Street Team Sign Up!

It's a STREET TEAM SIGN UP!

Remember when I mentioned starting a Street Team? Well, I have been working on just that, and it's time to get the ball rolling. :)

Here's the story. Street Team Members are

a special lot. Team Members accept an easy weekly love-spreading assignment, and in return you'll receive Light Series swag, you'll be entered into Amazon Gift Card drawings a few times a year, and you'll be privy to some pretty exclusively exclusive exclusives... if you get my drift. Not to mention the fact that you'll be spreading the word about a series that's soul intention is to inspire you, heart and soul! And BONUS... fun with sexy men. You really can't go wrong.

If you'd like to sign up, you can either click the street team link HERE or the graphic to the right of this blog. Once you've done so, feel free to use any of the Street Team Graphics below (don't forget to collect your official member button). Snatch any of the buttons or banner graphics for use on your blogs or facebook or Twitter or whatever in the world you like.

I'm so excited to have you on our team! So hurry and sign up, because we'll have your first assignment ready by the beginning of next week!

Love,

Jen

Authors, Reviews and Negative Reactions

Holy Mack

So, I’m just now reading that there have been some…eh hem…interesting public reactions from a few authors to negative reviews of their books. Is it pathetic that I didn’t realize this was happening until very recently?

Anyhoo, this makes me sad--to know that some authors seem to lose their sense of joy and satisfaction from focusing too hard and too personally on reviews. I think this is detrimental, because a level of detachment from opinion is needed in order to continue writing, in order to finish a project you've poured your sweat and blood into, and, honestly, in order to survive the writing business at all.

I definitely understand how challenging it is--the art of silence--and ideally, the ability to keep your peace when someone dislikes your work. But it’s kind of crucial. That cliché thick skin everyone is always talking about is a God-send. It’s not just a mechanism of durability in the business, it’s one of thriving and sanity, as well. Because there’s a definite risk, in our reading and writing haze, (and as with anything in life, I suppose), to get so absorbed, so tangled in the details and reactions that we absolutely lose all perspective. We can miss the forest for the trees and our own individuality, as well.

I consider, as an author, what made me write in the first place. What were my personal philosophies, hopes and dreams for people, love, life and creativity and how did I want them to apply to my writing career? We have a goal and vision for our books, right? That idealism automatically helps you to rise above what ails you, and in this day and age, authors could really stand to hold onto that feeling, simply because technology, while enhancing the intensity of the experience and adding to the fun of reader interaction, has also made it far too easy to access the opinions of others. And for the more reactionary among us, this is a recipe for diplomacy faux pas galore.

I knew, from square one, that I was absolutely, unequivocally going to get some bad reviews. I was going to have some folks who wanted to throw my book across the room and then dance upon it (the idea of which is making me giggle for some reason), and then I was going to have some readers who wanted to take my book to bed with them (no lying…this actually happened), so I set out to steel myself from day one. Of course, I was nuts to think I could be little-miss-iron-emotions straight away, because, in the beginning, negative reviews stung like hell. But I kept reminding myself why I’d written a book at all, and that some people prefer vanilla, while some like chocolate, so I had to keep my head clear. And after a time, surprisingly, negative reviews went from lacerations to mild abrasions to slight pinches, and it really does get better.

I’ll be honest, I used to feel kind of bad for not responding with a thank you to every review of my books, but something always gave me pause, and when I consider it, I believe said instinct suggested that I might be invading the reader’s privacy—their safe, anonymous feeling—along with puncturing the invisible author-reader bubble that I suspect helps people suspend their disbelief while reading fiction.

All of this hardly means that I don’t read reviews or appreciate their insights (in fact, I love them!), but the act of “staying out of it” has always felt right, for me. It’s fitting, I think, to let people take what they need and leave the rest, even if that means I have to plug my ears and sing a few verses of, “Clang, clang, clang, went the trolley!” to get through the hard bits.

Peace and love,

Jen

Credit for photography goes to: Castillo Dominici

William Makes Top Ten Book Boyfriend and More!

So apparently this is top ten of 2011 week (or month?) on book review blogs across the interwebs, and woohoo! Looks like William Maddox has made...not one...but two book review blogger's lists of "top ten book boyfriends of 2011". Go Team William!

You can read for yourself at both Bookish Temptations as well as Confessions of a Bookaholic!

AND, bless him, Christian Wright has made it onto a list for "best character" over at Bookish Temptations, as well. That's my boy, you hot-headed little Brit.

I should also mention that the Light Series, itself, was named on Bookish Temptation's list of best books of 2011. Fun stuff! So glad to see this. :)

So, the book trailer for Circle of Light has been in the works for a while. I can't tell you how much patience I'm having to muster throughout this whole process, considering that we're only just about to begin official edits/re-writes, and my publisher is wanting to submit to Publisher's Weekly for a review (which is SUPER awesome, if the review is favorable), but it also means that it'll be a little while yet before book three comes out. However, I will say that we'll definitely have ARCS out for review at some point prior to release, so, to those awesome reviewers who keep asking me if they'll really have to wait so long just to get their hands on a review copy... no. You won't. Just hang in there, my lovelies.

All I can offer, right now, is a playlist from the book. But it's something, right? Here you go:

Love,
Jen

Free Holiday Download

A quick post today, everyone, because it's Christmas Eve and I'm still not done wrapping presents! However... the below gift didn't need wrapping. Only linking.

Please help yourself to this exclusive download on Reverbnation of Joseph's Anthem. It's my Christmas gift to you, and it will be free and available until Jan. 1st.

JOSEPH'S ANTHEM

Love and peace,

Jen

Christmas in July...

You know that change in mood that comes with the brighter, happier, richer energy of the season? Do you ever stop and consider where in the heck that seemingly supernatural charge springs from? For me, Christmas, at its core, is a celebration of peace and love toward our fellow men. It's a cliche worth encouraging. And that feeling of well-being that pours forth this time of year is a kind of miracle in itself.

The holiday joy thing should really always be here, but, considering the way so many of us are programmed to see life, a lot of folks probably don't feel right partaking of so much good cheer unless it's uniformly expected and accepted by the majority. Really. We're trained to look upon a world full of suffering and feel guilt. Life is hard, after all. People are starving, bombs are exploding, nations are unraveling. What right do we have to be happy all year round anyway? I'd be willing to bet these beliefs cause us to repress a natural sense of joy simply from guilt.

The thing is, if you're living in a world where fate has landed you in a seemingly easier situation than a lot of your fellow humans, how in the heck does year-round cynicism help anything? Does moroseness eleven months out of the year really do a thing to improve the world's prospects? And why do we wait until December to show our truest, happiest, cheer-filled selves and shine our brightest lights, when these are the same light that change the world? I'm glad we display them so well during the holidays, don't get me wrong. I just figure that if we can access that feeling now, we can access it any time. We can step into that field of energy that is transforming and energizing and hopeful no matter what the calendar says. Why should this awesomeness only creep up on us once the Christmas carols start playing in the grocery store? It's odd, the way we restrict our own good.

When you hear someone saying you should keep the spirit of Christmas all the time, it's not just another bit of holiday lip service. It's a golden reality check. Consider the sensation of childlike joy, the pure happiness that comes from being reminded of the bliss of being together, of celebrating life and knowing joy for joy's sake. We want to be better people, do nicer things. But why just now? Why only for Christmas?

I'm not positive, but I'd be willing to bet it has something to do with the mass power of suggestion--the power of empowering. The world says it's okay to be happy and good, and so we're free to do so. But, you know, it's actually okay to be happy and good to each other in the middle of October, as well--heck, get crazy and spring for June, if you want to. Keep that feeling alive--not just during the holidays. It should be a goal worth reaching for, yes?

Regardless of your religious or non-religious affiliation, Christmas inspires the memory of a man who understood the concept of giving and love, forgiveness and peace and he wanted to express that with his life. He was an inspiring human being, just as each of us have the potential to be. Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Whatever-The-Heck-You-Want-To-Celebrate is the perfect time to re-ignite your passion for generous, spirited living. But they shouldn't be a box of time that have an end. Let's see if we can carry this season over to the next one. What do you think?

Blessings, all. And Merry Christmahanzaa.

Love,

Jennifer

Winning Embrace and Some Swag Goodness!

I love writers, and I know what it's like for a new author out there in the big book world. Lately there's really been a surge in new authors being published who I want to introduce to you. So I'm happy to host author Cherie Colyer and her debut novel Embrace on the blog today. Cherie wrote an awesome guest post for her launch tour, which includes a contest to win an e-book of Embrace and some awesomely cool swag! Enjoy her post below and be sure to comment and enter and here and all that good stuff!

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Writing Embrace: journey from idea to release

by Cherie Colyer

It’s hard to believe Embrace has been released. This got me thinking about Madison’s journey from an idea rattling around in my head to an edited book available for purchase. I wish I could say that I woke up one day last year with the image of Madison and her friends, made my morning cup of coffee, sat down at my laptop, and voila! The story was written.

But that’s not what happened. I was in the middle of writing another book when I first started to see Madison running through the halls at school (details about that here) and I had to finish that novel before I could fully immerse myself in Madison’s story.

By the time I started working on Embrace I had a good picture of my main character and I knew enough about her to know that she would do anything for her friends. I did what brainstorming and research I needed to do and wrote the first draft in 2008. After many revisions, I queried ten or so agents and received mixed responses from a request for a full to this isn’t right for my list. I was fortune to receive some comments that helped me know what I needed to work on. By this time I was working on a new project, or maybe I was revisiting one of my other work-in-progresses. I can’t remember. I finished what I was working on and went back to Embrace. In this round of revisions I targeted the areas I knew needed improvement. I signed up for a course on writing in a teen’s voice which was offered at a conference, submitted the first 10-pages for a critique from one of the faculty, and went back to working on something else.

