First thing's first. Next Tuesday (July 3rd) I'll be announcing the title and release date of Children of the Gods Book 2! Hoooray! I've been WAITING to tell you...so excited :)
In celebration of the news, I'm going to copy genius author/marketer/awesome-lady Susan Kaye Quinn and host a SHARE A BOOK Giveaway! Thanks Susan for this awesome idea, I hope you don't mind me using it :)
Here's how it works:
1. MY PART: I'll be giving away 3 copies of Oppression (Children of the Gods #1)
2. YOUR PART: Each winner agrees to GIVE AWAY their copy of Oppression (after they've read, signed, & dated it) to a friend, a friend of a friend, a stranger, anyone you think will enjoy the book.
My hope is that it will be kind of like a signed yearbook after a while, with the names of everyone who has read it. If it sounds confusing, don't worry, I'll include instructions. Just read, sign, pass on...
3. GOODIES: Each initial winner will also get an Oppression notebook (and that's yours to keep, since you are kicking off the sharing). I'll include signed bookmarks to be passed along to the others as they share the book.
If you've already read Oppression, you can still enter to win a copy to give to a friend
(as you'll have to pass it along anyway).
There are others like her. Many of them.
And they have been waiting for her for a long time.
Giveaway ends Wednesday 7/18! (open to US/Canada only) (Click the title of this post if you can't see the Rafflecopter form)
As you may already know, next week will be my last week working my day job. I'm excited and sad all at the same time. I can't wait to devote myself completely to writing, but you have to understand, I had a GREAT job...I looked forward to going to work in the morning for one reason--work friends. What makes a great job isn't what you do, but the people you work with. I just so happened to be working with some of the best people on the planet. I'm going to miss them!! I can't imagine not seeing their faces every day.
On Wednesday they threw me a goodbye party (a tad early because some were going out of town). They really blew me away. I truly felt the love. They decorated the place with a Chinese theme and hanging on the cherry blossom tree are red envelopes, each one with a personal message to me from the people I worked with. Can you believe that?? How sweet are they?! Like I said...BLOWN AWAY. Also, sitting on the edge of the table is my new NOOK glow which they all chipped in to get me. My jaw dropped when I saw it. Not to mention my boss wrote me a funny poem about my leaving that he read in front of everyone. It was just a fantastic day...
THANK YOU my Water District friends! You are the best. I'll never forget the love, support, and friendship. I'll always be ever grateful.
I'm a busy lady this week. Book club on Monday, YA event on Saturday, and editing all days in between...
Thanks to my fellow author/friend Holly Kammier (Could Have Been Holly Wood) I got the chance to meet the wonderful ladies of her book club. We had fun, snacked on yummy food, and talked books/T.V. crushes/life. I love me a little girl time :)
On Saturday (June 23rd) I'll be at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego with a bunch of other awesome YA authors. I'm so excited and hope to see you there!! Here are the details:
Summer Reading Recommendations for Teens and Tweens in San Diego
06/23/2012 2:00 pm
Location:
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
Ste 302
San Diego
,
California
92111-1040
United States
For many of us, summertime is a celebration of reading opportunities beyond assigned curriculum.
MGSD’s Elizabeth hosts our 2012 Summer Reading Recommendations for Teens, with guest authors: Laurie Stolarz, Christine Fonseca, Tera Lynn Childs, Tracy Deebs, and Jessica Therrien.
Deadly Little Voices, Laurie’s latest Touch novel, chronicles Camelia’s efforts to devote herself to art school and use her gift of psychometry to help locate a missing girl.
Lacrimosa, the first novel in Southern CA author Christine’s YA Gothic series, The Requiem Series, examines the role of redemption and sacrifice.
Tara takes on several creatures of mythology, exploring Medusa’s descendants in Sweet Venom, and merfolk in Forgive My Fins.
And mermaids are also the focus of Tracy’s second installment in her tales of Tempest Maguire, as Tempest is torn between forces of land and sea in Tempest Unleashed.
SDSU graduate and author Jessica’s debut, Oppression, is book one of her YA paranormal romance/adventure series, Children of the Gods.
I honestly thought about not posting these because there are a lot of Twilight haters out there these days, and I didn't want to catch flack for it. Then I thought...hey, this is my dang blog, and I'm looking forward to the movie (despite the fact that the last one left me a little disappointed). I'm still a Twilight supporter. I'll probably always be. Those books were so much fun to read, and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to follow the trend and hate Twilight because now it is cool to hate it instead of cool to love it. I loved it because I loved it. Not because it was cool. Granted I probably won't be re-watching the movies in marathon style like I did/do with Harry Potter, but I'll always stack the books proudly on my bookshelf. Say what you will. For all those Twihards standing strong...here you go :)
YAY! Today my friend and fellow author, Bethany Lopez, is revealing her cover for CIAO! It's the third book in her YA series. Congrats Bethany :)
Melissa has had a fantastic summer, hanging out with her friends and making new ones. Life as she knows it will change when they all come together to begin their sophomore year at Dearborn High. Connections will be made and friendships will be tested. Will Melissa’s family and friends be able to help her through the challenges she will face in the upcoming months.
Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult novels. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her contemporary Young Adult series, Stories about Melissa. Ta Ta for Now! and xoxoxo are available now. Book three, Ciao, will be released in Aug 2012.
If you want to help spread the word here are some links to post on Twitter & Facebook:
Maybe everyone in the world has seen this preview but me...I don't know. I'm just so flippin' excited about it!! Too bad all of the movies I'm excited about aren't coming out for a REALLY long time *cough* Divergent *cough* Blood Red Road!! ERG.
