Author: byjehunter

I'm the author of the Black Depths and Artifacts of Avalum series. I'm also a reader and I love posting young adult book reviews and blogging about everything related to books. In the morning, I can be found drinking coffee and wishing it was still dark outside. In the afternoon, I'm stuck at my day job, and in the evening, I'm probably working on my latest creation.
book review · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: Charmed by Michelle Krys

byjehunterLeave a comment

I posted a while back about reading Hexed, which I loved. I moved onto Charmed right away. I finished a few days back, though I was hoping to finish sooner but being sick and busy and going back to working 80% hours at my regular job didn’t equate to a quick read.

Charmed (associate link) was as charming as the first book in this duology. I was really hoping there would be more books in Krys’ series, but it doesn’t look like there is. Though she does have a brand new realease that just came out this week, which I might have to check out because I love her writing style.

img_2017

Charmed was a fast paced as Hexed, and brought me deeper into the Witch Hunter’s world. Indigo was smart and sassy, and most of the time she didn’t rely on boys to save her (that is one of my pet peeves about some heroines). Indigo learns more about her magic in book two, and the stakes are just as high. If you love witchy books about teens, then pick up this book, you’ll love it.

4.5/5 Stars

JEH

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

Finally the Finale!

byjehunterLeave a comment

Twisted Currents is finally here! I do not have the physical copies yet, but the ebook is up on the Kindle store now.

You can also order physical copies on the CreateSpace store, this is a great option if you don’t live in Saskatoon and want to order yourself or someone you love a whole bunch of books. You can find the entire series here.

Now Reformatted!

So, now that I’m done writing the Black Depths Series, I can get back to focusing on NaNoWriMo, which I’m terribly behind on. Hopefully I can catch up within the next week. This year, I’m working on a piece of literary fiction, but don’t worry, I have some other YA drafts I’m looking at polishing and self-publishing in the near-ish future.

For now, go out, read, enjoy!

JEH

Uncategorized

365K Words in a Year Update #8

byjehunterLeave a comment

I have not been a good writer lately. I’ve written every day since NaNoWriMo began, but I’ve really been dragging my feet. Part of it is this cold that I just cannot kick, and the other is my complete addiction to catching up on Once Upon a Time on Netflix. I just can’t get enough right now!

Anyway, here’s the chart from the past week. As you can see, I’ve had a couple stellar days, and a couple really poor ones. I’m hoping I can use the long weekend to get better and get back on track. Hopefully I’ll have some more blog posts for your too!

nano-update

JEH

Blogging · Nature · Photos · Writing Goals

Writing, Rain, and Stealthy Cats

byjehunterLeave a comment

So yesterday was the first day of NaNo. I wanted to blog about it and wish everyone well, but I was just so busy trying to get the writing done that I had no time for blogging. So here I am, wishing everyone good luck on their writing journey!

Yesterday was the perfect day to stay indoors and write. It was cold, grey, and rainy. Fingers felt like ice after a mere minute outside. Even the magpies were rooting in the woodchips in an effort to stay warm. I took a few pictures to share, since I was surprised that there was still so much fall colour after that crazy snowstorm we had a month back. Thankfully, the snow is still gone for now, and it’s even going to get into the teens this weekend, so you might see some pictures of the sun.

Today, I will continue to write while my stealthy cat watches me from the shadows. From the looks of things, he’s not happy with the arrival of NaNo wrimo or the cold weather. He loves going outside, but not in the rain. Good luck on day 2!

fullsizerender-3

 

 

 

Self-Publishing · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

Twisted Currents Cover Reveal

byjehunter1 Comment

It’s finally here! I was hoping to launch the book prior to getting into NaNoWriMo, but I’m still waiting on the editor (which is my fault as I was slow in getting the book to them). But the cover is here and ready to go. It’s amazing! I would like to say a big thanks to the artist, Leah Keeler, whom you can find over on Deviant Art. This is my favourite cover so far and speaks of what’s to come! The book will be here very soon….

tc-cover-1-cropped

JEH

nanowrimo · Writing Goals · Writing Prompts

NaNo Prep Step #3 and Happy Halloween

byjehunterLeave a comment

There’s one last step for my brief series on preparing for NaNoWriMo, which starts tomorrow—Whoohoo *throw the confetti, sound the horns, the party is about to begin!*

#3 – Clean Up, Stock Up, and Feet Up

First things first, clean your house/apartment/tent/camper van, wherever it is you will be living, working, and writing for the next month. NaNo is a busy time, and you may not really have time to clean over the next 30 days (though, if you’re like me, you’ll use cleaning a finely-honed method of procrastination). But, if you clean now, there is less to clean later, and hence, less excuse to put off writing those 1, 667 words a day.

