Category: blogging

I just quickly wanted to hop onto my blog to make an announcement.

First I have to apologize for the lack of post these past few months and that is so not like me at all. But with Spring and what appears to be nicer weather happening, although its currently raining here, I am feeling inspired to get back into blogging.

The past few months have been a little crazy with hockey. This past season my son made the Bantam A team and what we didn’t realize in the beginning was how much ice time he would be getting with practices and games. It was a little crazy compared to being on a B team. Then we had a few tournaments right after the other so it seemed like there was times we were living in arenas but its all good because he had fun and learned a lot from these coaches.

But during that time I was still reading so I have quite a few, 43 to be exact of book reviews to post. So they will slowly be appearing on the blog.

Alright time for my announcement… are you ready for this?

Please help me welcome a new member to the Cindy’s Love of Books blogging team, my bestie, Jennifer.

I have finally convinced my best friend to join in the blogging fun and she has agreed. So you will be seeing her reviews of books here as well.

I have known Jennifer for several years but honestly it feels like I have known her forever. We were introduced a few years ago through a mutual friend (our kids are friends and went to school together). We actually went to the same church (and didn’t realize it) and our kids did their first communion and confirmation together.

Here is a little bit about Jennifer:

Who am I?  Well, I wear many hats, as I’m sure most of you do. I’m a wife, mother of two (14 and 10.5, the half is very important), piano teacher, interpreter for Deaf individuals, and Youth Minister at our Parish.

However, remove the hats and I’m someone who becomes very excited when book shopping with my BFF. Being surrounded by children is an enjoyment. Reading books and listening/playing music are my passion.

Books that draw my attention are those with creativity and intrigue. It doesn’t matter what age the book is geared towards, if it is well written, I will read it.  Any story that includes other books, music, magic, mystery, and chocolate are what I tend to gravitate towards. I relate well to books that take place in Canada and I do my best to include Canadian authors in my repertoire.  Books are timeless. One week I’ll read a book published in 2018 and the next week I’ll read a classic. Seasonal books are always fun to read as well. They help put you in the mood.

Thanks for reading and please let me know if there is a book out there that I should get my hands on.

I am so happy to have Jennifer on board with me and to help with the blog. She is such a sweet person and my partner in crime. Plus she gets me and I get her which is sometimes hard to find in a friend.

Thanks Jennifer for jumping on board.

Fractions of Existence by J. Lenni Dorner
Publication Date:  September 20, 2017

Once they were humanity’s exalted protectors— now they are being hunted.

Xavier will weigh all human life against Gwendolyn’s ignorant happiness.

The good news is that her choice can blow his away.

Omnipotent beings find each other while playing an online game. Xavier has been searching for Gwendolyn, his true mate and the missing member of the Existence. Only if reunited can the group regain the rest of their memories and access all of their powers. Hidden in plain sight, disguised as humans, they help who they can, as best they can, when they can.

The Eyes in the Shadows, a religious sect, has been trying to free humans from the “prison” of life on Earth for millenniums. The Existence has always been able to thwart them… until now. They’ve discovered a way to end the world that no one will see coming.

Gwendolyn has her future all laid out. There is a plan. She knows what her parents want for her and how to get it. Then Xavier, a friend from a virtual game, makes her question everything. He’s full of secrets, one being an understanding of her fear of the wind.

She tries to suppress her intense attraction to the mysterious and frustrating Xavier. She’s engaged, after all, and the thoughts she’s having aren’t proper. Gwendolyn is swept into a whirlwind of secrets, danger, and a forbidden attraction. She’ll drive across the country in her beat-up old car, not knowing if he is genuinely interested or just being polite. (He refuses to kiss her!) Gwendolyn’s journey is full of self-doubt, sacrifice, and dark visions that invade her sleep. Will she uncover the truth about herself?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. competed in Write Club 2014 & 2016. The Creative Writing Institute held writing contests that resulted in J Lenni Dorner being published in “WRONG!: A themed anthology 2014” and LOST!: A themed anthology 2017. J self-published “Preparing to Write Settings That Feel Like Characters,” in 2015. Winner of the Write Edit Publish Now flash fiction “Youthful Frights versus Adult Fears” Halloween challenge 2015. Signum University’s Mythgard Institute held a creative writing contest in the autumn of 2015 called “Almost an Inkling” in which J Lenni Dorner was the Popular Vote Winner of week 6, resulting in publication in The Soul of Wit. The Operation Awesome Flash Fiction Contest 12 win in April 2016 went to J Lenni Dorner.

A to Z Challenge co-host as of 2017.

When not reading or writing, J enjoys video games, laughing at funny cat videos, finding drawings of dragons on Pinterest, and watching movies.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

– One winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36273731-fractions-of-existence

Purchase Links:

Amazon

Link to Tour Schedule:

http://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/tour-schedule-fractions-of-existence-by-j-lenni-dorner/

Road to Publication

I started putting the words on the page back in 2011 during NaNoWriMo. (https://nanowrimo.org/participants/j-lenni-dorner/novels/fractions-of-existence) That’s where my road to publication began.

