Blog – Page 9 – Author Jen Meyers

Teaser #1: Anywhere

Since we’re in the last stretch before Anywhere‘s release at the end of the month (date coming SOON), it’s time for some teasers. But first, in case you missed it, the book blurb:

Skye Whitcomb is running from her troubles, and where better to run than Europe? Fresh out of college, she makes quick plans with her best friend Paige and hops on a plane.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned—at least not for her. First, Paige has to bail, and Skye’s left to travel alone. Then she meets sweet and sexy Asher Benedict in Paris, and sparks fly after a night together on the train to Rome. He’s all kinds of perfect for her, but the timing couldn’t be worse since she was running from the altar when she left—so the last thing she wants right now is a relationship.

But Skye’s about to discover that no matter how far you run, love can find you anywhere.

Here are the opening paragraphs of the book:

“Do you think there’s a phrase for this in French?” Paige called out from the tiny yellow bathroom, her voice wobbling. She looked so pale and awful with her cheek resting on the toilet seat, her eyes closed against the nausea. We’d been stuck in our cheap hotel room with the dull brown comforters, lumpy beds, and cigarette smoke wafting in through the open windows for three days now.

The only thing Paige had done so far was throw up. And feel like throwing up. And sleep.

The only thing I had done was watch her. And feel bad. And worry.

All those years I’d imagined what my first time in Paris would be like…it definitely hadn’t been this.

“A phrase for what?” I said, and leaned against the doorway, watching her. God, she looked terrible.

“Worshipping the throne?”

“I thought it was called hugging the porcelain god.”

“Whatever.” There was a ghost of a smile on her lips and a few wisps of light auburn hair slipped down her face. She brushed them back, tucked them behind her ear, and took a deep breath.

“I’m sure they must. The French have words for practically everything.”

By jen | August 6, 2013 | Blog |

I am a souvenir

Sun rising over the mountain outside my parents’ windows. (Mt. Mansfield, to be exact.)

I spent the weekend in Burlington because my brother is losing his 15 year battle against cancer…which I’m not going to talk about right now because my heart is breaking and I just can’t.

But on my way in to see him at the hospital, I spotted a Quebec license plate–something you see a lot of in Burlington because the province is so close. On Quebec plates is the phrase Je me souviens and every time I see it my first thought is always “I am a souvenir” because I do not speak French and I have a tendency to make up translations when I don’t speak the language. (I like to think of it as one of my endearing qualities, but I’m not sure Steve would agree.)

Of course, I know that’s not what je me souviens actually means because Steve speaks French (fluently, I might add, which I’m ridiculously jealous of) and I’m pretty sure he once told me that it means “I remember.”

But still, as I sat in traffic staring at this plate, I thought “I am a souvenir.”

I really like that idea. I AM a souvenir–something to be remembered and treasured. You are too. We ALL are.

My brother is a souvenir, and I’ve been sifting through memories filtered and softened by time, and savoring my limited time with him this weekend, trying to capture moments in my mind, holding him in my heart, treasuring him in every way I can.

And I suppose my silly (non)translation is very similar to the actual meaning because a souvenir serves to remind us. Though I’m sure the motto must refer to some battle or a revolution of some sort so it’s really not the same thing at all. (And I’m obviously too lazy to look it up…) But still. To me it’s the same. Remembering something–or someone–who’s important. Who should be remembered. Who will be remembered.

My brother and me this past weekend.

Je me souviens.

By jen | July 30, 2013 | Blog |

Synopsis for ANYWHERE!

Okay, you guys. Here it is—the book blurb for Anywhere, my New Adult contemporary romance due out at the end of August. I’m wickedly excited/nervous about this book, and can’t wait to share it with you. Soon! Like in about a month. (O.O Holy crap. It’s only a month away! I hadn’t realized that until just this moment. Suddenly that feels really, really SOON.)

Skye Whitcomb is running from her troubles, and where better to run than Europe? Fresh out of college, she makes quick plans with her best friend Paige and hops on a plane.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned—at least not for her. First, Paige has to bail, and Skye’s left to travel alone. Then she meets sweet and sexy Asher Benedict in Paris, and sparks fly after a night together on the train to Rome. He’s all kinds of perfect for her, but the timing couldn’t be worse since she was running from the altar when she left—so the last thing she wants right now is a relationship.

But Skye’s about to discover that no matter how far you run, love can find you anywhere.

It’s already listed on Goodreads, so if you’re inclined you can add it to your TBR list. :-)

Next up…teasers! (I LOVE teasers, don’t you? Good, wholesome, torturous fun.) And in August I’ll have a cover to show you. Can’t wait!

Have a great weekend, everyone. :-)

By jen | July 18, 2013 | Blog |

What I’ve been up to…

It seems as if I’ve been starting a lot of posts by apologizing that I haven’t been here for a while. And here it is over two weeks since the last post. *sigh* Honestly? I’ve been soaking up life (with a good dash of sunshine) lately, taking a small break from working on Anywhere as my betas and editor go at it. Apparently I’ve also been taking an unintended blog break.

