Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Imperfect Love, Chapter 1, Part 3
Lauren sat at one of the staff lunch tables looking forward to some quiet time while she considered different ways she could tell Paul the amazing news. She could write a poem or send him on a treasure hunt or give him a box with baby formula inside. She needed something creative.
"Mind if I sit with you?" JoAnn, one of the math teachers, asked.
Lauren mentally rolled her eyes. Everyone knew that JoAnn was a talker and shared intimate details of people’s personal lives. The last person Lauren wanted to sit with was JoAnn, but she didn’t want to be rude. Lauren motioned with her hand, convinced she’d regret it. "Sure."
JoAnn flopped onto the chair, making a loud creak. "I’m on a diet. Doctor said I need to lose 90 pounds. I don’t agree, but my husband made me promise to eat this rabbit food." She started poking her small salad. "You’re lucky to be so tiny. I bet you’ve never worried about having to lose weight."
"Running helps me stay in shape." She probably wouldn’t be able to do much running in the coming months, though. The corners of her mouth lifted.
"Exercise? Yeah, the doctor said I needed to do that, too. I think he’s trying to kill me instead of make me healthy. Besides, it’s common knowledge that menopause makes you gain weight." She looked at Lauren.
"But you’ve got years before you have to worry about that. Are you going to start having your family soon? I mean, it’s none of my business, you see, but time keeps marching on. I had my babies back in my twenties. Course, they’re all grown now. I keep hoping they’ll make me a grandma soon. Kids these days don’t like to get married or have kids ‘til they’re older." JoAnn finally stopped talking and took a bite of her salad.
Lauren hoped they could enjoy the rest of the lunch period in silence.
Several minutes later, JoAnn began again. "Did you hear about Mr. Thompson?" JoAnn leaned in closer. "His classroom computer was loaded with porn." JoAnn nodded. "Yep. He had all sorts of disgusting things on it. I hear he’s going to be fired. And that new secretary in the front office—she has a stalker who keeps coming by the school. I heard he’s left her flowers and candy and notes even after she told him to get lost."
Lauren didn’t know Mr. Thompson well, but she was uncomfortable being involved in a conversation with such serious accusations. Besides, she didn’t want to be associated with any disparaging remarks about her coworkers. She preferred to mind her own business and didn’t want to be pulled into anyone else’s. "How were your classes today?"
"The same as they always are."
Before JoAnn could launch into any other gossip, Lauren said, "We’re beginning our study of the Holocaust."
"Oh. I’m glad I only have to teach numbers. I’d never be able to teach kids about why a madman killed so many people. Numbers I understand. People? Not so much."
"And numbers make my head implode." Lauren smiled.
"You know what else I heard about—"
"I’d love to stay and chat, but I need to prepare for my next class." Lauren stood. "It was good talking to you, JoAnn."
"You too. We should do it more often." JoAnn had a spot of ranch salad dressing on her chin, but Lauren was too embarrassed to tell her.
"Have a good day," Lauren said as she left.
Since the lunch period was almost over, Lauren would have to wait until after school to think of a special way to tell Paul.
Thank you for reading the first chapter of Imperfect Love. I hope you enjoyed it. You can purchase Imperfect Love here.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Imperfect Love, Chapter 1, Part 2
Lauren drove into the crowded faculty lot and parked under the bare limbs of a large tree. She grabbed her jacket and exited into the cool weather. It was a typical March day in Denver. Billowy gray clouds lined the sky while traces of snow from last week’s storm lingered around the school grounds. She made her way to her classroom, trying to hide the smile that tickled her lips. A new life is growing inside me. She wanted to sing it out and tell everyone she saw, but she needed to wait to tell Paul first, even if it felt like she’d burst.
Lauren sat at her desk, drumming her fingers while eighth graders filed in and took their seats.
"Hey, Mrs. Wilson, you look happy today," Briana said, tucking her long black hair behind her ears.
"I do?"
"Definitely." Katie grinned, exposing her braces.
"It’s a beautiful day, how could I not be happy?" she said, hoping to avert any more comments. The last thing she wanted to do was blurt out that she was pregnant. She needed to keep her excitement under control until she told Paul. Then she’d shout it to the world.
"Looks like it might snow," Katie said, watching her.
"Yes, yes it does. I love a big snow storm, though, don’t you?"
"Seems like you’re extra happy. Even your eyes are happy." Lexi smiled.
Not liking the direction of the conversation, Lauren stood and walked to the front of the class. The bell rang, and Charlie rushed inside, his strawberry blond hair windswept.
"You’re late again, Mr. Newton."
