I was I am I will be

CALLING ALL LOCAL AUTHORS

2015-12-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

If you are an Oregon author living in Washington, Multnomah, or Clackamas county I'm talking (writing) to you. This is an excellent opportunity to support a local library and allow them the opportunity to support you, by giving you a platfrom to promote your work.

What is even more unusual about this from what I've seen is that it is 100% FREE to those authors selected from the appications they receive AND the authors keep 100% of the profits from the books they sell during the Book Fair. All the library is asking is that you donate TWO of your books to them.

Hmm - I wonder if I could write and publish a book in the next three months?

IMPORTANT BITS -

Event - Local Authors Book Fair
When - Saturday, May 21, 2016
                 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where - Beaverton City Library
              12375 SW Fifth Street
                  Beaverton, OR

APPLICATION DEADLINE - Tuesday, March 15, 2016

To apply or to get more details contact Helen Butler at hbutler@BeavertonOregon.gov.

http://www.westsideculturalalliance.org/beaverton-city-library-seeks-entries-for-local-authors-book-fair/

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Pairings @ The Oregon State Fair 2012

2012-08-25T09:42:00.002-06:00

Anybody that has been following my Facebook posts for the last month knows I'm working on eating healthier, losing inches, body fat, and even weight. Yesterday I announced at the beginning of the day that it was going to be an entire cheat day. I announced this because I was going to the Oregon State Fair and it is the first time I have gone to a fair in several years. I went with the thought that I would enjoy whatever I wanted while I was at the fair. Nothing was going to be off-limits, elephant ears, funnel cakes, giant burritos, corn dogs, deep fried twinkies, anything that I had the urge to try while I was there was fair game.

We were there from 4-10pm. Pairings, located in the "Hart of the Garden", was the initial reason for attending. There were 15 each of the wine and food vendors. They need some tips from Savor Idaho because they should have had at least five more of each.

I've been spoiled watching Savor Idaho grow under the direction of Moya Shatz, which now sells out every year, this was the first year I wasn't able to go. The Hart of the Garden location was nice and green but, what do you expect from Oregon. I asked one of the restaurant vendors what the expected turnout was and they had been told to expect 1000 people.

The Statesman Journal newspaper article I just read said at least 50 people showed up. That would be like saying, "Well at least two people showed up." I think the reporter needs to learn how to count because there were at least 150-200 people when I was there at 4. They also need to check their spellings manually it would seem since they listed the location as being in the "Heart of the Garden" when it is the "Hart of the Garden" since Hart's Nursery maintains that area.

Changes that I would have made would be to move the event to the weekend. Most people that work Monday-Friday aren't able to leave early enough to attend a 4pm event. If I hadn't been able to leave work early I wouldn't have been able to make the drive down from Beaverton and get there before 7pm. People were still trickling in at about 5:45, when Tracy and I left the "Hart of the Garden" to explore the rest of the fair, since we had nothing left to try. Unfortunately we didn't even stick around for the second musical act of Patrick Lamb. I will have to make a point of catching another one of his performances.

We tried the "Paired" wine from each wine vendor along with the corresponding food item. The slow cooked lamb with blueberries was nice. Even the bread cubes with Olive Grand vinegars and oil to dip in were good. I enjoyed the Blood Orange olive oil paired with the Red Apple balsamic vinegar. Though I don't know if you can really count that as a food vendor. The Aged Gouda from Willamette Valley Cheese Co. was an excellent choice and they were generous with their cheese servings. What it made me want though was a nice simple fruit and cheese plate to pair with the wines.

I don't think that there was any real thought beforehand as to which wines to pair with which food vendor. Maybe there was and my unsophisticated palate just didn't notice it but the only one that went stunningly well together was the one paired with that Gouda cheese. It wasn't a wine that I would normally drink, it was dusky tasting red but the combination of that and the mellow deep flavors of the gouda were perfect.

I tried several different Pinot Noirs, Pinot Gris, Chardonnays, Muscat, Dolceto, and Viogniers. Out of all the wine I tried I only bought two bottles. The choice ended up surprising me because I was looking for a nice light wine to drink in the evening after work (doctor's orders I need to bring my HDLs up) I ended up with a dessert Viognier from Walnut City Wineworks. Now I just have to figure out what I will be pairing it with because it definitely wont be a Nutella Crepe.

There was plenty of seating scattered around but it really wasn't a day that made me want to sit. The acoustic music from 4-6 was really entertaining and made a nice background to the wine tasting. We didn't have to wait in any line with more than two people in front of us. The food was ok and I did manage to find an Italian restaurant in Salem that I want to try, Gambertti's .

As to the fair food I ended up buy a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade with 1/2 the sugar cause I like it tart, and an elephant ear, I felt bad throwing it away but after about 1/4 of it I was done.

The best part of the day was the company of my good friend Tracy. We even stopped and glanced at the Oregon Author's booth so that combines my three favorite things in one day.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

2012-07-19T21:54:00.001-06:00

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Kindle Freebies today

2011-12-28T15:36:00.002-07:00

Freebies from Amazon courtesy of the Authors:

I love JR Rain's writing and he was nice enough to answer some questions for my blog awhile back.

Rose Pressey's writing is one that I'm looking forward to reading more of in the future. So take a moment to pick up a copy of her book and introduce yourself to her work.

