Tough Time...

If you're wondering what happened to me, I can only say that life has intruded on my computer time in a major way. I'll be working for the next three to four days to get all caught up, so if you've been expecting an email from me, it'll be coming very soon!

My son, Dustin, was in a car accident last Wednesday. Thankfully, no one was injured, but unfortunately, the van was totaled, leaving us without a vehicle. We found out Friday that after everything is paid, we'll only get 300 or so from the insurance company. Not exactly enough to buy a new vehicle. We're hopeful though, that our perfect payment history on the previous car loan will help us get another one.

So, I've been hunting down vehicles and doing extra work to try and get enough together for a down payment. Here are the photos of the car accident:





We truly are grateful no one was injured, including the other driver. Things could have been so much worse. The front axle was broken, and I know it's hard to see from the photo, but the tire is bent inward. I'm just glad we had full coverage on the vehicle and we won't be walking away with a huge loan payment for a vehicle we don't own anymore.

So okay, I've got to get back to work. Thanks for checking up to see how I'm doing!

Hugs,
Jenny

What's Next for Elysabeth Eldering?

Hi everyone! Please give Elysabeth a warm welcome to my blog. She'a fabulous lady! :)What's next?

by Elysabeth Eldering

Jenny has asked that I talk about where the series is headed next and what's coming out soon. As far as the Squad and me, we are heading to PA for a homeschool conference and then on to a few more book festivals, homeschool events and other type events squeezed in there. This is the season of promoting and making sure that we are making a presence in as many places as we possibly can.

There will be an unveiling of a new persona for me in May, so stay tuned to my blog for the ta-da moment.

As far as the series goes, at the time of this posting, book #6, State of Nature, is about to be released; we are just awaiting the proof copy to release it. I'm currently working on finishing the stories of #7, 8, 9 and 10 - all are in various stages of being finished. State of Acceleration, #7, is in the story stage, working on the mini plot and getting the characters through another state in a fun and interesting way. State of Imagination, #8, is in the arranging clues in an orderly fashion stage; State of Monuments, #9, is in the adding a couple more clues/rearranging them in the order they will be presented stage; and State of Production, #10, is in the adding more clues and tweaking a few that are already in place stage. I have a table set up so I know which states will be released in a given year, all the way through to the fiftieth state and 2019, when the final book will be released with probably a couple of surprises interspersed in there.

The process is multi-staged for me for one story. I guess putting my clues in first is like someone who outlines their stories. The clues are how I base my titles and how my characters tend to react or interact. Then after I decide which facts to use as clues, I send off to my editor who comes up with a title. Sometimes, she is not so successful. State of Nature, #6, was actually named by son who decided which clues should be on the cover; he also helped in naming #10. We were all at a loss for #9, even my teacher friend, but my illustrator, Heather C. Paye, came up with a very befitting title. After I have my clues in place and in the order I want them to appear along side my title, I start writing the story. Once the story is finished, off to my editor, refined or fixed up by me and then off to Heather for her to do her thing. She does a great job with the covers and layout. Once I receive the file back in final mode, I submit to createspace.com and await for them to tell me the file is print ready so I can then order my proof copy. Once the proof copy arrives and I've looked over it from cover to cover, then I release it.

So what's next for the Squad? We just keep on doing what we can to get where we need be and hopefully the big break will come along soon.

Elysabeth Eldering is a traveler from birth. She has traveled with her family due to her father being in the military. She has lived in several states and overseas during her childhood. Ms. Eldering calls South Carolina home these days with a mindset of "Southern by choice, not by birth." She entered her first writing contest in her early 40s and took second place for a children's mystery story (Train of Clues), which has inspired her to take that story and write a series for children, the premise being that each state would be the mystery. Her series has a Jeopardy!® like style to it but for guessing the state in the form of a question. Each book concentrates on one state and there are supplemental study guides available, which take the series cross curriculum. For more information on the series, please visit the JGDS website. Elysabeth may be reached at eeldering@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, Elysabeth!

Warmly,
Jenny:)

Delbert's Here! :)

I'm thrilled to announce the first book in the Delbert Dallas and the Dragon Diaries series from Quake and Electric Shorts is released into the wild today!

#1 Voyage to Viking Island

Delbert Dallas has all kinds of issues, brothers and stuff like that. But one day he discovers the new guitar his father gave him as a gift can turn into a dragon named Barbecue Bob. Together they can travel through time.

Delbert ends up back in time on Viking Island where Prince Rolloff and his new best friend, Walter Wheeler, are planning a wild escape by longboat.

Can Delbert convince Prince Rolloff that Walter can’t be trusted? Or will Walter’s magical time-traveling dragon Firebrand live up to his name?

Don't miss Voyage to Viking Island for only .99 on your Kindle, Nook, and many other electric formats at Omnilit: http://bit.ly/ggAd0y or Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/b/48756

Thanks to everyone for your support and please spread the word. These middle-grade readers share what life was like for the average Viking and offer a fun glossary filled with all sorts of great words like Fender Stratocaster and Clotheslined. Perfect for the adventure-minded reluctant reader!

Warmly,
Jenny:)

The Fascinating and Fiery Jen Wylie!

Please Welcome Jen Wylie to my blog!

The Fascination of Fire

When I signed on to write a series of six short stories for young adults I wasn't given a lot of guidelines, other than my main character was to have a paranormal ability of some sort. The crazy setting of Ever came to me first, and actually rather easily. Deciding on what to do for my main character took more thought. She had to be able to survive Ever. I played around with various ideas and for 'normal' type abilities I settled on running. Running is good, good for escaping creatures trying to eat you. Misha's character turned out to be very active in track, and ran at least once every day.

