Weather: Temperature is dropping and my students want snow…*sighs* I just want this week over with! WINTER BREAK!
Working on: Updating my website and freaking out to get my work done.
Currently Listening to: 2014 Youtube Rewind…so catchy!
Currently Watching: The Little Couple. <3
Currently Playing: Played the new Super Smash Brothers two weeks ago for the 3DS. The controls take some adjustment, but I think it’s pretty cool.
Currently Reading: Emerald Green (3rd and final book in The Ruby Red series) by Kerstin Gier
Thoughts and feelings: Busy as a bee! Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Holiday(s): National anything covered in chocolate day!
Wallpaper: During the later half of December, I have a different Christmas/wintery anime or CG art wallpaper on my desktop every day. Today, it’s Sonic and team decorating a Christmas tree with the chaos emeralds. Super Shadow is the glowing star on top! HA! ^_^
Icon: We just got a new member in our family: our new kitty, Socks (7 months) and the icon fits how she acts at times… =^o^=
Wowza! >.< It’s been an era wrapped in an entirety with some low-fat forever and a day sauce on the side! I apologize everyone, but I have a hand count of good reasons: my husband and I moved to a new duplex in our town. We adore it, but moving is such a chore! I did not have my computer for almost two weeks! We also got a new addition to our family: a kitty! Her name is Socks and she is almost seven months old. She’s a darling, full of energy yet with a pinch of a mean streak little girl. We are adjusting to be ‘parents’ as it were. Every day is something new. Along with school work, the holiday plannings, and of course…
On Tuesday, November 25th, my third book, the second in the Spirit Vision series, New Beginnings, was released for e-book and NOW is available for paperback as well!!! =D I want to thank Paper Crane Books, my publisher Sheenah, and you guys for all the support. I am deeply remorseful that I did not get to advertise or promote it nearly as much as I desired with moving, but if you want a good gift for the holidays that has a little something for everyone, here it is!
The links where you can purchase New Beginnings are below:
Amazon Link (paperback and e-book)
Paper Crane’s Book store link (paperback and e-book)
More retailers to come soon! 🙂
E-book versions of the book are $2.99 and paperback are $11.99. There are also bonus features for you to enjoy. ^_^
Also, December 17th marked the one year anniversary of my first book, Spirit Vision, being released! It’s my mom’s birthday too. How blessed I feel on this day!
So, this blog post will be the post for lists! Let the insanity begin!
Our first list is other items going on in my writing world, publishing, Paper Crane, promotions, and so forth.
I’ll call this first list my WWPPP list! 😉
#1. Sheenah made some amazing banners for New Beginnings and they are a galactic full of amazingness. I love how she took Suzy’s stunning cover art and made me drool all over it in an advertising setting!
#2. On December 5th (although it was supposed to be December 1st and we had a snow day), I once again read to the high school students at my local district, thanks to my ninth grade communication arts teacher and writing mentor, Mr. Banger. I love how passionate he is to share my story of writing, not one bit scared to ask me an array of questions while making his students think. All the teachers were so supportive (although many of the classes were shy, which was odd since I knew those kids from teaching them at the middle school…), but I very much enjoyed it. I DID make Mr. Banger red twice (which is sweetly amusing since it starts in chin and rises fast to the tip of his balding head): once was when I told him I dedicated “A Sweet, Little Dream” to him and my grandmother and once, I said the word pregnant to answer a question. He had to walk over and pretend to read a book to hide his face on that one! I was happy to share my experiences with them and a few students sent me samples of writings they do. ^_^
#3. I recorded a few more voices for Dan Wright’s webseries, this time for his Christmas special. I reprise one of my older roles, but have two-three additional ones. See if you can pick my voice out. I love making Dan’s charming and full of character scripts come to life with a trait I get enthralled with. Check out the video on Dan’s Youtube. If you just want to hear my main voice for the holidays and, according to Dan, have your heart melt and use tissues, you can check out the Christmas special alternate scene bonus video.