"I know. I’m sorry, Mrs. Wilson. But—"
"I don’t want to hear any excuses." Lauren suppressed her smirk. Charlie was the best excuse maker she’d had since she started teaching. "Like how Ellie was so hot this morning, and you had no other choice but to talk to her, because she was practicing mind control over you. Or that your mom’s car broke down on the other side of town after you made breakfast at the homeless shelter, so you had to jog to school. Or how your locker combination didn’t work, so you had to find the janitor, who was where? Oh, yes, he was out helping get a small kitten down from a very tall tree." She arched an eyebrow, anticipating his response.
"All true."
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie." Lauren shook her head. She had to give him credit for his creativity.
He broke out into a crooked grin. "May I just say how stunning you look this morning, Mrs. Wilson?"
"No, you may not."
He tried again. "May I say you look radiant, Mrs. Wilson?"
Lauren felt the warmth reach her cheeks. Could her students tell she had a glorious secret—a secret that would change her life? "Uh, no. Please take your seat so we can get started."
Charlie sauntered to the back row and slid into his desk. He gave Lauren a slight nod.
She glanced around the classroom, trying to keep her focus on the students and the new unit she was about to introduce. "Good morning. Our next unit of study for this year will be on memoir."
"So, like, we’ll be reading people’s diaries?" Charlie laughed. "I wonder if they’ll be as lame as my sister’s."
Other students started laughing. Lauren shot Charlie a look to let him know he shouldn’t say anything else. "Memoirs are written accounts of people’s memories of events or people or situations. It’s their personal recollections and their perspective on what happened. Group one will be reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and group two will be reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Group three will read Because of Romek by David Faber. All of these memoirs are accounts of the Holocaust."
"Hitler was a maniac," Jeff said under a mass of bushy, dark hair.
Lauren nodded. "He did some terrible things. But we need a deeper understanding of what happened. We’ll study the events as well as the use of persuasive speech and propaganda. You will be required to do a project related to the Holocaust that you can present to the class."
Sara raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Why did he hate Jews so much?" Her deep brown eyes searched Lauren’s. "Why did people in my family have to die?"
Taken aback by the sudden lump in her throat, Lauren drew in a breath. She’d only been teaching a few years, and she’d never had a student directly affected by the Holocaust. "He wanted to create a super race and he blamed Jews for Germany’s problems. He decided to exterminate them along with others that he decided weren’t fit to live, including the handicapped."
"He was crazy," Charlie said, tipping back on his chair.
"Maybe," Lauren said. "For some reason, he believed he had the right to decide who should live and who should die. And people allowed him to gain that power."
"I went to the Holocaust museum with my family last summer. It was really hard to see some of the things in there," Sara said. "Why did he think it was okay to kill millions of people like my family?"
Lauren pursed her lips while images of children being executed danced across her mind. How could anyone kill innocent kids? She touched her stomach, and an urgency to protect her baby coursed through her.
"Mrs. Wilson?" Briana said.
Lauren looked up, suddenly aware that she’d slipped into her own thoughts. "Oh." She tried to recall the last thing someone had said.
Seeming to sense her confusion, Sara said, "Why did Hitler think he could kill so many people?"
Forcing herself to concentrate on Sara, Lauren answered, "Why does anyone think he or she can kill someone else? What gives anyone that right?"
"My father said that Hitler didn’t even see the Jews as real people," Sara said, tugging on the long brown braid that fell over her shoulder.
"Perhaps that’s how he justified his actions to himself. But"—Lauren raised up her hands—"we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We’ll be spending the next few weeks on the Holocaust. Today, I’m going to hand out the books and I want you to start thinking about what kind of a project you’d like to present."
After the bell rang, Lauren sat in her chair, pondering the Holocaust and her emotional reaction. While it was impossible to grasp how someone could be so cruel and could so easily kill other human beings, she’d taught this unit before without being so disturbed. Did the knowledge that she’d finally be a mother amplify her senses and make her hypersensitive?
Stay tuned for the next installment.
You can purchase Imperfect Love here.
Lauren sat at her desk, drumming her fingers while eighth graders filed in and took their seats.
"Hey, Mrs. Wilson, you look happy today," Briana said, tucking her long black hair behind her ears.
"I do?"
"Definitely." Katie grinned, exposing her braces.
"It’s a beautiful day, how could I not be happy?" she said, hoping to avert any more comments. The last thing she wanted to do was blurt out that she was pregnant. She needed to keep her excitement under control until she told Paul. Then she’d shout it to the world.
"Looks like it might snow," Katie said, watching her.
"Yes, yes it does. I love a big snow storm, though, don’t you?"
"Seems like you’re extra happy. Even your eyes are happy." Lexi smiled.
Not liking the direction of the conversation, Lauren stood and walked to the front of the class. The bell rang, and Charlie rushed inside, his strawberry blond hair windswept.
"You’re late again, Mr. Newton."
