Have you read The Traitor’s Kiss by Erin Beaty? If so, you might remember that scene. You know, the one with all the kissing? Today, Fierce Reads has that same chapter on their blog, but from HIS point of view. For those who wondered, what was he thinking? Here’s your chance to find out.
And…if you haven’t read the book, there is no time like the present.
I’ve been feeling a little off lately, not as healthy as I’d like and I’ve struggled to keep my weight down, despite doing all the right things. I don’t generally diet, I just try to stick to a pattern of moderation. My personal motto is: even when I’m not hungry, I’m still pretty hungry. I didn’t make that up, stole it from someone else because it fit me so well. This is true, most of the time I’m thinking about my next meal. I finish breakfast, calculate the time remaining until I can reasonably eat lunch. And so it goes throughout the day. Therefore, I’ve never been one to do a fast. Well, actually I did try one many moons ago and made it until about 10:30 in the morning, no joke. I just like to eat. But, as I mentioned, I’ve been feeling not so great. And, it’s tough for me to have any sort of extra weight on me. I’m small, and even a pound or two makes a big difference. I’m also fairly active, I play tennis at least 4 times a week and if I’m not playing tennis, I’m doing some other activity. So, again, a few pounds makes a difference.
When shopping at Costco the other day, my eyes was drawn to a box of juices by Suja. The Organic Three Day Renewal Program was not a fast, just three days of “clean” eating, no dairy, no caffeine, no meat, no added sugars. As long as it involved food, I felt I could do it, and I could. Here’s a little summary of my 3 days: Read more…
Sure, I’m late to the bounty that is Audible, but here I am. A dear friend is an avid listener for her long commutes to and from work and she has turned me on the the joys of listening. On most days I have:
- Queries to read– oh how quickly these pile up!
- A submission to get through– these are piling up too, and I keep a deadline on turning these around knowing how hard it is for the authors to wait around for responses. Reading as fast as I can!
- A client manuscript to read– I don’t always have these but they do come before queries and submissions and if a deadline is involved, I must drop everything else to get to it.
- My “to read” list to get through, or my reading for pleasure. Here is where Audible has enhanced my life in the loveliest of ways. I can LISTEN to some of these books.
My current listen is Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman. I am absolutely loving it.
File this under “more examples of the energy crusades in real life”. Check out this article from Popular Science about the research into this new technology. Looks like a future energy suit is in the works!
Footsteps that generate electricity. Yep, I like this idea.
http://futurism.com/videos/now-you-can-create-electricity-from-your-footsteps/
I am often asked, what do you want to see in the query box? What is on your wish list? Sometimes, this is a difficult question to nail down. All I can say is, I know what I like when I see it. The query draws me in, the writing captivates me. Such was the case with WOODWALKER, a story I picked from the query box, requested the manuscript, and then devoured the story. Beautifully written, I loved both the sibling dynamics, the world, and the surprise of it all. I can’t say too much without giving anything away, but it’s a story I often go back to, just to read the words all over again. 
The official release date is May 17, 2016, but it is available for pre-order here. The cover is amazing (how beautiful it will look on my bookshelf!) and was designed by the author, Emily B. Martin. You can learn more about her journey to publication and see her fantastic drawings of the WOODWALKER characters and world here.
My first outline for The Energy Crusades was just a list of ideas for how the future would look. Humans wearing energy suits and bicycles that generated electricity started the seeds of the story. Here is another real life version of humans generating their own power with a bike:
This is how I imagined the rooftops would look like in The Energy Crusades. A friend shared this article about green roofs in France, and I’ve shared some of the benefits below, taken directly from the article:
Benefits of Green Roofs
There are so many benefits to green roofs. Here are just a few:
- Adding natural beauty and major aesthetic improvement to buildings, which in turn increases the investment opportunity.
- Helping contribute to landfill diversion by prolonging the life of waterproofing membranes, using recycled materials, and prolonging the service of heating, ventilation, and HVAC systems through decreased use.
- Green roofs assist with storm water management because water is stored by the substrate, then taken up by plants, and thus returned to the atmosphere through transpiration and evaporation. They also retain rainwater and moderate the temperature of the water and act as natural filters for the water that does run off. They delay the time at which runoff occurs, which results in decreased stress on sewer systems during peak periods.
- The plants on green roofs do a great job of capturing airborne pollutants and other atmospheric deposition. They can also filter noxious gasses.
- They open up new areas for community gardens, commercial and recreational space in busy cities where this space is generally quite limited.
My client, Pam Brondos, had her book, GATEWAY TO FOURLINE, selected for Kindle First. Here is a short video about all the November picks.
Also, check out the cover for book 2 in this fantastic series:
I am absolutely THRILLED to see my client Pam Brondos’ book up for pre-order at Amazon. Pam was one of the very first authors to ever query me. Seeing this project fully realized brings tears to my eyes.
Blurb Courtesy of Amazon:
Years before, a gateway opened between their world and ours. Sending one young woman through may be the key to survival for the kingdom of Fourline.
Strapped for cash, college student Natalie Barns agrees to take a job at a costume shop. Sure, Estos—her classmate who works in the shop—is a little odd, but Nat needs the money for her tuition.
Then she stumbles through the mysterious door behind the shop—and her entire universe transforms.
Discovering there’s far more to Estos than she ever imagined, Nat gets swept up in an adventure to save his homeland, an incredible world filled with decaying magic, deadly creatures, and a noble resistance of exiled warriors battling dark forces. As she struggles with her role in an epic conflict and wrestles with her growing affection for a young rebel, Soris, Nat quickly learns that nothing may go as planned…and her biggest challenge may be surviving long enough to make it home.
I fell in love with Natalie’s story right from the start and Pam has worked so hard to make it even better. Check it out!
noblevalerie.com 