Meet Book Blogger Jenny Blake of "Come Meet AusJenny" Blogspot!

Debra here... and today I have one of those reviewers who has been 'around' the book blogger world from 'the beginning'. At least it feels that way, because AusJenny has been blogging...well, I should let her tell you:

AusJenny: I started reviewing in 2007 and started my blog December 2007 after Camy Tang had a meme which I answered. I wanted to review books and then joined a couple of blog alliances. I also started "getting to know you Thursday’s" with authors. The past couple of years I haven’t been as active due to health issues. I choose my name because most people have come to me as Ausjenny and added Come Meet AusJenny. Blue is my favourite colour which is why it’s the background colour. In the past few years I have added health updates.  The address is http://ausjenny.blogspot.com

Deb: I also got to know so many authors and reviewers back at that time, when I was checking the Seekerville blog every morning! That's where I first saw your name! What’s the best part of being a reviewer?

Jenny: The best part is being able to create a short summary of what I like about a book along with different aspects that appealed to me. I also want to let others know how a book made me feel and I also enjoy being able to support authors.

D: In my opinion, that one sentence is exactly the way to go with a review! The blurb tells us what we need to know so I read a review to find out what the reviewer liked (and hope it resonates with me.) 

What’s the most difficult part of the ‘the job’?

J: Not offending authors. I sometimes feel the pressure by some authors to always give 5 stars. This is unrealistic as if every book I read is 5 stars I feel it devalues some books.  5 stars should be reserved for the top reads in a year rather than every book read.

The other issue is when I review a book based on what I thought the book was due to labeling for instance reading a book thinking it is inspirational romance, making a comment in the review that I was disappointed in the lack of romance only to have the author publicly tell me I had it wrong and it was women’s fiction so I shouldn’t be expecting a romance. The author contacting me privately would have been so much better thank in a public forum.  

D: Absolutely! This is why I'm thrilled with fives but love fours and hey, I'll take a three (okay reviewers, not a lot of threes, please.)  For me a five is a book that has me telling everyone I know about it. I know reviewers who rarely hand out fives, while others use them all the time. Not even the same as a 'great book' which could be a four.  I'm also not comfortable seeing authors review each others' books, so I hesitate to do it.

So, what was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

J: It was a novella by Darlene Franklin called “The Mermaid’s Song”. It may have been only a novella but it packed a lot in. It also deals with a subject I have read a couple of books about but not many. A heroine from Arcadia who ends up shipwreck. We see a heroine who speaks French and the Hero speaks English but we see how love can concur. The book is packed with other issues as well. 

D: Darlene is a legend, so I'm not surprised! She just celebrated her 50th release. SIGHS DRAMATICALLY!  I know she'll be thrilled to hear this, Jenny!

What do you do when you aren’t doing all those great reviews?

J: I would love to read more but due to health issues which includes head pain 24/7 I have periods where reading is a real struggle. I love doing jigsaws. I also love watching cricket although the past few years it’s mainly on tv due to the health issues (noise). I like to do a little gardening also. I have some scrapbooks I am trying to get organized so I can continue with putting photos into them. I went to a class this month and want to do more.

D: That's plenty of things! From what I hear, you have to deal with two large gum trees in your yard, which is totally 'tropical' to me!

via Shents on Pixabay
But where is Matthew Crawley and Tom Branson?

D: I happen to know a bit about how much Australians love cricket, thanks to my pen pal Lynette! I love to see it in British costume dramas but that's about the extent of my knowledge. 

What would you like to share about yourself that few people know?

J: This is a tough one, for people who know me personally they know I am a very fussy eater and that I hate the colour pink. 

When I was in high school I won a champion junior cooking exhibit of the local show (fair) twice. It was for under 18’s. 

 

Here's  Jenny and Deb at our Cooking School Visit  to Paris.  (you believe this, right?)

 J: I have also won Champion adult exhibit for embroidery/needlework.

D: Ahh... lovely. The old arts that so few young women know anymore. Yes, I'm complaining! I learned all those things that we learn from our grandmothers. (like who darns socks anymore...) But it's a rare child who has the interest and patience to sit and do hand crafts. At least cooking will never go out of style!

What is your favorite fictional setting? Place and time?  Genre’?

