Glistering: B's Blog

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Surfers Healing and an update

Hi everyone! I realize I haven't posted for a while and figured I'd better post something to let you know I'm still here! The second Glister Journals book is still coming but has been temporarily derailed while I revise Bronze into a leaner, shorter edition. It may even be in two parts (at least the paperback version) which will allow it to be cheaper and more portable. At least, that's the plan. The kindle version is no longer available, but the print editions will be available until the situation changes. More about that in the future. So if you haven't read it yet, I suggest waiting until the new edition is published. The second full novel will follow as quickly as possible! If you've already read Bronze, don't worry, the story and characters are exactly the same. I've mainly cut unnecessary words and description. The dialogue and heart of the story are still there!

If you are interested in autism spectrum disorder, especially from a female perspective, you may be interested in the more personal blog that I recently started, Lost and Found. I hope it will serve as one more positive, encouraging, and validating place for girls/women on the spectrum, who are often overlooked and left doubting everything. Still under construction, it welcomes guest posts, shared content, art, music, etc. of a positive or "this is the way it is" nature. Strictly "G" rated.

Some of you may follow The Glister Journals on Facebook, but for those who don't, I'm going to repost today's post here as it touches on a subject close to my heart. The Facebook page most often covers short, infrequent, and non-spammy posts of an equine or extreme sports nature and are usually completely separate from my blog posts.

More regular and book related posts are coming, I promise! For now, here's the Facebook post:

"I hope everyone's having a great weekend! We were awoken about three this morning by a lengthy, rolling earthquake. I hope everyone involved closer to the epicenter are okay!

In case you've never heard of them, I'd like to introduce you to a couple of little-known charities I hope to be more involved with in the future. We'll start with an awesome video from Surfers Healing. I'll post about the other next weekend.

If you've read The Glister Journals: Bronze, you may (or may not) realize that the main character, Allison, is a little different from most other girls. That difference is autism spectrum disorder. For her, the traits are mild, easily overlooked unless you experience them yourself or know what to look for. For the bronc-riding, dirt-biking, skating, surfer brothers, Dave and Chris Caldera, the difference is much more profound in their littlest brother.

Surfers Healing is a non-profit founded by ex-pro surfer Izzy Paskowitz and his wife Danielle, that "seeks to enhance the lives of kids with special needs, specifically those with autism," that teaches them to surf. The video says it all.""

Post by Surfers Healing.

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, July 15, 2014

Review: The Raven Boys

Time to get caught up with some reviews!

This is a little old now as I read The Raven Boys last summer, but as we're only in the middle of the series (the third of four books comes out this year) I guess it's not too late.

The Raven Boys is the first title in the Raven cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and is definitely one of my favorite books of the past few years. I like books that are both well-written and don't explain too much at the beginning, just dropping information here and there to let you piece things together, and such a book is The Raven Boys.

In fact, the beginning is very vague: Blue Sargent and someone we understand to be her aunt are sitting in a graveyard in the middle of the night, waiting. Waiting for what, exactly, isn't clear, but we're told that every St. Mark's Eve, Blue and her clairvoyant mother wait in the graveyard for the soon-to-be-dead spirits to walk by and whisper their names. Blue can't see or hear them but functions as an amplifier. In fact she often acts as amplifier for her mother, aunt, and the other women living in her home. It's this paranormal vagueness, the relationship of the female characters living at 300 Fox Way, and the way the paranormal is no big deal, just a part of everyday life--exciting at times and a headache at others, but rarely causing anxiety or stress--that reminded me of one of my all time favorite books, A Wrinkle In Time. It also reminded me of the movie Practical Magic (which I also love) in the way the characters interact. Win-win.

Apart from being extremely well-written - Maggie turns some wonderful phrases - it is otherwise unlike anything else I've ever read. And that's always a good thing too.

Blue is initially extremely annoyed then befriended by four boys, ‘Raven Boys’ from the local prep school, and is roped into their adventures trying to find the final resting place of an ancient Welsh king. The reasons for this search are also very vague, but it seems like a worthy quest, at least from the boys’ point of view, and they are all invested in it. Magic is involved, of course, and the boys soon discover that Blue, with her amplifying power, is very handy to have along. Romance is obviously in the future with a foreboding black cloud already hanging over it in the form of Blue's curse--that she will be the cause of her true love's death. There's a triangular shaped thing already in place too, but that’s to be expected, I suppose, and didn’t detract one bit from the pleasure I got from the story.

