Glistering: B's Blog: soundtrack

Showing posts with label soundtrack. Show all posts

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Bronze New Edition Cover Reveal and Street Team!

I'm so excited about this! I absolutely love it. I think it fits the mood and main character of the book perfectly. The new edition paperback is in production, the on-sale date is set. I'm waiting for the proof copy and can't wait to see it! It took a long time to write the book in the first place and get the first edition finished. It's taken even longer and has been much harder to get to this point, so forgive me if I seem disproportionately excited about a re-release. The thing is, unless the first book reaches a broader audience, the next books in the series will have a hard time too. Going by the media and reader reviews it's already received, I'm sure more people will like it if they have a chance to read it!

That's why I need your help! Self-promotion is really hard for me. I've never been good at selling anything. I once even tried selling Avon but was hopeless! I also find the concepts and mental juggling required (executive function skills) for marketing very confusing, which may be due to my autism. So I'm seeking help from people who have already read Bronze or would like to read it, and that live in the US or Canada. If you'd like to know more about the series, you can read my About The Glister Journals page and take a look around The Glister Journals website. A few excerpts can be read HERE to see if you like my writing style, etc.

What does the street team do? The team's purpose is to get the word out in any way possible. The most important thing is to actually read the book and review it, especially leaving a review on Amazon. Any help is immensely appreciated. Posting your thoughts and reviews to social media is also enormous help, but telling people in real life is too, people you think would enjoy the book, or may know someone who would - your neighbor, your family, your book club, your local librarian! Letting others know about the pre-order is very important too. Books with a healthy pre-order base are more likely to be stocked in bookstores. Even more important, they'll be actively promoted by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers. The MOST important thing is to post a review on Amazon on or as soon after release day as possible. Posting reviews to other retail and book community sites (such as Goodreads) is extremely helpful, too.

What do you get for being on the team? First of all you get my heartfelt and everlasting gratitude! It's an overwhelming task for one person to accomplish, but your help can make all the difference in the world! More tangibly, you get an advanced reading e-copy of Bronze and each of my books months before anyone else for as long as you're on the team. The second book, Copper, is in revisions and I hope will be ready for ARCs by the end of this year or early next. There will be an exclusive Facebook group where you can ask me questions and share ideas and experiences. There will also be Glister-related swag and gift card giveaways exclusive to the street team, early reveals, and exclusive sneak peeks from upcoming books. I'm very open to other ideas about how I can reward you!

Everyone that pre-orders a print copy of Bronze will also get a free e-book copy. Pre-orders (print OR e-book) will also get you early access to the Bronze soundtrack which will be publicly revealed in a countdown to the release of Copper. I'm open to other ideas about pre-order perks too! (Bronze is available for pre-order on Barnes and Noble right now for over $3 under list price!)

I won't go into details about the team here, but if you'd like to help, please fill out the form in the link below. For legal reasons we can only accept adults over 18 on the team, but if you're under 18, I'd appreciate your help so much! You can find some ideas HERE. Anything you do to get the word out will help and I'd love to know all about it! You can stay in touch with me here on my blog, on Twitter, through Goodreads or through The Glister Journals Facebook page.

The Glister Journals Street Team Application

I look forward to working with you!

Visit theglisterjournals.com for news, excerpts, and more about The Glister Journals series.
Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze
The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller or purchase now at Amazon.com

All original text and materials by or commissioned by B. B. Shepherd are copyright 2012-2017 to B B Shepherd.

Monday, June 29, 2015

An Update and Survey Results

This last weekend was the end of my second week of summer vacation (for those who don't know, I'm a teacher) and so far, so good. The first week I finally completed the revision for the new edition of Bronze, and this week the hard edit was completed. Now for one last go through and fix any formatting issues and into the mail it goes. Sort of.

In the meantime, my little family is experiencing major changes which are exciting and unnerving and may prove to be very distracting. I don't talk much about my personal life, both for my own and my children's privacy, and for reasons I won't go into here or now. But stuff is happening. And if you know anything about autism, you will understand. The executive functions involved alone - for all of us - are extremely challenging.

My Oldest Child, my son, is in Iowa interviewing for a job. This may seem like no big deal, but it is. It's huge. My daughter-in-law and grandson are in Washington (state) and I was going up this summer to visit, as I usually do. But if he gets the job, he'll probably stay there, in which case I'll go up to Washington anyway to help his wife pack and get ready to move. I'm praying I get to see him one way or another. Washington is quite a drive, but it's always been do-able, at least once a year. Iowa is not do-able and if they move it'll feel like he's moved to the other side of the planet. But I want him to get the job. It's a chance for them to really get on their feet. Thank goodness for Skype.

At the other extreme is my Youngest Child, who has been my roommate since she turned eighteen, many years ago, and who has never been able to move out on her own before. She wants to "adult" on her own, which is understandable, and I want that for her too, but she simply hasn't been able to afford the ridiculous rents here in the Bay Area. Now she has found a place through a friend - a room in a shared house within reach of her job - that seems like it will be very good for her. I'm excited for her. And already dreading loneliness. I've never lived completely alone before. I'm afraid I'll start talking to myself even more than I already do. I'm hoping she leaves me the cat.

Today she's starting to pack her things. Lots of things. This requires a new playlist, so she enlisted my help. It's gratifying to be so useful. She wanted something funky. I went retro and turned her onto The Isley Brothers and Chaka Khan. That led to all kinds of great stuff. We jammin'.

My Middle Child recently started a new job in San Francisco and is already general manager. She loves working there and it's much better than where she was working before, but it doesn't mean she earns a lot. And she currently lives in a relatively bad part of one of the most dangerous cities in America. We want her to move. We want her to move years ago. (Yes, that was meant to be present tense.) She looked at two apartments on Saturday. One didn't call back. Their loss. The other is a new building with income restrictions. She earns too much for this place, yet can't afford any other decent place to live. Plus they don't take cats anyway. That's just not acceptable. I'll be haunting Craigslist this summer.

So I'm praying all three can move this summer, for very different reasons, and I'll be somewhat "on call" to help while I can.

On the positive side, I'll return completely to Book Two of The Glister Journals. I'm SO excited about that. Honestly, it's almost finished, but there's still a lot to fit into the last few chapters. As far as release dates (and the official start of the soundtrack contest), that depends on how and when the new edition of Bronze is published. More about that when I have news, one way or the other.

And in case you're curious as to the survey results, I'm including a link to the charts.

The results are very interesting and surprised me a bit. The overwhelming majority of people (most of whom haven't read Bronze) said they like long books, they like the present book cover, and they thought the blurb interesting enough to invite further investigation. This is very valuable and welcome information. I don't want to waste time changing things that don't need fixing, though I'm going to change the blurb, if nothing else. The main negative comment was that it wasn't clear what genre of book it is. All of these considerations may not end up being my decision to make, but it's extremely helpful and encouraging. A huge thank you to everyone who participated. The comments were extremely helpful too. It was all really good stuff.

So I hope you're all having a great summer so far. I will continue to run my own giveaways and participate in others'. I can only try to be more regular with music, book, and other posts and updates.

Want some music? Of course you do! I hadn't heard of these guys before, but I like them and the song is appropriate. Kind of. Enjoy. :)

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 New edition coming!
Note: All original text and materials by or commissioned by B. B. Shepherd are copyright 2015 to B B Shepherd.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

2015 - A Look Ahead

Happy New Year everyone! This is just a quick update and look forward to 2015.

First of all, I've been having issues with formatting and posts (and parts of posts) disappearing from this blog, so the first thing I'll be doing is completely reloading and reformatting here. I'm not sure how long that takes, but should have things in order before the first giveaway of the year. EDIT: Yay! Fixed!

Which is the second thing, yes! I will be continuing with giveaways throughout 2015. There will be regular gift card and book giveaways, of course. I'll have a music one coming up soon. I'll also be giving away copies of the new edition of Bronze when it's ready and TGJ Book 2 as soon as it's released.

The soundtrack contest is still on and waiting to be launched. The grand prize is at $200.00 right now, though I will continue adding to it. It will be open for entries when Book 2 is ready to get sent out for early reviews, so if you've read Bronze and are figuring out the songs, stay close. I'll publicize the starting date as widely and loudly as I can! If you aren't aware of the contest, you can read about it and find the clues here.

The last chapters of The Glister Journals 2 are taking me some time, though I'm not sure why. It should be completely finished in the first part of this year. I am looking into different publishing options, so I'm not sure exactly how that's happening yet. These choices could affect the cover and title, so I'm still keeping those to myself. The picture above, by the way, gives some clues to Book 2. Any ideas?