J: This is a really hard question for me. I am not sure I have a favourite setting, place and time. I do like Civil War era, Revolutionary War and Oregon Trail Era, along with the post Civil war era. I like small town or country rather than bigger city as well. To be honest I like most of the eras besides Regency. I enjoy Historical but also contemporary, Mystery and light suspense and even Amish. I think you should have said what don’t I like which would be horror or heavy suspense, Regency and Women’s lit.

D: It was interesting to hear you mention only periods of American History. What are the similar periods in Australian history?

J: The gold rush period began around the 1850's. We call our ranches, sheep or cattle stations, these started around the 1780's they started around the time of the convicts. We still have huge stations which would be bigger than many American states but I wouldn't really call it a period. We were always part of the Commonwealth as we started with the first fleet which brought both settlers and convicts, and began as a penal colony when they could no longer transport prisoners to America due to the revolutionary war. 

D: I have to admit I'm rather influenced by The Thorn Birds and Australia (with my boyfriend Hugh Jackman, of course) and find the extreme size of Australia (with so much of it wild) is pretty interesting!

What’s your favorite movie to watch if you had a rainy afternoon alone?   

And when that afternoon became a quiet evening, what could the caterers bring for your dinner? Money is no object!

J: Ok now here is another tough question as I live alone! It depends on my mood. It may sound strange but I do like the movie Gettysburg, but also like the Janette Oke series When Call’s The Heart and enjoy watching the series which we have in movie form.  I think I would still go simple and have Spaghetti Bolognaise followed by some Black Forrest Cake.

(Deb says... I was in my fifties before I know that spaghetti the way my mom made it was... her version of Bolognaise)

(Okay, I'm ready for some cake. Thank you https://food52.com/recipes/32106-black-forest-cake)

 

D: I'm a big fan of Gettysburg (since I first fell for historical fiction via Gone with the Wind!) But I've stayed away from writing it. I was also a bit confused when I watched two different versions of When Calls the Heart, but I know it's a huge 'fandom'.  I don't have Hallmark Channel which leaves me out of the running for a lot of movies!

If you could wiggle your nose and be in a new career, what would it be?

J: Well if professional cricket follower where you get paid to follow the cricket and give a daily report I would do that otherwise working as a Virtual Assistant.

D: I can't help you with the paid Cricket Watcher, but this is a nice place to start advertising your Virtual Assistant position! There are definitely more and more of those these days! 

What piece of advice would you offer authors who are just starting out?

J: Write, make sure your work is ready to be published, don’t just publish cos family and friends tell you it’s good, get professional advice. Join groups that will offer support and advice. Also most importantly when looking to publish beware of vanity publishers. The other piece of advice making sure you have your book in the right genre with the right sort of cover. Many reviewers will mark a book down if the genre is wrong. (I am not one unless its say women’s fiction, when I thought it was inspirational romance).

D: Yes. Family and Friends. God Bless 'em.  The encouragement is good but they may be the only ones to buy the book if it's not really ready!

D: What advice would you like to give readers who’d like to write reviews?

J: Don’t be afraid to write a review even if it’s only a few sentences. Only review on the first three chapters of the book so you do not give away too much of the story. One other thing would be if the author has hidden gems in the story that are unexpected do not mention them in a review. They are there for the reader and it’s nice to have surprises. If you put in spoilers mention there are spoilers in the review.

D: Part of the reason I started this feature was to help encourage readers to become reviewers. Not everyone wants to blog, but with the huge number of authors 'going hybrid', there is such a need for reviewers. I'm afraid all you lovely reviewers will be so overwhelmed that you'll have to stop or cut back. It's such an important part of the fiction industry, and I'm thankful that you've been leading the way for all of these years. 

Thanks Jenny!

check out her blog -  Come Meet AusJenny

I also have a feature on my website and Pinterest board where I 'collect' all the wisdom from my book blogger guests.  One or two new reviewers will visit the Inkwell each month, so stay tuned!

Release Party for "Inaugural" New Series from JOURNEY FICTION

Journey Fiction is launching their first series!
(the bus will be by soon!)

THE NOSY PARKERS:

Inspired by the Girl Detective, the members of the Olentangy Heights Girls' Detective Society, affectionately known as the Nosy Parkers, spent their formative years studying criminology, codes, and capers. Unfortunately, opportunities to put their unique skills to work were thin on the ground in the post-war boom of their little corner of suburbia and they eventually grew up to pursue more sensible careers. Until...