I absolutely loved this book. The characterizations were clear and not too clichéd, I loved the boys (especially Noah) and loved the quirky women of Blue’s household too. There were a few parts that were too vague, not well described enough, which made it hard to imagine, but the characters, plot, and strength of writing more than made up for it. I will definitely be reading this book again and am in for the whole series.

Highly recommended! with reservations about the sequel. Stay tuned.

This song's a little old now too, but the first time I heard it, it made me think of this book. (No the video has nothing to do with the story.)

Currently writing: TGJ Book 2 Chapter 26 (Yes - still - but almost done). Revisions through chapter 15.

Listening: Foster the People (review coming)

Reading: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Watching: Gilmore Girls Season 7

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, July 1, 2014

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop

I am currently on vacation and working very hard to finish up my current novel. So far, so good! For those of you who have read and loved Bronze, I hope you will love the second book even more. I can't wait to release it!

In the meantime, let's have another giveaway! This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Bookhounds. I am giving away a $15 gift card to the book store of your choice, and a paperback copy of my novel Bronze (The Glister Journals #1).

I have tried to make this easy for people already following me or The Glister Journals series in various places. If you're already a follower, you shouldn't have to do much except enter on the rafflecopter. If your name is the same on each entry, just leave an e-mail on one of them. I will verify winning entries, so no need to add again on Goodreads, etc. If you have any insight on how I can make this even easier for current followers, please let me know! Follow the links below to the other participating blogs.

Good luck!

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

Friday, June 20, 2014

Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Midsummer Eve's Giveaway Hop! This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. I am giving away a $15 gift card to the book store of your choice, and a paperback copy of my novel Bronze (The Glister Journals #1). Follow the links below to the other participating blogs.

Good luck!

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

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Review: Mockingjay

Death. Destruction. Mayhem. Just another day in Panem.

The rebels have taken a stand in every district with the exception of District 2 and the Capital. Katniss is reunited with Gale and her mother and sister in the (literally) underground District 13, but Peeta was not rescued. He is now in the Capital, but he's not the same.

This is the first time in I can't remember how long I felt that I HAD to read the end of a book, just to make sure somebody was okay. And not just "okay" but that the book ended satisfactorily. Now, cheating and reading the end of a book is close to sacrilege to me, like sneaking peeks at presents days before Christmas (no, I never have). I had become so invested in one particular character, however, that if they didn't make it, and if there wasn't closure, I was going to throw the book away. Seriously.

I found Mockingjay much harder to read than the first two books. I believed The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I had a much harder time suspending disbelief for Mockingjay, but I'm not sure why. It felt a little too slow at the beginning, but once Katniss and the others began their forays out into the other districts, it didn't stop. One of the things I found most difficult to read were the continuous deaths.

There was plenty of death in the first two books, of course, but that was mostly individuals during the games. This is brutal war and torture. There is a LOT of violence in this book. It's not that it's too graphic--I didn't find it any more graphic than the others--but it just seemed over the top to me, and at one point Ms. Collins was killing off so many characters that I had a suspicion that EVERYBODY was going to die. It seemed to be heading in that direction. Which is why I had to cheat.

If you loved the first two books (which I did), of course you must read this one. If you struggled through them because of the violence, this one's worse. Was it worth reading? Absolutely, and I'll read the trilogy again. But not for a while. And yes, I'm looking forward to the movie immensely!

I had been holding off writing this review hoping for a real movie trailer, but there is none yet. (I'll come back and add it later.) In the meantime, Radioactive by Imagine Dragons always reminds me of The Hunger Games in general (the lyrics, not the video) so I will leave you with that for now.

And now there's at least a teaser!

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, May 12, 2014

Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop

Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop

May 12th – 18th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, YA Romantics, and Tressa’s Wishful Endings.

About Children's Book Week:

Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes – wherever young readers and books connect!

For more information visit: http://www.bookweekonline.com/

My giveaway for Children's Book Week is a $15.00 gift card of your choice and a paperback copy of Bronze (The Glister Journals #1) US/CAN only.

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

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