Cover Reveal – Awakenings By J.E. Shannon
Filed under: Cover Reveal, Hobby Writer | Tags: Awakenings Cover, Goodreads, J.E. Shannon, YA Paranormal
Comments (2) 
Awakenings By J.E. Shannon
Synopsis:
Evie Shepard’s nightmare begins when she finds herself buried alive, with no idea how she got that way. As she struggles to remember what happened to her, she begins to notice changes about herself. Her senses are heightened, her movements are quicker, she is incredibly strong….her heartbeat has stopped. It’s then she makes a disturbing discovery. She wasn’t buried alive. She was murdered. Somehow she has come back…
And she wants revenge.
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: August 26, 2013
Available: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17786348-awakenings
Publisher: Entranced Publishing
Author Interview
What were your initial thoughts when you saw the cover of Awakenings for the first time?
I was completely blown away. The artist took my vague description of what I wanted and just ran with it. My actual words to her was: I am going to break professionalism here and say, holy *)#& that’s freaking awesome.
Can you tell us what makes your novel stand out in today’s YA market?
Probably the most striking thing about the book is that my main character is a new creation. She isn’t a ghost, vampire, or zombie…she is something completely different. Her sole purpose is revenge. When she accomplishes it her second life ends. So instead of fighting to keep alive she fights to reach her goal, regardless of the consequences.
Do you have any odd snack cravings while writing?
Not really. But sometimes when I am trying to write and my small child keeps interrupting me, I feel the need for a drink. 
Where is your favorite place to write?
Since I do have a small child, I usually leave the house to get a few great hours of writing in. Awakenings, for the most part, was written at a Panera.
Can you give us any insight towards your next book?
I’m working on a couple of things right now. They are still in rough draft form though. I’m particularly fond of the book that I am writing that where the main character is a hired killer who only hunts abusive husbands. She is pretty fun to write about.
About the Author
J.E. Shannon
J. E. Shannon currently lives in Florida, but is a Missouri native. She spends most of her time reading, writing, and taking care of her small child and two crazy dogs.
Contact Information
You can connect with her on:
Twitter (@JEShannonauthor)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/J-E-Shannon/433304970085317)
Blog (http://jeshannonauthor.blogspot.com.au/
Note
I am honored to have this opportunity to help author J.E. Shannon! This is another way that I can show my support for local authors! I gained an abundance of knowledge in this process. I got to communicate with a publicist, figure out my own formatting or layout- how I wanted the cover reveal to be displayed on my Blog. Plus, I created a five question interview for the author! What do you think about her answers? What fun! Right? Would you have asked different questions? But more important- what do you think about author J.E. Shannon’s Awakenings- book cover? I can’t wait to read it!
SOMETHING'S COMING...
I have reached a conclusion: this nothingness is no longer fun.
It has definitely run its course and, well, I think it’s done.
Maybe what I should do is add a little something, not much.
A small nip of substance to ease us back in touch.
I could maybe discuss a little of this or a little of that.
Just light topics, nothing too heavy, nothing too fat.
JUST ANOTHER NOTHING MONDAY...
Oh darn, the weekend’s over and I got nothing done.
I checked my lottery tickets but nothing was won.
Saturday and Sunday went their way and I went mine,
It was nice have nothing to do; that suited me fine.
I slept restlessly with lots of pillow slapping.
Dreaming of birds above me crapping*.
Sunday I did nothing, saw no one and went nowhere.
OH, IT'S NOTHING...REALLY!
So here it is, just another day of nothingness.
I’ve come to take them for granted more or less.
They all start with the alarm clock ringing.
They all end with a lullaby’s singing.
In between is when most things are to happen
But with nothing going on, I’m prone to nappin’.
That leads to my being up all night still doing nothing.
OH, YOU REALLY DID MEAN NOTHING!
Okay, now I get it. Why did it take me so long?
All this time I was just trying to belong.
Now I’ve made a new discovery I guess,
This one especially has me under duress.
You see, I have found that even though I rhyme
You still don’t care unless it’s all a waste of time.
I’ve been writing substantive things poetically…
SEINFELD WAS RIGHT...NOTHING IS SOMETHING!
This blogging has become a puzzlement.
Now all it seems is one big strugglement.
Seinfeld was right, do nothing and people come
Do something and you won’t get even some
I did a poem saying “sorry no blog today”
I thought you’d all simply go away.
But no, instead you clicked on l9 “likes”
I looked in disbelief, my brain thought “Yikes!”
