Monday, January 28, 2013

Valentine's Day Decorations

My house looked so drab once all the Christmas decorations were down so I decided to decorate for Valentine's. Valentine's Day is a big deal around or house because it's also my older daughter Mackenzie's birthday and my birthday is the next day. But I didn't have any Valentine's Day decorations and have had a hard time finding them in the stores. Since I'm not all that craftsy I followed a fellow writer friend's example from her blog where she came up with some festive ideas for Christmas decorations (Thanks Heather) and went to Pinterest and looked up some ideas. Here's what I came up with.


I found the items for this grouping at Tai Pan Trading Company and filled the candy Jar with Peanut butter M&Ms. I'm having a hard time keeping my kids out of the jar until Valentine's Day!


 I found this glass candleholder and white ceramic cake stand at Tai Pan, too, and filled the jar partway with Redhot candies and a soup can in the middle to hold the candle. Around the base of the cake holder I placed Christmas berry vines I got on clearance at Michael's craft store. I found the ribbon I tied around the candleholder at Wallmart.


Again, I found some Christmas berry garland on clearance at Taipan and hung some ceramic hearts from the chandelier. My house feels much more cheery now!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Book Review: Athena, by Heather B. Moore




Athena, by Heather B. Moore, is the fourth book in the Newport Book Club series. Athena is a hard-working, independent woman who is afraid to get too close to a man for fear of losing her independence, that is, until she stumbles into Grey—an irresistibly attractive and friendly bookstore owner. I love Grey's character and the sweet romance between him and Athena and wonder if there are really men out there like that. He's even a gourmet cook! I got a little frustrated with Athena for pushing him away so much and wanted to shake her sometimes, but I like how she lets go and gains insights into herself and understanding of her parents towards the end of the book as she goes through the trials of losing her mom and taking care of her father who has Alzheimer's Disease. Lots of cute, funny moments along the way. I recommend you check it out for yourself to see what you think of it. My mom came to visit for the weekend and wanted a book to read at night so I gave her Athena. She liked it so much she stayed up all night reading it and said it made her laugh a lot.

Heather's website
Heather's Blog

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard!


The Forgotten Ones
Author: Laura Howard
Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Expected release date: May 15, 2013
Age Group: New Adult
Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 

Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more. 


When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.



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Saturday, January 12, 2013

Fire Prophet Promo Post

Welcome to my stop on the Fire Prophet Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to check out the rest of the blog tour schedule!



Spirit Fighter (Book #1)

by Jerel Law

Published April 3rd 2012
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Paperback, 243 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
"In his exciting debut novel, Jerel Law transports readers to a place where supernatural forces of good and evil collide. Young readers will be entertained and inspired by "Spirit Fighter." I heartily recommend it." -Robert Whitlow, bestselling author of the Tides of Truth series

Percy Jackson, move over! Jonah Stone is here!

What if Nephilim-the children of angels and men-still walked the earth? And their very presence put the entire world in danger? In "Spirit Fighter," Jonah and Eliza Stone learn that their mother is a Nephilim and that they have special powers as quarter-angels. When their mom is kidnapped by fallen angels, they must use those powers to save her. Along the way, they discover that there is a very real and dangerous war going on between good and evil and that God has a big part for them to play in that war.

Parents today are looking for fiction that makes Christianity and the Bible exciting for their kids. This series is the Christian answer to "Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Kane Chronicles, The Secret Series" and other middle-grade series packed with adventure, action, and supernatural fights. "Son of Angels, Jonah Stone" will be the first series in the market to explore this topic from a biblical perspective with content that is appropriate and exciting for middle-grade readers.

"Jerel Law has crafted a fantastic story that will leave every reader wanting more. Stop looking for the next great read in fantasy fiction for young readers-you've found it!" -Robert Liparulo, bestselling author of Dreamhouse Kings and "The 13th Tribe"

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Fire Prophet (Book #2)
by Jerel Law
Expected publication: December 11th 2012
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Paperback, 256 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
"Jerel Law transports readers to a place where supernatural forces of good and evil collide. Young readers will be entertained and inspired . . . I heartily recommend it." -Robert Whitlow, bestselling author of the Tides of Truth series

What if you could actually see angels and fallen angels engaging in battle-and you were expected to join the fight?

It's been one year since Jonah Stone and his sister, Eliza, discovered that their mother is a nephilim, the product of a union between a human and a fallen angel, which makes them and their little brother, Jeremiah, "quarterlings," or one-quarter angel. After embarking on an epic journey to rescue their mother and the other nephilim, who were kidnapped by fallen angels, the Stone kids have enjoyed a little peace and quiet.

