It is going to be a busy month. Here I what I am getting into this month:
The NCAA Final Four is at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. It is on my mother’s bucket list, so we are going.
Nascar is at Texas Motor Speedway and I’ve never been. Given how great Dale, Jr. is doing this season, I have to go.
My Cover Reveal for Another New Life is schedule for April 10th. You want to participate, please sign up here.
Oh, yeah, and there is a little thing called the A to Z Blogging Challenge. 26 posts in 30 days. Click on the badge to the left if you haven’t signed up, yet.
Movies Coming out in April
Captain America 2 – already rented the first movie and will watch it and the Avengers again the night before opening day.
Rio 2 – I loved the first one and Bruno Mars is in this one.
Draft Day – So excited for this one. Love any movie that shows behind the scenes of professional sports.
Transcendence – It’s Johnny Depp. Enough said.
Goals for April
Finish proofreaders notes on Another New Life
Finalize cover for Another New Life
Continue prep for the May release
Edit About You & Me (Book #1) – Prepare to pitch during RT Conference in May and RWA in July.
Awards
I received an award in March and although I don’t follow the award rules, I have to acknowledge the amazing blogger and one of my beta readers for recognizing me.
Thanks so much Tianna for the Being a Light in the World Award. The award was created to celebrate those wonderful people in our world who spread light, love, hope and peace in the name of humanity. – What a beautiful thought.
What’s on your April to do list? What movies are you looking forward to seeing in April? What are your writing goals for April?
AJ is probably still out celebrating her new release, If Only, which came out yesterday. I am honored to have her visit Tattoo Tuesday. AJ, your five questions start now:
1. How old were you when you got your first tattoo? I was 24.
2. How many tattoos do you have? If only one, do you want more? I have two. I just got my second one, and YES, I want more! I can understand people saying tattoos are addicting. Yes it hurts, but it’s also a ton of fun. Is it weird that I enjoy getting inked? 🙂
3. What inspired you to get your first tattoo or favorite tattoo? Tell me your tattoo story. My first tattoo was just because I wanted one. Not a huge story. But my recent one is all about story. My debut novel, IF ONLY, a New Adult contemporary romance, just released yesterday. Yay! I promised myself I’d celebrate writing milestones with more ink, and I wanted there to be meaning attached to this one. My favorite poem by Emily Dickinson poem that, since her poems aren’t titled, starts with the line, “Hope is the thing with feathers–“, and for me it’s this idea of hope being this selfless entity that is always there, silent and unquestioning. When it comes to writing and publishing, it’s really easy to get discouraged. Not losing hope is so vital to keeping at the writing game. While I was querying my first book, I was writing IF ONLY. When the first book didn’t get the response I hoped for (see…I hoped), I got IF ONLY ready and started querying and entering it in contests…and it won one, an Editor in the Alley pitch contest on the NA Alley Blog. Fast forward a year later, and my book is with a fabulous publisher, Entangled, and my story is out there. The idea of hope, and the poem I love, those are the reasons for the feather tattoo on my arm. Putting that first book out there, letting it go and become something that doesn’t belong only to me anymore, that’s the reason for the bird breaking off from the feather.
4. Tattoos on a significant other, like or dislike? Explain why? I like tattoos on anyone. They are hot. ‘Nuff said.
5. Do the character’s in your books have tattoos? If so, pick a character and tell me his or her tattoo story? Why was this story incorporated in the book? Both my hero and heroine get tattoos. My main character, Jordan, gets the Hebrew word, Ahava, tattooed on her wrist (in the Hebrew characters). She’s studying abroad in Scotland, and while visiting family in London over the holidays, her cousin takes her to a tattoo shop as a surprise. Ahava means love, and it has multiple connections to the story–to Jordan’s relationship with her best friend as well as Jordan’s own self discovery. And of course, the book is a romance, so the tattoo ties in there as well. Like I said, the hero gets a tattoo as well, but I can’t reveal his without revealing too much about the book. You’ll just have to read. I included the tattoo story line simply because I love ink and the idea of permanence in this type of expression…as long as you choose art you know you’ll want forever!
About AJ Pine:
AJ writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll mend those hearts with a happily ever after…maybe. The first book she wrote was YA, but now she’s two-timing her first love with NA. She’s always in the middle of reading two to three books, adores online shopping (everything from groceries to shoes), and she still loves vampires, whether it’s Eric Northman or the Salvatore brothers. When she’s not writing, AJ is sneaking off to her day job as a high school English teacher or hanging with her husband and kids in the Chicago burbs.
Available for .99 cents.
Sometimes it takes crossing an ocean to figure out where you belong.
It’s been two years since twenty-year-old Jordan had a boyfriend–which means it’s been forever since she, well, you know. But now she’s off to spend her junior year in Aberdeen, Scotland, the perfect place to stop waiting for Mr. Right and just enjoy Mr. Right Now.