Once everything is clean, do a run to the grocery store. Shopping is another one of those things that can get in the way during November, so it get it done now while you still can. Pick items that will last a whole month but also provide some nutrition (like frozen burritos-my fav). Then, as it is Halloween, get some candy for daily rewards and instant energy rushes which may or may not carry you through your daily goal. Feel free to obtain said candy by robbing kids/cousins/friends/sisters/brothers/partners candy stash. No one really needs all that candy anyway.IMG_4700.JPG

And then, once your space is sparkling and your cupboards stocked, sit back and put your feet up for a few hours. Watch a movie or a show or just enjoy not being busy. This may be your last chance to sit still for the next 30 days.

Good luck tomorrow and Happy Halloween!

JEH

book review · I love books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: Hexed by Michelle Krys

byjehunterLeave a comment

I picked this book up for my e-reader a month ago, and I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed. Hexed was the perfect read for pre-Halloween. Hexed is a classic “Teenaged girl discovers she’s a witch, story,” but the voice of the main character, Indigo, is unique and easy to fall in love with. Indigo’s more than a little bit self-centred and naive at the beginning of the book, but I love the progression and growth of a character who learns some hard lessons.

img_4693-2

Hexed(associate link) is a quick read with lots of action, which takes the leader on a journey into a simple magical world of “good guys” vs “bad guys”. The story is set in LA, which I found fresh, because doesn’t it seem like everything is set in New York or London these days (and not just books but TV and Movies too)? I mean, there are so many other places in the world to see (side note: This was part of why I really enjoyed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, because it was set in Prague and I’ve always wanted to go there).

Once I finished Hexed, I picked up the sequel, Charmed, right away. It’s that good.

5/5 Stars.

JEH

Blogging · Self-Publishing · Writing Goals

Writing 365,000 Words in a Year Update #7

byjehunterLeave a comment

I’m behind this week, not just in the posting but in life thanks to a horrible bout of food poisoning. But I’m hoping to get back on track before November 1st, when my favourite month begins (well, except for maybe August because of the beautiful weather we get then). This week writing went well until the sickness hit. The past two days I’ve written nothing, but as I am currently 44,461 words ahead of my annual goal, I’m not worried about it. I have to say that beginning this annual goal with the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest was a great idea because that means I’ve been ahead on my word count ever since week #1, and it is amazing not to be behind in something for once.

img_3514
Focus in on Your Goal

I’m actually coming along this week with a very slow word count centring on outlining my NaNoWriMo project. I’m at that tipping point, thinking about making a last minute change from one project to another. I have 2.5 days left to solidify my decision before it’s back to full-time drafting. I’ll be glad to get to rewrites in December I think, which should slow things down for me again for a while. But, if I do manage to stay so far ahead on my 365K goal, then I will definitely have a lot of new projects to work with at the end of my year.

How about you? Do you prefer writing or re-writing?

JEH

nanowrimo · Writing Goals · Writing Prompts

Preparing for NaNoWriMo Step #2

byjehunterLeave a comment

So I was supposed to post about how to prepare for NaNoWriMo a couple days ago, which leads me to step #2: DO NOT GET SICK! Okay, you can’t help this. I couldn’t help this. But I’ve spent the past couple days curled up in bed feeling close to death (why does being sick always feel like that?), and getting pretty much nothing done in regards to the approach of November 1st EXCEPT, that I’ve actually been able to do a lot of thinking. So really, maybe step #2 should be THINK. Play around with your story in your mind. Whatever you write prior to November 1st doesn’t count towards the end goal of 50,000 words, but it does help sort out where you what your stories to go, and where you want your characters to go.

dsc04176

Personally, I believe that whatever story you tell, character is the most important part. No one will care about flying dragons, dark cafes, or restaurants with blue tables unless you have a character your readers can relate to and want to hang out with with. More importantly, that YOU want to hang out with. I mean, you’re going to be spending the next 30 days with this person/animal/thing. Whatever your character, make sure it’s a good one. Get to know him/her/it. Ask your character questions. What do they eat? Where do they sleep? HOW do they sleep?

More importantly:

  1. What songs do they sing in the shower (or do they want to shoot all people who sing in the shower)?
  2. How do they feel about Christmas?
  3. What is their best memory of Halloween ever?
  4. How does your character react when they smell vomit?
  5. If your character suddenly inherited a private island or a small kingdom, what kind of ruler would they be?
  6. Who does your character call when sick?
  7. How does your character feel about Trump?
  8. How does character feel history?
  9. If you were sit down and have lunch with your character, what would be the first thing they want to talk to you about?
  10. What kind of blankets does your character sleep with? Hard mattress or soft?

Take the time to get to know the one you’ll be spending time with for the next month. You won’t regret it. The more questions you ask your character prior to writing your story means the more enriching details you will have to carry the plot.

JEH