I haven't read either of the following books but thought I would pass them on to you anyway. Read them, the only thing it will cost you is a little time. Then please take a little more time and let me know what you think in the comments section below. (Thank you to Rose for passing these along.)

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends; What Could be Better?

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards

2011-11-30T13:45:00.003-07:00

Today is the final day to vote for your favorite books so take a moment and let your vote be heard. I've voted and look forward to seeing the winners in each category announced.

I won't tell you which books I voted for since I think each person should vote their own choices without any undo influence.

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Favorite Book of 2011

Vote now for your favorite books!

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better?

Real Men

2011-11-27T14:03:00.002-07:00

Real men. Where can one find them? Books have always been full of heroes and anti-heroes both. Those strong, athletic, intelligent, and mysterious men that have no flaws. Now though it seems that in books and movies both you can't be considered a “real man” unless you're a preternatural creature, angelic being, or Lucifer himself.

Or maybe that is just the material I've been reading lately. I love J.R. Ward, Laurell K Hamilton, Gena Showalter, JR Rain, and Zoe Winters. Their writing styles captivate me and takes me into that realm of make believe that I want stories to carry me off to. Remove me from reality for a few hours. Kind of like that old commercial from Calgon...Take me away... Not that my life sucks or anything like that but a few hours of escapism while I decide what the next plot point in my own life will be doesn't hurt either.

I know that my approach to dating is ass-backwards in so many respects. I could make a list with points and sub-points even....

I prefer to get to know a man's mind without knowing what they look or sound like.
- I know that I am very superficial when it comes to two things.
  - Desired looks
    - Dark neatly cut hair
    - Brown Eyes
    - Height over 6' tall.
  - Voices
    - A voice like Vin Diesel or Sean Connery makes those little hairs inside my ears just perk up and listen.
    - A voice like Pee Wee Herman makes me cringe and want to flee the room.
- For this reason internet dating through chat and email is ideal for me.
  - This way I get to know them before making any shallow judgments about them.
    - Though if you can't type in anything but text speak I'll probably start making some of those shallow judgments.
  - I'm not a beauty queen but wouldn't say I'm a hideous gargoyle either.
I don't like dinner dates (at least not at restaurants).
- I would rather cook for my date while talking to them (or vice-versa) than sit in a restaurant getting interrupted by a waiter during interesting conversation.
- Though I will admit that if the date seems to be bombing leaving a restaurant is easier than leaving your own place.
I don't care if the man doesn't want to call me back however;
- Don't tell me how perfect and wonderful I am or that our time together was amazingly sublime and then not call me.
  - Just say “Hey, I think your great but not for me.” or
  - “Sorry I just don't think we click.” or even
  - “I don't find you attractive and I don't want to you again.”
I don't want to try to change you. Just don't try to change me.
I am not interested in a man who is married, separated, or otherwise involved.
- Be Single, Divorced, or Widowed
- There are women out there that don't care about your marital status go find one of them.
  - If your marriage/relationship is so bad that you aren't finding what you need in it then:
    - Pull up your big boy panties (or check the status of your balls) and admit it.
      - End your marriage (or)
      - Fix your marriage
Everyone has a kink or two. Respect mine and I will respect yours though there are a few exceptions.
I don't know that I believe in marriage, at least not the till death do us part.
- I think that marriage vows should have a time limit. Seven years sounds good to me.
  - At the end of seven years any assets accumulated during the marriage get split 50/50.
  - Everything earned prior to that belongs solely to the person that brought it to the marriage.
  - Children conceived during that time period belong equally to both parents for future emotional, physical, and financial support.
  - At the end of seven years the couple can choose to renew their vows for another seven years or end everything amicably.
- Maybe the time limit will encourage the couple not to take each other for granted.

Out of all the men I've met in my life (few of who I've actually dated) the one that has my respect the most isn't any of the ones I've been involved with. I've only ever asked one man out in a true one-on-one dating sense and he turned me down. No excuses or prevarications just that while he was flattered that I would ask him out I wasn't his type. Yes, it hurt but it didn't kill me and actually made me more confident in myself. I had been rejected but, I had actually put myself out there a bit. Instead of pining away in the background hoping to be noticed I had let him know that I would be interested.

So to all those Toms, Scotts, Dannys, and even Marcs out there I don't know if I have a heart to give but friendship, respect, and loyalty aren't to hard to give if I know the person is going to actually reciprocate them.

Who knows maybe one of these days I'll meet that real man outside of the pages of a book or my dreams for that matter.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends, What Could be Better?

I want a KINDLE

2011-09-07T14:22:00.002-06:00

It has been nearly 18 months since I posed the question of which e-reader to buy. Since then I've made up my mind but am waiting for the right opportunity to get one (and to justify it anywhere in my budget).

Kindle was nice enough to come out with their apps for the computer so I actually already have a nice library of books ready to add to my new kindle (if I ever get one). JR Rain's books being some of my favorite.

However my birthday is next Monday and even though I hinted to my daughter that her mom would absolutely love this "little bitty book" as my one present I don't think it is going to happen.

But it sounds like BzzAgent is going to have a really nice opportunity for some of their agents to get their hands on a brand new Kindle to use.....PLEASE PICK ME...I love tech toys and would love to have one of these babies in my hands.

Just in case they don't KC here is the link to buy your mom her birthday present...Or at least pretend to.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Paranormal Romance Books & Sci-Fi Romance Books Author Felicity Heaton: BLOG FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY

2011-05-17T11:55:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite authors. Felicity Heaton, is doing a blog follower giveaway.