Sexy, sweet (and possible player) Griffin may be her perfect, no-strings-attached match. He’s fun, gorgeous, and makes her laugh. So why can’t she stop thinking about Noah who, minutes after being trapped together outside the train’s loo, kisses Jordan like she’s never been kissed before? Never mind his impossible blue eyes, his weathered, annotated copy of The Great Gatsby (total English-major porn)…oh, and his girlfriend.
Jordan knows everything this year has an expiration date. Aberdeen is supposed to be about fun rather than waiting for life to happen. But E.M. Forster, Shakespeare, and mistletoe on Valentine’s Day make her reconsider what love is and how far she’s willing to go for the right guy.
If you have a book coming out or just want to tell your tattoo story and want to be featured on Tattoo Tuesday, let me know by leaving me a message in the comments.
I can’t believe I’m going to do it. WriterlySam is asking me to reveal my super secret theme for 2014 A to Z Challenge. There is a certain commitment associated with revealing your theme ahead of time. I bet that is why she is making us do it. Like once it’s out there, you kind of have to follow through and participate in A to Z. Well, here it goes.
My Theme for 2014 A to Z Challenge is Another New Life by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle. Yes, that’s me and that’s my debut novel. I am going to spend an entire month, 26th posts, telling you all about it.
I have a few interesting post all ready to go, like B – By the numbers and K – Kiss. My personal favorite, I – It’s Cover Reveal Time when I reveal my cover. See what I did there. haha.
I figure by the end of the month, you will either be completely sick of it or you can’t wait to read it.
If the stars are aligned correctly and everything happens the way it’s supposed to happen between then and now, on May 1st, you can buy it.
Wish me luck! For more information on Another New Life, check it out on Goodreads.
There’s still time to sign up for the challenge, here.
Click here, to check out other blogger’s themes. What is your A to Z Challenge Theme?
This is some hot off the presses Tattoo Tuesday Ink from Claudia. She got this tattoo yesterday. Thanks for sharing Claudia, your five questions start now:
1. How old were you when you got your first tattoo? I got my first tattoo when I turned 18. My best friend and I walked into a shop and pointed to a kanji in a book that said it meant ‘Wild’ and told them to stick it on us. As soon as the needles hit my skin I knew I was going to be addicted. While all of my ink is special to me I’m in the process of covering up my very first one as what it represents isn’t a part of who I am anymore and it is terribly faded. When we are done I’ll have a beautiful pinup mermaid across my back.
2. How many tattoos do you have? If only one, do you want more? I’d say my most meaningful tattoo is the memorial piece I had done for my grandparents. Shortly after I lost my grandfather, who was my favorite person and an avid bird watcher, I heard the song Birds by Neil Young on the radio and these lyrics helped me with his loss “When you see me Fly away without you Shadow on the things you know Feathers fall around you And show you the way to go.” and so I wanted something to remind me that they were still there with me even though they were gone… So I got two birds flying through forget-me-not flowers.
3. What inspired you to get your first tattoo or favorite tattoo? Tell me your tattoo story. It took me a long time, and 5 different shops, to finally find the artist that was perfect for me. When I walked into Cathedral Tattoo Co. I knew it was a match made in heaven. I’ve received the majority of my ink within those walls and I’ll continue to add to my collection there.
4. Tattoos on a significant other, like or dislike? Explain why? My husband also has a growing collection of sexy ink flowing over his skin. We both go to the same artist and we schedule our sessions back to back spending all night at the shop.
5. Do the character’s in your books have tattoos? If so, pick a character and tell me his or her tattoo story? Why was this story incorporated in the book? In Sin For Love (Fortune For Love #1) Reese does have a sleeve covering one of his arms, and while it is sexy it isn’t a big part of the story. Now in Fortune For Love #2 (which doesn’t have a title yet) there is a character with a large tattoo that is very much a part of the story…
To learn more about Claudia Bradshaw, connect with her on her Blog, Twitter and check out her new release Sin for Love on Goodreads.
If you have a book coming out or just want to tell your tattoo story and want to be featured on Tattoo Tuesday, let me know by leaving me a message in the comments.
“From the first day we met, it was Troy and me against the world.”
Another New Life by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Book Blurb: Miranda Preston is a walking contradiction. Talent, smart and beautiful on the outside and insecure, haunted and damaged on the inside. Despite these contradictions, she’s ready to start Another New Life.
When her talent wins her a piano performance scholarship to the University of Texas, Miranda arrives on campus determined to experience everything college has to offer and to keep her secrets in the past where they belong.
An easy task, until the first guy who catches her eye happens to be someone, she’s known all her life.
Eight years have passed since the last time Miranda and Troy saw each other. He reminds her of the best and worst times of her live, but she can’t think about one without dwelling on the other. As they grow closer, every day their attraction reminds them they are no longer kids.
The epic romantic love story that is Miranda and Troy seems to be destined for a happy ending, but Miranda knows it’s only a matter of time before her secret is discovered. A secret that will not only destroy their relationship, it will destroy Troy, too.
Can Miranda focus on her future with Troy while preventing her past from tearing them apart all over again?
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle 