2017 MILES in 2017! OH MY!!!

So, if you follow my random blog posts you know that I am a runner... or... I WAS a runner about a year ago. Going full time to school put EVERYTHING on hold (except the bills! HA!). I've thankfully been able to start writing again. It is an amazing feeling to put these conversations and issues happening in Nowhere down in print and get them out of my head! Now it is time to start running again.

I know most of my family and friends think I'm crazy for loving to run. But the absolute freedom I feel while out on a run is like nothing else I have ever felt. It clears my head, helps relieve frustrations, and overall makes me feel 110% better! If you are a runner (or a walker even!) you know exactly what I mean!

So, knowing that I have a half marathon I'm planning on running in APRIL (yes, in 2017!) I know I have to start running regularly instead of the maybe once every two weeks I have been (it isn't a good situation LOL). And that brings us to the 2017 miles in 2017! Yes, this is an actual thing!

Not only does this break down to 5.5 MILES a day (WOW!) but, there are also monthly challenges to be done as well. I'll be honest - I'm SO excited to start! I miss running. My family (especially my husband) think I'm a little nuts. They, for the most part, do not understand my need for movement.

Actually, my husband regularly tells me "unless there is a bear chasing me I don't see why I would ever want to run." He also doesn't sit (or stand) at a desk literally all day every day with little to know physical activity. He is a mechanic. He is lifting, stretching, bending and moving all day every day. I am fortunate enough to have a standing desk, but that still doesn't give my body the exercise it needs.

So, that brings me to the main point of this blog! If there is anyone out there that wants to join me and my BFF Keira, we are starting this on January 1st, 2017. I will be reporting regularly on here how it is going with little updates. I'm also going to be sharing any tips/tricks I learn on the best way to train for a half marathon. And, if you have any tips/tricks - PLEASE feel free to share them in the comments!

AND - if you are interested in joining us - I'll be making some awesome shirts for any participating and wants them. They will be $12/ea - join us over at Funky Frog Studio to claim yours! :) 

Happy New Year and Happy Running!  

Book Reviewer... how and why?

Recently I was asked how I became a book reviewer and WHY. I thought it was an interesting question, but to be honest I didn't know how to answer it. Over the last few years I've done somewhere between 10 and 12 book reviews (for some reason not all are on here... hmmm) but it took some digging to get to the first one. Thankfully I keep all my emails in a slightly organized mess.

After a while of searching through emails of years past, I finally came across an email from Tifani Clark. She is an amazing author (if you haven't read any of her books, seriously check them out!) and she was asking ME to do a book review for her! To say I was surprised, and nervous, is a total understatement! But, I accepted with a flutter in my stomach and wrote my first book review. It certainly isn't the best written review, but I did LOVE the book and I'm hoping to read more of Tifani's work as soon as I get my 2nd book on shelves.
Check out the review here -

After this first review I received emails both off of Goodreads and through this blog regularly asking for reviews. I started having to turn some down because I just couldn't read fast enough AND I wasn't getting much done on my own book while reviewing others. 

I currently only have one review on my calendar for the next couple of months but I do hope to add more. And that brings me to the WHY I like to do book reviews. 

We all have our favorite authors - mine is Stephen King - but even our absolute favorites can only write books so fast. That leaves a LOT of extra time without a book. I have discovered some amazing new authors by doing book reviews. Authors just starting out that I might not have found otherwise. 

If you love to read and are good at putting your thoughts down on paper, I highly recommend searching through blogs to find authors that might match your book style of choice. Especially Indie authors - we are ALWAYS looking for someone to give us feedback and an honest review! Most of us don't have editors and/or promoters so having help from our readers is an amazing thing!

Hmmm... Been A While...

So... What have you all been up to? I've been busy!! It is a good kinda busy though. It has been the kinda busy that keeps me moving, but lets me sit and relax when I needed to. I like this kind of busy - keeps me from getting bored.

I've opened a t-shirt business... it is small... for now :) but I'm having fun with it! Been making ALL kinds of shirts and have several to get made today actually! Everything from "Merry Christmas You Filthy Animal" to "Bluejay PRIDE" and I get new ideas sent to me just about daily. Certainly helps to keep my creative juices going!

