Author Souls on Paper

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm gonna talk about something I've noticed more over the last few books I've read and why these things have suddenly come to my attention. I still find it awesome how conferences and interaction with other authors has changed the way I feel when I read now. Anywho, you ready? Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and let's get going!

I got on an airplane Friday to go to my daughter's bridal shower. While traveling, I always have a paperback handy (it makes flight attendants less nervous than me having my iPad or iPhone out, so I get left alone) so I can read and not get roped into conversations with seatmates.

This trip, I took a book I won at Utopia back in June: Honey Queen by Christina Mercer. I'll have a review later in the week, but I want to talk about many books right now, not just that one.

If you remember my review of Lex Talionis, I talked about the protagonist and how awesome she was. Same with Twisted, Never Forgotten, and the Tala Prophecy series. As different as these books were, I realized something after meeting the authors:

They've put their inner desires, their very souls, on paper for the world to see. I know more about the authors because I've read the words they wrote. Sometimes, it was before I met them in person, and sometimes, it was afterward. But each story held a nugget of what the author believed in, their inner strengths, and their core values.

I wonder if people get that from books they read? 

As I sat and thought about it, I realized I probably know, on a very soulful level, so many authors. I get a wonderful idea of the values they hold, and I can see what they're fighting for with their words. I've also seen authors grow as they write, becoming more like the characters on the page. Through those characters, the authors seem to grow out of their shells and take on some of their characters' traits: strength, outgoing personalities, bravery, and even self-awareness.

Perhaps this is why we feel our books are a lot like our children, and it might explain the reaction we have to negative reviews. Do we feel as though we're being judged because we've poured so much of ourselves into the story?

It's been eye-opening, for sure. It also made me think about my own books. Can people see the me on the inside as they read my stories?

Do you think you know what makes me tick? What story (or stories) of mine were the culprits?

I'm dying of curiosity over here.

Look forward to the review of Honey Queen later in the week. You'll be seeing a lot more book reviews over the next few months as I gear up to clear out and restock my virtual shelves in December. Yeah, baby!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

UTOPiAcon 2016 - What the Heck are Revolutions and Revelations?

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today is my very first post as one of the 2016 official Utopia bloggers. We have quite a lineup of rock stars for you this year, so I hope you're ready to get your information buzz on! As many of you may know, the theme for UTOPiAcon 2016 is Fight for Your Write.

Before I get going on revolutions and revelations, and how those pertain to the theme, I'd like to share with you all the ways you can keep up with news about the goings on at UTOPiAcon for 2016. Get your clicking fingers ready, and let's get going!

First and foremost, get your tickets! They're available now here (including one day fan passes).

Subscribe to the blog on the Utopia site:
Utopia blog

Subscribe to the official blogs:
Mine (link is on the right)
Maria Pease
Toni Lesatz
Shana Benedict
Kathryn Grimes
Ashley Bodette
Ren Reidy
Delphina Miyares

Subscribe to the official book tuber's channel:
Christina Marie

Follow Our Magazine on Flipboard:
UTOPiAcon BUZZ

Give my radio show a follow:
A Daily Cup of Jo

Join the Unofficial Facebook Group:
We Are Going to Utopia!

Like the Official Utopia Facebook Page:
UTOPiAcon

Join the event on Facebook:
UTOPiAcon

Follow Utopia on Twitter:
@utopia_con

So, now that you know where you can get your news about the most amazing writer's conference on the planet, let's get into what all this revolution and revelation stuff is about, eh?

Revolution: a dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way something works or is organized or in people's ideas about it.

Janet has already introduced her own revolution by changing the way Utopia happens. In 2016, there will be games, more workshops, and new age ranges for the con.

Attendees are creating revolutions of their own because of what they felt or learned at the conference. On the Utopia Revolutions portion of A Daily Cup of Jo (every other Thursday), Christina Marie has a chat with attendees creating their own revolutions. How their minds changed because of the conference, and what awesome things they're out there accomplishing now. There have already been two interviews, and you can expect many more! Check out Christina Benjamin here and Kelly Risser here.

See and hear what these women are doing. Revolutions are all about change, and Utopia embraces and incites those changes with warm hugs and author education.

Revelation: a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.

