Release Day!

Dearest friends,

My book release will be on Monday, September 18th, so I'm having a big release party on Tuesday, September 19th! And it wouldn't be a party without your help.

So I'm holding a blog hop, yay!

If you want to participate, all you have to do is post a picture of my new book cover (The Inferiors) and tell the world a little bit about me (I'll send you details). Now the fun part is, you're going to post two lies, and one truth. Because in The Inferiors there are a lot of times where Jaina, my MC, discovers the truth and some lies about people she thinks she knows.

It can be about you, or one of your favorite characters in one of your stories, or even in a book you've read.

Sooooo here's the signup list, it would mean so much to me if you helped me out on September 19th!

Thanks guys!

---

1. Imagine Today-Kathy

You are next... Click here to enter
This list will close in 1 day, 7 hrs, 39 min (9/18/2017 11:59 PM North America - Eastern Standard Time)

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Love,

Jess

From the Ashes Blogfest!!!

BIG NEWS TODAY!

I'm finally announcing the FROM THE ASHES BLOGFEST to celebrate the publication of my first book, From the Ashes.

If you'd like to help me spread the word, here are the rules:

1. Sign up on the linky list below
2. Grab the blogfest button above
3. On Friday, March 8th, tell us about a time when you or your character was thrown into a trial by fire situation. What biggest fears did you or your character have to face? What sort of situation would test you to the fullest?
4. Post the pre-written info I will send you by email with the cover and a few more details about From the Ashes

(If you only feel like doing #4 that's fine, too :)

So PLEASE SIGN UP! I need all the help I can get, here.

If you can't make the blogfest, that's okay. If you'd be willing to help me spread the word with an interview on your blog, that would be perfect! (You can email me at jessicamckendry@icloud.com) Or you could just help me announce that I'm actually published now.

Anyway, yup, that's all for today.

Happy Friday!

–Jess

Updates and Help Anyone?

Hey guys!

Sorry for posting so late today.

I'm really pressed for time at the moment, seeing that I'm extraordinarily behind in school. And it doesn't help that Monday's are our craziest day of the week.

Once again, I have failed to submit my back text to CreateSpace because it's just not quite right yet. I'm really hoping to have it done by TONIGHT. Otherwise, I'll be in big trouble.

So yeah.

We're eating pho tonight, which are amazing Vietnamese noodles. They're delicious.

And if anyone wants to help me with my cover release…

From the Ashes will be coming out on Amazon sometime in February, and if you'd like to help with my cover release, please sign up on the linky list below!

The blogfest will be held on Friday, January 4th. I'll email you with the book cover, and the summary on Wednesday, the 2nd, and then you can just link to my blog. If you decide to sign up after January 2nd, that's fine, but you probably won't be getting an email with the cover and summary from me. So you can just get it from a fellow blogger.



Have an awesome day!

--Jess

Cover Release Blogfest, Anyone?

I'm horrible at summarizing things.

I wrote a novel because I couldn't tell the story in a few paragraphs. Not because I actually had my mind set on a novel.

After working on writing a summary all week long, I have *almost* perfected the back text for From the Ashes. Unfortunately, due to my failure at being able to summarize things, the back cover text is very… unique. So I'm a little nervous about how you guys will react to it.

Secondly, I have not been getting to bed on time this week.

So if this post is really rambly, or doesn't make much sense… just understand that I'm exhausted.

OKAY. Now for some exciting news. I have decided to hold a blogfest for my cover release! It will (hopefully) be ready by Friday, January 4th. So, I have TENTATIVELY scheduled the blogfest for the 4th.

So, if you're free on January 4th, grab the button ^ and please sign up on the linky list below! Please tell your followers about it, and see how many people we can get to join. I'll email you with the cover and summary on Wednesday, January 2nd.

Thanks!

--Jess

Un-Insecure

Last week, I realized that I had to take the PSAT on October 17th. So I was freaking out because I had so much to study, and so little time.

I was so nervous, I think the stress was making me sick (literally).

And with so much to study for, I knew I couldn't get as much writing done as I wanted to. It really meant that for the next two weeks, I wouldn't get anything done.

My confidence was low, and my insecurities were high.

Yesterday, all my fears were put to rest, because we figured out that I don't have to take the PSAT until ELEVENTH grade.

PHEW.

Thank the stars.

So now I feel really great because I've got an extra year to study for it! And I think I might participate in Alex Cavanaugh and Ciara Night's Did I Notice Your Book blogfest on the 17th!

Although, I'm not completely "insecure-free". I entered in Deana Barnhart's GUTGAA blogfest. We all had to submit our queries and first 150 words. I'm entry #20 on her site, so if you want to check it out, feel free to comment! (I only have two so far).

Anyway, back to editing before I start my school work.

Happy Wednesday!

--Jess

What Are You Waiting For? Blogfest!

This blogfest is being hosted by Fairbetty because she recently reached 100 followers! So please head over to her blog to congratulate her!

Here is her prompt:

I really love flash fiction, so in 300 words or less, tell me about a character you are writing (or make one up) who faces a choice... and have him/her flip a coin to make a decision.

And here's my entry at exactly 296 words:

The air was cold against his skin.

Almost painful.

It didn’t bother him, though. He was used to pain. Used to yearning only for what he knew he could never regain.

She was gone. Rasha was gone, and he knew why. Azad knew all too well who was responsible for her death. All that mattered now was how to deal with him.

Darkness surrounded Azad, the only light was that of the moon shining through his window. The gun in his hand was heavy. He’d considered trying it on himself now and then. It would be so easy, lifting the barrel to his head and pulling the trigger, but something always stopped him. His paranoid servant would knock on the door to tell him she thought someone broke into the house, or the gun simply didn’t work...

Always something.

If the universe wanted him to live, to suffer with his grief, so be it. He’d live as long as the universe needed him to. As long as he had something worth fighting for.

Right now, that happened to be Rasha.

Azad was going to make the man who killed her pay.

All that was left was to decide how to do that.

He took out the coin in his pocket and examined both sides. The less time the man was alive, the better. Azad’s problem would be solved much faster that way. But shouldn’t he suffer? The man should be made to feel all the pain in the world.

“Heads, I’ll kill you,” he said to himself. “Tails, I make you suffer.”

Azad flipped the coin.

It spun in the air for a second or two, yet Azad knew what he wanted now.

The coin landed.

Tails.

Azad smiled. “Looks like I’m in luck. You’ll suffer.”

***

Hope you enjoyed it! And you can still participate! Just head over to Fairbetty's Blog and sign up!

Have a great day :)

-Jess

Genre Favorites Blogfest and KOMF #7 Winners!

Okay, I wasn't going to participate in this, but... I decided to anyway :)

The rules are:

List your favorite genre of:

Movie

Music

Book

And guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories!

Favorite Movie Genre: Sci-Fi

Fell in love with Star Wars when I was five, and haven't gotten over it since! It made me dream and wonder about space, the vastness of the universe, and exploring other worlds. I mean, really. How much more awesome does it get?

Favorite Music Genre: Rock

Four years ago, when I was in 6th grade, I came across a video on youtube of people skiing. Over the sound of the video was a song called Bring Me to Life by Evanescence, and I just loved it. I've expanded to Red, Within Temptation, Nightwish, Krypteria and Epica ever since then! The above song is one of my favorites :)

Favorite Book Genre: Dystopian/Sci-Fi

The Hunger Games really introduced me to Dystopian. I really love the concept of imperfect worlds opposed to perfect ones. (Although, what world is really perfect?) Of course, Star Wars had already introduced me to Sci-Fi, and I read a lot of Star Wars books.

Guilty Pleasure Genre: Comedy

No comedy movies are coming to mind at the moment, but I like watching shows like Gilligans Island. Mostly because they're not very thought provoking and I can write while I watch. And my brother loves that show, so everyone's happy :)

***

For those who participated in this month's Knights of MicroFiction, the winners are:

T.Z. Wallace and Sally Scribbles!

Kathy and I will be contacting the winners as soon as possible! Thanks for participating!

Happy Monday!

--Jess

GUTGAA Meet and Greet! (better late than never :)

Today is the long awaited start of GUTGAA, (Gearing Up To Get An Agent blogfest) hosted by Dena Barnhart! If you'd like to know more or sign up, click on the link to her blog!

Alrighty, here I go.

Short bio:

I'm 15 years old, and am the oldest my two siblings. I've lived in 7 different states and moved a grand total of 15 times! I love to travel, read, and listen to any music by Evanescence, Within Temptation or Red.

I've been writing ever since I could hold a pen. There's nothing as rewarding, frustrating, and fun in this world than being able to write. The ability to create worlds, and people that come to life with the stroke of a pen or tap of a computer key is utter magic.

Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

Well... I'm in California at the moment (hence the lateness in my posting this), so I can't do that. But the first thing I'd see is probably my notepad. Even though I type everything on my computer, I keep my notepad updated in case I need to write something down when I can't use my laptop.

Favorite time to write?

Definitely the morning. I'm really not a morning person, but I've sorta forced myself to be. It's the quietest time of day.

Drink of choice while writing?

Coffee or hot chocolate or tea! Any of those work :)

When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

Definitely music! Sometimes I'm forced to write without my headphones in, but there's never really complete silence in my house. So I prefer music to noise :)

What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

It was definitely a mix of things, but it first came to me while I was playing the free online game called Poptropica. In the game, there are all these 'islands' that have... problems. And your character has to go around and make things right.

The second wind of inspiration came to me while reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and then reading 1984 by George Orwell.

The third, and probably most important parts came as a mix between a level in the video game called Little Big Planet and reading the book Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams.

In the video game, your character has to find all these magic crystals located in various places. Then, you had to go shine light through the crystals to defeat an evil dragon-like thing that was wrecking havoc on the nearby towns.

In the book Fatal Alliance (a Star Wars book), the Sith and the Jedi are forced to work together to defeat a greater enemy. The book is written from 3rd person POV, so you really get to see sides of both Light and Dark that we're not used to seeing.

That book was probably my biggest inspiration.

What's your most valuable writing tip?

Never give up.

That phrase is cliche and definitely overused, but it's 100% true. To be a great writer, you can't let anything stand in your way.

Thanks!!

--Jess

The Hunger Games + Announcements

I saw it!

Yes, I finally did! I saw it on Monday with my best friend, and oh my gosh, I loved it. It was amazing. Now, I'm not going to go into much detail, because I'm sure you guys already know. But it was almost exactly like the book, and was pretty much how I imagined it while I was reading it.

Definitely a new favorite!

Okay, and for my Micro-Fiction buddies, I have an announcement. Since next month is April and is the epic A to Z Challenge, I'm afraid it will be difficult writing a flash fic on the last Monday of the month.

So!

Kathy and I decided that we'll hold our Micro-Fiction bloghop for the first three months of every year. That way, people don't have to commit to it all year long, lol.

The Micro-Fiction winner of this week is Stephanie, over at Word by Word! Great job, Stephanie! Kathy is choosing the other winner sometime today, so keep an eye out if you participated.

Now, being the last Monday of March, that means this is the last Micro-Fiction of this year. If you want to sign up for next year, the linky-list is still up on the Micro-Fiction page, and we'd love to have you join us!

And, I'd like to thank Fairbetty, over at Fairbetty's World for being the first person to sign up and for participating in every event! Thanks so much for all of your support!

Alrighty, I think that's all for today! So, have a great Wednesday!

--Jess

Catch Fire!!

Today is the Catch Fire Blog Party, celebrating the release of CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh! The goal is to help CassaFire “catch fire” on the best seller charts and achieve the success of the first book, CassaStar. There’s also a special package of prizes being given away at the author’s blog (copies of CassaFire, CassaStar, tote bag, mug, and bookmarks) as well as book giveaways during his two-week blog tour. See Alex’s site for details: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

The blog tour runs from February 27th to March 9th- and anyone who comments on his blogposts during that time can win a special package from his publisher: A copy of CassaFire and CassaStar, a large tote bag, and a mug.

The Twitter hashtag for the party is #CatchFire

CassaFire

by Alex J. Cavanaugh

CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. 

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

Available today!

Science fiction - space opera/adventure

Print ISBN 978-0-9827139-4-5, $15.95, 6x9 Trade paperback, 240 pages

EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9, $4.99, available in all formats

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

You can visit the author’s site at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Book trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6VINRGtyE.

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cassafire-alex-j-cavanaugh/1034742568

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/CassaFire-Alex-J-Cavanaugh/dp/0982713940/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329417150&sr=1-1

Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/CassaFire-ebook/dp/B007A2TSNG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329663355&sr=1-1

  

Alright, now go check it out because Alex is awesome!

--Jess

Character Blogfest!

Hey guys! The other day, I entered this really cool blogfest hosted by Cassie Mae and Angela Cothran. It's all about characters!!

I've always had trouble writing new characters. Well, the main one isn't too hard, but it's the supporting characters that always turn out flat. So this blogfest is here to helps us show off our characters, and maybe learn something about them in the process.

Days to Post:

February 6th - Monday: Characters on the couch: Have one of your characters answer the following questions (to make this work to your benefit, choose a character who is the hardest for you to write :) Max 250 words (Not including the questions—only the answers). 

1. What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?
2. What do people believe about you that is false?
3. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?
4. What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?
5. What do you want most? What will you do to get it? 

February 8th - Wednesday - Dialogue Introduction: Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue—no backstory, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max 250 words.

February 10th - Friday - Emotion Flash Fiction: Emotion is the engine of a story. Pick an emotion and in a flash fiction piece of 250 words MAKE us feel it! We want to connect with your character. This will be a challenge in 250 words.

There will be two winners for each day. Go check out Cassie's or Angie's blog to enter!! It's going to be lots of fun!!

Have a great day!

--Jess

Spookfesta & Darkspell Launch

Good morning, everyone! Today is the long awaited Halloween! Well, actually it's tomorrow that I'm waiting for. I keep checking my NaNoWriMo meter to see how many hours I have before I can start writing! I'm at the edge of my seat here! I swear, the moment I finish my school work for the day, I'll be typing away! (That kind of rhymed...)


Anyway, today is also the launch day of Elizabeth Mueller's first novel called Darkspell which can be found HERE on Amazon. Congratulations Elizabeth!

Okay so the prompt for the Spookfesta is:


If I had all the magic in the world, I'd...
Increase technology so that we find a way to travel through space efficiently and not have to wait eighty thousand years to get to the nearest star!


*That's actually not an exaggeration. If you traveled at seventeen kilometers per second (roughly the speed of Voyager 1), and headed straight in the direction of Alpha Centauri (the closest star) it would take about eighty thousand years for you to get there.


With that being said, I think we could use a little magic to help speed up the process there, or we're never going to see a planet outside of the solar system!


Alrighty, go congratulate Elizabeth and check out her awesome book!


Happy Halloween!


--Jess


P.S.
How do you like the new blog layout? I think it's a little more sophisticated than before. What do you think?

The Early Works!

Today, I am participating in the lovely Julie's Early Works Blogfest! The idea is to talk about the first stories or pieces of writing you ever wrote. So, that's exactly what I'm going to do.

When I was six years old, I wrote my first story called The Dragon and the Rose. It was about a princess who was very rebellious. One day, she met a prince and they both fell in love. Unfortunately, a dragon didn't like the fact that the prince and princess were in love, so it stole the princess and the prince had to save her. And of course, all ended happily! (I was six, remember so hopefully I've improved since then!)

When I was eight, I decided that I wanted to write an actual novel. I called it, Tale of the Dragon. This story began when all of the dragons in the world were being killed off by people. Only one survived. When the dragon grew up (it was a baby at the beginning of the story) it heard of a place where dragons still existed and lived in peace. So he had to find his way to this other place where more dragons were. (I never finished this one...)

When I was nine I wrote a story about two African sisters who were separated while trying to escape into a different country (or something like that) and they both ended up thinking that the other person didn't survive. At the end they finally found each other and were happy.

And finally, when I was twelve, I wrote a story about a dragon (I know, I was extremely obsessed with dragons!) who got lost from his world. He had the power to create peace wherever he went but when he landed on the Earth and saw the chaos, he decided to hide. For hundreds of years he waited for it to end, but it never did. Finally he emerged from his cave and tried to make peace. But no one would listen. When he was about to give up, he met a little girl who had lost her parents in a war. She wasn't angry, or remorseful though and she gave him hope that someday the world would be at peace.

Voila!

Those are all of the 'long' stories I wrote. And the funny thing is, all but one had something to do with Dragons. The weirdest part is, (I swear this is completely coincidental), the main boy character in my current W.I.P. is nicknamed Dragon. Strange name, I know, but hopefully it works.

I guess I could never really get over my childhood fascination with that mythical creature.

So what were your early works? You can share in the comment box or just go over to the Early Works Blogfest page and join! (On that page it says the day to finish by is October 14th, but that's been extended to the 28th. So no worries!)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!

--Jess

My Awesome Sister

Ryan, Alyssa, and Me!

Okay so I've been nagging my sister about starting a novel for quite a while now, mostly because I figure skate with her (which is her favorite thing in the world), but she hasn't really shown an interest in the thing that I love most, which is of course writing. Finally, I got her to do it. Yep, she's started her very own first novel and you won't believe how proud of her I am! She's already writing Chapter 7! She even started a blog about her journey through life and writing called Life Is Good. Anyway, I just thought it would be nice if you went over there and gave her a little support to keep up the great work!


(Sorry for the short post)


--Jess


P.S.
Does anyone know how to make a blogfest button thingy? I got a few good ideas yesterday and have been considering starting one... if you have any suggestions please tell me!

Sparkfest!

Today was the first day of Christine Tyler's Sparkfest! Yay! If you haven't signed up yet, click here! I'm looking forward to see what inspired everyone else!

--Jess

P.S.

Look at the previous post to see my Star Trek As We Know It Blogfest Post!

Star Trek Blogfest

Before I tell you my favorite things about Star Trek, just know that I am a very new Star Trek fan, so my favorite people and movies to choose from are limited. (And sorry if the choices are too predictable). Anyway here I go!
Favorite People:

1. Lieutenant Uhura
2. Spock
3. Kirk
4. Sulu
5. McCoy

Favorite Movies/Shows:

1. Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
2. Star Trek (2009)

Okay and that's about all I can say, mostly because my silly parents wanted to start from the very beginning of the entire TV series. (Trust me, I've only seen the first four episodes of season one!)

Anyway, I have to say, I really love Star Trek now and am so glad I was introduced to it! Being a complete Star Wars fan helped me I think. (We should have a Star Wars Blogfest too! I might do better in that one!)

--Jess