"I know. I’m sorry, Mrs. Wilson. But—"
"I don’t want to hear any excuses." Lauren suppressed her smirk. Charlie was the best excuse maker she’d had since she started teaching. "Like how Ellie was so hot this morning, and you had no other choice but to talk to her, because she was practicing mind control over you. Or that your mom’s car broke down on the other side of town after you made breakfast at the homeless shelter, so you had to jog to school. Or how your locker combination didn’t work, so you had to find the janitor, who was where? Oh, yes, he was out helping get a small kitten down from a very tall tree." She arched an eyebrow, anticipating his response.
"All true."
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie." Lauren shook her head. She had to give him credit for his creativity.
He broke out into a crooked grin. "May I just say how stunning you look this morning, Mrs. Wilson?"
"No, you may not."
He tried again. "May I say you look radiant, Mrs. Wilson?"
Lauren felt the warmth reach her cheeks. Could her students tell she had a glorious secret—a secret that would change her life? "Uh, no. Please take your seat so we can get started."
Charlie sauntered to the back row and slid into his desk. He gave Lauren a slight nod.
She glanced around the classroom, trying to keep her focus on the students and the new unit she was about to introduce. "Good morning. Our next unit of study for this year will be on memoir."
"So, like, we’ll be reading people’s diaries?" Charlie laughed. "I wonder if they’ll be as lame as my sister’s."
Other students started laughing. Lauren shot Charlie a look to let him know he shouldn’t say anything else. "Memoirs are written accounts of people’s memories of events or people or situations. It’s their personal recollections and their perspective on what happened. Group one will be reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and group two will be reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Group three will read Because of Romek by David Faber. All of these memoirs are accounts of the Holocaust."
"Hitler was a maniac," Jeff said under a mass of bushy, dark hair.
Lauren nodded. "He did some terrible things. But we need a deeper understanding of what happened. We’ll study the events as well as the use of persuasive speech and propaganda. You will be required to do a project related to the Holocaust that you can present to the class."
Sara raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Why did he hate Jews so much?" Her deep brown eyes searched Lauren’s. "Why did people in my family have to die?"
Taken aback by the sudden lump in her throat, Lauren drew in a breath. She’d only been teaching a few years, and she’d never had a student directly affected by the Holocaust. "He wanted to create a super race and he blamed Jews for Germany’s problems. He decided to exterminate them along with others that he decided weren’t fit to live, including the handicapped."
"He was crazy," Charlie said, tipping back on his chair.
"Maybe," Lauren said. "For some reason, he believed he had the right to decide who should live and who should die. And people allowed him to gain that power."
"I went to the Holocaust museum with my family last summer. It was really hard to see some of the things in there," Sara said. "Why did he think it was okay to kill millions of people like my family?"
Lauren pursed her lips while images of children being executed danced across her mind. How could anyone kill innocent kids? She touched her stomach, and an urgency to protect her baby coursed through her.
"Mrs. Wilson?" Briana said.
Lauren looked up, suddenly aware that she’d slipped into her own thoughts. "Oh." She tried to recall the last thing someone had said.
Seeming to sense her confusion, Sara said, "Why did Hitler think he could kill so many people?"
Forcing herself to concentrate on Sara, Lauren answered, "Why does anyone think he or she can kill someone else? What gives anyone that right?"
"My father said that Hitler didn’t even see the Jews as real people," Sara said, tugging on the long brown braid that fell over her shoulder.
"Perhaps that’s how he justified his actions to himself. But"—Lauren raised up her hands—"we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We’ll be spending the next few weeks on the Holocaust. Today, I’m going to hand out the books and I want you to start thinking about what kind of a project you’d like to present."
After the bell rang, Lauren sat in her chair, pondering the Holocaust and her emotional reaction. While it was impossible to grasp how someone could be so cruel and could so easily kill other human beings, she’d taught this unit before without being so disturbed. Did the knowledge that she’d finally be a mother amplify her senses and make her hypersensitive?
Stay tuned for the next installment.
You can purchase Imperfect Love here.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Imperfect Love, Chapter 1, Part 1
A plus sign.
Lauren Wilson blinked the hopeful tears back. Was she seeing it right? She flicked on the bathroom light for a better look and scrutinized the pregnancy test wand.
Definitely a plus sign.
She leaned against the wall. A baby.
Some moments are milestones, and some milestones are moments. Lauren gazed at the wand again. This is definitely both.
After trying for over two years—well, she seemed to be more intent on conceiving than her husband, Paul, but that didn’t matter now. The wondering, hoping, then crying, month after month, didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now. She was pregnant. Excitement bubbled up inside her. She’d finally have a baby and the happily-ever-after she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl.
Lauren rested her hand across her stomach, her fingers tingling. After all this time, it was finally her turn.
Finally.