The Counterfeit Clue by LISA KARON RICHARDSON:

Gemma Gaines gave up mystery solving years ago, but when friend is killed in a hit-and-run, all the instincts honed by years in the Olentangy Heights Girls’ Detective Society tell her this may not have been an accident. Then she finds that her friend slipped some cryptic notes into her handbag and she’s convinced murder has been done.

With the doggedness of the great Girl Detective herself, Gemma follows up on the clues. Real-life mystery solving isn’t as tidy as it is in novels though, and before she knows it, her roommate has been kidnapped and it’s all her fault. With the help of a handsome new neighbor – who may be more than he seems – she is soon on the trail of a counterfeiting ring that would like nothing more than to see her put out of circulation for good.

see Lisa's Pinterest Board (With BONUS Nancy Drew book covers!)

PRE-ORDER the Kindle Version

That's right folks! Fans in The Big Apple are going wild!

and...The Case of the Clobbered Cad by DEBRA E. MARVIN:

Heather Munro’s youthful devotion to The Girl Detective led to a passion for digging around in history. Now pursuing her Master's Degree in Celtic Studies, Heather must balance exploring Edinburgh with her determination to excel in her all–male classes at the University. Unfortunately on her first night working in the Archives room, she discovers the dead body of a visiting professor, the same would-be lothario she’d hoped never to see again. 

As clues come to light, it’s clear someone hopes to frame Heather for the murder. Besides her quirky landlady, whom can she trust? How can she clear her name? The police and the American Consul have plenty of suspects, but only two seem to have both motive and opportunity: Heather and the quiet Scottish historian she longs to trust.

See Debra's  Pinterest Board

PRE-ORDER the Kindle Version

Crowds are lining The Royal Mile for this one!

Do you want to know more about Journey Fiction? Visit their website at: www.journeyfiction.com

Authors may learn more about submissions: https://www.journeyfiction.com/for-authors

or email them at: contact@journeyfiction.com

With a 1950s setting, New York and Edinburgh, we'd like you to enjoy some food from our gracious President of Journey Fiction--

Author and Publisher, Jennifer Farey IS IN THE HOUSE!

Add Scottish Accent and....
Scones

(Claire and Ed Sutton, Creative Commons, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Lisa and Deb are excited and honored to be part of the first release series from Journey Fiction.  We'd love to answer questions about our books, and hear from readers. There will be more Girl Detectives coming. Those Nosy Parkers! And Journey has other releases in 2017. 

Here's  more photos from our Pinterest Boards!

Old Penn Station, NY

Fifties girls enjoying a photo booth 

Edinburgh being Edinburgh

So, let us know what you think and if you'd like to be part of the reviewer and influencer teams!
Contact  Lisa -  (message through Facebook)
Contact Debra   (message through Facebook)

And, because it's conference time again, here's a photo of Lisa, Jen and Susie.
It pays to keep working at your dreams!  Congratulations  to Journey Fiction!

#Giveaway? of course. One random visitor who comments with a question will be eligible for a digital copy! Giveaway will end Aug 10.

Book Review: Hillbilly Elegy

by C.J. Chase

Several years ago, I wrote book review for Charles Murray’s Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, which chronicles how our society is stratifying into an educated elite vs. everyone else. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by debut author J.D. Vance, is a good companion book to that one.

My interest was piqued when I read several reviews (including criticisms from both the left and the right) and then spoke to someone who’d read (and liked) it. I decided I needed to try it for myself.

Vance is a young man to be writing a memoir—only 31 at the time. He begins by outlining his grandparents’ story. Bonnie Blanton was 14 and pregnant when she eloped with 17-year-old Jim Vance. They decided to leave the family homestead in a Kentucky “holler” and head north to the industrial towns of Ohio. The young couple lost that baby, but they later had three more children, a boy and two girls. 

Ohio might be just across the river from Kentucky, but Appalachian honor culture was a world away from the orderly, and rather boring, suburbs of the 1950’s. Separated from all that was familiar, the family started to spiral down into alcohol abuse and marital infidelity. Vance’s mother never recovered from the increasing dysfunction, and her own adulthood became a revolving door of boyfriends and husbands.

The only truly consistent person in Vance’s life was with his grandmother, and by the time he was in high school, he lived with her. After high school, he joined the military and served in Iraq. The Marines were the making of Vance, teaching the discipline that had been lacking in his family life. After getting out, he went to Ohio State and then was one of the few graduates of a public university accepted into Yale Law School.

