Glistering: B's Blog: July 2016

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Sizzling Summer Cash Giveaway

Sizzling Summer $250 Cash Giveaway
July 27th to August 16th

This wonderful group of bloggers and authors have joined with I Am A Reader to bring you this fabulous prize: $250 in Paypal Cash or a $250 Amazon.com gift code!

Sponsor List

I Am A Reader
Jennifer Faye ~ Romance Author
Caroline Clemmons
Simple Wyrdings
Lori's Reading Corner
Aubrey Wynne: Vintage Romance for Today
Deanna Lynn Sletten, Author
Glistering Bs Blog
Diana's Book Reviews
Krysten Lindsay Hager author
Leora Krygier Author
A Journey Without Map
CoolCatMysteries
B. Kristin McMichael
Laurisa White Reyes, Author
{A Leisure Moment} A Casual Conversation About Our Love For Literature
Erin Unger- Writer of Killer Romance
Darcus @ Rainy Days and Pajamas
Every Free Chance Books
Julie Reece
Pauline Creeden, Author
The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
Julia E. Antoine
Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke
Suzi Love

Giveaway Details

$250 in Paypal Cash (alternately the winner can choose a $250 Amazon.com Gift Code)

Ends 8/16/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors, bloggers and publishers on the sponsor list. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze
New website coming!
The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller or purchase now at Amazon.com
Note: All original text and materials by or commissioned by B. B. Shepherd are copyright 2012-2016 to B B Shepherd.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Smoothies and Book Club - A Summer Update

{Photo of one of my first smoothies on a bookshelf with some of the books I've bought recently}

Well I started this post before summer vacation started and look - it's almost the middle of July!

In Glister news, I've been waiting on getting my laptop fixed, the one with all my heavy-duty programs on. I wasn't able to use my USBs and for various reasons don't have internet on it, so transferring work to upload on this computer was impossible. It's apparently working okay now, so first up will be the new edition of Bronze in paperback and then I'll be looking into releasing it as e-book again. I have mixed feelings about this as book theft is such a problem, but with Copper coming out as soon as I can manage it, I really want that e-book out there. I'll also be doing Goodreads giveaways and might post chapters of both books at Wattpad and Smashwords. I'll keep you posted.

I'm staying close to home for most of the summer, doing curriculum planning for graduate credit as well as doing my best to finish the second Glister Journals novel, Copper. So I'm very busy. I admit that I've been stuck for a while on the last chapters, not because I don't know what happens at the end, but I'm not sure in what order those things happen, which affects what ties them together, which has made it difficult to focus on just writing. Earlier this year, there was a lot happening at work that adversely affected me and possible changes to my job on the horizon, both of which had me very stressed out for the last six months or so. Nothing of my doing, but I was deeply affected none the less. So that also made writing difficult to focus on. I'm not making excuses, just saying the way it is. I am making good progress now though, and all chapters are going out for final critiques.

I have no road trips planned this summer, which I'm a little sad about, but my poor little car has seen better days. I think I'm going to play it safe until I can buy a newer one. I plan on doing that next spring, if my car lasts that long without needing major repair. Poor thing's over ten years old and has over 200,000 miles - almost all mine! It's been a little trooper to be sure.

The one trip I made this summer was to see my son and his family in Iowa. I had mixed feelings about the trip, but I couldn't wait to see my son - I hadn't seen him in two years! I hugged him tightly twice a day to make up for lost time and try to stock up a bit for the future. And I hadn't seen my little grandson since last summer. I'm not sure whether he actually remembered me, but he seemed happy enough to have me around. But I'm not a fan of flying and Iowa and I have a little history together. They're not the best memories. The trip was nice though - just relaxing most of the time. They live in a very nice small north Iowa town where there's not much to do, but the time seemed to fly anyway.

I was interested in exploring SE Minnesota and loved the area around Rochester and especially Chatfield, but didn't have an opportunity to really investigate. Chatfield seems like exactly the kind of small town I'd like to eventually live near. Is anyone from around those areas? I'd love to hear your thoughts or experience concerning them. I'm thinking about retirement within the next ten years and certainly can't afford to retire here in the Bay Area. So I'm looking for alternatives. Somewhere I can buy a decent home in a quiet neighborhood with a low mortgage, maybe even a small farm - for horses, of course. It'll be the first (and probably last) home I've ever owned, so I'm rather looking forward to it!

