Christine's Odyssey / YA Giveaway!

Did you know that my blog buddy, J.L. Campbell, has a new book coming out? 

"Oh yeah, when?" you might ask.

And the answer to that would be....today!

 

To celebrate and help spread the word, she's holding a contest with some other authors and you don't have to do much...just hop on the Rafflecopter below and you're in.

Easy enough, right?

Anywho, J.L. sent the main character of the story, Christine herself, to tell you more.

Take it away, Christine!

Howdy. I’m glad you’ve stopped in. My name is Christine and although I’m only

eleven, I’m what some adults might call precocious. A lot has happened in my life,

some of it bad, but like my dad used to say, good things can result from the bad stuff

that happens to us.

To help me celebrate overcoming my challenges, a great gang of authors have teamed

up and will be giving away copies of their books. Sweet, yes?

For a chance to win a pair of the books listed, you can do anything included on the

Rafflecopter below or on Facebook. However, for those who’d like to win a $10.00

Amazon Gift Voucher, hop on over to the Jamaican Kid Lit Blog to enter for that.

Anyway, I tend to talk a lot, so before I carried away, here’s my story:

Raised in a hotbed of arguments and fights, eleven-year-old Christine Simms is the

victim of her mother's cruelty. A domestic dispute ends in tragedy, sending the family

into a tailspin.

A shocking discovery sends Christine on a quest to find the stranger who left her behind

in Jamaica. Determined to unravel the mystery of her birth, Christine uses every tool at

her disposal and treads with courage where no child should.

Thanks so much for dropping in! I hope you win the novels of your choice. I should tell

you that you get to choose books based on how the Rafflecopter does the drawing of

the winners. So, if your name comes up first, you get to say which pack you want.

Available in ebook format at AmazonUS

J.L. Campbell is a proud Jamaican, who is always on the hunt for story-making

material.

She writes romantic suspense, women's fiction and young adult novels. She is the

also the author of Contraband, Dissolution, Distraction, Don't Get Mad...Get Even,

Giving up the Dream, Retribution and Hardware (written under the pen name Jayda

McTyson).

Visit her on the web at http://www.joylcampbell.com 

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reality Check / Music Monday

One of the (many) cool things about blogging is when people read and comment on what you have to say.....as if you've made some sort of....connection, with your audience.

What's even cooler is when someone thinks your blog is deserving of praise and/or accolades.

So, imagine my surprise when my blogger pal jaybird (you all do know jaybird....right?), over at The Bird's Nest, graciously bestowed upon me and my humble little blog, the Reality Award.

Now, I think the way this one goes is that I'm supposed to answer a few questions and pass it on to three others I think are deserving....which isn't going to be easy as I follow a ton of great blogs.

So, on to the questions....

If you could change on thing, what would it be?

I would have scrounged some money together to invest in a little company called Microsoft when it first went public, back in 1986 (the year I graduated high school).....at like $21.00 a share!

If you could repeat an age, what would it be?

I could say something like "I hate repeating myself.", but that's totally not true. Anyone who knows me and has heard my jokes can attest to that. Still, though, I think I'd have to say my early 20s, where I would have finished college.

What one thing really scares you?

Flying in an airplane. I get nervous just going to the airport to pick up/drop off people. Truth.

If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?

Indiana Jones, because I hate snakes and Nazis too!

O.k, for the three people I'm choosing for this one, I'll go with....

1. Elise Fallson-- Funny, a bit silly (in a good way), and passionate about writing.

2. Sydney Aaliyah-- A great blogger with a superb sense of community.

3. Celeste Holloway-- Always upbeat and positive and a real pleasure to read.


I always look forward to updates from these three ladies as well as the comments they leave. If you're not familiar with them, already, then do yourself a huge favor and check them out...I promise you won't be disappointed.

Thanks, again, to jaybird for thinking of me...I really appreciate it!

Music Monday

For my Music Monday offering, today, I'm going with a suggestion from a comment last Monday via Celeste Holloway ( what are you waiting for? check out her blog, already!). Celeste mentioned The Oak Ridge Boys, who also happen to be one of my all time favorite country groups.

Way back in the day...in my early teens...I was a huge country music fan. While the genre has gone through a few changes today, back then it was all about twangy, steel guitars and great harmonies. I remember, literally, wearing out the  Oak's 'Greatest Hits' cassette when I was young.

This, above them all, is my favorite song of theirs.... Y'all Come Back Saloon 

Have a great Monday and, if you can't...don't worry, it'll be over soon :)

The Healthy Writer's Club

I mentioned, on Wednesday, that I had some pretty cool news regarding my health/fitness journey. It's a journey I've been struggling a bit lot with lately....not really sure why except to say I've been pretty lacking in the motivation department.

