Live.Laugh.Love...Feeling the Love!

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One thing I've learned since OPPRESSION was published is that you can't please everyone. No matter how hard you try, even if you write the most brilliant masterpiece of a novel (which I'm not saying I did...), there will always be those who put you down, who don't like your work, etc. BUT what makes it all worth it are those you touch, who love everything about your writing and reach out to tell you just how much...

I wanted to share with you some of the emails I've gotten that have made it all worth it for me :) In moments where I was discouraged or hurt by someone's comment (yes, authors are people too...we do read the reviews you write and the comments you make...) these emails really made me feel the love!

"Hey just wanted to say GREAT book! Loved it.... soooo.... umm.. hurry up and get the next one written already!!! Jeez :)" - Aly

"I just popped over here from Mark Koopman's blog. I cannot for the life of me remember where I heard about your novel, "Oppression" the first time, but I bought a copy and am now almost half way through. LOVE IT! Wonderful characters and story! Love your spin on Greek Mythology." - Scarlett Stokes

"Hi, I know that this series is in the teen category, however as a 51 y/o my wife and I loved your first book and can't wait until the next one is published. Thank you for an original series and great read." - Hub

"I loved your book! It was all of the details and creative aspects that I would want in an absolutely amazing book! I am a HUGE fan of Greek mythology. Sometimes I felt like I was Elyse and that I had known these characters my whole life. The way that you described that the Gods weren't really gods at all, but people that had special powers and they aged differently, made me look at mythology in a whole different way. I give this book 5 stars all the way. Your book, (in my opinion) was better then the Hunger Games series, Percy Jackson series, and the Matched series, combined! In the end your book took my breath away and I want my own William!" - Tera Vinuela

"Ms. Therrien, I am an avid reader and love really most any type of book, but I must say, I loved your first book Oppression. My wife and I (she's 26, I'm 28) always look for up-and-coming authors on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (she has a Kindle, I have a Nook), and sometimes the do-it-yourselfers get it right. This book was so good that if I knew you, I'd have to give you a high-five because it was very entertaining.
I have been an avid reader all my life, and typically read an average of a book per week. This one is very easily in my Top 10 for the past few years. Good job with this one, and I look forward to reading Book Two." - Ty Davis

"Dear Mrs. Jessica Therrien,

Jeez! Your writing is amazing! I would like to introduce myself. I am LeeArron Klosterman. I am a senior in high school and going off to college next year. I bought a little tablet for Christmas that I am going to take to college. I found out that I could use the 'kindle' app on it. I usually do not like reading, BUT, I got your book on there and my mom was SO impressed that I was reading! I really could not keep my mind off of the storyline. Books on young adults (well, at least appearing to be [haha]) with superhuman qualities or abilities are my favorites! Anyways, I wanted to say thank you for sharing your amazing gift of writing stories with me. I am also here to say that I SOOOO much want to hear back from you and also to know about when the next book comes out. I want to get a hold of it as soon as it does. Thanks-a-million again!

Have a splendid day! and Hope to hear back!

 

P.S. Also, I wanted to mention that my absolute favorite part of the first book had to be the way you designed Ellie. I could really relate to her. I identified with her on everything (usually the way she felt) every step of the way throughout the book. That made it even more awesome to read!" - LeeArron Klosterman

How have others made you feel the love lately?

Live.Laugh.Love...Christmas Kitty

I'm pretty sure nobody loves Christmas more than this guy...

I accept the fact that no one will love my cat as much as I do, but I just had to share my kitty's love for Christmas.

Meet Romeo. Single. Persian. Loves long naps on the couch and being bad to get attention.

Favorite food - Fancy Feast. 

Favorite toy - Laser. 

Favorite holiday - Christmas.