#4. My article for Mineral Area College’s (my college’s) local alumni magazine came out during Thanksgiving (this is also where I teach at College for Kids every July). I have had to sign a few of them. *blushes* For sure one of the most fun interviews and photo shoots I have ever done and I am so honored for my college’s support in my writing and educational career. Here is the article.
#5. I read an expert from my short story, “Margaret’s America” that I wrote in 2004 for Mr. Banger and it is now published in “A Sweet, Little Dream.” It was the feature on episode four of our podcast: Indie’s Reading Block. Sheenah did a grand job piecing it together. Here is the News update that links you to the podcast and you can subscribe on I-tunes. It is great to hear the voices of other Indie/aspiring authors.
Missed anything else happening at Paper Crane Books? Read our latest newsletters to keep current! It has a section about New Beginnings, my podcast episode, and a free desktop wallpaper for December. ^_^
#6. Our December Aspiring Author Spotlight interview was by my dear friend, Mr. Chuck Carron. Chuck has a Christmas story out on Smashwords so I knew he would be perfect for the money of pointed ears and garland. ^o^
#7. From now until December 31st, go to Paper Crane Books’ website and enter our Mid-Winter Eve Giveaway Hop for a chance to enter for an incredible prize pack that will surely fill you with magic this holiday season! The authors have really outdone themselves this year. Stay tuned!
#8. I am still currently listening to round one of the audiobook version of Spirit Vision. I have not got to touch it this month yet due to the move (did I mention how much TIME it takes?!), but I am in the process of note taking on there. It’s really exciting! J
#9. Last BUT not least: I will, during my Winter break, will also be working on TWO…TWO literary work that will be published through Paper Crane Books. I look forward to 2015 and what it brings for myself as an author, you, my readers, and my press mates and their successes. =D
#10. IF you missed my 12 Q4A (Quotes for Anticipation. Last year I did the “12 days of Spirit Vision” since it was around Christmas time) event on my Facebook and Twitter to promote New Beginnings, here is the list, in order:
- Day #1: “Lavender. The sky was etched in it…” (Chapter 1)
- Day #2: “Well, there’s the other blue sister.” (Chapter 2)
- Day #3: “I think as a Spirit Warrior, I have some special rights.”
- “Now abuse of power! What’s next, shoplifting?” (Chapter 4)
- Day #4: “HA! Ouch! That hurts babe. I’ll see you later. Plan your day accordingly…” (Chapter 6)
- Day #5: All that remained of the sneakers were the part of the shoelaces. Small flames were near the ash pile, dying with each second before it poofed out of existence. (Chapter 7)
- Day #6: I simply nodded, lucky to have a no thinking required question to answer at the moment. My rant was over and I was flat out exhausted. (Chapter 8)
- Day #7: . I had to know what these ripples were, touch the fuzzy vibes from them that were close enough to tickle my palm with static electricity. I was meant to touch this object… (Chapter 10)
- Day #8: With her words, Stary had finally lost herself and had cried heavily. All the loss, all the suffering, all the confusion. How many children of God lost their life before it was their time? Was she meant to do this alone and could she save everyone? The fact she knew this would be near impossible broke her insides down. (Chapter 12)
- Day #9: “Oh, my mistake. Would you like a fruit name or something from the vegetable family?” (Chapter 14)
- Day #10: “Man, that was messed up. Some sort of clash of yin and yang those B-rated martial arts movies would overuse. It was a lot of work.” (Chapter 15)
- Day #11: “Oh gag! Can she be any more of a ham?” (Chapter 18)
- Day #12: Stary felt like she was a canvas for a child who was hog wild for polka dots and had a purple and brown brush. She swallowed her resolve to ignore the dampness, stickiness, and aroma of her right ankle and foot. Blood was oozing out of prickle holes like mini streams, her exposed foot a nasty pink from the stains on her flesh. (Chapter 21)
#11. We, of course, also have a new top ten full of holiday spirit, but the topic may be a bit…special…0.o Click to find out about this jolly, holly, and coo-coo top ten!