As with a lot of areas of life and like a lot of us, I tend to run hot and cold with things. One day I'll really be into it...the next....meh. This, though....this really grabbed my attention and speaks to the core of why many of us struggle with weight loss and getting fit.

It's about eating right.

Or...

It's about eating, right?

In either case, I think the answer is a resounding 'Yes!'.

When I was younger I wouldn't have much of a problem eating what I wanted and in whatever quantities I wanted. I also had a younger metabolism backing me up.

That 'young guy metabolism' has headed south, so now it's not just about exercising.....it's about how much and what, exactly, I put into my body. I've never been one to "diet" and have always been of the "eat what I want and just work it off" mindset.

My wife, who is always looking for new ways for us to get healthy, sent me a link for a website called Hungry For Change. It's all about the poisons we're literally putting into our bodies and what they're doing to us. It's a pretty powerful documentary which you can watch from the website (you have to register) or, if you have Netflix Streaming, you can watch it HERE.

Last Sunday we watched it and it really impressed me, for two reasons. The first was that the people giving the information had all been there. Most of them were chronically overweight or had other ailments that forced them to look to alternatives to help, in some cases, save their lives. They weren't "models" or "fitness gurus" or folks who were blessed with that 'young person's metabolism' trying to sell you something. They had been there and had done that.

Experience is a great teacher.

The other thing that impressed me was that they weren't selling anything. They were laying the information out there and you could use it (or ignore it) as you saw fit. It wasn't 'preachy', it was just plain, matter of fact, talk based on common sense and research.

Honestly, it really opened my eyes to just what, exactly, I've been putting into my body. I'm, usually, very skeptical of these sorts of things but what they were saying made an awful lot of sense.

That night, after watching, we went and bought a juicer and have been stocking up on fruits and veggies.

The first concoction we tried was from the recipe book (included)....an apple, carrot, celery mix.

I know it looks a bit....odd, but it was really good. Oranges from a juicer is awesome, I just have to say. We also tried a few other recipes, adding things like cilantro, kale, and parsley  A word of warning, though, a little of those goes a long way taste-wise  We did a tomato, carrot, celery mix and threw in some kale...and it wound up being too much. It had an "earthy" taste, as my wife described it, but I thought it tasted like grass.

What? You've never eaten grass before?

Anyway, we decided to try a 'mini-detox' type of thing this past Wednesday where we'd just drink water (a LOT of water) and juice a bunch of stuff. The documentary talks about trying to do this every so often to clean the system out of heavy metals (mercury) and such that stick with us in the processed foods we eat. We wound up 'amending' the 'fast' just a bit....having some salad, fruit, and gluten free cheese to get us over the rough patches but, all in all, we did pretty well. We plan on doing another next week.

Trust me when I say I've never been the 'hippie' type, but a lot of the things this documentary was saying made a lot of sense. It really opened my eyes to a lot of things and gave a lot of food for thought....no pun intended....o.k, it was intended, but still....

The most important thing, though, was that it helped in motivating me and getting my mind right. A healthy mindset is the first and most important step in the road to getting fit, in my view.

If you get the time/inclination, give this a watch and see if it doesn't change (or start to change) your view on processed food, eating, and nutrition.

I know it did mine.

This has been a post (obviously) for The Healthy Writer's Club, hosted by Shallee McArthur.

Any health/fitness goals in your future? If so, how are you doing with them? Ever tried juicing?

Have a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Random Ramblings

What does the picture above have to do with this post? Nothing,I just like it :)

I really enjoyed Monday's blog hop and want to thank Alex J. Cavanaugh, again, for hosting. It was a great time and I was reminded of a lot of movies that I hadn't thought of for a long time.

You guys had some great top ten lists, for sure.

I'd also like to thank all of you who stopped by and commented. I apologize if I didn't get back to everyone and, if I didn't make it to your list, please don't be offended...I gave it the old college try (because I went to an old college).

Anyway, not much going on today and I'll probably keep things brief after Monday's festivities so here goes...

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I mentioned on Friday about Google Reader going the way of the dodo on July 1st and that I was looking into some alternatives. I checked a few out and a couple of them looked decent, but had a limit on how many blogs you could follow...which wouldn't work for me. Another wanted you to pay and the other wasn't taking any new accounts.

So, I decided to give one of the best of the free readers (in my opinion) a shot.

I've been using Feedly for about four or five days and have had pretty good results. It's pretty user friendly and imports all your subscriptions with just a few clicks. After some finagling, I managed to get it looking like the Google Reader template (if that's what you're going for), but you could also configure it a few other ways, too.

 If you're a Chrome user, it also has a little, handy dandy, extension for your convenience.

Now, I'm not married to this reader (my wife wouldn't like that) so if you know of something that works better and is free, please let me know!

