November is Done

It is the end of November and from Thanksgiving to Birthdays, Cover Reveals to Book Tours and chats about upcoming books... it was a fun month. Thank you all readers who support my blog and all bloggers who support each other. Have a great weekend and I'll be posting my Blindsided Christmas Photo Bloghop  post tomorrow.

Also next week keep an eye out for Cover Reveals and Bloghop post entries here on Queendsheena.

Getting Personal: Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday and the beginning of my new weekly post Getting Personal. I decided to do this post because I don't discuss my personal life much. Not because I'm some secret agent living a life of intrigue, but because sometimes things just slip by. But with this weekly post now active, there is nowhere for me or my inactivity to hide.

Back to the point though. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I'm 28 years old today and I'm planning on getting stuff with the best gift ever. Cash. Yes I'm the girl who is gifted cash to spend. While some might shirk and say it's a cheap way of escaping buying a gift. I don't mind at all. In the past being the unique one in my family created some 'nightmare' scenarios in the gift giving process. When people refuse to accept you as you are, they give crappy gifts. There are gifts around that I'll never use or wear because I was given them despite the knowledge I didn't want them. Don't get me wrong, I respect gift giving. But come on, you don't give a girl who hates watermelons a gift card to an all you can eat watermelon themed buffet. All it does is make the person angry. And feel completely invisible when they speak.

So in closing I'll be enjoying my birthday with some shopping and strolling. Hopefully add a book that will make me as happy as when I bought Insurgent by Veronica Roth. I'll also be treating myself to a nice lunch and dinner. But over the weekend I'll finally see the last Twilight movie. Happy Birthday to Me! And all the November Girls. Virtual Cupcakes for you all!

And to all my readers and blogger friends.

My Birthday isTomorrow

Tomorrow will be my birthday. I'll be 28 years old and I'm going out to celebrate. Also I will be watching Twilight's last movie over the weekend. Happy trails everyone and remember to look out tomorrow for my Happy Birthday post which will also be my first Getting Personal post since creating a Blog Schedule.

The Midnight Spell Cover Reveal

Today as as one of the Tour Hosts from Xpresso Book Tours I'm participating in the Cover Reveal of The Midnight Spell, a paranormal ya novel. Cover Design by Phatpuppy Art.

Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye

Release Date: February 2013 

Genre: YA Paranormal

Link: Goodreads

Summary: Best friends since kindergarten, Adam and Christy have always been the perpetual outsiders in their small town in Texas.  The other kids call Adam gay and Christy a witch.

On both counts the bullies are right.

Their junior year in high school seems destined to be the same old same old until Christy decides to cast a love spell for Adam at the midnight hour. The next day an alluring and mysterious boy enrolls at school and sets hearts a flutter, including Adam’s. Meanwhile, Christy’s mad crush on the handsome football player Ian seems to be going nowhere fast and her witch puberty is making her life miserable.

When a great evil arrives in town that threatens everything they hold dear, the best friends realize that finding a boyfriend is the least of their worries. Soon Adam and Christy will have to battle a force of darkness that has killed in their town before, and will again.

AUTHOR BIOS

Rhiannon Frater:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.rhiannonfrater.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2310121.Rhiannon_Frater

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhiannon.frater

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rhiannonfrater

Kody Boye: Kody Boye was born and raised in Southeastern Idaho. Since his initial publication in the Yellow Mama Webzine in 2007, he has gone on to sell nearly three-dozen stories to various markets. He is the author of the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and the dark fantasy novel Blood. His fiction has been described as ‘Surreal, beautiful and harrowing’ (Fantastic Horror,) while he himself has been heralded as a writer beyond his years(Bitten by Books.) He currently lives and writes in the Austin, Texas area.

Author Links:

Website: http://kodyboye.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2775292.Kody_Boye

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kody.boye

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KodyBoye

Sacrifice Series: Official Release dates and Mock Covers

Yes readers after a lot of hopping around I have finally settled on the official dates for the first four books in The Sacrifice Series. I have made enough time to both promote and ensure all novellas as spit shine polished by the time they're published. Now you'll see the final dates and the series will have ten novellas in all. The books will all have two commonalities. They're under thirty or twenty thousand words and each has a different teen(s)  in a situation that will have them being sacrificed if they don't defy it or try to escape.

Sacrifice Her: May 2013

The Choice: June 2013

For My Country: Early July 2013

Healing Bitsy: Mid July 2013

So those are the dates. But that's not all, below is the mock cover for book one's Sacrifice Her. All mock covers were created with free images from Stock Free Images.