She rushed into the bedroom to find her cell phone and call Paul with the news. Her anxious fingers stumbled over the keypad, searching for his speed dial number. What if he’s in a meeting? What if he can’t take the call? I don’t want to leave this on his voicemail.
She ended the call before it could go through and sat on the bed. This wasn’t something she wanted to tell him over the phone. It was too momentous. Too amazing. Too wonderful.
A photo caught her eye. She handled the delicate metal frame, memories of her wedding flooding her mind. What a perfect day it had been at the church on Third Avenue in Durango, her hometown. It was such a beautiful beginning to their life together, and now they’d move to the next step—adding a baby to their family.
Ideas of how to tell Paul swirled around her head. She wanted to make it special for him, so she decided to take some time to come up with just the right way to let him know he was going to be a daddy. Daddy. The word felt sweet and satisfying on her tongue.
Lauren glanced at the clock on the light green wall opposite the bed. Seven thirty. She’d have to hurry—she didn’t want to be late for her first class.
Her hands stroked her stomach. I’m going to have a baby. I can’t wait to tell Paul. He’ll be as thrilled as I am.
Stay tuned for the next installment.
You can purchase Imperfect Love here.
Lauren Wilson blinked the hopeful tears back. Was she seeing it right? She flicked on the bathroom light for a better look and scrutinized the pregnancy test wand.
Definitely a plus sign.
She leaned against the wall. A baby.
Some moments are milestones, and some milestones are moments. Lauren gazed at the wand again. This is definitely both.
After trying for over two years—well, she seemed to be more intent on conceiving than her husband, Paul, but that didn’t matter now. The wondering, hoping, then crying, month after month, didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now. She was pregnant. Excitement bubbled up inside her. She’d finally have a baby and the happily-ever-after she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl.
Lauren rested her hand across her stomach, her fingers tingling. After all this time, it was finally her turn.
Finally.
She rushed into the bedroom to find her cell phone and call Paul with the news. Her anxious fingers stumbled over the keypad, searching for his speed dial number. What if he’s in a meeting? What if he can’t take the call? I don’t want to leave this on his voicemail.
She ended the call before it could go through and sat on the bed. This wasn’t something she wanted to tell him over the phone. It was too momentous. Too amazing. Too wonderful.
A photo caught her eye. She handled the delicate metal frame, memories of her wedding flooding her mind. What a perfect day it had been at the church on Third Avenue in Durango, her hometown. It was such a beautiful beginning to their life together, and now they’d move to the next step—adding a baby to their family.
Ideas of how to tell Paul swirled around her head. She wanted to make it special for him, so she decided to take some time to come up with just the right way to let him know he was going to be a daddy. Daddy. The word felt sweet and satisfying on her tongue.
Lauren glanced at the clock on the light green wall opposite the bed. Seven thirty. She’d have to hurry—she didn’t want to be late for her first class.
Her hands stroked her stomach. I’m going to have a baby. I can’t wait to tell Paul. He’ll be as thrilled as I am.
Stay tuned for the next installment.
You can purchase Imperfect Love here.
Friday, March 21, 2014
World Down Syndrome Day
Today is World Down Syndrome Day because it is 3/21, which represents the extra genetic material on the 21st chromosome.
Recently, my 10-year-old daughter was talking to some kids in her class and told them she has a brother with Down syndrome. They all said how they felt sorry for her and how bad it must be to have a brother with DS.
She responded, "What's there to feel sorry about? My brother is awesome and I love having him as a brother."
n the news, two teen girls have been accused of torturing a young man with an intellectual disability.
Why do people feel sorry for, or worse, mistreat, people with disabilities? Why?
The kids that said this to my daughter should not feel sorry for my son. He is so loved. He is happy. He lives in a safe home, has plenty of food to eat, goes to school, and will be playing baseball on a team next week. He has a wonderful life filled with lots of fun, joy, and laughter.
I think people are still so ignorant about DS, or other disabilities, and they fear what they do not understand. That fear leads to prejudice and can then lead to mistreatment. In the case of the teen girls, it was far worse than mistreatment, it was downright abuse and I hope they will be held accountable for their actions.
World Down Syndrome Day is to help make people aware of DS. I think most people know what DS is, or have at least heard of it, but I think very few understand it. They think it is a curse and a terrible thing. I didn't think much about DS before my son. Honestly, I was terrified of what it would mean to our family when he was born, but I have learned that my fear was totally unfounded.
Yes, things with him are different. It takes him a little longer to do things. So what? Why is it so important to be on a certain time schedule? I've learned to just enjoy the journey with him instead of stressing out over a time schedule. He eventually does everything his siblings do.