Bronze has been getting an overhaul, revising for length, and I'm considering a different cover. I'd love input on that.

I expect to begin writing in earnest on Book 3 by mid to late spring.

Personally, apart from finishing writing projects, I still want to try to get fit and begin riding again. After a very long time not riding at all, I bought a horse a few years ago. But it didn't work out - physically or financially. My heart and brain retain my love and knowledge, but my body has lost the strength, balance, and much of the muscle memory required to ride the way I want to. So if I can get my body back in good enough shape, especially core and leg strength and flexibility, I'll find someone to train with and go from there. I may never be able to own my own horse again, but I'll never give up on wanting to ride.

Do you have plans for 2015? What are you most looking forward to?

Writing: TGJ Book 2 Chapter 28.

Listening: Foo Fighters - Sonic Highway

Reading: Caszandra by Andrea Host and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Watching: Mockingjay Pt 1 and Harry Potter (all of them)

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 2012-2015 to China Blue Publishing.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Looking ahead to summer . . . and a soundtrack clue

Summer's just around the corner and it's a good thing! The Glister Journals Book 2 is coming along, but not fast enough for my liking. I'm a music educator and I absolutely love my job--music and kids, how awesome is that? But sometimes I can't help wishing I could just write full time. Then things would get done in a more reasonable amount of time! Many days I get no writing done at all. Sometimes I'm just too exhausted. Sometimes I'm too distracted. Book 2 chapters are now going out to critique partners and Betas, which is very exciting, but it's still going to be a while before the book is completely finished.

If you are actively trying to guess the songs, please let me know! It's difficult to tell if anyone's paying attention at all. The soundtrack page of the website gets plenty of traffic, but that's not necessarily people really interested in it. For that reason, I'm going to make this the last clue for a while. There's not much more I can say without just giving things away anyway, and where's the fun or challenge in that? When the book is ready to launch - cover and title revealed - I'll post at least one more clue before opening the contest for entries.

Things coming up in the summer months:

The California High School Rodeo State Finals are in June and I plan on going. It's a long way but I've never been to the finals before. I wish I could go to the nationals in Wyoming. Maybe another year! The Salinas Rodeo is in July and I may also go to that. The picture above was taken last year there. :)

Later in the summer I'll be heading north to Washington to visit family. This time I plan to take an extended trip and check out some areas I've wanted to explore, especially the Olympic Peninsula.

I'll probably also take a trip down to Hollywood to visit my aunt. I've been wanting to visit old neighborhoods and childhood haunts like Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park, and Venice Beach too. I was hoping to take a riding trip this summer - Colorado perhaps - but will have to put it off for now.

I'll have posts on those trips and hopefully lots of pictures of horses, ocean, forests, etc. More music and book reviews on the way too.

So I plan to be busy. Very busy. But what else is new? In the meantime, here is May's clue:

Clue 11. The first chapter's song is by my absolute favorite band

So what are your plans for the summer? Going anywhere special? Doing anything exciting? I'd love to hear about it!

Currently writing: TGJ Book 2 - Chapter 26

Listening to: Nickel Creek

Reading: The Moon Dwellers by David Estes

Watching: Gilmore Girls Season Six

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Happy Birthday Buu (and April Soundtrack Clue)

Just a short post . . .

Almost five years ago (we think...time goes by so fast) we adopted a little white ball of fluff and named him Buu. We weren't sure of his actual birthday so decided April 1st was probably close enough. He's part Siamese part American shorthair, otherwise known as Colorpoint or Flame point. He's a real goof ball, very talkative, and a snuggle bunny...er, kitty. He gives kisses and high fives, plays dead, and lets us dress him up. Our lives have been so enriched by him. I promise not to post too much about him, but he might turn up here and there. Fair warning.

So, on to the April soundtrack clue. To narrow the possibilities down a little more:

10. Eight of the songs were released before 2000. The oldest song is from 1976.

Most of these are fairly well-known I think. Some are definitely classics.

How are you doing so far? I'm not trying to make this too hard, but I'm not completely giving it away either. Let me know if there's a certain kind of clue you'd like. I'll try to oblige!

Full soundtrack clues (so far) can be found on the Glister Journals soundtrack page

In case you missed the previous post, the Fool for Books giveaway is on until April 7.

Currently writing: TGJ Book 2--Chapter 1 and 25

Listening to: Tired Ponies

Reading: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Watching: Gilmore Girls Season Five; The 13th Warrior

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Friday, March 7, 2014

March update . . .

