Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Healthier Halloween!

We all "know" Halloween candy - all candy - is bad for you, right? But seriously, who's going to skip candy at this time of year when it's being given out in such abundance? So, instead of a dire list of bad-for-you candy, I decided to give you a which-is-the-better-choice list. So now you can eat your candy (in moderation) and not feel quite so guilty about it!


Snickers vs. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups


PB Cups have more protein, it's true, but more fat and calories that Snickers, so go with the Snickers on this one. And definitely avoid the Reese's PB Pumkins. Those things are loaded with calories, sugar, and fat.

Snickers (2 fun size): 144 cal., 7.4 g fat, 14 g sugar
Reese's (5 mini): 220 cal., 13 g fat, 23 g sugar
Pumpkins (1): 180 cal., 16 g fat, 11 g sugar

Twix vs. Kit Kat


Twix has three times the amount of sodium, so even if they were close in other numbers, that one would push Kit Kat into the better choice category.

Twix (3 mini): 150 cal., 8 g fat, 15 g sugar
Kit Kat (3 snack size): 210 cal., 11 g fat, 24 g sugar

Starburst vs. Skittles


Though neither can be considered healthy for you, neither are as bad as some of the other choices. If you can limit yourself to the 2 little pieces that come in a Starburst fun size packet, it is the better choice.

Starburst (2 pieces): 40 cal., <1 g fat, 6 g sugar
Skittles (1 fun size): 80 cal., <1 g fat, 15 g sugar

Twizzlers vs. Smarties

Licorice is an easy to over-eat type candy. The nutrition info below is for 4 pieces...as if anyone can eat just 4! So maybe go for the Smarties instead.

Twizzler (4 pieces): 150 cal., 1 g fat, 21 g sugar
Smarties (2 rolls): 50 cal., 0 g fat, 10 g sugar

Mounds vs. Butterfinger


Sure seems like Mounds should be better for you, with coconut in the middle rather than some mysterious (though delicious) orange plank-like filling. But check the numbers - you're better off with the plank-candy.

Mounds (1 fun size): 250 cal., 13 g fat, 21 g sugar
Butterfinger (1 fun size): 100 cal., 4 g fat, 15 g sugar

Hershey's Miniatures vs. Hershey's Caramel Kisses


Though the numbers run close between these two, you can have 9 caramel filled kisses to the 5 miniatures. At least you'll feel like you're getting more bang for your buck (or calories, as the case may be).

Miniatures (5 pieces): 210 cal., 13 g fat, 22 g sugar
Kisses (9 pieces): 190 cal., 9 g fat, 24 g sugar

Candy Corn vs. everything else


Candy corn is just sugar. The numbers seem low for a full 22 pieces of candy but with over 90,000,000 pounds sold every year (yes, ninety million pounds!), you know you're going to eat more than 22. Avoid this comletely empty sugar, high sodium treat.

Candy corn (22 pieces): 140 cal., 0 g fat, 31 g sugar

Friday, October 28, 2011

Interview with Author Stacy Lynn Carroll

Tell us a little about yourself.

I met my husband in high school, where we were good friends. Then used my talent with the written word to steal him away from his girlfriend. (It all worked out though, she got married before we did.) I graduated from the University of Utah in Creative Writing, after first attending USU. I’ve worked as an editor and writer for years, but finally decided to go for it and publish my own book after opening an encouraging fortune cookie. Seriously. I now stay home with my two beautiful daughters, and write as much as possible─it is my Zen.

At what point did you decide to become a writer? Was there someone or something that specifically inspired you?

English was always my favorite subject, but I didn’t seriously think about being a writer until my 9th grade teacher. She showed me I have an actual talent for writing, and inspired me to pursue it. I wrote mostly for myself and my family, with dreams of publishing an actual book some day. Then after opening a fortune cookie that said “The world will soon be ready to receive your talents” I decided to go for it and really worked to finish and publish my book. That fortune is still taped to my computer and I use it for inspiration when I have a frustrating day.

Where are you when you are writing, and what implements/addictions do you have with you when you’re writing?

I have to have it completely quiet when I am writing. My computer is in my bedroom (no, I don’t have a laptop) so I have to wait until everyone in the house is asleep before I can focus on writing. Then once I get started, I completely get sucked into the world of my book and don’t usually emerge for several hours. I write best without distractions of music, food, anything really! But occasionally I will sip on a Coke to keep me going if I plan on writing late into the night.