He is reading. He knows all of his letters, sounds, numbers. He's learning math. He loves to sing. He can run a computer like nobody's business. He loves music and is very interested in the piano. He likes to make people laugh. He comforts people when they are sad or hurt. He tells me he loves me and gives me kisses.
Down syndrome presents challenges for those who have it, but the biggest challenge is making people aware that those with DS are so much more like them than not. It isn't the DS that limits my son, it's people's attitudes about DS that limit him. People like to put him in a box. I say, get rid of that stupid box and let him be and do whatever he wants. Let him soar. See him as a person, not as a chromosome count.
For our family, we celebrate our son/brother/cousin/uncle. Sure, he has DS, but DS does not define him. Let's celebrate our similarities instead of focusing on our differences.
To me, every child is a gift no matter how he/she is wrapped.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Blog Tour: Imperfect Love
I'm so excited. My blog tour starts today. A schedule of the tour is posted here.
Here is an excerpt from a review posted today:
Imperfect Love really grabs the reader's emotions and I was completely attuned to how Lauren felt in her relationship with her husband. Then when she finds out the news about her pregnancy, Talley does a wonderful job of capturing every emotion that Lauren goes through. Talley really packs strong emotions and feelings into this book!
You can read the rest here at Books are Sanity.
If you have a chance and want to visit any of the blogs, please do so. You can read reviews, interviews with me, guest posts from me, and find out other (hopefully) interesting things about me.
I really love this book. If you'd like to purchase it, it would be awesome if you purchased it during the blog tour. I'm hoping to get enough sales to get my book in some of the lists at Amazon so it will receive even more exposure.
Thank you for your interest and support! I appreciate it. Word-of-mouth is by far the best form of advertising.
Purchase Imperfect Love here.
Stay tuned to begin reading the first chapter on March 24th.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Book Blast: Fortune Cafe
I'm currently reading this book and really enjoying it!
The Fortune Café
a novel in three parts
LOVE, NOT LUCK: Lucy has always been lucky . . . until her parents meet her fiancé’s parents at a disastrous lunch at The Fortune Café, and she breaks her lucky jade necklace. Even worse, her fortune cookie reveals that “True love is for the brave, not the lucky.” How is she supposed to read that? She’s always considered it lucky how she met her fiancé. But after breaking her necklace, Lucy’s luck takes a dive. And when her fiancé dumps her, the only person she can turn to is Carter, the unluckiest guy she knows.
TAKEOUT: Stella is content in her new life of taking over her mom’s jewelry shop. No more boyfriend to worry about, and as long as she stays busy, she doesn’t have to dwell on her non-existent love life. When Evan comes into the shop with his young daughter, Stella is charmed. But she is reluctant to complicate her straightforward life, so when she reads her fortune after ordering takeout from The Fortune Café, she completely ignores it. After all, how can a fortune as vague as “Do the thing you fear and love is certain,” apply to her?
Julie Wright started her first book when she was fifteen. She’s written over a dozen books since then, is a Whitney Award winner, and feels she’s finally getting the hang of this writing gig. She enjoys speaking to writing groups, youth groups, and schools. She loves reading, eating writing, hiking, playing on the beach with her kids, and snuggling with her husband to watch movies. Julie’s favorite thing to do is watch her husband make dinner. She hates mayonnaise, but has a healthy respect for ice cream.
Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She consumes astonishing amounts of chocolate, chick flicks, and romance novels. After meeting her husband online, she is now living happily married in Southern California with her growing family and a series of doomed houseplants. Melanie is a former English teacher and a sometime blogger who loves to laugh and make others laugh. In her down time (ha!), she writes romantic comedies and pines after beautiful shoes.
Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author. She writes historical thrillers under the pen name H.B. Moore, her latest is Finding Sheba. Under Heather B. Moore she writes romance and women’s fiction. She’s the co-author of The Newport Ladies Book Club series. Other women’s novels include Heart of the Ocean, The Fortune Café, the Aliso Creek Series, and the Amazon bestselling Timeless Romance Anthology Series.
Blast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/18/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Enter to Win a Kindle Fire HDX
We are giving away 2 Kindles!!
The first one is available via the rafflecopter below. The 2nd is available only to bloggers who post about this giveaway. You can find info on how to enter in the rafflecopter.