If you haven't seen The Hobbit Trailer, here you go :) It will be out December 13, 2012!
What book to movie awesomeness are you waiting for?
I am a huge poetry lover. In fact, I started writing poetry before I ever started thinking about writing books. I never pursued publishing. They're sort of something I like to keep secret, but I thought I'd share some that I didn't write, some of my favorites. You've probably heard of them, but if you haven't, you're lucky. I remember the first time I read these, and they left me with such an amazing feeling...enjoy.
i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
- E.E. Cummings
Sonnet XVII
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
- Pablo Neruda
Ithaca
When you set out for Ithaka ask that your way be long, full of adventure, full of instruction. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops, angry Poseidon - do not fear them: such as these you will never find as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare emotion touch your spirit and your body. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops, angry Poseidon - you will not meet them unless you carry them in your soul, unless your soul raise them up before you.
Ask that your way be long. At many a Summer dawn to enter with what gratitude, what joy - ports seen for the first time; to stop at Phoenician trading centres, and to buy good merchandise, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, and sensuous perfumes of every kind, sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can; to visit many Egyptian cities, to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.
Have Ithaka always in your mind. Your arrival there is what you are destined for. But don't in the least hurry the journey. Better it last for years, so that when you reach the island you are old, rich with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth. Ithaka gave you a splendid journey. Without her you would not have set out. She hasn't anything else to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn't deceived you. So wise you have become, of such experience, that already you'll have understood what these Ithakas mean.
Happy Wednesday friends :) So, I've been getting a lot of questions about the status of Book 2 in my Children of the Gods series. I thought I'd give you all an update...
Firstly, thank you so much to everyone who has emailed me about the sequel to Oppression, to all of you who wrote in your reviews that you couldn't wait for the next one, to those who scoured the internet for a release date posting the question with hopes of an answer. I'm so flattered that you are that excited about it!
I have good news. I'll be announcing the release date and the title shortly! My publisher and I are narrowing down a date, and the draft title seems to be sticking. Should I dare mention that I recently viewed the first draft of the Book 2 cover?! Ha! So exciting...
I guess I should give you an update on the manuscript as well...you know, the meat of the novel...the stuff you REALLY care about ;) It's so close to done it's not even funny. The first draft was completed a while ago. I think I announced that in April or May. I'm now in the editing phase, and though I imagine there will be two more drafts, there won't be any huge changes. I'm just working on deepening the character development, patching any holes, tightening up the scenes and dialogue. You know...fun stuff :)
So there you have it. Good things are coming and I can't wait to share all of it with you!!
So you all know I'm super excited about The Host movie coming up. Have you read it? If you haven't, what are you waiting for? To be honest, it was one of those books that took me a couple of tries to finish, but don't be like me. Just read it all the way through!
The first time I picked it up, I was immediately confused (you're kind of supposed to be)...Being the kind of person who needs to know what is going on in every moment of books, movies, etc., I got irritated and put it down. BIG mistake. I got pressure from friends to give it another go...so I did.
This time I made it to almost the end. I ate it up. It was incredible. Then Stephenie Meyer got the characters in such a pickle I was sure it was going to be one of those endings that leave readers unsatisfied or disappointed. I thought...there's no way she can end this in a way that will make me happy. So I put it down, yet again...much like Romeo & Juliet, I stopped the story before the ending so I wouldn't be disappointed (In my mind, Romeo & Juliet never die, they just live happily ever after until the end of time).
After more pressure from my friends, I finished the book, and WOW. It's been years since I've read it, and I still remember how blown away I was. Great book. Great characters. Great idea. Great ending.
Anyway...the movie is coming out on March 29, 2013. Can't wait!!
Who is excited??? MEE!! Check out these interviews!
After 4 years of working at a water district in San Diego, and numerous random careers prior, life is pointing me in a new direction...and I'm not complaining. After the end of the month I will officially be a stay at home author, watching over and caring for my "book babies" (as there are no real babies yet to care for...but soon maybe).
For those of you wondering if I up and quit my day job to be a full-time writer, no, I didn't. Budget cuts meant the low men (or women) on the totem pole got laid off this year. I was one of them.
Any other time I might be sad or worried about the future, but sometimes things happen for a reason. Life or God or the universe says, "hey, you're not supposed to be doing what you're doing...let me help you." So I'm finding myself excited about being a stay at home author. It really is the perfect timing. My first "book baby" Oppression has already been born, and the next is on the way. With foreign rights deals in the works and a promising YA series ahead of me, I feel like it's exactly what is supposed to happen. In fact, I needed it to happen. I was so busy trying to fit in work, life, writing, cleaning, cooking, reading, blogging, etc., I was starting to think I'd lose it pretty soon.
So...I'm gearing up for the ride. It should be a fun adventure. Here we go!
What things have happened for a reason in your life lately? Any crazy adventures that turned out to have the perfect outcome?
Hi! Welcome to my blog!
I’m the author of the YA paranormal series, CHILDREN OF THE GODS & a new YA Contemporary fiction called CARRY ME HOME.
I have a newborn baby girl and two boys (ages 4 & 6) which has done wonders for my sound effect skills. I'm now an expert at missile launching & explosion noises...Also, I'm pretty decent at wielding a lightsaber and building lego ships. So be prepared for some kid blogging in between the book updates. My days are spent taking care of munchkins, writing, and running Acorn Publishing, most likely in my pajamas.
Email me at therrien.jessica@gmail.com
Or visit my websites
www.JessicaTherrienBooks.com
www.AcornPublishingLLC.com