Tell us about your inspiration for The Princess Sisters:

My husband and I were driving in the car, discussing baby names. I mentioned when I was younger I had wanted to name my daughter Aurora, after my favorite princess- Sleeping Beauty. Then when I got older, I thought the name Belle would be really pretty. Those two thoughts together made the wheels start turning and I wondered what would happen to a group of girls who were named after fairy tale princesses? What would that do to them socially? I went home that night and wrote the prologue.

How would you describe your book in 13 words or less?

Five friends discover their self-worth and kiss a few frogs along the way

What are you working on now?

I’m actually working on something completely different from my normal style (much to the disappointment of my fans who are waiting for the sequel).  It’s a non-fiction book about my father-in-law, who is a quadriplegic. He broke his neck at 18 and since then has gotten married, had two kids, graduated college, and works a full-time job helping others with disabilities. His story is amazing!

How do you write: outline or seat of your pants, and why?

I completely write by the seat of my pants! I don’t bother with outlines, because I never follow them. I have a general idea of where I want a story to go, but I don’t like restricting myself with an outline. Once I get into a book, I let the characters tell the story, and it rarely ends up where I thought it would.

Tell us about your publishing experience.

I tried getting a couple books published before The Princess Sisters, with no luck. I have several friends who went through big publishing houses and all of them had really bad experiences. So when I finished The Princess Sisters, I was trying to decide what to do when someone came and spoke to my writing group about self-publishing. It was like an answer to my prayers! After talking to her, I knew that was the right option for me.

What are your hobbies outside of writing?

I love to paint! I enjoy making decorations for my house, and would love to paint almost every room in my house if I had the money to do it. I also love to cook and bake.

State a random fact about yourself that could surprise your readers.

I didn’t get my drivers license until I was 18. I took all the classes and tests at 16, but I hated driving and was terrified of being behind the wheel!

Where can you find Stacy and her book?









Wednesday, October 26, 2011

To Self-Publish or Traditionally Publish is the Question, and Just Where Can I Get it Done? Part I

Traditional Publishing
Now that you’re all edited to perfection, and formatted, it’s time to decide just how you want to publish. There are a couple of options, and within those are even more options. First, though, you need to decide if you prefer to publish traditionally, with a formal publisher, or if you just want to do it yourself.

There are any number of schools of thought on this, and even more opinions. I’ve done it both ways, so I’ll just tell you how to go about each to the best of my admittedly limited knowledge, and you can decide which on is right for you.

Traditional publishing refers to having your book published by a publishing house. There are many publishing houses out there, some of them big publishers (generally referred to as “the big six”), some middle ground publishers, and then the small or independent publishing houses. Each offer different things, and each individual publishing house will have its own rules or policies.

Who are the big six?

Hachette Book Group (formerly Warner Books, as in Time Warner). More recognizable are some of their imprints, such as Little, Brown & Company, Grand Central, and Orbit

Harper Collins has many imprints, I think somewhere in the range of thirty-ish, such as Harper Teen, Avon, Walden Pond Press, and William Morrow.

MacMillan Publishers also has many imprints, including Rodale, Templar, and St. Martin’s Press. I believe they have around fifty-ish divisions.

Penguin Group just this year overtook Random House as the largest publisher.  Besides Penguin Books, they imprint Ace Books, DAW Books, Signet Books, Viking Press, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Jove among many others.

Random House of course includes Crown Publishing Group and Knopf Doubleday Group, with I don’t know how many imprints. Ballantine, Delacorte, Golden Books, Bantam, Dell, and of course, Doubleday.

Simon & Schuster rounds out the six with Free Press, Gallery Books, Pocket, and Scribner to their name.

I will tell you right now you don’t have a chance to even be looked at by any of these big guns without an agent. Direct inquiries, or worse, direct mailing of your manuscript will land your efforts in the trashcan, and can possible even get you blacklisted if you’re a pain in the butt about it. So if you’re looking to be published by any of these guys or their subsidiaries, get yourself an agent.