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HDX (US Only - $229 Value)
Or $229 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)
Or $229 in Paypal Cash (International)
Giveaway Sponsors: I Am A Reader Feed Your Reader Inspired Kathy Ripple Effect Romance Series Author M.A. George The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something year Old Girl Meredith & Jennifer's Musings Owl Always Be Reading Author Jennifer Laurens Bonnie Blythe's Pure Romance Bella Street's Weird Romance Author Jennifer Faye Good Choice Reading Reviews from a Bookworm Barbara Silkstone Rae Z. Ryans, Author The Stubby Pencil Author David Pandolfe Hallowed Ink Press Author Louise Caiola The Reporter and The Girl More Than a Review Kathryn Jones Once Upon a Twilight Author Jason Parent Author Amanda Tru Author Cidney Swanson Paige W. Pendleton Claudia Burgoa P.M. Richter - author RoAnna Sylver Tigris Eden The Bloggers Nest J.L. Weil The Cheap Ebook Luthando Coeur Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke Author Alecia Stone KellysLuckyYou Rebecca Talley Author Kimber Leigh Wheaton Simple Wyrdings Tressa's Wishful Endings Paranormal book Club (PBC) Author Stephanie Faris Author Inger Iversen Author Theresa DaLayne Where The Broken Lie by Derek Rempfer Bound 4 Escape Author Laura Diamond
Sign up to sponsor the next Kindle Giveaway here: http://www.iamareader.com/category/kindle-giveaway-sign-ups
Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of an all new Kindle Fire 7" HDX (US Only - $229 value), $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire HDX 7". Ends 3/31/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash.
Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value)
Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HDX 7".
All New Kindle Fire HDX 7" Giveaway
Giveaway Sponsors: I Am A Reader Feed Your Reader Inspired Kathy Ripple Effect Romance Series Author M.A. George The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something year Old Girl Meredith & Jennifer's Musings Owl Always Be Reading Author Jennifer Laurens Bonnie Blythe's Pure Romance Bella Street's Weird Romance Author Jennifer Faye Good Choice Reading Reviews from a Bookworm Barbara Silkstone Rae Z. Ryans, Author The Stubby Pencil Author David Pandolfe Hallowed Ink Press Author Louise Caiola The Reporter and The Girl More Than a Review Kathryn Jones Once Upon a Twilight Author Jason Parent Author Amanda Tru Author Cidney Swanson Paige W. Pendleton Claudia Burgoa P.M. Richter - author RoAnna Sylver Tigris Eden The Bloggers Nest J.L. Weil The Cheap Ebook Luthando Coeur Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke Author Alecia Stone KellysLuckyYou Rebecca Talley Author Kimber Leigh Wheaton Simple Wyrdings Tressa's Wishful Endings Paranormal book Club (PBC) Author Stephanie Faris Author Inger Iversen Author Theresa DaLayne Where The Broken Lie by Derek Rempfer Bound 4 Escape Author Laura Diamond
Sign up to sponsor the next Kindle Giveaway here: http://www.iamareader.com/category/kindle-giveaway-sign-ups
Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of an all new Kindle Fire 7" HDX (US Only - $229 value), $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire HDX 7". Ends 3/31/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash.
Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Using Jutoh
One of the best things about Jutoh is that it's also a text editor. You can make changes directly to your text in Jutoh, no having to go back to your Word document and then resave or reupload.
Jutoh does not like doc files. You must upload a docx file.
When you set up your Word document, make sure that you are using styles. For the body of the document, it should be a normal style. You can modify the normal style by right clicking on it in the home menu. Once you right click, you can see modify and that's where you make the changes that determine what the normal style is. Beware: Word is funky. It depends on that normal style to format the document. Even if you've clicked on a certain font and size, if the underlying choices are different, Word will use what is in the normal style as the default.
For example, if you write your document, then select all and change the font to Garamond, 18 point, if the settings in the normal style are Times New Roman, 11 point, your document will really come out as Times New Roman, 11 point. What you see on your screen can be very misleading. You must go by what is set in the normal style.
Next, you want to break your chapters by starting each one as a heading, Usually, you can use heading 1. Right click on heading 1, click on modify, and choose your settings. Do this at the beginning of each chapter. You must do it this way for Jutoh to work properly, but it also allows you to change the font style, size, and whether you want to bold it or italicize it by simply changing the settings in heading 1 (or heading 2 or heading 3--whichever you choose to use, but use the same one consistently for each chapter heading) and it applies the change to all the text in that heading style. So if you want to change from one font to another, instead of going to each chapter heading and doing it manually, you can do it once by modifying the heading style and it automatically applies it to all chapter headings (as long as you've used the same heading style for each chapter).
Body of text: normal style
Chapters: heading style
You can either put in your links in Word by using the hyperlink function or you can put in the links in Jutoh.
Do not insert any page numbers. Do not use headers or footers. If you have them, remove them. An ebook is a fluid document and page numbers are irrelevant.
Once your Word document is clean, you can upload it to Jutoh. (It's far better to start with a properly formatted Word document, but if you are applying changes to a previously formatted document, you must clean it up before uploading. The best way to do that is to download the Smashwords guide--free from Amazon or Smashwords--and follow the directions to clean your formatting). Jutoh will ask for the file you want to upload. Browse until you find the correct file, then upload it. Remember, it won't upload a doc file, it must be a docx.
