Category: Blogosphere Events & Happenings

#StoriesOfJorie | Not your traditional #ThanksgivingWeekend: my Dad had a stroke.

Posted Sunday, 27 November, 2016 by jorielov Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Story, Stories of Jorie 10 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts

— it’s been a long 24hrs for me and my family.

Photo Credit: Unsplash Photographer Neil Austin. (Creative Commons Zero)

Sometimes life throws you more than a curveball – sometimes you wake up to find challenges as *big!* as boulders placed on your path. Yet there is always the hope of tomorrow lingering in the background – you just have to find the strength to live through the rocky bits first & then find your rhythm lateron.

Blessedly, we are not oft given foreshadows about our future paths – in this particular case, I am grateful I entered *November* thinking about all the lovelies (stories) I would be focusing on whilst blogging my heart out about Science Fiction & the Futuristic Fiction I love consuming on a yearly basis. I was so thankful to have a full month to hone in on the stories themselves whilst sorting out how to arrange the month-long Sci-Fi Fest here on Jorie Loves A Story. As you can see by the schedule I posted the very first days of November (view this post) everything was set to be a smashingly lovely month!

Until I faltered a bit the first week of November, losing my footing for a short bit in my readings as I found that particular week emotionally draining. I recaptured my readerly heart by reading two stories pertinent to Current Events I felt were beckoning me to read at that particular time before I could proceed forward into the Sci-Fi worlds I had earmarked to alight inside – those two stories were spilt between fiction (see this Review) and non-fiction (see this review). Everything I wanted to say are on those two posts, including the recapture of what I shared on Twitter, as I let others who posted tweets express what was weighing on my mind at the time, whilst tweeting out a simple note of my own, too.

It wasn’t until the 15th of November, I truly felt I was gaining traction again – which is why I started to release my posts starting with a beautiful guest post by Julie E. Czerneda (read about her Web Shifters series) and sharing my reviews of: Remnant in the Stars (see Review) and The Loudest Actions (see Review) as well as a guest feature (this interview) before I took ill. My migraines returnt for a short while as well, leaving me wrecked to proceed. I’ve been dealing with my migraines off/on since Spring, as they had left me for 10 months from May 2015 til March 2016 before resuming at the end of Summer; until this month, of course. I had been finding my headaches were reducing by off-setting my readings of print books with audiobooks – my own version of ‘art therapy’ as I colour (adult colouring books) whilst I listen to audiobooks (as disclosed on my first Audiobook Review); by the time the story concluded I did not even remember all the colours I selected and am quite amazed at the end results! It’s the third time between my late twenties and late thirties I’ve recaptured a bit of Zen for myself! The first was through Mixed Media Art Collages (small scale – think ATC (Artist Trading Cards), rubberstamp art, handmade cards & painting bisque pottery and the second was through learning how to knit a hybrid variant between the American and Continental (British) styles. Read More

Posted Sunday, 27 November, 2016 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Sci-Fi November, Stories of Jorie

SFN Guest Post | Julie E. Czerneda introduces her Web Shifters series which is blessedly quirky with a heap of sci-fi quirks! #RRSciFiMonth

Posted Tuesday, 15 November, 2016 by jorielov Beholder's Eye, Changing Vision, DAW Books, Hidden in Sight, Julie E. Czerneda, Web Shifters series 2 Comments

Welcome everyone who is following the wicked joy of Sci Fi November courtesy of #RRSciFiMonth, this lovely November! Today, I have a special guest for you to introduce you to her newly re-released Web Shifters series Ms Julie E. Czerneda! Last November, I was introduced to the series which I happily continued reading at the end of this Summer: The Clan Chronicles. This time around, her quirky and delightful series focusing on those interesting “Quebits” is the focus of the hour today!

I haven’t read this particular series, as I am starting her Fantasy series which begins with A turn of Light. The interesting part about this particular series is how much it reminded me of why I loved reading A Wrinkle in Time and Flatland due to how dimensional space and the proponents of a person’s biometrics and biomass can be altered or affected by proportional controls! It sounds rivetingly quirky with a new lead character who has her own issues to work through whilst giving us a unique perspective of her world in the process!

I am delighted to bring several excerpts from the novels today along with a companion piece by the author who explains the heart of the Web Shifters series to each of you! If this is your first time hearing of the author or if your a lover of her collective works, I look forward to hearing your commentary after you’ve read the guest feature!

On a personal note, I am *loving!* the artwork all over again by Mr Royo!

Concerning Quebits

by Julie E. Czerneda

Creating aliens is fun. When it comes to my Web Shifters series? It’s hilarity. These books and short stories are such a treat to write, I consider them my vacation.

Some of you are familiar with the main character: Esen-alit-Quar, Esen between friends, Es in a hurry. The semi-immortal blue blob of goodness who, with diligent effort, can alter her physical structure into that of another sentient species’. Unless or until she blows up from stress. Which happens.

Before then, Esen grants me—and readers—a singular perspective: the alien from the inside-out. Her inner self remains constant and true, you see, but she’s different. Different senses. Different patterns of thinking, ways of feeling. New appetites and even esthetics. Manners or lack of—all right in the open where she must struggle and we get to chuckle, as often as not.

(I love my life. And Esen’s.)

Many know the effort I put into my alien and world-building. In fact, most of the weirder alien senses and behaviours Esen has to deal with come straight from real life biology. I collect every strange but true bit I can find, just for her.

That said, not all my alien-building starts with the same rigour. Far from it. For #RRSciFiMonth, I invite you to journey back with me to a time when I’d sold my first novel, and was writing the second.

Posted Tuesday, 15 November, 2016 by jorielov in Author Guest Post (their topic), Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Sci-Fi November, Science Fiction

#LibraryLoot No.2 | Two Years Absent from a meme, but without a break from my #library!

Posted Thursday, 7 July, 2016 by jorielov Anna Lee Huber, Beth Kephart, Grantchester Mysteries, Imago Chronicles, James Runcie, Laura L. Walker, Lorna Suzuki, Mortal Arts, Neil Gaiman, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, The Anatomist's Wife, The Seafront Tearoom, The View from the Cheap Seats : Selected Nonfiction, This is the Story of You, Vanessa Greene 2 Comments

Library Loot is a Weekly Event on {Wednesdays} to showcase which books we each have hauled back with us from our local libraries! This is to encourage everyone to realise that if there is a book that tempts you to read it, there is no reason not to stop by your local library either to check it out, place it on hold/reserve, request it to be purchased, or to borrow it through ILL! Most readers have such a steady stream of TBR Lists either written down OR maintained by memory, that it’s nearly impossible to even manage the continuation of purchasing each and every single book that strikes a reader’s fancy! I ought to know, I sort of boomeranged right past my own budget for books, and celebrated with glee over the induction of a new local library! We have five branches now, which makes it rather ingenious if you want to ‘jump your holds/reserves’ or visit a different branch that focuses on a specific topic, subject, or genre!

This specific event originally was co-hosted by: Claire of The Captive Reader and Marg of The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. When I resumed my posts in [2016] I learnt Linda of Silly Little Mischief was the new co-host! Personally anything and everything that celebrates the love of libraries is something that I am going to be keen on advocating! Be sure to add your linked post to one of their blogs!

Quirky as I am, I’m going to be running this meme on Thursdays, so not to interfere with my regularly scheduled journalling within the other meme I love: #WWWednesday!

*ILL= inter-library loan; TBR= To Be Read

I decided to [add] a journalled note per each checked out book which whet a thirst of interest for me to read – as I have noticed over the years, there are a heap of lovely books I’ve meant to read time after time, borrowing them as soon as they were acquired or years later once I found them in the stacks! Here’s the curious bit: sometimes our time with a book is off-kilter to our initial bout of curiosity; where we’re not able to properly attach our minds directly into the books we’ve checked out with such keen interest!

I have no idea it’s been a [two-year!] gap between my first #LibraryLoot and my resuming posts this Summer 2016! This speaks to how ‘time can slip past the best of us’ and I wanted to do something to change this pattern of behaviour as an active patron of my local library! I wanted to give myself the hours to fully appreciate what I’m discovering via the library (including through ILL’ing or purchase REQs) whilst being mindful if the timing is ‘off’ at first borrow, I want to take a #25PagePreview to make the story’s acquaintance!

Thus, each forthcoming #LibraryLoot entry of mine will reveal my curiously curious thoughts on *25!* pages I’ve read per title I decided to keep on my #TBRList! This doesn’t necessary refer to the ‘first twenty-five pages’ nor does it refer to the Appendixes! Each week I log an entry on Jorie Loves A Story, it will be a happy surprise for you dear reader!

I am happily including a link to the author’s site & Twitter feeds – as I’m a social reader who loves the randomness of communicating via tweeting my bookish life!

Library Loot for the Week:

Stack One:

Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death by James Runcie (Synopsis)

Author’s Site | About Grantchester | @james_runcie

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders (Synopsis)

*IF anyone knows her website or Twitter, please comment below this post*

The Sherlock Files: The 100-Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett (Synopsis)

Author’s Site | @writingtracy

*If the book hadn’t smelt weird & if the pages hadn’t felt as if they had been submerged in water & then run dry, I might have been able to read this one before sending it back to the library! There was a penciled note about it’s condition but frankly, I found it unreadable. Once returnt, questioned if I could ILL a different copy in order to actually have a copy which would be readable – am awaiting the final word on this as apparently it’s not allowed under normal circumstances as the book is already owned & in the collection. Although, the librarian who ‘sniffed’ the book to understand why I was returning this unread was so overcome by it’s ordour she instantly knew my reason was valid.

This is the Story of You by Beth Kephart (Synopsis)

Author’s Site | @BethKephart

The Seafront Tearoom* by Vanessa Greene (Synopsis)

*this title is listed as ‘The Seafront Tearooms’ on the author’s site but this is the title of the novel I had on hand to examine from my local library! Pub’d by Berkley via Penguin Random House (2014).

Author’s Site | @VanessaGBooks

My #25PagePreview Notes:

[ I stopped reading on Page 25! ]

Borrowed Books via my Local Library: All thoughts and initial impressions on behalf of the books I’ve borrowed via my local library are for my own personal edification. I was not obliged to post my reflections on behalf of these novels, as I sought them out for my literary curiosity. Likewise, I was not compensated for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

NOTE: #25PagePreview is a tag and a feature on behalf of jorielovesastory.com shared via Twitter. Read More

Posted Thursday, 7 July, 2016 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, Library Catalogues & Databases, Library Find, Library Loot, Local Libraries | Research Libraries

#WWWWednesday No.7: A surprise #bookmail from Hachette Books, #bookjoy from Light Messages & introducing #BookAngelCate!

Posted Saturday, 4 June, 2016 by jorielov Amanda Ortlepp, CenterStreet, Claiming Noah, FaithWords, Hachette Book Group Inc., Jane Two, Lady Darby Mysteries, Messenger by Moonlight, Sean Patrick Flanery, Stephanie Grace Whitson 4 Comments

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading!?
What did you recently finish reading!?
What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

To help introduce you to the books I’m reading, the Synopses link to Riffle.

If you’d like an alternative to GoodReads, I highly suggest trying Riffle*.

I’m still boggled by the fact my Riffle Lists have been viewed *21,824* times! I’ve only just started to curate the lists and embed them into my blog where I expand on why I created them, too! I have 18 Lists published out of 32 lists I’ve drafted! I am looking forward to revealling more of them this year!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

What are you currently reading!? (Wednesday 1st June to Wednesday 8 June)

Personal Library & Local Library Reads

No Stone Unturned (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.2) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)
Stone Cold Dead (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.3) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

And, the books I am reading for review:

(I fought off a cold this past week & carried over a few books) The lightning storms returning a bit earlier than expected dampened my readerly mood, too!

Almodis: the Peaceweaver by Tracey Warr (Synopsis)
Heart of Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.4) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

(The books I previously planned to read)

Along the Way by Jacqueline Kolosov (Synopsis)
#ChocLitSaturdays The Golden Chain (Charton Minster series, No.2) by Margaret James (see No.1) (Synopsis)
A Place Called Hope by Philip Gulley (Synopsis)
Almost a Millennium by Jeanbill (Synopsis)
A Sinner in Paradise by Deborah Hining (Synopsis)
Indy Reads Books (anthology) edited by M. Travis Dinicola & Zach Roth (Synopsis)
Scarecrow (edited by) Rhonda Parrish (Synopsis)

Non-Fiction Reads:

Einstein at Home by Friedrich Herneck (Synopsis)

Upcoming Blog Tours in June:

Heart of Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.4) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis) 7th June (review)
James W. Ziskin Author Guest Post will be featured on the 9th of June (guest post)
The Gilded Cage by Judy Atler (Synopsis) 17th June (review) and 15th June (interview)
TBA Gray Widow’s Walk (Gray Widow trilogy, No.1) by Dan Jolley (Synopsis) (review) (interview)

After meeting Ellie Stone for the first time within the pages of Styx & Stone this past week, continuing her story leading up to the fourth installment of the expanding series Heart of Stone will be wicked sweet for me! I love being able to continuing reading a series I have already taken a keen interest in devouring! I look forward to continuing to share my adventures on behalf of Ellie Stone in other words! I am not sure what to expect in the next three novels, as the first story had to end on such a sombering (but well timed) note – Ellie was going through a period of transition and I look forward to seeing where we pick-up the threads of where we immediately left off!

Almodis: The Peaceweaver was such an extraordinary blessing to receive as the publisher Impress Books found a way to give this American book blogger the sweet blissitude of reading her first Tracey Warr Historical novel! It was one of those moments in the twitterverse where you discover a new publisher you’re keen to read books from whilst finding authors who are writing the kinds of stories your seeking – it was a lovely exchange of joy on both sides! When I saw Almodis arrive by Post earlier this Spring, I could not wait to take up residence in the book!

A few titles this week are part of my backlogue and are reads I have wanted to get inside for quite a long while such as: Along the Way and Almost a Millennium! I started reading the first one on Thursday and had planned to post the review on Friday until a six hour stint of a severe lightning storm crashed into my area with such a fierce declaration of intentions, I spent those hours exploring ‘book photography’ whilst hoping this Summer is not a twin of last Summer’s nightmaric lightning storms! Oy. Thus, as I am posting this #WWWeds on Saturday in lieu of Wednesday as our weather patterns have been haphazard this week, I will be finalising my thoughts on behalf of ‘Along the Way’ as well!

Ever since I first picked up the Charton Minster series by Margaret James (see The Silver Locket) I have known I was going to appreciate the legacy of this series! Each new installment continues the story-line moving forward through the decades until the contemporary world emerges out of the historical past! It’s a war drama at it’s core of heart but it’s so much more than that! I will delight in seeing where everything ties together!

A Sinner in Paradise is written by my third author to discover via Light Messages – this is the Indie Publisher out of North Carolina whose publishing inspiring fiction with such hearty story-lines as to firmly etch the characters and their stories straight into your heart after you’ve left their presence! I find their stories to be transformative, encouraging and a true lift of joy to read about characters whose adversities in life are not keeping them down as they lean on their faith as they pull through the obstacles they face head-on! Such conviction and a propensity for emotionally compelling stories are why each time I sit down with a Light Messages novel I am full of happy expectation!

A Place Called Hope is the last of my original three selections by FaithWords, as I reveal today the next three I am reading on behalf of both FaithWords & CenterStreet imprints by Hachette Books!

I am going to be featuring the two anthologies back-to-back as I have been wanting to showcase Indy Reads Books and Scarecrow for awhile now! I felt those readers who love reading short stories in search of #newtomeauthors will appreciate the duality of the showcases, as they are both incredibly diverse in both tone, structure and setting for the stories included in each collection! Likewise, I am reading Einstein at Home to kick-off my non-fiction selections via Prometheus Books! A bit of a nod towards my #SciFiSummer readings as well! (Shh! more sci-fi is on the horizon towards the end of June!)

Posted Saturday, 4 June, 2016 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, Books for Review Arrived by Post, Jorie's Box of Joy, WWW Wednesdays

#WWWWednesday No.6: New Publishers, #newtomeauthors & the joy of finally connecting with the stories!

Posted Thursday, 26 May, 2016 by jorielov 2 Comments

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

What are you currently reading!?
What did you recently finish reading!?
What do you think you’ll read next!?

To help introduce you to the books I’m reading, the Synopses link to Riffle.

If you’d like an alternative to GoodReads, I highly suggest trying Riffle*.

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

What are you currently reading!? (Wednesday 25 May to Wednesday 1 June)

Personal Library & Local Library Reads

No Stone Unturned (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.2) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)
Stone Cold Dead (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.3) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

And, the books I am reading for review:

Tea and Crumples by Summer Kinard (Synopsis)
Styx & Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.1) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)
The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi (Synopsis)
A Place Called Hope by Philip Gulley (Synopsis)
A Sinner in Paradise by Deborah Hining (Synopsis)
Daughter of the Regiment by Stephanie Grace Whitson (Synopsis)
Scarecrow (edited by) Rhonda Parrish (Synopsis)
Almodis: the Peaceweaver by Tracey Warr (Synopsis)
Indy Reads Books (anthology) edited by M. Travis Dinicola & Zach Roth (Synopsis)

Non-Fiction Reads:

Einstein at Home by Friedrich Herneck (Synopsis)

Upcoming Blog Tours in MaY:

Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert (Synopsis) 30th May (review) & 31st May (interview)

Ever since I first started to discover the mysteries from Seventh Street Books, I’ve been a happily enchanted reader – one of my favourite Cosy Historical Mystery authors moved their series to this publisher’s imprint as well (Susan Spann) giving me a lot of joy realising how much I am loving what is being published from them recently! I kicked off the joy by reading The Secret Life of Anna Blanc (review) wherein I found such an awesome new heroine who stands up to men and carves out a brilliant slice of independence whilst finding she has a mind for solving crimes! Continuing my appreciation was the incredible discovery of the Marjorie Trumaine Mysteries which I’ll be highlighting shortly – it felt fittingly lovely to be able to try a third new author writing Crime Fiction by Seventh Street Books, when the Ellie Stone Mysteries series was pitched to me by JKS Communications.

Similar to Marjorie Trumaine, Ellie Stone is a strongly writ female lead protagonist who takes control of her life whilst daring to live it in a way that goes against convention. I love female characters like Marjorie & Ellie because they reflect a beautiful portrait of how women can take you by surprise and carve out a life most would never think they could lead. We need strong women in fiction as much as we need to highlight the women in real-life who are changing stereotypes and re-setting the standards of what can be possible.

Tea & Crumples, Scarecrow, A Place Called Hope and The Bridges of Constantine were listed on my last #WWWeds, as I had hoped back then (in February) I was on the brink of reading them. Sadly the timing was off for me and I have only just returnt to them now. Ever since I finished reading The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley and finding myself so intimately stirred by heart and soul by the story within it’s pages, I have been yearning to soak back inside a Light Messages Publishing story.

I had even planned to read Tea & Crumples earlier in the Springtime, which is how I came to find the stories by Deborah Hining as I was going to follow my next review by reading A Sinner in Paradise – as I keep finding myself attracted to stories of new beginnings, redemptive plots or second chances in love – I love uncovering the Hope which becomes lit alive for the characters but also, for the lives they are touched by throughout the stories. In many ways, this is one reason despite the heartaches Marjorie Trumaine had to go through I felt so wholly connected to her small Dakota towne!

I quite literally loved reading my first novel by Stephanie Grace Whitson as she created such a realistically present novel of the historic past – she gave us flawed characters and a championing spirit of surviving the worst of what life can yield but not without losing faith and hope. These are the kinds of stories I find to be ‘guilty pleasures’ as INSPY novels have the tendency to lift you up by such a strong level of inspiration it’s hard not to walk out of those stories feeling renewed in your own spirit. Similarly, this is how I feel when I read stories by Light Messages, to be honest!

Almodis the Peaceweaver has an interesting story attached to it, especially how I came to find the story and the publisher – of which I’ll disclose when I review the book! Laughs. I wanted to mention today, I’m wicked happy I can soak inside layered historicals again as this one I believe is going to prove to be quite the engaging read whilst giving me new insight into a period of history I don’t believe I am as familiar with previously. Always a treat for me as a reader to dig further into History and pull out characters whose lives are blessedly unknown to me!

Indy Reads Books is a anthology of specially curated stories to help support Indy Reads (a bookstore that offers so much more to it’s community!) – as you might have observed, I love reading short stories, and anthologies give me the happy chance to ‘meet’ multiple new authors all at once! This is a book I have been excited about reading and I love the way in which they created it’s layout – it’s a lovely hardback edition but it’s the interior designs that caught my eye most!

True to my geeky heart, I love picking out non-fiction releases in Science that etch out a portion of my curiosities – so imagine my happiness in finding out there was a new biography of sorts on behalf of Albert Einstein publishing this lovely May!? I look forward to seeing where this Einstein revelation takes me, as I caught a wink of a nod there is a new novel emerging next year called “The Other Einstein” which was the talk of #BEA16! If only I could have gone and picked up a copy! (see my initial tweet of joy)

I have been curious to learn more about Eleanor Roosevelt since I studied the Presidents in 4th grade – we also studied the United States as a whole as apparently both are hearty topics for fourth graders! Laughs. The one person who stood out to me (there were a few others, to be honest) was Eleanor simply because she broke the traditionalism of First Ladies in my eyes – even as young as I was, I could denote she was not your typical First Lady nor did she approach that position the way anyone else had up until her husband was elected. This curated a lifelong interest to learn more about her, even though until now I haven’t quite found my footing in finding books that I felt best highlighted her life. I did find a few televised adaptations of their lives, but nothing truly spoke to me as being realistically true to her or her husband, til now. Read More

Posted Thursday, 26 May, 2016 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, Books for Review Arrived by Post, WWW Wednesdays