 

I've also been working HARD on the 2nd book in the Nowhere series! I was hoping to have it ready to roll out by Christmas. Yeah, obviously that isn't going to happen :(  This book has really stumped me. Since I started the first book I always thought I had all three books laid out in my mind - not the details, but the big things. I thought all I had to do was connect the main scenes with the details in-between. And then...

I made it through the first two chapters and things started changing... I've wrote and rewrote chapters 3-6 at least three times because as I was writing, the storyline in my mind would start to evolve completely different from what I had typed even as I was typing it. It is amazing to me how these books really do seem to have a total life of their own, I'm just the machine they are using to tell their tale. And so, every time, I would "cut and paste" those already written chapters into another document and save them, then start all over with a new story running through my head.

I know there are lots of people disappointed that the 2nd book isn't out yet, and I completely feel your pain! I thought by now I'd be done with book three and on to the next series I've had rattling around in my brain. Sometimes things just don't workout how you hope - but I'm working on it, I promise!

Tuesday Author Spotlight - Lynn Steward

This book was out of my normal realm of paranormal and sci-fi, but it was enjoyable none the less.

From the author "As a fashion buyer at one of New York’s most glamorous department stores, Dana McGarry is a tastemaker, her keen instinct for fashion trends and innovative ideas coupled with a razor sharp business sense. But like the elegant and conservative store that employs her, Dana is caught between two eras—between being liked and standing her ground, between playing by the rules and being a maverick. Dana is sensitive and beautiful, but what you see is not what you get.

Behind the cool and attractive facade, Dana is both driven by her need to control yet impeded by her expectation of perfectionism. As she competes to replace women at the top of their game, she is challenged by jealous colleagues. And when a wealthy love interest wants to open doors and support her ambition, she embraces Coco Chanel’s mantra of “never wanting to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.” As the women’s movement paves the way, Dana finds a path to the career she wants at the expense of happiness that was not meant to be."

This story explores the wonderful age of the 70's, when women were still working on coming into their own and how one woman could move forward after heartbreak and divorce. The obstacles that women still faced were there as well as new opportunities and the competitiveness of the time for all women to show that they could make it on their own. The main character, Dana, walks the fine line of making her mark in business and her personal life - which is something so many women, even in todays world, can relate to.

The characters do a fantastic job of pulling you into this era and making you like them, even with their faults. They were well developed and came alive to perfectly represented the era they were set in. I really enjoyed watching them evolve through-out the book and can easily see them rolling over to yet another book that continues with the life of Dana.

If you are looking for an easy read that is enjoyable and "real", then you should pick up this book. It is well written and well developed will not disappoint.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynn Steward, a veteran of the New York fashion industry and a buyer on the team that started the women’s department at Brooks Brothers, created the Dana McGarry series, set at a transformational time in the 1970s world of fashion and in the lives of multigenerational women.

What Might Have Been is the second volume in the series. A Very Good Life, Steward’s debut novel, was published in March 2014.

LynnSteward.com

Pinterest.com/LynnStewardny

Facebook.com/LynnStewardnyc

Twitter: @LynnStewardNY

"Tuesday" Author Spotlight - The Beloved by Genevra Thorne

This morning I finished a book. Sometimes, a book draws you in and you never want the story to end. The characters are never far from your thoughts and the setting consumes your mind. That was this book. A downfall I have is, when I enjoy a book I actually read slower - so this review is coming to you on a Sunday instead of my usual Tuesday. I love fantasy stories so this was a perfect match for me.

When I first started the book I was a little overwhelmed. There are many characters to sort through and they, along with their surroundings, are described in such detail I felt a little lost. Once I got past that initial issue, I was hooked. It was a fairly light read and I throughly enjoyed it. I would read on my breaks, I would read over lunch, and every night as my four year old played in the yard I was reading again.

This is a magical story that involves humans, but also has magical worlds and faeries and magnificent magical trees. The two main characters are both scarred, but in different ways. They are both judged for their appearance, but again in different ways. One human, one fae, In the middle of the book you are a few ways the story could go. Genevra doesn't leave you in suspense too long, just long enough to make it good.

If you are looking for a new good fantasy love story - then you should grab a copy of The Beloved and enjoy. You won't be disappointed. :) This one is a solid FIVE STARS.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Keep in mind - this IS the second book in the series - I'm actually planning on going back and reading the first now. The way the story reads, I don't think it will be confusing, rather it might clear up some things I still am left with questions about.