How to get an agent? You can either google “agents” and search them out, one by one, or you can subscribe to a service such as WritersDigest or WritersMarket, where they have done the homework for you. However, even if you subscribe to a service such as that to narrow your search, make sure to go to each agent’s website and read their guidelines. If you don’t follow their guidelines strictly, they won’t even glance at your query letter, and you will have wasted your time. Make sure you double check if they require exclusive submissions (meaning don’t send it to anyone else until they’ve given you a yea or nay) or accept simultaneous submissions (meaning you can send to as many as you want at once). If you do have simultaneous submissions out, let them know in your query. It’s the polite thing to do.

Ah, yes, the dreaded query letter. I wish I could give you some magic formula for writing one, but I don’t have it. No one does, because it’s all a matter of you writing the right words to catch the attention of the agent you are querying, and to make your book sound like the best thing written since Grapes of Wrath. You can also google this, and read advice from any number of authors, agents, and editors. The most important thing to remember is that agents are busy, and receive hundreds of queries a week. You must catch their attention immediately, within 10 seconds, or you don’t have a shot. And be professional. Absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors or you’re out. There are some online classes you can take to polish your query, and I highly suggest doing this first.

Also, don’t send a query to an agent you don’t really care to work with. What if they offer to represent you, and then you say, “Uh, no thanks, I’ll wait for someone better.” Agents are a fairly close knit bunch, and they will let the others know about this ungrateful author they dealt with. Guess what will happen to your query at the next agent’s desk? Bottom line: don’t waste their time.

Be prepared for rejection. There may be the rare author out there who was picked up by their first agent. I don’t know who they are, but they could exist, right? Do you know that Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, was rejected 60 times before an agent signed her? Stephenie Meyer was rejected fifteen times. That’s actually a pretty low number of rejections. So be prepared. And be prepared that no matter how prepared you think you are, how tough you think you are, rejection hurts. Don’t expect them to send constructive criticism, either. Remember the line about receiving hundreds of queries a week? You’ll be lucky to receive a form letter rejection.

You can also choose to look at some of the smaller publishing houses, sometimes referred to as independent (indie), or vanity publishers. Many times they will accept submissions directly from an author without an agent, and some of them actually won’t take an author who has an agent.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a big check to come in the mail, either. The face of publishing has changed dramatically. Gone are the days of sending in your manuscript, receiving a fat advance, and then being sent on a whirlwind book signing tour. In some instances, you may receive an advance which is not a “bonus” per se, but rather is the publisher giving you a deposit against future earnings of the book, which means you don’t get paid any more until you’ve made back that amount of money in your earnings for sales.

Should you be so lucky as to find an agent, and then six months to a year later get picked up by a publisher, you’re looking at another six months to a year before actual publication, then six months more until you receive payment for your first month of sales. Conceivably, you could be looking at thirty months or more from signing with the agent until your first paycheck. While this is worst case scenario, best case scenario is being signed by a smaller publisher, who will get your book out within six to nine months, and then pay you six months after that. If you get a check a year after signing a contract, that’s pretty quick.

What happens once you sign a contract? Well, then the work begins. You will be busier than ever pre-marketing your book. Social networking via Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and the invaluable book blogs begins. You have to start becoming visible long before your book comes out. I won’t get into detail about that here since I’ll be detailing that in a later post, but just know that if you do go on a whirlwind book signing tour, you’ll be footing the bill unless your name is Stephenie Meyer, Stephen King, or Danielle Steele (you get the idea). A publisher isn’t going to dump a bunch of money into something like that on an unknown author. They have no guarantee of making any money on your book. Of course they want to sell your book, because they don’t make money if they don’t, but their end game is to make money off your book, not spend money on your book.

What can you expect to get paid? I would guess your average take is going to be around 15% of the total price, and then deduct from that what your agent makes. Not many people get rich off writing books, unless you can sell millions of books. So if you’re writing, do it for the love and passion of it, and plan to make a decent living if you’re good, but don’t plan to get rich unless you’re amazing. Even then, luck plays a lot into your success.

Next post we will take a look at self-publishing, which is a route many authors are choosing. Even some established, formerly trad-published authors are going that way.

As always, happy writing!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Interview with Author Kimberley Patterson

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a happily married, have an amazing family and love to experience life to the fullest. I love to make people laugh and spend time outdoors.

At what point did you decide you wanted to become a writer, and why:

As a young child I loved to read and had a vivid imagination. I began writing short stories and plays at 10 years old. I remember my cousins and I performing them for our family. At 14, I entered a young playwright contest and won. It was thrilling to see my work be performed in front of an audience and to know that people enjoyed it.

