Blog Archives
Along with You
![Along with You by [Areaux, Michelle]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51R9mbjkAlL.jpg)
All Blair wanted was to fit in and find a place where her dark past wouldn’t keep following her and haunting her. After many moves Blair and her parents end up in the small farm town of Shady Oaks Kentucky. Having always moved around from one big city to the next, a small farm town with country side and horses was the last thing Blair expected to find and fall in love with. Here in Shady Oaks, Blair finds real friends and starts to imagine she could have a real life there. Than someone from her past shows up, and everything crumbles. Would she be able to stand her ground and overcome her past here with the new friends she has, or will they turn on her like everyone else has in the past?
Being a teenager is hard these days, the world is hung up on social media presence, how many followers do you have, is your life documented one image after another for all the world to see? No matter how much we may try to delay this, it happens, our children are exposed to the world online and it has permeated even into their education system. Parents can no longer protect their kids from the world online. The increase of social media has made bully’s even more prevalent, no longer is it teasing on the playground, the bullies follow their victims’ home and even when they move to their new homes. Michelle Areaux does an amazing job at showing how this can impact their lives. Written for this age group, they can relate to the characters, the school groups, the feeling of being the new kid. The story is relatable. It is not so far-fetched, even with Blair’s secret, to believe this could be any kid in the school with them. The feelings are real, and the personalities are believable. Hunter is very endearing, and you want to love him from the start, same with Grace. I was drawn to all the characters, I felt like I could have been Blair, or Grace at different points in my life. Now I relate to her parents as I navigate the world of mental illness, bullying, cyber-bullying, and all the other stress that kids these days face with my own children. They thought moving all the time was what was best for Blair, they wanted to do the right thing for her, to make her life easier. It is what all parents want, to give their kids a better life. Moving to Shady Oaks was the best thing they could do for Blair and their love and frustration at helping her find her normal is easy for parents to relate to as well.
Along with You by Michelle Areaux is a young adult novel that is filled with topics we should all be talking to our teens about. This would make a great book club or family reading novel to share with young teens that are facing a world filled with technology and social media. It covers topics of bullying, cyber bullying, and the fact that once things are online they never really go away.
Pages: 232 | ASIN: B079ZPSFJ6
Authors Helping Authors end of Year 2017
![Grandma's Secret Blessings: A Memoir with a Twist by [JohnEgreek]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/517awBDl8ML.jpg)
If American learned something from the Trump Campaign, the power of Social Media won an election. Why not capitalize on the lesson learned and begin a campaign geared toward Authors. Smashwords.com says “The first few days after Christmas mark the biggest ebook selling days of the year as millions of readers around the world unwrap their new e-reading devices and smart phones start loading them with new ebooks to read. Let’s help these readers read!” And what about all those gift cards for Amazon, Barnesandnoble, Apple iTunes and more?
As Authors, we can make the week between Christmas an New Years dedicated to Authors around the globe. Thic can become an annual Campaign for Authors. Here’s what I propose we do. First, I will jumpstart this campaign with this blog by posting it all over facebook via my Author page, on Goodreads , my webpage www.johnegreek.com and tweet on Twitter.
What we can do as authors/editors/writers/publishers, etc., beginning at 12:01 A.M. 12/26/17 through 12:01 A.M. January 1st is as follows:
- Tweet or Retweet an Authors tweet with his/her book link to Amazon, B&N, Apple, Smashwords, Goodreads, or others. Every tweet should start with: Author Helping Author –
- When that Author is notified that his book has been tweeted or retweet, he should identify the Author/person by name, go to one of the carriers listed, copy the link to their book and tweet or retweet their book. If the person tweeting is not an author, remember to identify and thank them by following them on twitter.
- Make sure twitter links are tied to Facebook, Instagram or Google+, only to name a few.
- Do not discriminate by genre or author. Retweet or tweet anyone’s book.
- If an author retweets or tweets your book, make sure you follow them. This is also a terrific way to build your twitter following. Do the same on Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram. Build your following.
- Make sure your tweets contain the following: The link to the Author’s book, your Twitter account name and your website/email address.
This can become an Annual campaign. Better yet, it can also become a Spring, Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas Campaign. We can use the power of Social Media to build our Author following, increase our sales and increase our exposure.
Are you ready to begin… Authors Helping Authors end of Year 2017
it’s just about Mid-night 12/26/17 is around the corner.
I Spy with My Little Eye: A journey through the moral landscape of Britain
![I Spy with My Little Eye: A journey through the moral landscape of Britain by [Mills, Linnea]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mv9UG0kGL._SY346_.jpg)
I Spy With My Little Eye: A journey through the moral landscape of Britain, written by Linnea Mills, is a novel written in an attempt to understand the morals, norms and values held by Britain’s current society. It is based around the seven deadly sins and seven heavenly virtues and uses these ideas as metaphors for the current issues present in society. There is a combination of statistics, quotes and recent topics to illustrate the consequences of economic divides, celebrity status, money, power and greed. It will leave you wondering- what is your interpretation of wealth, happiness and success?
I Spy With My Little Eye is a masterpiece that analyses and discusses our changing behaviours as a society. Prepare to reconsider your personal views and be confronted with statistics and studies that prove just how much of our lives are shaped by media, “celebrities” and power.
It challenges the norms held by today’s social standards and instead encourages the reader to consider whether the behaviour we partake in is a reflection of our true intentions and beliefs or are we just following the crowd mentality. It also pushes you to contemplate whether your behaviours actually contribute to any form of personal or societal gain. At times I felt as though I could see the world in a new light, especially reading alarming studies about what children aspire to be or the implications of the celebrity phenomenon on our culture and identity.
Even though the chapter titles are based around Christian values, the author stresses that this is not a religious book and instead uses these sins and virtues to simply reference problems in Britain’s society- with a cheeky nod to our internal moral compasses. At what point does wealth become an addiction as opposed to a simple goal? And is it moulded by society or what truly makes you happy?
One of my favourite chapters was one that discussed Envy. With social media being such an integral part of most people’s lives, it was interesting to see the comparative statistics of happiness between those who continued to use the social media platforms or compared to those who gave them up. It also discusses trolls, consequences of online abuse and the implementations of social media on politics.
I was impressed at the depth of knowledge presented in the book as well as the sourced quotes and studies. The staggering statistics are mind-boggling and emphasise the manipulation of greed in positions of power. Linnea Mills also uses current events and trends to strengthen her arguments further and increase the validity of her ideas.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone! It a perfect balance of social issues, philosophy and facts, combined to create a piece of literature that challenges your belief on what makes you innately happy.
Pages: 145 | ASIN: B077PLR3FK
The Status Update
Ever wonder what would happen if you made just one different decision? The Status Update by Sonia Buck examines the power inherent in just one choice. Christine Reed supports herself and her three children. Her twins, Brian and Brenda, are seniors in high school, and Samantha, her surprise child, is eight. Although Christine wants to keep her children safe and close to home, she allows the twins to attend a college party on New Year’s Eve, believing there is little harm because they are good kids. The repercussions of that night haunt Christine and her family until a miracle occurs through an unlikely source: a defunct Facebook account on an outdated computer. Christine gets to experience the ripple effect of that one decision and the gift of changing it.
Buck focuses on themes that resonate with many readers: choice and grief. Everyone wishes for an undo button in life, but only hindsight can reveal the choices that mattered. Christine and Brian Reed spend ten years of their lives wishing they could go back in time and change the one night that ruined everything. Brian’s alcoholism and Christine’s refusal to treat an illness force them to live in a world of pain, punishing themselves. Both Brian and Christine succumb to their own grief in destructive ways. Anyone with loss or regret can relate to these two characters. Then there is a moment of magic that allows Christine to alter her past and future, and who wouldn’t want that?
The Status Update follows a familiar path but with new twists. A magical moment gives Christine a second chance, and social media is the impetus for this change. The new approach piques the interest and pushes the reader to keep going until the end where Buck unpacks some surprises.
While the plot keeps readers engaged, I felt the character descriptions were doled out mechanically through second hand accounts rather than organically. There is a lovely scene in which Brenda is able to help her younger more analytical sister understand the magic of a fairy tale. The interaction between the two characters felt like a genuine moment, but there were too few of these experiences. I felt I was being told who a character is rather than being shown.
Sonia Buck has a way of leaving tantalizing bread crumbs throughout the story that lead to an entertaining ending. I would say the pacing of the novel was spot on except for one spot; the event that allows Christine to alter her choice and her future is told twice: once as it happens and again as part of a journal entry. This time could have been spent with more anecdotal accounts that make readers fall in love with the amazing characters Sonia Buck has created.
Overall, The Status Update by Sonia Buck is a fun read and is an enjoyable way to pass the time.
Pages: 99 | ASIN: B01F2EXTQU
LITERARY TITAN 