Squealing...

So, there's been one time in my life that I have been beyond eager to get the mail: when I received my LDS mission call to Taiwan. Now, I can add another epic I-can't-wait-to-get-the-mail moment: to open a box that holds a few paperback copies of my book, Félicité Found.

 

Here are some photos to document the long awaited and blessed moment:

 

Yes, I kissed the box!

 

Yippee! Squeal! Giggle!

 

So happy!

 

There you have it, folks. Sigh

 

 

So, don't forget that this splendid book will be available on Monday, August 12, 2013. Amazon.com (paperback and e-book), Barnesandnoble.com (e-book), and Createspace.com (paperback). I'm hosting a blog tour as well. Here's the peeps that are co-hosts and schedule:

Monday, August 12: Sara Bowers

Tuesday, August 13: Elise Fallson

Wednesday, August 14: Jolene Perry

Thursday, August 15: Nick Wilford

Friday, August 16: Rebekah Callor Grow

And what the heck, here's the blurb about my sweet book that you can find on Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Pierre Rousseaux witnesses a young girl take a near fatal plunge off Pont Neuf Bridge into the freezing water of the River Seine in Paris, France. After diving into the racing river himself, he is able to rescue her from a watery death, but only after her head is bashed into the river

wall. Upon reviving her from unconsciousness, Pierre realizes she doesn’t remember her past at all.

The girl struggles to recall anything from before she may have tried to commit suicide, not only once but possibly twice. The few glimpses into her life are discovered through dreams that can only suggest her past was horrific and jaded by intense anger.

Her memories may force her to lose everything she has grown to adore, especially the boy she loves more than anything in the world: Pierre.

The girl, Félicité Moreau, must decide if the life she desires is enough to make things from her past right. Pierre struggles to resolve if Félicité means enough to him that he will fight for her, regardless of her past and despite his own personal demons.

With a paranormal twist, Félicité Found is Julia King’s debut Young Adult novel—a horrific love story.

This is really happening and I'm thrilled in a I-want-to-throw-up kind of way. :/

 

Hugs

 

Writing Jewels

Smiling all the Way From A to Z -- T

Many things make me smile but the today's letter super-duper-with-sugar-and-the-kitchen-sink-on-top makes me smile. And big time. It is...

 

TRAVELING

 

I love being immersed in new cultures and seeing different places, especially if it requires taking a plane. Turbulence is a must at least a couple times while I'm in the air. Oh, just thinking about dropping in altitude makes me giggle. Yet, oddly enough, I don't like roller coasters so much. Go figure.

 

I've been all over the world and still have many a place to go! Before I kick the can (ugh, morbid, sorry), I plan on visiting every continent, even Antarctica. Yup, I'll play a game of tag with some penguins (I'll win, obviously) and most certainly wear bundles and bundles of warm clothing. Brrrr

 

Here's a list of places I've traveled to so far: Canada, U.S. (30 states), England (lived there), Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, China, and Taiwan (lived there).

 

My favorite place I have been to is the Cinque Terre in Italy. Sigh!

 

Do you like traveling? Where have you been to? Where's your favorite place to vacation? Starting with the letter T, what makes you smile?

 

Writing Jewels

PS: Sorry I didn't check out many blogs yesterday, especially those people that commented on my "Sleeping In" post. My laptops power charger kicked the can (this is twice in all of a month). I had to purchase a new one. The person that let me borrow hers couldn't get it to me until later on last night; therefore, blogging wasn't able to happen. Plus, I was feeling a bit sick yesterday. So, long story short, sorry dearest followers. I hope I can do better today. :)

 

PPS: Refer to the blurb on the very top of my blogs sidebar to know why I am posting about what makes me smile. Go forward and smile!

 

 

Great News

I've got some great news for you all. No, no... I don't have a publishing deal. Aww shucks. But I did find a new job! It's located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be a fresh new change for me, since I've worked at my current job for three years now. Change is good, right?

Right!

I'll be moving again...to Salt Lake City which will be incredible. I've lived in England, California for a brief stint, and Taiwan, but never anywhere outside of Utah County, Utah. This will be a new adventure for me.

This is happy Julia!

Anywho, I start my new job on October 1 and hopefully will be living in Salt Lake City before then. I'm so not going to commute. This is all sort of crazy and whirlwind. I'm nervous, not only for the move, but for the "new job learning curve". I hate not being able to dive head first into a job without being able to do it perfectly from the get go.

This is similar to writing (at least for me). I want my stories to be flawless from the beginning. That stems from having to go through my first book so many flippin' times, more times than I have fingers and toes. Talk about exhausting. It has gotten to the point that I don't want to look at it anymore. Ugh! Sucky.

But writing, as for day jobs, is a work in progress. We've got to realize that Rome wasn't built in a day (pardon the cliche). Good things will happen when they happen--sometimes not on our timetable, either. Thus be the writing industry.

Well, I feel blessed right now. I am getting the chance to have a needed change in my life and to progress professionally. If it weren't for a lot of rooting on from family and friends, including a whole bunch of Facebook followers, I'd have bombed the interview. I nailed it, though and what do you know, I got the job with high compliments from my soon-to-be employer.

Not to brag or anything. haha

Well, now you can congratulate me... LOL Anyway, how is your writing going? Day jobs? Life in general?

Loves and hugs from...

Writing. Jewels.

PS: Another piece of good news: I'm getting my hair trimmed and colored tonight. Goodbye splitends and grey hair.

We Can't Spell S ccess Without U





I saw a poster a couple weeks ago that said:

"We can't spell s ccess without U."

The phrase caught my attention. It got me thinking about just how important we all are in the grand scheme of things.

For example, if a group of guys named John, Paul, George, and Ringo never met and started plucking away at songs then the world would have been deprived of some pretty darn great music.

Say, if Aristotle had not believed the earth was round, we may still be frightened of falling off of the edge of the earth. (At least I think it was Aristotle. Let me know if I'm mistaken.)

And, what the devil would we do if someone hadn't come up with the brilliance of Kraft Mac & Cheese. Sheesh, we would all die of starvation, right? Okay, I've pushed the envelope a bit too far. But you get my point.

Now, to the meat of my post.

In general, I compare myself to everyone and their monkey. Uh... Oh, Dog. When I learned to speak Chinese to live in Taiwan for a year and a half, I thought everyone elses language skills trumped mine at least three-thousand percent. For the most part, this brought about great heartache and loss of awesome experiences communicating with the natives.

I compare with my writing, too. Slap me, please! I know I shouldn't, but ingrained in Julia's genes is the insecurity that I'm not good enough. Perhaps, I'm giving away too much, but maybe some of you who read this feel the same way.

One of my good friends told me that only I can write what I write, and I am super special for it. My words (after polishing them off a bit) are the best way that can tell my stories to the world. I shouldn't compare what I write or my journey with words with anyone elses. That's only setting me up for failure.

We needed J.K. Rowling to come up with Harry Potter. We can't spell success without her. We needed J.R.R. Tolkien to think up his fantastical world found in The Lord of the Rings. We can't spell success without him.

The list is endless, but you get the idea.

I quote this: "We can't spell s ccess without U."

Keep on dreaming, writing, and sharing YOUR stories! And for heaven's sack, STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER WRITERS! I know I have to work on this one loads.

Have you ever compared yourself with others when it comes to your writing? How have you pulled yourself out of that muddling pit?

Writing. Jewels.

I'm Good. You're Good. We're All Good.

I've never felt particularly good at anything. Ok, that's a really bad way to start a blog post, huh? Well, it's true. Throughout school I sucked at math. How about we not even talk about school--I disliked the whole experience. Eight years of piano lessons were cool, but I never thought counting was super important. Ummm, it is! When I had to learn Chinese to live in Taiwan for 18 months, I tried my hardest to speak the language, but in the end my tones didn't quite ring true. Trying to learn French made Chinese feel like a walk in the park, though. I am pretty good at cleaning so at least I can say I'm good at that.

But...

It wasn't until I started writing that I realized I'm good at something. The thing is I've stuck with this dream. That one point is why I feel like I'm talented at this skill. As for my piano lessons, if I would have been more dedicated to it, I may have excelled further. Did I? Nope.

That's when I feel becoming good, great, amazing at something happens--when you stick with it! Regardless of the struggles that go along with acquiring a skill, punching through them is where true excellence can occur. Over two years of writing, rewriting, revising, and throwing whole chapters away, I've realized I'm good at something. Also, I have a huge desire to continue to become better.

That's the thing, friends. In the past, I wasn't super dedicated to the things I participated in. For example, sports classes in school were hard because my coordination skills were (are) terrible. However, if I'd have put in a bit more effort, I may have been good at it. Oh, and yes, if my head wasn't a target for soccer, dodge, foot, basket, or baseballs, it could have been easier, too!

Getting to the point! I like, love, adore writing. It's something I never thought would be my career path. One in which I wouldn't change any of the challenges I've gone through along the way.

In short, I'm good at writing (at least I think so). :D

What are you good at? And what have you done to get there?

Writing. Jewels.

I Made it to 1000

I thought it would be cool to document--with a really crappy picture--that I've had 1000 people view my blog. It was a happy moment for me.  I can't believe I have made it to 1000. I feel like there should be confetti thrown and a band marching down the street in my honor! 

Or better yet, in Taiwan, when there are festivals or the such, they drive down the small roads lighting off fireworks from the back of a truck and play strange clanking music.  I love the music. Bring on the Taiwanese fireworks baby.  Note: I lived in Taiwan for 13 months and loved it. I appreciate your following so much. Happy blogging from me to you!


FYI: I will be started something called "What I've Learned Wednesday." Obviously, this will be a weekly event taking place on Wednesday.  Yep, I'm always the one to state the obvious. I will be blogging about what I've learned thus far in my adventure in writing. I hope to share any bits of wisdom that I wish I would have known before I started writing.