Showing posts with label Lexa Cain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lexa Cain. Show all posts

One Writer's Life Lessons - The Scourge of Procrastination & Int'l Potluck BlogFest

Monday, August 11, 2014



Picture Source - Taking St0ck
I'm sure you've heard it said that you should 'never put off for tomorrow what you can do today'. My mother used this adage many times during my childhood. I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to those words, but was recently caught in a situation of my own making due to procrastination

I made some changes in my life in 2014 and among the things I decided to do was spend more time on writing and editing. I've been writing mainly non-fiction, but in that time I also did a refresher course in editing. Thing is, this course had a six-month completion deadline.

I did 13 lessons, 13 exams and 15 assignments. The final exam was the only thing left for me to complete at the end of June. For some reason I do not understand now, I didn't do the final exam after the 13th assignment and course test. I told myself that with a six-month window, I could come back and do the finals some time in July. Who knew six months would go by in a jiffy? Certainly not me.

Less than a week ago, I decided to sit down and do that final test. Took out my folder, went over all the course material and then opened up the website. What did I find? I missed the six-month window by a few days. End result? I had to shell out $US59.00 (in addition to what I paid to do the course) to cover the test and certificate. In Jamaican dollars, that's $6,550.00.

Being a cheapskate, I cut my losses and took the 'free' option, which is to accept a certificate with accreditation for Proofreading & Copy Editing based on the classes/tests I had already done, with a final grade of 92%.

Lesson learned? Do it today! 

Faced with the same situation, what would you do?

The experience shared today is part of One Writer's Life Lessons.








I signed up for the International Potluck Blogfest hosted by Lexa Cain, Beth Fred and  Medeia Sharif and since I won't be posting again until Wedneday, here goes. Participating is this Blogfest is simple:

~ Put the bloghop badge on your post.
~ Post the cover of a book you love (it can be your own) with a food and/or recipe from the book, or a food from the MC's region, or any food you just like!
~ Link back to Beth, Media, and Lexa.
~ A copy of Beth's Finding Hope, Medeia's Snip, Snip, Revenge, and Lexa's Soul Cutter, plus a $10 Amazon gift card will be given away via Rafflecopter!

I've used a copy of a book I own, The Real Taste of Jamaica by a renowned Jamiacan cook, Enid Donaldson. The book contains the recipe for the National Dish, Ackee & Saltfish, which is a favourite of mine. Ackee is a vegetable that grows on a tree and when cooked, it kinda looks like scrambled eggs. It's good with bacon, corned pork, ham, sausage. Some people even prepare it with flaked red herring.

1 lb saltfish (codfish)
2 dozen Ackee
1 onion
Diced cooking tomatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp. Oil


1. Soak saltfish overnight or alternately, boil to get rid of the salt. Flake saltfish.
2.  Fry additional items you may use - bacon, corned pork, etc.
3. Clean ackee by removing seed and pink lining (which is poisonous).
4. Boil for 20 minutes (or less, depending on the ackee) in salt water and then drain.
5. Saute onion and tomatoes.
6. Add saltfish / bacon / corned pork.
7. Add black pepper and salt (if necessary).
8. Saute briefly to blend flavours.
9. Serve hot with Johnny cakes (fried dumplings) or boiled green bananas.
  
There you have it A Taste of Jamaica. 
Ackee & Saltfish
 

Creepy Hollow & Dream Destination

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Happy to be hosting Rachel today!
Creepy Hollow Series Cover Reveal

If you're a fan of the original Creepy Hollow covers, you'll be pleased to know that the print editions of the books are keeping those original covers. But the ebooks are about to get a facelift! Here are the brand new covers!
THE FAERIE GUARDIAN
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iTunes
Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.



THE FAERIE PRINCE
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iTunes
The magical world is a dangerous one...


THE FAERIE WAR
The fate of the fae world is in her hands...

A little bit about Rachel ...
Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa where she spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends most of her time creating fictional worlds for young adults. When she isn't writing, she's reading (duh!), catching up on addictive TV series, and baking things that almost always include chocolate.Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Creepy Hollow website

Rachel's Facebook page has recently reached 1000 likes, and she's holding a giveaway to celebrate! You can enter by filling in the Rafflecopter form below.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
Today is the Dream Destination bloghop hosted by Lexa Cain and Julie Flanders. We are supposed to share with each other the place we’d most like to visit. 

You can visit either Lexa or Julie at their blogs to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway. Yes, there are prizes! Visit the other hoppers on the linky list here.

So, here goes.

If you’ve been around here a time or two, or came by for Crystal Collier’s visit, you’ll know that I’m fascinated by all things Egyptian. I think my love affair with that land developed in high school when I read Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, and then there were those movies with mummies coming to life on Archaeological digs.

I stole some of my own stuff off that post, which captures some of the stuff I’d like to experience.

I know it’ll be hot and sandy, but I’d love to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx in all their glory. I’d see firsthand the methods that went building those wonders that are recognized worldwide. I’d also want to experience the ancient art of mummification being performed (not on me, of course, but interesting stuff, yes?). And of course, I’d want to take a trip down the Nile.

I scare easily, but I’d want to visit the ancient tombs. I imaging they’re crawling with ghosts. 

Would I still like to visit? Yup!

What’s your destination of choice?

I forgot to include some pictures, so here goes...

Source

Source