Bite Size Blog Knowledge
Filed under: Educational Moments, Mind your Writing Business | Tags: Blog suggestions, Blog taglines, Blog titles, Keywords, SEO, Writing
Comments (2) My original blog purpose, in all honesty, was school related. There was a project due. Well, I thought it would be neat to throw in a touch of my creativeness by creating a blog, a digital journal, instead of the typical bare minimum route that my classmates would most likely take. Here is where my journey began. I started researching. I had never blogged before, and I didn’t know where to begin. I was downright clueless. At first, I settled with Tumblr. Tumblr is a micro-blogging platform. No doubt, it was very easy to post. It’s largely meant for the “on the go” blogger. I can’t pinpoint exactly what I didn’t like about using Tumblr. I think maybe it was too simple, and I at least wanted somewhat of a challenge. Nonetheless, I just wasn’t happy using that platform. As a result, I began asking friend’s opinions for other good blogging platforms. Finally, with a enough research over the past year, I have settled semi comfortably into WordPress. I use the term “semi comfortably” due to the fact that I am still learning all there is to know about WordPress. I am still learning the ropes about this whole blogging world that everyone else seems to be so professional at. In fact, this is my second blog- complete makeover. Finally though, I feel that I have gained enough knowledge that I can at least share some of it. This is some food for thought. I am here to feed the bloggers (or readers) brain. So open up and chew only on what you find useful!
Why is my blog titled Blog? Blog is not the original title. The original was “Write in the Moment” with no tagline because I had no clue what a tagline was. I had to research! I decided that because I do want an official website in the future, keeping a simple title that my audience will grow familiar with makes perfect sense to me. Further, when my website is born, imagine a tab along the top of the page that reads: Blog. See? My readers will know exactly where to go! Pretty simple, huh?
Blog: “Write in the Moment” tagline
Why did I choose “Write in the Moment” for my blog tagline? Again, as I stated above, “Write in the Moment” was originally my blog title. I changed it to the tagline, knowing that in the future I would want an official website. What I have learned through research is that a tagline is your brand, it tells your readers who you are in a single descriptive line. “Write in the Moment” is unique to me because I write only when I feel a tug, a nudge, or maybe a hard push to do so. I don’t force myself to write. There is no schedule. I simply write when I feel the moment is right! I developed this instinct as a teenager. I wrote poems in the moment of my emotion as a way to let my feelings be known. I find that if I force myself to write, the words are no longer from my heart. Another very important function of a tagline is for the purpose of Keyword Inclusion and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Why is Keyword Inclusion and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) important to my blog? Honestly, I am in the process of learning and implementing this information. I know that it is highly recommended that I use appropriate keywords and phrases that will promote my blog. In turn, this will increase my chance to rank highly on search engines results. Yes! The blogging world is very competitive, folks! I understand that there are numerous free tools available that can help users to brainstorm for ideal keywords. Again, I have not utilized any of the free tools. Therefore, I don’t feel comfortable recommending any certain one. I do however, suggest doing some research on your own by simply performing a search for “free online search engine optimization tools”. That is where I plan to start in the near future as a way to increase the traffic to my blog.
Note
I think that knowledge is useless if one isn’t willing to share it. There is a phrase that I picked up years back: Learn it. Do it. Know it. Teach it. And by teaching one knows for certain that they, Got it. My blog was created over a year ago. Therefore, I feel comfortable enough sharing some of my knowledge. Are you looking to start a blog? Do you find my information helpful? Being a writer involves an enormous amount of research. Are you willing to do some time consuming research before you begin your journey into the competitive world of blogging? If so, are you willing to share the knowledge that you will gain?
Operation Christmas Preteen
Filed under: Educational Moments, Hobby Writer, Motherhood | Tags: Christmas, Japan, Preteen, Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Leave a Comment Hmm. Should I dare to use not one but two hot-button words ‘Christmas’ & ‘Preteen’ as a blog topic? My answer? Absolutely! I know. Both most likely have a very different meaning for each reader. I respect that. However, please refrain from being sensitive here, will you? Thanks.
This isn’t entirely about the meaning of either word really. Instead, the focus is on the rather unexpected, panicking state of mind that I found myself coping with at Christmas time after my son learned the truth about who Santa Claus really is. Oops. Another controversial issue. Stay with me. This is fun stuff! Oh, and I want to clarify- for me- preteen is ages: 10, 11, 12.
Okay, about the panicking business that I mentioned. Well, I have always been sort of old-fashioned when it comes to celebrating the holidays. I like homemade gifts. I don’t appreciate the commercialized, shop until you drop, hustle and bustle, spend all your money or I am going to punch you in the face for that toy- perspectives that have surfaced over the years. No. Come on people. It’s about the time you spend together, creating memories, the giving of inexpensive gifts, delicious food and most of all- Christmas should be fun! And fun is my mission! It has even turned into a motherly pledge. I will give to my son an ever-lasting memorable Christmas staring in 2011 age 10 and thereafter until he hits the ripe age of 13. I will be “the coolest Mom on the planet”
There it is. My panic. What will I come up with? How will I accomplish this? Then the light bulb went off, ding! Or maybe it was a bell. Anyway, here is a very short story. One year, pre-motherhood, I was invited to my Aunt’s house to spend Christmas day with them. I walk in, turn the corner into her living room and there it was! It was just hanging there.. motionless. I mean to tell you- I thought the world of my Aunt before this sight- but this was the icing on the cake! Say huh? An upside down Christmas tree hanging from the ceiling? Yes, and it was the most clever idea ever!
This is what I did for our Christmas 2011! I even kicked it up a notch and nailed gifts (empty, wrapped boxes) to the ceiling. How cool is this? Smile, it’s okay! My kid loved it! In fact, everyone that witnessed it.. loved it!
Our Christmas 2012 well.. it has been kind of split in half. You see, we did have our normal thing in December complete with a few gifts and a nice dinner. A pretty lucky kid if you ask me. He got tickets for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Lost Christmas Eve concert! His first ever real concert! It was incredible!
source: unknown
Needless to say, we agreed to keep the number of gifts relatively small because we are going to recreate a Christmas in July Celebration. A light bulb moment that hit me (yes, it was a light bulb this time, not a bell) while I browsing a very popular Facebook page titled: Junk-A-Tiques (https://www.facebook.com/JunkATiques). It occurred to me that I could give him the one major gift the (concert tickets) in December, then come July 22, 2013 we have planned the following-keeping in mind that it will be summer.. a Florida summer!
- Christmas tree will actually be a palm tree decorated with lights, etc.
- Create a very long paper chain- multicolored or maybe Red, White & Blue
- String popcorn- which we have never done- maybe for the tree- maybe not
- Make snowballs using panty hose and flour for an outdoors snowball fight
- Any and all gifts have to be under $5 dollars *and of course.. food + good company =
- A burgers and dogs cookout !!
[Stay Tuned: more photographs will be posted after July 2013]
Wait! There is more Christmas to come- the Christmas of December 2013-age: 12. It sounds like an awful lot of effort… I know. But it has to been done. I am on a mission to make up for the devastation my son felt after learning the “truth”- and rightfully earn my title of: “the coolest Mom on the Planet” So, here we go. The next plan of attack- I also found while browsing those addictive Facebook pages at: Cullen’s Abc’s (https://www.facebook.com/cullensabcs?fref=ts) Who would have thought that a page dedicated to teaching preschoolers could possibly have so much valuable information- useful to all ages? Me.. pick me.. I found it! Cullen was kind enough to share the idea of Christmas Celebrations Around the World! And IT is born! For our Christmas 2013 we will learn and celebrate- though, still a work in progress- Christmas in Japan! My Son has already decided on Japan! Pretty neat stuff.. huh? A helpful and great starting place will be with the following link: http://www.whychristmas.com/ We are really looking forward to this one!
[Stay Tuned: I promise to post more information & photographs afterward]
Note
The Holidays/Christmas tend to be a very stressful time of year for most people. Nevertheless, it is tremendously important to find the fun, especially for children. And really, adults are nothing more than grown up kids themselves. Right? I hope that you explore the links that I have provided above-as a way to create magic during your holiday celebrations! Would you be willing to find the inner child within yourself – allowing creative ideas to blossom as I have done? How about my title.. have I earned it? I call it a mission complete.. do you? I know one thing is for sure-I’m a proud mom to “the coolest Son on the Planet” and he is every bit worth my effort! What would you add? Share your ideas!
Finding my Place in the World of Writing
Filed under: Mind your Writing Business | Tags: Adopted, Craft of Writing, Foster homes, Friendships, Writing Timeline
Comments (6) 
My love for creative writing began in the seventh grade. My English teacher was a petite and kind lady who taught her students the beauty of self-expression through writing. I developed a fondness for poetry. Along with poetry, I took well to journaling. However, my journal entries became very private and most of the time I found that I felt guilty for my written thoughts. Not that I had evil intentions, it’s just that I was a very confused teenager having been in and out of numerous foster homes. Luckily for me, the family that I was living with when I realized I appreciated writing, was understanding. This helped me develop a sense of trust at least towards my first adopted mother who would often times take me to small, cozy bookstores. In fact, it was her wise suggestion that I pick out a locked journal with a small, brass key. She would purchase other neat gifts for me too like books, classy bookmarks, stationery kits. I think one time I even got a calligraphy set that I soon gave up on, something about the way you have to tilt the pen. Nonetheless, I am very thankful for her. The removal from this family brought a halt to my writing it. However, I did write a few poems throughout the remainder of my teenage years.