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In other "news", I saw this on Google Plus (see, you should be using it!) and thought it was pretty cool. It also ties in with Monday's blog hop as a lot of people had Star Wars (or sequels) in their top ten.

The cast of the Star Wars films, spanning the six episodes. I don't think I've seen the kid who played young Annakin since he did the film.

Small gripe here, besides them including Jar Jar ahem, but I think Lucas should be sitting on the other side by Fischer, Ford, and Hamill. I mean, that's where it all started so it only makes sense.

Right?

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On Friday's I've been trying to do a post for The Healthy Writer's Club, which I think is a fantastic idea and want to stay on board with. Last Friday, though, I purposely excluded doing an entry because I hadn't really done anything of note and didn't want to post excuses as to why I hadn't done anything of note.

This Friday, though, I'll have something pretty cool to talk about relating to THWC so tune in then for the skinny....figuratively speaking, of course :)

Ninja Captain Alex's Top Ten Movie Countdown / Music Monday

I thought this was one of the most devious ideas yet, for a blog hop!

Yes, I said devious....I mean, think about it...having to narrow down years of movie experiences down to just ten films?? I'm sure Alex is just sitting there...cackling in maniacal glee at the quandary he's put me in!

O.k, I'm sure he's not...but still...this is a toughie. All the particulars, as well as a list of others doing this hop, can be found HERE.

I think it's going to take some thought so, while I do that, I'll leave you with a little tie in Music Monday selection from The Statler Brothers. An old country classic...The Movies. (And you thought I just liked surf music....)

O.k, I think I've had some time to think and here's my top ten movies, in descending order:

10. Trancers-- I loves me some cheesy, "B" movies and no studio does them better than Full Moon Pictures. Trooper Jack Deth, trancer hunter extraordinaire, is sent back in time to stop a madman from murdering the ancestors of The Council and sending Angel City (Old Los Angeles) into turmoil. The only catch...he has to inhabit the body of an ancestor to complete the trip. And the other catch....the ancestor of the madman is a respected police chief. Cult movie icon, Tim Thomerson stars with a very young Helen Hunt (before Mad About You) and Telma Hopkins (Tony Orlando and Dawn, Family Matters). While not really Oscar worthy, it still remains one of my most favorite 'fun flicks'.

9. Armageddon-- I really can't tell you why this movie is on my list....it just is. Every time, without fail, that I see this on t.v., I stop what I'm doing and watch it. Maybe it's just the idea of a bunch of misfits getting together to save the world, or maybe it's just the Bruce Willis/Ben Affleck dynamic, I'm not sure. This movie even made me stomach Billy Bob Thornton who plays a great role as a NASA coordinator, tasked with saving the world. This movie also has one of my most favorite quotes from a movie.

 Dr. Banks: [going through the roughnecks' medical reports] Fail. Fail. Depressively fail! One toxicology analysis revealed ketamin, that is a very powerful sedative!
Harry: Sedatives are used all the time, doctor.
Dr. Banks: Well this one's used on horses.
Harry: Some of these guys are pretty big.

8.  Charlie Chan-- This really encompasses any of the films made back in the 1940s and featuring the famous oriental sleuth created by author Earl Derr Biggers. I always enjoyed Charlie's little bits of wisdom "Mind like parachute...only works when open." and the bumblings of his well meaning, but inept, Number One Son. Again fun films from a simpler time.

7. The Thin Man-- Another film series that I've always enjoyed. William Powell and Myrna Loy had incredible chemistry which, in my opinion, was most of the reason for the series' success. Powell plays famous detective Nick Charles who marries the wealthy Nora, played by Loy, and try as they might, they just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Mysteries and snappy patter abound in these clever movies.

6. Casablanca-- A timeless classic that has it all. Romance, action, adventure, Nazis...the works. Humphrey Bogart plays the American expatriate, Rick and Ingrid Bergman is his long lost love, Ilsa. For me, though, some of the best parts are played by Claude Raines, Sidney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre at his creepiest.

5. The Avengers-- The movie that I didn't have a lot of faith in before it came out, but hit it out of the park when I saw it. I found it simply amazing how Whedon took such an ensemble cast, gave them each screen time, and still told an all encompassing story. Marvel really did it right with this one, I have to say. From the teasers in the separate films to the finished product, this movie really made it feel like I was watching a comic book come to life...and that's saying something.

4. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins-- Based on the old Destroyer novels and starring Fred Ward and Joel Gray, this action/adventure tale didn't fare well at the box office, but I've always found it to be just one of those 'fun' films I can watch over and over. I've tried giving the novels a read, but never got very far so I have to wonder just how well the film sticks to the original source material. Either way, though, I guess you could classify this as a 'cheesey' sort of movie, but I'm good with that. It does one of the things I feel movies should do, if nothing else, and that's entertain.

