My #1...

Because I would rarely ask others to do something I'm unwilling to do myself, I will be participating in the list of 20 things to do on Book Lovers' Day (or...any day). I hope you'll join me!

Today I'm reading "If One Falls" by Elaine Baldwin and drinking - what else? - coffee. What about you?
#rivershorebooks
http://www.rivershorebooks.com/book-lovers-day-drawing.html

20 Ways to Celebrate Book Lovers' Day (Bonus: A Giveaway!)

Today (August 9th) is Book Lovers' Day!

To celebrate, Rivershore Books is holding three drawings! Entries close on August 31st.

The following 20 ways to spend Book Lovers' Day have been divided by difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the bigger the prize!

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Easy To Do

1. Curl up with a book and your favorite drink.
2. Reread your favorite classic. (My choice: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.)
3. Find a book you own but haven't read yet.
4. Using www.dolldivine.com or something similar, create a "doll" of your favorite character - or ten!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Medium Difficulty

1. Visit the library. Put in a request for a book they haven't heard of. (See suggestions in #5 if you're not sure what to recommend.)
2. Make a list of your favorite book characters and what you like about them.
3. Write to an author whose books you enjoy. Most author's emails can be found by a simple web search, and fan mail is always appreciated.
4. Write a book review. They are valuable to both readers and authors!
5. Check out an indie author whose books you haven't read yet. (Not sure who to read? Mirriam Neal, Vicki V. Lucas, LA Ramsey, Elizabeth Ender, and any of our Rivershore authors are great!)
6. Organize your bookshelf (or, if you're like me, bookshelves).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Expert Book Lover

1. Create a new cover for a book you love. (Don't have Photoshop? Gimp is free and works very well.)
2. Paint a scene from a book.
3. Rewrite a famous book scene.
4. Draw a character who interests you.
5. Create a "movie" poster based on a book.
6. Write a newspaper article about a book you loved or hated. Treat it like a news release. ("Extra; extra! Read all about it! Reader enjoyed new novel by an up-and-coming author!")
7. Go on a book tour. There are iconic scenes in almost any book: recreate those in your area. Double the fun: Film it! Send your video to me (Jansina@rivershorebooks.com) and I may post it on the Rivershore blog in the future.
8. Are there any author signings happening in your area? Find one to go to - whether you've heard of the author or not. It could be how you discover your next favorite read!
9. Act out a scene from your favorite book - on your own or with friends.
10. Create a fort with your books. (Suggestion: Use a sheet as a roof to avoid books falling on you.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Important But Boring Info

To enter: On Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest (your choice!), post a photo, video, or description of what you did with #rivershorebooks or www.rivershorebooks.com somewhere within the post.*

Copy the URL of your post, and enter it in the corresponding Rafflecopter giveaway!

Winners will be announced on September 1st! Some entries may be included on the Rivershore blog throughout the month. Please email me (Jansina@rivershorebooks.com) if you don't want yours shared.

*Not applicable for book reviews.

Blog Tour: Why I Write

Thanks to Virginia Ripple for inviting me to this three-question blog tour!

What am I working on?

Tomatoes Don’t Judge is my current work in progress. It’s a novel about a girl who meets a boy and falls in love...with his family. She comes from a family that neglects her, so being involved in daily things (i.e., planting tomatoes) is huge.

The prequel-of-sorts to Tomatoes is called Potatoes Still Bruise. It’s the main character’s journal from her early years. Just like a small bruise can affect the entire potato, Kara's scars have an effect on the way she views the world.

Not the actual cover; these were made by a friend using an actress who fits the main character - Britt Robertson. Aren't they cute?

While this book is first chronologically, I think it makes more sense to read Tomatoes before it, so it's on the back burner for now. 

Why do I write what I do?

I can’t remember a time I didn’t love words. When I was younger, I would tell stories verbally—usually things that had happened to friends (or, more often, fictional characters from books, movies, or Adventures in Odyssey). It was a natural progression to writing after that.

When I was a preteen I discovered the "Inspirational Romance" genre, and for a while, I was hooked. After reading several of these books, though, the stories seemed to mesh together. They didn't feel unique or believable to me anymore. I saw a void, and I wanted to fill it: (hopefully) realistic romance for Christian young adults.

I sometimes bring in tougher subjects like abuse because they're important to talk about.

My short stories are thilly and intended to induce laughter - because that's important, too.

One of my thilly stories.

What is my writing process?

To be honest, I don't have one. Where I write changes all the time. My regular spot is in the living room, with my laptop and some coffee. When I start to get stuck or distracted, I’ll move to my room, head outside, go to a coffee shop, or switch to a notebook. I also have a typewriter I’ll sometimes use.

One thing that doesn't work for me is scheduling when I write. I do make a point to write something creative every day. It doesn’t matter if it happens at 7 a.m. or midnight. Sometimes it’s thousands of words, and sometimes it’s under a hundred. Any writing is a success.

My first drafts tend to go quickly (I'm usually done within a month - thanks, NaNoWriMo!). I give myself a few months away from the story, then take between six months to a year to edit. Yes, I'm slow. I also consume lots of coffee.

Who is up next on the tour?

You are!

Book Review: Toxic by Vicki V. Lucas

Normally, I only share my book reviews on my publishing blog. I'm making an exception in this case, though, because I wanted to let you know about this special book. In the interest of full disclosure, the author is an online friend. I like to think that doesn't paint my opinion of her writing, but I'll leave that up to you to decide.

Toxic by Vicki V. Lucas

I was given an ebook copy of Toxic for this review. As I neared the end, I asked the author if I could buy signed copies of both this book and its sequel. I have a small collection of signed books and knew this was a set I wanted to add to it.

One of the main things that drew me into the story was the way Lucas introduces the characters. Foehn is a special favorite of mine - I love how the author gave a personality to something normally not seen as sentient.

The main characters are both flawed and virtuous, brave and deceptive, naïve and wise. There is the perfect balance of "good" and "bad" traits, which makes the characters easy to relate to and realistic. (Realistic is my goal as a writer, so that's the highest compliment I know how to give.)

There is less of a balance when it comes to the evil characters - I can't think of many redeeming qualities in them. This works well within the story, though. There is a firm distinction between good and evil; no gray areas. I appreciated this aspect.

That isn't to say that it's always clear who the evil characters are. In some cases, things are revealed to the reader around the same time they're revealed to the characters. More than once I found myself questioning the true motives behind the character's actions and wondering if my first assumptions were incorrect. This was brilliantly done.

The good vs. evil also comes through in the author's use of magic within the story. I'm one of those readers who sometimes objects to magic in a story, but Lucas portrayed it well and made it very clear who the magic was coming from.

The narrative jumps in and out of several different characters' perspectives, which could be confusing if it wasn't handled as well as it is. Between the picture before each switch in narrator (a different picture for each character) and the unique "voice" of each character, it was always clear whose perspective was being shown. Seeing the situations through different eyes added a deeper understanding to the story.

The book is long - over 400 pages - but it never felt like too much. The plot kept me interested till the end, and beyond. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Rancid, and I'm sure will read this book again.

I was given a copy of the book in exchange for this unbiased review.

Book Tour: A Year in Prayer with Jesus

Welcome to the sixth stop on Author Marilynn Dawson's virtual book tour for her soon-to-be-released book, “A Year in Prayer With Jesus”.  Today we are interviewing Marilynn about her new book.

What have you written to date?
So far, I've written one series, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey", a grad gift, "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate", an e-book, "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author", and my latest book, "Dressed for Eternity", which was released back in February.

What are you working on now?
My next book in the works is called "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" where the readers joins me in praying The Lord's Prayer as a prayer outline for 365 days.

How does that work?
Well, I've broken the Lord's Prayer down into 7 points in an outline, and have taken each point as a principle of prayer when coming before God the Father in relationship as His child.  As a result, every single point for the entire year has it's own Scripture verse, adding up to 2,555 verses in total, and each point also has it's own prayer prompt, with room for the reader to add their own.

Is each month dated?  As in - Monday, January 15th?
No.  Each day in the guide is numbered, but not dated so that a person can begin the prayer guide at any point in the year and not be bogged down by the realization that they jumped in late.  There is no such thing as late with this guide.  Your 365 days begin whenever you wish them to.  So a reader could begin on September 1st and go for 365 days while someone else could begin in October and go for the full 365 days.

My dream is to get 365 people to pick up the book and have each of them start on a different day.  So one person would start Day One on say September 1st, while the 365th person would start Day One August 30th of the following year.  Doing it this way would mean that various prayer points covering various people groups, missions organizations, nations, etc. would then be covered every single day for an entire year!  The thought gets me a bit excited actually!

