Sign Up Post for Blog Ahead October 2019

Once again I'm signing up for the Blog Ahead Challenge hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup.  I always find this to be a huge help whenever I am participating in NaNoWriMo.  Which I do intend to do again this year, especially with the lack of writing I've done this whole past year.  I can't decide if this year I'm going to start a new story, or continue editing, actually finish editing my short story to get ready to maybe just self publish on Amazon.  Or do I want to finish one of my first stories from one of my first NaNoWriMos?  I don't know.  But my goal is to have November as close to being done other than actually posting the reviews themselves.  Part of this will be not taking on a bunch of tours that month if I can help it, since I won't get the actual materials to post until November, so I can't count them as blogging ahead.

I've been getting a lot better about blogging ahead these days anyway. For one thing, if it is an ARC review that I am not part of a blog tour, I've been just setting up the post and leaving my rating and review blank for now, just waiting to finish reading, and then saving the post for whenever I'm ready to set it to go live. But anyway, lets talk about what the point of this is.

The Goal

Build your total number of scheduled posts by 31!

On October 1st take your number of scheduled posts and add 31.

Whatever that number is...that's your goal for the month.

You'll end the day on Oct 31st with that many scheduled posts. Woots!

Example- If you start October with 5 scheduled posts 

you end Oct with 36 scheduled posts.

 

Who Can Join

Any blogger or author can join. 

Brand new, been around for years...

Blogger, Wordpress or other platform...

Any heat level, genre or theme, etc.

If you blog...you're welcome to join!

Types of Posts that Count?

Any posts that you finish in October and will publish November 1st or later...count! 

Meme, review, guest post, interview, discussion.

Cooking posts, pet posts, photo posts, etc. 

Posts do NOT have to be book related.

What Should You Do Next?

1] Add your blog to the linky list HERE. 

2] Create a blog post to keep track of your goals!

Don't forget to link back to the original post so others can join in!
This can be done any time from now until Nov 1

3]Spread the Word--invite your friends/fellow bloggers!

4] Grab the button!

So, I'll probably get a lot of future review posts ready to go like I have right now.  Hopefully this will help me to have my reading time for all the books I've got planned to read, not to mention all the writing I hope to get done!

Sign Up Post for Blog Ahead Challenge 2017

Once again I'm signing up for the Blog Ahead Challenge hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup.  I always find this to be a huge help whenever I am participating in NaNoWriMo.  Which I do intend to do again this year.  Although this year, I'm planning to edit and revise my NaNo story from a few years ago that is the only one I've ever finished. That way I can get it ready to either start trying to submit to publishers, or maybe just ready to self-publish if I decide to do that. But as I've never finished and then gone through the revising process, I feel like that is important to do. 

The Goal

Build your total number of scheduled posts by 31!

On October 1st take your number of scheduled posts and add 31.

Whatever that number is...that's your goal for the month.

You'll end the day on Oct 31st with that many scheduled posts. Woots!

Example- If you start October with 5 scheduled posts 

you end Oct with 36 scheduled posts.

 

Who Can Join

Any blogger or author can join. 

Brand new, been around for years...

Blogger, Wordpress or other platform...

Any heat level, genre or theme, etc.

If you blog...you're welcome to join!

Types of Posts that Count?

Any posts that you finish in October and will publish November 1st or later...count! 

Meme, review, guest post, interview, discussion.

Cooking posts, pet posts, photo posts, etc. 

Posts do NOT have to be book related.

What Should You Do Next?

1] Add your blog to the linky list HERE. 

2] Create a blog post to keep track of your goals!

Don't forget to link back to the original post so others can join in!
This can be done any time from now until Nov 1

3]Spread the Word--invite your friends/fellow bloggers!

4] Grab the button!

 

That's it!  This has always helped me, and has even got me in the habit of keeping things posted ahead on a weekly basis.  So now the goal will be to get next month planned, as much as I can, since a lot of my posts are now tours it seems, I will be doing a lot of other types.  Making sure I get all my reviews done ahead, but then saving for November.  Should help with my revising time!