Rewind Time:
- A top ten to sink your teeth into: my favorite vampire book series.span>
- Author to publisher interview with the grand Ms. Sheenah AND a sneak-peek of chapter one from New Beginnings at the end.
- The interview and grand work synopsis from our November Aspiring Author Spotlight, Mrs. Morgan Wilson.
- Update “New Beginnings” page in the book section.
- My Ebay account has most of the items I want on it. Please check it out for Spirit Vision merch, used mangas and books! More to come too!
- Pinterest and my author Facebook are heavily updated with photos for your viewing enjoyment (although I have comments to make on them)
- Here was my last major update if anyone wants to get caught up and compare notes. It involves my birthday, Halloween, our Halloween Pokémon event (with photos), and more.
My “Normal” Life List:
Two days after Thanksgiving (The Sunday before, I had a wonderful meal and Adult game night at my in-law’s along with Evan, and I went to my mom’s on actual Thanksgiving day for another great meal. That Friday, I saw my dear friend since I was eight, Kristen, and I got to meet her fiancé! =D It was a fantastic time), Derrick and I moved, My dad, my brother-in-law, Nathan AKA Fabio, and my in-laws came over and helped us move that Saturday. Their help was much appreciated. We are only a half of a mile away from our old apartment and now I am three streets away from my dad, my home before I got married! HA! ;D Our new duplex is a little bit more money, but we have an extra bathroom, a smaller spare bedroom that would be perfect for an…infant…*wink* (no, I’m not expecting), an actual little yard, a really large outdoor storage unit, plenty of driveway space, and nice landlords. It took me a while to get everything to set up the house, but the house is 90% done now. ^_^ I will take pictures soon and post them on my Facebook. We really enjoyed our first married apartment and neighbors, and although it was sad, it was time to move on for the next chapter in our lives and Derrick and I are very happy here. Thank you Park Place for our first marriage home.
Another grand thing about our new place was we could have a cat! =^-^= My dad is like a cat whisper and took care of this little girl Derrick and I bonded with a month earlier. On December 6th, we got a darling new family member: Socks (dad named her this because of her feet). Dad said she was good on the car ride there, not making a sound and it was her first time in a car. She slowly got out when the door was open and for forty minutes, explored the living room, kitchen, and hall, walking around the perimeter and being so detailed to everything. It was so calm and humanlike, it was adorable! ^_^ A little bit later, she cuddled with dad and then let me pet her. When dad left, she hid under the couch for two hours, came out sneakily to get food, hid for another two hours, and so forth. She did this for two days, but on that third! BAM! She loved us and is such a love bug! She LOVES her jingle ball toys, boxes, and rubbing all over you. She likes to lick hands too. She does get TOO playful with us at times and accidently claws us, but we are slowly training her. She does well with eating (she really likes these chickens treats that roll), using her litter box, grabbing her ball with her claw, looking out the window, and even when we had to put medicine in her ears, she does not claw or wiggle much. She is seven months old now and Derrick’s smile since we have gotten her is so precious. We are now a family (and Evan is even now Uncle Evan and plays with her often) and I am so blessed to have her. <3 I would love to write children’s books now about her! =D You’ll be seeing a lot of her on my medias!
