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Writing Update

Things have been really quite around here lately. Too quite! So update time.

What I’ve been writing:

Side Projects: I’ve been working on a YA Fantasy for 2 years now and it’s finally, finally, going to the editors the end of this week. Sa-weeeet! Super excited to be getting so close with this one. Can. Not. Wait. To share it with ya’ll.

WritingWhat’s more, it has a companion novel that is coming along and will be going to the editor around Novememberish. Best yet, these two books are the only ones in the series. Well, unless I come up with another idea (which could always happen) but they will stand by themselves as a complete story. Wahoo! This should be coming out the first part of next year.

Mine Series: Yes, I know you’re anxious for book three. My most asked question is when it’s coming out. Answer: I don’t know. Sorry! BUT, I am working on it. It’s about 1/3 written & the rest is already outlined. The writing should go smoothly because of that, editing could be another story. It’s all about how much I miss & how much other people catch that I need to fix.

I’m HOPING it will be published sometime the first half of next year, but no promises.  I’d rather have a good quality book for ya’ll then rush. So while you’re waiting, just remember I’m doing my best and Waverly’s pulling out a lot of sass.

Mine Series Novellas: I also get asked about these A LOT. Things like: Are you going to write from Serena’s mother’s perspective? What about Lukas? Zade? Phyllis? The Grand Chancellor? Answer: Right now, no.

As you can see from the list above, my writing schedule is pretty full. BUT, I would love to explore some of these characters more. They have depth that isn’t explored when someone else is the main character. Hopefully someday I’ll have a chance. And I love to hear opinions on who you’d like a story from, so feel free to chat, comment, email me any time and let me know who you’d like a story from.

Audiobooks: Mine to Tarnish is currently being worked on. The narration is finished, a few chapters need to be edited, and I need to listen to the entire thing. It should be done soon since it’s a shorter narration. And very excited about this narrator. I’m very impressed with her.

Mine to Spell is currently looking for a narrator. I’ve had auditions for it but am still looking for the right voice for Cynthia. Once I find that narrator, it will be in the works.

Where I’ve been:

Fantasy Con in July. Hello awesome! Met  great people, had a hobbit (a.k.a. Billy Boyd) look at my books (seriously wanted to giggle), got to

Fantasy Con Dragon
Fantasy Con Dragon

see the person who said one of my favorite quotes, “I can kill you with my brain” (a.k.a. Summer Glau), and just had an overall good time.

Comic Con in September. Good night there was a ton of people! Never seen so many people in one place. Got to meet some awesome fans and book bloggers (YOU GUYS ROCK MY WORLD!!!) while there. Telling ya, made life awesome! I also got to see Wash (a.k.a. Alan Tudyk) which made me happy to see he’s alive.

If you were at either or both of these, I’d love to hear your experience. Or to say hi again if we met in person!

Upcoming Events:

Pajama-Rama, Oct. 10th @ 8:00 pm: This is a book event for readers (wahoo! PJs & books, can it get any better!?!) I will be there to chat with, to sell books, and to sign stuff. I may even have some swag to give away!

FanX (tenative): This one isn’t announced yet, so I don’t have anything official, but I’m hoping to make it there.

Conduit, May 22nd – 24th: I’ll be at a booth at this Fantasy/Sci-fi convention with Loralie Hall. Should be a fun experience where I’ll have not only the Mine series, but I’ll also be signing my new YA Fantasy series that’s coming out next year.

If you attend any of these, I’d love to see you!

There will be more added to this as time goes on. If you’d like me to come to any of your events (i.e. book clubs, school) email me and we’ll set something up.

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Woman’s Canon Contest

You asked for:

And:

$$4books
Amazon and B&N Giftcards Galore!

It’s all here, plus extra swag, and one lucky person will also get:

SAM_0704

Not the pen though, I’m using that to do lots of this:

SAM_0705
Writing the inside scoop for You Are Mine

How do you earn some of these

awesome prizes?

 

Make your own rule for the

Woman’s Canon

 

Submit Woman’s Canon Rules Here

 

 

Grand Prize

Janeal will pick her favorites to be voted on August 19-23. The creator of the rule with the highest votes wins.