Attendees will say it all the time: I never thought I was anyone, and I never thought I was capable of anything, until I attended Utopia. I had this moment, this spark, this idea, and everything seemed to sort of click into place. I realized: I can do it. I am someone. I'm part of something bigger than myself.

Now, these folks didn't come by this information gradually. No. That would be too un-life-altering to make an impact. They were hit with a sneak attack lightning bolt that shot from the ether and struck their heart, making it swell and grow with ambition and self-assurance.

One Wednesday morning a month, Ren Reidy and I will be talking with someone who had that lightning struck moment. We'll find out what caused it, what it was, and how the author has put it into action. One Wednesday evening a month, Kathryn Grimes will take over and have a talk with an author. You'll be shocked at how many people have had their whole lives changed by Utopia. Allyson Gottlieb joined me last week to talk about how her mindset was altered. Check out the interview here.

Revelations are all about being introduced to new ideas. Whether it's how to do something, when do do something, or just the fact that you can do something, you'll find your spark, your tribe, your herd of unicorns at Utopia.

Come join us and FIGHT FOR YOUR WRITE!

~~~ 

You need to be sure and check out Maria's post for this week to discover what Utopia resolutions are all about. Those are some fun posts!

Did you learn anything from this post? What are you waiting for? Get your tickets already. We'd LOVE to see you there!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Your Opening Scene

Happy Thursday, everyone! Hang in there, Friday is just around the corner. Today, I'm talking about your opening scene. There are certain obligations you, the writer, have in those first few pages, and I'll go over the most imperative four. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

When you're browsing a bookstore, do you just read the blurb on the back of the book, or do you open the cover and read a couple of paragraphs to see if you might like what's inside?

I'm betting you do a little of both. Well, the people who plan to read your novel will likely do the same thing. Why not hook them with a little bit of oomph? There are a couple of things people don't even know they're looking for, but if those things are missing, their reader brains will shut off and your book will be stuck back on the shelf or dropped back on the table.

Some of these, I bet you even do on accident. Besides the tips on using powerful words, from a post I wrote on the first one hundred, you have to set certain things up. If you missed the post before this one, I recommend checking it out, too.

1. You have to hook the reader into the story. This goes back to that post on the first one hundred words. These words should be powerful and resonate deeply in the soul. Perhaps even introduce the central conflict or present a question that will be answered later. Either way, you want them to keep reading.
2. Consistency is the ruler of all else. Your beginning should set the tone and establish rules you'll adhere to later on in the story. Don't have the reader walk into a suspense thriller only to throw them into fairy land a page later (unless it's a fantasy thriller with killer sprites that slash people to death with razor wings). You get the point here. Also, don't use a hook that has nothing to do with the rest of the novel. Readers will feel, rightly so, they've been hoodwinked.
3. Give the central conflict. Your reader wants to know why they should keep reading. If Jane is going to plod through the book with no direction or goal, it probably won't be something many (any?) people would enjoy spending time on. There's room for some action. If you're using a prologue, this is where you can show the blood, guts, and gore (if that's what your book is all about) just before the bad guy escapes and leaves a path of death in his wake. Yes!
4. Hint at the ending. Have you ever been stuck at the end of a story that's flown from your fingers up until that point? It might be time to start reading your manuscript from the beginning. If you've crafted it well, you'll have an idea of where it's going by examining where it began. Readers like that, too! When they have a vague idea of what might happen, they're intrigued enough to buy the book to find out. Think "central conflict" as mentioned above.

Don't backstory dump on your reader! Please. Readers aren't stupid. In fact, many of them are highly educated and well read. They know how to infer things from the text. You don't have to spoonfeed them every single detail. Especially in the first chapter. Trust that your audience is intelligent, and your writing will take on a whole new level of awesome.

Did you know any of these? What's your favorite hundred opening words of all time?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Surprise! A New Collaborative from the Authors of Fractured Glass

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Boy, do I have some news for you. I hope you have your knickers on, because this announcement is a big one. Ready? Grab your cup of Jo and let's get going.

If you remember Fractured Glass, it's one novel with five sections written by five different authors. Yeah, we told a complete story, each of us writing 20k then passing it off to the others for further storytelling.

