Going Freelance, Part 2: Getting online jobs

I had a scheduled post for this topic, but for some reason, when I did a last minute check before it publishes, it looked exactly like the previous post in this series. Sooo weird. I have no idea what happened. Either it was a Blogger glitch or I copied my previous post here by mistake. The latter is highly unlikely because I remember previewing that post several times. Strike 1 for Blogger. Tsk tsk.Anyway, on to getting online jobs. In this post, I will simply share how I found my jobs and maybe share a few tips I picked up along the way. :)

Open Heart, Book 2 of the Farsighted series, is HERE!

Open Heart, the follow up to Farsighted is finally here! And there are so many cool things going on to celebrate this new book release.What are these cool things you ask?

  • Farsighted is FREE for Kindle for the entire weekend!
  • You have a chance to win an autographed paperback of Open Heart via the Splash Into Summer Giveaway on Emlyn Chand’s website.
  • You can listen to the Open Heart playlist
  • You can download Open Heart and Farsighted goodies from Emlyn’s website.
  • And lots more!

Going Freelance, Part 1: Jumping Ship

Decision-making is different for every individual. Some people can make a major decision in mere hours. For some people, it takes weeks, a couple of months, or half a year to decide on something important. Others take years of convincing themselves before choosing one path over another. It took me about a couple of years of “thinking about it” and “weighing my options” before finally deciding to quit. Quit my corporate job, that is. The decision to do freelance writing full-time came about five months after that.

When I decided to resign from my job, all I knew was that the job just wasn’t cutting it for me anymore. The work was good, the money enough, and the people were great, but I just couldn’t see myself doing it for the next few years. The job just wasn’t me. I resigned with the intent to find whatever it is that I wanted to do.

T-Shirt Thursday!

Let’s take a break from whatever we need to take a break from and just celebrate this day with cute graphic tees! Booyah. Marsupial Madness (Design By Human): King Koala’s like, “Mmmrff.” Call Me Ishmael (Threadless): I’ve been…

How to acquire mad blog design skillz

You may have noticed that I changed my blog layout again. I tend to do that every couple of months or so. You see, I’m always trying to make it look easier on the eyes–mine and yours. And, yes, I do get bored with my blog layout A LOT.

Now, a web designer I am not, though that is definitely on my top 3 of things I want to be, right below published author and just above skilled seamstress. I don’t know how to design a blog or website from scratch, but I understand enough about html and I use what little knowledge I have to make a few tweaks here and there. See, you don’t need to be a web design wiz in order to come up with a nice and original-looking blog.

In this post, I’m going to let you in on my mad blog designing secrets by taking you through the process of how I ended up with this new blog design all by my-“non web designer”-self. *beam*

Mini Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card up for grabs (An Offering to the Giveaway Gods)

I’ve blogged about my luck in giveaways several times and I know I’ve been saying I should host my own giveaway soon. I’ve been putting it off for a while because I wanted to give away something big but then I couldn’t really afford the big I had in mind. Ever since I jumped ship, or rather, threw myself overboard and got on my own little rowboat of dreams, I’ve been trying to minimize my spending since I no longer have a spiffy corporate job. It ain’t easy when you’re a fledgling freelancer, folks, and I get by with a little help from my friends. [intro Beatles song]

FREE for One Day Only: Sykosa, Part I: Junior Year by Justin Ordoñez

“Sykosa makes for some compelling reading. Older teens and adults alike will enjoy Ordoñez ‘s tale for its humor, realism and relatable protagonist.”Kirkus Indie Review

Sykosa (that’s “sy”-as-in-“my” ko-sa) is a junior in high school. She belongs to an exclusive clique of girls called the “Queens.” The leader is her best friend Niko. Their friendship has been strained lately because Tom—Sykosa’s first boyfriend—has gotten all serious about making her his pretty Prom princess. That is if he ever gets around to asking her. Before Prom, there’s a party at Niko’s cottage where parental supervision will be nil. He wants to have sex. She doesn’t. He sometimes acts like that doesn’t matter.It matters.

Book Review: Tell A Thousand Lies by Rasana Atreya

Tell A Thousand Lies by Rasana Atreya is about the fates of two sisters, fraternal twins Pullamma and Lata. Dark and awkward Pullamma only wants to be a wife. She has two other sisters so she knows that there isn’t a lot of dowry for them all, but she still hopes. Fair and pretty Lata only dreams of becoming a doctor. Her grandmother doesn’t understand and arranges a wedding alliance for her. By some twist of fate, Pullamma ends up becoming the Goddess of their village and secretly married, while Lata ends up in a forced marriage after rebelling against her grandmother and getting pregnant. This novel is a realistic portrayal of the culture, traditions, and life in a small Indian village. Read more about this book on Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book. It was quite easy to read and carried on in a very good pace. It was also so rich in culture and very realistic, so I found it quite captivating. I liked the simplicity of the writing because for me it fit in perfectly with the richness and depth of the entire book. It complemented how colorful the story was. The author was able to give life to the characters and described the setting and events beautifully. The story felt very real and I felt for all the characters.

Book Review: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

I got this book from Amazon when it was free for a brief period. I saw a link about it on Twitter and since I’m a sucker for free books, I downloaded it. I wasn’t able to get to it for weeks though. I finally gave it a go since I’ve been reading about it everywhere on my newsfeeds.

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand is about Alex, blind since birth and deemed an outcast by his peers. He has no friends until a nice new girl comes to town. Simmi sincerely wants to be friends with Alex and things starts to look up. Unfortunately for Alex, he also discovers a new ability. He has “visions” of the future and sometimes it gets him in awkward situations. No matter how hard he tries, Alex can’t escape his new ability, especially when he starts seeing visions of Simmi in danger. Alex gains the help of new friends and discovers more about his new sight. This book is about his journey to change the events in his visions. — Check out Farsighted on Goodreads.

Thicker than water: The House of Order by John Paul Jaramillo

I like short stories, especially the ones that don’t really follow a certain formula or end with a sound resolution because these are the ones that can make you think and speculate about the story or the characters. Good short stories leave me dwelling on them long after I’ve read them. Most of the stories in The House of Order are no exception.

The House of Order, the first collection of composite stories by John Paul Jaramillo, presents a stark vision of American childhood and family, set in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. Manito Ortiz sorts family truth from legend as broken as the steel industry and the rusting vehicles that line Spruce Street. The only access to his lost family’s story is his uncle, the unreliable Neto Ortiz.