Not only has he made a fully functioning fort out of the presents, but he has taken to opening them himself (those claws come in handy). At least he helps me re-wrap them...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Live.Laugh.Love...Writer Friends

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Okay, I'm going to be honest. I'm super blog-lazy right now. Forgive me if this isn't the world's best post. Lazy or not, I have to thank the universe for giving me writer friends. What would we do without them? They're the ones who actual listen when you feel like venting about plot frustrations, talking about character development, or when you have to tell someone about the amazing scene you just wrote. Most people will put up with your writer-ranting for a while, but the writer friends REALLY listen and connect, because they know. They know what it's like to pour your heart and soul out onto the page, how much work it is, how hard yet satisfying it can be when you make progress. And when you say, "Hey Holly, can you read these 30 pages real quick?" She doesn't groan or make a face like, 30 PAGES, do I have to? No. She says, "OF COURSE! Yay, I can't wait!" I mean, lets be honest here. Not many people are willing to do that for you (aside from mommies, sisters, and besties) but writer friends will, because they are a special kind of wonderful. Not only will they read that 30 pages, they'll read it again. AND AGAIN....with honest feedback, and corrections each time.

So, thank you writer friends:

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Holly Kammier - author of Could Have Been Holly Wood
Christian LaMonte - author of Talis Springs
Candace Walsh - Ms. Poetic Brilliance
Allison Rogge - The World's Strongest Woman (and brainstorming extraordinaire)
Janet Jackson (no not the singer...but just as bad ass) - My Biggest Fan
...and of course Molly the Magnificent and the rest of the ZOVA magic makers.


Thanks for everything you do! I LOVE YOU WRITER FRIENDS!

What have your writer friends done for you? What makes them so awesome?

Writing World: Interview with Cherie Colyer

I've met so many amazing authors since I've joined the overwhelmingly large and super awesome online community of bloggers, and Cherie Colyer is one of them. Like me, Cherie's debut novel is coming out soon! I thought it would be fun to interview her about it.

So Cherie...

When will your book be out?  

Embrace will be available on December 20, 2011. I’ll be announcing the Virtual Launch Party on my blog (cheriecolyer.blogspot.com) on November 22^nd. I hope you’ll stop by then to learn how to join the fun.

What is Embrace about?

Embrace is a teen paranormal romance about a girl who discovers there are unseen forces in the world, and she’ll need to embrace these forces to save her friends.

Madison Riley hates change. For her, nothing good ever comes from it and this year everything’s changing. She begins to believe that change might not be all bad when she meets Isaac. He’s handsome and fun to be around, but he’s a guy with a secret. Madison is willing to risk the unknown to be with him; reasoning with herself that whatever it is that makes him choose his words carefully can’t be that bad.

Her life 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 doctor’s can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own and nothing could have prepared her for what she discovers.

Check out her blog for a great teaser (here...)

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Oh, this is a good question. When I first started writing, it was for myself. I wanted to see where my characters were headed and how they’d get there. I must have been writing for close to two years before I called myself a writer. By that time I had written a couple books that I knew needed work, I had joined SCBWI and a critique group, and I was in the process of taking a writing course to learn more about writing for children. I knew then that I was a writer. The bug had hit me and no matter what happened with my books, I would always be a writer.

How did you come up with the title?  

The title for Embrace came to me as I was writing the first draft. Let me see if I can answer this question without giving away any spoilers, so I apologize now if I’m vague. The title became Embrace as soon as I realized Madison would have to embrace the unknown to save her friends. She’ll have to choose to embrace change and take control of her life or let change determine her future and who will be in it. Since friends are very important to Madison, there is also the embrace or security of being with her friends and of course the embrace of a strong guy. That one word became the perfect title for this book.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?  

I tend to struggle with finding a good balance of intrigue, detail and action in the first chapter of my books. I know if there is too much detail, I risk pulling readers out of the scene or boring them. If I don’t have enough detail the reader will become lost. It can be just as confusing to someone who doesn’t know the characters and their world if I jump into the action too quickly. I probably wrote a dozen versions of chapter one before I was happy with it.

Do you have any advice for other writers?   

Keep writing and revise, revise, revise. I know writers hear this all the time, but there is a reason people have nicknamed the first draft the sh--ty first draft. If you haven’t already, join a critique group. The amount of knowledge I gained and the friendships that developed are invaluable. And lastly, read. Study what it is you like or dislike about a particular book and apply these things to your own writing.

If you could be a character in any fiction, who would you be? Why?  

It’s a toss-up, so I’m going to cheat and tell you both. On one hand I want to say Mystique from the X-men. She’s extremely intelligent, that alone is a huge must for me. But Mystique is also great in a fight. She’s cunning, loyal and even though she’s a mutant, she’s still very human. And then there’s her ability to turn into anybody. Think of the possibilities.  Then I thought about magic and the ability to conjure just about anything I wanted if I were a witch. Since there’s no better witch than Hermione – who is smart, cunning and one of the best friends a person could have – I would chose her.