This title won't be done that way. No, I'm not giving you spoilers and telling you what we're doing. What I can tell you is this:

• Nothing like this has ever been done before. We're flipping things once again.
• We'll all be sticking to one genre (Paranormal Fiction), but we're changing the construct of the story and the definition of collaborative fiction once again.
• Yes, I'm teasing you. I want to know if you're intrigued.
• We met, once again, at Utopia this past June, to hash out this title and nail down the plot and specifics.
• Our character bios are complete.
• There have been many words written already.
• A blurb is coming with the cover reveal in October.

I bet you want to know the working title, huh? Well, here it is:

On Amazon, it'll be titled 7. Is it vague? Yes. This story is meant to keep you guessing until the end. Even we don't know what will happen once our characters come full circle.

What do you think? Have any guesses?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Award-Winning Sin Series is on Sale

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Do I ever have a whopper of a deal for you! Sit back, relax, and get your clicking finger ready, because you're gonna want to check this out.

Through August 15th, author Casey L. Bond has a huge sale going on for her award-winning serial series, Sin.

It took home the prize for best serial series at Utopia 2015!

Now, Sin is completely written, so you don't have to wait for the next installment!

Books 1-5 are just $0.99!

Yes, you read that right. All five parts of Sin are available in a boxed set and on sale right now.

Here's the link on BookBub:

Get the books!

Now, I'll give you a little information about the story!

Title: Sin (parts 1-5)
Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length (print): 216 pages

Blurb:
My name is Morgan Sinclare. My father is a United States Senator. He’s kept me locked away for most of my life in private all-girl schools, in our home. But I just heard what he has planned for me. He’s sold my hand to the highest bidder. I’m supposed to marry one of his friends, someone twice my age. I’m biding my time, acting like the giddy bride-to-be, like the dutiful daughter.

We are to elope as soon as possible to seal the deal. I acted devastated that I wouldn’t get my dream wedding, so they’re letting me choose the honeymoon location. I’ve always heard that Las Vegas is a magical place. And I think it’s time I disappear....

**Parts 1-5: The Sin Series in its entirety. Adult content and language.**

What are you waiting for? Are you super excited about this sale? Get your read on!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Book Review - From the Wreckage

Happy Monday, everyone! Today, I have another book review for you all. This one is from my December blog event TBR, and will go into the 2015 Time for Books Review Team pool of reviews. I'll start off with a little recap of reviews, introduce the book for today, and then get on to the juicy stuff. This was supposed to go up Friday, but I didn't get done, and you all know I don't review what I don't finish. If you happen to be around at 10am EST, jump on over to my live radio show! I have Delphina Henley with me today, and we'll have live callers for the last ten minutes. This is your chance to ask questions. Go here. If you miss it live, it's okay! It'll push to iTunes by 11am. Anywho, grab a cup of coffee and let's get to it, shall we?

Recap:
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Review HERE
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Review HERE
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Review HERE
8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Review HERE
Moonlight - David Rose - Review HERE
Refuge - Violet Haze - Review HERE
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Review below

Currently reading: Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99

Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Kindling Flames-Gathering Tinder - Julie Wetzel - Amazon Kindle FREE
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Lady of Souls - Jenn Gott - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Desprite Measures-The Caledonian Sprite - Deborah Jay - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Last Guardian Rises - Rebecca Trogner - Amazon Kindle $0.99 

Information about the book being reviewed today:

Title: From the Wreckage
Author: Michelle G. Miller
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Length (print): 232 pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle FREE  ~  B&N Nook FREE  ~  Smashwords FREE

Blurb:
“In a matter of minutes on a Friday night, I lost my school, my identity, the security of my first love, the personality of my sweet fearless brother, my best friend, my town, everything as I knew it. Everything changed.”

"Minutes - that’s all it takes to change your entire life. How do you deal with that?”

For high school senior Jules Blacklin surviving the storm is only the beginning. Faced with the new reality of her life, she must find a way to rise From The Wreckage and answer the question - how do you get back to normal, when everything that was normal is gone?

