Star Wars Books that Changed My Life

May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

May the 4th be with you!

This year, in order to celebrate ‘Star Wars Day’, I’m going to share with you some of my own history with what I consider to be one of the best fantastical worlds ever! As a child, I remember watching the Star Wars Movies every chance I got. My favourite was Return of the Jedi (it is now Empire Strikes Back), and I borrowed it every chance I got on VHS from my public library. I borrowed it so many times that my father banned me from borrowing it for six months! I was crushed.

I always dreamed of new Star Wars movies, but they never arrived in my childhood. Instead, I turned to the books. By the time I turned 10, there was an entire Star Wars Universe waiting to be explored on the page. I began with Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn, and read everything I could get my hands on. I still have some of these books, as I’ve never been able to part with them.

One of my favs was the Young Jedi Knights Series, by Kevin J. Anderson with Robecca Moesta. This series was about Leia and Han’s twins, Jaina and Jacen. I wanted to be them, go to school with them, learn how to be a Jedi Knight too. So I consumed these books with a vengeance. I credit the strong character of Jaina and her mechanical aptitude for my own interest in science and my the much later degree in Engineering that I received in 2004. I was disappointed with Disney when they kaiboshed everything that was Star Wars, making it legend, and coming up with their own cannon. But there are a lot of similarities between Rey and Jaina, and after I watched Star Wars, The Force Awakens, I found I could accept this new story and love Rey as I loved Jaina (to me, they are really the same girl by a different name. I’m positive that Rey belongs to Leia and Han, and that Kylo Ren is her long-lost twin brother, just like in the books).

Another of my favorite characters from the book world, Mara Jade, in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire series, and pictured fighting Luke, above, is also now legend. Mara Jade was an apprentice to the Emperor, and takes it upon herself to battle Luke. But Mara Jade isn’t all bad, and she’s also my favorite Sith ever.

While my Star Wars book collection is not what it once was, I still treasure it, and it is still growing. With the Disney takeover, more material is being released now than ever. I’ve previously blogged about reading some of the new comic books, and I’ve also finished the first book in Chuck Wendig’s new Trilogy, beginning with Aftermath, about the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. When it comes to my love of Science Fiction and space travel, Star Wars will always have a very large place in my heart. So happy May the 4th, and may the Force be with you.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen it yet, or if you just want to watch it again because it is May 4th, be sure to check out The Last Jedi Trailer below.

JEH

Writing Prompts

Weekly Writing Prompt

May 3, 2017April 30, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

Write a 500 word story about this picture.

book review · books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’ve Read: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

May 2, 2017April 30, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

Young Adult Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant, by Veronica Roth, is the last book in the Divergent trilogy. I read it back in 2014, and well… I had my issues with this book. However, if you HAVE NOT READ IT, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, read my book journal entry below, as it contains major, major spoilers. If you’ve finished the series, then go ahead and scroll down.

What did you think of the conclusion?

JEH

book review · books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’ve Read: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

May 1, 2017April 30, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

Young Adult Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

As I continue to scroll through my book journals from the years before I used Goodreads, I’m pulling out entries and posting them on this blog. Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second book in the young adult Divergent trilogy. I read this book in 2012 (man, five years ago already!). I think from the review that I really liked this book, see below for my handwritten review.

Was this book a quick read for you?

JEH

Blogging · books · Covers · Self-Publishing · Writing Goals · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

Under Jupiter Now On Kindle Scout

April 30, 2017May 1, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

It’s there! It’s up and shining in the spotlight. Head on over here to check it out, or click on the link on the right, and read the prologue, the first chapter, and take a sneak peek into chapter two. Under Jupiter will be up on Kindle Scout until May 30th, so you can go back and view it again anytime, or share it with a friend. Don’t forgot to nominate the book for a change to get a free copy if the ebook if it’s chosen by Kindle Press!

Screen Shot 2017-04-30 at 3.45.27 PM — Kindle Scout View

books · Self-Publishing · Writing Goals

Submitting to Kindle Scout

April 28, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

I did it! I pressed submit! And now for a little rundown of what I thought about the whole Kindle Scout submission process.

If you’ve never heard about Kindle Scout, you can read more about it here, and sign up to preview and vote for submitted books. For readers, Kindle Scout is a way to earn free books, because if a book you nominate is chosen by Scout for publishing with Kindle Press, then you get a free copy. For writers, it’s a chance to earn an advance for your book and get a little bit of extra marketing.

UNDER

So why did I decide to try Kindle Scout? Mostly because I’m always on the lookout for new things to try, and, well, that advance does sound nice. So far, everything has been simple and straight forward. I opened a Kindle Scout account, prepared my files (cover, manuscript, blurb, a short bio, and answers to some questions. The Kindle Scout Website says you can submit in fifteen minutes, but it took me longer than that to prepare the question answers and the bio, because I wanted them to be good.

The cover had to be submitted in jpg or png format, and the manuscript (yes, you have to submit the entire manuscript even though only the first 5,000 words or so will be used as an except), has to be .doc or .docx format.

I uploaded everything, pressed the button, and now Under Jupiter is under content review (which means Kindle Scout is checking that there isn’t any inappropriate content or trouble with the files). Next, I should receive a confirmation and a campaign launch date, which I will share as soon as I have it. I’m excited to share this preview of Under Jupiter with everyone, and I can’t wait to hear what people think.

So, what does this mean for the release of Under Jupiter? Well, in the case that the book is selected by Scout, the release date will be up to Amazon (usually within a month of selection, so likely July 2017), and in the case that it isn’t selected, I will have Under Jupiter released by the end of June 2017.

Either way, Under Jupiter is set to land soon!

JEH

book review · books · reading · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

April 27, 2017April 27, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

Young Adult Audiobook Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

I borrowed These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner from my e-library for my most recent road trip. I found the book quickly addicting. This ebook was a change from the others I’d listened to lately, because it had three readers: one for Lilac, one for Tarver, and one for the mysterious General. I thought the actors were well chosen to do the voices, especially Johnathan McClain, who voiced Tarver, because he sounds just like I imagine a young army officer might.

What I liked best about These Broken Stars was the mystery that permeates the entire novel. There are so many questions that are not answered, and then, when something is answered, there are still remaining questions that don’t have answers. What I didn’t like about the book, and the only reason I’ll give it four stars instead of five, was that sometimes Lilac was just a bit too much of a damsel in distress. There were times when her behaviour was just too weak for my taste, and I longed for her to be a bit more like Celaena Sardothien.

Still, it was a good story, and a great audiobook. I’m not sure I’ll listen to the other two books in the series though, because—and I didn’t realize this when I borrowed book one—the following books feature different characters. That said, I liked the writing enough that the sequels might be worth my time, it will just depend if something else catches my eye first.

4/5 Stars.

JEH

Blogging · Writing Goals

Writing 365,000 Words in a Year Update #23

April 26, 2017April 26, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

Wow, it’s been almost a month since I’ve given and update on my writing goals! I started this massive goal in September, with a huge kick start thanks to the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest. But this past month has been so crazy with preparing Under Jupiter for submission to Kindle Scout that I’ve fallen pretty far behind in my goal. Here’s a look at my tracking sheet for the past couple of weeks:

Screen Shot 2017-04-26 at 8.42.58 AM

As you can see, I’m over 12,000 words behind! The good news is that I’m finishing up Under Jupiter over the next 3-4 days, and then I can get back to drafting for a while. I’m looking forward to some new projects. The last stages of rewriting and editing are all consuming for me. I don’t like to be taken away from the story, or distracted, since it pulls from my ability to concentrate on the continuity of the story. The closer I get to finishing, the more consumed I become.

But I still took time last weekend to go on a mini-road trip to the most creepy, crooked wood I’ve seen. We drove up to The Crooked Bush, Saskatchewan. Here are a couple pictures, which don’t do it justice by far.

It’s great fodder for a future story. I’ll have to see if anything comes of it.

JEH

book review · books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

Books I’ve Read: Divergent by Veronica Roth

April 23, 2017 byjehunterLeave a comment

Young Adult Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

As I continue to look through my old book journal, I’m posting about books I read a number of years ago. This week, I’ll be posting my initial “review”, on Divergent by Veronica Roth. It isn’t so much a review as my opinion of the book, and boy was it opinionated. See below:

This write-up is pretty harsh. It sounds like I hated the book yet I gave it 4.5 stars. I guess that says a lot about a books ambiance, which to me means the general feeling the book generates and my ability to ‘suspend disbelief’. Divergent was a book that I really had to not try to reason out. I mean, the entire population of the city is forced into four groups—FOUR! People are so much more diverse than that. And there are so many more job functions than that. Anyway… Even if I had a difficult time falling for the premise and the choices some of the characters made, I liked the FEELING of the book. The tone. I guess that’s what won me over.

Come back later in the week to see what I thought about Insurgent.

JEH

Uncategorized