If you find yourself asking yourself and your friends,
"Am I really a writer?" or "Am I really an artist?"
Chances are you are.
The counterfeit innovator is wildly self confident.
The real one is scared to death.

Steven Pressfield "The War of Art"

One thing I dislike . . .

About e-publishing.

This book Modern Sorcery by Gary Jonas is available in e-format now but not in paperback until October. Now before you get you panties in a bunch let me tell you why.

I don't have a kindle, nook, iPad etc. I just can't afford the $150-800 price tag. I'm not trying to make you feel bad for me I have made decisions about where my disposable income goes and admittedly it usually goes to writers conferences, and this year a new laptop that was desperately needed.

I could buy it and download it onto my laptop, but my eyes are getting older and I don't want to strain them any more than I do with my writing.

I don't dislike e-publishing, if that is what floats your boat, then go for it. I guess I'm old fashioned and like my old paper books better.

But remember this. If I want to read your book and I can't get it when I am thinking about purchasing it, I will probably forget about your book by the time its available in hard copy and you have lost a sale.

Monday news . . .

Dyslexia has become the be all and end all of ny existence. Changing schools teachers and grades are just some fo the things we are dealing with. Please be patient with me for a few while I get my head back on my shoulders.

I just have to laugh. . .

I think this is supposed to be engagement pictures.

Either someone is playing a good trick on the couple or they have interesting sense of humors. Either way thought it's make you laugh on a Monday.

How to Make a "YA quest Project Notebook"

Okay so I will be the first to admit that writing YA is SO OUT OF MY BOX, it isn't funny. But when the idea hits you like a steamroller, you obey the muse.

So I had this idea to write a YA (thanks to my son and his amazing curiosity). But this story was one of both discovering the world he lives in and growing up. That mean I needed to know what he was going to go as he traveled.




When I had the theme and ideas firmly in my head I ploted out the story structure so I could begin the "journey".

I started looking at pictures of diferent places on earth and making a list of things I wanted him to see.






After the list was complete and the pictures gathered I needed a map. Luckily for me my hubby brings large pieces of paper home for me to use. I spent a few hours drawing it out. When I was happy with it, I went over it with markers to darken the lines. The origional map is about 4' x 5'.

Once the map was finished I took a picture of it and printed it off. Then I drew his path and what he would see and where.








Then with sticky notes I labeled the main scenes and placed the pictures with each scene.







Once the pictures were distibuted I glued them in the book from the end to the begining so I didn't run out of paper or have pages left over at the end of the book.










Now I have all my scenes and the pictures that serve as visual reminders of the journey right at my fingertips whenever/wherever I go.

Fall by Jennifer Hurst

Free download of book in exchange for honest review
Imagine finding a secret space in an old school building you are supposed to be renovating. You are standing there knocking on the wall, trying to discern what--if anything is in that space, and something knocks back. Scared out of your wits, you run for the door.

And you're lost in the story.

I can't tell you how much I love love love this story. Paranormal Urban Fantasy is definitely my favorite type of book to read. The characters are rich in detail the scenery is detailed and inviting. The story has twists and turns you are totally not expecting. There were some typos and a few grammar problems but the story overrides them. This book is definitely worth the read.

Fall by Jennifer Hurst

Construction is in Julia's blood, so when she is promoted to Project Manager to renovate a turn-of-the-century school house in a bed and breakfast, she has high hopes of proving herself in the male-dominated construction industry.

But Julia discovers there is more to managing a construction project than just contracts and budgets - especially when she meets Matthew Rigo, the demolition contractor who seems bound and determined to cross the lines Julia has imposed.

Vandalism and other unexplainable occurances beset the project, leading Julia to believe there is much more to the school house than she first realizes. Something is inside the hundred year old school house, and it wants out. Is Julia the key to its release? And are Matthew and Nathan what they appear to be?

Buy the book here

Here's Jennifer's website

In conjunction with this blog tour, Jennifer is holding a contest. It will involve any of the blogs that Jennifer visits or where her book is featured and willclose on December 31st, 2011. The entrants have to answer three questions about the book they’ve read (bought, borrowed, or stolen - shame on you) and post a link to Jennifer's website on their Twitter, Facebook, or blog (need link for verification).

Then the names will be entered in a random name picker generator(http://textmechanic.com/Random-Line-Picker.html) and announced on Jennifer's website (www.jenniferhurst.com) on January 31st, 2012. The winner will receive a gift certificate for a night’s stay at the actual bed and breakfast where the story takes place.

Other prizes include an autographed copy of FALL, and she will randomly select 3 contestants’ names to use in the sequel to FALL. Plus, they will receive afree copy of that book when it is published.

Each blog that Jennifer Hurst visits will have a different set of questions people can answer, and they may enter as many times as they want - but they can enter once per blog site that they visit. So the more sites you visit, the more you can enter your name, thus increasing your chances of winning the gift certificate, a copy of the book FALL, and your name in the sequel.

Get the book, read the book, and then read over the questions below. Once you have your answers, e-mail them to Jennifer.fall.jenniferhurst@gmail.com

Your privacy is respected and your email address will NOT be used for anything but the contest. Once the contest is over -your email address will be deleted from the database.

Here are the questions for you to answer:

What color was Matthew's t-shirt when JD met him for the first time?

What is JD's favorite flavor of milkshake?

What kind of orchard did JD and Matthew camp in?

If you would like to visit the other sites, go here for themaster list of all participating sites: http://fallbyjenniferhurst.wordpress.com/

Best of luck, and thanks for participating!