***Will not appear in review elsewhere. By word of mouth, I heard there was an interesting concept and branding on the covers for this series. This one is stunning by itself, but if you look at all three books, you see things taking shape. Brilliantly done. I'd like to see the author's name take up a wee bit more real estate, but I love the look of this series.***

On to the review!

I grabbed a copy of this book when the author pitched it to me on my blog's annual TBR building event. Because it was free, I had to get the whole thing instead of just a sample, but I'm so glad I did. As I was reading to see if I'd like it, I found I was well over the sample size by the time I pulled myself back out. Needless to say, it was added immediately. When I finally made my way back to it, I read it pretty quickly. Anyway, enough about how I snagged a copy; let's get to the good stuff.

From a Reader's Perspective:
I can't even imagine a tornado hitting my town, much less being caught in the middle of one. Jules, the main character, is not only caught, she has to deal with the stress of the ordeal as well as a very serious loss. Because I don't do spoilers, I'll just touch on things I liked about Jules. She's your typical high school cheerleader dating the quarterback. Because I know Texas, I know how they are about their football. Her whole life revolves around the games, players, and other cheerleaders. This book did the environment justice, and Jules was a product of her environment for sure. I admired her for her desire to help the community, and her moments of being jaded after the incident rang true. I've always thought how typical it was of people to pretend they knew someone that was a victim of a disaster just to get on TV, and this is something Jules has to face and come to terms with. I thought Miller did a great job of connecting the reader to real-world scenarios and showing what people really think.

Oh, the emotions dragged out of me by this book! When it starts, Jules is talking to a camera, but you don't find out who it is she's talking to until about the three quarter mark. This is when things click into place. It will make you want to scream. Loss, love, and what can emerge from a disaster (both good and bad) are what you'll find. Very sweet teen romance with no love triangle and a clean read.

There was one scene that didn't ring true for me: Jules is talking about photographs and the hairstyle she has, a side ponytail. These were popular when I was a kid (in the 80s). But the book is set in the first part of the new millennium (I believe it's 2012). That would make these teens way too old (late 30s at least). Then it goes on to say how, during seven minutes in heaven (same approximate time as the hair was in style), a boy uses his cell phone light in order to see in the closet. Well, there were bag phones in the 90s, but everyone didn't have a cell phone that would fit in their pocket. So, even if the main character is late thirties now, the details didn't fit.

One other discrepancy: Katie has a blonde bob blowing in the wind as she leans her head out of the window in one scene, then has a braid that comes loose and is blowing in the wind a few pages later.

These are minor things that didn't take me out of the story, but that I noticed. The emotional roller-coaster ride overshadowed the inconsistencies.

From a Editor's Perspective:
Besides the two things listed above, there weren't many errors. I did find the use of ' where it should be " often, and pronouns were used so loosely I sometimes had to read back to find out who the she, her, his, and him were referring to, but it wasn't plot killing or anything like that.

Rating:
1 Star for showing me what it would be like to face such a wicked disaster
1 Star for giving me a main character I liked
1 Star for the romance
.5 Star for shocking me with the reveal I didn't talk about beyond saying there is one
-.5 Star for inconsistencies
.5 Star for editing
-.5 Star for editing
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars! A sweet, clean beach read that I'd highly recommend.

Have you read it? What did you think? Do you plan to read it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Roanoke Author Invasion

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today, I'm going to be talking about an author signing event happening in Roanoke, Virginia, on April 2, 2016. Ready? Grab a cup of Jo and let's get going!

If you missed it, I did a radio interview with one of the wonderful ladies behind RAI, Liz C. Long, that you can catch up on here. It's about forty-five minutes, but we cover a ton of information about the event and surrounding area. Plus, Liz drops some information about next year that hasn't been revealed yet!

So, what is Roanoke Author Invasion?

From the website:

Join 30+ bestselling authors of contemporary and paranormal fiction and more at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood in Roanoke, Virginia, on April 2, 2016 from 12pm-4pm. Enjoy an afternoon of books, giveaways, and more as you get the latest releases from your favorite authors and discover new voices!

It's a mashup of authors and fans from all over who get together and share a love of books.

Here's the official Facebook page:

Roanoke Author Invasion

If you're a book blogger and would like to help promote the event, or if you'd just like to help out, you can volunteer here.

What do you think? Will you be checking it out?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo