Music Monday-Used to Be by Matt Nathanson

Mondays are hard, so let’s conquer them with music!

I love music; I listen to music in the car, at work, and it is also part of my writing process. Sometimes a scene may be inspired by a song or I find songs that relate to what I have written; either way I always have a separate playlist for each project I’m working on in addition to a master playlist of all the songs I come across and enjoy listening to. Thank you Spotify!

On Mondays I will share one song that I’m currently in love with, has inspired me, or relates to one of my projects.

 

This Monday’s song is Used to Be by Matt Nathanson. I’m choosing this song because I just heard it for the first time this weekend. This is a new release off of his upcoming album. I love the tone and how relatable it is; I can feel what the song is about.

Have you listened to Matt Nathanson? If not, go listen to his music NOW! He is fantastic and I have also gotten to see him perform live a few years ago and he did not disappoint.

I have been into him since my friend Devon introduced his music to me when we both worked at Borders. That's right, Borders; Cue the tears and good memories!

Check it out on Spotify or buy now and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading!

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Author of the young adult realistic fiction novel Rain.

 

Taylor Sullivan took her life for granted until she received news that would change her life forever. In a state of denial she met Kyle, who didn’t end up being what she expected. She wasn’t able to escape her new reality, but with his friendship, just maybe she could survive it.

If the Hat Fits by Eliza Boyd Release Day!

If The Hat Fits by Eliza Boyd is out today! Don't miss Jake and Diana's emotional story of finding and then choosing love against all odds. Find out for yourself why everyone loves #Jake in this brand-new adult romance, which is FREE on KU and $2.99 on Amazon!

Eliza Boyd - If The Hat Fits

Release Day: 9/28/2016

Genre: Adult Romance

Publisher: Patchwork Press Buy: Amazon Add to Goodreads here.

Blurb:

The hats tell the story... And I wear them all. The widow hat. The single-mother hat. The overworked-woman hat. I spend my days trying to adjust and fit them all. Without ever dropping one. Or worse: Losing one. And then he comes along. Offering another hat. One I haven't seen in a long time. Love. And, sure, it's tempting and intriguing. Because he's tempting and intriguing. Yet he's forbidden and off-limits. Jake. He's everything and more. But nothing I should have. And all I want. Can I wear just one more hat?

About the Author:

Eliza Boyd is a contemporary women's fiction and romance author. Also an avid reader, she writes novels, short stories, poetry, and whatever else strikes her fancy. Born and raised in Northern Illinois, she now lives in sunny Arizona with her husband and her plethora of animals. When she's not reading, writing, or working, she can be found walking around her neighborhood (for exercise, not for stalking), taking photos of her pets, or catching up on her favorite shows. Catching up really means binge-watching.

Feel free to contact her on any of her social media sites. She spends too much time on the Internet, so she'll probably get back to you right away.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/autborelizaboyd

Twitter: www.twitter.com/elizaboydwrites

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/elizaboydwrites

Instagram: www.instagram.com/elizaboydwrites

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/elizaboyd

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bjUjA5

Email: elizaboydwrites@gmail.com

Social Media & False Connectedness

Originally Posted at www.christiecote.com. I shared this on my author blog the other day and thought I would share here too.

I’ve been thinking about Facebook and social media a lot lately. I think social media, especially Facebook, gives us a false sense that we are communicating with our friends and family. It makes us believe we know what is going on in someone’s life because we see their posts and click the like button and maybe even write a little comment and they might do the same in return.

Here is the thing.

We aren’t actually having a personal dialog with these people. We don’t necessarily know what is going on in their lives, only what they choose to post publicly. If we don’t communicate outside of those posts then we don’t know anything more than that. Some people post almost everything that happens in their daily life, but others are very selective or don’t take the time. I used to post about almost everything, but over the past several years, I have grown and changed. I’ve turned into a selective person and generally just post about big events or something that relates to reading and writing or one of my other interests. If you only look at my posts, you are only getting a tiny fragment of my life; I have so much more going on. My life has changed significantly in recent years and in ways I’m a different person then I was just a few years ago.

I think people have this false relationship with me and believe we are communicating and engaging in each other’s lives and I’m certainly guilty of living in the false sense of friendship as well, but it isn’t real communication. It isn’t a real relationship. It doesn’t compare to when I used to spend hours on the phone with my friends talking and having real dialog, getting deep and very personal about things I wouldn’t want everyone to know and I certainly wouldn’t be posting about on the internet. It’s not the same as sending a letter, email, or even a text message and corresponding directly with that person. We aren’t keeping those personal connections anymore. Social media is great for mass communication to a bunch of people at once and being able to advertise and promote stuff, and even finding people we lost touch with for various reasons, but it’s truly hindering our interpersonal communication and our relationships. I have people who I used to be really good friends with but now we’ve morphed into Facebook friends. We just don’t talk outside of Facebook anymore. How did this happen? When did it become so uncomfortable to talk to someone on the phone, or it just become not worth our time? Why is it easier to just post on the black hole that is Facebook instead of reaching out directly to the people who mean the most to us? Honestly, there are very few people I feel connected to anymore and I think this is part of the problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that social media exists and the Internet and am thankful for it. I wouldn’t have met one of my best friends if it weren’t for the Internet and social media because that is how we met. We’ve never been in the same state, but our conversations grew from social media messages, to emails, to texts, to phone calls. We don’t get to talk on the phone much, but when we have it helped grow our relationship. We are such good friends because we text each other almost every day to see how the other is and check in and are always there when the other needs to talk or vent. Especially, since I don’t usually vent on Facebook any longer. I grew out of that and instead talk my frustrations out with my husband or my friends in person or through emails or text messages.

I just think it’s really sad and tragic how our communication has changed. I hate how I don’t feel connected to people I used to be very close with and this isn’t me blaming those people because as I mentioned I’m guilty of this as well. I get stuck just paying attention to Facebook and don’t reach out to people personally.

This isn’t meant as a rant, but to try to make people think; to encourage people to close out of social media once a day or week and reach out to someone they haven’t talked to in a while outside of social media. Find out what is truly going on in their lives and engage in a dialog. Don’t let communication and relationships get lost in favor of a façade. Engage with people. Build real relationships. Connect!

Escape to Eden by Rachel McClellan Blog Tour

 

Escape to Eden by Rachel McClellan

Run now!

When seventeen-year-old Sage wakes up in a hospital with no memories, her only clue are the words written on her hand. With a deadly disease threatening to wipe out mankind, Sage must find out who she is and why most people would kill to get their hands on her--before it's too late. This fast-paced, futuristic thriller is a spine-tingling read!

| AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE |

 

Rachel McClellan was born and raised in Idaho, a place secretly known for its supernatural creatures. When she's not in her writing lair, she's partying with her husband and four crazy, yet lovable, children. Rachel's love for storytelling began as a child when the moon first possessed the night. For when the lights went out, her imagination painted a whole new world. And what a scary world it was...  

| WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER |

 

Top Ten Movies

1. Count of Monte Cristo

2. Batman, Dark Knight series

3. Harry Potter movies

4. Underworld

5. The Heat

6. Napolean Dynamite

7. Moulin Rouge

8. Pride and Prejudice

9. Legend

10. Better Off Dead

 

Character Casting

Sage Radkey: Lucy Hale

 

Colt: Dylan O'brien

 

Jenna: Dove Cameron

  

Anthony: Theo James

 

Max: Levi Miller

 

Snippets

Snippet One:

All of a sudden I shiver, the kind of shiver that makes me know I’m being watched. I look around to find the reason for the hair on my arms standing to attention. Across the room is the tall, dark outline of a man. Lights flash over him, illuminating electric blue eyes, making me think of lightning. I feel the power in them as strong as thunder. He sees me watching him and moves forward.

Straight for me.

Snippet Two:

Cold air rushes up at me, and I think this is the end. I shouldn’t have trusted Colt. Surprisingly I don’t think of Max, but of my father in the last few seconds of my life. Why didn't he prepare me better? Maybe give me some pDNA injections, anything, so I could've better protected Max. Now I've failed because I'm normal.

The thoughts are bitter, and I can taste them in my mouth. A horrible thing before you die.

What is your favorite color? Black

Favorite holiday? Halloween

Most embarrassing moment? Is it bad that I don't have one? I don't embarrass easily.

Dream vacation? Italy

Something unique about you? I have been sky diving and am scuba certified

All-time favorite book? Atlas Shrugged

Writing snack of choice? Cheetos

Top hobby you do when not writing? Sports

Favorite Animal? Hippo

"Stop!" a man shouts. He runs towards us. Two more appear behind him.

Jenna reaches a hand down. "Grab it!"

Colt takes hold and she easily lifts him out. They are all so strong.

"Go up, Sage,” Anthony says. “I've got these guys.”

He's holding the same dagger I'd had in my hand earlier.

"I'm not leaving you alone," I say.

"Three guys is nothing. I'll be fine. Go."

I look up toward where my brother sits waiting for me and then back at Anthony.

"Stop right there and we'll let you live," a guard says. He has a single spike sticking out of his otherwise bald head.

"Don't listen to him Sage," Anthony says. "You're too valuable. Just go before they capture Max again."

This makes me move. I scramble up the ladder. When I'm at the top, I shout down, "Come on! You can make it."

He stares up at me through the narrow opening and smiles. "Change the world," he says just as an invisible blast knocks him to the ground.

 To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page  

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One Chance Night by Eliza Boyd Blog Tour (Guest Post & Review)

 

Once Chance Night by Eliza Boyd

Series: Make a Change #1

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Pages: 188

Published: May 15, 2015 by Patchwork Press

Book Description:

On the surface, Chelsea Greer has it all: A loving husband. A nice house. A good job. In reality, she works hard to maintain the illusion that is her life. She's also missing the most important thing: Love. One night could change her life. One night could give her the strength to rediscover what's important. In one night, she could find love when she most needs it and least expects it. All Chelsea has to do is follow her heart after One Chance Night.

One Chance Night was filled with intense emotion and had me swooning, swearing, wishing I could reach through the pages of the book and strangle a certain character and become best friends with others.

 

  

The novel had the right combination of romance mixed with difficult, life changing decisions. The reader followed Chelsea, who wasn’t perfect, had made her share of mistakes, and was in an awful situation, but I couldn’t help but feel for her. She was a creature of routine, and it took taking a chance and breaking that routine for her to get a much needed wakeup call, pushing her to change her life for the better. I couldn’t help but immediately start the next chapter to find out what would happen next and what Chelsea would do. The words flowed and my eyes floated across them until the final page, which left me with a perfect ending to the story, not making me suffer through one of those awful cliff hangers, but I still wanted more of the beautiful characters who made me feel so much. If you read this book, which you should, then we are all in luck because it is a series, while the main characters won’t be central, they will make appearances so we can get our fix.

Eliza Boyd did an incredible job painting the pictures, introducing the characters and making them feel real, and created a poignant story that I think many people can relate to in one way or another, whether they survived a bad relationship or have fallen in love. This debut novel will make you stop and take notice of this new author and I know she will have much more to share with us. Take a chance on One chance Night, you won’t regret it! I certainly can’t wait to read what she writes next! I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple | Scribd

Amazon UK | Amazon Canada

 

How Songs Made it to the OCN Playlist

1. Sam Hunt – Take Your Time I first heard this song in November of 2014. On a trip to Houston for a book event, I rented a car—something I normally don’t do when I travel alone. I heard the song each of the four times I was in the car, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The spoken word, the lyrics, the feel of the song—totally dug it. And I so badly wanted to write the book about it. Then, in March of this year, I heard the song on the radio and it reminded me so much of Chelsea’s story, which I’d finished writing in October—before I’d even heard the song—that it made me cry. And I realized I’d already written the book for this song. :) (Little known fact: The song actually appears in the book. It was a last-minute change when I made that realization in March. Originally, it was Thomas Rhett’s “It Goes Like This.”)
2. Brett Eldredge – Don’t Ya This is on the list, but it doesn’t appear in the book. It’s the song that inspired the whole thing though—hence Brett’s name. I heard this one and pictured chapters 27-29. Something about the song triggered that whole scene, and I knew I had to write it. But I didn’t know what came before all of that, so I had to work through Chelsea’s story a bit backward. Knowing that it’d all be worth it in the end made her road easier to navigate. :)
3. Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire I knew I had to include a wider spectrum of country music. I used new music and a song or two from the ’90s, so I wanted to add older songs. With the girls being at an open-mic night, I wrote in a band that covered older songs. And I didn’t want them to only show up just because, so this song and the Conway Twitty song I mention in the book come up again later on. But I love this song so much. I mean, truly. “The taste of love is sweet / when hearts like ours meet.” That’s a great line!
4. Blake Shelton – Mine Would Be You Brett and Ian sing this song at a pivotal point in the book, and I think it really encompasses the feel of the moment. This song is all about regret and what you wish were different in regards to love. And at that point in the book, Brett is certainly feeling that way. It’s a very emotional song, and I think it brings some more emotion to the book when it shows up. :)
5. Sara Bareilles – Brave OCN is all about Chelsea and her journey, and truly, she needs to become brave in order to deal with all of the choices she’s made and make anything in her life different. This song represents that. Chelsea doesn’t have a lot going for her at the beginning, and she recognizes that it’s her fault. But in order to change, she has to do things she hasn’t done, which is the nature of life. I love her journey, and I hope you do too. :)

Eliza Boyd is a contemporary women’s fiction and romance author. Also an avid reader, she writes novels, short stories, poetry, and whatever else strikes her fancy. Born and raised in Northern Illinois, she now lives in sunny Arizona with her husband and her plethora of animals. When she’s not reading, writing, or working, she can be found walking around her neighborhood (for exercise, not for stalking), taking photos of her pets, or catching up on her favorite shows. Catching up really means binge-watching.

