Book Review- Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone!

Book Review- Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone

By: J.K. Rowling

I did not take the time to read the series before I watched the movies and I thoroughly enjoyed them. So I decided that it would be nice to read them to my 7 year old son to help get his interest in reading and also to of course spend some nice quality time with him. I will say that when I first told him about it and brought the book home, he fought me on it and did not want to read it and had decided reading was not for him. Shortly thereafter he changed his mind and asked me to read it to him. 

At first, he listened but did not seem interested at all, but as the story went on he became intrigued and begged me to read on nights we did not have time. At the same time, he grew a love of reading and now reads every night before bed for at least an hour, when before he "hated reading."  

We just finished it tonight and he is so excited to watch the movie and start the next book. 

With all that being said, I figured going about this review in the way that I normally would was not necessary being that the book is so popular. 

I would absolutely recommend reading this to your children, age appropriate of course. It is a great way to spend some great time with them and get them interested in reading at the same time. 

Have you read it to your kids? What did they think?

C.M.

Stigma

I was watching a movie and this conversation played out. 

Man- "....she writes children's books." 

Woman- "Oh? Self published?" 

Man- "No, she's big time."

Woman- "Wow." 

Wordless Wednesday!!

A day without words in an industry where words create worlds sounds like fun to me!! I decided to participate in Create With Joy's fun idea. 

Happy Wordless Wednesday, dear friends! It’s time to share your favorite family-friendly photos – with or without words – at the friendliest party in town!

Little Bits of Wisdom

Little Bits of Wisdom

This book was my favorite book growing up. It was the book I would ask my mom to read anytime she read me a bedtime story. I still have my copy from when I was little, though the paper cover has long since been lost. 

I feel like even though it is a child book, it still has quotes that ring true for everyone. So each week I will post another bit from the book as inspiration for the week! 

"One, two, whatever you do, Start is well and carry it through." 

I think this quote is a great to help keep the motivation and excitement going! 

What do you think of this quote? 

C.M. 

Book Review - Vision of Darkness

Book Review - Vision of Darkness by Tonya Burrows

A psychic DEA agent works to unravel the mystery of a cursed lighthouse and falls in love with it’s keeper, a traumatized former chef. VISION OF DARKNESS is the first in the brand new D.I.E. Squadron romantic suspense series and will be released December 1, 2014. Fans of Christine Feehan's Ghost Walker series, or Rebecca Zanetti's FORGOTTEN SINS, will love this new series from Tonya Burrows!

 

Weekend is OVER!

Alas, the weekend is over yet again :( 

Parades, Thanksgiving, pictures and Mocking Jay!! 

Another fun filled, action packed weekend behind me. Mocking Jay was awesome! I am so bummed that we have to wait for the second part! I wish I had read the book again right before so I would have had it fresh in my mind, but maybe that was a good thing. Some of the details I couldn't remember, but there were a few I obviously remembered distinctly. It did not disappoint! Have you seen it yet? What did you think? 

Cinderella

Who has seen this??

Disney's Cinderella!! I have not hidden my love of Disney! And I feel like a little kid excited for this movie to debut!!  

I found this trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20DF6U1HcGQ

C.M.

4 things I learned...

4 Things I learned self-publishing

With so many self-published writers in the world, some spring chickens, some old dogs, but one thing that we all have in common, we have all been through the lengthy and time consuming process. I could bet that not everyone did their route exactly the same as anyone else. One may have gone through their MS 50 times before sending it to their editor while another decided editing was not necessary at all. 

Anyway, we all eventually got to the same place. Published. 

We all learned a few things along the road, here are a few things I learned.

1. Editing. It is an extremely tedious job, one that every writer has to do, but what I am more specifically referring to is my editor. I like many self published authors debated getting my MS edited. Yeah...in hind sight that was completely misguided. In the end, obviously it was edited and I am more then grateful to have done it. Thank you +Lauren Wise  for being an awesome editor! 

2. Marketing before the book comes out is the best way to go regardless if it is your first book or your 10th. So many people told me, don't spend a lot of time marketing until you have multiple books out. Well, I think that is not good advise. By not marketing you are eliminating so many more people who will be with you from the start! +Katie Cross has some amazing advice for marketing on her blog if you are looking for a good marketing plan! 

3. I tried (and by tried I queried 15 agents, not exactly very persistent) to go the traditional publishing route, but now that I have published Obscured myself, I learned that I prefer it that way. I am a bit of a micro manager and I like to know where everything stands. I would not have so much control if I had placed it in the hands of an agent. 

4. ISBN's are expensive! But I learned that having one that was connected to me and only me was important. Why? Because maybe some day I would like to get my books on the shelves of Changing hands bookstore. Or maybe others. And now I can. Nobody else has a say in what I do with my own work and that is the way it should be. 

There they are. By all means these aren't the only things I learned, but these are a few of the big ones. 

What things did you learn?? I'd love to hear! 

C.M.

Book Review - The League Of Skull and Bones

Book Review- The League of Skull and Bones

Jess Grimm has the ability to travel to any dimension in the multiverse. There’s only one problem… it’s killing her. 
Jess is in a race against time to find a device that can slow the progression of the power inside her, but she isn’t alone. Others want her power, and they don’t care how they get it, or if she is dead or alive when they do. 
The only person willing to help her is the mysterious Ronan Sparrow a member of the League of Skull & Bones, one of the very groups that want her power. But what does Ronan want in return? Can Jess trust him or will she find herself alone with enemies on all sides?

I have read The Doorknob Society from M.J. Fletcher and loved all five books. I recommended them here. 

Last day!

Today is the last day...

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Today is the last day of my blogging challenge! I am a bit sad that it's over, I had a lot of fun! So here goes...one confession...

Morning!

Good Morning!! It's bright and early! I had an extremely busy day yesterday so I didn't get around to posting TWO! 

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

I'm going to start by saying I am a photographer at heart so I am almost never in front of the camera. AND if I am its very rare that it is just me in front of the camera. So...here are the most recent pictures of me taken in the last few months.

Three

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Three to say to three...

Sucker!

I am a huge sucker for everything Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. The Santa Clause is one of my favorite movies, followed closely by Home Alone 1 and 2, and Elf! 

The hallmark channel is amazing in all the movies it plays. Corny as they may be I love them! I'm not sure when they started playing them, but I've been watching them every chance I have had since yesterday. They kind of remind me of romance novels! The love stories and family togetherness make you feel all warm and fuzzy and ready for the holiday season. 

Okay, I got corny a bit there. But seriously, it got me thinking, there are lots of Christmas novels out there. I can't say that I have ever read any, how crazy is that?? So I am calling on you, yes you the awesome peron you are, for all your amazing recommendations! What Christmas romance-y novels should I read??? Thanks Guys!

C.M.

GUILTY!

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Guilty Pleasures....hahaha....

A Month of Giving Thanks #2!

! have decided to participate in A Month of Giving Thanks hosted by Because Reading and Fantasy is more fun! I think this is a great way to enter into the holiday season and to remember all of the blessings in your life.  I have been debating just exactly how I wanted to approach this subject on my blog when this challenge, if you will, fell into my lap! For me, I don't plan to post something I'm thankful for everyday, but at the end of the week I'll do a catch up for the week! 

Five!

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

FIVE turn offs....yeah...this could be interesting....

Six

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Day Six.
Today is six ways to win my heart. Hm.. this one is going to really make me think!

GOAL!!!

When young kids play soccer all they can think about is scoring that precious goal, or having control of the ball. They obsess over it even. Trying to make them see that teamwork is how they get there is a lot more difficult to teach. They may think "If these other kids would just get out of my way I could get there." It takes time and dedication to train their minds otherwise. Losing control of the ball to a teammate is sometimes the end of the world to their little psyches. 

Seven

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Day Seven.

A Month of Giving Thanks!

I have decided to participate in A Month of Giving Thanks hosted by Because Reading and Fantasy is more fun! I think this is a great way to enter into the holiday season and to remember all of the blessings in your life.  I have been debating just exactly how I wanted to approach this subject on my blog when this challenge, if you will, fell into my lap! For me, I don't plan to post something I'm thankful for everyday, but at the end of the week I'll do a catch up for the week!

Eight

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Today is eight places I want to visit. So here they are. 

1. Disneyland! I am a huge kid at heart and if I could would have annual passes forever! 

Day 9

Here goes for day Nine:

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

Last night I searched for my next read after finishing Allegiant. So here is what I came up with. 

1. The League of Skull and Bones by M.J. Fletcher who by the way has an amazing way of setting a scene. (This is my next read.)

Book Review- Allegiant

Book Review- Allegiant by Veronica Roth

This will be my first *real* book review on my blog. I know I am not the first to review this book. The popularity of this book is undeniable. It is not hard to see why. Veronica Roth has a way of setting the scene and making you feel as though you are there with the characters. Then of course there are the movies that are coming out. This series has been amazing to read. 

Likes:

*I love Tris's character. I love her strength, I love her determination. Everything about her just screams out to me. 

*I love the intense action throughout the book that keep you on the edge of your feet. It's amazing how the whole book can make you feel like your adrenaline is pumping. 

Dislikes: 

**SPOILER** If you have not read this book yet STOP here!! 

The 10 day blogging Challenge

Recently I came across a blog that had taken up a 10 day challenge. I found this to be a very interesting way for you to get to know me a little better. So here is the challenge. 

TEN things about yourself.

NINE books you want to read.

EIGHT places you want to visit.

SEVEN favorite posts from my blog.

SIX ways to win my heart.

FIVE turn offs. 

FOUR guilty pleasures.

THREE things you want to say to three. 

TWO recent pictures.

ONE confession. 

So here goes my shot at this challenge. 

"Mommy?"

Writing as a stay at home mom has its challenges there is no way around it. Expecting it to be easy would be a fools move. As with everything you do as a parent, there are always interruptions, unexpected bumps in the road, and spilled milk, well lets be honest, not just milk, spilled everything! But just how do you get anything done? 

*Spilled water*

Well, it's simple. One. Word. At. A. Time. If I set myself up with a goal of 1000 words per day, I would surely fail. Why? Because my kids have their goals for the day. They have their needs for the day. They have the lessons they look to me to learn. That is my job. My #1 priority. A job I am proud and honored to hold.

One day, that goal of 1000 words per day will seem small and insignificant.

*Mommy?* 

But for now, I write when I can, nap-time, during extra-curricular activities, scribbled in notebooks that are kept...everywhere. And maybe one day when someone asks me what I do my response will not be stay-at home mom, but instead be replaced with author. 

CM


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