All Categories - J.C. Mead

Gettin' my Scots on!

6/14/2016

I had the opportunity to meet up with a good friend (and fellow Scot) at the Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games today. Man it was a great time!

My favorite part? The music gets me every time. Pipes and drums just give me goosebumps.
Also listened to a great band called Seven Nations. Check them out!!! The song "Our Day will Come" off the Big Dog album is amazing and they absolutely killed it at the festival!

So I took a few photos and videos for everyone. I was happy to see a Mackay clan tent but there was no Macintosh! But I found other stuff :) I have videos but can't put them on here, sorry!!

Don't forget my book signing in Atlanta on Saturday, June 25th at Phoenix & Dragon from 2-4 PM. Including a basket raffle with a sandalwood scented handmade soap from Crescent Mountain Soaps, awesome bottle of Monks Mead and a spell candle from Coventry Creations.

June 06th, 2016

6/6/2016

Hi there.
As I've said, I've not really been able to write. I have the attention span of a gnat lately and can't seem to read nor write more than a paragraph.
I know it will change, but it's frustrating.

I had a great moment at the library today. A woman brought a load of books back to be checked in. The Silver Cord was one of them. She is a really nice woman and a voracious reader so I offhandedly asked her what she thought of the book.

She said, "I liked it. It's not normally what I read, but I liked it."
I asked, "Paranormal you mean?"
She answered, "Yes, but I believe in it. Why, did you read it?"
I said, "I wrote it."
"Give me that back!" she said, "There's no picture in it!"
(I had to laugh at that, it's one of my mom's comments/questions, "Why isn't your picture in it?")
And then the library patron went on to tell me how much she liked it.

Moments like that are incredibly fun as a librarian and even better as an author.
I like to know what people honestly think of it. Not sugar coat it because they know me.

In other news from 2 months ago...St. Simon's Island was amazing to visit and I want to check it out again. I took a ton of photos. You HAVE to! I love the beach/ocean and haven't seen it in years so I was so excited to go there for work.
So my (also librarian) friend with a bitchin' camera went to the beach with me while we were at St. Simon's Island on "official library business". She took some really cool photos of me, and while this has nothing to do with the challenge, the photos turned out wonderfully and I really appreciate her taking them.

My mood at the time was reflected by the ocean and sky. Morose, I know (Lighten up, right?!)

Thank you Julia Simpson, photographer, Librarian extraordinaire, and awesome friend in karaoke emergencies! :)

FYI for those of you in the Atlanta area, check out my book signing at Phoenix & Dragon on June 25th from 2-4 PM there will be a basket of goodies!!!

Enjoy the photos by me and Julia.

Photo Challenge & Atlanta Book Signing

5/29/2016

So there's a lot going on in my life right now.

I haven't written or read anything for three months. I'm preoccupied and I refuse to write just to crank out words in my second book.
I have been so incredibly fortunate that people have asked when the second book is coming out. Yes, people have asked. I feel so damn lucky that people have read my first book and now they want to read another? Just wow. It's an amazing feeling.
However, I have no clue when the next one will be out.
I have to finish writing it and like I said, right now I can't seem to write any coherent sentences that have to do with my book. I'm 33,000 words in which is only 1/3 of the way done. Then I have to pitch it to the publisher. If they accept it, it takes another 5-6 months to edit it and get the artwork ready, then format the book for epub and hopefully print.
That is a lot of time and who knows if my publisher wants another?
I'd like to think that it is selling well enough. The print version seems to be way more popular than the ebook but who knows if it's popular enough to warrant them backing me for a second and a third.
I guess I will have to see what happens.

The wonderful folks at Phoenix & Dragon in Atlanta, GA are hosting a book signing for me June 25th from 2:00-4:00 PM. I really hope Atlanta friends can make it.
There will be a basket of book themed goodies again. A bottle of Monks Mead, a votive spell candle from Coventry Creations, and a sandalwood scented homemade soap by Crescent Mountain soaps. With the purchase of a book, you get three chances for the basket. Not bad! The book is $13.95 and the basket is worth $35.00.

I haven't done any writing challenges because I'm not feeling super creative with words. Photos? Yes. I've had a few awesome opportunities to take some interesting photos. I just can't seem to say anything about them.

So here is the Landscape photo.
It was taken in St. Simon's Island which was beautiful despite the weather.
St. Simon's is close to Darien, or according to the Scots WAY back in the day, New Inverness. It was pretty awesome being in the same area I wrote about.

The photo says so much on it's own that I would hate to ruin its beauty with useless words just to write something.
I'll be back soon.

Book Signing at Phoenix & Dragon in Atlanta June 25, 2016!

5/26/2016

My first book signing at Hart County Library was a success!

I had a wonderful time meeting people and had wonderful support from the Library Board and the Hart County Friends of the Library were so incredible! They put out a ton of food and daisies :)

Photos of the event are below!

My next book signing will be at
Phoenix and Dragon on June 25th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM
5531 Roswell Road NE
Atlanta,GA 30342
Phone: 404-255-5207

http://www.phoenixanddragon.com/index.html

Savvy Saturday & Book Signing!

4/27/2016

This Saturday, read about my writing & publishing experience as well as my playlist for THE SILVER CORD.
My book will be spotlighted on Champagne Books Savvy Saturday.
Here is the link, it will be up on 9:00 EST this Saturday, April 30th.

http://champagnebooks.blogspot.com/2016/04/savvy-saturday-jc-meads-playlist-for.html

On Saturday, May 14th, I will have my first book signing with raffle of book related goodies.
If you're in the area, stop by and see me!!

Hart County Library
150 Benson St.
Hartwell, GA 30643
May 14, 2016
11:00-1:00

I was fortunate to visit St. Simon's Island two weeks ago and have a ton of photos that I'd like to use for the photo-writing challenge (no I didn't forget about it). I have been having major technical difficulties and blogging has been difficult.

I'll be back as soon as I can!

Book Signing!

4/15/2016

I'll be back soon with photo and writing challenges, I promise. Been having technical difficulties and will be back on track by next week (hopefully).

Anyway, my favorite library in Georgia is hosting my very first book signing!

May 14, 2016:
The Friends of the Hart County Library Present:
Local Author Book Signing
Hart County Library from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Meet local author J.C. Mead and discuss her debut novel
The Silver Cord
An historical paranormal romance
Copies of the novel will be available for purchase and there will be a basket raffle for readers over 21 that includes: homemade soaps by Crescent Mountain Soaps, a special candle from Coventry Creations, and a bottle of Monks Mead.*
*Items in the basket are key elements to the story.

Hope to see you there!

Readers' Choice Awards & Photo Challenge!

3/14/2016

Good Morning!
Have you all survived the time change?

Personally, I can’t stand it. The only thing I like about the change is that it will be lighter out later in the day. That allows for after dinner walks, bicycle rides, and just hanging out on the front porch.

A few items before I get to the photo challenge.

First: “The Silver Cord” is up for the The Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Awards - Summer 2016!

Voting starts TODAY:
The Silver Cord has to garner at least 50 nominations within the time period in order to qualify for the next and final round. The nomination will start on March 14 and end on March 31. You can nominate the book here: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=19410

PLEASE vote! Shockingly, I know more than 50 people so I’m hoping that this will be a breeze, but you never know. I’m sorry in advance if it requires you to sign up for the site, leave an email address, or your firstborn, but if you could vote – I’d be thrilled!!

Next: My publisher is having a contest for their authors. Whoever sells the most books in the next month wins a prize. I have no clue what the prize is, but I’m willing to give it a shot. So buy my book! Either ebook or paperback – they both count.

Last but not least: If you want a book signed, let me know by sending me an email on the contact page or private message me on Twitter. If you want to have a book club Skype visit, again, let me know via contact page. I’d be thrilled to “visit”.

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous out (for the most part) it was 80 degrees and sunny with little bouts of rain. I went on a nice 3 mile walk by the lake with my kids and of course took a load of photos. But today’s photo challenge is silhouette and while on a walk down my road, I took a picture of a tree that I liked, so I’ll be using that one. As much as I love nature and taking photos of it, it is getting difficult coming up with stories about it without them all sounding the same. I’m going to have to take some photos in town or some still life pictures to change it up.

Here is what I have left of the challenge (other than today). Since I am doing it weekly versus daily, it feels like it is taking forever. I might double up some weeks like when I went to Atlanta last week. I guess it depends on the subjects and challenges.
Day 10: Lens Flare
Day 11: Landscape
Day 12: Portrait
Day 13: Dynamic Tension
Day 14: Light Painting
Day 15: Colourful Water Drops
Day 16: Balanced
Day 17: Unbalanced
Day 18: Frame within a Frame
Day 19: Panorama
Day 20: Depth
Day 21: Water Splash
Day 22: Slow Sync Flash
Day 23: Panning
Day 24: Harris Shutter
Day 25: Shallow DoF
Day 26: Light Graffiti
Day 27: Street Photography
Day 28: Architecture
Day 29: Night
Day 30: Hidden Camera Mirror Photo

Silhouette Challenge:
He reached up and grabbed the next branch. The sun was in his eyes and his heart was in his throat. His mother was busy talking on the phone, she had no idea he had climbed up so high. He could see the cows in the pasture next door. They swatted at flies with their tails, indifferent to what he had accomplished. A new calf bounced around the sole stoic bull, much like he bounded around his mother, both of the young just vying for attention. Well, climbing this tree would surely get her to put her phone down and look at him. Just one more branch higher and he would get to the top...
SNAP!