See? Hope you like it. I'm not revealing the true cover until late January 2013.

But I will show you something fun. Elizabeth Seckman who won my Blogoversary had her story idea become book 4 in The Sacrifice Series. Not only does it have a title now but I found an image perfect for the mock cover. In fact I think this could be a real cover for a book. It is so beautiful. You be the judge.

This is just my starting point. I'll have what I'll officially put on the cover released when I start releasing the other covers in February next year.

Why I Love YA

At age twenty-seven many people would think books for young adults wouldn't interest me. As an adult, adult books should be on my mind and my bookshelf. But I say young adult is a great genre. I'm still an avid reader of young adult novels and will be for the rest of my life. There is a wonder and excitement in young adult novels that I rarely find captured in novels for adults.

Some of my favourite authors include J.K. Rowling, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and Amanda Hocking. These females each wrote books that took me to a different place and had me reading about fascinating characters. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins was a book I turned to because of the authors I heard recommending it. No regrets from me as I was introduced in book 1 to Katniss and Gale who had such an excellent rapport with each other that I had to read on. Their home District 12 also had it's own feel and kept me glued to the dynamics and hardships of the mining district. When Katniss took her sisters place in the games she did it like any true big sister would've done and the chosen male sacrifice introduced us to a whole new dynamic with Peta. The novel had many twists and turns, tragic deaths and of course some romance. I went on to read the other two and now the first movie is out on DVD. Of course I saw it in early 2012 in theatres. A fan through and through, I can't wait for the other two movies from such a fascinating trilogy.

Now a treat for you readers. There is a contest going on until November 29, 2012 where you have the chance to win close to 50 young adult titles for your bookshelf. Interested? Click here to enter. Best of luck.

New Blog Scedule

Hi everyone I officially have a Blog Post Schedule. Now you can have an idea what I'll be posting during the week and I think it will make my blog a little bit neater. Have a nice weekend.

Express Yourself: Inspirational Quotes and More

This week is all about inspirational quotes you'd like to pass along. I have two such quotes by one great man. Walt Disney. He helped create a world that is still growing today. And most importantly still inspires future generations.

Quotes: It's kind of fun to do the impossible. 

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. 

Now for some memorable quotes from movies and tv shows. Enjoy.

 The Dark Knight

Law and Order: SVU

X:Men (Movie)

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!

Are you Serious?!

I am at my wits end! The computer's out again which means I'm at a standstill with my writing - well typing. With less than twenty thousand words on my Nano this was the last thing I needed. I'm not sure when it can even be fixed and to say money's tight would be an understatement. Now all I can do is write my stuff on paper (which I do first anyway) and type all I can when I have access to a computer. Guess it's the library for me.

Oh, How I Miss You Blogfest

Today Alex and company are hosting the Oh How I Miss You Blogfest

Amanda and Jonathan Welling (husband and wife team) and Emily Bedwell are the wonderful team behind the blog Hippies, Beauty and Books, Oh My!. I loved visiting this blog which was so well put together, had people who loved books and delightful giveaways to thank those who stopped by. The creators kept expanding the blog until by Summer 2012 there was also book forums included. Then came the fateful day of August 24, 2012. You can read the post here but in short Amanda and John told us they were shutting down the site. They didn't take down the blog but it was made clear there'd be no future posting. Why? Below are some excerpts:

For the past several weeks we have been bombarded with rude, vile and offensive comments being left on our blog in the comments section of our posts and in our emails. We've done our best to ignore and delete as much as possible, but we can (or rather I can) only handle so much negativity.

Something occured this week that was an eye-opener. A young girl we knew decided that she would rather die then go to school and be bullied. She was also tormented relentlessly on the internet. A few days ago, her mother found her passed out unresponsive. She tried to hang herself using a belt around her neck. They had hopes she would pull through when she was rushed to the hospital, but she died yesterday morning.

She was only 11 years old.

Jon and I have decided we are shutting down our blog for good. This will be our last post. 

And that was that. I must confess that for a while I did look back hoping they'd return but alas they didn't. I respect their decision but I miss this blog team's wonderful blog so much. It is sad that bullying caused them to stop blogging. So HBB, Oh My and it's blogging team are who I miss. God bless you all in your future endeavors.

