Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "Parallel Infinities"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this series on August 1, 2016.

Today's excerpt is from author Honnah Patnode. Her novella is titled, "Parallel Infinities." Honnah is an accomplished writing enthusiast from the Advanced Journey to Publication Writing Program Curriculum.

The knocking sound rattled sharply within her skull again, faster and more insistent this time. The silver cord tugged at her, insistent to stitch soul and body together once more. Rosetta shook her head. Nothing made sense. No one could see her when she traveled like this, not ever. Not even those who joined her in an ethereal state of being could see her as more than a shadow, a footprint of her true self and no creature in a physical form was capable of peeking through the veil set between the skeletons and the souls. Who was this man? What was he? And why on earth had she felt so drawn to him when his voice had wrapped itself around her lungs and stolen her breath away? 

"How is this possible?" The inquiry came out a whisper, and the unfamiliar man squinted at her with a mix of confusion, fascination, and curiosity swirling in his eyes. He should not be able to see her. She should not be able to interact with him. She wanted to believe that something was wrong, but it did not feel wrong. In a strange way, there was a certain gladness she felt at the thought of a soul that she could see. 

The persistent knock tore through her mind again, loud enough to be a scream as it tumbled around inside her skull like boulders crashing down a mountainside. Rosetta tried to cling to the fabric of the fantasy, tried to snatch a piece of a world she could not touch and hold onto it until all waking moments left her to the blissful nothing in peace forever, but it was like trying to keep a dream in one's head after being forced to abandon it for the drudgery of morning. The waking world did not permit such things.
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To read more about Honnah and download her novella for FREE visit Honnah's Author Page on JLB Creatives.

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Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "A Life Renewed"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this series on August 1, 2016.

Today's excerpt is from 5 star author Lisa Andrew's A Life Renewed, a child's true to life story of being a cancer survivor.

One of the biggest shocks of that first week was the bone marrow test, which I had to get on the first day that I was in the hospital. I didn’t know much about the procedure, but my mom warned me that it was probably going to be really painful. The nurse took me into a small treatment room and told me to lie on my side on the examination table. My mom was standing next to me saying, “Everything is going to be okay. Just relax. It will only hurt for a few seconds.” 

Suddenly, I began to feel very heavy and all of my nerves seemed to disappear. The nurse said, “I’m just putting a little morphine into your IV to relax you.” The morphine made me feel very distant to what was happening. However, I was still very aware of what was going on! 

The doctor came in and started rubbing some alcohol and Betadine on my lower back. Then he started pushing his thumb into my bone. “You are going to feel a little pressure. I am just trying to find your hip bone.” The doctor was really pushing his thumb into me pretty hard. Finally he found his desired spot, and then he said, “Now you are going to feel some stinging. I am going to start numbing the area.” 

The stinging went really deep. “Ow! Mom, it hurts!” Tears started rolling down my cheeks as she tried to comfort me. 

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To discover more about our author Lisa Andrews or purchase her book we invite you to visit her author page on the JLB Creatives website by clicking here.

Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "Wesley Out West"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this series on August 1, 2016.

Today's excerpt is from 5 star Rhonda Walker's children's book Wesley Out West. Not only is it an entertaining story, it's a wonderful educational tool for children, and the illustrations are nothing shy of amazing!

“Hello, Wesley,” said Octopus, holding out two of his arms.  “I heard you say you never get to do anything exciting.  
I am from Big West, and we need someone to save our town.  
Old Walter the Whale has taken over.  We need a brave sheriff. 

Will you help us?”


To discover more about our author Rhonda Walker, watch Wesley's book trailer, or purchase you copies of Wesley Out West we invite you to visit Rhonda's author page by clicking here

THIS JUST IN!

IT'S ALMOST TIME! MARK YOUR CALENDARS...OCTOBER 6!

GET SIGNED UP TODAY...

As proud supporters of the Pickford Community Library and teachers of their Young Writers Workshop we are excited to announce the fifth year is gearing up for young writers in Michigan.

This group of aspiring young writers is where our Journey to Publication Writing Curriculum was birthed and developed. This group holds charter members who we have watched come up through the ranks of writing to become successful authors.  