Tuesday Author Spotlight - Daughter of the Sun

I will be the first to admit - I was excited to read this book... until I started reading about cats. But, do yourself a favor and power through if you are like me and don't care for cats. You won't be disappointed.

The book does start off slow and I was worried at first if I would make it through. Besides the cats, and the obvious connection to Trinity, there isn't a lot of information for the story in the first little bit. If you stick through to the meat of the story, it does become a fun read.

Zoe obviously did her homework on this one. Lots of great Egyptian mythology and history is included and makes it a very interesting read. The writing is well done, even if slow at first, and you are not left wondering what the author meant.

So many twists and turns, this book really keeps your interest once you get into it and it leaves you ready for book #2 even though you are not completely left wondering what happened.

Overall - I give it 

If you are interested in checking this one out yourself, you can find it HERE on Amazon.

This Review is a part of the Blogger Outreach Program by b00k r3vi3w Tours

July 1 Fantasy Friday

This edition of FF includes some fantastic poetry, amazing fantasy love stories and more!

Download the PDF HERE

Version 2 of Book #1 is Published and ONLY 99¢!

Finally, the second editing is done and the second edition is fixed.

The new books were uploaded this morning and the Kindle is already updated! (Nook version should be SOON!)

Interested in getting it for the awesome amount of 99¢? Then simply go to either Amazon or B&N and grab a digital copy! And if you are one of the lucky ones to get some money back from the B&N/Apple settlement - what better way to spend it then helping out an Indie published book? :)

Amazon (Kindle) - https://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-I-Know-Jamie-York-ebook/dp/B00KLN3IGE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

B&N (Nook) - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nowhere-i-know-book-1-james-marie-york/1119614583?ean=2940149269624

Fantasy Friday!

Here you go ladies and gents! The newest publication of Fantasy Friday is here! Needing some new reads? There are some great ones on the list and one will be our Tuesday Author Spotlight in the upcoming weeks - so be watching for that too!


DOWNLOAD THE PDF HERE

Fantasy Friday - BACK AGAIN!!!

So, as I've been working on my book - I've been wondering what has been going on with some of the other authors out there. Which also got me thinking... I miss doing the Fantasy Friday posts! I used to get some great books stocked up for when I actually had time to read thanks to the research done for them.

So!!! I'm hoping to get them started back again the first of July! Every Friday I will post a group of books - all self/indie published. They will be different every week - sometimes the authors will even put their books on sale or FREE during their week!

Along with this, I'm planning on starting the Tuesday Author Spotlight again. This is not posted weekly and, again, always promotes only self/indie published books. If you have a book you would like me to consider for either of these lists - please contact me with your information!

Be watching for both of these great informational items to start again soon!

Happy Reading!!

Graduated and Writing Again!

I am SO excited to be able to say, I am officially DONE with school and back to writing! And it feels SO GOOD!!!

I'm actually splitting my time between re-writing book 1 to remove spelling and grammar errors (of which I have found way too many already!) and finishing up book 2. I'm hoping book 1 is re-released by the end of June and book 2 is on shelves (both virtual and physical) by the end of September.

Then, of course, it is on to book 3!

If you are interested in helping edit book 2, and you have had experience with this in the past, please feel free to contact me with your details.

ZOMBIES!!!!

So, if you follow this blog, I'm going to assume you are a fan of sci-fi and the like. Which, of course, includes the walking dead ;)

And yes, there is an app just for people like us!

Zombies, Run! is a super fun app that is great for running outside just to make it a little "funner". With this app, you can listen to your music in-between story lines. Then, when zombies are on your tail, if you don't run they can take away any of your supplies you might have "found" on your trek. It really does a great job of making running into a fun game!

They also sponsor a couple of great 5k and 10k virtual races over the year and you can participate and receive a medal AND a fun shirt for around $35.

But Running is HARD!!

When I first started out running, I could barely go an entire block without having to stop. I thought it was HORRIBLE! How was I ever going to like (let alone LOVE) running? There was seriously nothing fun about it the way I was trying to train.

Then, I discovered the Couch 2 5k (C25K) program.