Now for a blogger I would miss he or she were to go. That would be Cassie Mae. I met blog to blog with this twenty-something funster early 2012 and haven't been bored by her personal posts and fun jottings since. She's married, has kids and still finds time to blog, write books and now even has an agent. We readers got a real scare when we found out earlier this year there was some cyber vagrant trying to put down our sweet Cassie. But many readers including myself assured her that both she and her blog was super awesome and she got out of her funk and kept right on blogging. I love you Cassie and your fellow readers and bloggy friends love you too. Don't ever go away. We'd miss you something terrible. And laugh less. A lot less.

Now hop around to all those taking part and enjoy your blogger friends. You never know what might happen in the future. But I know one thing. NO ONE WILL BULLY ME OFF MY BLOG. *Growls*

Love Ya!

Birthday Countdown

My birthday is November 29! I can't wait, just sixteen more days.

Happy Crappy Captcha Day: Fighting Evil...Words

Today Shelly and friends are hosting Happy Captcha Craptcha Day! For those who have no idea what Captcha is I have posted a definition below. In short Shelly, myself and all others participating on this day want to let you know the evils and disadvantages of having Captcha on your blog.

Definition (according to wikipedia) : A CAPTCHA ( /ˈkæp.tʃə/) is a type of challenge-response test used incomputing as an attempt to ensure that the response is generated by a human being. The process usually involves a computer asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to grade. These tests are designed to be easy for a computer to generate but difficult for a computer to solve. If a correct solution is received, it can be presumed to have been entered by a human. A common type of CAPTCHA requires the user to type letters and/or digits from a distorted image that appears on the screen. Such tests are commonly used to prevent unwanted internet bots from accessing websites.

The term "CAPTCHA" was coined in 2000 by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum,Nicholas J. Hopper, and John Langford (all of Carnegie Mellon University). It is anacronym based on the word "capture" and standing for "Completely AutomatedPublic Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart". 

Sadly Captcha has become less a deterrent for spammers and more a deterrent for readers commenting. Worse I was actually one of the perperators 'til September of this year. Like many bloggers I assumed that because I didn't want it then it wouldn't be on my blog. During GUTGAA there was an explanation about how to turn off Captcha and since it suggested bloggers might not know they have it, I decided to check my setting. To my horror I realized I had it on my blog. After opting out I felt so much better and so bad for all my readers who had to trudge through it all those months. Please remove captcha from your blogs. While it might've once been a great help to bloggers now it's just a deterrent for new readers and followers.

I'll leave you all with a haiku.

Bye Bye Captcha

Oh happy day all,
Captcha has had it's great fall.
Now comment in peace.

Remember to visit other blogs celebrating here.

Personal Fall, My Nano, Blogoversary Winner

Today I planned to reveal my Nano submission and congratulate the winner of my one-year blogging prize. But yesterday something happened and I think I need to share that first.

Personal Fall

Whether this incident is just an awful accident or a serious reason for me to consider getting Life Alert at the ripe old age of twenty-seven....you decide.

On Thursday November 8, I was at home. Deciding to get some washing done I went outside. Unfortunately since having a fever on Tuesday I wasn't at the pinnacle of health. But I was getting better and the only thing nagging me was an annoying headache. Finished, I headed inside. At the door (not sure if it was the headache, random fatigue or just my clumsy feet) I tripped. I tried to grab the gate but I was barely able to grasp it with two fingers and my other hand was barely able to grasp something that kept my face from slamming into the ground. Worse my feet were in such a way that a lot of pressure went on my right foot's big toe and it was so painful that I had to pull myself up to keep from what I swear would've been a broken toe if I had landed flat on the ground. So happy news all around right?

No. Since I'm not Thumbelina, catching my entire body from hitting the ground by just two fingers is a very bad idea. So while I didn't burst like a balloon or break like china. My right hand was in a boatload of pain. As the day wore on it seemed I pulled every muscle in my body as the pain spread and got worse. I had to lie down for hours. Needless to say I got no writing done that day.

Today I have less pain and will recover.

Thank god I'm not old. Yet.

My Nano Revealed

Title: Gold

Story:  Gold is a stripper at Club instinct. Captured by the Bear Brothers she's been a sex slave for years. But with her birthday looming, the twenty-one year old is on the edge of freedom that co-operative slaves of her section get at age twenty-two. As long as they're not sold off before then. Her hopes comes crashing down when Detective H. Wolf comes knocking. One of the few true lawmen he tells her she's to be sold to Prince Charming: Handsome Prince but secret womanizer and torturer. Not someone the free spirited Goldilocks wants as a master. But there is hope. If she can get to Wonderland, a safe haven,  then she'll be free. Breaking away from everything she knows she not only heads a place where just the attempt is considered treason. She has to escape being chased by the Bear Brothers, their hired thugs and worst of all Prince Charming himself. With Wolf, and a crazed hatter at her side, can she make it to Wonderland alive? And what of the challenges along the way? Goldilocks is on the biggest adventure of her life where not only her life hangs in the balance but her heart as well.



Blogoversary Winner

...is Elizabeth Seckman! Her entry Bitsy Strand has a teen girl having to decide between saving others from suffering or herself. I love the story twist in Lizzie's entry and I'm planning a tentative date for the novella's release of June or September 2013. Elizabeth congratulations and hope you'll enjoy the novella I'll make based off your creation.

Happy trails everybody.

IWSG: Sheena-kay the Poet

Yes I write poetry. It got me my first cheque in writing. But for some reason I don't talk about it much. It's less of an insecurity and more of an automatic closing off. I talk about writing fiction just fine. On this blog I'm writing about my WIPs all the time. Poetry however takes a permanent back seat. I love writing poetry, really do. Yet I don't do much open dialogue about it. Maybe it's my quiet side or maybe despite all the years of writing poetry (wrote poetry regularly before I became truly interested in writing fiction), I'm just not the talkative type when it comes to that aspect of my life.

My poetry dreams are different from my dreams of writing fiction. With poetry I want to travel to England and other countries where my favourite poets called home. Most of my favourite poets aren't from Jamaica. My fave poet from here is Louise Bennett. She died years ago but her influence on Jamaican culture still resonates. My favourite poets include Emily Dickinson and William Wordsworth. My poetry isn't very lyrical and I'm not a big fan of rhyming. One day I'd love to go to a writing retreat and spend a few weeks if not months just writing poetry.

Before I go here a few poems written by yours truly.

Garrison Lament

How great was the don who fed us!

Bring curses to those who took him from us!

He gave us bread and sent our kids to school.

How great was the don who fed us!

Now he’s gone and we’re just left to starve.

In this community no one can find a job.

How great was the don who fed us!

Bring curses to those who took him from us!

The Widow

I walk with an authoritive air.

My dainty steps but harsh voice

makes the maids aware I’m there.

Yes, there watching their every move.

They are my servants, this is my castle.

And I don’t care if I sound crude.

I never had whips lash my milky white back.

But words can be sharper than any whip.

And unlike physical ashes that can be

healed by medicine and tender care.

Words can leave their emotional lash

inside you forever.

As a widow, I know of this.

Jealousy fills other women’s eyes when they

see that I’m no longer tied to a husband.

My life now much freer than theirs.

And as a former wife, I understand their suffering.

My only husband is dead.

Bless his soul, but his harsh words

did worse than his blows.

Now widowed I’ve promised myself never to remarry.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a little fun.

I have no worries because no one here would dare tell.  

I am The Widow.

This is my mansion, my castle.

I do as I please.

If anyone has a problem with that.

They can rise and take their leave.

The Foe (formerly titled Friends)

Friends become enemies

when we lose their trust.

Betrayal will turn any

relationship to dust.

 

The Thankful Bloghop

Tara Tyler and Vicki are the hosts of The Thankful Bloghop.

Here’s the rules, folks:

1. Sign up on the Linky List below.
2. Post thanks to your readers on your blog between Monday, November 5 and Wednesday, November 7 by 1700 UK/1200 noon EST US time.
3. And if you don’t have a CP and you would like to find one, go ahead and post a ‘personals’ ad. 
4. Be CREATIVE. Write a letter, a piece of flash fiction, a haiku, a poem, or a vlog. It can take whatever form you like. We’d like it if you kept it under 300 words but won’t be counting. 
5. Naming your reader(s) is up to you and feel free to link to them. 
6. Hop around and comment on other people’s!

I'm extremely grateful to those who read and comment on my blog. Below I'll like to thank a few who have really showed me great ongoing support.

Panda Ninja - Or call her Brittney. Whichever name she uses, she was the first to comment on my blog and she is still here. An aspiring writer like myself we both started blogs to put ourselves out there and today she's self published a novella (which she has since pulled for editing) and I'm getting ready to release mine in 2013. Panda Ninja has been there from 2011 and I believe she will still be reading my blog and chatting with me in 2013. Thanks for all the support and love you.

