Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everybody! I'm not really someone who reflects on the past because you can't undo anything, right? But I love fresh starts, even though I think we put way too much weight on the new year. A fresh start can happen on any day. No need to wait for Jan 1st. Anyway, I have resolutions and I have the same ones every year. I just try to go at them harder.

1. Be kind - Simple but it's easy to forget that everyone is fighting some kind of battle, and kindness can go a long way. I want to be an expert at making people in my life smile more. I want to listen and be a better friend.

2. Love hard - This has never been a problem. I love everybody, especially myself. LOL. Just saying. Maybe love MORE is a better resolution.

3. Volunteer with an organization I love - Truthfully, I've been busy, but this is my favorite thing to do.

4. Tell fear to go fuck itself - This one is my favorite because I learned about fear last year. I'm not the scared type. At all. "Bring it" is my motto. Writing opened up a WHOLE bunch of insecurities and uncertainties. If I have any regrets from last year, it's letting fear get the best of me. I saw a side of myself I didn't even know existed LOL. I didn't like it. And I'm over it.

So, here's to a renewal for all of us! Cheers!

Got resolutions?!

Fantasy casting for AFC.

I've been meaning to do this for a while but it's been hard as hell finding "Jesse," for a variety of reasons.

 

Jesse Chance (funny cause the actor played a Jesse on TVD) is our star here. He's a twenty-two-year-old former underground fighter with a lot of daddy baggage. Really caught between his old life and his new one. Really struggling with who he thought he had to be and who he wants to be. Sweet guy, flawed (you know I like them annoyingly flawed lol), maybe a little too into sacrificing himself for other people.

 

Drew Hallisay is probably my all time favorite female I've written. I really enjoyed writing Lana but I like Drew a lot. She's very take charge, intuitive, smart, a firecracker, (well, Jesse calls her spark plug....or spark for short sometimes), passionate, but her one weakness might be a certain young former underground fighter. Yes, her feelings get her all kinds of messed up. Her and Jesse's approach to things are very different, which is why they're so much fun to write. And they have history...like history history.

 

Miguel is Drew's good friend, and he helps Jesse get back on the fighting circuit. I love Miguel because he's pretty loyal as a friend, and I love the relationship he has with both of them. He might be my favorite character overall. 

 

Sandrine Estrada who lives a very dangerous life by choice. She's a disillusioned, former do-gooder who helps Drew and Jesse out in a big way as Jesse goes on his quest. Fun female character to write as well. She's a good friend of Miguel's.

Rámon Vega. A charismatic bad guy. Because they're the best (Also, the actor Freddy Rodriguez's dimples...yum).

AFC's Fantasy Soundtrack

Thank you guys for the huge response to the AFC e-ARCs signup. I'm not just saying this, but I'm still really freakin' surprise that you guys are reading anything I write. It's mind-boggling, frankly. But thank you for being awesome and supportive!

I've already contacted everyone who'll get one in a few weeks but thank you to everyone who signed up!!

So, I wanted to share with you my dream soundtrack for AFC, and these are the songs that would be on it if it existed. For now--sigh--just a playlist! My reasons for choosing these songs are so spoilery, so I left those off, but these lyrics all speak to the story so much. I'll share the significance of each one, post-publication. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them now and we'll see if they make sense once you get AFC in your hands.

Wildest Moments - Jessie Ware - 

Favorite Lyrics: Baby in our wildest moments/We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest/Baby in our wildest moments/We could be the worst of all.

Favorite Lyrics:  From the outside, from the outside/Everyone must be wondering why we try,
Why do we try.

Favorite Lyrics: You and I, blurred lines/We come together every time/Two wrongs, no rights/We lose ourselves at night.


The Devil Within - Digital Daggers -

Favorite Lyrics: I will keep quiet/You won’t even know I’m here/You won’t suspect a thing/You won’t see me in the mirror/But I crept into your heart/You can’t make me disappear/Til I make you.

 Favorite lyrics: You’ll never know what hit you/Won’t see me closing in/I’m gonna make you suffer/This hell you put me in/I’m underneath your skin/The devil within/You’ll never know what hit you.

Bones - MS MR -   Favorite lyrics: Boy with a broken soul/Heart with a gaping hole/Dark twisted fantasy turned to reality/Kissing death and losing my breath/Midnight hours cobble street passages/ Forgotten savages, forgotten savages.

Mad World -Gary Jules -  Favorite lyrics: No one knew me, no one knew me/ Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson/ Look right through me, look right through me.

XO -Beyoncé - Favorite lyrics: In the darkest night I’ll/ I’ll search through the crowd/ Your face is all that I see/ I’ll give you everything/ Baby love me lights out.

Stuffedy Stuff Stuff -- e-ARCs everywhere!

1. Calling all bloggers! AFC's February tour sign-up just went live at AToMR! Spots are going fast!* All items must go! I would love it if Jesse got a "Chance" to make the rounds.** Thank you! http://atomrbookblogtours.com/2013/12/17/tour-a-fighting-chance-by-a-j-sand/

*This is me making up shit.
**This is me being cheesy.

2. Calling all not bloggers! Remember you can still sign up for a chance to get an e-ARC of AFC. I'm giving out a few copies. You can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zgrOt7fPRWTQx1nMpZ4XrCdOaB2M3nGvW97FQCCEFw8/viewform through this Thursday, and I'm contacting folks who'll get them next month, on Friday.

AFC e-ARC signup --- one more week!!

One more week to sign up for a chance to get your hands on AFC before everyone else! I'll notify the people who are getting the ARCs next Friday. And I'll probably email them out around January 5 or 6th the middle of January.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zgrOt7fPRWTQx1nMpZ4XrCdOaB2M3nGvW97FQCCEFw8/viewform

AFC'S COVER REVEAL (FINALLY).

I didn't want to undermine all the blogs who were so kind enough to participate in AFC's cover reveal today, so I waited a bit to share it with you myself!  Please make sure to visit Arijana and Cover It! Designs on Facebook and let her know you love it! It was ALL her. 

A Fighting Chance cover reveal tomorrow...Here's where it'll be!

Another gigantic thanks to the amazing Arijana at Cover It! Designs for creating such an amazing cover! Thanks everyone who signed up and thanks AToMR for arranging the reveal!!!

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