RavenCon wrap up

Last weekend I was a guest at RavenCon for the second time - the first time being a few years ago where I was a costuming guest. It was wonderful to come back to RavenCon, and the best part was how many people remembered me from my costuming days. :) I was touched. I was on several fun panels this time around too - and of course I forgot to write down the ones I was on, so I'll do my best to remember them here (though I'm certain I'll forget one): trends in costuming (moderated by the always entertaining James Fulbright) was a lot of fun - I think we decided that fairy tales were the next big costuming wave to come, that steam punk was on its downslide, and that Doctor Who was in it's heyday. Another great panel I was on was Professional Self-Publishing. I learned so much from my fellow panelists, and hopefully changed some minds/attitudes about self-publishing along the way... and given that I received this email shortly after returning from RavenCon, I know that we changed at least one mind. :) Thank you for introducing your beautiful book at RavenCon this last weekend! Wowza! I USED TO BE one of those "annoyed with the lo quality of self-pubed material" readers but I am absolutely blown away with the craftsmanship that went into creating War of the Seasons. You and your work have made it OK for us readers to start exploring the newer reading materials that are coming out. I see you and your work as a trailblazer and a Quality Standards Setter for the future. I had the opportunity to learn a lot from you this weekend, and thanks for turning my expectations around. Another fun panel I was on was the Military Sci-Fi panel (that one is ALWAYS fun!) - looks like there's a definite audience (at least a [...]

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Thrifty fashion: Butterflies, Vintage, and Flowers

A couple of things before I get into my fashion post. First off, you know I like to run right? No? Well, I do. If you want a full report on the races I run you can read my awesome husband's running blog, RonRunsDisney.com. Also, I just did a guest post on it (the latter 1/2 of the most recent post in italics - it's all about running gear) so go check it out! Yes, I know I still owe you a RavenCon wrap up.. it's coming, I promise. I started a Pinterest account, so feel free to add me there. And if you're on 365project.org, I've got a project there too (yes I know I'm behind - I'll be catching up shortly). As for War of the Seasons, book 2: The Half-Blood, it's off with my editor, as is Songs of the Seasons, song 2: White Flag. So look for them respectively in June and May. Now, how about a Thrifty fashion post? Now for a bit of Vintage, Butterflies, and Flowers! :)

Source: Uploaded by user via Janine on Pinterest

You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? A [...]

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March in review (yes I know we're 1/2 way through April)

Since I prepare these for family and friends, I figured I'd post theme here too, to let you know what'd been going on & where you can see me next. :) Professional: USMC: Working at the Capitol as a Marine Corps Liaison Officer has been fantastic! I'm learning so much about our government and have been enjoying being a part of it, especially the Capitol Hill Running Club! WRITING: The audio book for The Human is done being recorded and is now in final edits. You guys, I love it! It's AWESOME and so well done! Patricia Albrecht, the voice of Pizzaz on Jem is doing the reading and she's fantastic! I got unblocked on my first chapter and my editor has The Half-Blood and I got a short story to her too (also in the War of the Seasons universe). Now I need to get off my butt and finish up some other writing projects. I need to take a break from War of the Seasons for a bit, so I doubt the next book will come out in June of 2013. But perhaps I can have it out by the end of the 2013. Don't worry, there won't be a multi-year break between books, but I know that right now I really need some distance from the series so that when I start the 3rd (and supposedly final...) book I can attack it with fresh eyes. That said, I'm 1/2 way through writing/revising a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set 400 years in the future and takes place in a military environment. Does this make it a military sci-fi romance? ;) Hobbies: What are hobbies? -Running- Holy crap, no wonder I'm tired. I think I ran 4 races this past month? And 2 of them were the same weekend, 2 of them were St. Patrick's day races, and 2 of them were crazy hilly! 4 Courts 4 miler, RockNRoll 1/2 marathon (I set a new PR!), Hills are alive 10K, Cherry Blossom 10 miler. -Books read: I read a John Hartness's book about nerdy, not good looking, not svelte/thin/muscular vampires that are the good guys. It was hilarious, super fast & fun, and I [...]

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Happy Birthday Ron-Ron!

Enjoy your last year in your 30's sweetie! :)

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FREE Book Giveaway for Public Libraries & some Vintage Fashion

That's right! To honor my many librarian friends, and all the wonderful public libraries that fed my desire read as I grew up, I'm giving away 10 copies of my book,War of the Seasons, book one: The Human to the first 10 public libraries to contact me. Couple of rules (just to make it fair): 1- The library must be located in the United States. 2- You, the librarian, must contact me from your work email address, and include the address of the library for me to ship the book to. I will not ship to a personal address - only a library. Email me at janinekspendlove at gmail.com if you're interested - remember, these go to the first 10 libraries to contact me, so please be sure to spread the word! Thanks! ~~~~~ Now a couple of things before I get into my fashion post. First off, you know I like to run right? No? Well, I do. If you want a full report on the races I run you can read my awesome husband's running blog. And I went to MidSouthCon and it was AWESOME. Also I started a Pinterest account, so feel free to add me there. And if you're on 365project.org, I've got a project there too (yes I know I'm behind - I'll be catching up shortly). As for War of the Seasons, book 2: The Half-Blood, it's off with my editor, as is Songs of the Seasons, song 2: White Flag. So look for them respectively in June and May. Now, how about a Thrifty fashion post? Now for a bit of Vintage, and use of my costume accessories! :) You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mot [...]

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MidSouthCon wrap up

Whew, yeah I know MidSouthCon was over a week ago, but what can I say? Work has been nuts. Between my new job, moving (and all that entails), finishing up a bunch of writing projects (while others stare at me waiting to to be started/completed), and of course, I, like an idiot ran two races last weekend (in my defense they were FUN! Though my legs are killing me now). If you want a full report on the races you can read my awesome husband's running blog. Also I started a Pinterest account, so feel free to add me there. And if you're on 365project.org, I've got a project there too (yes I know I'm behind - I'll be catching up shortly). But I'm assuming you didn't come here for a running report, social media updates, or a list of HOW BUSY I AM (woe is me, *single tear*), and so I give you... MIDSOUTHCON!, a wrap up. I'd never been to MidSouthCon before AND as far as I knew going into it, my only friend was Mike Stackpole - but that was OK. I like Mike. :) Lucky me though, turns out there were loads of people from other southern conventions that I've seen around (I'm looking at YOU Ink Monkey press, Geek Media Expo, and John G. Hartness), AND I made several new friends (hello John Jackson Miller, Joe Corroney, and Nicki and Lin Workman). Oh, and met a long time online friend, Jedi Trace, for the FIRST TIME EVER! :D Me & the GMX crew - I love these guys [...]

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