I was well into my late twenties and motherhood had already set in before my writing flame was rekindled. While reading a magazine, I became intensely drawn to an advertisement for the Institute of Children’s Literature. I quickly skimmed the ad eager to learn more. The requirements seemed shady to me, but the idea of learning to write a children’s book while surrounded by plenty of support was very fulfilling. I did my research about the company: http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/ that evening. The next day I called and spoke with a counselor who was very encouraging. By the end of that week I had completed the short-story requirement for the Aptitude Test for Children’s Writing. The next couple weeks were a waiting game, like with any college or institution there is a review process. In the end, I was successful at getting accepted! However, once again life happened , due to a complicated relationship I gave the opportunity up. Not only did I give up, I lost confidence, money and my short-story. Yeah, I had it saved on my partner’s desktop that he ever so sweetly chose to delete. And no the institute does not save those for their students. The pro to this experience though is that with one simple phone call I could easily enroll again. I am sure they would be very happy to take my money. It’s nice to have options.. right?
Last October of 2011, my son came home from school one day. “Mommy, there’s a new kid in my grade! I went up to him and introduced myself on the playground. He seems really quiet. And Mommy, I think that he lives on our street cause I have seen him and his mom walking home.” “That’s great! I’m happy that you made a new friend. I will have to keep my eyes open and see if I can meet up with his mother, then we can go from there.” I replied. A couple weeks later, I learned that the new boy and his family did indeed live on our street! This was wonderful for my son who would soon have another playmate. But the most amazing part of creating these friendships was that the new boy’s mother is a writer! More than that, she had already self-published two books! I was absolutely ecstatic beyond belief! I was very anxious to absorb any writing knowledge that my new author buddy had to offer! We have managed to stay friends for over a year now. I never thought that my writing journey would progress this far! I can’t wait to pay forward some basic tips, suggestions, and other information that involves the craft of writing.
Note
My hope is that this blog works as a timeline. Some people would suggest not to look at where you have been but instead look at where you are going. While this is excellent advise especially if you’re out riding your bicycle, I find that my past experiences largely shapes the person I am today in all areas including my writing. Do you ever ponder your past? I get highly motivated when I realize just how far I have come! What keeps you motivated in your hobbies/goals/dreams?
Tomboy Life
Filed under: Educational Moments, Hobby Writer | Tags: Childhood, foster care, four-wheeler, tomboy
Comments (2) “Speak up Diane!” They would say. In my mind though, I had better things to do with my time then to constantly talk about my unfortunate family situation. Undoubtedly, this was a very sensitive three year period for me from the approximate age of nine to eleven. It was during this time that I had officially lost all contact with my biological family. There was nothing that I really wanted to “say” to anyone. Sadly, as I recall, there were often times that I got into trouble for being too quiet. Can you believe that? Nonetheless, one of my proudest “escape” hobbies was riding my Honda 70 Model 1986 four wheeler. Admittedly, it is this activity that instilled distinctive “tomboy” values into my rather misunderstood childhood personality. I was quite the little dare devil! I ‘m talking fearless, action packed, off road, no helmet riding fun! I was hard-core popping wheelies, 360’s, jumping anything that would allow me to “catch some air”, weaving recklessly through trees in the country woods, and there nothing I loved more than to spray a wall of dirt!
The interesting thing about this is that I had plenty other things that I could have done. I lived on a lake. I had a paddle boat and a floating dock. I had a bike. Oh yeah, during this time, I also learned to ride a bike, a “boys” bike (you know with the middle bar?) going downhill in the grass straight towards the lake. Quite impressive! Wait! There was one other activity that was probably my second favorite hobby. I adored my swing set. I taught myself how to climb on the very top of the monkey bars and hook my feet just right so that I would hang upside down. One day I got really brave and taught myself how to do a back flip off of it from the “hanging upside down” position. Scared the crap out of anyone who happened to be watching; but I didn’t care because I was “tomboy” tough! To tell you the truth, I even had the style down pat: jeans, shirt, tennis shoes and short hair. However, I will say that I was greatly influenced by my foster mother and other relatives in my fashion sense. Regardless, this is nothing that I am shameful of now. I truly appreciate my adulthood “tomboy” ways.
Note
This blog is meant to serve as a brief expression of a period in my life that is very special to me. There are many people and other activities that I left out because I want the sole focus of this post to be based on “tomboyish mannerism”. What do you think influences girls to become “tomboys”? How do you feel about girls whom are involved in boys’ sports or other activities? Do you think that this is unnatural or unfeminine? If you are a parent, do you strive to make certain that your children will not be gender-stereotyped? I do not intend on offending anyone. I realize that this maybe a sensitive subject along with sensitive questions.