Double Photo Challenge - Atlanta!

3/6/2016

Good Morning!

Last week I was on a business trip in Atlanta and got some great photos for my challenge this weekend. I was waiting for this trip to do the High Angle challenge because I had a very special spot in mind.

In the second book, I wrote a scene that takes place in Atlanta. Since I have been to Atlanta a time or two for Dragon Con (among other things), I thought it would be cool to incorporate some of what I know from the downtown area into the book. There is a hotel with a really cool restaurant that is high as hell and rotates. I thought that would be the coolest place to take photos for the High Angle challenge as it is on the 72nd floor. My room on this trip was on the 27th floor and seemed just as high!

Since I took some pretty cool photos on the trip, I thought I would do two for the challenge today, the High angle AND the Sunset since I got a nice shot from my room.

When I was on my way to Atlanta, my friend (also one of my awesome beta readers) texted me that she got my book in the mail. Already. It was Wednesday! SHE WAS HOLDING MY BOOK and I wasn’t!

I couldn’t touch or feel or see my book until I got home on Friday. My mom had 3 sent to my house for signatures for family in England and my daughter called me on Thursday and told me that SHE WAS HOLDING MY BOOK.

WTF! I wanted to hold my book! According to my daughter, not only was it a cool cover texture wise, but it smelled good. This turned into a joke with my boss whom I was with on the business trip who decided that my book was “A BEST SMELLER!” you know what? I’ll take it!

Friday came and I finally got to see my book. In PRINT. It was awesome.
I am still waiting to hear back from two businesses about book signings and will post the dates on the Events & Links page as soon as I hear back.
SO here are the photo challenges thus far:

The Photo Challenge
Day 1: Self Portrait Done
Day 2: Rule of Thirds Done
Day 3: Black & White Done
Day 4: Texture Done
Day 5: High Angle TODAY!
Day 6: Low Angle Done
Day 7: Silhouette
Day 8: Sunset TODAY!
Day 9: Bokeh Done

I have included some other photos of Atlanta from the restaurant because it was such a bright sunny day. I just had to take a bunch!

High Angle Challenge:
Perched precariously on top of the ledge, he peered down at the cars and rooftops below. Houses and buildings stretched out for miles before finally touching the horizon. There had to be thousands of people living, thriving, working, and dying all in this one section of the city.
How many would see him?
He could name every building that sat before him, name every street, and even follow the convoluted path to a house he once knew in another life. This was not the time to reminisce about old buildings and the past. He was here to prove himself to her, to show her that he was everything she needed, everything she had ever wanted.
He focused on the bronze building ahead. He told her to meet him there, at the top, at one o’clock. This was his moment. He leapt from the ledge and reached out towards her.

Sunset Challenge:
Another day done, she looked at her watch and back out at the orange sky. She had been working for hours at her desk with her back to the window. Too distracting, she thought. Instead her focus was on a fifteen inch screen full of words. She was supposed to make stories out of these words but sometimes they got away from her, the words, that is. The right ones would elude her and the wrong ones stuck out like prickly speed bumps in her prose. Her forehead rested on the cool glass and she counted the Ferris wheel cars. She made up stories as each one made its revolution. The couple in the one on the very top was in love, she thought. New love. It was fresh and exciting and this ride was a test. He told her to trust him and she went along, even though she was scared of heights, because she did trust him. Only she wasn’t going to let him know that yet. Easing back into her chair, she faced the blank screen and shut off the computer. Maybe tomorrow, she thought.

A quick note on some of the other photos.
I was at a book sale and found this awesome children’s book that – as a native New Yorker and New Englander – thought was hilarious. Just saying the title cracked me up because it reminded me of how I sounded a loooong time ago. So the book is “The Wicked Big Toddlah Goes to New York” by Kevin Hawkes and yes, we bought it.

There is a photo of a building that I zoomed in on because it had moss on the roof of the entry way. While I thought it would be a cool prompt for a story, I figured, how much more moss-driven stories could you people take? Am I right? Still, a really interesting detail that I happened to notice while up in the air.

Last but not least, my book, in print. My daughter thought I should sign my name in colored ink that corresponded with the title of each book. I bought silver Sharpies for this one and practiced my author signature until I came up with something I could do without thinking too hard. I know, life’s tough, right?
Here’s a song that I love mainly because I’m originally from NYC and while I love living in the country, visiting Atlanta makes my heart happy.

Have a great week!

Book Signings!

2/29/2016

FINALLY!!!
I received the wonderful email this weekend that my book is in print!!
PRINT!
I can hold it and shelve it and do book signings with cool raffle baskets filled with Monks Mead, Coventry Candles and Crescent Mountain Soaps!
FYI: All the links to those businesses are on my Events & Links page.
I will set up a schedule as soon as I hear back from one of the store owners. I am scheduling one at a time since I don't know how many books I will need for each signing.

I plan on visiting Indie book stores and libraries in the area - Athens/Atlanta and even South Carolina if they'll take me :)

Here is the link to my publisher to buy the book in print directly. You can buy it at Amazon, too.
http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=640&controller=product

Photo Challenge:
I'm late. I know that but this weekend was busy, give me a break!
Here is the list of what I have done and need to fill in:

The Photo Challenge
Day 1: Self Portrait Done
Day 2: Rule of Thirds Done
Day 3: Black & White Done
Day 4: Texture Done
Day 5: High Angle I am saving this for next week
Day 6: Low Angle TODAY!
Day 7: Silhouette
Day 8: Sunset
Day 9: Bokeh Done

SO here is my Low Angle. It was taken in Conyers, GA on a cool little street that resembled New Orleans. I really liked the color of the building and the way the fan looked when I was looking up.

Parched, I was. Damn fan wouldn't turn. None of them would. My horse was teetering on the edge of dead and I was somewhere between here and gone. Stupid bright paint didn't hide the filth of this lonely town. Oh sure there were plenty of men to keep you warm at night, but they were gone at dawn. Hungover and mooching beignets from the birds tittering in the streets. The only water in this town they used to wash the night's torrid stench from. Didn't matter that none of us had any fresh to drink. We drank rum instead, made it easier to deal with the loss. I parked the carriage on the side of the street and bartered for a Hurricane. It would cost me a few minutes in the dark alley with what one could loosely call a 'gentleman', but at least it would numb the pain.

Photo-Writing Challenge & My Book is getting PRINTED!

2/21/2016

Good morning!
I have some exciting news!
My publisher let me know that “The Silver Cord” will be printed soon! I have no idea what time frame “soon” falls under so I need to be patient (HA!) but it is closer than I have been before, so I’m happy just to have been notified about it.

I have wanted to hold a physical copy of my book, and catalog, and shelve it in the library since I wrote “The End”. Well, I probably won’t catalog it, but still shelving it will be really cool! Even more exciting is the prospect of book signings and giving away really cool baskets filled with delicious Monks Mead, Spellbinding Coventry Creation Candles and intoxicating blends from Crescent Mountain Soaps.

I will let you all know when the print version is up for sale and what my book signing schedule will be. I definitely plan on hitting indie bookstores in the Athens and Atlanta areas as well as my favorite metaphysical store “Phoenix & Dragon” in Atlanta. Maybe South Carolina stores, too… And of course, any library that will host me! I’m just a little excited.

Photo Challenge:
This style is listed as the 9th challenge and I have chosen it because I already have a great shot for it. Besides, I have something exciting planned for the high angle challenge (supposed to be today) and that won’t be for two weeks or so. Until then, I will swap around challenges.

Here is info from the www.expertphotography.com site:
BOKEH:
“Simply put, it’s the aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of a photograph. It relates to how nice the background blur looks when out-of-focus. Knowing that, you can start to see the uses for it.
Beautiful bokeh can be used as either the subject, or the background, but usually the latter. I like to use it as a way of making the backgrounds more interesting, and to do so, there are a few things you need to consider.” Expertphotography.com

I don’t have a fancy camera with lenses and doodads, I am using my phone. THEN I edit it on my computer the best I can to come up with what I think is a decent photo. So all the directions that they give on the expertphotography site about lens quality and aperture is lost on me. However, for photographers with real cameras, I am sure the info is helpful.

Now a story to go with the photo. This one is difficult. While I love the photo, I’m not sure what to say about it. SO I guess an odd poem-type thing is in order.

She flit through the woods and dashed ‘neath the trees
while plucking petals from blossoms.
Alas a sharp thorn, pricked her deep and torn
her sinewy arms so fragile.
The petals they fell, and she did as well,
into a spiral down, down, down.
When awoken she found
a tree fallen down
and it’s mossy blanket
makes cozy shelter.