1 Word Interview Challenge with Jamie Ayres

The 1 Word Interview Challenge is back for 2014 with Jamie Ayres, author of 18 Truths and 18 Things!

Welcome, Jamie!!!

1. What's your current favorite word?

Ridiculous

 2. In one word, what inspires you?

 People

3. What's one word that describes your writing habits?

 Convoluted

4. What's one word that you wish you could get rid of in your writing?

Just 

5. What's one word that describes your writing desk?

 Chaotic

6. Share the best writing advice/tool/quote that helps you. (please limit to one sentence)

 “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you are not.” –Denis Waitley

7. What's your current project? (this is the one where you can write a bit more)

 One sentence blurb for 18 Truths: With the lessons the 18 Things life list taught her engraved on her heart, Olga embarks on a new adventure as a spirit guide, but nothing prepares her for the chilling truths she’s learning along the way.

8. Just for Jamie - What's one truth you would like to share?

We are not forgotten. God collects our tears in a bottle, and going through hell is worth it if it leads us to the place God has. I hope my trilogy will not only entertain, but serve as a reminder of these timeless truths during this generation’s teen years—and throughout life (my oldest reader is 96).

Thank you for having me, Tyrean! 

Thank you for joining me, Jamie!!! Love your truth. I know God has plans for each of us . . . all the way through the painful, icky stuff and into the amazing wonder of his love!

What's your truth today?

  

 

Olga Gay Worontzoff ended her senior year as an eighteen-year-old girl totally in love with Nate, enjoying their new romance and about to attend the university of her dreams. Now she’s spending her summer in the weird subculture of the Underworld, with charmingly witty and powerful angels, and problematic demons, trying to rescue Connor, the best friend and secret crush she was unable to save during a freak accident.

But Nate has other things on his mind, mainly Grace. She’s their first assignment as joint spirit guides, and Olga’s feeling hurt and jealous. His mysterious behavior has Olga questioning everything she believed about him and now she must decide whether to stick to their plan, or follow her heart. Unfortunately, a series of mistakes threatens everyone around her and plants Olga in the center of cosmic events much larger than she ever imagined.

Only one thing is certain: the chilling truths uncovered during her journey will leave no one untouched.

Amazon Goodreads

Jamie Ayres writes young adult paranormal love stories by night and teaches young adults as a Language Arts middle school teacher by day. When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this. Although she spent her youthful summers around Lake Michigan, she now lives in Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she’s thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you. Her books include the first two installments of her trilogy, 18 Things and 18 Truths. She’s currently working on 18 Thoughts. Visit her online via Twitter, Facebook, or at www.jamieayres.com. 

Jamie Rocks!

Can You Handle the Truth? Blogfest + Celebrate the Small Things

To celebrate Jamie Ayres second book in the 18 Things Trilogy, 18 Truths, Jamie is hosting this fun fest! To participate, you can sign up anytime between now and January 28th to post and to win one of 18 prizes!!!
The post needs to have two truths about you, and one fib, and you get to pick the lie from the truth.

So here are my three:
1. I used to be a competition ski racer.

2. I've been  snorkeling with manta rays, giant green sea turtles, and sharks in Hawai'i.

3. I went on a kayaking trip with my parents long ago by the San Juan Islands, and a pod of orcas swam through and around our group.

So, what do you think? Which is the lie?

And although I'm not posting every Friday, I thought I would celebrate today anyway!

Thank you, Viklit for this fun hop!

This week I'm celebrating:
1. My oldest daughter's 15th birthday!
2. The online marketing symposium on Monday.
3. Writing every day. (it's slow, but going)

What are you celebrating? And did you guess the lie?

Winners! and Celebrate the Small Things

The Winners of the Champion in the Darkness Book Tour Giveaway Are:

Tonja of Kidbits - winner of a paperback copy of Champion in the Darkness!

Miss Jack of However Improbable - winner of an ebook copy of Champion in the Darkness!

Jennifer Hardy - winner of a $20 amazon gift card!

Allison of GeekBanter - winner of a $10 amazon gift card!