Where can people find you online?
I'm all over the place online.  I'm sure I haven't hit everywhere I could be, but this is my current list:

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/songdovebooks/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10989028-marilynn-dawson
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/search/books?Keywords=Marilynn%20Dawson
Freado: http://www.freado.com/users/34318/marilynn-dawson
http://www.bookdaily.com/author/1811135/profile
Twitter: https://twitter.com/songdoveMD
Chapters: http://community.indigo.ca/profile/Marilynn-Dawson/557354.html
Barnes & Noble: http://my.barnesandnoble.com/songdove-profile/?showVisitorView=1
Librarything: https://www.librarything.com/profile/songdove
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/songdove
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marilynn.Dawson.Author?ref=hl
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/songdovemd
Google+: https://www.google.com/+MarilynnDawsonAuthor
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/MarilynnDawson
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynndawsonauthor
Authorsdb: http://www.authorsdb.com/authors-directory/3068-marilynn-dawson
http://hubpages.com/profile/Marilynn+Dawson
Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/referral/songdove
http://www.godtube.com/songdove/
https://inkbok.com/users/marilynn-dawson
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/songdove
Deeper Shopping: http://www.deepershopping.com/marilynn-l-dawson/homepage.html

Click this link here to get your twelfth single day prayer guide outline:

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/stuff/YPWJ/YPWJ-day187.pdf

Be sure to stop by Marilynn's blog (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusing) on July 17th for your next single day prayer guide free download.  Be sure to sign up for her monthly newsletter for yet another free gift!  Don't you just love FREE?

In addition to these free downloads, Marilynn is giving away a complete one-month sample of her next book via the rafflecopter app below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

30 Little Celebrations

1. Going out to eat with my grandma.
2. Quiet time.
3. Friends who show up at the perfect time.
4. Spending time with my family.
5. Movies.
6. Laughing so hard my face hurts.
7. Re-reading good books.
8. Discovering new favorite stories.
9. Feeling "inspired." (There's nothing better - and sometimes nothing worse! - than that itch to write.)
10. Learning a new dance.
11. 10 pounds lost! Slow, but steady.
12. Budgeting. (Yes, this is a celebration.)
13. More books than I have time to read.
14. Growing up Fisher. (Haven't seen it yet? Go watch it! Some of the episodes are free on Hulu. There's also a petition you could sign to try to get it back on TV... http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/nbc-nbc-renew-growing-up-fisher)
15. My job.
16. Hanging out with my brother.
17. An empty notebook.
18. Finding a forgotten box of pens - right as my supply was dwindling.
19. Books with impeccable grammar.
20. The unconditional love of family.
21. Long nails. (This is new for a recovering nail-picker like me!)
22. Gummy vitamins. Getting nutrients while eating candy? I'm in.
23. Comfy pillows.
24. Feedback from readers.
25. Knowing that my books even have readers.
26. Nice, long emails.
27. A freshly-made bed.
28. Flowers.
29. A new dress.
30. Summer!

How to Get Healthy (On a Budget)

As a follow-up to one of the recent posts here (How to Get Healthy), I thought it would be helpful to acknowledge that not everyone will choose to invest in a gym membership or expensive step tracker. There are definitely budget-friendly ways to stay in shape, so I'll share the ones I know of here. I'd love your input for the rest!

1. On sunny days, walk, bike, jog, or run outside.
2. If you don't have a treadmill or other exercise machine, you can get a desk bike like I have for about $20 on Amazon - it's likely cheaper from a thrift store or Craigslist.
3. Thrift stores, garage sales, and Craigslist are great places to look for larger equipment if you'd like that.
4. Walk around your house/apartment. Walk up/down the stairs. This can get repetitive, but it does get you moving.
5. Look on Hulu for exercise videos. Last I checked, there were some yoga, dancing, and strength training routines to choose from - all free.
6. DailyBurn offers a 30 day free trial of their exercise videos. (After the trial it's $10/month - cheaper than most gym memberships but still over $100 for a year. You'll have to decide if it's worth that to you.)
7. If you enjoy swimming, look for a pool in your area. There are a couple community pools here that charge about $3 each time. Some hotels will let you swim for a small charge, too.
8. Invest in some weights. There's no need to go all out...you can get dumbbells from Amazon for about $5 each. If you're looking for a set, I'd suggest used.
9. Recognize that while exercising is an excellent way to keep you healthy and is certainly important, if your goal is to lose weight, the main way to do that is to reduce your calorie intake. SparkPeople is free and a great way to keep track of what you're eating. (There are other calorie counting websites, of course, I just haven't used them.)
10. Meat, fruits, and veggies are still important. I often shop at Aldi, since things tend to be cheaper there. The quality is sometimes not as good, but for the most part I've been happy with what I've gotten there. (And if there's a problem, their double guarantee is awesome.) Sales are good, too - and buying in bulk when it makes sense.

What else has worked for you?