How do you write: outline or seat of your pants, and why?

I’m very much a seat of my pants writer. Often, I will sit down and begin writing without having a plan for my story. I will have to go back and reread and then edit accordingly.

How would you describe Red Rock in 12 words or less? A Baker’s Dozen (13) is allowed. :o)

Red Rock is a story filled with lies, deceit, love and redemption. (Wow, that’s difficult!)

Where did the inspiration for Red Rock come from?

I began writing Red Rock when I was 17, and situations I had experienced definitely influenced the story. I was very involved with horses and the western lifestyle and used those experiences to shape the story, and the characters. 

What do you love most about writing? What do you love most about being an author?

As I stated earlier, I have a very vivid imagination. I love being able to write what my imagination has created and share that with the reader. I remember reading books and being transported into the book, or identifying with the character(s) and love being able to create that for someone else.

Do you have a favorite book or author?

I love Dean R. Koontz and his earlier books for my dark side, and for the softer side Nicolas Sparks.

What are your hobbies outside of writing?

I have been riding horses for over 30 years, I have my own swimsuit line, I am a professional makeup artist, licensed Esthetician and in the process of obtaining my certification to teach yoga.

State a random fact about yourself that could surprise your readers.

I can name all of the States in alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds.

You’re marooned on an island. What three inanimate objects must you have with you for your survival and/or sanity?

Sunscreen (It’s the Esthetician in me), Lara Bars, and a great book.

Anything else you wish to say, or tell us? (Include all the links you want posted including website, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, link to your book on Amazon, or anything else)

Everyone always asks why Red Rock was just recently published if I started it at 17. I love to share this part of the story. Truth is, at the time I began writing the story my computer crashed after completing the third chapter. I thought the story was lost. I had printed it out and given a copy to my grandmother but she misplaced it. Time passed, and I worked on other stories. Then, in 2003 my grandmother passed away. All of her belongings which were stored in boxes went to my mother’s home.  The boxes sat there until November of 2009 when I decided to go visit my mom on her birthday and go through the old memories. In one of the boxes, folded at the very bottom was my initial copy of Red Rock.  Although elated, I didn’t feel the desire to finish it. My mother encouraged me to finish it as she desperately wanted to know how the story would unfold. I finished it in the early spring of 2010 and gave the only copy I had published to my mother. She read it in two days and loved it. A week later, I lost my mother in a tragic house fire. Everything was destroyed. As we sifted through the ashes to find anything we could, I uncovered the burned copy of my book. It was near the area my mother was found, and although badly burned still had the cover with the inscription I had written in it. Needless to say, this book is very special to me.

Where to find Kimberley, and her book:

Official Website


Smashwords
 









Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Friday, October 14, 2011

Interview with Shannen Crane Camp

Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in California where I unwittingly met my future husband when we were made High School lab partners. I started writing when I was in fourth grade, though I like to think my spelling has greatly improved since then (my first ‘book’ was called “The Hunted House”… I didn’t know there should be an ‘a’ in there somewhere). I read every book I could get my hands on and spent most of my free time either writing or making really cheesy movies with my family. I moved to Utah to go to BYU and get a degree in Film, fell in love with the state, got married to my old lab partner, and decided to stay here. And now I spend my time between work pretty much the same way I always have, writing or making cheesy movies.


At what point did you decide to become a writer? Was there someone or something that specifically inspired you?

I decided to become a writer in the fourth grade when my teacher told me that I should try describing things in my books like I was talking to someone who couldn’t see them. This seems like a really obvious suggestion now but back then I thought it was the most brilliant thing in the world. So I fell in love with writing and using WAY too many adjectives. I think “School House Rock” may have also had an influence in my adjective abuse.
 

How do you write: outline or seat of your pants, and why?

When I first started writing I wrote mainly fantasy type stories. When I wrote those I was definitely a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ kind of writer and it worked out well because it’s fantasy. Anything you say goes! But once I started writing contemporary Young Adult Fiction with school schedules, extracurricular activities, and dances, I had to break down and start making outlines. If I didn’t I would do something crazy like make Prom in July. Now every time I sit down to start a new book I print out a calendar and pencil events in like I’m actually the character. I’ll even go to my character’s high school website to see what events are actually happening at that school. It makes it easier to keep track of things.


