Swimming Through a Hurricane

I’m in central Florida this week, visiting my family for my mom’s birthday. All is fantastic with the exception of one thing – the hurricane. It’s coming through this week on the day I was supposed to be flying home, so I changed my plane ticket until Friday just to be safe. As it turns out, the storm seems to be headed farther west than was initially thought, but I’m here for the duration.

So yesterday I found myself floating in the pool watching the clouds go by. Already, some serious winds were blowing in. Today, it’s not exactly safe to be swimming in the pool, and tomorrow I expect it to be even more interesting. Just so long as there's not enough rain to have to be swimming outside the pool!

Hopefully, we won’t lose the power. Not only would that kill the air conditioning, but reading is challenging at night without a light! I’m getting a lot of reading done right now. We can’t exactly go out anywhere, so we’re chilling with a pile of novels.

If we do lose power, I won’t be able to get online, so I’ll take this opportunity to give you one last chance to get in on my book giveaway. It ends at the end of the day tomorrow. Go here and enter!

See you on the other side of the storm!

Practically Dreaming Giveaway

There’s a couple days left to get in on my GoodReads giveaway of a paperback copy of Practically Dreaming. Just follow this link to sign up! In addition to the book, you’ll get a handful of swag and a book tote I had printed especially for this book release.

While you’re over at GoodReads, please do me a huge favor and vote for Practically Dreaming in a list of “Good Books to Read in 2012.” I’m currently #7 on this list! Just click on the tan button just underneath the book title that says “vote for this book.” Get me to #1 and I’ll hold another giveaway here on my blog for a copy of the Practically Dreaming ebook!

Want to check out a little excerpt? As you probably know, I’m a huge fan of manatees and whales and especially sharks. I’ve been thinking about them a lot because last week was Shark Week – a holiday around my house that ranks only just second to Halloween! So with that in mind, I hope you enjoy this scene, in which Lachlan takes Tierra diving:

            Tierra looked around her again and spotted a swirling school of tiny grey fish moving quickly in a group. She had never tried to connect with a fish’s mind and wasn’t even sure she could, but she reached out now. At first, she didn’t think it would work. Fish didn’t see those same mental pictures cats and dogs and birds did. They didn’t feel emotion in the way people understood it. A fish’s dominant sense was instinctual. It took Tierra a moment to recognize it because instead of a picture or an emotion coming from the fish, she simply felt an overwhelming imperative. This instinct was far more overriding than any she might feel now, which would be tempered by intellect. What she got from the school was a single thought, as if shouted from a megaphone. It translated roughly to something like “swim fast!”

            She would have turned and fled as well had she not recognized it as an alien thought. The question of what had triggered the flight instinct made her wonder if she should do some flying of her own. She tensed her muscles to swim toward the surface, but Lachlan’s hand on her arm stilled her. She turned to look at him, saw him staring at something in deeper water, and turned to see what he was watching.

            The queasiness she’d felt on the boat slammed back into her along with a colossal dose of adrenaline. Her breath came faster and bubbles from her regulator streamed toward the surface. She looked up, seeking the outline of his boat. They had come away from it quite a bit. Retreat was out of the question. She wasn’t as fast as the shark swimming out of the shadowy depths of the ocean.

            Lachlan got her attention and pointed to the reef beneath them. A couple more hand gestures and his message was clear. Their best chance was to sink to the ocean floor and remain as still and calm as they could. She nodded and Lachlan took her hand and slowly began to move both of them to the sea floor.

            What kind is it? Tierra wondered. Grey, reef, white, blue, bull, thresher? A part of her believed it was imperative she know the exact type of shark about to eat her. Maybe it was just a way for her mind to make sense of the situation. She had always been one to rationalize her fears. This particular fear, however, was about seven feet long, a dusky dark brown color, and headed straight toward her. Its massive head swung back and forth in the current.

Blog Love

It’s been a busy week, but a fantastic one! I had my very first book signing for Practically Dreaming at 13 Magickal Moons in Occoquan, VA.