And in case I forgot to mention it, the winner of the Champion in the Darkness ebook giveaway at Laurel's Leaves was: Michael Di Gesu

And a huge thank you to everyone who participated! And a huge round of applause and big HUGS for all the totally awesome people who helped me with that really long book blog tour:

  Susan Kaye Quinn  Laura Josephsen Dianne L. Gardner Laurel Garver Tara Tyler Allison at Geek Banter  Jamie Ayres Livia Peterson  Alex J. Cavanaugh Nickie Anderson

 Celebrate the Small Things from VikLit happens each Friday and encourages us to celebrate the small things in life!

 

1. I had an awesome exercise day on Wednesday - 2 mile walk in the morning, cardio exercises with my kids for 20 minutes in the later am, then 1 mile of jogging, 3 miles of biking, and 10 minutes of strength exercises at the YMCA in the evening with my husband. It was a hot, sweaty date. :)

 

(the rest of the week was very slow, and involved some crazy snacking - I made myself eat carrots and celery because I just had the continual nibbling feeling . . .must stop that somehow, any advice?)

 

2. I talked to another independent bookstore owner. She didn't say yes immediately, she said she would read it first, and then she told me about a tour she had at Lightning Source.

 

3. I'm collecting some bits and pieces of advice and info that I'll be giving out soon . . . hopefully next week.

 

4. My book signing at our homeschool co-op has now been extended to a two event deal - book signing at lunch, with a parent's night out + book club event in the evening. My book was the book of the month for the book club for March! The big day will be March 25th - and I'm excited.

 

5. I'm hand-selling books faster than I'm selling them via the internet so far this month and I'm surprised every time someone buys one from me. I have literally mumbled, stumbled, and said anything but the "official" pitch I have in my head, and people are still interested. It's totally amazing when someone wants to buy my book! Seriously, it is amazing every time.

 

6. My kids have been coaching me to answer the question, "How are you?" with this phrase, "Great, because I recently published my first book!" and it has definitely started some conversations I might have been too shy to have otherwise.

 

7. Nickie, my critique partner, rolled out the red carpet on her blog, Here's the Story this week with both a Book Review and an Interview! It was the perfect ending to a great book tour! Thanks Nickie!

 

And again, thank you to all who hosted, participated, encouraged, commented, and made me smile! :)

 

Oh . . .and I'm on the Amazon Breakthrough Novels of 2013 list at Goodreads. (as of this morning I'm at #21)You can vote for up to 5 people, and I would really appreciate it if you spent one of your votes on me. :) Other writers I highly recommend voting for are: Nancy Thompson, Cherie Reich, Rachel Morgan, Michael Pierce, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and Christine Rains.

 

 

 

 

 

Back From the Future, Guest Post with Livia, and Celebrate the Small Things

I'm over at Leave it to Livia today for an Academy Award winning :) stop in the Champion in the Darkness blog tour! Please come visit!

However, I couldn't resist The Back to the Future Blogfest, and Celebrate the Small Things either, so look for those here

This fest is brought to us by M Pax, Nickie, and Suze.


You’re up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven’t brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you … from you.
You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox — sent from ten years in the future — and it’s filled with items you have sent yourself.
What’s in it?

- a package of Vanilla Chai tea, reminding me to go throw that nasty coffee down the sink :-)

- a tiny picture frame showing rotating photo from various world family travels, and special family events

- ticket stubs for the next three Disney Star Wars movies

- e-copies of ten books that I've published, encouraging me to keep writing and dreaming

- a souvenir from Kenya, showing that I will make it there on a mission trip

- a smaller sized swimsuit - to let me know that I will lose the extra pounds I'm carrying

- a tiny box, that once opened unfolds mechanically into a futuristic ultra-light plane that I can fly (ten years might be too soon for this, but I can dream, right?)

If you could bring something back from the future, what would it be?

1. We made it through a tough week of homeschooling, and we even had some laughs over the difference between learning other languages and learning Latin. (The link takes you to my neglected homeschool blog but you don't have to go there, go to Livia's instead!)

 

2. My book tour is going really well, thanks to visits this week with Allison, Jamie, and Livia (today)!

 

3. I started reading through my first draft of Champion in Flight (2nd book in Champion trilogy) with a red pen and sticky notes.

 

4. I had some awesome friends and family say really nice things to me about Champion in the Darkness!

 

5. You can still enter to win a free copy of Champion in the Darkness, or an Amazon gift card.

 

 

What are you celebrating today?

