Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Waiting On Wednesdays: 29 Feb


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I'd just finished reading this and I loved it! I can't wait to buy it when it's out.

WANDERLOVE by Kristin Hubbard
Release date: 13 March 2012

Winners of the Giveaways!

 

And now I announce the winners for the two giveaways I had:

Fractured Light eBook : Lauren Rura

The New Death and Others eBook : Kris

I'd send you two an email. Please confirm  back in two days. Thank ya!

Thanks everyone, for joining in the giveaway fun. For those who didn't win, don't fear, cause there's another ebook giveaway this month.

Love,

Jez

Friday, February 24, 2012

I was Tagged!

I was more curious than shocked when I knew I was tagged by the lovely Cayce at Fighting Dreamer. So enjoy this post!
THE RULES
  1. You must post the rules.
  2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
  3. Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.
  4. Let them know you’ve tagged them!

Cayce's Questions:
1. If you could go to one place (a real one) you've read about where would it be 
America. I'm not living in the States, so my biggest dreams would be to visit US.
 
2.  Do you have a favorite author? Who?
Okay, I swear this is a trick question. Suzanne Collins? Holly Black? Veronica Roth? Argh, my head just spins when I think of the plausible answers. Let save it for later.

3. How many books have you read last year?
Eh, roughly 30 books? I dunno, I lost track of the numbers...

4. If you could change the ending of any book, which book would it be and how?
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves(view my review here). I would make the ending clearer, and the guy less arrogant.

5.  Ebook of dead tree?
EBook of dead trees? Am I supposed to read them?

6. What are you going to read next?
Emerald City by Alicia Leppert.

7. What's your most favorite place to read?
Anywhere! As I'd answer in my Feb 24 #FF post, I read everywhere, including in the bathroom!
 
8. Do you have a pet? What kind?
Nah. I had fishes and tortoises but they all died. Now I just have ants, spiders and lizards. Oh, and the cats next door.
 
9. What is your newest favorite song?
Now I'm loving Taylor Swift's Safe and Sound. I'm so excited for The Hunger Games movie!!

10. What is your favorite movie?
Favorites are hard to answer. Let me think... Everything Twilight and Dan Brown, perhaps? 
11. Coffee or tea? 
Coffee! Especially dark coffee with little sugar and no cream. I drink coffee when most of my friends don't.
 End
Wow, that was one heck of eleven questions! Never ask me to choose my favorites again, it's killing me!

Now for my questions:
1. Favorite novel/series(Cayce made me choose, so now I'm making you choose too)?
2. First word that came into your mind when you see "shoes".(random, I know)
3. Something you were good at but nobody knows.
4. Guilty pleasure movie.
5. Bad boys or good boys?
6. Style of sitting when reading.
7. Favorite drama!
8. What was the most funniest stuff you'd ever seen/encountered?
9.  Hand phone(iPhone, Blackberry etc.)? Fave apps if it's a smartphone.
10. Guiltiest thing you'd ever done.
11. Your family's comments at your obsession of books(you're a book blogger, right?).

There's my 11 questions. Now my tags:
1. Nicki J. Markus @ Nicki J. Markus 
2. J.B Kantt @ J.A.Y.A
4. Kris @ A Book From Snowy River
5. Chelsea @ Starry Sky Books
6. Erin @ Tales of the Inner Book Fanatic
7. Christy @ The Reader Bee
8. Holjo @ Pedantic Phooka
9. Mad Scientist @ Steampunkery & Book Reviews
10. Liza @ Reading With ABC
11. Michael @ The Book Shelf Reviews


Okay, off you go!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway, both are international!
Fractured Light eBook Giveaway
The New Death eBook Giveaway

Since GFC is going away, I suggest that you use RSS or Atom. You could also subscribe through email, or better yet, sign up on Linky Follow!   

Giveaways are Nearing Their Ends!

My two giveaways, The New Death and Others eBook Giveaway is ending in three days, but the entries collected are just 28. So whoever's interested in getting the ebook, please, enter fast.

As for the Fractured Light eBook Giveaway, I've collected 108 entries. A far cry from TND&O, I know. So would you be kind enough to enter both giveaways?