Some lessons from Vance’s life:

·      Poverty is as much a state of mind as a number. At one point in Vance’s youth, his mother and her husband/boyfriend/man-of-the-moment pulled down a six-figure household income. And yet, they had nothing to show for it because they spent the money frivolously rather than acquiring savings or assets.

·      If you are poor (or just have the mentality of the poor), it is very difficult to pull yourself out. The people around you tend to be people with the same mindset, and there is no one to show you a different way. Simple things, like college applications or college financial aid, are complicated to those who have no assistance or guidance.

·      As people become convinced the deck is stacked against them, they give up trying. Vance wrote about the difficulty companies have finding unskilled workers who will actually work. One example was a young man with a baby who landed a good paying job for one with his (lack of) skills. One would think he would be thrilled with the chance to earn a decent income, but not having learned discipline, he was so unreliable his employer eventually fired him.

Reading this book caused me to ponder my own family background. At one point, my ancestors suffered from the same destructive forces as Vance’s. My great-grandfather grew up in Appalachia, the illiterate son of an alcoholic, but he changed the trajectory of his life and his descendants’ lives. Unlike his father, he worked hard, married a fine woman, and made certain his children received educations. Even though my grandfather stayed in Reese Hollow to take over the family farm (his siblings left to become teachers and a minister), he too worked hard and married well.

My g-grandparents with their five (surviving) children. My grandfather is the little guy in front.

My mother grew up on that same farm, the seventh of my grandparent’s ten children. Like Vance’s grandparents, she left home at 18 for the big city (Chicago, in her case) during the great migration.  But she had a high school diploma, a strong faith, and a supportive family to sustain her.

My grandfather with the oldest 7 of his 10 children. My mom is the baby on his lap.

Hillbilly Elegy is a good first step toward bringing understanding to a part of the country that has been in decline. The problems of the Vance family are found across much of the now de-industrialized Rust Belt where hopelessness has set in. What is to be done? There are no easy answers. The problems are as much spiritual ones as financial or educational ones.

I think Hillbilly Elegy would make a very good book for church reading groups. Perhaps it will spur Christians to mission work right here on the home front.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

--2 Chronicles 7:14

Are You Prepared For Social Media Death

by Anita Mae Draper

Are you prepared for your social media death? People don't like to talk about death of any kind, but in this case we are talking about the real death of a human being and the virtual life they leave behind.

This hit hard recently when we visited my husband's cousin on the day after her 76th birthday. She was in a nursing home due to health issues and I mentioned that I'd left a birthday greeting on her Facebook page the day before but wasn't sure if it was the right one since she had 2 profile pages. (Her son made the first one, and she'd made the 2nd when she couldn't find the first one.)

She responded that she hadn't looked at her Facebook page in quite a while, so I used my cell phone to show her the greetings from both pages. Her smile was heartwarming as she dwelled on each name.

As I put my phone away, however, she mentioned that it bothered her to see people posting annual greetings to her deceased sister's Facebook page and how she wouldn't like her own page(s) to remain up in the event of her own death.

I explained that the easiest solution was to give her husband or son the passwords to her social media accounts.

Two weeks later her husband phoned with the heart-wrenching news that she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. I was too distraught to ask whether she gave him the passwords. When I last checked, 2 weeks after she'd passed, both pages were still up although her son was using the one he'd set up for her to post information and thank people for their thoughtfulness.

My research led me to put the word, death, in the HELP search box on my Facebook profile page, which is shown by the question mark in a circle at the top of the page. The answer is that Facebook does allow for this situation. Here's the gist of it:

It goes into detail about the types of documentation required. Personally, I believe it's an act of love to simply hand over your passwords to a loved one, or at least leave them in an accessible location, and save them from additional grief.

Some reasons for not sharing your passwords with a loved one are you:

• change your passwords often
• don't like writing them down
• worry about their security

These are all valid reasons and shouldn't be taken lightly, however, the question should not be whether you should share them with someone you trust, but rather whether you want your virtual life to carry on after your physical body shuts down.

What are your thoughts on this matter? And please, for your own security, don't say anything about your passwords, their location, or who knows them.

*Update - Comments contain excellent information on choices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are woven under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yields fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/