Me and store owner, Samantha Harvey, next to a selection of Crescent Moon Press books!
Thank you, Dave Kula, for the pic!

I’ve also begun making my way around the blogosphere. Today, Cindy Young-Turner was kind enough to host me for an interview on her blog. Please stop by and give her blog a little love as well as these other blogs who have been kind enough to support my book release this week. Thanks you, everyone!

Cindy Young-Turner (post 1 and post 2) 

Ask A Witch

Kinley Baker

Louann Carroll

Marne Ann Kirk

Lindsey R. Loucks

Jean Murray

KateO’Sullivan

ConstancePhillips

ShawnaRomkey

Trindie Books (Magick Charm was their Book of the Day!)

Practically Dreaming is Here!

Today's the day! Practically Dreaming is officially for sale! Here's a little about the book and a peek at the beautiful cover Jeannie Reusch created for it:

In a Zodiac-based world, finding a mate is easy. Falling in love is the hard part.

Astrology influences almost everything, from career choice to where people live. Even romantic matches are based solely on astrological compatibility and determined by the infallible Council of Venus.

Animal psychic Tierra has every reason to trust the Council—save one. Her match with fellow Virgo, Evander, works better on paper than in person. But she stubbornly hangs on, believing their relationship will grow and develop, all the while trying to rationalize her feelings for Lachlan.

Veterinarian and Reiki master, Lachlan, hides a secret, which has kept him single for more than two years. This Pisces dreams of a happily ever after with Tierra, but believes it’s impossible for him.

Tierra and Lachlan must confront their doubts, differences, and society’s belief in the Council. Will they defy the odds and choose each other? Does astrological certainty eclipse the chance to fall in love?

Amazon: Paperback and Kindle

Barnes & Noble: Paperback - Nook coming soon

Putting it in Perspective

Let me catch you up on the latest happening here.

Last month, I designed and ordered new Romance Trading Cards, bookmarks, and book totes for my upcoming book release on the first (Want one? Pre-order a book at 13 Magickal Moons for my first signing this Saturday). Things were getting a little stressful with all the planning for promotions, reviews, and all that type of thing that goes with a new book, and I was worried I wouldn’t have everything set up before the release date...

And then I got a call from my husband at work. His legs had suddenly become numb and weak. He couldn’t stand and fell, hurting his shoulder. He spent the rest of that day and the next two in the hospital. In the meantime, my parents jumped in their car in Florida and arrived at my house sixteen hours later to help keep me sane. After a number of tests, we discovered John has some problems with a few discs in his back, and after an epidural injection of cortisone, he was cleared to go home. To try to manage the problem long-term, we have to follow up with an orthopedic doc. We’re also going to start the Atkins diet to take some pressure off the spine by losing weight. We’ll start next week after our anniversary dinner, at which I plan to eat tons of carbs!

In short, it all seems to be okay for now at least. But likely this diagnosis will have a larger effect in our daily lives than the book ever could!

Lesson learned: when things get a little stressful, I need to try to put it in perspective. Is having the book promotion stuff ready to go on the exact release date really that important? Nope. I’m just happy John is safe. The promotion/review/blog tour thing will happen a bit at a time over the next few weeks, and I’m good with that.

Now… since things are calming down a bit, can I ask for a little help getting caught up (but I'm not stressing, I promise!)?

First and foremost, any Reiki, healing energy, positive thoughts, and prayers for my husband’s recovery would be so incredibly appreciated!

Second, the tiniest bit of book promo help: Will you drop by Amazon and click the "Like" button by Practically Dreaming's title? Thanks!

And third: Do you have a book blog? If you’re a reviewer, I’d love to send you an e-copy of my book. Or maybe you have a slot on your blog this month for me to drop by and chat about my book, astrology or pets (the big themes in this book), or give a little interview? Email me at jenniferwellsauthor[at]gmail[dot]com – and thank you!!