Since I updated majorly last time, we have had two Pokémon Events. My friend Alesha AKA Rome and Fabio’s buddie Antone AKA Gavin, Fabio’s rival, are now members in our crew and were a huge help during these last two events! The photos are all on my author facebook in the “Pokémon Events” album. November and December’s photos, however, are not labeled with comments or in order yet, but I will do that in a few days after Christmas is over. ^_^
During November’s, dubbed “Normal November” since we had Halloween and it took a lot of time to set up. we all modeled our Poke Crew shirts that I designed, but they were created by a local T-shirt designer, called “The T-Shirt” guy! I want to give him a shout out! He’s so amazing! We all have the same front, but the backs have our nicknames, our deck element, and a number that is our favorite Pokémon’s number in the Pokedex. I was lucky to have so many members attend: all my original four members were there (which is rare): Evan Chu, Nathan Christian (Brown, but he taught this day), Fabio, Zubat Man, and Miss Eevee (another teacher). Julie was there as my amazing assistant as well. We also had my pal Alesha enter the competition, The Annihilator (she had to leave early though because she got sick. 🙁 Poor thing…) was our second member of the Elite so Nathan could teach, and Antone was a practice battle trainer. We had a good number as well and it was a good time. I was challenged yet again and beaten for the second time by my student at my school district and at Pokémon (I started teaching her a year ago) and she was able to get her two EXs out her first few turns and my hand was garbage! -_-;; So, I got to crown my second honorary member of the Poke Crew Elite Four and when the student surpasses the sensei, especially another lady, it was a happy day…I still told her I was the boss though. 😉 She got a crown, a free pack of cards, and her picture on the Gamers Bazaar website just like the Annihilator, her’s saying November Pokémon Champ. It was a great time, especially with how the Elite Four members were goofing each other (and Julie made an adorable Pokémon Thanksgiving poster for us too. It’s on my Facebook). I think the photo below of my husband with his darling Flippy is one of my favorites ever! <3 (Our password was Leafeon for our Fall celebration).
On December 6th, we had our Pokémon Christmas Mingle Bash. Gamers Bazaar originally wanted us to do a four hour Christmas event and we were planning to have custom gym badges made (eight of my members being gym leaders and if they earned all eight, they got to battle me as their ultimate rival), but most of my crew members had work, traveled, or Christmas events. I had Antone, Fabio, Alesha, Evan, Julie, and myself. My November Champion student helped out as well. Due to these numbers, we did not even have a competition. We had holiday games for the kids and casual battles and lessons. We had about 15 people, which is smaller than the past few times, but still a nice group. Other than our card battles, of coarse, we had a Pokémon holiday mingle with the Elite Four members where the trainers discussed their thoughts on dozens of Pokémon or winter topics and why. Some were interested (like what their gym would look like or the best fire starter) to what the next Eevee evolution should be. We had games too: Toss the snowball in the Santa hat and the students had to toss them in eight different Pokémon move styles (EX= Tail whip is to toss the cotton ball with their booty), pin the tail on Pikachu, find the 12 Sudodou of Christmas, and we had Japanese Christmas cake that Julie made. It looked like a Pokeball. ^_^ It is confetti cake with white icing, sliced strawberries on the top half, and crushed Oreos for the line in the middle. Everyone said it was so delicious! We EVEN had a special visitor: Santa Clause (my father-in-law)! He talked to the trainers and it was so joyful. He gave all the trainers a little reindeer goodie bag with a candy cane, chocolate mint, a plastic coin for their Poke dollars, and four random Pokémon cards. He was messing with the owner’s bald head and even told Fabio he was a bad boy and needed a hair cut! My mother-in-law was his helper (they are pictured below in the store). Even the adults were kind to Santa and played along for the kids. My trainers are so incredible and although it was a crazy for me time and I was drained when I got home, it was a wonderful way to kick off Christmas! January 24th is our next event, noon to 2:30! ^_^
NOW! Adventure time with Evan! =D Two weeks ago, I got to go antiquing with Evan-Chu (Derrick and I’s best friend). They had a diner there that I went to with my mom and I was CRAVING their pretzels and white cheese dip! It was so tasty! We had a goofy time, poking fun at each other although we got some strange looks from some older ladies. I even saw my Aunt Joni! I was able to find most of my Christmas gifts for my momma there and my final one from my mother-in-law. ^_^ Evan got me some fake grapes too for my Percy Jackson College for Kids classes! HA! ^o^ He got a picture for his apartment. I donated two bags of clothing and a pair of shoes, and tons of magazines to our local library that day too. They were both grateful and it makes me realize how much others need. Evan has also played with Socks a lot and even taught her how to get her ball with her claw. ^_^ He calls her a Little Hunter. On December 18th, Evan randomly came over and asked to borrow my washing machine and our help later with a secret project. Baffled, but accepting, I agreed. After his red shirt was dry, he said his work was having a Christmas party the next day and he wanted us to help him decorate him like a Christmas tree! o.0 For the next two and a half hours, we proceeded (Derrick and I) to safety pin three sets of colored battery powered lights, garland, bows, and ribbons, all one by one. It was fun and he looked awesome. It just shows what friends do for each other.