So. This is what I’ve been up to:
:: I made these amazing cocoa brownies a couple of weeks ago as a fail-safe in case the other sweet treat I made didn’t work out. It did, so I got to ~~eat these all by myself~~ share them with Steve. I sprinkled toffee bits and mini chocolate chips on top before baking.

Oh. My. God.

I HIGHLY recommend. You know, if you happen to appreciate fudgy chocolatey brownies. (Oh! I do! I do! I do!) I’m resisting making them again this week (at least, I resisted TODAY, can’t say what tomorrow will bring) because I ate the last one out of the freezer last night. (Don’t tell Steve.) I used to make brownies with unsweetend baker’s chocolate and I have a kick-ass recipe thanks to my mother-in-law…but the last time I went to pick some up, I discovered they’re selling them in smaller packages (fewer squares/ounces) AND raised the price. O_o So I went in search of a good cocoa recipe and found a FANTASTIC one instead. Me, for the win!

:: I’ve started making dill pickles and dilly beans. I did this last year for the first time and while one batch of beans turned out with AMAZING flavor (though not as crisp as I’d like), I did the next (and, unfortunately, larger) batch a little differently, and all the beans and pickles ended up the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of crisp. Which is a BIG disappointment when you have twelve jars of them. But the beans were the consistency of canned green beans, and the pickles were pretty close to the same. Great taste, but not even a hint of crisp. (They all just got dumped in the compost pile today to empty out the jars for this year’s attempt.)

I’ve got HIGH hopes for these babies…

So I have a different plan this year, and have all my fingers and toes crossed that things will be delicious AND crispy. I got started on this because a friend brought over a jar of dilly beans she’d made and I COULD NOT STOP EATING THEM THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS. So I had to make them the next year because I needed MORE. Very excited! Very optimistic that they’ll turn out better this year.

:: I’m growing tomatoes and pepper plants that are the healthiest-looking plants I’ve ever grown and that excites me much more than I should probably admit. :-)

I tried to garden the first few years we lived in this house, but the spot I’d chosen (which was really the best place in terms of space in the yard) didn’t get enough sun, so my plants were always weak and spindly, not producing much. This year, after many years hiatus, we said “Let’s grow tomatoes and peppers in buckets!” And we went out, bought the plants, and then realized we’d have to drill holes in the bottoms of the buckets to make that work. Of course, we didn’t want to drill holes in all of our buckets, so I ended up ripping out a bunch of ground cover at the one end of our house that gets tons of sun and planting them there. Right next to the azaleas, looking absolutely ridiculous. But seriously? Who cares? They are big, beautiful and healthy.

And we are all enjoying watching them grow (I swear they’re bigger every day), anxious for the gift of their sweet bounty.

:: Book-relatedly, I’ve hired a cover designer (the ridiculously talented Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations and I’m so excited about that I can’t even tell you!) so I don’t have to stress over the cover (which is exactly what I would have been doing these past couple of weeks since the book left my hands). It’s a HUGE relief…I mean, I liked designing the Intangible series covers, but it’s STRESSFUL and I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m thrilled to have someone who DOES know what she’s doing handling this book cover.

:: I’ve been polishing up the blurb for Anywhere and will share it with you at the end of the week. :-)

What have you been up to lately?

By jen | July 16, 2013 | Blog |

What are you doing with your time?

Earlier in the week I came across this video by Ze Frank that shows the years of your life in jelly beans. It has a lovely, lovely message. Watch it. Trust me on this.

(Thanks to Andy for the link.)

What are you going to do today? :-)

I hope you have a great weekend, everyone. Use your time doing things you love. <3

By jen | June 28, 2013 | Blog |

This MIGHT be a rant

On Tuesday night, my Twitter feed blew up with news about Texas State Senator Wendy Davis. If you missed it, Ms. Davis staged an 11-hour filibuster (during which time she could not eat, drink, pee, sit down, or lean on anything) to stop an abortion bill from getting passed that would essentially shut down every clinic in Texas. With some help from a group of fantastically rowdy people in the gallery, they succeeded in stopping the vote from happening.

Though the Senate voted after midnight, just barely missing the deadline, they went back and changed the time stamp after it clearly showed the vote had taken place too late. Nice, Texas Senate. Very nice. This, after they watched Davis like hawks for any violation of the rules of the filibuster so they could stop her. Apparently in Texas, only women have to follow the rules.

What Davis did was inspiring. And the support she received on Twitter was amazing.

But have you ever wondered what it would be like to NOT have your body/health up for legislative debate?

ASK A MAN.

I am disheartened by the fact that we’re STILL debating this. That people still believe they have a say in what a woman does with her body. That my daughter will find it normal that her body may not, in actuality, legally be HER OWN. That women can be raped and blamed for it. That women are treated like possessions or toys STILL, by our own freaking governments.

*Big Angry Sigh*

We need more people to stand up, like Wendy Davis did, and demand that ALL people be treated like people.

On a related note–Buh-bye DOMA! You won’t be missed. :-)

By jen | June 26, 2013 | Blog |

The Wrap-Up

Hey, there! It’s been so long—I KNOW. Things get busy, the blog gets neglected.

1. We got season tickets to go see the children’s shows at our local professional summer stock theatre and went to the first show yesterday: Pinkalicious. It was fantastic! The actors did a wonderful job, and my kids were totally enthralled.

2. Of course, every time I see a show it makes me miss acting so SO much. So it’s slightly torturous for me to go to live theatre, but I can’t help it. I LOVE it. And this was at a theatre I worked at about 20 years ago (which, honestly? makes me want to hyperventilate because how can I possibly be old enough to say that?). I was thinking about that this morning—the various summer stock theatres I did shows at. It was fun. Theatre people are the best. (Yeah, I’m going to have to write a book centering around theatre people—the ideas are already bouncing around.)

3. Speaking of writing, I’ve been researching Europe for New Book (which has a title, and I should probably tell you what it is!) and it just makes me want to hop on a plane and GO. (I keep trying to convince Steve that I NEED a research trip “for the sake of the book” and all I ever get are eye-rolls. EVEN when I say we should ALL go. Seriously? How can he say no to that?) But I’m DYING to see all these places I’m writing about–some are places I’ve never been (thank goodness for the internet and YouTube), some are places I visited 10-30 years ago (good god, I can’t be old enough to say that…except I did live in Germany when I was a kid, so…).

4. It’s official. I’m old. :-)

5. Title of the new book?

anywhere title

I’ll have a blurb for you in the coming weeks (and sneak peeks!) so you’ll know know more about it SOON. :-) It’s coming along, my friends!

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

By jen | June 21, 2013 | Blog |

Slammed

Over the weekend, I came across this absolutely BRILLIANT spoken poem by Hollie McNish that cleverly slams Flo Rida’s song “Whistle.” Seriously, this is one of the best things I’ve seen/heard in a looong time.

To FULLY appreciate and enjoy it, this is what you do:

1. Click on Flo Rida’s video (top) and MUTE it.
2. Immediately click on Hollie’s poem (bottom) to listen to as you watch the top video.

Did I mention that this is brilliant? Because it IS.

Thanks to David for the link to Poejazzi!

Now if THAT doesn’t start your week off right, I don’t know what will. :-) Happy Monday!

By jen | June 10, 2013 | Blog |

Books and Flowers

Hi, guys! :-)

I’m jumping into edits on New Book (which means LOTS of coffee and chocolate…it could be worse ;-) and working to get it out by the end of summer (August/September). I have so much to tell you about this book…and I will. Soon!

But not today. ;-p

However, I promised you some book recs and you SHALL have them! I’ve been reading a LOT off and on for the past few months and these books were the stand-outs.

YA
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (I LOVED this book. Got it from the library, then had to buy it because it was just so SO good.)

NA (aka New Adult, for a more mature 17+ audience)
Easy by Tammara Webber
Measuring Up by Nyrae Dawn (thanks to a rec from Ali at My Guilty Obsession) (Really LOVED this!)
Stripped by Brooklyn Skye
Slammed by Colleen Hoover

What have you been reading? I’d love to hear what YOU’ve loved lately.

Also, I wanted to show you something. Do you remember that picture I posted of my favorite tree, the American Red Bud, before the flowers opened? (It’s the second to last picture here, just looks like branches with tiny, fuchsia buds on it.) Well, look what’s happened since.

I LOVE these little blossoms. SO pretty!

See how the blossoms cover the branches EVERYWHERE? I love that about this tree. It’s not just flowers at the ends of branches, they sprout out of the bark all over it.

And I had to show you the forget-me-nots…just because.

Have a FANTASTIC weekend, everyone!

By jen | June 6, 2013 | Blog |

In which I can’t sit still

Do you notice anything different about me today?

You DO? Why, yes, I DID finish the first draft of my newest book yesterday afternoon. And then last night, because I had nothing to do and couldn’t just sit around idly doing nothing (because that would be INSANE), I gave the website a makeover.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while (months) but haven’t had the time between finishing up Imaginable and blazing my way through the first draft of New Book. And I LOVE the new look. (I hope you do, too!) It feels fresher, simpler, cleaner…and just more ME. The previous design was reflective of the Intangible series, in my mind, and I guess since I’m branching out I felt like I needed a design that reflected me, rather than my books.

This feels like it. (At least for the moment. ;-)

***

In OTHER news…there’s not much other news. :-) I’ve been writing my pants off and not doing much else (hence my extreme absence here lately). But it’s summer(ish…we’re back in long sleeves again today after a few days of 90 degrees…Oh, Mother Nature, how you tease) and I’m going to spend a ridiculous amount of time reading while I let my first draft rest for a few days. Later this week, I’ll give you a list of books I’ve really enjoyed lately. (And if you have any recs for me, do tell!)

I’m going to get back to blogging regularly (stop laughing) and who knows, maybe I’ll even start vlogging again (it could happen). THESE—along with swimming, playing, revising, and reading—are my Big Summer Plans.

What are yours? :-)

By jen | June 3, 2013 | Blog |