Paranormal Romance Books & Sci-Fi Romance Books Author Felicity Heaton: BLOG FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY: "Between May 16th 2011 and June 30th 2011, I'm holding a super Blog Follower International Giveaway. All you have to do to enter is fol..."

Good Books, Good Wine, Good FriendsWhat Could be Better.

13....lucky or unlucky.

2010-08-14T13:02:00.001-06:00

Friday the 13th wasn't a bad day for me. Saturday the 14th so far not so good. I have 13 reviews to finish writing up. Reading the books isn't hard however writing coherent book reviews that don't just say something lame... I Like...Good book...This book sucks a**...etc. is taking just a little bit more of my brain than I was planning on.

I would never say that this book sucks because reading material is entirely subjective. There are always books out there that will tend to appeal to only certain niche groups.

So after I attend a wedding this afternoon I will head on home and finish typing my 13 late reviews. Tomorrow while I am at Bob Dylan's concert I will read book 15 and get that review in on time. I will say that I am glad that the Ides of August have no truly bad connotations because I could really use some positive news in my life about now.

Book Club Update:

While we kind of enjoyed Chelsea Handler's Are You There Vodka, It's me Chelsea? some of us felt that the humor was a little more negative than we preferred. We each discussed our two favorite episodes from the book while we were enjoying our pedicures outside. At least we were enjoying them until the wind kick up big time and we put everything away. Our lone male Aaron was there as well (though he passed on the pedicure).

We decided to forgo a book for our next meeting we are actually going to a matinee. Vampires Suck. We are justifying it slightly because it is a parody (in part) of the Twilight series (which are books) and it looks like it will be fun.

Our next book is Over Her Dead Body by Kate White. When we went to Hastings six weeks ago and found Baggage Claim we also found two copies of this hardback in the clearance bin for 99 cents. We decided that it would be our budget find and those of us that hadn't picked it up at the first Hastings located it for the same price at a Hastings near where each of us lives. The cheapest place that I found it online right now is Barnes and Noble. It is the fourth book in the Bailey Wiggins series but we are hoping that it is one that will also stand on its own.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Day One....Book One

2010-08-01T22:20:00.000-06:00

I haven't received too many entries yet for my 31 books reviewed in 31 days. So I randomly pulled one of my many books that I still haven't read out of a box. The problem with them is these are books that I chose to buy so they are in my normal comfort zone for books.

She Went All the Way by Meggin Cabot was the book I grabbed. I read it in fits and spurts today while doing other things. This book is 357 pages long.

What better way to forget how hot it is where you are when you are reading about the heroine Lou Calabrese and hero Jack Townsend escaping from the bad guys in an Alaskan snow storm?

Lou, is a Hollywood screenwriter, who has just been dumped by her long time boyfriend.

Jack Townsend is one of Hollywoods leading actors. His movies gross millions and women adore him. However, his girlfriend just ran off and married Lou's boyfriend.

Now they are both stuck flying up to the latest film shoot together. I don't want to give all the details away. Otherwise why would you read the book?

This was an enjoyable summer read. Perfect for taking out in the garden and relaxing on the swing while enjoying the weather with a cup of coffee this morning.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Sneak A Peak

2010-07-25T10:30:00.001-06:00

While we finish up Baggage Claim this evening I thought I would give everyone a heads up on the next book that we will be reading Are you there, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. Looking at the reviews people either really love it or really hate it.
However since the book is for a theme evening...Pedis & 'tinis (Peditinis?) I figured a light hearted romp might be the way to go with the book.
I have even done your online comparison shopping for you. Amazon is the cheapest of the main three. If you are in Boise (or near a Hastings) though you should be able to pick it up at your local store for nearly the same price. Double check that they will match their web price (gohastings.com) before you go in.

I will be bringing Crater Lake Vodka with me. I think it is as good, if not better than Sky or Grey Goose at a more reasonable price. You have to go to the web page through their main site and state that you are of legal drinking age. Once you do watch their video and click on their drink recipes. If you see one you like grab the ingredients (except vodka) and bring it with you.

If you have another vodka that you absolutely must have bring it with you. We can always do a blind taste test and see which one wins...That might be fun in itself.

As well as the Martinis we will be doing pedicures. Bring your favorite nail polish with you for that part. The book is only 264 pages so I think we will only need the one meeting for this book.

Anyway off to walk Kada.

Good Books, Good ~~Wine~~ Vodka, Good Friends What Could be Better?

If it's chicken it's beer....

2010-07-16T10:06:00.001-06:00

First welcome to Laura, who is one of our new local regulars, and to Marti who was in town this evening and liked our book discussion so much that I lent her my copy for her flight home. Yes I admit it. I was bad I couldn't stop at page 120 like I was supposed to and finished the whole book. Welcome also to Aaron (our only male so far) we hope to see more of you at these meetings. Just remember Aaron don't trust Char when she tells you to say something about the book.

Just to give you an idea on how some of our book club meetings go. First we talked about different odds and ends while we poured wine and decided to hold our discussion outside. Then once we were sitting out there I explained my 31 books in 31 days contest.

Aaron showed up with take-and-bake pizza, which he somehow managed to turn upside down so it had to be re-assembled. It still tasted good though. Along with this he brought a couple bottles of wine and some Twilight beer.Thank you.

We decided one of our upcoming books is going to need to be something that goes well with Smores Martini's and pedicures. Decision made Chelsea Handler's "Are you there, Vodka? It's me Chelsea"

While Char was in the house re-assembling the pizza with Aaron we were discussing how we wanted to handle the wine in the future. With four of us two bottles was just a little more than we usually needed. With 6+ we would be needing another bottle.

So the questioning began...Do we want to continue with a bottle each of a red and white? should we have a red or white theme for each evening?

"If it's chicken it's white...If it's a beefier read it's red.." At this point Char comes back outside and Michelle states " No, if it's chicken it's beer." We all looked up at her (must have had dumbfounded expressions on our faces). Char asks, "Wait, what are we discussing here."

I think we will probably stick with the red and white combination with the third bottle being red for the first meeting of the month and white for the second.

I drank the AutoMoto Cab for the evening and really enjoyed it. Other comments should be coming sooooon.

As to the Baggage Claim by Tanya Michna there is a bet (from those that hadn't finished reading it) on whether either of the couples will work things out. I just told them that at least one of them was right on their choices...But I wouldn't tell them which one. I will post more thoughts on the book after all of us have finished reading it.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Opera Idaho - South Pacific

2010-07-11T18:20:00.037-06:00

Opera Idaho performed South Pacific outdoors at Idaho Botanical Garden. Their first performance was Friday evening and their second and final performance was today.

The weather for today's performance was clear and hot. 90+ degrees. Sunblock was a must for, the audience, the orchestra, and the performers.

Several people found shady places to wait for the performance to start. Some of the favorites were the Meditation Garden and the path to the English Garden.

Willowcreek Grill and Raw Sushi were the caterers for the event. I tried the 1/2 Pinchy Roll (lobster and avocado) 1/2 Tuna Roll. It was the perfect treat for such a hot day. Willowcreek's staff was absolutely great.

Alex Lundquist - Men's Ensemble warms up his vocals

Walking through the English Garden before the performance I saw that even the actors had found shady places to warm up their vocal chords or read through the score.


Brett Hamilton - who sang Emile de Becque

After the show I asked a couple people what they thought of it.

It was very nice.

Absolutely wonderful!

I am looking forward to the next time Opera Idaho decides to perform at Idaho Botanical Gardens. For information on their schedule and tickets check out their website.

Of course you can always check out Idaho Botanical Garden's website to see some of their upcoming Outlaw field concerts or their schedule of Thursday night Great Garden Escape concerts.

31 Books in 31 Days

2010-07-11T16:22:00.006-06:00

So I am sitting out here enjoying our lovely weather at the moment. Trying to think of something fun and it hit me. I need to read MORE...I have been slacking off a little the last month or so.

Here's the deal. I need 31 books to read. I want to expand my horizons and find some more new authors.

Suggest your favorite Indie Author or any other author that has a book that would be a great summer read. Indie Authors can even suggest their own book. I'm easy that way.

I will post the book review the day after I read it. The review will include either the first name, last initial and city or twitter handle of the person credited with the submission.

Even though our group is books and wine I figured 31 days of wine might be a little much for me. Though I am always open to good wine suggestions and you will receive a grateful thank you for those.

Our twitter IwasIamIwillbe link is on the right of this page ( #31BookReviews). Facebook - I was I am I will be - link is on the left side of this page.

Rules:
1) This contest is open to anyone 13 and older.

2) You must either "Like Us" on Facebook or "Follow Us" on Twitter.

3) For me to read 31 books in August I need to start gathering them. So submissions are open from now July 11, 2010 until August 15th, 2010.

4) I would prefer that the books be fiction but non-fiction is acceptable as long as it isn't a how-to manual or a true crime. No War & Peace, I don't think I could read that in a day. 500 pages maximum for book length.

5) In the event that I receive more than 31 book suggestions I will randomly draw for the 31 books for the month of August.

6) If your suggestion wasn't drawn for August it will be saved until the next month with 31 days. That would be October and I will run the contest again.

7) The only people who aren't eligible to make suggestions would be my relatives. I already know what they like to read and that wouldn't expand my horizons that much.

8) There will only be one prize awarded for the month of August. The winner will be chosen from one of the 31 books reviewed in the month of August. That prize will be awarded on September 12, 2010. If you want to win it I must have a way to contact you. That would be the reason for the Facebook or Twitter follows.

9) Prize - One $20 gift card from your choice of one of the following retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Starbucks)

10) Odds depend on the number of entries received.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

J.R. Rain and Peep Shows

2010-06-27T20:59:00.007-06:00

I was....

At last count, I had 60 different jobs prior to writing full time. Probably my most interesting job was working as a squire at Medieval Times. Nothing says “manly” like running around in fake chainmail tights. Mostly, though, I worked as an insurance claims investigator and later as a private investigator.

I am....

My name’s J.R. Rain and I write mystery novels. Granted, my books are packaged to look like many different kinds of books, from supernatural romantic suspense to adventure thrillers, but at their very heart my books are always mystery novels first.

I will be....

...writing as many books as I possibly can. ;)

What prompted you to go back to some of your previous stories and redesign their covers?

My early covers were fairly pathetic, although I certainly did the best I could. (You can see an example of the first MOON DANCE cover on Amazon.com if you click on the “paperback” option.) Well, no one thing prompted me to redesign my covers, other my own driving need to put the best-looking product I could out there. Luckily, I came across a wonderful cover designer (Bren at bren@gotchacoveredbydesign.com), and she helped me find some book cover success. Hell, I would still be lost without her.

