What Casts the Shadow? by Seth Mullins #99cent #sale

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Stories about musicians always grab my attention. I am a wannabe musician, love music, and have several friends who are musicians. Even better is when the musician has a story that can be inspiring to others. You never know how your life is going to change when you meet people. This story speaks to just that. The concept of a spiritual journey accompanying music is intriguing. Best of all, this book is available for under a dollar right now. Go ahead and check it out. Get inspired. You can’t beat the price!

 

WhatCaststheShadow

What Casts the Shadow?

Brandon Chane is an artistic visionary, a profoundly gifted young musician and poet. He is also deeply troubled, and seemingly at the mercy of dark forces that threaten to tear his life apart. He has risked all of his fragile hopes upon the fate of his band, Edge of the Known, and the dream of following his Muse.

Here he narrates the incredible journey that begins when he meets Saul Mason, an enigmatic soul-guide who insists that Brandon’s life and destiny are of his own making. Saul’s wisdom and guidance sets Brandon upon a path of spiritual awakening; and this inner transformation reverberates not only within his own life but also within the lives of all the hungry, searching souls who are touched by his music…

Purchase on Amazon only $.99 for ebook or $12 paperback

 

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About Seth Mullins

Seth Mullins first conceived of his dream to write novels in his early teens, and this one desire has stayed with him throughout all the other myriad twists and turns of life. His inspirations include methods of inner exploration such as dream-work and shamanism and his experiences as a songwriter and performing musician. He studied creative writing at Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico and Lane Community College in Oregon.

 

#ReleaseDay The Psycho Collection by B.R. Paulson

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Do you have an author whose new releases are an automatic one-click for you? For me, one such person is the amazing Bonnie R. Paulson. I was introduced to her a couple of years ago through one of her zombie series, Barely Alive. I’m not a big fan of zombies, but I was reassured that I would probably like this series, anyway, so I gave it a shot. I couldn’t put it down. As she released more books, I just kept on reading.

I love Bonnie’s books because you can’t help but get sucked into the characters and their lives. They are all so real that you feel like you know them all personally. The ones that are told in first-person truly make you feel like you are actually the character.

That’s why I am so excited for The Psycho Collection boxed set to come out. I am longing for some time to be able to really dive into this collection, because I know Bonnie’s storytelling capabilities and know that I will fall madly in love with each and every one of these stories. I hope you will, too. 

So read on to find out more about this series and then download your set on your favorite reading platform. Stop back and let me know what you think!

EVERYONE HAS A LITTLE PSYCHO INSIDE…

 

The Psycho Collection Box Set

Purchase The Psycho Collection on your favorite reading platform:

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PSYCHO INSIDE ME

I killed my first victim at thirteen years old – my age, not his. He was going to rape me, him and a couple of his friends. And so, I killed him. And then… I killed again. And again.

At seventeen, I’m killing four to six times a year – maybe more. Don’t stress out. I only go after the pedophiles and rapists. There are more out there than I could cover in a lifetime.

Saying I did this on my own would be selfish. Enforcing justice holds a glory all its own. But now, my lifelong friend and backup, Deegan, has been arrested. I have to decide if I want to give myself up and take his place or leave him with all the damning evidence. I don’t want to stop killing. But if I let him take the fall, I can’t kill anymore. And I need to keep doing that.

But the worst part of it all? I love him.

DICTATING DEATH

Samantha wants to love him.

Maria wants to kill him.

Dr. Luke Lawson has no idea that the girl he’s dating has split personalities fighting to control her body. Samantha must keep Luke safe at all costs.

If Samantha wins, Maria will die and disappear forever – taking Samantha with her.

If Maria wins, Dr. Lawson will die and she and Samantha will move on to the next doctor – the next kill.

But Luke is special.

He could save Samantha from herself… but only if Samantha can save him.

WATCH ME BURN

Levi

I’ve been in love and it hurts.

