The Little Book of Inspiration - editor's review

I wouldn't call this a review, since it's more of a reflection. The last two weeks have been busy. Really, really, really busy. Aside from editing and formatting and marketing and scheduling blog tours, there was Thanksgiving and hockey and teens' needs and any number of minor non-emergencies that needed attention. At the centre of it all was The Little Book of Inspiration by Danny Brown. 

I read the reviews, followed the interviews, and watched blabs in which this book, and its author, received praise, and a part of me smiled and carried on with the crazy-busy routine that is my life. Because, at its core, that's what Brown's book is about. He writes about recognizing moments, sharing thoughts, being honest, embracing differences, and living life. 

I could tell you all the bits and pieces that stuck in my mind as the days progressed, blended into each other, and birthed new ones... but I'll leave those gems for you to discover. The book might be small, some chapters only a sentence long, but the message is clear and the content inspiring. 

"Inspiration is all around us. All we have to do is look."

The Little Book of Inspiration by Danny Brown

Yesterday, mortality may have caught up with me. Today, I welcomed it as a future friend who will simply help me remember the present…

 

Life moves pretty fast and, in this always-on-the-go world that we find ourselves in, it’s becoming ever-harder to pause and reflect on what we see.

Yet, if we don’t, we miss the opportunity to experience the things that could truly change our lives.

The Little Book of Inspiration aims to be that opportunity to stop and savour not only the events around us, but the people, the experiences, the sights and sounds.

Through these inspiring stories and poems of love, redemption, and change, take a moment to really see all the inspirational treasures that are present.

"Inspiration is all around us. All we have to do is look."

About Danny Brown

Danny Brown is an award-winning marketer and blogger. His blog has been recognized as the number one marketing blog in the world by HubSpot.

Other recognitions include Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Social Media Blog in 2011 and 2013, voted one of Canada’s Top 50 Marketing Blogs, and the Hive Award for Best Social Media Blog at the 2010 South by Southwest festival.

His publishing credentials include Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage, and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing and The Parables of Business. The Little Book of Inspiration is his first non-business book.

Currently, he lives in Ontario with his awesome wife, very funny son, adorable little girl, and two small Chinese Crested dogs. You can read more from Danny on his blog, or connect with him on Twitter and Google+.

It's time to choose!

The time has come to make a decision. Jo Clendening has sent me several cover concepts, and as usual, I'm having a difficult time choosing. I like them all for different reasons. Since I'm not the one selecting the book from a sea of novels on the virtual shelf, my opinion probably isn't as important as the reader's.

So...

Let me know - which is your favourite?

To help with your choice, here is the book blurb:

One dare. 30 days. 30 new experiences. Newvember is deep, investigative thinking disguised as chick lit.

When Willow decides to take the stairs, instead of the elevator, she runs into Sawyer, who knocks her off her feet, and something in her psyche shifts. She is propelled into the adventure that is her own life. Filled with twists and turns that can only come from losing her inhibitions, she makes risky decisions, bares her soul, and discovers the chaotic emotions that lurk beneath the surface. Each new event becomes a catalyst in the development of Willow's relationships with her friends, co-workers, siblings, and love interests.

Willow's life will never be the same after Newvember.

Remember, Remember the First of Newvember...

Newvember 1st is coming up fast! There's so much happening - I hope I can keep up with ALL THE THINGS!

First of all - I'll be releasing the revised edition of "Remember Newvember". It will have a new title, new content, and a new cover! I can't tell you how excited I am for all the changes. Watch this space for details - order links, blog posts, games, prizes, challenges, giveaways, and more... it's going to be a fantastic month!

Second, I'm lining up bloggers and other social media gurus to help with a virtual tour for the release. I'm open for just about anything (legal)... so if you're up for it, and want to try something new, go ahead and email me so we can work something out. 

Also - I'm working on editing Shadow Shifts, book two of the Liminals Series! I know it's been a long time in coming, but I haven't forgotten about the magic. If you want to check out the unedited version, you can read it on Wattpad - just be forewarned that it's pretty raw at this point. 

Next up: NaNoWriMo! In celebration of Newvember, I'll be writing a campy space opera complete with bunyotes, orcupuses, cheesy (and I do mean the eating kind) romance, adventure, and swashbuckling good fun. Each chapter will be posted on Wattpad as it's completed... it will be unedited, so if you plan to read along, enjoy the ride and know that it's all for the pure love of writing. Anything goes in a rough first draft!  

One last thing to announce... I'm going to (finally) try to build a proper author website. That's another Newvember event... so bear with me as I untangle the web of internet knowledge that's a bit foreign to me. I've figured out Facebook and Twitter, wandered into the depths of Google+, frolicked with Instagram and Tumblr... and now it's time to tackle a proper website with pages, and links and everything. 

This Newvember is going to be the best Newvember in the history of all Newvembers! Remember to keep your eyes peeled, your minds open, and your hearts free to explore all the good stuff. 

Ryan's Legend and The Legend Returns - Editor's Review

Welcome to Day 7 of The Legend Series Blog Tour!

It's confession time... I love, love, love books for kids. When my children were little, I was happy to read the same book over and over and over with them. As they grew older, we ventured into smaller chapter books, and finally full-length novels. Both Ryan's Legend and The Legend Returns are novellas we would have enjoyed, more than once, snuggled up on the couch reading to each other.

It's clear that L.F. Young hasn't left his childhood behind. The first time I read the books, I could clearly hear the voice of Ryan in my head. Young's humour is spot on for early middle grade readers - innocent, silly, engaging - and the childhood adventures are something both adults and children can identify with.

Most importantly, a young reader can connect with Ryan. He's honest, forthright, and respectful of both his parents and his new best friend. He's a boy who likes to get dirty, loves adventure, and has a special respect for nature. Above all, he's believable. This is a character who could step off the page, walk into your house, and be best buds with any ten-year-old. He isn't perfect, but he's a charmer. 

As I worked through these books, it was easy to tell that L.F. Young respects and understands kids, nature, and the world around him. He doesn't dummy down the important stuff, he doesn't preach, and he doesn't mess around with the rights and wrongs of the world. He simply tells the story that's in his heart, and the end result is a fantastic adventure that makes for great family reading. 

If you're an emerging reader, a teacher, a parent, or a lover of  reading, this adventure-filled, dragon-dealing, fun-loving book is for you!

Day 8 of the blog tour will by held on September 25, 2015. Priya Prithviraj has a special video interview with L.F. Young prepared that you won't want to miss!  

Here's the cryptogram clue for Day 7 - if you'd like a PDF file of the clues to use in your classroom or at home for fun, feel free to contact Morning Rain Publishing, and they'll email it to you.

Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win a notebook, an MRP book bag and a surprise gift!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And last, but not least, use the coupon code below to save 20% on both Ryan's Legend and The Legend Returns when you purchase directly from Morning Rain Publishing. They'll immediately send you a PDF copy of the books, but you can send them an email to request an alternative file format for your eReader (mobi or ePub).

Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes - book review

As I'm maturing, so are my tastes in literature. I still love an easy read, but sometimes sinking into something different is worth the time and effort. When I first started reading "Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes", I thought I was about to be bogged down by politics and Middle Eastern history. To be honest, neither topic holds my attention for long - not because they aren't interesting, but because there are so many layers to peel back, that I know once I start, I won't be able to stop until I've reached the centre. Even then, I know there will be more to learn, and it's a complicated labyrinth I can't allow myself to get lost in.

I want to say I loved the book, but it read more like a journalism assignment than a memoir. Political and social history aside, there wasn't much emotion to hold onto.  In my opinion, the most intriguing aspect of the novel was tracking the slow decline of Kamal Al-Solaylee's sisters' freedoms. They went from being bikini-wearing, music-loving, Western-world-embracing, independent young women to being forbidden to show their faces in public. Repeatedly, Al-Solaylee talked about his escape plan, but he never shared it with those who also might have benefited. He purposefully distanced himself from the family who had protected him his entire life so he could build a life of his own.

This wasn't so much a book about coming out as a gay man in an intolerant society as it was a detailed history of his father's determination to keep his family safe while his children were sucked into religious extremists' directives - partly out of necessity, partly as a way to fashion their own psychological escapes. They were a wealthy, Yemeni family with resources that existed outside of the country - I can't imagine what it might have been like to be poor and without those resources.

Growing up gay in a society that punishes deviant sexual orientation must have been terrifying, but these emotions are buried under thousands of words detailing changing political and religious atmospheres. Al-Solaylee made it clear that his desire to escape was greater than his love for his family, but he told his story with such lackluster emotion, or personal insight, that I failed to connect with him and his plight.

After thinking about it, I wonder if there wasn't more his editor could have done to coax some emotion from the straightforward facts and events. Upon completing the book, I was left with the feeling that this was little more than a homework assignment. The writing was clean, the story-line concise, but his reason for telling it was lost in a sea of factual details. It made me feel as though his disconnect from his family made accessing his long suppressed emotions impossible. Perhaps it was easier to list the facts than to dive deep into his own psyche.

I enjoyed the book - I must have, or I wouldn't have read it to the end - however, I clearly need literature that makes me feel connected to the characters, even if they are strangers I'll never meet. Al-Solaylee tells his story with grace and dignity, and gave me plenty to think about with regards to the situation in the Middle East, immigration, and the unfortunate need to sometimes put oneself first in order to survive.

My Secret Weapon

Intrusive self-doubt wriggles its way in long before the first draft is done, builds a little nest, and breeds both contempt and self-loathing. Most of the time, I manage to work around the annoyance by tip-toeing over the bits of work I find disturbing and by finding detours around things I don't fully understand.

But sometimes... I let it gnaw at me and discard a project entirely because I'm not ready to make it work.

And that's not cool.

For the past month, I have been revising Remember Newvember, a chick-lit novel I wrote six years ago. Not only does the cover need refreshing, the interior is in desperate need of a good spring cleaning. While working on the edits, I found something I didn't even know I was missing.

When I wrote Remember Newvember in 2009, as a NaNoWriMo project, I didn't have any expectations. It was the first manuscript I'd written in over fifteen years, and I did it for fun. The only thing I had to focus on was writing 1600 words a day until I'd reached 50 000. I didn't worry about offending anyone, copyright, character development, or grammar. I didn't care if the content was repetitious, juvenile, or inaccurate. I just wrote for the simple delight of putting words on paper.

And you know what? There's a freshness about this novel that isn't present in my more recent works. It's clunky and difficult to read at times, but the honesty in the writing shines through in every word. It's not likely I'll ever get that level of innocence back - there are no do-overs on first-time accomplishments - but I can take myself a little less seriously and leave the self-doubt and criticism for the editing process.

I might not have eradicated the beast, otherwise known as self-doubt, but I think I might have found an effective weapon against it. It's called joy, and it's the reason I write.

The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, Volume 2 - Editor's Review

Welcome to Day Ten of The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, Volume Two blog tour!

Having worked with Scott in the past, I've come to expect and appreciate a certain quirkiness to his writing. His characters are always rich in depth and emotion, making you believe you could easily run into them on the street - even if they are sprites!

One of his strengths is that he doesn't talk down to middle grade readers. The writing is intelligent, the journey is intense, and it's clear Scott has tremendous respect for his audience. Even though this series is intended for younger readers, adults will also enjoy the wry humour, adventure, and fantasy elements of the stories.

Volume Two of The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles picks up at book four, where the previous chronicles left off. The sprites are in Newfoundland, enjoying maritime traditions when the evil Tory Blithe strikes, spurring them onward in their fantastical quest. Scott introduces his readers to brownies, selkies, and banshees, revealing a mystical world readers of all ages will find intriguing.

Don't forgot to stop by Scott's blog tomorrow to find out the answer to the riddles. He'll also be announcing the winner of the Rafflecopter giveaway!

The answer for Riddle #7 is: Leaf. For the answer to Riddle #8, check in with Scott on his blog. 

The coupon code is good for 20% off both volumes of The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles. It's valid until August 29, 2015

Don't forget to use the coupon code at the Morning Rain Publishing web store to purchase your copy of The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles!