Something Sunday

With my crazy week and the fact that I'm still trying to rest and get better, I haven't put a lot of thought into what I wanted to recommend this Sunday. So, what else do I do when I can't think of something to write (well, besides my random thoughts)? Yep, I boast about something! Some of these books will be ones I've already talked about, but I just really think people need to check 'em out...because they're AWESOME! :D

Become by Ali Cross (I've done a TAG! with her. You can find it here)
Bound by C.K. Bryant (I reviewed the book here if you want to see my review first)
Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper (I have a TAG! coming up with her next month, make sure to keep an eye out ;)
Thoughtless by Jacqueline Gardner (Did a TAG! with her here)
CassaStar by Alex J Cavanaugh
CassaFire by Alex J Cavanaugh
Ashfall by Mike Mullin (There's a TAG! coming up next month with him as well) (I also reviewed this book here)
Zombie Whisperer by Caterina Torres (There is already a TAG! on her-she was my first :)
The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot (This is a Historical Fiction, but it has received GREAT reviews)

I've linked each book to their site on Amazon.com, but that is not the only place they're available. So if you don't have a Kindle, make sure you look elsewhere-you will find the books I promise. :)

Unfortunately I can't think of anymore right now. BUT you should definitely check out ALL of these books, they're fantastically fabulously awesome!!

I want to take a second to mention a couple things:

I'm signed up for Alex's...

Four firsts-movie, song/band, book, person. Go check it out - you can sign up here.

Also I wanted to say hello and thanks to my new followers. I know some people are taking a complete break from blogs on Sundays. BUT if any of you read this, I really appreciate you following me :)

One last announcement, and I will try to announce this at another time...Next month I am planning my first giveaway. I've never had one and am not sure what all exactly I'm going to giveaway (though I have a few things in mind) or even what sort of rules I'm going to set. I just wanted to get it out there that very soon I will have a contest, so stay tuned ;)

And that's all.

Happy Sunday :)

Happy Easter!

Normally today would be a Something Sunday post, but I can't do that. I know I have followers of various beliefs and whatnot, so forgive me if you don't like to read the religious stuff.

I've said it before, but for anyone new-I'm Episcopal and I 100% believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I say this because...

Today is Jesus' day, who am I to take away from that by posting a recommendation to someone's site, or an awesome book, or someone else other than Jesus? I just can't do that.

Since I am not that religious person who thinks everyone who isn't religious (or even just people who aren't MY religion), should be-I can't push my beliefs on anyone, that's just not who I am. Therefore, I'm not 'recommending' that you celebrate Easter as a religious day. But, it is a religious day for me, and that is why I'm not posting a normal Something Sunday.

BTW-it's not strictly religious for us. We talk about what Easter means in terms of the religious aspect. But we also have an Easter dinner, my kids hunt eggs and they get candy from the Easter Bunny. So, I'm not saying that we only focus on the religious side of it, just that I acknowledge it is a religious holiday.

Anyway, I hope everyone has an awesome day, regardless of how you celebrate.

Happy Easter! :)

An Awesome Author

Today is day one of the April A to Z Blog Challenge. I told everyone a couple weeks ago I would be doing something with each letter. Since I have to keep with my schedule because, well, I just do-I'm adding a little sentence to the beginning of each post. Here's the first:

An Awesome Author Acts Accordingly.

To kick off day one, letter A, I am going to give a shout out to Alex J Cavanaugh. For anyone who usually follows my blog, this is still a Something Sunday post, just All about Alex-so I'm still sticking to the challenge.

Alex is an author of Sci-Fi. His first book CassaStar was released in October 2010 and the sequel, CassaFire came out February this year. Both books have received great reviews and though I haven't gotten a chance to read them-they're both on my TBR and I can't wait.

You can find him on Twitter @AlexJCavanaugh and his blog, which I linked to at the beginning of this post. In addition he is a co-host for this A-Z Challenge AND a Ninja-a very AWESOME ninja.

He interacts with the blogs he follows and with the people who follow him. He's an overall nice, funny, genuine guy who is worth following, mentioning, and you should definitely check his books out.

Something Sunday

Since I had the amazing Jean Oram on my blog this past Thursday, I thought I would give her KidsPlay site a shout out.

It's All Kids Play is a place where you can go to find fun activities and parenting tips. Jean offers tons of fun stuff to keep your little ones occupied. She also gives things that will help keep you occupied with them. She also tweets tips and fun activities @KidsPlay. I don't have much else to say except if you have kids, grandkids, niece(s)/nephew(s), or know some who has any of them--GO CHECK IT OUT!

I've found tons of stuff to do with my little ones and I know you will find something fun to do.

So, one more time: It's All Kids Play go check it out.


Happy Sunday :)

Something Sunday

This Sunday is for the writers. I decided since I'm always talking about Agent Query Connect, I should give the site its own post.

For anyone who doesn't know, AQC is a forum full of writers. There are topics for queries, synopses, publishing, writing/editing advice, agent info, marketing, etc. Really, the list goes on and on. The amount of knowledge you can gain (and provide) on AQC is so vast.

You can ask questions, post your query and synopsis for critique, or a want-ad for a critique partner. That's not all...There's a topic to post your Twitter name so you can gain followers, plus a topic for your blog address, one for your Facebook and even one for your Goodreads. Had a bad writing day? There's a topic for that. Did your book finally get picked up by an agent? Boast about it at AQC-there's a topic for that. Feeling a little bored and need a break from writing? Check out the Game Room. Need some motivation to meet your 2k words a day goal? There's a topic for that.

Are you just a writer looking for other writers to share your journey with? Go to AQC! It's a fantastic place, full of wonderful writers (some are even published and have some pretty darn good books out). The best part, other than the great things you can learn, is that this forum is full of REAL people who are there to share in the experience with you. People who are willing to help you. People who have the same questions you have. And people who you can help.

I found some great reads from being a member of AQC. I gained a critique partner and a critique group because of this site. More important? I gained friends who are writers that are there with me, and that I can be there for as well. I would be lost had I never joined Agent Query Connect. In fact, I would probably have sunk into a depression brought on by the overwhelming challenges of being a writer. This site gave me a community of writers that have made me a better writer.

Agent Query Connect is a wonderful forum and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a writer, or anyone who thinks they want to be one. Go check it out. You can explore the topics without even being a member. So you get a chance to see if it's the right fit for you.

(If you sign up (or just want to find me) I'm K McClelland on there.)

Are you a member? Leave your name in the comments if you want :)  Not a member? Why? Is there a particular reason, or did you just not know about the site? If you didn't know, are you going to join now that you do?

Something Sunday

Well, here's my first something Sunday. I love to talk about things I like. Books, blogs, websites, and more. Today I'm going to give a shout out to The Write Angle Blog. Their Twitter page is @WriteAngleBlog and you can email them: fromthewriteangle[at]gmail[dot]com.

I love this blog, I frequent it, follow it, tweet and retweet about it. The people on there are awesome, and so are their tips and what not. Everything about that blog is great. Every writer should follow it, talk about it, read it, etc.

Contributors:

R.S. Mellette. You can find him on Twitter @RSMellette
Calista Taylor: She tweets @calistataylor and she blogs at A Steampunk Reverie.
Mindy McGinnis (AKA BBC or Big Black Cat): She meows @bigblackcat97.
R.C. Lewis: Find her on Twitter @RC_Lewis.
Jemi Fraser: She's on Twitter @jemifraser.
Matt Sinclair: Find him @Elephantguy68.
Darke Conteur: She tweets @Darke_Conteur.
Lucy Marsden: I don't have a blog or website for her, but she does tweet @LucyMarsden.
Robert Lewis: He tweets @robertklewis and he can be found over at Criminal Element too.
Pete Morin: On Tiwtter @petermorin.
J. Lea Lopez: She's also on Twitter @JLeaLopez.
Sophie Perinot: Find her on Twitter @Lit_Gal.
Brenda Carre: Twitter @brenda_carre. (I have her links although she hasn't been active on her website or Twitter in a while. You could still check her out though)
Jean Oram: Jean is the newest member to the blog. And she definitely knows how to keep busy. She's on Twitter @jeanoram for witerly things and @KidsPlay for kids stuff. She also has a site for her Kids Play stuff: It's All Kids Play.

Whew, that's a lot of names/links up there. Please check out all those wonderful people. They are truly fabulous. Don't forget to visit the Write Angle Blog PLUS each of the contributors blogs/sites/twitters or whatever. Many of those names up there also have books out, &/or books coming out very soon. Make sure you keep an eye out for their books.

Their writing his great, their tips are useful/helpful, they are nice people who take the time to write the tips they put up on the blog-so be nice and take the time to check 'em out. I know, I know, I just keep saying the same things, but really-I love their blog! I can't say it enough: Go, Go, GO It'll be worth your time. Because even if you don't need their writing expertise, you can still find plenty of useful things at their individual blogs. BUT Check out the Write Angle Blog and their individual blogs-don't leave one out because you think it doesn't pertain to you.

Okay, I'm done. CLICK THE LINKS NOW! I wasn't yelling, not really. It's more I'm just very enthusiastic about things that are worthy. :D

Happy Sunday! :)

Something Sunday

I wrote my first book review Sunday Feb. 5 on Calista Taylor's Viridis. It was exciting to talk about a book I read, and how much I loved it; to recommend a book to others; and most of all, to promote a fellow writer. I decided then, that the first Sunday of every month I will post a book review. My next review will be on  Sunday, March 4 over Ashfall by Mike Mullin. I have not finished the book just yet, but so far I'm enjoying it and can't wait to write that review as well.

This morning, I was thinking about my blog. Right now, I have a blog series happening every Monday and Wednesday where I focus on conquering the To Dos of a Writer's busy life. Every Tuesday and Friday is when I post my poetry (although I am thinking about opening it up to other writers as well. Where they could post a very short story or a poem-something like that). And as I stated above, the first Sunday of every month will be a book review. But that leaves the rest of the Sundays of the month, as well as Thursdays and Saturdays. I know I don't have to post every single day, but I want to, so.

I'm throwing around some ideas for Thursdays to be guest post day. Get some other writers and non writers to write up a post of their choice for my blog. I haven't gotten my idea for it all the way set, so it's not happening yet, but that's what I really would like. And for Saturday, I think I'm going to make a recap of my week sort of thing.

Now-what about Sundays that have nothing, right? Yes, that's right, those poor singled out all alone Sundays. Well, those days will be for recommending and promoting. I will talk about books, blogs, websites, and everything inbetween. I have tons of ideas for what I want to post. If you have anything you want me to recommend/promote or whatever: A book, blog, site-ANYTHING; leave a comment on this post, email me, Tweet me, find me however you want-Here's My Contact Info. (FYI if you have a book you'd like me to review, you can contact me for my book review Sunday as well)

My Something Sunday will kick off on Sunday, Feb 26. Come back and check it out. And don't forget to let me know if you have something specific you want me to talk about :)

Happy Sunday!