Do you see writing as a career?

At the moment writing is more like a dream job. If I can be successful enough to have writing as a career I’ll probably be the happiest person on earth. That sounds like an exaggeration but it’s not. Writing as a career would be wonderful! I try not to be envious of those authors out there who write all day and don’t have to worry about the 9-5 grind. That’s my ultimate goal.


What are your hobbies outside of writing?

I really like to paint. I can’t draw to save my life but somehow painting feels easier to me than drawing. Possibly because it’s not so neat and accurate. You can mess up with painting and just cover it with more paint, or blend your edges to make it look like your being ‘artsy’ not messy. I also like to play music on the piano, guitar, flute… whatever’s closest really. I wasn’t going to admit that I really like to play video games because I’m fully aware that it makes me a huge nerd, but there it is. My name is Shannen and I like to play video games.


How would you describe your book in 12 words or less?

(Are we talking a bunch of adjectives, which you know I love, or an actual sentence? How about I do both for good measure.)
Fun, romantic, quirky, complicated, costumed, fresh, loveable, contemporary, and sweet.

Or you could just say:
You’ll want to dress up as someone else and start breaking hearts.
 

Tell us about your inspiration for The Break-Up Artist:

It was the week of my brother’s wedding in 2008, I was sleeping on the office floor because we had family bursting from floor to ceiling. Everyone was running around in pure, unadulterated chaos, and I was sitting by myself thinking of romance and love and odd professions (don’t ask me why I was thinking about that last part. I have an odd mind), and I started to think ‘I wonder if you could get paid to break up with people? That would be kind of cool.’ So I wrote a book about it J


What are you working on now?

I just finished writing my first LDS Young Adult Fiction novel, which I’m now editing and preparing to send out. I’ve never actually read an LDS fiction novel so hopefully mine isn’t terrible! I’m also going to start major rewrites on the first novel I ever wrote which is a Young Adult Fantasy book. I started writing it in Junior High so ‘major rewrites’ is probably putting it nicely. I also have a handful of half written Young Adult Novels that I really need to get back to after having cruelly abandoned them for The Break-Up Artist… maybe Amelia rubbed off on me.


State a random fact about yourself that could surprise your readers.

I have an unhealthy obsession with having hard copies of things I’m reading. I usually have a few books in my purse (much to my shoulder’s dismay) and we’re running out of room in our apartment from all of the books I’ve accumulated over the years. They’re just in piles all over the place! And if someone sends me their manuscript to read I have to print the whole thing out and put it in a binder to read it. It’s weird but I can’t help it. I also never get rid of books. So I’ve got boxes and boxes of Goosebumps and Babysitter’s Club books lying around.


Does music play a part in your writing? Are there any songs that could be the soundtrack to your book?

I actually make playlists for my books when I start writing. I like to have an entire folder on my computer dedicated to pictures, videos, and songs that remind me of my book so that right when I sit down to write I can get into the feel of my book. If I had a soundtrack for The Break-Up Artist it would probably be:

“Grace Kelly” –Mika
“(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To)” – Weezer
“Canyon Girl” – Fruit Bats
“Potential Breakup Song” –Aly and AJ
“You’re Not Sorry” –Taylor Swift
“A Little Less Sixteen Candles” –Fall Out Boy
“Vanilla Twilight” –Owl City
“Accidentally In Love” –Counting Crows
“Nine in the Afternoon” –Panic! At the Disco
“Fools In Love” –Inara George
“I’ve Just Seen a Face” –The Beatles
“Fitz and Dizzyspells” –Andrew Brid
“Just for You” –William Tell
“The Saltwater Room” -- Owl City

That’s kind of a ton isn’t it? Sorry!


You’re marooned on an island. What three inanimate objects must you have with you for your survival and/or sanity?

(I’m guessing food and water are not counted?)

Books… though if I can only have one I’ll pick Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Can I have a computer with internet? If so, I choose that as my second thing. And… I’ll say a guitar. That way I can keep myself entertained.

I hope people enjoy reading my book as much as I enjoyed writing it! And if you come to a book signing and I’m a total dork I apologize, I’m probably just way too excited about this whole publishing thing! So please come and meet me! I’d love to get to know my fellow readers and writers!