Feature & Follow Friday: Feb 24

FF 2012 Feature & Follow #80
Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. First you leave your name here, then you create a post on your own blog that links back here and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hi in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Now to make this #FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger. The Feature bloggers are chosen randomly from participants in the Follow Friday or through twitter and blog introductions. If you are interested in becoming a Feature let me know! It is also required to follow the host blog (parajunkee.com) and the Feature blog to participate in the #FF.
 Today's feature: Ezine of a Random Girl
 

Q: Activity!!! Take a picture or describe where you love to read the most...

Anywhere, I guess? I could spend hours reading on my bed, in the couch, at my dining table, and even on my toilet sit(seriously, I'm not kidding) or on the bathroom floor. I just read whenever the mood strikes and will continue to read when the story engages me. The result is my mother's screams at me when I stay in the bathroom for more than an hour. Hehe.
 


Don't forget to enter my giveaway, both are international!
Fractured Light eBook Giveaway
The New Death eBook Giveaway
 
Since GFC is going away, I suggest that you use RSS or Atom. You could also subscribe through email, or better yet, sign up on Linky Follow!   

Friday, February 17, 2012

Review: THE NEW DEATH AND OTHERS by James Hutchings

This is a collection of witty short stories and humorous dark poems, published by the author himself. Since it's a collection, there's not much to comment on without giving the contents away, especially the plot.

Overall, it is highly entertaining and thought provoking. I love the witty stories and dark humor which is so dominant in the words, and especially love the poems. I find myself nodding to some of the points in the collection, and laughing at the funny/pathetic events. Good writing, and as I'd said, very funny. People who like short reads and dark humor(I'm repeating the word again!) should try this collection.

The cover is perfect with the content. Death, and brilliant thinking. I just want to LOL at it.

Ratings: 4 stars

Giveaway of The New Death and Others eBook
Guest Post with Hutchings
Interview with Hutchings

Since GFC is going away, I suggest that you use RSS or Atom. You could also subscribe through email, or better yet, sign up on Linky Follow!   
Don't forget to enter my giveaway, both are international!
Fractured Light eBook Giveaway
The New Death eBook Giveaway





Don't Forget the Giveaways!

There are two international giveaways going on my blog:

The New Death and Others eBook Giveaway

Fractured Light eBook Giveaway

Up until now, there's only 28 entries for The New Death, but more than a hundred for Fractured light, so I was just wondering if you somehow missed the link unintentionally. Well, anyway, here's the link again above. Please, show some blogger and book love!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Feature & Follow Friday: 17 Feb

FF 2012 Feature & Follow #80
Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. First you leave your name here, then you create a post on your own blog that links back here and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hi in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Now to make this #FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger. The Feature bloggers are chosen randomly from participants in the Follow Friday or through twitter and blog introductions. If you are interested in becoming a Feature let me know! It is also required to follow the host blog (parajunkee.com) and the Feature blog to participate in the #FF.
 Today's feature: Evolet @ Beefcake and Babes 

Q: I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What's the most unique character name you've come across?

Lenobia and Llona(it's pronounced as Eo-na). And of course almost every name in the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini(Eragon, Saphira, Arya...). Renesmee and Carlie. And my friend's name, Joelle. 


Since GFC is going away, I suggest that you use RSS or Atom. You could also subscribe through email, or better yet, sign up on Linky Follow!   
Don't forget to enter my giveaway, both are international!
Fractured Light eBook Giveaway
The New Death eBook Giveaway

Sunday, February 12, 2012

In My Mailbox: 12 Feb


In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren
 
 


Borrowed
IRON KING, IRON DAUGHTER and IRON QUEEN by Julie Kagawa
I know it's a lil' late tp start on the series but I could find the will to ask my friends for it and when I do, they keep forgetting to bring the books. Anyway, I'd finished IRON KING two days ago. Now I'm reading the second book. : D And the covers are gorgeous!

Bought
LENOBIA'S VOW by P.C Cast
Yay, the latest House of Night novella! I actually just bought that today. Hehe, did I mention that I'm reading it and so far so good?


