Calling All Writers: Fun Facts

Last night, my friend Jonas Lee (http://jonasleeblog.com), author of The Legend Of Carter Gabel series, invited me to be a part of his online hangout.  I think it’s up on YouTube, but I really hate watching myself, so I haven’t looked!

Anyway, during our discussion, we started talking about how we got into writing and eventually got onto the topic of fun facts that others might not know about our books.  I asked if he would write down the story he told me so that I might share it on my blog and also so that I might invite all you other writers out there to do the same thing!  I love trivia, I love fun unknown facts!

If you would like to participate, you can either write your story in the comments section OR write your own blog post and share it in the comments section!  I would love to read them!

So without further ado, please welcome Mr. Jonas Lee, Author of the Carter Gabel Saga.

As we all find the stories we love to read and befriend the authors who have written them, it is quite surreal to find yourself in their same company. For me, getting to interview the likes of Jacqueline E. Smith, Shannon A. Thompson, Nina Soden and others that I’ve had the chance to read has been wonderful. Little moments we get to share while conversing have made it feel more like a community than an endless space of internet.

What’s better than those little moments of conversation? Finding out the hidden gems behind the meaning of characters, origins of books and so many wonderful things tidbits that comprise our own little Extras portion if we were a DVD menu. For me, I shared one with Jackie last night and I will share it again for anyone who missed out on our YouTube shenanigans. 

Back when I first started blogging, I decided to try and lure hopeful followers in with a weekly story. So, I dug back into my archives and found a one-chapter fan-fiction I dabbled in. I had read The Time Traveler’s Wife and had watched the movie when that spark of “what-if” hit me and I put fingers to keys in order to get the idea out. Many years later it started out as that one-chapter piece I would offer out to fans.

Weeks went by and soon, there were eight chapters fully developed. I decided to bag the idea and continue the story offline. At that moment, the piece had originally been called The Time Traveler’s Grandchild and would evolve into A Time to Reap within a few short months. That first book spawned another and the final chapter in the Legend of Carter Gabel is now underway. It’s amazing where ideas will take us and just how many people we touch with them along the way. I’ve met some great people and I can’t wait to see how many more will be on my journey. I hope you’ll follow me and be one of them.

I just loved that story and I’m so glad to have Jonas as a friend and colleague!  Thank you so much, Jonas, for inviting me to be a part of your hangout last night and for being a guest on my blog this afternoon!

You can find the first book in The Legend of Carter Gabel series here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M8AZBKE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00M8AZBKE&linkCode=as2&tag=jonleesima-20&linkId=KK7K2EHW24G5KWG5

Thanks y’all!  Remember, leave me a story or a link in the comments section below!  I’d love to hear from you!

BOY BAND Fun Facts and Chapter 1!

Hello, all!

It is officially April 1.  I hope everyone has avoided being pranked and fooled and whatnot.  I’m not really even trying this year, because I feel like everyone is expecting it.  However, as it is the beginning of the month that my new Young Adult novel, Boy Band will be released, I figured I should celebrate with some useless trivia and a Chapter 1 download!

So, in no particular order, here we go!

BOY BAND TRIVIA:

* Boy Band started out as a NaNoWriMo project.  I’d never participated in NaNo before and I really had no intention to.  I didn’t like the idea of being timed or of writing a novel just because it was a certain month.  But a friend of mine, Savannah (http://savannahrohleder.blogspot.com), persuaded me.  I had no idea if I would publish the story, or if I would even finish it.  But I ended up loving it.  It just goes to show that you never know until you take a chance on something.

* My sister and I both LOVE boy bands, all boy bands, and countless hours spent watching music videos on YouTube inspired me to write about them.

*You can find the music that inspired Boy Band here: https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/boy-band-soundtrack/

* Sam Morneau is named after Sam Claflin.

* Jesse Scott is named after Jesse McCartney (Yes, I really love Jesse McCartney).

* My sister and I wrote all the “songs” in the book.  I’m not sure if they’re good or not.  The one she wrote is, but the rest… Well, I guess you’ll just have to let me know.

* This is the first book for which I’ve designed the cover, and I loved it!

* My sister took the picture of New York that I used for the cover image.

* Oliver Berkley is based on our cute tour guide from Scotland.  That might be a little creepy.  Oh well.

* The cute Irish singer that Mel refers to throughout the book was inspired by Niall Horan.

* I mention Zac Hanson in the book because he was my very first musician crush.  I was 9 years old and I was obsessed with Hanson.

* I mention Meg Cabot because she is my ultimate writing inspiration.  I kind of want to be her.

* Both of my editors got really mad at me for the way the book ended.  Yes, okay, it ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger.  THERE WILL BE A SECOND BOOK!  In fact, there’s going to be a third book too.

* Mel’s middle name, Kearney, is a family name.

* The group is from the Bay Area because I think San Francisco is really cool.

* I wrote Mel to look like my sister.  Really, this book is for her.  She’s my best friend in the world and without her, the book wouldn’t exist.

* Here’s Chapter 1.  Enjoy!

CHAPTER 1 Boy Band

Boy Band will be available April 21, 2015!

Please remember to enter my GoodReads Giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/129034-boy-band

30 Days!

Okay, people of the cyber world, it is June 1.  That means the one month countdown to BETWEEN WORLDS is officially on!

In honor of the impending release, CEMETERY TOURS is on sale from now to July 1 for only $2.99 on Nook and Kindle.  Once July 1 hits, it will go back to $4.95, so get it while it’s on sale!

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cemetery-tours-jacqueline-e-smith/1117000854?ean=9780989673402

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Cemetery-Tours-Jacqueline-Smith-ebook/dp/B00F7CHQ08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401672575&sr=8-1&keywords=cemetery+tours

Before Cemetery Tours release, I tried to do some kind of fun promotional thing at least once a week.  Today, I thought I’d give you a few Anti-Spoilers/Bits of Trivia about Between Worlds.

1) I have had the idea in my head for this book longer than Cemetery Tours.  I pretty much wrote Cemetery Tours so I could write this one.

2) It is set in a fictional mansion in Maine.  This mansion was inspired by too many childhood viewings of Casper.

3) Brink plays a bigger role in this book than in the first.  He actually wasn’t intended to be in the book that much.  In fact, he was just going to have a few scenes in the beginning of the book.  But as it turned out, he is everyone’s favorite character, so he ended up being promoted to one of the main characters.  The best thing about Brink being everyone’s favorite, I realize, is that no one ever has to worry about me killing him off.  He’s already dead.

4) I was afraid that this book wouldn’t be as spooky as Cemetery Tours, but there were a few scenes that, when I wrote them, I actually spooked myself.  I’m hoping that readers find them spooky too.

5) In this book, we meet the rest of the Cemetery Tours team: Gail Marsh, J.T. Sawyer, and Peter Jamison.

I can’t think of anything else that won’t reveal too many plot points, so that’s all you’re getting for now.  I will, in the weeks following, be releasing the first two chapters for download (if I remember how that is!), as well as a soundtrack list and ideal casting.  Stay tuned!  And please, check out Cemetery Tours and, if you enjoy it, leave me a review!

If you don’t like it, please don’t review it.  😉

Speaking of reviews, I found out today that you can review your own books on GoodReads.  I decided to leave Cemetery Tours a nice, modest little review.