March 27, 2010: it was a wonderful time. My second published book, Valentine, had just been released. It was a proud moment for me, because Valentine was a book I had written just a … Continue reading Valentine’s 10th Anniversary
Category: reading
W.E. is going PINK for Valentine’s Month
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: this blog site is really PINK. February is Valentine’s Month for Woolaston Entertainment, so both the blog site and the website are going to be pink. I may switch it up between a solid color and an image. I hope you like it 🙂
UPDATE: I’ve already switched to an image. That pink was a little loud 😉
My Review of “Year of the Monkey”
Let me start by saying, if Punk Rock was a religion, Patti Smith would be it’s Pope.
Patti has a way with words. Her writing style is so descriptive its easy to visualize the places she’s describing as you read her work. Of all of her memoirs I’ve read (Just Kids, M Train), Year of the Monkey is my favorite. In this book she chronicles a year of traveling, dreaming in different hotels, close friends and random yet memorable encounters. And of course, there are still shots in black and white, to help illustrate the journey. I appreciate the simplicity of her journey: she travels light, only packing what she needs,(t-shirts, socks, and her camera),freeing her to enjoy the journey itself without being weighed down by unnecessary things. There are no meals at fancy high-end restaurants and flights in the first-class section of planes: she hitches rides and eats modestly at the little cafes she finds along the way.
This was a nice transition from the Patti Smith of Just Kids. She has grown from artist to musician to a wise traveler. She handles the trials and triumphs of the year gracefully, including the election of Trump. It’s a fun and fantastic read, from beginning to end.
What I’m Reading Now
Every year I participate in the Reading Challenge on Goodreads. I’d like to read 100 new books each year, but that’s just too unrealistic! So I start out with a goal of 25. If I’ve read at least 22 or 23 by September-October, then I consider raising the goal to 30. I’ve been doing this since 2011, and so far I’ve managed to meet my challenge each year. This year I’m starting out a bit smaller: 20 books. I still have a lot of other projects I need to work on, and I may not have as much time for reading as I would like. So, 20 it is.
I’m currently reading 3 books right now (because I can’t seem to focus on only one thing at a time. Two of these books have been on my mind for a while, and the third literally fell into my lap. Literally. I was at my desk at work, putting stickers on new books, and it just slid off the desk and into my lap! It’s a Chuck Palahniuk book, so I couldn’t say no.
Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith
I must confess, I purchased a copy of this book last year when it came out, and I’m finally reading it. I’ve read some of Patti Smith’s other books, such as Just Kids, Auguries of Innocence, The Coral Sea and M Train. She’s one of the reasons I got into punk rock. Her writing style is a reflection of her musical style: visual and poetic, and profound. She’s very descriptive, even when it comes to the simplest of things, such as walking to a restaurant. I’m nearly finished reading it, and I will post a review here and on Goodreads.
The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene
When I worked in a bookstore, I had a lot of people asking for Robert Greene’s books. My store was forced to keep copies of Mastery and The 48 Laws of Power behind the register, because they were high theft items. I came across The 50th Law and decided to give a try, since I am a fan of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Plus, I wanted to see what was so special about Robert Greene’s writing. From what I’ve read so far, it takes fearlessness to get things done. This can be applied to so many different areas of our lives: succeeding in business, achieving higher grades in school, asking for a raise, etc. I’m about half-way through.
Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life after Which Everything Was Different by Chuck Palahniuk
I’m only on the first page, but I can already tell I’m going to like it. The first two books I read by Palahniuk were Fight Club and Haunted. I’ll let you know how this one goes.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale Continues!
I had a few people email me yesterday (much obliged, btw!) about the sale on Woolaston Entertainment’s website. All W.E. books are 25% off in honor of W.E.’s 25th anniversary. While that sale was scheduled to end tonight, Cyber Monday, I’ve been asked if I can extend it. My answer: yes! Orders that were placed over the weekend will be shipped tomorrow. All other orders will be shipped by the end of the week. So, the sale will continue until Saturday, December 7. Enjoy!
Do You Know About Worldcat.org?
Let’s say you head to your local public library, in search of a particular book. However, you discover your local library doesn’t own a copy of the book you want. What should you do? There’s a few options. You could try and purchase a copy of the book online, via Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or another website. Or, maybe check with a different library. The best option, may be this one: have your library check the World Catalog.
Most public libraries participate in a program known as Inter Library Loan, or ILL. Some academic libraries participate as well. This allows libraries to receive materials from libraries outside of their city, state, and in come cases, country. Maybe you use the Queens Public Library in New York, and you need a copy of Of Mice and Men, and they don’t have one listed in their catalog. Perhaps a local library in Atlanta, Georgia has a copy to spare. Queens can use the ILL system to borrow the book from the library in Atlanta, so that you can borrow it from Queens. Pretty sweet, right?
This is where the World Catalog comes in. It lists materials available at libraries all over the world. So, if you’re looking for something, but can’t seem to find it at your local library, you may want to ask your librarian to check the World Catalog, to see if its available elsewhere. The borrowing time may differ from that of your local library, but at least you’ll have access to what you need.
Check out the World Catalog when you have time!
New Addition to the Hampton Public Library!
As a writer, I think of my books in terms of being my “children”. I watch them grow; them start out as ideas, then they become stories, then they become … Continue reading New Addition to the Hampton Public Library!
Thank Goodness I Still Have CS5!
I love using Amazon’s KDP. Seriously, I do. All of my books have been published (or re-published) via Amazon. However, when they combined Create Space with KDP, a terrible thing happened. Some of the templates for the cover designs, were removed. Unfortunately, this made things harder for me, because I prefer to have the books in a single series share a common cover design. But, all is not lost! I still have Adobe Photoshop CS5 on my old laptop!
I acquired CS5 when I was in art school. Becuase I was a student, I was allowed to purchase the program at a discounted price. While my old laptop nolonger runs as fast as it used to, CS5 is still installed. I have used it over the years, to create some of the images that appear on some of my book covers. With the loss of some of the templates in KDP, I turned to CS5 to create the entire cover for the upcoming The Age of the Daughter and Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep. They’re not perfect, but at least everything will still be uniformed.
Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five
There are so three reasons I’m excited about the release of my latest creation, Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five. (1) It’s my 30th published book! (2) It’s the second to last in the series, and (3) It helped me get over my writer’s block, and get out of my dry spell.
Volume Five is the step before the conclusion of the Lucia series. It also brings us closer to the next Valentine series, Valentine R. Should you read Lucia before Valentine R comes out? Not necessarily, but it may help to understand the story a little more. Whenever I write a companion or “spin-off” series, I try to make it stand alone. So, you can read it along with the original series, or you can read it by itself. Lucia works the same way. You can read it, without reading any of the Valentine books first, but it you do read both series, you will recognize the connections between the two.
Volume Five sees the Lady Saints in action. They’re about to do something that will earn respect from several of the businesses in their area, and reveal another side of Lucia. The girls have a better understanding of who they’re working with, but they’re about to learn even more. Plus, an important person in Valentine’s life will be introduced.
Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five is available in ebook form, on Amazon. Look for it in paperback form by the end of the year.
The Top 12 Books That Influenced My Writing
Every writer can look back at some point in their life, and recognize the person, place or thing that encouraged them to start writing in the first place. Or, something that had an impact on their style of writing. For me, there have been many, many books which have influenced me. The number one book: Bunnicula by James Howe. My second grade teacher read it out loud to my class, and I was instantly hooked. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was receiving a lesson on personification (giving human attributes or qualities to a non-human object). I was already creating short picture books for myself, but this book made me want to be a WRITER.
The actual list of influential titles is too long to post here, so I managed to narrow it down to 12. I still feel like it should be 15 strong, but we’ll stick to 12, for time’s sake. Here it is, in no particular order:
- Bunnicula and Nighty Nightmare by James Howe (couldn’t have 1 w/o the other)
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (all 3 in the series)
- Hellsing (manga series) by Kohta Hirano
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Revolutionary Girl Utena (manga series) by Chiho Saito, Be-Papas
- The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
- Grey by Pete Wentz
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- Sailor Moon (manga series) by Naoko Takeuchi
- Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo by Andy Greenwald
- The Haunting of Grade Three by Grace Maccarone
- Odyssey from River Bend by Tom McGowen
this book made me want to be a WRITER.
It’s a pretty eclectic list, isn’t it? Childrens’ chapter books, Japanese manga, horror stories and fiction. I have to give an honorable mention to Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman as well.
So, which books would make your list? Feel free to share in the comments below!
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