Butterfly Serenade 1st Bookaversary Giveaway -- Week 3
January 17, 2018 03:36 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Tags: Butterfly Serenade
Butterfly Serenade 1st Bookaversary Giveaway -- Week 2
January 10, 2018 03:10 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Tags: Butterfly Serenade
Butterfly Serenade 1st Bookaversary Giveaway -- Week 1
January 3, 2018 12:31 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Tags: Butterfly Serenade
Banned Books Week 2017
September 15, 2017 10:51 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Are you a rebel reader? I know I certainly am. I read whatever I choose to read and don’t really care much what others think of my reading choices. Not every book is going to be for every reader. We all have different tastes, interests, and preferences when it comes to reading, so while I will give you my opinions of the books I read via my reviews, I would never presume to tell others what they can – or can’t – read. Yet that’s exactly what happens when a person decides to challenge a book. It’s a form of censorship that’s stating that not only is this book not right for that individual but that they believe it isn’t right for anyone. And that’s just wrong! Every individual should have the opportunity to choose for themselves what books are right for them to read, or in the case of minors, each individual parent should have the right to choose what’s best for their children to read. But it’s my fervent belief that no one should have the right to choose for anyone else or another person’s kids. That’s why, each year, I support the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week, which seeks to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the challenging and in some cases, outright banning, of books.
Phoenix Comicon 2017 - Day 3
June 14, 2017 04:25 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Day 3 was the best of the three days we spent at Phoenix Comicon. This was the only day we went in costume as Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Kaylee Frye of Firefly, so it took us a tad longer to get ready. Sadly my husband wasn’t able to carry his prop gun, but at least I was able to take my parasol, which I’d previously thought would be disallowed, as they originally said no props of any kind. We headed to the convention center around 11 am again, and this time it only took about fifteen minutes to get inside. It appeared that lessons were learned from Friday, and they’d gotten all the kinks worked out of the security situation to make the lines flow much faster.
Categories: Events, Slices of Life
Tags: Alan Tudyk, Captain America, Con Man, Firefly, Kaylee Frye, Lord of the Rings, Malcolm Reynolds, Mr. Robot, P. J. Haarsma, Phoenix Comicon
Phoenix Comicon 2017 - Day 2
June 14, 2017 03:49 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
On day two of Phoenix Comicon, we didn’t have any scheduled events we wanted to attend until mid-afternoon, so we didn’t head over to the convention center until around 11 am. All I can say is that it was a good thing we didn’t have anything planned right away, because it took us about forty-five minutes just to get in the door. Because of the gunman situation the day before (you can read all about that in my Day 1 post), security measures for checking bags and wanding people had been hastily implemented, so the line was moving at a snail’s pace. Eventually we got inside, though, and we immediately went downstairs to see if Sherrilyn Kenyon was indeed in her booth like she said she would be. As luck would have it, she was, so I got my copy of Acheron, my favorite of her books, signed. After that we stopped by the Con Man booth again to get P. J. Haarsma to sign our DVD copy of the show. Then we started going up and down all the rows upon rows of cool stuff for sale, scoping out the things that caught our fancy, so we could come back later to purchase them. Turned out that wasn’t such a great idea, but I’ll get to the reasons for that later in my Day 3 post. Before heading back upstairs, I stopped by the big author’s booth again and was very excited to find Jim Butcher, another of my favorite authors, there. I fan-girled a little, got him to sign a few of my books, and got a photo with him, all of which made me a very happy camper. Authors are my rock stars, ya know.:-)
Categories: Events, Slices of Life
Tags: Con Man, Dollhouse, Jim Butcher, P. J. Haarsma, Phoenix Comicon, Sherrilyn Kenyon
Phoenix Comicon 2017 - Day 1
June 10, 2017 07:05 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
To celebrate our 23rd anniversary, my husband and I attended Phoenix Comicon for the first time. Even though we’re local, we decided to stay in a hotel two blocks from the Phoenix Convention Center where it’s held, rather than making the thirty-five mile round-trip drive back and forth every day. That also made it feel more like a real vacation. I’m not sure why it took two geeks like us so long to give this a try, but… there you have it.:-) Better late than never, I always say. Since it was out first Con, things didn’t always go entirely as planned, but we learned a few things along the way that will help if we go back again, which I’m sure we will.
Categories: Events, Slices of Life
Tags: Alan Tudyk, Con Man, Firefly, P. J. Haarsma, Phoenix Comicon, Rayko Dig, Sherrilyn Kenyon
Banned Books Week 2016
September 10, 2016 02:29 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Since 1982, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has been sponsoring the annual celebration of Banned Books Week during the last week of September. This year it will run from September 25 – October 1. As the ALA’s website states Banned Books Week “celebrates the freedom to read” and “highlights the value of free and open access to information.”
Romance Novel Convention 2016
June 10, 2016 08:11 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I returned home from Las Vegas a few days ago, my head full of new information, my heart full of love for friends that have become like family, and my mind full of exciting new memories. As with the past three years, the Romance Novel Convention transported me to a fun and magical place that almost has a dreamy quality to it. I can’t quite explain it to anyone who hasn’t attended and experienced it for themselves, but it’s a place that comes alive with it’s own special heart, soul, and energy, so much so that each time, I’ve hated to leave it behind.
This year’s RNC had an intimate quality to it as well. It always has, but this year even more so. I felt like I got a chance to interact with more people and on a little more personal level. Each of the past couple of years at RNC, I was blessed to find a new friend, but this year, it was more about deepening relationships with people I’d previously met and then gotten to know over social media. I also met new people who I hope to get to know better. Each year at RNC, I’ve stepped just a little further outside my deeply introverted comfort zone, and I’ve never been disappointed with where that’s taken me. For anyone who knows me well, that’s a huge deal.
Categories: Events
Tags: Anya Kelleye, Captain America, David Nicholl, Jami Brumfield, Jimmy Thomas, Julian Mora, Kelleye Richards, LaVerne Thompson, Linda Rae Sande, Love Between the Covers, Marvel's Agent Carter, Melissa Stevens, Michael Hendrickson, Renee Waring, Romance Novel Convention, Susan Newman, Taabia Dupree, Tara Rose, Victoria Alexander
Romance Novel Convention 2016 Preview
May 28, 2016 02:44 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
In just three days, I’ll be heading to Las Vegas to attend the 4th Annual Romance Novel Convention. I’ve had so much fun at the last three, I can’t wait to get started. I’ve made many friends there who have become like family to me, and I’m eager to see all of them again. It’ll be a family reunion of sorts.:-) I’m also looking forward to meeting new people, learning great information in the educational classes, and having fun at the evening activities and at the Book Fair on Saturday. I know I’m going to have a great time.
Categories: Events