What issues have you had with the redesign?

Well, my cover designer and I work well together. I am open to her suggestions, and she’s quick to implement my ideas. I truly think that’s the best formula.

Did you design the covers yourself or hire a graphic designer?

I designed the covers to DARK HORSE and THE MUMMY CASE myself. Sometimes simple is best, especially for a murder mystery. But my paranormal mysteries needed some pop, and so that’s where I sought help. Bren happened to be a graphic design friend of mine who was looking to get into book covers--and I just happened to be a writer in search of a book cover designer. A match made in heaven!

How has this experience affected future cover designs that you are planning?

My future designs are up in the air. I suppose I should someday brand a style or a font for all my book covers, but I truly love having all my books look different. I like thinking that each cover is a minor work of art. So, to answer your question, my future plans are up in the air. Of course, when you work with a designer as awesome as Bren, well, there’s really very little to worry about.

I already know that the material that you write between the covers is great but other than word of mouth how do you promote your books to new readers?

I give live peep shows on the weekends. Kidding! (Or am I?) Well, I was on Amazon Kindle for over eight months before I started seeing any real success. I studied other successful writers and how they marketed their books and tried to emulate them. My best advice, though, is to think about following future market trends. If paranormals are hot, write one. If young adult romances are hot, then write one. Of course, put your own spin on the story and make it your own, but why not follow the hot trends? Doing so guarantees book sales. Oh, and publish your books ASAP on Kindle. I no longer even bother with the NY publishers. Tides are turning, and the new wave of publishing is ebooks. Surfs up.

Happy writing, and I wish you all a ton of success!

J.R. Rain

www.jrrain.com

Good Books, Good Wine, Good FriendsWhat Could be Better.

More on eBooks and their covers

2010-06-26T08:26:00.001-06:00

I love twitter. It shows me fairly quickly that I am not the only one thinking of some of these issues. While I may come at most of my opinions from the view of a reader (who is slowly working on writing her own book), I enjoy reading blogs from people that are actually in the publishing business.

Such as Ivor Tossell's Globe and Mail article today.

I do firmly believe that e-books need good cover design. An interactive link to a dictionary for that word that you just can't understand in context. Even a hyperlink to the author (or publishers) website.

An interactive murder mystery would be extremely cool. Sort of an updated choose your own adventure. Sell the first chapter for 99 cents. At the end of each chapter your have 2-3 choices. If you choose the wrong choice but want to continue you have to buy the first chapter again. First person to correctly finish the book would win a prize. But, please don't attach video games to the story.

I have even noticed some authors are now having bands make music cds for their books. You can listen to the authors musical inspirations while reading your story. That could be a cool addition to a book if it came with the option to turn the music off when desired. Here you can use the two pronged marketing approach. Sell the band's music with "free" copy of the book or vice-versa.

Anyway it is already 60 degrees here and the day is to beautiful to be inside on the laptop. I am still pondering which e-reader to get. Love the battery life of the Kindle but love the color cover feature of the Nook. As much as I love book covers that may be the deciding factor. I can always recharge it in the car with an inverter.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Book Review - The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

2010-06-19T20:59:00.002-06:00

In the land of 500 Kingdoms where fairy tales not only aren't just tales but are in fact events that occurred in the not so distant past how does one prevent "The Tradition" from taking control and causing the worst parts of the fairy tales to come true at the expense of the good people involved?

Well, if you are a fairy godmother by the name of Lily who has had the same kingdom Eltaria to watch over for 300 years then you use every trick in your fairy godmother book to try to make sure that events happen as they should and not as "The Tradition" would choose for them to happen.

Rosamund (Eltaria's princess) is being fought over by two very different princes. While at the same time her kingdom is besieged on all sides by others that want to control it.

With multiple fairy tales converging due to "The Tradition" read this enchanting story to find out which fairy tale prevails in the kingdom of Eltaria.

This is Ms. Lackeys 5th book in the 500 Kingdoms series. Each of the 500 Kingdom books is a pleasure on it's own but as with any series the more of the series you read the more understanding and enjoyment of the author's universe a reader is able to achieve.

Ms. Lackey's 500 Kingdoms universe is one I enjoy being drawn into each time I pick up another one of these re-imagined fairy tales.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Never judge a book by its cover... part 2

2010-06-16T19:48:00.001-06:00

Books and their covers. I am looking at two right now. Neither are books that I would have picked in the past. It used to be that I would look for the bodice rippers. You know the ones that had Fabio on them. This was before he couldn't believe it wasn't butter. Well there is something nice to be said about half dressed men on the cover of a book it doesn't improve the readability of the book at all.

The two books on the table next to me are Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman and The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge.

I am over half way through Therapy and need to have Daniel X's story read by Sundays book club. In fact I need to get back on track with reading my book a day.

Even though a book shouldn't be judged on its cover I still find some of the amateurish artwork (clip art, pre-made covers where you just change the title and author) that some of the independent authors use to be so unappealing as to pass over their books.

While designing a cover may not be easy it doesn't have to be expensive to hire a freelance graphic artist to do your cover design. It doesn't have to be fancy it just has to be your own. If I am scrolling through Amazon's kindle books I will see a picture of the cover, if it looks like a cover I have already purchased I will skip right over it.