Apologies for being late with this month's soundtrack clue. I'm having severe computer issues and unable to access the internet at the moment through my own computer. This makes online life pretty difficult! It looks like I'll have to buy a new one which I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do yet, but if it shuts down completely, I'm sunk! I haven't been online much anyway as I really am writing, transcribing, and revising like crazy! (Plus working, of course.) I've already gone past my original (self-imposed) deadline so am working extra hard to get everything done as quickly as possible. With lots of help from my most severe critic, of course....

The good news is, I am moving into beta-reader stage and will be sending first chapters out soon. Book cover should be coming along soon too. Yay!

So, on to this month's clue. Since the past couple have been a bit vague, I'll give you something more concrete this month.

CLUE #9 Some of the artists represented in the soundtrack can be found on my Pinterest "Music" board.

Not all the artists are there, but the board represents some of my favorite artists and the kinds of music I listen to most.

I hope that helps! Updates will be a bit slow until my computer issues are solved, but I still have book and music reviews to do so I'll try to post again soon!

Listening to:

Writing: The Glister Journals, Book 2: Chapter 24

Reading: Mockingjay

Watching: Gilmore Girls Season 4

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Monday, February 3, 2014

February update...

Well, here's me falling down on the job again. I had meant to get a couple of posts out before the end of January, but I have been writing. In fact, besides actually working, all I've been doing is writing. I want to get this book (the second Glister Journals book) out as soon as I can. So, sorry I haven't been around much. I hope to still get some book and music reviews out soon and I've got a Retro Thursday lined up when I can get to it.

In the mean time, here's the Bronze Soundtrack clue for February:

CLUE #8 There are no jazz, hip-hop, or rap songs.

Not a big clue, I know, but it might narrow it down for you. And I hope that doesn't disappoint too many people!

Next week I'll be posting a giveaway for Valentine's Day which happens to be the birthday, the first publication date, of Bronze and The Glister Journals series. I had originally hoped to have the second book published on Valentine's Day too, but that's obviously not going to happen and I don't want to wait until next year! I still can't give a firm date for release, but I'm hoping I can still get it out in the first half of this year. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm working hard!

The Glister Journals #2: Chapter 22. Word count: imposing.

Reading Scarlet

Listening to Bastille.

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Sunday, December 1, 2013

December Update and Soundtrack Clue

Congratulations to Sarah, the winner of my November "Thank You" giveaway. I have e-mailed you and contacted you via Twitter. I have other book giveaways planned soon and another cash giveaway later on for the second Glister Journals title and cover reveal. That is planned for the first part of 2014. It will probably mark the official opening of the soundtrack puzzle entries too, so stay in touch!

On to the new soundtrack clue for those who are reading or have already read the book. Remember, those of you working on the puzzle now have a head start. You're more likely to get correct answers and have a better chance of winning!

CLUE #6 Two bands/artists are repeated once.

In other words, out of 31 songs, 27 are by different bands/artists, and 2 bands/artists have 2 each.

Hopefully that helps with any question of whether an artist is repeated and how many times!

If you'd like to see a certain type of clue or have any questions about the soundtrack at all, please feel free to ask. I'm sure there are plenty I haven't thought of yet. I will answer anything reasonable that does not completely give away the answers!

Would you like some music? I thought you might! This is Hadouken!, a British band I first found on MySpace YEARS ago (you remember MySpace don't you?) Anyway, this is great. I bought Hadouken's first album (imported!) and now realize I have some catching up to do. Their sound has only improved (mellowed a little perhaps, but in a good way. Parental advisory on some songs). I love the video too. Enjoy!

AWESOME remix can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vaddnA7l9U

Friday, November 1, 2013

November Glister Journals Giveaway and Soundtrack Clue

Congratulations to the winner of the Bronze Blog Tour giveaway and to Maureen, the winner of my Spooktacular giveaway.

There's a new giveaway! My way of saying thank you to those of you interested in The Glister Journals series and who are following here, there, and everywhere. This month I'm including another $25 Amazon gift card to help with your holiday shopping! And a paperback copy of Bronze, of course!