Don't forget to enter my giveaway, both are international!
The New Death eBook Giveaway
Fractured Light eBook Giveaway

Since GFC is going away, I suggest that you use RSS or Atom. You could also subscribe through email, or better yet, sign up on Linky Follow!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Feature & Follow Friday: 10 Feb

FF 2012 Feature & Follow #80
Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. First you leave your name here, then you create a post on your own blog that links back here and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hi in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Now to make this #FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger. The Feature bloggers are chosen randomly from participants in the Follow Friday or through twitter and blog introductions. If you are interested in becoming a Feature let me know! It is also required to follow the host blog (parajunkee.com) and the Feature blog to participate in the #FF.
 Today's feature: Farhana @ BookChowDown

Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

Read my favorite book until I get tired of it. If it's your favorite, you should not get tired of it easily. And why read a lot of books you don't like if you can't read your favorite? Life is too short for that.


Don't forget to enter my giveaway, both are international!
Fractured Light eBook Giveaway
The New Death eBook Giveaway

Since GFC is going away, I suggest that you use RSS or Atom. You could also subscribe through email, or better yet, sign up on Linky Follow!

Monday, February 6, 2012

In My Mailbox: 5 Feb



In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren



For reviews
The New Death and Others by James Hutchingson
Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard

Borrowed
Iron King by Julie Kagawa






Don't forget to enter my Fractured Light eBook Giveaway and The New Death and Others Giveaway!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Recap: Giveaways, Book Tours and Others

Okay, here is the brief note of what's happening on my blog.

Giveaway:
Fractured Light
The New Death and Others

Book Tour
Emerald City Virtual Book Tour

Interviews
James Hutchings

Guest Post
James Hutchings on Creative Commons

Review
Another Jekyll, Another Hyde
New Girl
Fractured Light

Emerald City Virtual Book Tour!

I'm participating in the Emerald City Book Tour. My post is to be posted on 9 March, along with A Casual Reader's Blog. I'm not sure if the post will be interview, guest post or giveaway(fingers crossed) yet, but I'll keep you in the know when I get more info.


Emerald City Book Tour on Cedar Fort's website

Fractured Light eBook Giveaway!


 Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. But she never felt ready to face them until now. Defying the Auran Council and everything she s been taught, Llona must learn to use her power over light as a weapon if she wants to survive.


Here is another giveaway: FRACTURED LIGHT by Rachell McClellan. It will start on 5 February. Be sure to check back to enter this giveaway. This a an international giveaway. My review of Fractured Light is here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


At the same time, I'm having THE NEW DEATH AND OTHERS by James Hutchings giveaway. This giveaway has started and be sure to enter. It's open for international.  Read the interview here and the guest post here.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post + The New Death and Others Giveaway

Author James Hutchings has been kind enough to offer a giveaway, guest post and author interview(read the interview here) for me. (Rafflecopter signup for giveaway is at the bottom of this post)

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Guest Post

Many writers, whether published or just starting out, are very nervous that someone else will steal their work, whether that be another writer using their ideas in their own stories, or someone making pirated copies of their books. When I put out a collection of my writing, I specifically gave permission for anyone at all to copy my ideas, or even to cut and paste whole stories. I also contacted the Pirate Party, a worldwide network that wants to lessen copyright, and told them that I was giving anyone permission to put my ebook on file-sharing sites. In this post I hope to show why I went against common wisdom.

Creative Commons
I used a free service called Creative Commons. Creative Commons is useful for people who want to give the general public permission to use their work, but with restrictions. In my case I didn't mind people using my work for non-profit purposes, such as posting on a blog, but I didn't want to allow anyone to make money off it. Similarly I wanted anyone who used it to give me credit. I could have just listed these things myself. However I'm not a lawyer, and perhaps I would have worded it wrong so that someone could twist what I said to do more than I meant. Also I could have been unclear about what I was allowing and what I wasn't allowing. Sure, someone could email me and ask, but the whole purpose of having a written statement is so that people don't have to ask.

Creative Commons has a series of different licenses, which give permission to do different things. They're all legally 'tight', and they're all summarized in plain language. So all you have to do is go to their site and answer a series of questions, to get to the license that does what you want. In my case I used the Attribution Non-Commercial License.

