The Art of Being Prepared

I’m talking about mountain hiking in particular this week.

Needing to get away for some family time, we headed up to LaPlata Canyon for a hike with the kids. We had sunscreen (which we didn’t end up needing) and sweaters (which we DID need), snacks galore, bratwursts for lunch, and our mini hiking cook stove to roast said brats. I should have worn pants instead of capris, but we were pretty prepared even though he forgot one of the camelbacks in the truck.

We didn’t really think about how rainy it had been lately, so we didn’t think about bringing an umbrella. The clouds looked ominous, but we’re used to mountain hiking and knew it probably wouldn’t hit until late afternoon, so we set out!

It was so green and pretty! At this point I think we’re up around 12,000 feet, but I may be wrong. My hubby would know better.

My daughter loved all the pretty flowers we saw up there! With all the rain there were way more than usual!

We also saw some snow, the last remaining bits from the winter…

And saw some pretty neat rocks!

Then we started to hear lightening and decided it was time to turn back and make for the truck before the storm hit! It was a good call because we barely made it back before the rain hit. And then the hail followed suit!

And just kept coming as we drove back down the mountain.

It finally decided to quit so we stopped off at a campsite to cook our lunch and got to see what the crazy storm had done to the river! Crazy way a sudden rain storm will do. That was a lot of mud washed into the river at once!

We had a lot of fun and even though we hadn’t brought umbrella’s, and we had a great day together 🙂

Release Day!!! Prep For Doom Anthology is LIVE!!

So excited to see this come out! Things have been so busy the first half of the year with moving and comic cons and work trips, but somehow this still managed to happen! Probably because I only had to write one chapter, LOL!

Loved ALL the chapters, but I have to shout out that I’m on CHAPTER 14: AS THE PIECES FELL 🙂

Prep For Doom

by Band of Dystopian

From the imaginations of twenty authors of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction comes PREP FOR DOOM – an integrated collection of short stories that tell the tale of a single catastrophe as experienced by many characters, some of whom will cross paths.

What begins with a seemingly innocuous traffic accident soon spirals into a global pandemic. The release of Airborne Viral Hemorrhagic Fever upon New York City’s unsuspecting populace brings bloody suffering within hours, death within a day, and spreads worldwide within a month.

An online community called Prep For Doom has risen to the top of a recent doomsday preparation movement. Some have written them off as crazy while others couldn’t be more serious about the safety the preppers could provide in a global disaster. But when AVHF strikes, their preparation may not be enough to save them.

From authors Laura Albins, ER Arroyo, Amy Bartelloni, Brea Behn, Casey L. Bond, TK Carter, Kate Corcino, Harlow C. Fallon, Kelsey D. Garmendia, Caroline A. Gill, DelSheree Gladden, John Gregory Hancock, Casey Hays, Kate L. Mary, Jon Messenger, Monica Enderle Pierce, Cameo Renae, Hilary Thompson, Yvonne Ventresca, and Megan White.

It was so much fun working on this with all the other fabulous authors involved and partnering up with Band Of Dystopian Authors & Fans for this project. Check them out! They’re a blast 🙂

So, where do you get a copy and find out more about BOD?

Where to Buy

Other Links

Prep For Doom Website

Prep For Doom on Goodreads

Release Party (Facebook)

Join us June 27th for a day full of author takeovers, games, and great prizes, including a Kindle Fire HD7!

About Band of Dystopian

Band of Dystopian (BOD) is a Facebook group, blog, and company dedicated to dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic books. Our mission is to help fans of dystopian fiction find books they will love and help authors of the genre get the word out about their work. Our community of over 2,300 readers and authors has become a supportive, interactive, and insanely fun place to be. We are branching into the publishing world with our first anthology, Prep For Doom.

We have over 150 authors in the group, plenty of great conversation, tons of giveaways, and the perfect place for dystopian lovers to find their next great read.

Join Band of Dystopian

Denver Comic Con Fun!

Another comic con survived! We had a blast at Denver Comic Con and were completely exhausted by the end! I’ll be back later to share what I learn from the experience, but today I wanted to share some pictures! And yes, I included every single one of Jim Butcher I got because he is awesome and super nice and one of my biggest writing heroes!

Stock Art Silliness

Authors spend a lot of time looking through stock photos for cover art and promo material. Sometimes, you end up with some odd ones you were sent for free and don’t really know what to do with. So I though I’d liven up you Friday by sharing 🙂 What would you write about this images?

: This thing just plain creeps me out.

: Gold women’s loafers? A new twist on Dorothy in Oz maybe?

: Yes, all writers sit on their chaises in a pant suit to type…

: I keep thinking maybe I’ll find a reason to blog about pink star-shaped beads, but nothing’s come to me yet…

: What’s going on in this picture? Is there an invisible basketball involved? You get some weird poses in stock photos sometimes.

: This was a freebie. I have yet to find a use for it.

10 clues that you might be behind and will never catch up…

1. Comic Con is literally 4 weeks away and you haven’t even started making your costumes yet. Yep. Not good.

2. Your publisher thinks you might have died because they haven’t heard from you in months.

3. Your close friends think you might have died because they haven’t heard from you in months either!

4. You have to go back four pages in your inbox to find an email you have looked at.

5. The stack of packages waiting to be mailed are gathering dust.

6. You lost one of your seven to-do lists and now have no idea what you forgot to get at the store.

7. You’ve resorted to writing things on your arm because Google calendar alerts disappear if you ignore them long enough.

8. Your kids have missed more soccer practices than they’ve attended in the last few weeks.

9. You fall asleep half a paragraph into the book you’ve been trying to read every time you pick it up.

10. You just realized you missed the deadline on at least three separate things that you’ve had on an open tab on your browser for about a week.

Where’s your assistant when you really need them? Oh yeah, I don’t have one!

Living in the Desert

Those who follow my blog have heard me whining over the last few months about cleaning and packing and unpacking and all of that. Moving is always stressful, and moving in seems to take forever, but we are finally getting settled into the new house and exploring the area. We’re still in the same town, but we’re in a more rural area now. The quiet and space is something we’re loving and we’ve been enjoying the wildlife even if our dog Finn still isn’t so sure about some of them running around the yard.

Living in the desert my not be super green, but the views are still gorgeous, especially the sunsets.

There are lots of interesting places to explore, although I’m slightly concerned about what might be living in some of those burrow/holes in the rocky areas…

One of the downsides of being out in a more rural is that the bugs are a little more prevalent, and apparently bigger! So gross. This spider, all curled up, was about a big as a penny, which means it was even bigger alive. I tried to push it off the porch with a stick, but I’m a chicken and had this irrational fear that it would “wake up” and come bite me, so I’m going to see if my hubby will get rid of it tonight.

Seeing more wildlife than bugs has been fun as well. We’re not totally sure where the little cottontails live, but they seem to have a warren somewhere on the property and leave lots of little droppings everywhere!

Prep For Doom Anthology Cover Reveal

Prep For Doom

About Band of Dystopian

Band of Dystopian is a Facebook group, blog, and company dedicated to Dystopian, Apocalyptic, and Post-Apocalyptic books. Our mission is to help fans of dystopian fiction find books they will love and help authors of the genre get the word out about their work. We are branching into the publishing world with our first anthology, Prep For Doom.

Hyperlinks

Add to Goodreads

Join Band of Dystopian on Facebook

BOD’s Website

Authors

Laura Albins │ ER Arroyo │ Amy Bartelloni │ Brea Behn │ Casey L. Bond │ TK Carter │ Kate Corcino │ Harlow C. Fallon │ Kelsey D. Garmendia │ Caroline A. Gill │ DelSheree Gladden │ John Gregory Hancock │ Casey Hays │ Jon Messenger │ Monica Enderle Pierce │ Cameo Renae │ Hilary Thompson │ Yvonne Ventresca │ Megan White

Expanded Links

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25366442-prep-for-doom

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bandofdystopian

http://www.bandofdystopian.com

Stress Relief: Author Style

Stress and I don’t really get along. It makes me sick, literally. There’s always a certain amount of stress involved in being an author thanks to reviews, deadlines, decisions, writing the actual book if you ever have time, and dealing with criticism.

Add in a rather sudden decision by my husband and I to sell our house so we could buy a new one we really, really wanted to buy. Needless to say, since seeing the house for the first time on January 1st to closing three and a half months later…there’s been a lot of stress involved.

So, how do we combat it?

Our go-to family stress relief is heading to the movies. We all love watching movies at the theater, and if there’s nothing good on, we’ll have a movie night at home and pretend all the other craziness doesn’t exist for a few hours.

If it’s just me and my hubby feeling frazzled, we’ll either play video games (Last of Us has an excellent story!) or have a Netflix marathon.

When it’s just me that’s on the verge of a meltdown…I have a few hidden gems.

And I mean hidden, because my kids will eat my treats if I leave them out! Dark chocolate is my absolute favorite, but cupcakes or brownies will do in a pinch as well. Or froyo. Or peanut butter M&Ms.

Stress=headaches=exhaustion. Solution? Dr. Pepper 10.

When I get stressed out, it feels like my muscles are all slowly twisting together. Roll out the yoga mats! Deep breathing, stretching, relaxing…definitely a must during stressful times.

When I really need to unwind and clear my head, I reach for a book. Reading takes me out of the craziness and lets me focus on something else. Sometimes it’s an old favorite, and sometimes it’s a new find. Or both at once! Right now I’m listening to Brandon Sanderson “Way of Kings” on audio book and reading Jana DeLeon’s first book in her Miss Fortune series…again.

So, tell me, what do you do to unwind when things are too stressful?

Gods and Mortals Box Set: 14 FREE Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Novels

Who wants FREE books?

Well I’ve got 14 of them for you!

Fourteen awesome authors have banded together to give you a chance to download 14 FREE paranormal and urban fantasy novels. Get a taste of myths and legends from all over the world, and if you enjoy them, pick up the rest of the series!

So what’s in the box set?

Fourteen FREE fantasy novels. Tag along with modern humans as they face off against heroes, Norse and Greek gods, and monsters of old … over one million words of divinely (and diabolically) inspired fantasy, adventure, and romance. Join the freshest voices in paranormal romance and urban fantasy, New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors, on unique journeys to heaven, hell, and worlds beyond.

Get this heavenly FREE fantasy collection … before it’s too late!

And here’s a little more about the authors and each book…

Elsker by S. T. Bende
Kristia Tostenson just found out her new boyfriend is the Norse God of Winter, and an immortal assassin destined to die at Ragnarok. Her orderly life just got very messy.

I Bring the Fire (A Loki Story) by C. Gockel
Amy Lewis is being pursued by a very bad wolf. Can Loki God of Chaos and Mischief save her, or even save himself?

Sympathy for the Devil by Christine Pope
When the Devil tires of ruling Hell, his only hope for salvation is to capture the heart of one ordinary young woman.

Dead Radiance by T. G. Ayer
Bryn Halbrook, modern teenager, creature of myth. Dead Radiance makes Norse Myth a contemporary truth, pitting one teenager girl against Trickster gods, and mythical creatures.

The Gatekeeper’s Sons by Eva Pohler
A teen becomes entangled with the Gods of Olympus when one of them falls in love with her. Some give her gifts, others seek to destroy her …

Nolander by Becca Mills
A young woman from small-town Wisconsin discovers that monsters are real — and that she might just be one herself.

Crossroads Saga by Mary Ting
Protecting Claudia from the fallen was half-angel Michael’s his duty. Falling in love was never part of the plan.

Twin Souls by DelSheree Gladden
Uriah and Claire didn’t believe in their tribal stories until Claire’s poisoned and those myths spring to life to test their love and unravel destiny.

Blood Debt by Nancy Straight
A mythological romance: Camille is denied her
father’s identity until her mother’s death. She discovers a family she never dreamed of and a world that should not exist.

The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard
Can the magical Tuatha de Danaan, the forgotten people of Ireland, help Allison restore her mother’s sanity?

Marked (Soul Guardians Book # 1) Kim Richardson
A sixteen-year-old girl suddenly dies and finds
herself in Horizon as a rookie in the Guardian Angel Legion.

Relentless by Karen Lynch
Sara Grey lives a double life until a fateful encounter with a sadistic vampire and a fearless warrior exposes her powerful gifts and changes the course of her life forever.

Hope(less) by Melissa Haag
The world is on the verge of a Judgement that will change everything, and Gabby, a uniquely gifted human, is the first key.

Runes by Ednah Walters
My new neighbor, Torin St. James, is the key to my father’s disappearance, my mother’s past and the secret they’ve been keeping from me–my destiny.

GRAB YOUR FREE COPY TODAY ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Exh2fb
BN: http://bit.ly/1CsV09V
IBOOK: http://apple.co/1EYREdk
Google: http://bit.ly/1bN2fRw

Top Picks for Middle Grade Books

Authors are always getting asked what their favorite books are, and there’s always way too many to actually list, so I thought I’d break it down by genre!

So here we go…my top favorite middle grade books!

The Crestomanci Series by Diana Wynne Jones

In all honesty, all of Jones’ series are wonderful, but I really enjoyed this series and so did my kids. We haven’t finished them all yet, but we’re working our way through them! Charmed Life is the first book, even though a later book happens chronologically before this one. They’re great no matter what order you read them in!

Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson

Again, all of Ibbotson’s novels are wonderfully funny and just plain adorable, but this was the first of her books I read as a child and I went on a search for anything else she might have written on my next trip to the library. My kids loved this one and Which Witch as well, and I need to go buy a new copy of The Secret of Platform 13 because I seem to have lost it somewhere.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Despite the slight strangeness surrounding Ella’s age in this book, I loved the humor and fun of this book. It’s one I want to read with my daughter. She’s seen the movie, but I think she’ll enjoy the book even more!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

This was one of the first books I remember reading as a kid that really affected me. The reality of life behind their imaginary games truly struck me at that age. It was the first time I experienced losing a character I had connected with. To my young mind, it was shocking, but at the same time starkly real. Even years later when I think about the story it still makes me emotional. Watching the movie with my kids, I saw how it touched them too. Wonderfully deep and thoughtful story everyone of any age should read.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

This is one of those books that even though it seems like it would mostly just be a fun and silly read, it actually makes you think about a lot of things. I remember reading this in school, and having it stick with me. Somehow I never bought a copy, but I plan to so I can share it with my kids.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

My daughter and I just finished reading this and have started on Anne of Avonlea now. I can’t tell you how many times I watched these movies when I was little, but this was actually the first time I’d read the book. I loved sharing it with my daughter and seeing how much she connected with Anne and saw bits of herself in this troublemaking yet sincere little girl.

This is my list. What middle grade books would you add?