Where can people purchase Embrace?   

Embrace will be sold at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and from my publisher at Omnificpublishing.com

Cherie is always dreaming of romance and expressing her dreams in stories. She combined her passion for writing with her fascination of all things mythical to weave together a youth romance story that led to her debut novel, Embrace.

You can find Cherie here...

Embrace Website
Goodreads
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Live. Laugh. Love...Sweet Baby Girls

On Fridays I like to post a little about the good things in my personal life that make me live, laugh, and love. Today, that is being an auntie...

Not having little babies of my own (YET!) my niece Cadence is the next best thing. I love my sweet baby girl, and though she's far away, she adds a special kind of joy to my life. I mean just look at her...

I know...too many pictures, but she's my little love. AND a second little love has been a bun in the oven for the past 9 months.... 

Finally, last night at about 12:06 a.m., at 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and 19 inches tall, Athena was born, and my heart grew another size...

My sister Allison, the Amazon woman, was in for quite a ride with this one.

For the first 24 hours she was in complete denial. She called me and explained that contractions were happening about 5 minutes apart.

"Holy smokes, this is happening!" I squealed over the phone.

"I don't know," she said. "It doesn't hurt, so I'm just going to hang out with Cadence and walk around. We'll see."

Meanwhile, I was the one freaking out. I was so anxious and so excited, I could hardly keep from calling every hour.

"How are you now? Any change?"

"They're getting stronger, but I think it might be fake. I don't want to drive to Truckee if it's not really happening."

My sister lives an hour from any hospital, so a quick check-in wasn't an option.

"Um, I think it's happening..."

"We'll see..."

Denial. 

She told my mom to cancel her flight!

"I don't think this baby is coming any time soon," she told her.

WRONG.

When the nurse convinced her she should come in, Allison was pretty sure she would be sent home after the hour-long drive to Truckee.  She wasn't.

She was in labor (of course).

Her plan was to go drug-free this time.

"Yeah, right...." I told her.

She made it halfway without caving, but after realizing she had another 5cm to dilate, she decided drug-free was not in the cards for her.

"Give me the drugs. I need the drugs," she pleaded (as so many women do).

They got her in the bathtub (yes, bathtub...in her hospital room) to wait the 30 min. for the Dr. to arrive...BUT the baby had other plans.

"I need to push," Allison said.

"No, just hang on, you've got a while," the nurse told her. It had only been 20 minutes, and the Dr. hadn't come to give her the drugs yet.

"Seriously, I need to get out. She's coming."

Within that twenty minutes Allison had gone from 5cm to 10cm. She rushed to the bed and delivered Athena into her husband's hands in three pushes before the Dr. had time to run into the room.

SURPRISE. 

So much for the drugs.

Needless to say, baby fever is back...hahaha. Too many babies and a whole lot of love will do that to you.  

Live. Laugh. Love...Boston Trip

I've been very lucky that I've gotten to travel so much over the past year. This trip to Boston was for a family wedding (is EVERYONE getting married or what?). It was amazing! My stinkin' memory card filled up two days in, though, so you'll just have to take my word for it...Boston is fabulous. The city has SO much history...PLUS I met some of my new family. They're all Italian Boston-ers with thick accents. Everyone is a cousin and now they're all MY cousins.

In front of our hotel

Copley Square

Church built in the 1600's (yeah...before America!)

Dressed up for the wedding

Cove in Marblehead

The gorgeous couple!

 Speaking of weddings....MY OFFICIAL WEDDING PICTURES ARE IN!!!

Check Out Jessica and Brian's Slideshow As photographer's, we had a great time interacting with you at Jessica and Brian's Patriotic Wedding. View our favorite highlights from the event by clicking here.

Live. Laugh. Love...Wedding Pics

Our wedding photographer, Jillian Bisinger, posted some teaser pics of my new husband and me on her photography blog. It's been three months since we got married, but it feels like forever (in a good way). I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life...not only because he's super awesome, but because when I write about love, it's not contrived, but inspired by genuine experience. It's easy to write a character who is in love when you know exactly what that feels like. Enjoy the pics :)