Why?
That's what I did. But why? Common sense would suggest that I'm giving something away for free that I could be selling. However I believe that, in the long run, I'll be better off. The main reason is that I've seen how many people are, like me, trying to get their writing out there. Go to Smashwords and have a look at the latest ebooks. Then refresh the page ten minutes later, and you'll probably see a whole new lot. The problem that new writers face isn't that people want to steal your work; it's getting anyone to show an interest in your work at all. If someone passes on a pirated copy of my work, it might get to someone who's prepared to buy it - and that someone would probably have never heard of me otherwise. Even if they don't want to pay for what they read, I might come out with something else in the future, and perhaps paying 99c for it will be easier than hunting it down on a file-sharing site.

Science fiction writer Andrew Burt tells the story of someone who disliked his book, and to get back at him decided to put a copy on a file-sharing site. The effect was that he got a small 'spike' in sales immediately afterwards.

I also have some less selfish motives. Many people would assume that the purpose of copyright is to protect authors and creators. Leaving aside the fact that someone else often ends up with the rights (how many Disney shareholders created any of the Disney characters? How many shareholders in Microsoft have ever written a line of code?), that doesn't seem to have been the intention in the past. The US Constitution says that Congress has the power "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Note that protecting 'intellectual property' isn't mentioned. The authors of the Constitution seemed to see the point as getting ideas out there where people can use them: almost the exact opposite of keeping them 'safe' and 'protected'.

The original idea of copyright seems to have been a sort of deal: you have an idea, and we want you to get it out into the world where it will do some good. To encourage you to do that, we'll give you a monopoly on its use for a limited time. After that, anybody can use it (it will enter the 'public domain').

A lot of people don't know that copyright used to give a lot less protection than it does now, especially in the United States. In the US, it used to be that works were copyrighted for a maximum of 56 years. Today copyright in the US can last for over 100 years. In fact Congress keeps extending the time. In practice, they're acting as if they never want ideas to go into the public domain.

This is great for the owners of 'intellectual property'. But it's hard to see how this "promotes the Progress of Science and useful Arts," or how forever is a "limited time." In a sense it's a theft from the public. Anyone who publishes work has accepted the deal that the law offers, of a limited monopoly in return for making their idea known. Congress has been giving them more and more extensions on that monopoly, but doesn't require them to do anything to earn it.

It probably doesn't matter that much that Disney still owns Mickey Mouse, or that Lord of the Rings is still under copyright. But remember that these laws don't just apply to the arts. Similar laws apply to science as well. So a life-saving invention could be going unused, because its owner wants too much money for it, or because it's tied up in court while two companies fight about who owns it.

Conclusion
I'm far from an expert on either the law or the publishing industry. However I hope that I've given you, especially those of you who might be thinking about publishing some writing, a different take on the whole issue of whether authors should worry about their ideas being stolen. At least I hope I've shown you that there's a different way of thinking about it, and that that way doesn't require you to just give up on making money; in fact that it might be more profitable as well as better for society.

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bio: James Hutchings lives in Melbourne, Australia. He fights crime as Poetic Justice, but his day job is acting. You might know him by his stage-name 'Brad Pitt.' He specializes in short fantasy fiction. His work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, fiction365 and Enchanted Conversation among other markets. His ebook collection The New Death and others is now available from Amazon, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble. He blogs daily at Teleleli.

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This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License.

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Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No sparkly vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it - but from which direction?



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 Here's the giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature & Follow Friday: Feb 3

We have a new button, so update your blogs if you are used to doing this meme!
FF 2012 Feature & Follow #80
Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. First you leave your name here, then you create a post on your own blog that links back here and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hi in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Now to make this #FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger. The Feature bloggers are chosen randomly from participants in the Follow Friday or through twitter and blog introductions. If you are interested in becoming a Feature let me know! It is also required to follow the host blog (parajunkee.com) and the Feature blog to participate in the #FF.
 Today's feature:  Omnon Books

Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kickass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

Kickass heroines? Not quite, since Carmen is not so much a kickass heroine as Rose . Neither is Lena or Mara. Hot love interests? Dimitri, Jeremy King, Patch, Four and Gale are hot, but not the one in A Blue So Dark and Incarceron. Story or plot? Perhaps. The novels I love such as The Hunger Games and Vampire Academy has amazing story and relatable characters. Notice that even since it's more than few years since The Hunger Games and Vampire Academy were published, people are still talking about them, and fans still get hyper at any mention of the series. These are the titles I hope to read and love.

Don't forget to enter The New Death and Others eBook Giveaway. It's international!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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