song you submitted isn’t listed, please let me know right away. I really tried to get them all but there were a few that got dumped because the submitter was over their five song limit.

Take Our Poll

Interview with Book Goodies

I did a fun interview with Book Goodies that came out today. Here’s the link.

We hit Number Three!

Sorry for the blurry screencap, but you can see that Skyriders was number 3 on Amazon’s list of hot new releases this morning. Wow!! Thanks everyone!

Also, yes, that is a new cover. My cover designer and I are playing around with it. Which do you like better?

The Original?

Or new?