 

Remember, come to Livia's place and see "If We Were a Movie . . ."

 

 

 

 

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Guest Post at Jamie Ayres and An Award

I'm over at Jamie Ayres today with Clara's 18 Things, inspired by Jamie's book 18 Things.

Plus, I am waaaay behind, in giving thanks for an award. Allison at Geek Banter gave me the Very Inspirational Blogger Award a few weeks ago now. I meant to post about that on Monday, and here it is Wednesday. I'm pretty sure that Very Inspirational doesn't stand for Very Late. Despite my lateness, I am very thankful for Allison and this award!!! Thank you!

According to the rules, I have to share 7 things about myself that I have never revealed to you before. Here I go. (Wait, are there things I haven't revealed before? I have a tendency to say too much.)

1. I only have animals that can make their needs known to me by whining, barking, mewing, or by jumping on me. Why? I am a fish killer. Birds either tolerate me or hate me. I did raise rabbits way too successfully as a kid, and I think they're cute, but they are way too quiet. I just like noisy animals - currently, my beagle is barking - not a "I want you to play with me, feed me, or walk me" bark but the"I love barking" bark. I can actually tell the difference in the sound. And now, he went silent, which could mean he's found an animal to watch, or he's plotting a way out of the fence to knock over the neighbor's garbage cans. Noisy pets with big personalities always give me stories to tell, and they definitely help me meet the neighbors.

2. I like fun shaped paper clips, instead of the regular ones, but I use both.

3. I like Trader Joe's green tea mints - no one else I know likes them, but Trader Joe's keeps making them, so there must be someone else that does.

4. To celebrate the finish of Champion in the Darkness, my youngest daughter and I went to a ceramics place and I painted a ceramic box in the shape of a sword.

5. I've had three surgeries on my arms to recover the ability to move my arms, wrists, and fingers and to recover sensation in my hands. I don't take the ability to write, type, zip, button, and touch for granted. It's a gift.

6. My parents both have lifelong disabilities, but I didn't really think of it that way when I was younger, because they didn't. My mom has been deaf in one ear since birth, and my dad was born with something like hammer toes, and then had a surgery that went wrong and lost the part of his right leg as a teen. My mom has always loved to sing in choirs and praise teams, and my dad has always loved to stay active with skiing, canoeing, and tinkering on cars and motorcycles. They always find a way to do what they love. I think, or at least I hope, that gives me a different perspective on life.

7. I have a coin "can" that is shaped like big ben and has a picture of Peter Pan flying on it that I purchased in London in 2000.

I'm supposed to name seven people, and I did try to figure out who had received this award already and who hadn't . . .but I don't like choosing just seven people. You are all VERY INSPIRING bloggers to me. So, if you haven't already received this award, please take it and make it your own.

Please come visit with me at Jamie Ayres, and discover Clara's 18 Things!

18 Things and Celebrate the Small Things Late

This is a Thursday/Friday post. I may be having a few of those in the next several weeks as we ski on Fridays, and I want to be able to visit blog buddies as well as post.

On the earlier version of this post, I forgot to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, so here it is late:
I survived Thursday. This is an accomplishment because between 2p.m. and 9:15p.m., my oldest daughter had a science study group, a performance group rehearsal, and my hubster and I had an awards ceremony for his work between from 5:30 on, and both my daughters had to make it to tap class between 8:15-9:15 which meant we left the award ceremony early, picked them up at two different places, and took them to the studio . . .where we sat and talked for an hour (reward!).

Jamie Ayres is hosting an 18 Things Blogfest in celebration of her new book 18 Things and the fest runs from January 17th through the 24th - so go now, and sign up! You still have time to participate!

All you have to do is blog about things on your bucket list.  Anyone who posts on their 18 things between January 17th and January 24th is entered into win some amazing, and fabulous prizes. Seriously, check it out by following the link!

Here are my 18 Things:

Not in order, and you can skim them by reading the bold print:

1. Hug my kids every single day . . .well, until they go to college, and then I'll have to virtually hug them every day.

2. Cuddle with my husband every single day, forever.

3. Go on a mission trip in another country. I'm thinking about going to Kenya sometime in the next five years. My church supports a school there, and the opportunity is there for this summer . . .if I could find the time, the money, and maybe bring my whole family along . . .my oldest daughter is ready, but I'm not sure the rest of the family is, so we are going to wait a bit.