{a picture of Chatfield, Minnesota, an old fashioned-looking small town. Not my photo.}

The other things I'm working on (in the sense of actually employing them in daily life) are life hacks. It seems like most things should be easier now at my age, but I still struggle with a lot of things, many because I'm autistic, but also just because I'm me! My two favorite discoveries so far this summer are making my own smoothies, which I'll mention again in a future post, and joining a book club, which I've never done before. I have a slow processing speed for some things, including reading, and know I can't keep up with most other people, but thought I'd give it a go for the summer weeks.

Is anyone else in the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Club? I've been following her book posts for a few years. This is her first club (I think), and I've really been enjoying it. She chose five books for the summer weeks that I'd never heard of and probably never would have read otherwise. Since I have a very eclectic taste in books, it's been a real treat. Each book's reading time is culminated with a webinar and live feed, but conversation is ongoing on a Facebook group. The first webinar was really interesting. So far we've read One In A Million Boy and The Nest, both of which I enjoyed for different reasons. We're reading Everyone Brave Is Forgiven right now, which I'm not sold on yet. It's hanging in the balance. I may ditch it and sneak in a book of my own choice until we're on to the next one.

One In A Million Boy - From the acclaimed author of When We Were the Kennedys and Any Bitter Thing, the incandescent story of a 104-year-old woman and the sweet, strange young boy assigned to help her around the house—a friendship with unexpected reverberations for the boy's unmoored family.

I LOVE this book. It's difficult to describe and not like anything I've read before, but it's beautifully written with many quote-worthy passages and very memorable characters. I admit I got behind in reading this one and still need to finish it, but it's definitely one to enjoy the journey, not race to the end, so I know I'll be able to pick it back up and finish at my leisure.

The Nest - A warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives.

Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems.

This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.

This one really surprised me. From the description (which I didn't read before starting) and the conversation of others in the club, I didn't think I would like this at all. Indeed, the characters are not very likable, but they are certainly very human and it's a fascinating study. It was an extremely easy read and I finished way before the deadline. Woot!

I'll have a giveaway for these books later. What are your favorite reads so far this summer?

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Lazy Days of Summer Cash Giveaway

Lazy Days of Summer

$250 Cash Giveaway

July 6th to 26th

The following list of bloggers and authors have joined with I Am A Reader to bring you one super prize!

We're giving away $250 in Paypal Cash or a $250 Amazon.com Gift Code!

Sponsor List – Thanks to these great authors and bloggers for making this giveaway possible!
I Am A Reader
Krysten Lindsay Hager author
Simple Wyrdings
Heather Gray, Author
Bookworm Lisa
B. Kristin McMichael
Rachel Matthews, Author of cozy, sweet reads
Kindle and Me
Everly Frost, YA Author
Cool Cats Mysteries
Helen Smith
Laurisa White Reyes, Author
Dark and Dreamy with C. C. Marks
Dawn Malone
Author Nikki Jefford
Aubrey Wynne: Romantasy Through the Ages
Mary Ting/M. Clarke
Confessions of a Frugal Mind
AuggieTalk
Darcus @ Rainy Days and Pajamas
Lori's Reading Corner
Glistering Bs Blog
The Lovely Books
J.C. Whyte, author
Gigi McAllister@ The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
Bonnie Blythe Faith-Based Romance
Bella Street Time Travel Romance
Laurie Here - Cont Fiction and More
Beth M. Honeycutt

Giveaway Details

$250 in Paypal Cash or $250 Amazon.com Gift Code

Ends 7/26/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors, bloggers and publishers on the sponsor list. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze
More Glister Journals info at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com
The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller or purchase now at Amazon.com
Note: All original text and materials by or commissioned by B. B. Shepherd are copyright 2012-2016 to B B Shepherd.

Friday, July 1, 2016

Freedom To Read Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop, sponsored by BookHounds. My prize is a $15 gift card to the book store of your choice. I hope you have a fabulous 4th of July!

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive, and use a book store Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click here to view the Giveaway Hop list