Thirteen Reasons Why

Watching Thirteen Reasons Why on Netflix isn’t fun. A teenage girl, Hannah Baker has killed herself (spoiler alert), and she’s left behind a series of thirteen audio recordings, each telling the tale of another person who contributed to her decision to commit suicide.

Overall, I think that the series was a success, for what it was. It was an interesting look at a downward spiral. At times, it was a brutal, sad, or painful series to watch. At one point, it also made me gag a little, which is weird because I’m not usually one to react to Hollywood gore. However, by that point, I was invested in this character, and no amount of knowing that she was going to kill herself could make that scene any less difficult to watch.

Rather than go through the entire series and write a normal review, I’m going to give my thoughts as they relate to certain criticisms that I’ve seen of the series. I’m not associated with the series in any way, and these are just my “top of the brain” responses. Make of them what you will:

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The State of the SUPERNATURAL Union

Continuing my habit of rambling about geeky stuff when I should be writing, editing, or promoting my books. This is more fun (but not a reflection of my ability to string together coherent sentences!) So… go check out my work on Amazon. See if anything sounds interesting to you. Maybe leave a review, if you’re so inclined.

I’ve been a fan of Supernatural since day one. The show has a great setup, great character, great execution… It’s a great show (putting aside season 7 for the sake of this post).

But, nearing the end of its twelfth season, the show has gotten into some ruts and lost sight of some of the things that made it great in the first place. In this blog post, I’m going to discuss the show’s past, present and future, and see where we stand at this point.

How the Sausage is Made

As I write this, I am avoiding work. Today, “work” means “formatting for Kindle”.

Yes, there are programs that do this. Yes, there are probably a million different ways that I could make my life easier by using one of those programs. But instead of using any of those, I am looking at an HTML version of my book in Notepad, editing my starting point, my ending point and my table of contents by hand.

Why?

Blood Rights, Now Available!

Blood Rights, book 2 of the Freedom/Hate series is now available for purchase on Amazon!

“It’s in our blood.”

The last words spoken by Uly Jacobs, seconds before his death was televised across the nation.

Since that day, the authorities have been hunting Libby Jacobs. She doesn’t know why they want her, or why they killed her cousin. Desperation has forced her into hiding with a group of people that she once thought of as terrorists. Living among them, she soon comes to realize that everything she once believed in was a lie.

Justin Becker was Uly’s best friend. He grew up with Libby. Once upon a time, he even loved her. Now, Justin has taken on the task of picking up the pieces of Libby’s shattered life. The first step will be finding Libby’s mother. She is critically ill, alone and lost in the broken system. Finding her will be difficult. Saving her may be impossible.

The city is changing. Collin Powers was nobody until the authorities turned him into a symbol. Now his ideas have taken root. His words are forcing people to question their beliefs. His sacrifice will push Freedom out of the shadows and give them the courage to start living up to their name.

 

Click here to purchase Blood Rights for Kindle

Click here to purchase Blood Rights in paperback

 

Stay tuned for more information about book 3 (of 6), coming this November!

Every review posted online helps independent authors! Whether you like the book or not, please remember to post a review!

Blood Rights

If you have read Freedom/Hate, you might be wondering what happens next. Well, that question is about to be answered!

Blood Rights, the second book of the Freedom/Hate series, is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

 

 

“It’s in our blood.”

The last words spoken by Uly Jacobs, seconds before his death was televised across the nation.

Since that day, the authorities have been hunting Libby Jacobs. She doesn’t know why they want her, or why they killed her cousin. Desperation has forced her into hiding with a group of people that she once thought of as terrorists. Living among them, she soon comes to realize that everything she once believed in was a lie.

Justin Becker was Uly’s best friend. He grew up with Libby. Once upon a time, he even loved her. Now, Justin has taken on the task of picking up the pieces of Libby’s shattered life. The first step will be finding Libby’s mother. She is critically ill, alone and lost in the broken system. Finding her will be difficult. Saving her may be impossible.

The city is changing. Collin Powers was nobody until the authorities turned him into a symbol. Now his ideas have taken root. His words are forcing people to question their beliefs. His sacrifice will push Freedom out of the shadows and give them the courage to start living up to their name.

 

Click here to pre-order your copy.

And remember, Freedom/Hate is a six book series. We’re just getting started.

Book Review: Domino

Having read Kia Heavey’s other books, I was already a fan of her work by the time her Kindle Scout campaign was launched. Voting for Domino was a safe bet to make, and I’m glad that I did.

Domino tells the tale of a cat’s struggle to hold onto its territory and it’s purpose in the world, as those around him insist that he must change his nature and embrace the more enlightened way of doing things. This new philosophy is brought to Domino’s neighborhood by a city cat named Socrates, who allies himself with not only a dog, but an ever-growing swarm of rats who begin to infest the territories of neighborhood cats, eating their food and endangering their lives, all in the name of progress.

Others have compared this story to Animal Farm, so I won’t do that. This fable is capable of standing on its own as a reflection of the world we live in today, with the “adapt or die” mentality that so many people have preached in recent years. The story illustrates the difference between blindly giving of yourself until there is nothing left to give, and working with those who you don’t necessarily like or agree with in order to achieve a greater good.

Domino is a book that will appeal to readers of most ages. While some of the descriptions may be a little gory for very young readers (we are talking about cats and rats after all), there is nothing done in poor taste or in an attempt to sensationalize violence. The story explores themes of family and social bonds, and the priorities that must be established within those relationships. It does this without getting preachy or saccharine. Truth be told, I’m more of a dog person, but Domino had me cheering for a cat. That has to mean something. I highly recommend this book for both parents and their children. It would be a great way to start a discussion about the world we live in.

 

Domino is now available on Amazon, both in paperback and digital formats. You can find it by clicking here.

Remember to leave a review if you do read it! Reviews help authors learn from your reading experience, and they let other readers know which authors can be depended on for a good read.

Five Years Earlier…

As I continue to prepare my new book, Freedom/Hate for release (pre-order your copy today!), I have had some old friends stopping by for a visit in my head.

Five years ago this month, I sat down to begin writing Starlette (purchase your copy today!). It’s hard to tell whether I should feel as though it were only yesterday, or if it feels like a hundred years have passed since then. Either way, it was an exciting time for me.

The story began, oddly enough, five years earlier. As I was watching the Oscars red carpet show on television, I couldn’t help but get annoyed with the actors that I was listening to. The way they spoke about their films being “important” irritated me. They acted as though they were saving the world by making movies.

Interior Design (aka A Journey into the Abyss)

I’ve been thinking that I should use this blog as something more than what it’s been. This shouldn’t be too hard, since it hasn’t been much of anything.

What I’ve decided to try and do is document more of my writing/publishing process. This will be less for the enjoyment of you readers (since it will probably be boring), and more about me documenting my writerly struggles, so that my family will know that I don’t just watch funny kitten videos all day. (which I don’t do, because I’m a dog person)

Some of these blog entries will be more interesting than others. At the moment, I’m not building any worlds or having fun with characters. Today, I’m trying to format the print edition of my new book, Freedom/Hate.

(the Kindle version of Freedom/Hate will be released on April 19! Pre-order your copy today by clicking on this link!)

More About Kindle Scout

As I wrote last week, I currently have a campaign running on Kindle Scout. In that post, I talked about the book that I have listed on that page, but I didn’t talk a lot about the Kindle Scout site itself. I want to take some time to do that, because regardless of whether or not my own book gets published through the site, it still presents a great opportunity to budding young writers.

This post isn’t meant as a guide book for Kindle Scout, or an in-depth investigation into the pros and cons. It’s just my own take on the site.

 

So, what is Kindle Scout? 

Freedom/Hate on Kindle Scout!

As one of the youths would say (…in 1994), it is time to “rock the vote!”

For the past couple of years, I have been working on a new project called the Freedom/Hate. It’s a series of novels, set several decades from now, in a world where people have lost the basic rights that we take for granted today. It’s a world where there is no starvation, no homelessness, no unemployment, no lack of healthcare… but all of these privileges have been twisted into something ugly. People no longer have the freedom to choose what they eat, where they live, where they work, or how they are treated when sick. To speak out against the system is a criminal offense.

Freedom/Hate is about the struggle of some to reclaim those rights, and what may be an even harder struggle for others–the struggle to ignore what is happening to them out of fear of losing the only life they know.