Many authors are realizing this and taking the time to redesign their book covers from their first attempts. While it doesn't affect the quality of the reading material between the covers it does affect the readers perception of the quality of the the authors work.

And perception is everything when it comes to choosing a book. Whether that perception is based on the cover, the blurb on the back, or another readers recommendation that is how a reader will choose which new authors to read.

I've found something similar with Wine labels. I take my teenager wine shopping with me. She doesn't drink it but it seems she can look at a bottle and whether it is the label, the hue of the wine, or the weight of the bottle she always seems to help me add good wines to my collection. Not that they stay collected long because what good is wine if you can't drink it and share a bottle with friends

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Sun, Wine and Food at The Gardens

2010-06-15T14:19:00.002-06:00

This last Sunday Savor Idaho was held at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. 28 Restaurants and 23 local wineries. Moya and her group did a great job of pulling this event together for it's second year.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. The event sold out on Friday, 950 people attending. Buy your tickets early next year. I felt bad that we had to turn people away because the event was sold out.

Unfortunately for me I was working the event and was too busy to try either the wine or food but everyone's comments as they left were positive and looking forward to next year. Next year I wont be working the event, I want the chance to enjoy some of my favorite wineries and restaurants. In fact, I think the entire book club should plan on making a day of it next year.

Camas Prairie Winery had a 2007 Idaho Huckleberry mead for sale... I wasn't able to buy it it since it had already sold out. The owner Stu is looking to retire and sell his winery...Here is an article with more information on that.

Another that sold out was Woodriver Cellars Port. There were several others that sold out as the evening ended so when you go next year buy your must have wines as early in the afternoon as possible. Several people were disappointed that they couldn't get all the wine that they had chosen to buy.

How can the day be bad though when Mai Thai, Brick Oven Bistro, Berryhill & Co, and Kanak Attack Catering & Ono Hawaiaan Cafe (just to name a few of the great restaurants) pair up with Cinder, Hell's Canyon Winery, Holesinsky Winery and Snake River Winery (again just a few of the many good wineries that were there).

Check out Savor Idaho's site for a complete list of everybody that was there.

I can't decide if a book would have actually made the day any better. Everyone that I spoke to was in such a good mood that even if I hadn't been working and had a book with me I don't think I would have actually even opened it up since talking to everyone was so wonderful.

BTW if anybody sees a bottle of that Camas Pairie 2007 Huckleberry Mead around let me know. I really wish I had been able to get a taste of it with all the wonderful comments that I overheard from some of the event attendees.

While Savor Idaho @ Idaho Botanical Gardens is over for another year don't forget that Great Garden Escape happens every Thursday evening. Bring a bottle of wine and your picnic dinner or purchase wine or handcrafted beer on site. You can even purchase dinner from Willowcreek Grill who will be on-site.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Never judge a book by its cover... part 1

2010-06-04T10:19:00.001-06:00

Never judge a book by its cover. Now however, maybe that should be never judge a book by its publisher. With so many authors choosing to go the independent publishing route our available reading material seems to have grown exponentially in the last year.

While I do believe that quite a few of the self published works out there are more of the vanity publishing style, as in no one but family and friends would willing read them. There are several really great authors that got their start through writing online fan-fiction. Some have been picked up by publishing houses (I was going to say real publishers but that doesn't apply anymore).

I have piles upon piles and boxes upon boxes of books. I know this because I have just finished packing everything up for a move. Out of the hundreds (thousands) of books that I own I could only find one small box of books (30-40) that I was willing to donate to one of the local charities. All of those physical books don't include the audio books on my computer or all the fan-fiction stories that I have read over the last twenty years.

When you walk into your local bookstore what draws your eye to a book? Is it the bright colors of background and title? The image on the front? Is it knowing which author you are looking for? Or is it a recommendation from the bookseller behind the counter?

With all the online purchases of books that are made how do we get those recommendations now? How do we find that new author? You know what I mean...that author that isn't part of Oprah's book club or some other celebrity endorsement.

The publishing houses have many ways of promoting their authors (and more funds than most independent authors). One way is to review the works of these authors on blogs (but who knows which blogs to go to for this? I hope that mine makes that blog list as it ages.) The main way is for us as readers to take a few minutes out of our day and post reviews on the online bookstores sites.

If you loved a book let other people know by recommending it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Borders websites. Yes I know there are other re-sellers but these seem to be the main three.

I am grateful to Zoe Winters for her guest blog post this last month and look forward to many more guest blogs from other independent authors. If you are an author willing to do a guest blog for our site please let us know. The only requirement is that each blog start with the following three sentences.

I was.......
I am........
I will be...

So in keeping with that here is my own for today (it changes regularly)...

I was a drone (playing tetris) in the electronics industry.
I am a full-time student and mother.
I will be me (whoever that ends up being as I grow in my own mind).

I got a little sidetracked so I will post more thoughts on book covers and independent publishers next week.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Living Indie

2010-05-27T13:52:00.004-06:00

I was stuck on a hamster wheel.

I am off that wheel as an indie author.

I will be successful.

After four years of waffling and wondering 'what if,' I finally made the decision to go indie. I self-released my first novella, Kept, in November of 2008. So many people think self-publishers 'failed' at traditional publishing. But that's like saying I failed at becoming an ice skater. Or a prima ballerina. Those weren't really life goals I was going for.