Straight from Pickford Community Library in Pickford, Michigan...

PICKFORD COMMUNITY LIBRARY YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP BEGINS ITS FIFTH YEAR ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT 7 PM

Pickford Community Library’s Young Writers Workshop is ready to kick off another fabulous year. Starting on October 6, 2016, young aspiring authors will begin their journey to become published. New writing enthusiasts will write short stories, poetry, essays, micro-fiction, and flash-fiction; returning enthusiasts can choose to expand their writing abilities by composing longer works (novellas or novelettes) in most genres.

Pickford Community Library
Young Writers Workshop
Writing Enthusiasts: 2015- 2016 Season

The workshop meets every other Thursday evening from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the Pickford Community Library. It concludes in mid-May with a “Book-Release Soirée” for the authors, their parents and friends, and other special guests who support the literary arts for young adults. Young aspiring authors from grade 6 through college who are interested in learning the ins and outs of becoming a published author are welcome—and encouraged—to attend the free workshop sessions. This program is open to all students in the Eastern U.P. and currently has enrollees from Pickford, Rudyard, Cedarville, Kinross, and Sault Ste. Marie.

Janet Beasley of Florida (author and CEO of JLB Creatives Publishing) and Dar Bagby of Brimley (author, illustrator, and Senior Editor at JLBCP) are the co-instructors of the course; Janet participates at each adventure session via Skype. All participants’ works will be published in eBook form free of charge by JLB Creatives Publishing, and no one (author or publisher) collects royalties. At the end of the workshop, each story/eBook will be made available to the public, free of charge, through SmashWords and the “Book Shoppes” at JLBCreatives.com. The works will also be available for digital checkout via Overdrive at most U.P. public libraries.

The Young Writers Workshop was founded by Pickford Community Library Manager Ann Marie Smith in 2012 and is free and open to the public. If you would like to enroll, please contact Ann Marie at the library before October 6 at 906-647-1288 or at amsmith@uproc.lib.mi.us The Pickford Community Library is located at 230 East Main Street in downtown Pickford. We look forward to hearing from you!

Happy 91st Birthday to WWII Navy Veteran Carl L. Young!

WWII Navy Veteran Carl L. Young
Sailed the Melvin R. Nawman DE-416

Welcome blog fans! We're so glad you stopped by this post. It is a very special post as today is Carl L. Young's 91st birthday, and he is still with us to celebrate such a milestone!

Who is Carl L. Young you ask? He is a WWII navy veteran and is the true-life author of the journal from which our author, J. D. Karns, crafted his first novel, 28 Months of Heaven and Hell. 

28 Months of Heaven and Hell is a hot title that is receiving attention in the veteran world and rave reviews from all walks of life. 

Karns pulled actual facts from Carl's WWII navy journal (that he kept while sailing on the Melvin R. Nawman DE-416), and stunningly wove them into a historical fiction novel that takes the readers not only into the Pacific, but also the challenges and emotions that arose in the home-front back in his home state of Ohio.

When Carl returned home from the war his youngest brother, Charles, asked him to tell him all about it. He told Charles, "Some day, little brother, some day." 68 years later Charles began receiving emails from Carl...but they weren't just any emails. The emails were journal entries. It was 168 emails later that 28 Months of Heaven and Hell was written. JLB Creatives Publishing was honored to work with this family and their project plus publish J. D. Karns for the first time in his life...he was 82 years old, and still lives today.  

Carl's actual journal lying atop a copy of
28 Months of Heaven and Hell
(All rights reserved)

This novel has achieved more than rave reviews. When you understand the back story you'll find it is a heartwarming story far beyond the pages. 28 Months of Heaven and Hell not only holds the haunting tales of war-life, but it also has brought a family back together. Charles and Carl had lost contact with each other for over 60 years. Thanks to social media and email they found each other once again. 

When the novel was released, Charles was re-introduced to numerous family members he hadn't seen for many years and introduced to several he didn't even knew he had. Charles now stays in contact and communicates with many of them. His oldest nephew made a special trip to Florida to let Charles hold Carl's actual journal in his hands. Needless to say the moment brought tears of overwhelming emotion to everyone's eyes. 