We hurt each other.

On purpose.

I can’t escape the guilt.

Megan

I don’t want to be just friends with Levi.

But I will be.

He’s been hurt before and I just want to be there for him.

Someone needs to be on his side.

Chelsea

Levi Cole is mine.

I want him.

She can’t have him.

She needs to die.

WAH: UserTesting.com

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This past summer when I was looking for some summer income and was contemplating leaving my teaching job, a friend told me about UserTesting.com. She said she knew someone who was easily making a hundred or two per month by reviewing websites. I thought about it for a bit, but then forgot about it for a while.

This past winter, I decided to go ahead and try the site. Any little bit of additional income is welcome during this transition. I had also just gotten a great set of headphones with microphone for Christmas, which is absolutely necessary when working on a site like this.

How UserTesting.com Works

Basically, the way that it works is you have to take a screener survey for most of the opportunities. There may be a couple for which you are automatically qualified when they show up in your queue. Once you qualify for a test, or if it is an automatic one, you will want to make sure your headset is properly plugged in. You do a quick test to make sure everything is properly functioning and then the test begins.

You are led through a series of tasks. As you go through these tasks, you want to read the instructions out loud and then answer all of the questions. Give your thoughts and opinions. The point is to keep on talking. Say whatever is on your mind, no matter what your opinion is. The point is you are trying to shape the consumer experience. In fact, they sometimes say if you think you are talking too much, it is probably just right. Another thing to remember is that most tests will want you to interact for a full ten minutes. Keep an eye on your timer in the upper right corner by the instructions. Don’t use a bunch of filler when speaking, but give a lot of good opinions as you maximize your time.

I do UserTesting.com tests on my Windows-based computer. Note that it does not currently work on a Chromebook. You can also do them on a Mac. You do have to download their software so that the screen recorder can capture your voice and how you are interacting with the site. No worries about their downloads or having problems with any of this.

You do have the option of doing UserTesting.com on a mobile device. I have seen tests for tablets and both Android and iPhone. Unfortunately, when I tried to get my phone hooked up for these tests, the software didn’t seem to be compatible, though it should have been. I am hoping that when I eventually get a new phone, this will no longer be an issue. I always seem to have more mobile testing options than computer-based options!

How much money can you earn by doing tests on UserTesting.com? Well, most of the website tests are worth $10. Most of these tests will only take about ten minutes of your time. You can’t beat that hourly rate for sitting at home in your pajamas! Longer tests will sometimes offer more money. You may also qualify for moderated sessions where you interact in an online meeting environment to discuss websites and products. I did one that took an hour and was paid $70 for it.

The amount of money you are going to make, though, is completely dependent on how many tests you receive. I definitely do not qualify for significantly more tests than I do qualify for. I started out getting a test every ten days to two weeks. As I qualified for more, though, I found that I was qualifying for at least one a week. In recent weeks, I have had even more opportunities available. I have heard that the more quality tests you perform, the more that will come your way. There are also little extra qualifying tests that pop up at the top of your dashboard. I do recommend filling those out. That was how I got into a moderated study.

Another thing I do is to keep the UserTesting.com tab open at all times on my computer. The dashboard will automatically update any time there is a new test available. It makes a little dinging sound to alert you and then you can see what is available.

My only complaint is that it takes such a long time to upload the tests. I have had to wait anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. That gets frustrating when you actually have a dashboard full of test options. They say it can be your internet, but I have high-speed internet and few issues on any other site. They also recommend using Ethernet, but does anyone really still have that? I don’t think any of my computers are even capable of connecting to an Ethernet wire.

UserTesting.com isn’t going to replace a full-time income, but it is a fun way to earn a little extra cash on the side. It is also fun to know that you are able to actually influence products and services that are out there. (Just remember you can’t talk specifics with anyone due to confidentiality reasons!)

Check it out and then let me know what your experience is like.