3. Back to the Future-- I've always loved time travel movies...especially one with as many twists and turns as this movie had. While I was never a huge fan of Michael J. Fox, I thought he was outstanding as the awkward teen who had to travel into the past to find the confidence to face the future. For me, though, the true star was Christopher Lloyd who played the 'slightly' eccentric, but father like figure of Doc Brown. This movie hit a lot of the right spots for me as far as blending action, sci-fi, romance (a tiny bit), and even teen angst into one great film.

2. Star Wars-- O.k, come on now...what self respecting, self professed, geek wouldn't have this one in their top ten? This came out at a time when sci-fi films weren't taken all that seriously. It started an almost cult like following among sci-fi fans as well as launched one of the biggest franchises in movie history. The hero's journey of Luke Skywalker is one I can watch again and again. Granted, I haven't been so enamored with the newer offerings as I was with the original but, to paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi, 'a more elegant movie for a simpler time'.


And my number one movie is.......

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark-- Ever since I was a kid, I've loved the old movie serials. Having seen quite a few of them overseas, I fell in love with the weekly cliffhangers and the larger than life heroes (and villains) who escaped dire peril week after week. This film was all that and more....on steroids. Harrison Ford is just awesome as adventurer/archaeologist Henry "Indiana" Jones. Initially, I wanted to see this movie because 'Han Solo was in it'....but it wasn't long before Raiders surpassed Star Wars as my favorite film. It has all the elements I love in a film....except for time travel...and I can forgive that because it's just that good a movie.

I always wonder how this movie would have done if the original choice to play Indy, Tom Selleck, had taken the role?





So, there you have it....my top ten films....and, let me tell you..this wasn't easy. Thanks, Alex, for hosting this and I'll look forward to seeing everyone else's entries.

As they used to say in the old movies...."See ya in the funny papers"

Got Green Blogfest 2.0 / Google Reader Woes

Mark (O') Koopmans is hosting this colorful, little, bloghop to help celebrate that moss hued holiday...St. Patrick's Day. I believe there's still time to sign up if you want to join in on the festivities and you can find all the particulars HERE

Basically, the idea is to share our thoughts on how we get our 'Irish' on in 333 words or less.

Yes...333 words....though, I'm sure if you go over Mark won't show up at your house and hit you over the head with a shillelagh.....or will he?  >.>

Anyway, since I'm not Irish and really have no experiences of that sort to relate, I'll drop some trivia on you...

• The man who was to become St. Patrick was kidnapped, at the age of sixteen, by Irish raiders and brought to Ireland to serve as a slave. He was told by God, in a dream, to flee to the coast where he found a ship that took him back to Britain.
• According to legend, St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland and to the sea. It's generally agreed upon, though, that its' a metaphor for his good works. Snakes being the common symbol for paganism (and not found in Ireland), it represents St. Patrick driving paganism from the country.
• While it's generally believed that the shamrock was what St. Patrick used to explain the Holy Trinity, others believe that the three pronged leaf was worn as a symbol of the cross.
• The Druids believed that four leafed clovers aided in spotting witches and demons, hence they were 'good luck charms'. 
• Usually the clover leaf is only split into three parts, but some botanists believe that if a young clover leaf is damaged or exposed to certain chemicals, it takes on a fourth segment and becomes a 'four leafed clover'.
• It's said that snakes avoid shamrocks and that the plant is also a remedy for snake and scorpion bites.
• Some say that for good luck you should kiss the Blarney Stone, which is set into one of the walls of Blarney Castle. Legend has it that a witch cast a spell on the stone to reward the king for saving her from drowning. The spell gave the king the ability to speak 'persuasively eloquent' after kissing the stone.
• Legend has it that if you catch a leprechaun, you can make him tell you where his gold is hidden IF you don't look away from him. If you do...and they'll always try to trick you into doing so...he'll disappear, taking his gold with him.

I'll leave you with this Irish blessing:

May you live as long as you want

And never want as long as you live.

So, how about you? Any plans for St. Patrick's Day?

A big 'thank you' to Mark Koopmans for hosting this hop and I'm glad I had a chance to participate in it this go 'round.

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You've probably already heard that on July 1st, Google Reader will be no more.

Google is citing that declining usage as well as their need to focus on other products as the reasoning behind this.

While you can download your Reader data via Google Takeout during the three month 'sunset period' they're giving us, you'll still have to find an alternative.

While the site Lifehacker had some alternatives, I'm still not sure which might be the best route to go.

Needless to say, I don't think the blogging community is going to be too happy with this turn of events.

Any ideas on what might be a viable alternative?

Have a great Friday and an even better weekend!