Both Carl and Charles were thrilled beyond belief when they had the chance to Skype with each other for the first time this past July.    

Here's a couple of excerpts from 28 Months of Heaven and Hell. Both excerpts are based on information straight out of Carl's journal.

Carl L. Young 1945
Honolulu

Excerpt 1:

BAM! The big wave hit. Chester felt the ship list, and he checked his gauges. He quickly made peace with his maker when he saw that the Nawman was listing at sixty-plus degrees! Strapped in his chair, on his way to being upside down, he detested the thought that his gut feeling had been right many weeks before. He thought of the box of letters he had left with Jeb. The radio went dead, and he was certain this was the end. The Nawman’s creaking, snapping, and low rumbling brought him to tears. He closed his eyes and whispered, “I love you Mom, Dad, Mike, Jeb, and especially you, Sue. I’ll see you in Heaven.” He braced himself for the worst. 

The Melvin R. Nawman rolled back upright. 

Chester sat in awe. He screamed as he banged on the radio, but no sound returned. He felt he could do no good from his chair now, so he unbuckled his seat straps and jumped from his chair, his feet landing flat on the starboard bulkhead. From below deck aft he walked, stumbled, and crawled back and forth from the starboard bulkhead to the port bulkhead while the ship continued through the waves. Somehow he made it topside and into the pilot house. He grabbed Randall’s leg for balance and pulled himself up. 

“The mast! We’ve lost the main mast!” Randall shouted. Chester now knew why the radio had gone dead. He peered through the driving rain as best he could and saw the enormous mast dangling over the side of the ship with cables still attached, making for a dangerous situation. 

Excerpt 2:

As the ship drew closer to the island, Chester said to Randall, “It’s hard to imagine we were just watching whales on a calm sea, and now we’re watching this.” 

A call came over the radio from the observation plane, letting the big ships know that their salvos and explosives were making direct hits; they were doing great. Chester looked at Randall when the sounds of the bombing began to escalate. 

GQ sounded, “Red alert! Bettys have been reported in the area.” Chester and Randall knew the kamikazes had to be close to the Nawman because of all of the extra fire power that opened up immediately after the alert. 

Chester walked to the porthole to see for himself, and what he saw shocked him. Rapidly the sky was filling with flack from all of the ships firing their big guns. Black smoke began to cover the water’s surface, and not long after the fires ignited, the faint smell of gun powder seeped into the sonar room. 

Randall squeezed his face next to Chester’s to take a look. “Looks pretty bad out there, but we’re winning, I just know it!” He stepped back, leaving Chester the full view once again. 

“OH MY GOD!” Chester stood motionless, his face glued to the glass. “She’s coming right at us. We’re gonna die. We’re really going to die. Right here. Today.” He reached his hand out. Randall grabbed it and pushed his face back onto half of the glass. Chester could feel Randall shaking. They put their arms around each other and stood in awe. Chester barely squeaked out, “That Betty’s too low. Our boys can’t gun her down.  She’s too low. She’s too low. OH MY GOD! SHE’S TOO DAMN LOW!” He could not close his eyes. He and Randall braced for the impact.

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J. D. Karns

To learn more about our author, J.D. Karns, click here. To purchase a print copy or an ebook of 28 Months of Heaven and Hell from Amazon click here.

Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "Whooo's Coming to Dinner?"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this Monday series on August 1, 2016.

Today's excerpt is from 5 star author Amy Sellers's Miss Amy's Rhyme Time Collection - Whooo's Coming to Dinner?


Jelly Beans, Jelly Beans in a jar, 
Billy thinks the BLACK ones 
taste like TAR! 
Whitney wants the WHITE ones, 
PURPLE is for Paul, 
Rhonda likes the RED ones, 
and Andy eats them ALL!
Jelly Beans, Jelly Beans in a jar, 
Billy thinks the BLACK ones taste like TAR! 
Oliver eats ORANGE ones, 
Grant gets the GREEN. 
In just one day 
the kids will eat the whole jar clean!

