Glistering: B's Blog

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thankful

I've been working on several posts that I just don't seem to be able to finish, so they are going to wait. Today I will just be thankful. In no particular order:

I'm thankful for good health. I could take better care of myself, as I used to, but I can't complain. The minor things I can live with or try to improve through diet and exercise. And sleep. As much sleep as possible.

I'm thankful for family. I'm very close to my children and they are very close to and supportive of each other. I am immeasurably thankful for that. And I am very thankful for my friends too!

I'm thankful for a wonderful book blog tour this fall. I'm especially thankful for the wonderful people I met and hope to stay in touch with, and all the people who have shown interest in Bronze and The Glister Journals. Thank you!

I'm thankful for my job. My five-day-a-week daytime job that pays the bills and allows us to eat. I hope to be able to write full-time one day, but I will keep writing anyways. It has become a huge and necessary part of my life.

I'm thankful for fond memories. I focus on these. I have a lot of bad ones too--the kind that can keep you awake at night--but I choose to not think about those. I'll let them be buried in my subconscious and only pull them out and look at them if they can be useful.

I'm thankful that I live in a country that still allows freedom of faith. I sometimes wonder how much longer those freedoms will exist, but they're there at the moment. I think. I'll believe in my God anyway, come what may.

I'm thankful for my ridiculously silly and cute cat, Buu. He's such a sweet companion...except when he thinks I've forgotten his dinner or that I'm ignoring him. He complains loudly in the first case and "tags" me with claws out in the second!

I'm thankful that I'm just as excited about my book series, The Glister Journals, as I was when I started it. Even if it's taking me FOREVER to finish the second book. It WILL get finished! And I'm also thankful for all the other story ideas I can tackle when the series is done. I can't wait!

I'm thankful for music. Pure and simple.

What are YOU thankful for?

And, according to my tradition, here is some Switchfoot for you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posts coming soon:

A Cataclysmic Music Review

Bronze Soundtrack Update (December)

Retro Thursday

Chabot Space and Science Center

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

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Retro Thursday: 2/83

I usually concentrate on new music, but I thought it would be fun to look back to a specific time and see what was going on. So once a month I'm going to do a short retrospective: movies, books, odds and ends, just about anything I can find. And of course, music. I'm choosing the first one but would love to get requests.

February 1983 was an important time for me but I wasn't very aware of what was going on in the world, so I thought it would be a good place to start....

In February 1983:

Toto - Africa #1 US February 1-5. I loved this song, but can't for the life of me think of another song by them. Can you?

Ronald Reagan was president of the United States

Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the United Kingdom

Pierre Trudeau was prime minister of Canada

Malcom Fraser was prime minister of Australia

Elizabeth II was queen . . . of course

Men At Work - Down Under #1 US February 5-12. LOL. Definitely one of my favorite songs. Let's not get into an argument of Vegemite vs. Marmite though.

Gas per gallon cost an average of:

.88 in California

.95 in Texas

.93 in Illinois

.96 in Florida

.99 in New York

£1.76 England

Kajagoogoo - Too Shy #1 UK February 13

Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie #1 Canada, January 22-February 5. (I'd never heard of this one...interesting.)

NEW YORK TIMES Sunday Book review (February 20) (Look how much Sci-Fi there is!)

“Mistral’s Daughter,” by Judith Krantz.

“Master of the Game,” by Sidney Sheldon.

“Space,” by James A. Michener.

“2010: Odyssey Two,” by Arthur C. Clarke.

“The Valley of Horses,” by Jean M. Auel.

“Foundation’s Edge,” by Isaac Asimov.

“Floating Dragon,” by Peter Straub.

“Life, the Universe and Everything,” by Douglas Adams.

“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Storybook,” by William Kotzwinkle.

“Ellis Island,” by Fred Mustard Stewart.

Laura Branigan - Gloria #1 Australia, February 7-March 21

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean #1 US (seven weeks) & UK.

February 26 – Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.

I couldn't find any movies worth referencing except The Pirates of Penzance which my whole family absolutely loves. Yes, we're very weird. It is a fairly faithful production of the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera (Premier in 1879). It stars Kevin Kline as the Pirate King and he's just amazing. Linda Ronstadt is Mabel. Such a fun but completely goofy movie. "With Catlike Tread" is my favorite part of the movie.

Do you remember February 1983? What is one of your favorite months and years? Leave me a message somewhere. Let me retro it!

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.

This is like the extra at the end of the credits: I just found this and it's awesome. :)

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

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

The Bronze Soundtrack and Contest

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

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

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

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Free Bronze on Kindle and Retro Thursday

Oh dear...so many things! I'm spreading everything over two blog posts (second for giveaways--coming soon) so hopefully nothing gets lost or overlooked. Bear with me!

Bronze print edition prices are lowered as far as we can go, at least through the holidays, so I hope you can pick up a copy. And Bronze will be FREE on Amazon Kindle on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd. I hope you'll take the opportunity to read it. And if you like it, reviews are always greatly appreciated! And of course you can actually buy the book if you really want to. I wouldn't mind. Honestly.

I'm looking forward to concentrating on finishing The Glister Journals #2 and getting back to 'normal'--whatever that is. The blog tour and my regular job have kept me pretty busy. I will be catching up with some book and music reviews that I should have done months ago. I also want to post regularly here, but I don't always have that much to say.

Which brings me to Retro Thursday. I love music, media, and research--both scholarly and just 'looking stuff up.' So I thought it would be fun to do little weekly retrospectives of particular months in specific years--and you get to choose! Just leave a comment (here, on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you find me) telling me what month and year a favorite memory took place--a special birthday, date, anniversary, event with friends, vacation, whatever!--and I'll explore what was going on, at least from a music and media perspective. I hope you'll enjoy it!

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

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Glister Journals: Bronze Tour

I'm so happy and excited to announce the start of the Bronze Kindle tour today. It will be on until October 25th with a new $25.00 giveaway too. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed me on Twitter, Facebook, and added Bronze to your shelves on Goodreads. I really do appreciate it and hope you get a chance to read it.

Make sure to stop by the tour kick-off at Kathy's site to learn about the Bronze soundtrack, a musical puzzle to solve. (And yes, there are prizes.) The following links will become active as the posts go live. I hope you'll come along and appreciate my gracious hosts by following their blogs. And I'd love to hear from you!

October 14th

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer – Tour Kick-Off: The Bronze Soundtrack

Kelly’s Lucky You – Bronze Spotlight

Christy’s Cozy Corners – Bronze Review

October 15th

Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews – Excerpt (Snow Day) and Character Interview: Allison

fuonlyknew – Bronze Spotlight and Excerpt: First Encounters Part One

Bookmarks, Spoilers and Happily Ever After – Bronze Spotlight and Excerpt (Snow Day)

October 16th

Spellbindings – Guest Post: Assumptions, Titles, and Judging Books By Their Covers

My Devotional Thoughts – Guest Post: My Top Ten Re-watchable (PG-13 or under) Movies

From the Bootheel Cotton Patch – Bronze Spotlight