#ReleaseDay Freedom From Fear by Pauline Creeden With #Giveaway

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Pauline Creeden is a favorite author who has written several award-winning fictional books. On the other side, she also writes a lot about faith. Celebrate with her with her latest book that is releasing today. Freedom From Fear is a devotional to help you regain your faith in God and to free yourself from the fear that is paralyzing you in your life. It’s an easy read and an eye-opening one.

Even better? Just for the release today, her book The Prodigal Life is free on Amazon. So, you can get started on your journey without spending a cent. It’s a win-win investment in yourself!

Also exciting with today’s release is the giveaway that Pauline is doing. Three winners are going to receive two sets of Pauline’s ebooks. Winner’s choice from her catalog! Check out her other books here.

Read on to find out more about Freedom From Fear. Download your free copy of The Prodigal Life. And then enter the Rafflecopter at the end for your chance for more of Pauline’s books!

This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, it helps to support this blog. Thank you.

freedom from fearFear is a cage. It closes us in and keeps us from living in the freedom that we should be.

Some people get so overcome by fear that they cannot even leave their house. Phobias have become almost fashionable. We label our fears and hug them tight to us as if they are things we need to keep our security. We coddle them and keep them happy so that they don’t destroy us, and the last thing we want to do is provoke them. That powerlessness is what keeps us from accomplishing great things in our lives, whether personally or for God’s kingdom.

In Freedom from Fear, we explore the keys to our freedom through faith and obedience to God’s word. With this book, you’ll learn to put your trust in God’s character and turn to him when you’re feeling out of control.

 

Purchase Freedom from Fear

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Get The Prodigal Life for FREE On Amazon

 

Pauline CreedenPauline Creeden

Pauline Creeden is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.

 

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Enter to win Any 2 ebooks of your choice. 3 winners! She writes award winning fiction too! Check out her other books HERE Ends 5/24 Open INT

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One Week Since Prince Left Us

One week ago, I came home from my part-time morning job in an office in a great mood. The sun was shining and the weather was finally warm enough for me to sit in my outdoor office and work on some other things. I had some captioning to finish and then launched into social media work. As soon as I logged on to Facebook, I saw a post from my manager that Prince had died.

Whaaaaaa?

“Holy $h!t” was my response and then I clicked, thinking it couldn’t possibly be true. More and more posts kept scrolling past, each one confirming something I couldn’t wrap my head around.

How could Prince be dead? At 57 (which didn’t seem like his possible age), he should still be raring to go. He never seemed like a druggie nor an excessive partier. I mean, I was devastated when Scott Weiland died a few months ago and wallowed for several days, but I wasn’t totally surprised. He had been a mess for years. But Prince?

2016 is going to go down as the infamous year where too many celebrities met an untimely passing. Too many beloved parts of my past have been leaving. Perhaps it is some kind of Armageddon that we didn’t know about? Weiland, Bowie, Rickman all shook me. But Prince rocked me to my core.

In a way, that makes sense as he rocked me to my core when I was a young girl. I was only 7 when Purple Rain, the movie, was released. Technically, I was too young to watch the movie. But my cousin, who is three years older, brought it over for us to watch one day. I was immediately transfixed, and didn’t fully appreciate why until last week.

Prince bared his soul to us in that movie. If I remember correctly, it was somewhat based on his life, or at least that was the impression that I had. He had some struggles finding himself and his music, getting lost along the way, as many musicians do. This was the first time that I saw someone who had mixed race parents, though that was lost on me at the time. He had to deal with abuse and protecting his mother. Then there was all of the politics involved with being a musician back then, landing your gig and finding your voice and making an impact on the fans. How do you stay true to your own craft while embracing the talents of others around you? That anguish of being so deep in love and wanting the other person to also be successful in his or her own ventures.

