Fish Friday: The Electric Eel

Today on fish friday, I've decided to talk a bit about one of the most fascinating creatures of the fish world.  The electric eel.

Now this interesting little guy doesn't look like much, but he can pack a powerful punch.  He's capable of generating electrical shocks of up to 600 volts and 1 amperes! (Keep in mind that any voltage of 40 or as little as 20milliamperes--far, far less than the 1ampere the fish produces--is considered lethal to humans.) They use three unique organs called the main organ, the Hunter's organ, and the Sach's organ that create low volume and high volume electrical shocks through the use of electrolytes.


Here it is lightning a Christmas tree in Japan.



They use this electricity to kill their food, and also as a form of radar, sending small pulses from it's body to determine the size and location of their food.

A little bit more about this strange creature is that it's not really an eel, but a fish.  It's actually a knifefish and more closely related to the catfish, than an eel.  Like catfish, they're bottom dwellers. However, unlike the catfish (though some catfish CAN do this), they breath air. Having to go to the surface every 10 minutes or so to breath, before returning to the bottom.

And here's an awesome clip from my son's favorite show, RIVER MONSTERS.



As seen in that clip they live in the fresh waters of the Amazon and Orizon rivers in South America. They are generally seen in muddy or stagnant waters.  They can grow to about 6' 7" in length and up to 44 pounds.  They can have as many as 3,000 babies at each hatching.

Tip Thursday

Okay, so...I thought since we're getting close to my release I'd do a twist on my old tip Thursday, where I offered tips on writing. This time, it'll be tips about Elysium.  If you want to live in Elysium, you're going to need to know a few things about it. 

 Even if you can't see them, they can see you.  And they're always watching.

Wating On Wednesday: ANGEL EYES

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My selection for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

ANGEL EYES by Shannon Dittemore (Thomas Nelson) 

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Happy Book Birthday: DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE

 Happy Book Birthday to fellow apocalypsie and Floridian Jenny Torres Sanchez and her awesome book:

THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE by Jenny Torres Sanchez (Running Press)

 Charlie is handed a crappy senior year. Despite losing thirty pounds over the summer, he still gets called “Chunks” Grisner. What’s worse, he has to share a locker with the biggest Lord of the Rings freak his school has ever seen. He also can’t figure out whether Charlotte VanderKleaton, the beautiful strawberry lip-glossed new girl, likes him the way he likes her. Oh, and then there’s his mom. She’s disappeared—again—and his dad won’t talk about it.

Somewhere between the madness, Charlie can at least find comfort in his one and only talent that just might get him out of this life-sucking place. But will he be able to hold his head above water in the meantime?

Monday Musings: Pet Peeves

Photo credit: http://www.thebookladysblog.com/

I've been judging a lot of contests lately and while I love doing it, I've noticed that lately a lot of entries are hitting my pet peeves pretty hard. Specifically one.

Character development/motivation.

I think on my latest grouping of entries, I marked every entry down for character development.  Even the entries I loved.  And it's not just contest entries I've seen it in, it's in published books, too!

It's not that the characters aren't developed enough (although sometimes it is), it's that the motivation isn't there or doesn't match what we've seen of the character.

For instance, when a character states that he can't go through a portal to a different world because it's forbidden and he's afraid of the person who would enforce it, but then walks straight through that portal without a second thought and considers bringing someone back with him because they asked him, too, without a thought to the consequences. There lacks a certain motivation.

Now, if he had a thought that EXPLAINED why he did all that, despite the consequences, I'd believe it more.  But without that thought, or an explanation of some sort, it makes the characters unreliable and lacks that development I was talking about.  And it really drives me to distraction.

 So QFU: What's your pet peeve?

Also, the winner of my Birthday Bash giveaway is:

Erin PreFontaine

Congrats, Erin!  You should have received an email from me this morning with instructions.

Thanks again, everyone, for entering. Stay tuned for more contests soon!

Fish Friday

Since my book takes place under the ocean, I thought a neat feature to add to my blog would be to find cool, fishy or ocean-y things and highlight them.

So, yesterday I found this funny little guy on i09.

Image via i09

What? You say you don't find him very funny?  Then check out this video.  My favorite part is at about 1:43 where the winner is all, "Hmm, this looks like a good new home for me."  Moves in. "Hmm, this isn't right." Comes back out, fixes some things. "That ought to do it." Goes back in. "Nope, still not right." Comes back out. Fixes things. "Now that should be right." Goes back in.  "Damn it. NO! This isn't right. I'm just gonna go back to my home."

:P



Then there's this one.  The poor octupus is just taking a stroll along the bottom. "I'm just taken a walk. Might be lookin' for food. Might not. That's what taking a leisurely stroll is." Runs into Mr. Crabby sarcastic fish. "Oop. Pardon me, Fish."

Mr. Crabby fish:  "Oh no you don't. You don't enter my territory without permission." Attacks octopus.

Octopus: "Chill out, dude! I said I was sorry." Waves legs around.

Mr. Crabby fish: "My water. My water!"  Attacks octopus again.

Octopus: "Oh no you didn't." Starts whacking legs at Mr. Crabby Fish.

Mr. Crabby fish: "My water. My water!"  Continues attacking.

Octopus: "You know what? Screw you, dude. You crazy!"  Swims away the way he came.



And here's one last one that I think really show how really pretty they are.  I mean they're ugly, but they're also really pretty when they open their mouths really wide.  What's funny is that these guys are living in the same rock. Don't even know it, but when they see each other they're all like. "This is my rock." "No! It's my rock."



And now for some educational stuff in case you're interested.  A sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) is a fish that can be found in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America, from San Franciso to Baja, California. They generally live at a depth range of 9.8 to 240 ft.

They are mostly scaleless and can grow up to 12 inches wide.  Something unique of these fish is that after the women spawn they lay their eggs then leave, while the male protects them.

As you saw in a few of these videos, they are a very aggressive fish, but they can't see well, so they'll attack almost anything that passes w/in their field of view, even if the other fish is much larger.

However, when two sarcastic fish fight for territory, they press their open mouths together, like some bizarre french kiss in order to determine who the larger fish is.  I guess, in this circumstance, size really does matter.  :P

German Cover Reveal for RENEGADE!

I've been waiting forEVER to be able to show you all this. And to say I'm not a very patient person and this was killing me is an understatement. And you'll see why in a minute. 

I've now gotten two covers for RENEGADE (US and German) and I've been incredibly lucky that I can say that I love them both.   Even though they're so different from each other, they're perfect for the story in their own ways.

I could blab on and on about the fantasticness (Yes, it's a word. Even if I did make it up. :P) of the cover, but they say a picture says a 1,000 words, so I'll just let it speak for itself.

 

Isn't it lovely?!  I'm told that the German title, Tiefenrausch, means "rapture of the deep," which is pretty neat! At least to me.

And some more great news is I have a German release date of August 20, 2012 and it's available for pre-order at Amazon.

That's the only link I can find right now, but I'm sure it'll be available at other places soon, but feel free to check out the IVI site for more up-to-date information than I have.  

So, what do you think of my new cover?!

Waiting On Wednesday: The Downside of Being Charlie

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My selection for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE by Jenny Torres Sanchez (Running Press)

 Charlie is handed a crappy senior year. Despite losing thirty pounds over the summer, he still gets called “Chunks” Grisner. What’s worse, he has to share a locker with the biggest Lord of the Rings freak his school has ever seen. He also can’t figure out whether Charlotte VanderKleaton, the beautiful strawberry lip-glossed new girl, likes him the way he likes her. Oh, and then there’s his mom. She’s disappeared—again—and his dad won’t talk about it.

Somewhere between the madness, Charlie can at least find comfort in his one and only talent that just might get him out of this life-sucking place. But will he be able to hold his head above water in the meantime?

 

Happy Book Birthday: Gilt

A happy book birthday to the following Apocalypsie and her fab book:

GILT by Katy Longshore (Viking) 

In case you didn't see my WoW last week, here's the book cover and back cover copy.

In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free--
and love comes at the highest price of all.


When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.

BUY THE BOOK:
IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million
 
BUY THE eBOOK:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Monday Musings: Writing and Reading

I'm a voracious reader. Always have been.  As a teenager, my parents ended up having to hide my books so I would get my chores done because I would spend every chance I got reading.  It didn't really change when I had a family, except no one had to hide my books so I'd get my chores done.  :P 

However, things changed when I started writing.  It started off slow, like catching more errors than I did previously, to finally getting to the point that I books I'd previously read and loved, i couldn't read any more because I couldn't just read for entertainment anymore. I'd see every error. Every plot hole. Every missing comma.  So, now, I find it very hard to find books that are so good that I'm able to turn off my internal editor.  Which, has of course, really brought down the amount of reading I do. 

I've even started picking those things out in movies and television shows.  It's a bit depressing actually. LOL.

And now I'm finding I need to read certain books for certain reasons, but what I really want to do is chuck my e-reader out the window and gouge my eyes out.  ; ) Now, that's not to say there aren't a lot of FANTASTIC reads out there.  In fact, I have a TBR pile of books that I can't wait to read that take up an entire bookcase.  However, I do feel a bit like a book snob and I'm not sure I like the feeling.

So my question is, do you have the same problem? Are there certain books, that you just can't read because of your internal editor?  Have you figured out how to shut it off?

Birthday Bash Giveaway

It's my BIRTHDAY!  I love celebrating almost every occassion, especially my birthday. I don't know why. I guess normal girls stop celebrating birthdays after a certain point, but I always get excited about mine. :) But, no, I won't tell you how old I am. :)

So, onto the giveaway part of this blogpost. Because I love to giveaway things and I love celebrating my birthday, I'm going to giveaway an ARC of ARISE by Tara Hudson. I love this series and I was so excited to be able to get an ARC from RT.  And now I'm passing it along.  It was awesome, I'm sure you'll love it.

As you probably know ARISE is the stunning sequel to HEREAFTER.

Here's the back cover copy:


New Orleans
 
Saint Louis
 
Number One Cemetery
 
A night there can change a life . . . or a death.
 
Increasingly worried that dark spirits will carry out their threats and hurt the people she cares for most, Amelia is ready to try anything to protect them. And for his own very different reasons, Joshua has come to this cemetery at midnight to join her in a powerful ritual. Both know that once Amelia steps inside the Voodoo circle and the beautiful girl from the Conjure Café begins the ceremony, everything will change.
Tara Hudson's enthralling sequel to Hereafter escalates the danger and excitement, bringing a new dimension to her already mesmerizing story of a haunted love.

And a trailer!




What do you have to do to win?

Just fill out the rafflecopter widget below. It's that easy. Unfortunately I'm going to have to make this US only. Sorry International people, but I promise to do more international contests soon. 







a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner Announced: YAmazing Race Part Deux

Wow, you all are awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who entered my contest.  There was WAY more than I expected.  I honestly only expected a handful and ended up with almost 200 entries, so thank you!

And thank you for sharing the memories with me. Some made me laugh, some made me go, Aww! And some made me cry.  And let me just say that I'm so glad that I used random.org to choose a winner because if I was going on best memory, I wouldn't have been able to pick! 

Okay, so no further delaying. The winner of the ARC of RENEGADE is:

(Drumroll please)

 Jaime S

Congratulations, Jaime! I'll be sending you an email soon with details.  

For everyone else, thank you so much for entering! Please send me an email to j(DOT)souders(AT)jasouders(DOT)com with your mailing address so I can send you those signed bookplates.

Also, Friday is my birthday and I'm going to be doing another giveaway, so make sure to come back then.

Waiting On Wednesday: GILT

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My selection for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

GILT by Katy Longshore (Viking) 

In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free--
and love comes at the highest price of all.


When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.

I've always been a sucker for British historicals and King Henry VIII has always been fascinating to me. Plus, the cover is gorgeous.  Definitely on my list of can't wait for reads.

Happy Book Birthday

A happy book birthday to the following Apocalypsies!

STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth (FSG)

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

CHAINED by Lynne Kelly (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux)

After ten-year-old Hastin’s family borrows money to pay for his sister’s hospital bill, he leaves his village in northern India to take a job as an elephant keeper and work off the debt. He thinks it will be an adventure, but he isn’t prepared for the cruel circus owner. The crowds that come to the circus see a lively animal who plays soccer and balances on milk bottles, but Hastin sees Nandita, a sweet elephant and his best friend, who is chained when she’s not performing and hurt with a hook until she learns tricks perfectly. Hastin protects Nandita as best as he can, knowing that the only way they will both survive is if he can find a way for them to escape.

HEMLOCK by Kathleen Peacock (Katherine Tegen Books)

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

YAmazing Race with MGnificent prizes part Deux!

NOTE:  The race is officially over! Winners will be announced tomorrow on the apocalypsies blog for the race and for my own contest I'll announce here tomorrow along with instructions on how to get your signed bookplate. Thanks for entering!

ETA: I'm having trouble with my comments section for some reason. However, I'm still getting all comments, even if they can't be seen below. I will still be able to  draw a winner. :)

Whoot! It's that time again. Time for the 2nd YAmazing Race with MGnificent prizes! In case you weren't here for the first one, it's a blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors, and prize packs that include ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and more! If you haven’t yet been to the Apocalypsies website, please click here to start from the beginning and read the complete rules.



Welcome to my stop! Now on to the race!

RENEGADE by J.A. Souders

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. 

Her memories have been altered. 

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Got all that?

Great!   You’ll need remember it for the quiz ahead! And don't forget, you must complete ALL FIVE quizzes to be eligible for a prize pack.

But, wait! I have another giveaway for you!

Want to win an ARC when I get them?

Just tell me what one memory you don't want to lose in the comments and don't forget to add your email addy.

Bonus points:

• like on Facebook
• follow on Twitter
• follow this blog 

This contest is open internationally.  And as a special thank you, I will send a signed bookplate to EVERYONE who enters! Be sure to preorder your copy of RENEGADE today (IndieBound, Barnes And Noble, Book Depository, Books-A-Million, Powell's, Amazon ) to have something to stick it in!


Thanks for stopping by. Ready to move on?

Click HERE to go to the next stop on the race!

Happy Book Birthday!

A happy book birthday to the following Apocalypsies!



WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND by Tracy Bilen (Simon Pulse)

In this suspenseful thriller, Sara and her mother are going to secretly escape her abusive father—when her mother mysteriously disappears.Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it.     With each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.

 
THE VICIOUS DEEP by Zoraida Córdova (Sourcebooks Fire)

For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.

WELCOME CALLER, THIS IS CHLOE by Shelley Coriell (Amulet)

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.