Once I finished writing it, I sent it to an editor and to a friend. They spent hours with me going over it, line by line, helping me find the flaws and what needed strengthening. Then it went to a paid editing service. Two years later, I started querying. I took classes, read books, and followed blogs trying to figure out why none of my query letters worked.

Several of those query letters were truly terrible. I learned from every rejection. One of the biggest lessons was about the importance of conveying marketability in a query letter, about proving there is solid fanbase to buy the first five-hundred copies.

Then, in June 2017, I found a blog hop/ prompt called “Down the TBR Hole.” (http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/06/19/down-the-tbr-hole-week-1/) The purpose was to go through one’s oversized to-be-read list and figure out which books could be cut. This process helped me narrow down what I look for in books like mine. That’s when I figured out what set Fractions of Existence apart from other Urban Fantasy books. Yes, that’s the right genre, but I didn’t use the best-selling elements that most others in the genre employ. I also discovered that I had more elements in the Paranormal Romance genre than I originally anticipated. However, the core romance in Fractions of Existence is of the slowburn variety (meaning there isn’t even a kiss), and the book doesn’t (SPOILER ALERT!!!) have an HEA. Hey, it’s a series, there’s still time. (End spoiler.)

That’s when I decided to go the self-publishing route. My target audience is probably too small for a traditional publisher to invest time and money in, and thus would be a difficult sell for an agent. But I didn’t write the story with the goal of getting traditionally published. I wrote it because the legend was passed down to me by my ancestors, and sharing it as a modern-day myth is my duty. It’s the purpose of my soul. Yes, I’ve written a few other stories along the way. But the Existence series will always be my true calling. Those are the characters about which I am most passionate. I hope you’ll read it and leave me a review. I look forward to more opportunities to learn, grow, and improve as a writer.

**Thanks Chapter By Chapter Blog Tours for arranging this guest post.**

I just wanted to take a quick moment to remind you about SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for young adults but you can do this to.  From April 26th to July 25th, SYNC gives away two complete audiobook downloads a week –pairs of high interest titles, based on weekly themes. Sign up for email or text alerts and be first to know when new titles are available to download at www.audiobooksync.com.

I have always wanted to give audio books another chance and what better way then through SYNC Audio Books. These are actually both books I have never read so I am excited to give them a try.

The audiobooks this week are:

by Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess | Read byKwame Alexander

Published by Blink

by Luis Alberto Urrea | Read by Luis Alberto Urrea

Published by Hachette Audio

The Dylan Dilemma by Patricia B. Tighe
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Publisher: Swoon Romance

High school senior Kenzie Harper-Shea has no time for dating, especially after the arrival of the basketball coach from hell. Now Kenzie has lost her confidence, is in a slump, and in danger of losing out on a scholarship to play college ball. The last thing she needs is her “vacation boyfriend,” Dylan McCoy, distracting her with warm smiles, inside jokes, and swoony kisses.

Dylan, however, is totally ready to date. He finally lives in the same town as Kenzie and is not about to lose the chance to let their relationship grow into something more. But for now, he’ll stay in the friend zone because he’s determined to find out what has her running scared. It can’t be just about basketball.

As Kenzie spends more time around Dylan, her feelings become a jumbled-up mess. It’s obvious they’re into each other. So, why does she panic whenever she thinks about dating him? Is it connected to basketball or to something deeper? She’s not sure. Does she have the courage to examine her heart, even if it means breaking Dylan’s?

This is the second book in the series. The first one is called About Last Summer and there is a third one in the works.

Since I haven’t read the first one I am not quite sure if this is a story line that continues over from the previous book. I know for me personally knowing that this was a second book in the series I kind of felt like I was missing something so I will definitely be ordering this book online to read just to catch myself up since there is a 3rd book coming out.

Our main character is Kenzie and although she looks like your girl next door she is but the only difference is that she lives and breathes basketball. She works and trains hard because her end goal is to get into college on a basketball scholarship. Kenzie is confident that she will go far but that is short lived when a new coach walks in and leaves Kenzie questioning herself and her confidence.

This is sort of where I had a problem with the coach. I liked the fact that he was strict and had a regime put in to place but the snide comments were just a little unnecessary and I think they don’t need to be said to young impressionable people who are playing the sport because they love it and want to succeed in it. Hearing those kinds of things make kids question why they do it when they are told one thing and it makes them feel like they aren’t good enough and in the end quit the sport. You can tell I am a parent of a child in a sport and had a child go through this exact same thing.

Anyways, enter Dylan, Kenzie’s basically vacation boyfriend. You know what I mean by that right? Anyways Dylan has decided that he wants to make things with Kenzie just a little more offical. He has decided that he wants to go to college in Kenzie’s home town so that he can be a little closer to her. He is ready to move from the friend zone to the boyfriend zone but Kenzie has other ideas and she doesn’t need Dylan to ruin her plans.

I loved Dylan and he knew that Kenzie was his dream girl and he would do anything even if it means just being friends with her to have her in his life. He makes it a point to always be there for her and he is determined to crack her tough exterior and find out what is making her scared. Is it all about basketball or is it something more?

After reading this I am determined to read the first book and continue the series. This was such a fun and cute read and the perfect thing I need to switch up my reading routine. I mean who doens’t love a cute fun teen romance book?