Find Shannen and her books:



Breaking up with someone is a major pain unless you can hire someone else to do it for you! And Amelia demands top dollar for her professional break-up services. Everything's business as usual until David, one of the boys she's been hired to dump, throws her for a loop. she must decide if David's intentions are genuine, or if there's something sinister behind his flirting.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Love Finding Surprise Reviews!

I ran across this review of Heart on a Chain on a blog called Haze.Fave.Rave. How awesome is that? Thanks, Hazel, for the great review. What an amazing surprise to get on a Wednesday night!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Interview with Author Jolene B. Perry

Tell us a little about yourself.

 I grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. I went to college at Southern Utah University where I got a degree in political science and French, which I used to teach math to middle schoolers. My husband and I have been married for fifteen years, and lived in four different states before coming back to Alaska. I have two kids – Emma and Jack (8 and nearly 5), and we spend as much time outside as possible.

At what point did you decide you wanted to become a writer, and why:

I didn’t decide, really. Mike (my husband) and I were driving, and he asked me what I was thinking about. I took him through my random train of thought, and he said that I had such a crazy imagination and should start writing stuff, just for fun. So I did, and now I can’t stop.

How do you write: outline or seat of your pants, and why?

I have what I call a puke page, and then I go running or walking and find music that my characters would listen to so I can get in their mindset. I’ve tried outlining, and it doesn’t work. Not for me. I feel stifled, and then I get bored because I already know what’s coming up. The only time I outlined was while doing a joint project with a good friend. That was still fun because I’d wait for a few days to get a chapter from her so I could jump in and do my next chapter.

How would you describe your book in 11 words or less?

Leigh learns the meaning of independence and love.

Now the long version: Tell us about your book:

After a year fighting cancer, being watched by doctors, by her parents, by everyone, Leigh’s desperate for a clean slate and independence, and follows her brother, Jaron, to BYU. She has this great grasp on big life and death concepts, but is clueless when it comes to guys. She has a great relationship with her brother, which then turns into a great relationship with her brother’s roommate. She finally tells her roommates and new friends that she had cancer the year before, and realizes it’s not a big deal for people to know about her.

Once Leigh stops fighting so hard against love, she’s faced with two guys – one who is perfect on paper, but may not be the best match for her, and one who’s a disaster on paper, but really, knows her better than anyone.

What was your inspiration for The Next Door Boys:

It started out as a comedy about a girl who is completely disdainful of the girls who run off to college and get married (which I totally did, lol). Her whole goal is to NOT be one of those people. Then I wondered WHY she was against it. WHY did she want that independence so desperately? A good friend of mine in Vegas got a really aggressive cancer at the age of (about) 24, and I wondered how an experience like that would change someone just out of high school. So, Leigh became this cancer survivor determined to do things on her own.

Is there a message or theme that you wanted to convey in this novel?

That allowing the people around us to love and help us, does not undermine who we are, or what we accomplish on our own. Also, that the best loves can sometimes come from best friends.

Do you see writing as a career?

I didn’t used to. But with so many projects in the works, on sub, and coming out – I’m definitely on the beginning point of a writing career. SO exciting :D

What are your hobbies outside of writing?

Reading. Hiking, climbing, rafting, sewing (working on a Napoleonic era captain’s uniform for the hubs right now), web design (I’m not great at this), golf (not great at this either, but husband loves it, so I love doing it with him), art with my kids, gardening . . . I make sure that I try something new every year. Some things stick, some don’t. But it’s definitely opened me up to a lot of new experiences.

State a random fact about yourself that could surprise your readers:

I drew up plans and built two houses. I didn’t WATCH them being built. I was hauling lumber, cutting boards, and using the power nailers. We lived in the first house for two years, sold it and then built house number two. Along with this – I once nailed my finger to a wall inside our house, and it took three tries with a crowbar to get my finger off the nail. I know, you all just cringed a little, didn’t you? I can still see the mark on the pad of my finger, but the white spot under my nail has disappeared.


My blog – dedicated to whatever I happen to be rambling about that day: Jolene's Been Writing

My Group Blog – dedicated to all things YA Contemporary: For the Love of Contemporary


My book on Amazon




Sunday, October 2, 2011

Winner of the Banned Book Week Blog Hop

The winner of a copy of Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews is...

Tara W!

I hope you enjoy the book, Tara.

Winner chosen by Random.org