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Stella Rose by Tammy Flanders Hetrick Blog tour (Review)

Good Afternoon Everyone!  I'm so excited to be part of the blog tour for this debut author! I was lucky enough to meet Tammy when I was a contractor where she works her day job, and had the pleasure seeing her almost every day of the work week for a little over a year. One day I overheard her talking about writing and as I writer myself I was nosy and butted into the conversation and learned that she wrote a book and was in the process of editing it and publishing it. We talked and I enthusiastically volunteered to help since I blog as well. I patiently waited as she worked through the process until I got contacted to be a part of the blog tour and was given a review copy. Unfortunately I couldn't read it until recently because I was in college and I knew if I started the book all homework would be ignored. This book was worth the wait and I'm so happy to have finally read it and can share with all of you. So keep reading because you will want to add this one to your shopping cart!

Stella Rose by Tammy Flanders Hetrick

Upon Stella Rose’s death, her best friend, Abby, moves to rural Vermont to take care of her sixteen-year-old daughter, Olivia. But Abby struggles to connect with Olivia and she soon finds guardianship of a headstrong teenager daunting beyond her wildest misgivings. Despite her best efforts, and the help of friends old and new, she is unable to keep Olivia from self-destruction. As Abby’s journey unfolds, she grapples with raising a grieving teenager, realizes she didn’t know Stella as well as she thought, and discovers just how far she will go to save the most precious thing in her life.

REVIEW

Stella Rose’s physical form has left the world, but her spirit is still everywhere. She leaves behind a daughter, Olivia, and many people who love her dearly. The story is narrated by Stella’s best friend, Abby, who takes on the responsibility of moving into Stella’s house to take care of Olivia.

The novel is divided into months, each section consisting of a season, and each chapter being a different month following the death of Stella Rose. Stella, who died of cancer managed to plan out the year following her death by writing letters and preparing gifts for Olivia and Abby. The rules are that they have to open them together and can only open the one designated per month. We follow through the stages of grief and watching these characters trying to continue their life with the help of Stella via the letters.

The pacing of the chapters and how they are split up into months is perfect. The author paints a beautiful picture of Vermont through all of the seasons, which I love as a Vermont resident. It is fun to recognize names of places as well as places I’ve never heard of or been to.

The characters feel very real and are imperfect as all humans. I think everyone will find ways in which they can relate to these characters and their struggles, especially anyone who has experienced loss.

The story is poignant, filled with such heart it seeps through every page. There is such honesty about life, love, friendship, loss, secrets and the mess of it all. So many passages of this novel hit me deeply, some just because of how closely I could relate to the situation, like becoming angry at the person who died, or because of the true lifelong friendships that existed. The friends in the novel were friends since childhood, and the relationship they have, I envy. I have some great friends, but the level of friendship in this novel is beautiful and I think rare.

I love, love, loved this novel. It is a fantastic well-crafted debut novel by Mrs. Hetrick, so grab a box of tissues and get a copy!

| IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble |

Tammy Flanders Hetrick has been telling stories all her life, refining her skills at age ten through marathon tag-team storytelling with her best friend, honing her craft through decades of business writing, and ultimately finding joy in extracurricular creative writing. She has published short stories in Your Teen Magazine, Blue Ocean Institute’s Sea Stories, and Route 7 Literary Journal. In 2009 she was recognized with the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition’s Pioneering Woman Award for coaching and mentoring women in the workplace. Hetrick lives in Vermont with her husband of thirty years, their two cats, and a beagle/miniature bull mix. Her website is http://www.tammyflandershetrick.com/.

https://www.facebook.com/TammyFlandersHetrick.Author/info?tab=page_info&edited=official_page

https://twitter.com/tigerslily

Blog Tour:
Celtic Lady's Reviews: April 21, 2015
A Literary Vacation: April 23, 2015
Broken Teepee: review, April 24, 2015
Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus: April 27, 2015
Life of a Female Bibliophile: April 28, 2015
I'm A Book Shark: May 1, 2015
Electively Paige: review, May 4, 2015
Under My Apple Tree: May 7, 2015
Celtic Lady's Reviews: May 12, 2015
Centered on Books: May 16, 2015
Christiecote.com: May 20, 2015
Christiesbookreviews.com: May 21, 2015