Review: Savaged Dreams (Savaged Illusions Trilogy #1) by Jennifer Lyon

Book info:
Title:  Savaged Dreams
Author:  Jennifer Lyon
Series:  Savaged Illusions Trilogy #1
Genre:  NA Rock Star romance
Release Date:  June 19th, 2017
Source: Review copy from Herding Cats and Burning  Soup tours
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:
Going away to college gives LIZA GLASNER a chance to escape her painful and dangerous past…or so she thinks. At fourteen years old, she survived an attack by a famous musician. After that, the media, groupies and crazies hounded her with a merciless cruelty that ruined her life. But now she’s thriving—until an internship brings her face to face with the sizzling hot lead singer of a rock band, and she finds herself drawn to the very thing that once destroyed her. Justice is a temptation she can’t resist…and one that could get her killed. 

Sexy rock star JUSTICE CADE is determined to take his band, Savaged Illusions, to the top by winning the Court of Rock T.V. show. Tortured by guilt for failing his family, he believes fame is his only path to redemption. But when the fiery college-intern hiding her beauty beneath baggy sweaters and a snarky attitude bursts into his life, Justice is forced to choose between the woman he loves and the stardom he craves. The wrong choice will cost him more than he can bear.

My Review:
I've been in love with rock star romances for a while now, not sure if it started with Crystal Kaswell's Sinful Serenade series, or Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series. But it doesn't matter, this book definitely ranks right up there for me with these others that I loved.  Liza's past is one that really is intense.  Her past also makes a great path for her to try to  help other people who have been in the same situation as she was, not to mention gives her a chance to be a voice when her family had her stay silent and figure things out on her own.   Justice, the rock star of the story, is one that has his own demons.  With a mom that deserted him, blaming him for the PTSD issues that her husband, Justice's father, let take him away from the family.  The two come together through a reality tv show, which is another plus for me.  I do love reality tv shows, especially this very type!  As someone who started with American Idol from the very first year, and now is watching the new show Boy Band, this story-line really grabbed my attention.    
Justice is really great. Very patient with Liza, and definitely seems to be willing to help her through what she wants.  But he also has his own issues, he really wants to win, and honestly, his band needs to win in order to help Liza out with her plans.  I liked the other characters as well.  The other bands made for great friends and foes.  All in all it was a great read, hard to put down, and now I have to wait for book two.  I will definitely be requesting book 2 to review as well!  

If you like rock star romances, this is one to add to your TBR list! 

Mini Blog Ahead #2

I always like participating in these challenges, because they are ones that I usually can complete and they always help me out in the long run, instead of adding more things for me to get done.  And with it being summer, and school being out for the next two months, this is the perfect time to try to get ahead, something I really want to do this summer.  What I'm hoping to do is get a bunch of reviews done from the backlog of books I've finished, but not had time to post reviews on. So that is what I'm going to use for my posts for this challenge. 

If you've never heard of this, here are the details from the host site Herding Cats and Burning Soup:

This challenge is all about getting ahead in your blogging by upping your number of scheduled posts by 15 during the challenge.

This is great prep for vacations, emergencies, and just helping get through blogging slumps or busy weeks. Having posts ready to go so you don't have to worry about them can be a huge relief!

 

Dates: June 15- June 30th

Goal: Schedule an additional 15 posts during the challenge.

On Day 1 of the challenge take your number of scheduled posts and add 15 to that. This is the number you need to have at the end of the challenge.

If this sounds like something you'd like to join into, create your own sign up post like this one, then click on the link before the description above and go link up!  Now, while the above listed goal is 15 posts, I'm hoping I can do more than that, and maybe get all books other than future review posts done and scheduled.   

Mini Blog Ahead #1 Sign-Up Post

Challenge Details:
Dates: March 1- March 15

Goal: Schedule an additional 15 posts during the challenge.

On Day 1 of the challenge look at your number of scheduled posts. Add 15 to that. That is the number of scheduled posts you should have finished at the end of the challenge.

Any type of post counts! It just has to be a completed post.

The only stipulation is it must go live AFTER the challenge ends in order to count.