I'm sure there are several apps that help you do the same thing, this is just the one that really got me finally into running. It helped me to realize that I didn't need to run an entire mile from the start. I could run for 30 and then walk for a while the first day and it was OK! It gradually worked me up to being able to run an entire 5k in just under 30 minutes. Nothing record breaking - but I was pretty proud of myself. :)

Now I'm using 5k2-10k. This is the next app that helps you train for a 10k after you have "mastered" (using that term loosely!) the 5k. I had actually finished this program and was excited to start the NEXT one (10k2-21k) when I ran out of time for running while I was finishing my degree. So now, I've started over.

Yes, I'm bummed, but yes, I will get over it!

So, for anyone that is really seriously interested in running, but hasn't done much before, I really recommend starting with the C25k program - it will change your running life. :)

Running AND Raising Money - Doesn't Get Much Better!

I've always thought it was a shame that I couldn't do more with my running. I mean - my kids always brought home their Math-a-thon papers and people could "sponsor" them so much money for each mile or lap they ran/walked around the track. Wouldn't it be great to be able to do that as an adult?

Well - you actually CAN. In a couple of different ways.

One of my newest favorite apps is Charity Miles. This app is GREAT because you can choose what charity you are donating your time and miles to and the list to choose from is pretty extensive. From ASPCA to the American Diabetes Association to Habitat for Humanity and St Judes - so many to choose from. And, the one you do choose gets 25¢ per mile you run or walk or even bike!

St first I was kinda like "Only 25¢?" Then I started thinking about it. I typically run/walk 4-5 miles a day... so that would be at least $30/mo... and (obviously) $360/yr. Which - no - is not a lot - but it might be that little bit that makes a HUGE difference... and - if I can get 10 of my running friends to do the same... and then THEY get 10 friends... you see where this is going ;) - but seriously, think of the difference we could make!

The other way you can help with running is through virtual runs. And there are lots of sites to choose from that provide you an avenue to not only help raise money for a charity, but also get some awesome racing bling to show that you helped. Some of the ones I've used in the past are:
• www.virtualstrides.com
• www.willrunforbling.com
• www.racesforawareness.com
And these are not the only ones, just check how much of the money you are forking out is actually going to the charity before you click "buy now" and you should be good.

Happy Running and Reading!

And I was RUNNING...

So, besides going to school and working (and trying to get some writing time in) I spend a lot of my time running. Yes, my family thinks I'm crazy - but it is super relaxing for me to go out on a run. Not only that, but as my Dr pointed out to me yesterday - it does wonders to control my cholesterol :P

So, in my running journey over the last 6 years I've came across a LOT of running apps. Some have helped me so much that I continue to use them almost daily. Others... not so much help. I thought this might be the case for a lot of runners, so I decided to do just a short blog each week about some of the apps I have found to be the most helpful.

This first app is actually pretty well known I think by most people wanting to get into shape and/or loose weight (no - those do not always go hand in hand).

My Fitness Pal is a great app for either of those purposes. You can track anything and everything you eat and do. One of my favorite things is, it has a barcode scanner! YES! You can simply scan an items barcode and it knows all the information for that product. So handy! You can also adjust your macros to whatever type of diet you are currently on (such as Keto or Paleo) and there are charts to help you keep on track.

It also syncs with several trackers (such as my Fitbit) so you know how your daily movement (or lack of) is effecting the number of calories you have to eat in a day. And it keeps track of your friends too so you know you are not alone in this long journey to health and fitness.

If you are interested - simply check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and no - I don't get ANYTHING for sharing their link - just trying to help out. :)

Run, Work, Run, School, Sleep, Repeat

Well, as you probably know by now I did not get the 2nd book wrote before Christmas. Actually - I'm still not even done with the entire rough draft (although I'm SO close!). And the title of this blog says it all - that is my life right now.

I decided in December to start school full time as of Jan 4, 2016. This will have me graduating on April 22nd of this year! YAY! And, that means, that as of May I will be back to writing on more of a full time basis. I'll be honest - I can't wait!

This will be great for my sanity because these characters have a story to tell and they are getting really impatient hanging out in my head. I get asked all the time if I know what is going to happen and yes... to a degree I do know what is coming up in the 2nd book, but that doesn't mean it won't change as the characters evolve and start to take over my life again.

So, we will all just have to wait to see together exactly how things are going to turn out. And remember - as soon as book 2 is done, I'll be starting on book three! I've got an idea of what is happening in that book as well... but, again, that might all change.

I just want to thank everyone for being so patient with me on this journey. It has taken me way longer than I ever thought it would to get to this point, but we are almost there! It will be worth it - I promise! :)