Jutoh goes through and separates each chapter (if you've used a heading style) into its own document. You can then go into each chapter and make any changes you want. If you prefer to have an image as your chapter headings (you do this if you want to preserve a certain font that matches your title because ebook readers all have limited fonts and generally apply one font to the entire document), you will need to insert those jpeg images.
You can create a jpeg image in Photoshop or another similar program. At the beginning of each chapter, insert the image under the edit menu in Jutoh. You can use styles in your Word document and bold them if you'd like, which is what many authors do. But if you want a more custom look, you can create images and insert them.Super easy.
You can see all the separated chapters (documents) on the left side and that's how Jutoh will build your Table of Contents. If there is a chapter heading you don't want, you can delete it. For example, in my book, as part of Chapter One, I have the title page and the copyright info because I didn't want those to be chapters. If you have 30 chapters, you will have 30 separate documents in Jutoh.
When everything looks the way you want it to, you choose which format to compile it in, click on compile and in less than a minute you have an ebook file. It will list any errors you might have so you can fix them. you need to compile for each ebook format you want.
Once you have your ebook file, you can upload it to the various sites.As of right now, my book is only on Kindle. I took my Mobi file from Jutoh and uploaded it. No problems. No issues. Slicker than slick.
I am not an affiliate for this product, so I don't get anything for recommending it. And I am the least technologically-abled person I know. If I can use this, anyone can. Believe me. If you want to create ebooks, I would highly, highly recommend Jutoh. It isn't too expensive and it's virtually headache-free. A great investment!
Purchase Jutoh.
Jutoh does not like doc files. You must upload a docx file.
When you set up your Word document, make sure that you are using styles. For the body of the document, it should be a normal style. You can modify the normal style by right clicking on it in the home menu. Once you right click, you can see modify and that's where you make the changes that determine what the normal style is. Beware: Word is funky. It depends on that normal style to format the document. Even if you've clicked on a certain font and size, if the underlying choices are different, Word will use what is in the normal style as the default.
For example, if you write your document, then select all and change the font to Garamond, 18 point, if the settings in the normal style are Times New Roman, 11 point, your document will really come out as Times New Roman, 11 point. What you see on your screen can be very misleading. You must go by what is set in the normal style.
Next, you want to break your chapters by starting each one as a heading, Usually, you can use heading 1. Right click on heading 1, click on modify, and choose your settings. Do this at the beginning of each chapter. You must do it this way for Jutoh to work properly, but it also allows you to change the font style, size, and whether you want to bold it or italicize it by simply changing the settings in heading 1 (or heading 2 or heading 3--whichever you choose to use, but use the same one consistently for each chapter heading) and it applies the change to all the text in that heading style. So if you want to change from one font to another, instead of going to each chapter heading and doing it manually, you can do it once by modifying the heading style and it automatically applies it to all chapter headings (as long as you've used the same heading style for each chapter).
Body of text: normal style
Chapters: heading style
You can either put in your links in Word by using the hyperlink function or you can put in the links in Jutoh.
Do not insert any page numbers. Do not use headers or footers. If you have them, remove them. An ebook is a fluid document and page numbers are irrelevant.
Once your Word document is clean, you can upload it to Jutoh. (It's far better to start with a properly formatted Word document, but if you are applying changes to a previously formatted document, you must clean it up before uploading. The best way to do that is to download the Smashwords guide--free from Amazon or Smashwords--and follow the directions to clean your formatting). Jutoh will ask for the file you want to upload. Browse until you find the correct file, then upload it. Remember, it won't upload a doc file, it must be a docx.
Jutoh goes through and separates each chapter (if you've used a heading style) into its own document. You can then go into each chapter and make any changes you want. If you prefer to have an image as your chapter headings (you do this if you want to preserve a certain font that matches your title because ebook readers all have limited fonts and generally apply one font to the entire document), you will need to insert those jpeg images.
You can create a jpeg image in Photoshop or another similar program. At the beginning of each chapter, insert the image under the edit menu in Jutoh. You can use styles in your Word document and bold them if you'd like, which is what many authors do. But if you want a more custom look, you can create images and insert them.Super easy.
You can see all the separated chapters (documents) on the left side and that's how Jutoh will build your Table of Contents. If there is a chapter heading you don't want, you can delete it. For example, in my book, as part of Chapter One, I have the title page and the copyright info because I didn't want those to be chapters. If you have 30 chapters, you will have 30 separate documents in Jutoh.
When everything looks the way you want it to, you choose which format to compile it in, click on compile and in less than a minute you have an ebook file. It will list any errors you might have so you can fix them. you need to compile for each ebook format you want.
Once you have your ebook file, you can upload it to the various sites.As of right now, my book is only on Kindle. I took my Mobi file from Jutoh and uploaded it. No problems. No issues. Slicker than slick.