1 signed paperback copy of You Are Mine with notes written in by the author

You Are Mine bookmarks and postcards

$20 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (winner’s choice)

A chance to name a character in Mine to Spell

 

Runners Up

Everyone (number will vary depending on how many good ones there are. There is NO limit) who is chosen as a top pick by Janeal to be voted on, except the grand prize winner, will receive the following:

A signed paperback copy of You Are Mine

You Are Mine bookmark and postcard

$10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (winner’s choice)

 

Everyone Who Enters

Will make Janeal tickled beyond belief over your awesomeness

 

Rules

1. You may enter as many different rules as you like.

2. Rules must be NEW. They cannot already be located in the Woman’s Canon. *see trailer and list below.

3. Rules must begin with the phrase ‘A woman’

4. Rules must be in by August 12, Janeal will pick her favorites which will be voted on August 19-23. The winner will be determined by YOU!

5. Rules must be rated PG. Janeal can and will delete any inappropriate entries.

Open internationally!

 

Submit Woman’s Canon Rules Here

 

For Fun and Ideas:

Made by Barth Entertained

Example list for the Woman’s Canon:

A woman is always graceful.

A woman never raises her voice.

A woman must always look her best.

A woman must always wear gloves when a warlock is present.

A woman must address her owner as Master.

A woman only wants what her Master wishes.

A woman must treat all warlocks with respect.

A woman is always watched by her Master.

A woman does not call out when beaten or hexed.

Please Note:

Open internationally!

Must be 13+ to enter and legally able to win. There MUST be at least 10 entries. If there are less, only the grand prize will be given away.

If your rule is one of Janeal’s top picks, it may or may not end up in a future book. IF it does, credit will be given 100% to you for coming up with the rule, Janeal will discuss it with you first, and Janeal will think you’re the coolest reader on the planet.

Open to everyone except Janeal and her husband. And honestly folks, if her husband ever participated in something like this, she’d give him the grand prize just out of shock. But then she’d make another grand prize for you guys too, so no worries.

Entries will be for Janeal’s eyes only until after she picks her top choices. After that, rules will be open to anyway who would like to take a gander at them.

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You Are Mine Swag Winner

Thank you all so much for your support and enthusiasm for You Are Mine and fun swag! I’m so glad that I didn’t have to pick the winner because I wouldn’t have been able to choose. You are all so fantastic! Sadly, there can only be one. The winner is…

#94 – Danielle!

Swag Luana won!
Swag Danielle won!

Congratulations! She has 24 hours to respond to the email or a new winner will be chosen.

For those of you that didn’t win, can I ask a huge favor? If you haven’t already done so, would you please consider purchasing a copy of You Are Mine? And if you have already read it, would you tell someone about it today? Truthfully I hate to ask (makes me feel all awkward and weird), but the support would really help to fund future books.

And now that that awkward bit is over — Happy Wednesday! How’s your week going so far? Over here it’s good, but much too hot for May. Have a fabulous day!

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Chardonian Hot Chocolate

On Tuesday I promised more details about why I’m giving away a mug, and here we are. I know it’s getting to be the warm season when hot drinks are being overtaken by icy cold ones, but I’m a rebel. I drink hot chocolate any time of the year, and so does the main character, Serena, in You Are Mine. Except I don’t drinhotchocolatek the same type of hot chocolate as her. Mine is the regular hot chocolate like you can make with a mix. Hers is a hot chocolate, thick and rich, made only from scratch. It’s almost pudding like. And I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if I could make her hot chocolate? Yes, it would! I spent the winter figuring out this recipe. Let me tell you, it was one of my favorite writing related projects yet. The recipe below is fairly simple, just requires patient.

Also, I no longer like hot chocolate from a mix. I’ve been ruined to the easy hot chocolate life.

mug
This could be your hot chocolate mug!

Don’t forget that you can win a mug to use for this rich recipe (or whatever else you like), along with bookmarks and a signed paperback of You Are Mine. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it’s a good sized mug. I’m quite in love with it. ♥

Giveaway now closed.

Continental US only.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you can’t wait to see if you win the giveaway to meet Serena, you can buy You Are Mine at the following places.

Purchase You Are Mine:

Amazon || Kobo || Barnes and Noble

Smashwords || CreateSpace

Chardonian Hot Chocolate Recipe:

In a large sauce pan mix —

2/3 C. Sugar

3 T. Cornstarch

1/2 C. Cocoa powder

Dash of Salt

 

Add  —

1/2 C. Water

Turn on medium low heat and stir until the mixture dissolves. Don’t wait too long or your cornstarch will start to thicken and you’ll have a harder time getting a nice, smooth consistency. Once dissolved, slowly add while whisking–

1 C. Milk

 

Then whisk in —

2 C. Milk

Turn to medium heat (I usually go one tick above medium) and stir constantly for about 5-10 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the mixture thickens. Do not boil.