4. Find a way to volunteer in my community in a way that makes a difference in someone's life. I've volunteered at a corrections center, a cat rescue, and my church in the last ten years. After three years of weekly volunteering tat a women's correction center, I felt I needed a break. There had been a series of lockdowns, and there is nothing like being stuck standing in the yard and waiting for the security officers to confirm that you really are a volunteer and not an escaping prisoner. Volunteering at the cat rescue was fun, and a good way to volunteer with my kids, but our schedule got crazy last year and we haven't been back in a while. I've volunteered at my church in worship, Sunday school, and leadership, but I feel like I need to do something different now. Something that makes a difference . . .and I'm praying about that. Maybe something to do with reading or writing with kids and my local library . . .I'll see.

5. Travel. This is a huge one, and could take several pages. I want to go back to places I've been and loved: Hawai'i, Britain, Scotland, Wales, France, Washington, D.C., Alaska, New York, Florida, California, Whistler, B.C., and more. Plus, I want to travel to all sorts of places I haven't been yet: Prague, Istanbul, Italy, Spain, Ireland, maybe Germany, Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Japan, China, the Carribean, New Zealand, Australia, Jerusalem, Peru, Mexico, and more. I once thought I wanted to visit every continent before I died, but I think I can go without Antartica.

6. Write and publish at least a dozen novels, and a few collections of poetry and short stories. Plus, try all three kinds of publishing: self-publishings, small press, and large, traditional press. (that means I have to get at least two books accepted by someone else).

7. Pray deeply and continually.

8. Seek God's guidance daily through study and prayer.

9. Drive a race-car.  (I did say this wasn't in order, didn't I?)

10. Fly a plane, again. I did this once with my Dad when I was 12 in an ercoupe with dual controls. He took off, I flew around and learned how to turn, etc, and then he landed the plane.

11. Skydive or hanglide - at least one of these, or both.

12. Climb a mountain - I used to want to climb Mt. Rainier, but now I'm thinking a wee bit smaller. Experienced climbers I know suggest starting with a smaller mountain and working up to Mt. Rainier.

13. Ride the Seattle To Portland (STP) bike ride at least once.

14. Be an encouraging and loving person.

16. Write down some of my parents stories.

17. Share my faith with another person. Ok, I've done this, but I would like to do it again. Back when I volunteered at the corrections center, I saw some tough, bitter women come to faith, and change their attitude about life. I felt really blessed to be a small part of that change.

18.  Make a movie with my husband. (No, not that kind of movie, people, sheesh.) My husband has been a video guy for dance studio recitals, short films for church, and a video called "Beauty of Movement" that we worked on together using clips of dance and movement under the direction of a friend of ours who is a dance studio owner, director and choreographer. I would like to work with him again on something creative, or something that highlights making a difference in peoples' lives or volunteering in our community or in the world . Or maybe just something on the inner beauty of each individual. (I'm just spewing ideas, here)

 

Can eighteen things save a life?

Olga Gay Worontzoff thinks her biggest problems are an awful name (after her grandmothers of course) and not attending prom with Conner, her best friend and secret crush since kindergarten.
Then Conner is killed in a freak boating accident and Olga feels responsible. When she downs an entire bottle of pills to deal with the emotional pain, her parents force her into counseling. There, her therapist writes a prescription in the form of a life list titled 18 Things. Eighteen quests to complete the year of her eighteenth birthday.
All she has to do is fire-walk, try out for the cheerleading squad, break a world record, and err . . . go on her first date. Good thing Nate, a new hottie in town, enters her life with perfect timing. He brings the fun factor to her list and helps her discover the beauty and strength inside herself, then complicates things by falling in love with her.
Just as she’s finally embracing the joys of living life for the moment, her therapist reveals a terrifying secret and Olga’s world is shaken. In the past year it took eighteen remarkable things to change a life, but nothing she believed about her mission is true.
Now she doesn’t just risk losing her true soul-mate forever, she risks losing her very soul.

What are your 18 things?