The same weekend we moved, our good pal Nathan Brown (Nathan Christian, our ghost trainer in the Poke Crew. He’s also Tabby’s fiancé), moved to San Diego for his new job. We miss him terribly, but Tabby tells us he is enjoying work. We will be thinking of him fondly over the holidays. He told us to inform our trainers in Pokémon that he was going on a Sabbatical. 😉
On the 19th, the final day of school before Winter Break, we had a cray-cray day! >.< We had clubs first like every Friday and I played Clue with four students. I was saddened that so many students I talked to had never played OR HEARD of Clue… x(- Broke my heart! We then had our Christmas Hoop-la with the Chromebooks where each advisory got 12 questions to answer and e-mail the answers to the leaders in the LMC. Five of the questions, we had to have the kids use extensions on our new in classroom phones and call to ask questions. It was funny! My two male co-teachers were gone to a wrestling meet, so it was me, my friend Sherri, and a sub. We didn’t win, but it was a blast and we are now known as “The Wise Whiteners,” our main teacher’s last name. 😉 We had a talent show after that and it was wonderful! We have lots of talented kiddos. Even the office staff did a number with tin foil wrappers on their heads and did their own version of the Hershey Kisses “We wish you a merry Christmas” bit. We had fifth hour, where we watched “Charlie Brown Christmas shorts” and “A Christmas Story.” Lunch was in the middle. We had a winter dance after that. I ate popcorn, helped lead dancing “The Train,” and had a Chess lesson with one of my little guys. We ended the day watching “Elf” and then I rode the bus. =) I got some gifts, comments, cookies, and hugs from my amazing co-workers. WHAT. A. DAY! I hope all my co-workers and our FMS students have a very Merry Holiday!
On the 22nd, my brother Miles and I did our annual Christmas Eve Eve (although this year, we had to do it a day early since mom and I had a girl’s day out of town on the 23rd. We dubbed this year’s “Pre Christmas Eve Eve.” My latest top ten talks about our tradition). We had cheese, pepperoni, crackers, popcorn, lunchables, and brownies and watched our childhood Christmas special. He fell asleep though! HA! ;D
Here’s the rest of my schedule for the holidays:
- December 24th- Christmas Eve: 3:00-4:30- Christmas with my dad and Miles. 5:00-6:30- Christmas with Derrick and Socks. 7:45-9:15- Christmas Eve services at my church (I have a solo…*blushes* I sing “Away in a Manger.”
- December 25th- Christmas Day: 5:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.- Christmas with mom, Miles, Derrick, and grandma
- December 27th: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Christmas party with my dad’s family at my Aunt Dot’s
- December 28th: 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.- Christmas girl’s day with Marissa
- December 30th: Noon to 5:30- Christmas with the Comnicks. 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Poke Crew Christmas party at our place
That’s all I have so far. After this, I will be working on my two other publishing works and audiobook notes along with promoting “New Beginning.” 🙂
Guys, thank you so much for all the support you have given me. I hope you have a holiday that shines as much as you and a grand new year! ^_^
Socks and Morgan signing off! <3
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