But when Jonah and Eliza are attacked by fallen angels at school, they learn that quarterlings all over the world are being targeted, and separating them from their parents is the only way to keep them safe. The kids undergo special training to help them discover their own unique angelic gifts, which come in handy when they embark on a mission to find a mysterious prophet who they believe holds the key to Abaddon's defeat in a massive battle between good and evil.

Parents today are looking for fiction that makes Christianity and the Bible exciting for their kids. This series is the first Christian answer to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, the Secret Series, and other middle grade series packed with adventure, action, and supernatural fights. But the message is solidly scriptural in that God alone is always in control.

"Jerel Law has crafted a fantastic story that will leave every reader wanting more. Stop looking for the next great read in fantasy fiction for young readers-you've found it " -Robert Liparulo, bestselling author of Dreamhouse Kings and "The 13th Tribe"

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

About the Author
Jerel Law is a gifted communicator and pastor with seventeen years of full-time ministry experience. He holds his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Tarheels!), and a master of divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Jerel began writing fiction as a way to encourage his children’s faith to come alive. He lives in North Carolina with his family. Spirit Fighter is his first novel.

Website / Blog / Goodreads / Amazon / Twitter / Facebook

GIVEAWAY
Thomas Nelson is providing 5 print copies of Fire Prophet (US Only). 
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Q & A With Author Jerel Law


Q: Everyone seems to have a "how I got published" story. What is yours?

My story, like a lot of others, is about the right door opening up at the right time, combined with a lot of persistence.  I had been writing fiction for ten years before my first book, Spirit Fighter, was published.  Four completed, unpublished manuscripts are sitting on my laptop right now.  None of them sold, but I learned lots of lessons with each.  Writing those books was like going to school for me.  Each one helped me become a better writer.  The fifth one turned out to be the one that sold.

After I’d written the fifth, I did what most authors do (and what I’d done four times before with limited success) – try to find an agent!  Which can be just as hard as landing a publisher.  But I remembered a conversation I had with a local author two years prior – a great guy named Robert Whitlow. I figured reaching out to him couldn’t hurt, so I asked if he would look at my query letter and give me some suggestions.  He agreed, read it, and to my surprise, also asked to see the first chapter of my book.  The next day we spoke on the phone and he told me how much he liked what he’d read (I still remember how excited I was as we spoke) – and then he offered to introduce me to his publisher.  Not long after, we reached out to a wonderful editor named MacKenzie Howard from Thomas Nelson via email, and ten minutes after I contacted her, she requested my manuscript.  Ten months later (yes, it took that long!) I had a two-book contract for the Son of Angels series.  At this point, I still don’t have an agent.  And Robert has become a great friend.


Q: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer?

The truth is, I did not grow up wanting to be an author.  I wasn’t one of those kids who filled journals with words and ideas.  I was too busy playing sports, going to school, and hanging out with my friends.  The real story (although I’m not quite sure how I feel about letting this cat out of the bag) is that around 1999, my wife and I were on vacation at the beach, and she brought a book along that I ended up reading – The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.  Yeah, I know.  But looking back, I realize I had some frustration in my current job as a pastor, and needed an outlet for some creative expression.  Coming back from our trip (and having read that book), I was inspired with an idea for a novel.  I talked to Susan, my wife, about it, and she encouraged me to get busy and write.  So my first book was a Sparks-ish love story set in North Carolina (where I live), written for her.  And apparently, she was the only one who liked it.  But I realized through that that I really enjoyed writing.




Sunday, January 6, 2013

Writer's New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! Time for those writer's resolutions. How did you do last year? I decided not to make any resolutions last year and I kept my resolution! This year I have 3 main goals:

1. Finish revising my novels
2. Write a sequel to my paranormal romance
3. Query agents

January: Revise my contemporary NA romance/adventure novel and send it to the editor who is interested and who suggested I add words and change the ending.

February: Query my YA fantasy novel to agents and keep revising my NA paranormal novel while having it critiqued by my writer's group.

March: Keep querying my YA fantasy and revising my NA Paranormal Romance.

April: Query agents with my YA fantasy novel and finish revising my paranormal romance.

May: Query paranormal romance and YA fantasy and outline sequel to paranormal romance

June: Query Paranormal Romance and write first draft of book 2 to paranormal romance

July: Query Paranormal romance and write second draft of book 2 to paranormal romance

August: Write 3rd draft of book two of paranormal romance

Sept: Start submitting chapters of paranormal romance book 2 to group for critiques

Oct: Revise critiqued chapters of paranormal romance book 2

Nov: Revise critiqued chapters of paranormal romance book 2

Dec: Revise chapters of paranormal romance book 2

These goals may change as I go especially if I get an agent or publish a book, but for now, this is the plan. I'll update and revise it and track my progress each month on my blog. What are your goals for this year? Good luck!