Cassie Mae - What can I say about Cassie? First she's awesome, second her blog is awesome and thirdly through her co-hosting the I'm Hearing Voices! Character Blogfest, I met not just her but Kelley Lynn and Elizabeth Seckman in February 2012. They all still pop by my blog and I really appreciate it.

Elizabeth Seckman - Oh Lizzie, you have been more than a supporter, you're a true blogger friend. You're not only supportive but fun and kind and when I had my bloghop and you couldn't get your blog in due to a certain evil linky. You entered anyway and posted your explanation in your post. I'm absolutely determined that we meet face to face one day and wish you all the best with your blog, book(s), friends and family.

Alex Cavanaugh - One of my newer readers he's a commenting dynamo, supporting the entire blogosphere and being the coolest blogger ninja I know. He even offered to post thing I've set on my blog on his on more than one occasion. I'm thankful that someone with such a highly supported blog and schedule would take time out to help so many bloggers including myself.

Obsession: Tara Tyler - No I'm not a stalker or trying to get extra points. Ever since I found her post in the WIP- Movie Blogfest in March 2012, I have been hooked on her book Pop Travel. She has since found a publisher and it will be out in 2013. CAN'T WAIT! Tara has also been a reader and supporter as well and even helped critique an excerpt from my WIP Nevermore in a previous post. I visit her blog regularly and believe her next piece of work Broken Branch Falls will be a hit when ready for publishing.

 (Not the Final Cover)

Local Support: J.L. Campbell - Hey J.L. I was so stoked when I posted on her blog and responded. Now she stops by regularly and I know one day we can actually meet without the tricky situation of a plain ticket and well...cash for a plan ticket. Yeah. Authour of several books including Contraband and recently Distraction (which I got an e-copy directly from her, *Grins*). A fellow Jamaican writer is just what I needed in my support group. While it's great having supporters from around the world (America, England, etc), it's really nice having at least right here in Jamaica. Thanks J.L.!

Other Supporters:

Jenny Morris

Rachel Schieffelbein

Rachel Morgan

Emily King

Leigh Covington : Been off the Blogoshere for a while Leigh. Hope to see you back soon.

And there's my post. Have a nice day and remember to hop around and read your fellow bloggers posts.

 

Nano and Healer's Destiny: Media Blast and Giveaway

Yes, it has arrived. Nanowrimo is here and in one month many writers will try to write a novel and get the honour of completing it by November 30. This is my third try and I'm determined to get my first complete. How about you? Are you participating this year? Have you done it before?

So the big question. What will I be working on? All will be revealed November 9 but between today and week I'll be leaving five clues. Have a nice day.

To buddy with me on Nano click here.

Clue One: The title is Gold.

Healer's Destiny: Media Blast and Giveaway


Welcome to the media blast for Healer's Destiny, the great new novel from author Julee F Page.

Not only are you entered for the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card, courtesy of Julee F Page, you also have the chance to win a copy of Healer's Destiny, as well as lots of other prizes from other authors and bloggers. In total there are 8 prizes to give away. That means 8 winners!

Enter on the Rafflecopter on this page, then hop on over to the other participating blogs listed beneath the Rafflercopter for more chances to enter.

A war is waged on humanity when the kingdom of Kavorin
realizes only male heirs are being born. The curse can only be broken by a
young girl brought up in secret. Her heritage protects her from human magic,
but in order to break the curse she must leave everything she holds dear and
face the most powerful man in the kingdom.

The daughter of a gifted blacksmith and student to the great
magician Gethin, Eliana finds her world turned upside down as she leaves her
home to fulfill her destiny. Trolls, heartless bandits, and dragons are only a
few of the dangers Eliana will face on her journey. What she doesn’t expect to
find is an angry god behind the chaos her world has been suffering from for so
many years.  

 

About the Author

Julee Page is an RN from SLC, UT. She lives with her husband
and two beautiful sons. Reading has always been a passion of hers and writing
followed easily behind. While she loves all types of literature, Fantasy and
Science Fiction are her favorites. She hopes her works will be enjoyed by many
in the years to come.

You can discover more about Julee at the following links:

You can purchase Healer's Destiny at the following links:

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Now hop on over to these other blogs for even more chances to enter:



Healer's Destiny

Prose by Design

Sherry Gammon

Cindy C Bennett

Jamie Canosa

Felicia Rogers

The Last Selkie

Eve's Fan Garden

Queendsheena

Forbidden Reviews

My Devotional Thoughts

Lucky Books

Not Me Did It

Reader Girls

Vamps and Stuff

Maren Dille