This isn't to say that I never had a dream of being NY pubbed. I did. But then I learned more about it. The more I learned, the less appealing it became. I can't say I really made much of an effort. I think if I had, I'd be talking about my “first sale” right now. But I'm instead talking about how much I love being indie.

NY was unappealing but not just because of long odds. Indies eat long odds for breakfast. I'm not scared of that. It was because there was so much outside my control in the traditional system of publishing. Things which could stand in my way of success.

If I'm going to fail, I'm going to do it based on my choices, not based on a stupid title or cover someone in the marketing department okay'd. Originally the idea was to release a free/low cost novella in order to build platform so I wouldn't be screwed later with a trad publisher and little time to sell on shelves.

As I got into it I loved it so much that now I'm not interested in a NY publisher. I like what I'm doing.

My dreams transformed from being about being “accepted” by a “real publisher” to succeeding as an indie and building my own readership. My emotional state went from depressed and anxious to excited and happy... energized by what I'm doing and the possibilities.

I'm especially excited by the opportunities starting to open up in ebooks. Kept has sold almost 6,000 copies on Kindle, 1,000 of which happened this month. (So the build has been slow but I'm just starting to see some real fruit from my efforts.) Kept has reached as high as 209 in the overall Kindle store and Claimed, the second novella, has reached 444. (Out of 500,000 books.)

So far the biggest obstacle has been the naysaying and stigma. However, anything worth doing is going to be controversial to someone. And the more I start to succeed, the less I care what people who would rather let their words rot away in a drawer think about me. It often strikes me as either vanity or fear of rejection from “real readers.”

Who cares if I have a “real publisher?” I have real readers. And the readers are the only thing that matters. Commercial publishing has obscured and twisted the original goal of publication to begin with. To be read. To be heard. And hopefully to make money from it so you can afford to keep doing it.

A new challenge I'm facing is having to get cover art for my novella anthology, Blood Lust, redesigned because of a mistake on my part. But it's a learning experience. I'll get the redesign and carry on. I'm also in the process of preparing a podcast of Blood Lust and will soon be doing rewrites for the next book.

If you're interested in checking me out, Kept, Claimed, and Mated (The novellas in Blood Lust) are all available in ebook on Smashwords.com and Amazon Kindle for 99 cents. Though Kept can also be picked up free from my site in PDF: http://zoewinters.wordpress.com/kept/

I don't consider myself to have reached the pinnacle by any stretch, but I have started to do well enough that I'm looking less and less like a crazy person for what I've been saying about indie authorship for the past year and a half now. And crazy can only get you so far.

Zoe Winters

http://www.zoewinters.org

You learn something new everyday

2010-04-24T19:59:00.000-06:00

In the past I have always considered authors works either short stories (more than one story per book) or books. Today I was informed of the term novella. I had heard the term before in theory but, had never actually thought to apply it in reality.

So of course whenever I learn something "new" I have to do some research (wikipedia is always a good place to start) and figure out how I should use it in the future. Definitions seem to vary greatly across genres for the word count associated with each of these terms.

I decided to use the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) Awards site as my guide for the word count of each of the stories that I review from this point on.

Literary terms:

Short Short < 1000 words
Short Story between 1,000 and 7,500 words
Novelette between 7,500 and 17,499 words
Novella between 17,500 and 39,999 words
Novel > 40,000 words

So how do you figure word count? Turns out that your word program doesn't necessarily count right. What-is-a-word by Chuck Rothman explains it fairly well.

So if we figure 10.5 words per line and 28 lines per page we get 294 words per page.

So for my purposes:

short short < 3.5 pages
short story < 25 pages
novellette < 59.5 pages
novella < 136 pages
novel > 136 pages

I learned even more than that though.

A short story is often in narrative format. It contains a limited number of characters, covers a short time duration, usually has a single setting and a single plot.

A novella is more complicated than a short story but usually contains no chapters, a single viewpoint, and does not usually contain subplots.

Both a novella and a short story are designed to be read in a single sitting.

Since I always want to learn more this was a great lesson learned.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Book Review - Alison's Wonderland - Edited by Alison Tyler

2010-04-24T18:12:00.006-06:00

If well written Erotica is not your thing you may want to skip this review. Alison's Wonderland is very much an adults only playground.

I have mentioned previously that I am addicted to well written stories. Erotica is no exception to that. To me the mind is a person's main erogenous zone.

Every one has their own tastes in erotica and while some may prefer straight male-female interaction, others may like three-somes or more-somes. From vanilla to BDSM each person has their own particular flavor or kink that touches that erotic hot spot in their mind.

A lot of times as a reader I will buy a compilation of erotica and after reading through twenty to fifty stories realize that only about fifteen percent of them push my buttons just the right way, twenty-five percent are enjoyable, and the other sixty percent are a one time read if that. (Not a scientific study just personal experience)

Since this is not an adults only area of blogspot I will not be going into detail on any of the stories. However, I will say this. I made a chart of the stories and marked which ones I loved, which ones I liked and which ones just didn't do anything for me. Now, even that last group was well written they just weren't related to any of my particular kinks. Out of these twenty seven stories, seventeen are ones that I would enjoy reading many more times, seven are ones that I will probably read again, and only three were ones that I would chose to skip over.

Alison's Wonderland edited by Alison Tyler will be hitting bookshelves this July.

If you have ever wondered what would happen if Little Red Riding Hood ran into the Big Bad Wolf after a bout of car trouble give Wolff's Tavern by Bella Dean a read.