Jelly Beans, Jelly Beans in a jar, 
Billy thinks the BLACK ones taste like TAR! 
Yolanda likes the YELLOW ones best so far. 
But where has little Billy gone? 
To find a CANDY BAR!

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To discover more about our children's author Amy Sellers or to purchase her Miss Amy's Rhyme Time Collection of books we invite you to visit Amy Sellers's author page at JLB Creatives Publishing

Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "Sydney Finds a Job"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this Monday series on August 1, 2016.

Today's excerpt is from 5 star children's book author Thom Battisto, Sydney Finds a Job. Thom is the owner of the Read to Sydney Foundation, a nonprofit entity that is teaching children to read...one "tail" at a time. 

I will find a job, thought Sydney, and off she went to figure it out. Just then Tom headed out the door to get the morning paper. Sydney had an idea. Get the paper. I can do that! She raced past Tom and grabbed the paper. Hang on tight, Sydney thought.

Tom laughed and called out to Sydney, “Bring the paper here, good girl!” Sydney dropped the newspaper at Tom’s feet. Oops! There was a problem. What do you think the problem was? That’s right:  the newspaper was very wet and dripping with slobber. Tom patted Sydney’s head. “You’re good at fetch Sydney, but this is not the job for you.” Sydney agreed that wet papers are yucky. She set off to find herself a different job.

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If you would like to discover more about our author Thom Battisto or purchase a book (all proceeds go toward funding the Read to Sydney Foundation) visit Thom's author page on the JLB Creatives Publishing website.

Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "Boelik"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this Monday series on August 1, 2016. 

Today's excerpt is from author Amy Lehigh's YA fantasy novella Boelik. Amy is an accomplished writing enthusiast from the Advanced Journey to Publication Writing Program Curriculum, and now serves as an apprentice editor for JLB Creatives Publishing.

As dawn’s light began its sweep through the forest, Boelik stretched out of bed. “What does the morning bring me,” he yawned. “Little birds again today, or shall I find some large game by chance?” Boelik walked out of his home, finally able to stretch his arms all of the way without the low roof. He made himself a breakfast of meat and berries near a small fire. When finished, he put his fire out once more and began to head for the heart of the forest, opposite the traveler’s path to the village. But no further than a few steps from his grove, Boelik heard a young woman’s scream come from the path.

Whipping around, his cloak fluttering absentmindedly behind him, he wondered if he truly heard what he thought he did. But while he hesitated, another scream assaulted his ears. Boelik dashed for the path, speed beyond any human’s causing him to be no more than a blur in the forest. He stopped just short of the path to crouch in the bushes and assess the situation.

The young woman who had bumped into Boelik in town the previous day screamed again, eyes wide with terror. In front of her lithe frame, sprawled back on the ground and gaping in fear, was a large brown-black wolf. The beast snapped at her, and she beat its muzzle back with what seemed to be the only thing on her: a basket of apples. The fruits rolled across the ground as the wolf stumbled back for an instant, toward Boelik’s hiding place. He took the chance to leap onto the wolf’s back, hooking his arm around its neck and locking his long legs around its waist. It snarled in reply and was quick to retaliate.

Air whooshed out of Boelik’s lungs as the wolf used its weight to crush him and make him release its throat. The maiden stared in fear as the two then stood and glared at one another. As Boelik glanced over to check on her, the wolf charged, eyes glinting with hunger as it bit into his human arm. Screaming as teeth dug into his flesh, Boelik twisted so that the woman would not see his furred arm flash out from beneath the cloak to punch the wolf between the eyes. When he was not released, he cried out and put his claws in the soft part between its chin and throat. The wolf made a gurgling growl as it stared at him with wild eyes, their light fading.

At last the beast let go, dropping to the ground, its crimson blood mixing with the red apples. Boelik cast a quick glance at the woman before running off, much closer to a proper human speed, toward his creek. He had no desire to let her see any more of him lest she run and tell the villagers of the monster in the woods. Images of fire and swords and screaming horses swept through his mind; he shoved them away and kept running.

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To discover more about this Journey to Publication author and download her free ebook visit Amy Lehigh's author page on JLB Creatives Publsihing.