Do you know about the Bronze Soundtrack? It's a puzzle to solve with songs to uncover, and if the book were a movie, it would be the best soundtrack ever! (Well, I think so anyway.) The first clues can be found on the Bronze Soundtrack page of the series' website. Clues will be added every month until the contest officially opens--just to help you get a head start. The contest will close a month before the second Glister Journals book comes out. Thirty-one days before the release will be a video countdown of the chapters' songs. Sound like fun? I hope so!

I began planning and writing the series in November of 2008, so Bronze is actually set in the 2008/2009 school year. Clue #5: All Bronze soundtrack songs were released 2009 or before.

Of course there are prizes! The grand prize is starting off at $50 and will be increased--25% of book sales from now until the end of the contest will be added plus The Glister Journals #1 and #2, hardbound, signed, and personalized, and more. Other prizes will include signed copies of both Glister Journals books and fun Bronze swag. There might be ponies. Watch for updates!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com 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.

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Glister Journals: Bronze on Kindle--Free!

Just a head's up (especially for friends at Goodreads): The Glister Journals: Bronze will be FREE on Kindle November 1st and 2nd (this Friday and Saturday)!

November 1st there will also be a new giveaway and a new clue for the Soundtrack contest.

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Wonderful tour! So what's next? (Hint: includes more giveaways!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for all her care and hard work in setting up and running the Bronze Blog Tour for me. I HIGHLY recommend her services if you are considering a book tour or blast. I have met some truly lovely people and am so excited that so many more people now know about Bronze and, especially, The Glister Journals series.

Also a huge thank you to all the people who have followed me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or one of my blogs, and to those who have tweeted and retweeted, shared posts on Facebook and Google, and added Bronze to their shelves on Goodreads and other book sites. Please know that I do appreciate you on an individual basis and, when possible, check out your blogs and pages. You're awesome!

Congratulations to the winner of the $100 Bronze Book Blast giveaway! And continued good luck to those entered in the remaining giveaways: the Bronze Blog Tour Giveaway (scroll down for the giveaway) and the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop. Both giveaways are open until October 31, 2013.

So what's next?

A lot of things!

First of all, as a thank you and acknowledgment to all of you I am going to have monthly giveaways so more of you have an opportunity to win cash or giftcards (for books or music, of course!) and copies of Bronze. These will be Rafflecopter giveaways posted here on my blog and announced on my other pages. My blog is posted on Goodreads on my author page so it's also a good place to check for updates. The first will begin on November 1st and end November 30th. The next will begin December 1st, etc.

Second, a MUCH bigger giveaway is in the works for the Bronze Soundtrack Contest. You can find details at The Glister Journals website. Prizes will be added as participation grows, so I hope you'll consider reading the book, (only $2.99 on Kindle and print prices dropping as low as possible!) There will be at least five winners with prizes including book store (of your choice) gift cards plus swag, and including a grand prize winner of at least $50 (this prize starts at $50 and will increase--a percentage of book sales will be added!), personalized copies of both Bronze and the second Glister Journals book, and more!

There are clues listed on the website and clues and prizes will be updated regularly. Is it easy? Not too easy, but probably not too hard for anyone who has actually read the book and is willing to do a little searching! I'll also notify everyone of updates by Twitter and Facebook. The songs will be revealed in a countdown starting thirty-one days before the second Glister Journals book is released. (And yes, there will be a new soundtrack for that book!) The contest will be open for submissions (your list of song titles) for a couple of months before the countdown. I hope you'll enter--it'll be fun and it's really a GREAT soundtrack!

Also in a spirit of appreciation, the Kindle edition of Bronze will be FREE on November 1st and 2nd!

What's next for me, personally? I will be concentrating on writing. I want to be able to release the second Glister Journals book in the first half of 2014, but it will mean concentrating on writing and nothing much else. So anything my readers and supporters can do to help get the word out is SO appreciated!

I will continue to update my blog when I can (music and book reviews, road trips, etc.), but to guarantee I have at least a weekly post, I'd like to start a regular feature: Retro Thursday. Every week I'll do a media overview of a specific month and year that readers submit. What is your favorite memory? Wedding day? Special birthday? Vacation? An event with friends? Tell me the month and year it happened and I'll do a blog post on what was going on--movies, TV, books, and of course especially MUSIC! Just leave a comment suggesting a date here on my blog, on The Glister Journals Facebook page, or in a tweet to me on Twitter. I'll choose one a week to explore--just be aware it will be from my point of view!

Thank you again to everybody and I hope you'll continue on this journey with me! Speaking of Journey.... (LOL. Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com