And then the music. With Prince, it was always the music. I couldn’t possibly fathom at the time the greatness that I saw on the screen before me. I just knew that I felt something in every single song that he sang. I couldn’t comprehend the power between his lyrics and the masterful musician behind the captivating music. I just knew that I loved all of the songs, but Purple Rain got to me every time. Yes, part of my young mind was probably entranced by the fact that Prince loved the color purple and wrote a song about purple rain. I was, and still am, totally attracted to the color purple. I am penning this post while wearing purple pajamas and sitting in my bed of purple bedding. I even had a purple car through the majority of adulthood. But there was so much more than that.

Take a look at this clip from the movie.

Watching it as an adult and really paying attention, there is so much more going on here. I knew that this was the point in the movie where he made amends for his missteps. He is apologizing to Appollonia and to Wendy and Lisa, his bandmates. This is the performance that redeems him in the eyes of the promoters and fans. That much I was able to figure out, even at a young age. But now I notice the emotion. That man wasn’t acting at that point. He is exuding raw, heartfelt emotion and love for those in his life, and is seeking repentance for his mistakes. When he sings, you can feel the power of his penance and cry inwardly for him. Or, maybe you are crying outwardly. I know I can’t watch it now without getting teary, though for me that is nothing particularly new.

Looking back now, this was perhaps the song that taught me that even pop music could have feeling. This was likely one of those moments that helped to shape who I am today, though I wouldn’t have realized it at the time. This song is often stuck in my head for one reason or another. In fact, I was just singing it to myself within a few days of Prince passing away. Once I got the news, it started to play in a loop in my head and just won’t stop. When I finally hear it on the radio or online, I get super emotional all over again.

Lately I have been seeing posts on social media complaining about people focusing more on the loss of Prince and other celebrities, instead of focusing on “real heroes” like those who gave their lives fighting for this country. Here are my thoughts on that.

Yes, we need to mourn those who give their lives to protect our rights. Yes, the media circus has been kind of crazy. I mean, I heard a ton of Prince-related conversation on NPR this week, which I was not expecting. But the thing is, celebrities like Prince are significantly more personal to us than a soldier, unless that soldier is a personal acquaintance. It sounds shallow, but it is reality. Music is the soundtrack of our lives. Songs will elicit memories, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Those memories are a part of our core being. So when one of those celebrities dies, we feel like a part of ourselves has died. You don’t have the active and live reminders of things that you cherish about yourself. It hurts.

This is not to say that I do not feel sad when soldiers die. This does not mean that I am not concerned about the flooding in Houston, which was another complaint that I saw floating around. The difference is I do not know those soldiers who have died. I may have a few acquaintances and friends who live in Houston, but I am not the one who is living there. But I do have numerous personal connections to Prince and his music.

Watching Purple Rain was one of the ways that I could pretend to be cool around my cousin, to whom I looked up because she was older, and therefore, cooler. My childhood best friend sent me a message on Facebook reminding me that the first time she had ever seen the movie was over at my house. It was one of our bonding moments and something that we alluded to for years. When Prince released Diamonds and Pearls, one of my friends was lucky enough to get her hands on the tape and dubbed a copy for me. I was over the moon when she gave it to me. When 1999 rolled around, you can bet your arse we were dancing to that all night long. (I would post a few pics from that night, but some of my college friends may not be too happy with that.)

Prince’s voice was unique, his musical stylings unable to be truly replicated. His face became as familiar to me as a personal friend or a member of my family would be. While watching videos that fateful night after I heard he had died, it was reminiscent of looking at photos of my father or grandmother, who both died five years ago. It’s that familiar face that you have memorized but want to memorize even more because you know you won’t see it anew ever again.

A week later, it still hurts. There is still a hole left inside of me and millions of his fans. We have bonded over our love and memories for a man who was the most talented musician of our lifetimes. I was never fortunate enough to see him perform live, though it was always a goal of mine some day. Instead, I will just revel in the videos that have been left behind and will still try to make sense out of all of this while reminiscing my childhood and jamming to some amazing music.

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