Want to know what really happens to Cinderella after marriage? - After the Happily Ever After by Heidi Champa

How about if one of the three Billy goats taught the troll a lesson? - The Three Billys by Sommer Marsden

What if a Cupid who is into bondage and likes being called Sir meets his Psyche online? - Cupid Has Signed Off by Thomas S. Roche

I couldn't decide whether this story was about Sisyphus or the little girl who cried wolf one too many times. Either way they both reached their happy ending. Check out Benjamin Elliot's story An Uphill Battle and let me know which you think it was based upon.

In addition to the stories I mentioned there are twenty-two more. Cinderella needs a shave in one and there are a couple different stories based off of Rumpelstiltskin. Who knew a grumpy dwarf could inspire such lusty thoughts, to reach paper, for others to enjoy?

Whether you keep your collection of erotica out openly on your bookshelf, or hide it in a box in the dark corners of your closet Alison's Wonderland is a must have for your personal library.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Story Review - Kept by Zoe Winters

2010-04-24T15:04:00.005-06:00

It is amazing how life can throw things at you. Somehow last week, I know it was through twitter but can't for the life of me remember how, I found another paranormal author that was enjoyable to read.

Zoe Winters has created a world in which other paranormal creatures buy Therian (shifter) blood. She was nice enough to post one of her ~~short stories~~ novellas to the web.

Isn't that something like a drug dealer...Give a free sample to hook your customer and you have an addict for life. The theory works well with her writing. I had my sample (an approximately 80 page ~~short story~~ novella) and I am ready for my next fix.

I will admit it. I have a problem. I am addicted to the written word, as long as it is well written.

Kept is well written. Ms. Winter's book is due out soon. Spring/Summer 2010 entitled Blood Lust (The Preternaturals Book One). The book consists of three ~~short stories~~ novellas linked to each other. At this time the first of those stories is located on Ms. Winter's site as a free download.

KEPT:
As a cat therian (shifter), Greta's blood is already sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

Kept was an interesting story. Enjoyable and yet another take on the paranormal/preternatural. Greta (therian), Dayne (sorcerer), and even Minx made an interesting set of characters to read about. Ms. Winters is even working on establishing some background and legends into her story."She’d read legends about therians born in their fur and having extra powers, but she’d always thought they were just stories."

Kept is definitely written for the Adult reader and not the YA market. I look forward to reading the other two stories; Claimed and Mated; in her book, Blood Lust, when it hits the market.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Book Review - Moon Dance by J.R. Rain

2010-04-23T20:30:00.003-06:00

Lately, I had been thinking that vampire stories were overdone. I have my favorite authors in the genre and honestly wasn't looking for anymore. It seems that authors don't want to write about normal people anymore. The stories all seem to have vampires, witches, wizards, and zombies in them. I was looking for an author that wrote normal stories not paranormal. Spies, police officers, detectives, these were the heroes that I was looking for.

I first ran across J.R. Rain's work on myspace. I had a friend request waiting in my inbox. I accepted and went to look up his work. Wow, what an impressive list of reviewers, what could my thoughts possibly mean after so many great authors have said such positive things about his work.

While I was debating which book to start with for our book club I got the opportunity to read Moon Dance. I have never been overly impressed with first person fiction, with a few notable exceptions. Maybe, because I never felt like I could become the character.

Right there Mr.Rain's story had two strikes against it. Strike One - Main character is a vampire (paranormal). Ball One - Detective. Strike Two - First Person narration. The count was 2-1 and I was waiting for that third strike to fly directly over the plate and pound into the catchers mitt, instead Mr. Rain's story connected directly with the ball (my mind) and knocked it out of the park.

Mr. Rain managed to make me fall so far into the character that I couldn't put the story down once I started reading. I laughed at the reference to The Greatest American Hero and remembered sitting in front of the TV to watch it as a child. I even cried during some of the scenes where Samantha Moon was upset.

Samantha Moon is a fairly new vampire. She is just an everyday woman trying to juggle a husband, her children, and working out of her home as a detective. This story shows us how she copes with these normal challenges while coming to terms with the fact that she is indeed a vampire.

With a teaser like this how can a book fail to pull a reader in.

Blood....
I ripped open his flannel shirt, buttons pinging
everywhere. His chest was awash in a sea of caked red.
The hole in his chest was a dark moon in a vermilion sky.
His blood would contain alcohol, as he had been
drinking. I didn’t care. The blood would be pure enough.
Straight from the source. The ideal way to feed. Then
again, ideal was relative. Ideally I would be feasting on
turkey lasagna.
I dipped my head down, placed my lips over the massive
wound in his chest, and drank....

The visually compelling way that Rain writes was pure enjoyment to read. As shown above the sky wasn't just plain every day red it was a vermilion (brilliant scarlet red) sky.

After finishing this I wanted to know more. More about Mr Kingsley Fulcrum, more about Randolph ,more about Detective Sherbert, and more about Fang. I just wanted to know so much more about this fictional world that had managed to pull me so completely in.

I bought Teeth as an ebook. This short story is a little bit more information about one of the characters that inhabit Samantha's world. The story is very well written and I wont say any more than that because I am still a little bit confuzzled and bemused by it.

I am eagerly awaiting Vampire Moon the next book in Samantha Moon's life that J.R. Rain has coming out soon.

While I await that book I will be adding some of Mr. Rain's other stories to my library. Check out his site at jrrain.com.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.