Weekly Winner ~ Get Fired Up For Summer Contest

Jennifer Hansen wins a copy of Rough Business by Randall Sawka.

Jennifer, please email bookswelove@telus.net 

to claim your prize. 

Congratulations!

Books We Love

Find the contest details here

 

Get Fired Up For Summer with 

Books We Love!

Birthdays - Janet Lane Walters

 Some people wonder why I chose to do my blogs here on the 17th of each month. That's because my birthday falls in that day so the date is easy to remember. Remembering things easier is a blessing when the years begin to creep up on you. Actually, they don't really creep. They hit like a frieght train and all those little things you used to do become difficult and even impossible.

I do try to avoid this by telling people I'm only a day older than I was yesterday. Works for me but leaves them scratching their heads.

So here I am another day older. Next time I'm back, I'll write something about creating worlds either contemporary, historical or fantasy. After all we're writers and are in the business of drawing readers
into other worlds

The poor pangolin

Hellllooooo (sing-song, soprano voice). How are you enjoying the summer so far? Hot enough? I live in the country north of Toronto and it is hot. 48 Celsius with the humidity. It feels like the Sahara desert and a Florida mangrove swamp all rolled into one. Thank God for air conditioning!

I’ve been quite busy these last few weeks, promoting and marketing and then marketing some more, my newly released book, The Twisted Climb. It’s been a yo-yo kind of experience, just like my sales numbers. I’m trying to ‘sell’ the eBook as hard/soft as I can to friends and family but so many of them say, “I’ll wait until the paperback version is published.”

How do you politely tell them not to be a cheap tard? That’s my polite version: tard without the bas in front of it. I mean, for under four bucks, you can enjoy the results of one year’s work. That’s a bargain, isn’t it? Please - if you have any suggestions about how to politely sway these tards, I’d love to hear from you. Your comments and thoughts are appreciated and welcomed!

Before I change the subject, I have to say something about the cover designer for Books We Love, Michelle Lee. Her work is outstanding. The Twisted Climb (pictured here) is in the young adult genre and Michelle’s selection for font and character representation is absolutely spot-on. The book contains drama, suspense, fantasy and paranormal events and the cover is a perfect reflection of that. Michelle Lee, you rock!

In my last blog, I talked about the pangolin, the only scale-covered mammal in the world. They are a slow-moving creature, covered in scales similar in composition to human nails, and without teeth. Without teeth? Yup. They have a tongue that begins somewhere in the abdomen and, depending on the species of pangolin (there are eight), it can extend up to two feet. Now don’t be thinking naughty things all you romance writers. Pangolins only eat ants and termites. Teeth are not required.

Unfortunately, the pangolin is on the endangered species list because they are being eaten to extinction through illegal trading/selling in underground black markets. Sad but true. In many third world countries, and under the guise of medicinal/quackery black magic, pangolins are slaughtered by the thousands. Some say that eating baby pangolins will enhance virility, prevent hair loss and eliminate migraines. Others say that grinding pangolin scales will enhance virility, prevent hair loss, cure dandruff and a multitude of other nonsensical conditions. In reality, pangolin meat and scales do nothing to enhance the human body. The truth is that continuous slaughtering of the pangolin will only augment the ignorant traditions and will ultimately result in the extinction of the species. Personally, I say no to that.

I’ve written a series of five children’s pictures books about these gentle creatures (still on the hunt for a publisher). It is my great hope that these books will place the pangolin in a new light, one where they are appreciated and not viewed as a black market quackery by-product.

J.C. Kavanagh

The Twisted Climb

author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/j.c.kavanagh.com