I am not an affiliate for this product, so I don't get anything for recommending it. And I am the least technologically-abled person I know. If I can use this, anyone can. Believe me. If you want to create ebooks, I would highly, highly recommend Jutoh. It isn't too expensive and it's virtually headache-free. A great investment!
Purchase Jutoh.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Jutoh for Writers Is Pure Awesomeness
When I published Aura in November 2012 to the Kindle platform, I converted the file to a web page then uploaded that to Amazon. I decided to use jpeg images for my chapter headings to make my ebook look a little nicer. What a headache. I couldn't get it to upload properly with those images. It took me a few days and a lot of hair pulling to finally figure out what was wrong. It was such a negative experience that I had decided I didn't want to ever do that again.
After finishing my newest novel, Imperfect Love, I wavered between submitting it to a publisher and going the indie route again. The memory of uploading my other book was still fresh in my mind and I wasn't sure I wanted to take on all the responsibility of publishing a book again. After consulting with family and friends, I decided to take the plunge again into indie publishing. What I love about going indie is that I have all the control (the control freak in me LOVES this). I can determine when to release a book, how to release it, what the cover will be, what the back cover copy will be, and what the price will be. I don't have anyone telling me what I can and can't do with my own creation. AND no one owns the rights to my book but me. That is super awesome in and of itself. Of course, with all of this also comes the fact that I'm completely responsible for it, sink or swim. Everything from design and format to promotion is on my shoulders.
One of the slickest, easiest, and best programs I've found to help me with creating ebooks is Jutoh. The BEST $39 I've invested in my indie publishing path thus far. It. Is. So. Easy. I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to create ebooks. Hands down, this made the process so, so much easier. And with beautiful results. I could easily add in images and get the ebook to look exactly the way I wanted. It automatically checks the file for errors and takes less than a minute to covert the file to an ebook. Easy peasy. And if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously. Anyone.
I will post what I did to create my ebook in another post. If you'd like to see the result, you can preview a copy of my book, Imperfect Love, on Amazon and see what it looks like.
Jutoh is pure awesomeness for creating different ebook formats.
After finishing my newest novel, Imperfect Love, I wavered between submitting it to a publisher and going the indie route again. The memory of uploading my other book was still fresh in my mind and I wasn't sure I wanted to take on all the responsibility of publishing a book again. After consulting with family and friends, I decided to take the plunge again into indie publishing. What I love about going indie is that I have all the control (the control freak in me LOVES this). I can determine when to release a book, how to release it, what the cover will be, what the back cover copy will be, and what the price will be. I don't have anyone telling me what I can and can't do with my own creation. AND no one owns the rights to my book but me. That is super awesome in and of itself. Of course, with all of this also comes the fact that I'm completely responsible for it, sink or swim. Everything from design and format to promotion is on my shoulders.
One of the slickest, easiest, and best programs I've found to help me with creating ebooks is Jutoh. The BEST $39 I've invested in my indie publishing path thus far. It. Is. So. Easy. I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to create ebooks. Hands down, this made the process so, so much easier. And with beautiful results. I could easily add in images and get the ebook to look exactly the way I wanted. It automatically checks the file for errors and takes less than a minute to covert the file to an ebook. Easy peasy. And if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously. Anyone.
I will post what I did to create my ebook in another post. If you'd like to see the result, you can preview a copy of my book, Imperfect Love, on Amazon and see what it looks like.
Jutoh is pure awesomeness for creating different ebook formats.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Newtimber: Fractured by Karen E. Hoover
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Introducing Newtimber: Fractured, an exciting YA urban fantasy novel by Karen
E. Hoover, author of The Wolfchild Saga
and others.
There was absolutely no way a black dragon
hovered outside of Newtimber. Sianna rubbed her eyes, but the dragon was still
there, clutching a round object that looked like a spotted egg. And then the
egg fell, hitting the ground like an atomic bomb, sending out waves of a
slow-moving fog that distorted everything it touched.
The citizens of
Newtimber change. The old man down the street stretches into a screaming tree.
Sianna’s skateboarding friend, Matt, transforms into a giant green dragon.
Pegasus. Sirens. Griffins. Vampires. Zombies. Creatures from the myths of every
culture come to life through the people.
Even Sianna
changes, her skin becoming stone hard, and she gains the ability to travel from
the human realm into the dimension of the fae, using it to free her father from
prison and enlist his aid in battling the evil bent on taking over the world.
One person to heal
a family, a town, and save the world. It seems an impossible task, but with the
help of her new friends, it could happen.
Right?
Newtimber:
Fractured will be released early summer 2014 by Trifecta Books. Visit www.trifectabooks.com for exciting updates about this great new
series!
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