Win an Advanced DIGITAL copy of Induction, book 2 of the Children of Creation Series!

ENTER HERE to win and Advance Read Copy (ARC) of Induction,

book 2 of the Children of Creation Series!

   Induction, book 2 of the Children of Creation series, comes out on September 29^th, but this is your chance to get an exclusive ARC two weeks before it goes on sale!  It’s easy!  All you need to do is comment below with your name and email.  Post on Facebook or Twitter with a mention using the guidelines below and you’ll get your name put in the lottery a second time.  At the end of the contest, I will enter a list of all of the names (twice for those who shared on Twitter and Facebook) into random.org’s list randomizer.  The person whose name lands first on the list will receive a digital (pdf) copy of Induction TWO WEEKS before it’s available to the rest of the world!  Haven’t read Convergence, book 1 of the series, yet?  NO Problem!  Get caught up before the sequel!  It’s available for easy download right now $7.99 at http://www.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/publishinghouse/books/detail/8  

Contest Ends Thursday, September 15^th at 12pm U.S. Central Time.  Winner will be announced later that day.

On Twitter follow @JD_Watts then Post: I want to win an ARC of INDUCTION from @JD_Watts

On Facebook, “like” my page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jd-Watts/156525821053380?ref=ts&sk=wall  Then Post:   I want to win an ARC of INDUCTION from @J.d. Watts

Good Luck Everyone!

(P.S. if you're uneasy about putting your email address in the comment, you can comment and then email the address to me personally along with your name and other information jdwattstwcsp@gmail.com)

Summertime Book Tours

This week my life is completely different than it was last week.  It’s amazing how school free summers are often far busier than the school year, and I’m only beginning to get a taste of this as my eldest is the only one in school right now.  Summer for us this year is filled with swimming lessons, summer reading programs at the library, family obligations and community activities, and while when I was young summer seemed like a vacation, now it feels quite the opposite.  Last month, I managed to finish the first draft of Induction, the second book of the Children of Creation Series, and will begin editing later this month.

       It’s amazing for me to look back over the past year and see how much things have changed.  This time last year, I was getting the first few chapter of Convergence ready for entry into the TWCS Original Fiction contest.  The contest ended in September.  I found out shortly afterward that Convergence had won the Young Adult category and within a couple of months I had completed it, gone through the editing process, and was being published.  My journey, which had begun in June, ended with a copy of Convergence in my hand six months later.  The sense of accomplishment was astounding and I feel so blessed for it all knowing how long it can take to be published in the traditional publishing world. 

     At my second signing, a local author whose son went to school with my husband stopped by to pick up a copy and talk.  She was very excited as she was just getting ready to have a work she had been holding on to for over twenty years come out.  I was honored to hold a copy of her book in my hands just this last week.  It was a wonderful story that I enjoyed very much and felt quite humbled by how great it was.  I felt even more humbled by the blessing that working with The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House has been for me, giving me a chance to make my dreams a reality without waiting half of my life to see it come to fruition. 

    Since Convergence was released, I’ve fumbled my way through the lands of promotion, which is certainly not my strongpoint.  Despite my own struggles, I have been so happy with the feedback I have received from this first story in a series of three, which has been living in my head for well over a year now.  I sincerely hope that the second book in the series lives up to the expectations of my readers, which will then set us all up for the maelstrom that will take place in the final book of the series.  When it is all said and done, I will have put poor Dani through the wringer and back again, but I hope that anyone who reads her tale enjoys the journey.  I hope to see you all soon.  I know I will be doing a signing of Convergence at the Vespasian Warner Public Library in Clinton, IL from 2-4pm on August 6th with a few other Convergence signings still in the work, and I will be back out to promote Induction beginning in early September.  

Podcast Inteview

I had the great opportunity to slide up to my computer and have a great interview via Skype with the ladies from the Mystical Lit Lounge last Wednesday.  We had a really great time talking about Convergence and how I got involved in writing.  I was sweating bullets leading up to it and dealing with the technical difficulties, but thankfully we solved the issues and got a chance to hop right in.  It was a blast!  Go check it out!!!

http://mysticallitlounge.com/2011/04/mll-extra-podcast-%E2%80%93-interview-with-j-d-watts/

In other news between being busy with RL, my interview mid-week last week, and my fun little weekend of fighting off a bug which right now is manifesting itself as a fever of 102, I haven't made any progress on Induction this week :(  I'm not freaking out though.  I still have several weeks before deadline, so I'm taking a deep breath, chugging a gallon of Chicken Noodle Soup, and hoping that I'll be wrapping it up very soon.  I'm so close I can taste it, now I just need for life to take a chill pill so I can get it all down.  Considering I have a birthday party to plan for my Kindergartener later this month, I'm guessing that time will be hard to find, but I'll make it :)  Thanks for taking time to read up on happenings here and I hope you take some time to checkout the interview!!!

J.D.

You might notice...

You might notice that occasionally a new song gets added to the writing playlist attached to this blog...any song added to this list is either something that I found that inspired me and/or may have had a cameo or vague allusion in Induction...so keep your eyes peeled.  I just finished writing a long awaited scene for Induction which led to some new additions.

We are also going to be having a contest soon with the publishing house to win an ebook copy of Convergence, so keep your eyes peeled for news.

Career Day at Illini Bluffs

I've been invited to visit Illini Bluffs Middle School in Glasford, IL Friday, May 13th to take part in their Career Day. The eighth grade English classes expressed an interest in having a writer at the event, and a friend of a friend suggested me. I've been working on making up a little brochure to hand out to the kids with tips on writing and a few website resources they can utilize to get more information and support.  I'm really excited to go and work with kids again.  It's been mentioned a few places online, but I actually trained to be an elementary school teacher, but timing and lack of jobs resulted in me not getting a full time classroom so I worked as a sub, and then when my son came along I opted to stay home with him.  I'm looking forward to getting back into a school in an educator role again, instead of the Mom role I've had of late.  This is an event solely for the middle school children in the district, but I still wanted to share as I'm looking forward to it.

Love in the the Air

      On a family field trip to the local Zoo this week, it became readily apparent that Spring has arrived and LOVE is in the air...especially in the case of the lions and the turtles who shared a nice little teaching experience about the birds and the bees. (Cue blushing mom and grandma and giggling niece. My nephew and son were too busy watching the zebras run and play and my two year old thought that the lions were cuddling. LOL)

      Love is also in the air as I push toward finishing my first draft of book 2 of the Children of Creation series, Induction.  We're going to see a lot of development of the relationship between Nate and Dani in this book, so I hope my readers are ready for the ride.  :)

Life In Progress

Somewhere between Angel novels and carpool is the rest of my regular life.  Yesterday's big accomplishment of the day...buying new tires for the minivan.  I managed to get Michelin's with that new run flat technology.  You can drive up to 50 miles with zero air pressure at speeds 55 mph or less.  Thanks to the $70 rebate, I got them cheaper than the Bridgestones and only $25 more than the bargain tires with far lower life expectancy and no run flat capability.  I'm chuckling at myself now because I feel something akin to winning a prize. LOL.  I guess this is a sign that I'm finally growing up.

My days right now are filled with my bottomless pit of a two year old constantly crying "I hungry," and my five year old son at my side 90% of the time with a story to share, and yet somehow I've managed to reach the halfway point for Induction this week.  Thank goodness for bedtimes...that's all I can say.  I'm on track now to make my deadlines to begin editing at the end of May. :)

See you around, my friends.

J.D. Watts :)