Take off of heat, pour in your favorite mug, and enjoy!

 

*Note: Will thicken more as it cools. Also, it easily develops a skin so I like to keep a spoon in it as I drink and give it a little stir every once in a while. Optional: You may use less cornstarch or add more milk if you want it to not be quite so thick.

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The Girl Who Published a Novel (Plus Giveaway!)

Let’s start with a little story. *passes out snacks* And stay tuned (or skip ahead) after the credits for a giveaway!

Once upon a time there was a girl who decided to self-publish her novel. The girl loved her novel and the way she felt about it was like she’d felt about no other book she’d written before. But the girl did a lot of research. The realities were kind of depressing. After much thinking, the girl decided depressing realities were fine, she’d just adjust her goal to fit reality. It was a good goal. Nice and small, fitting given the research. The girl thought she’d have to work hard to make it happen within the first three to six months. So she set out to do the best she could.

Yesterday, the girl officially published her novel. The girl was happy as several book sales happened. Then happiness turned to surprise when more happened. Then surprise into downright shock as she met her goal in one day. As the day drew to a close the girl wept tears of gratitude and joy as her goal was surpassed.

Today, the girl is giving something back. She doesn’t know what else the future will bring, but she does know she’s so very, very grateful for those who not only purchased the book, but loved it, rated it, reviewed it, and sometimes reviewed it on more than one site. And the girl is happy.

Also, the girl decided to do away with her expectations.

The End.

*roll credits*

*after the credits bonus*

As this was all happening, both yesterday and as interest increased last week, I decided I wanted to give something back. I was originally planning on giving swag and ebooks away today, but your enthusiasm and support has made it so I can giveaway something special. Along with signed bookmarks and a mug (more about said mug on Friday!), I am giving away a signed paperback of You Are Mine.

I’m so thrilled to be able to do this. With my minuscule budget, it’s a rare thing, but one I hope can be repeated in the future. For now, I hope that you will all enter. And it would make me so, super happy if you would spread the word. You Are Mine has done well, but to continue doing well, it needs a lot of love and support. If you haven’t bought it, would you please consider doing so? And if you have purchased it, would you please consider telling a friend or leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads? Thank you so, so much!

Swag Pack

Swag Pack:

1 (one) Signed Paperback of You Are Mine

1 (one) You Are Mine Handcrafted Mug (hand wash only)

3 Signed Bookmarks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The following standard applies: I hate that I even have to say this, but… I WILL be checking the entries and deleting ones that are not legitimate, so no cheating. But I know you’re all too cool to go there ;)

Please Note:Continental US only! Sorry! I hope to be able to do international some day! Must be 13 years or older and be legally able to win. Winner will be selected May 15 and must respond withing 24 hours or a new winner will be selected.

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Writing, Editing, and Extras

Before we get to it, I have to say one thing. Thank you!

I know I’ve already said it, but I’m going to keep saying it. Each and everyone of you that takes the time to comment here (or anywhere),  talk about my book, add my book to Goodreads, show interest in it, and/or personally tell me how excited you are for it make my day. There’s been a lot of day making and day long prem-a-grins. So thank you for supporting me!

Been another quiet stretch, but I can assure you, it’s anything but quiet on my end. Edits have been going really well, and I’m getting close to being finished with it. It’s a lot of work, but I’m super excited. YOU ARE MINE is looking good and shiny. Soon it will be time for formatting and readying it for you to read. Plus the cover is finalized. I would love to do nothing but stare at it, but sadly I have a life. There’s going to be some fun details coming up about the cover in April, so keep you eyes open for posts about it.

Also, I’ve been working on swag and extra content for you guys. This is one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. Think bookmarks, deleted scenes, and scenes from the hero’s point of view. Plus some fun giveaway ideas I’m hoping to make work.

So despite my quietness, know I’m working on not only editing and writing Mine #2, but awesome giveaways and insider information for you guys. Can’t wait to share! Wish it was time for a giveaway already, but we’re not quiet there. Keep following for one to come the end of March/beginning of April!

P.S. My camera is finally working (yay!), so there is now a picture posted with the Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Recipe.