The conference was in August of 2009. I attended the breakout sessions that would best help me at that stage in my writing career, took notes from the course on voice, and came home excited to revise Embrace one more time. In the winter of 2009 I sent more queries out into the world, received requests for fulls and partials, got encouraging responses that include you have a great voice, this has potential, and this is a great commercial concept. Unfortunately, these praises were followed by two words I’d like to chop from agents’ vocabulary: but and however.

But it had potential. So I did another round of revisions and then entered Embrace in Amazon’s 2010 Breakthrough Novel contest, and it did well. The judge from PW also said it had potential. Once again, I took the comments I received from the different judges and from readers who read my excerpt and revised. This time when I went to query I decided to submit directly to publishers and picked the ones I felt were the best match for my novel. In spring of 2011 I received a response from Omnific Publishing that they felt Embrace would make a good addition to their young adult list. I still get a tingly feeling when I think about that email. There were more revisions to be done, but this time I had the guidance of my amazing editor. And now, I'm so excited to be sharing Madison’s story with the world.

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Embrace Launch Party Guest Posts!

Jennifer DeLucy Blog: Writing Embrace - From Idea to Release

Kym's Quips: The Research Behind to Story

Once Upon A *Spark*: Mythology Behind Madison's World

Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts: Bring on the Romance

Jennifer Lane Books Blog: Facing Change

Embrace Launch Party Posts!

Susan Kaye Quinn, Conjuring Tales for Young Minds

Kim Winters, Kat's Eye Journal

Carole, the life of fiction

Mina Burrows, books for paranormal & mystic minds

Joseph Rinaldo, Read Rinaldo

Angela Brown, in a Pursuit of Publishness

Debra Anastasia, Tell me a Story

Colleen Wagner, London Relocation

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Embrace

a novel by Cherie Colyer

Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It’s responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve.

Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he’s a guy harboring a secret, but she’s willing to risk the unknown to be with him.

Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren’t there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own.

Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.

AUTHOR INFO

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Prizes: To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Cherie is giving away an eCopy of EMBRACE and 5-Embrace Hemp Bracelets today. There are three ways to win:

1) Leave a comment here or at any of the Party Posts.

2) Tweet about the Virtual Party or any of the Party Posts with tag #EMBRACEnovels

Example:

Nothing could have prepared her for what she’s about to discover. #EMBRACEnovels @CherieColyer #YA avail NOW www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com

Example:

Celebrate the launch of EMBRACE by @CherieColyer #EMBRACEnovels #paranormal #YA avail NOW www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com

3) Facebook (tag Cherie Colyer, author) about the Virtual Party.

Example:

Celebrate the launch of teen paranormal thriller/romance novel EMBRACE by Cherie Colyer, author and enter for a chance to win Embrace prizes! http://www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com

Do all three and you will have three times the chances to win! Leave a comment at each stop of the tour for a chance to win the Grand Prize.

If you haven’t already, remember to stop back by Cherie’s blog or click here to fill out the form to ensure your entry is counted.

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Unto Us an Album is Born!!!

You guys! I'm so stinkin' excited. :) You know what? My first CD was born tonight. *big shmoopy grin* We named it "Joyful Air", and the delivery was much easier than anticipated.

The Christmas themed album is available for purchase as of right this very minute, you know. *bites nails*

I told everyone that I dedicated this CD to my Grandpa Gene (it says so in the CD jacket), but I have to reiterate that the man was the only father I ever had. Add to that the fact that he was so unfailingly gentle-hearted and proud of his kids. If they had a house they had a mansion, you know? Grandpa died far too early. I was only ten years old. And times like these I miss him most, because I don't exactly have any typical parental sorts around to go all button busty for me. He wasn't around to see my books get published or to hold this CD in hand, but his influence on me is huge. In fact, most of the covers on "Joyful Air" are directly because of him, because when I was a little girl we always played Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, etc, at Christmas time, and I would listen and croon along with them and say to myself, some day I'm going to make an album. It really meant everything to me. So, when opportunity knocked in the form of a dear friend who had a sudden day away from her studio and offered it to me, "Joyful Air" is what came of her act of friendship. I'm so grateful.

Production and things have progressed a lot quicker than I thought and I'm both nervous and thrilled to be able to share it with you.

HERE'S THE LINK TO PURCHASE

You don't need a paypal account to order. You can do so with good old plastic, if you like. Also, should you have any trouble with your CD or you're unsatisfied in any way please let me know. No unhappiness will go unrectified.


Love you guys. And happy holidays!

Jen