Now for the paranormal part...what to pick? There are so many possibilities, or I could even invent something new. I couldn't decide, so thought on what my readers might be interested in. I still remember being a teenager (It wasn't that long ago!) The answer came quickly then, fire. As a teen, I remember my own fascination with fire. I wasn't alone either. Every friends house had candles somewhere, my own room was full of them. Kids played with matches and lighters outside of school. Bonfires were a must in the summer if we could find a place to have one.

I gave Misha the power of pyrokinesis, or more commonly, she is a firestarter. Since I can't make her life too easy, she doesn't gain her powers until she is a teen, not long before she is banished to Ever. Now she not only needs to learn to survive there, she has to learn how to use and control her powers as well.

I hope readers, both young and adults, will enjoy my tale and become fascinated not only by the fire, but by the world of Ever as well. Happy reading!

Welcome to Ever.

Ever, a deadly realm where feared, powerful and dangerous magical beings are banished. Though very large, it is not a world but a magically created prison. You can’t break through its circular boundary. Who, or what, made Ever? I’ve no idea. They were powerful, and cruel. That is all I can tell you.

Ever is like and unlike every other world. Nothing is safe. Safety is a dream. Ever is a nightmare. Few survive their first day. Nothing is what it seems. If something appears safe, it isn’t. If something appears dangerous, well it is, but probably more so than you think.

Ever has no sun, no moon, no stars at night. Time is told by the ever changing color of the sky where portals open, dropping new inhabitants, or new terrors. Time does pass. Don’t worry, you won’t get old. You won’t live that long.

The landscape changes without reason form dessert to jungles. The flora isn’t safe at any time. There is food, if you can find it without getting eaten yourself. Most plants and animals are poisonous. So is the water.

Are you afraid? You should be. This is the end. It gets worse of course. Remember the portals? Do think angels come through? Rarely the innocent do. Mostly, it is people of evil, people too powerful to kill. Their magic works here. The creature’s are worse.

Do you understand? Well you will eventually, or you’ll die. There is no escaping Ever. Ever.

Banished:

My life was normal. It sucked, but it was normal. At least until I got this new power. I can control fire. It would be cool if it wasn’t so dangerous and if I knew how to use it. Pretty much my sucky life took a nose dive once I got it. Yup, everything gone. I suppose I should be thankful some uncle I never heard of took me in. Turns out the whole family isn’t normal and my power is a lot more dangerous than I thought. I thought things couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong. They banished me to Ever.

If I’m lucky, I might survive my first day.

Available Now From:

Omnilit: http://www.omnilit.com/product-banished-519511-234.html

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/44865

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Banished-Tales-of-Ever-ebook/dp/B004Q9TX4A

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Banished-Tales-of-Ever/dp/B004Q9TX4A

B&N: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Banished/Jen-Wylie/e/2940012206961/?itm=1

Jennifer Wylie was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the snow and cold.

Before settling down to raise a family, she attained a BA from Queens University and worked in retail and sales.

Thanks to her mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it amazing most people don’t. Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both novels and short stories. Sweet light is her debut novel to be published in 2011.

Jennifer resides in rural Ontario, Canada with her husband, two boys, Australian shepherd a flock of birds and a disagreeable amount of wildlife.

My website: www.jenniferwylie.ca

My blog: http://jlwylie.wordpress.com/

Delbert Dallas is Here!

Well, his cover is, anyway. Check it out!!



Ain't it awesome? He kicks major Walter Wheeler butt in the story, too! More coming very soon!

Book Sellers are Beelzebub!

Of course authors have a whole ton of reasons to dislike booksellers. We groan at discounts, totally despise returns, and have at times been treated strangely (ahem) at book signings and such. However, that's not the reason I'm calling them Beelzebub!

I can't seem to leave a bookseller without spending more than I make! Ugh! After two events--a lovely time at Dan's Dog Eared Books in Medford and Egocon (hosting Book Isle) in Stevens Point--my TBR pile has grown by a dozen, at least. It's crazy! I'm swamped with great reads all ready, so it's especially difficult to sit and see all those really great books just waiting for me. I'm going to have to take a vacation just to get some of these read!

At the moment, I'm reading Hellforged by Nancy Holzner and though it seems to be taking me forever to get it read, I'm enjoying it immensely. I've had to put it down a few times because of looming deadlines for books I'm editing and books I've got coming out--so my for-fun reading has been seriously delayed. Watch out though, for my review of Hellforged, coming soon!

So yeah, booksellers tempt me more than just about anything else. If I were to sell all the books I have, I could probably take the kids to Disneyland. Insane! Well, I better get going now, or I'll never have time to read my for-fun books!

On a side note, there's a really great lady--my Aunt Christy--who has become an Avon Representative. Check out her store here: http://christyweber.avonrepresentative.com/

Thanks y'all!

Warmly,
Jenny:)

Back to Business

(My little guy, Matthew, in his super alien costume)

Hey everyone,

Just going through emails and such and find that I've fallen way behind. I've been working hard on some big projects that have looming deadlines, so if you've been waiting to hear from me, it shouldn't be long now.

I'm getting ready to launch the first book in the Delbert Dallas series later this month, so keep your eyes open for more announcements about that. The first three in the Electric Shorts pilot program are now up for everyone to see: Super awesome program, Electric Shorts, now live--see them here: http://bit.ly/fLwwGB Drop by and check them out ;)

Okay, be back with more news as it happens! :)

Warmly,
Jenny:)