I've participated in the month-long challenge in October for two years, it is very helpful when I do NaNoWriMo in November.  I feel like this is perfect timing for when I'm at Apollycon at the end of March.  So it is great to join in!  Plus, I haven't had more than one or two posts scheduled ahead this year, so it sounds good that way too.

If you want to join in, create your own sign-up post and go link up at The Herd Presents.

Review: Piece by Piece (Evergreen Grove Series #4) by Elisabeth Staab

Book info:
Title:  Piece by Piece
Author:  Elisabeth Staab
Series:  Evergreen Grove #4
Genre:  New Adult Romance
Published: September 20th, 2016
Source:  HCBS Productions Book Tours e-book for review
My rating:  4 stars

I participated in a Promo tour for this book, and while at the time I wasn't able to do a review in time, the tour group was nice enough to still let me have a copy of the book to review when I could fit it in.  I actually read a lot of this while I was at the NOLA StoryCon.  It was a quick read, very cute and sexy.  

There are two main characters that tell us the story, Ethan and Leeanne.  Ethan is a kind of nerdy college student.  When we first meet him, he's walked in on his dad having sex with the girl that Ethan thought was his own girlfriend.  So now Ethan feels like he hast to get out of the house where he lives with his dad.  He finds a new friend to move in with, until he can find a better place.  He also goes out for his birthday and gets drunk, everything going on, his best friends not making it to celebrate his birthday with him.  At the bar is a waitress that he's always kind of flirted with.  And this night, he decides to take the flirting a little further with Leeanne.

Leeanne is working at a bar after getting out of an unhealthy relationship.  She got the job from a friend, and she does her best to do what she can so that some day she can move on.  She doesn't want to give in to Ethan's flirting, but after saving her from a meeting with a friend of her ex that could turn violent, he makes his case in a very physical way.  Part of the reason she fights the attraction is that she doesn't feel good enough for a college student since she is just a waitress instead of going to school like Ethan.  

The two both have their own issues to work through, and while a lot of the book is predictable, there are still some new aspects to this story that totally make it worthwhile.  I did enjoy it, and now look forward to reading other books in the series, to see more about what happens to the other characters in the story.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of the cover.  The glasses are way too dorky for the guy, making him a little too dorky to be attractive in a nerdy way.
 

Sign Up Post for Blog Ahead 2015!!

I saw this challenge last year, and thought how helpful it would have been to do this in order to get ready for NaNoWriMo when I would be busy writing my novel instead of spending as much time blogging. So I decided to join in!  And here is all the information!

The Goal

Build your total number of scheduled posts by 31!

On October 1st take your number of scheduled posts and add 31.

Whatever that number is...that's your goal for the month.

You'll end the day on Oct 31st with that many scheduled posts. Woots!

Example- If you start October with 5 scheduled posts 

you end Oct with 36 scheduled posts.

Who Can Join

Any blogger or author can join. 

Brand new, been around for years...

Blogger, Wordpress or other platform...

Any heat level, genre or theme, etc.

If you blog...you're welcome to join!

Types of Posts that Count?

Any posts that you finish in October and will publish November 1st or later...count! 

Meme, review, guest post, interview, discussion.

Cooking posts, pet posts, photo posts, etc. 

Posts do NOT have to be book related.

What Should You Do Next?

1] Add your blog to the linky list HERE. 

2] Create a blog post to keep track of your goals!

Don't forget to link back to the original post so others can join in!
This can be done any time from now until Nov 1

3]Spread the Word--invite your friends/fellow bloggers!

4] Grab the button!

Join the FB group!

Need to squee about your progress or get a little moral support? 

We're here! We'll have tips and suggestions too!

We'll be using the hashtag #BlogAhead2015 for anyone wanting to tweet and such :)

This challenge got me posting ahead of time last year, all though not anywhere near this extent, and I didn't actually participate.  But I'm going to do it!  How about you? Want to join in?  If you do go join in, I'd love if you came back and left me a link to your sign-up post in the comments below, so we can keep track of how each of us is doing and give lots of encouragement throughout the month!