jennzah.dot.net

oh crap, is it 2012 already??

jennzah — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:13:56 +0000

amongst all the nutso stuff that has been happening around the Crezzy househould (that’s me and Ants, if you didn’t know), it somehow became 2012. a bit of a rundown on what’s been going on :

1. Ants got made redundant from the Navy, and has been going through the resettlement process.

2. this means we are moving back to America sometime in March!

3. we’ve been busily working on collecting all his documents for his visa interview, which is on Wednesday.

4. my mum was here for 3 weeks over Xmas, which was hectic, because we managed to fit in a 5 day trip to Germany as well as all the xmas festivites with the Cresswell/Harvey clans. then we spent 4 more days in London-town sightseeing with her. so it’s been tiring!

so as you can see, it’s been a bit hectic. i loved Germany, it was fantastic! we’re off to London tomorrow to stay in a 5 star hotel as a treat for completing our visa journey, but then things should calm a bit until we start getting ready to move.

right now we’re watching the Rose Bowl – WISCONSIN vs. Oregon. GO BADGERS GO! we’re moving back to Wisconsin when we go so it’s gonna be great.

oh yeah, i reached my goal of 5o books this past year with the last one being a re-read of THE HUNGER GAMES. i love that book so much!

Random Acts of Kindness – September!

jennzah — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:35:37 +0000

so i’ve been going back and forth about participating in RAK for awhile… especially since my blog isn’t TOO active. but i thought, hey, i’ll give it a go.

Random Acts of Kindness is put together and hosted by the gals at Book Soulmates. It’s a way to give some goodies away just to be nice! you post your wishlist of books, whether it be Amazon or whatever, and then you see what kind of stuff you can give.

here’s my wishlist (all links lead to the BOOK DEPOSITORY website links, as i’m in the UK)

DRINK, SLAY, LOVE by Sarah Beth Durst

THE SPACE BETWEEN by Brenna Yovanoff

THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson

THE POISON DIARIES by MaryRose Wood

ENTHRALLED: PARANORMAL DIVERSIONS edited by Kelley Armstrong andMelissa Marr

BARGAINS AND BETRAYALS by Shannon Delany

ONE GRAVE AT A TIME by Jeaniene Frost

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake

TWISTED by Gena Showalter

AWAKE AT DAWN by C.C Hunter

THE GODDESS TEST by Aimee Carter

THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater

SUPERNATURALLY by Kiersten White

SOUL SCREAMERS vol 1 by Rachel Vincent

if you feel like sending me anything for your Random Act of Kindness, please EMAIL ME for my contact address!

nope, not really dead.

jennzah — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:31:02 +0000

so yeah, we moved, and then this site kinda went pwwwwop. that’s totally my bad. but i can explain, we were really busy. in the last two months we’ve been out of town more than we’ve been in. we’ve had birthday parties, classes, stag dos, lunches with friends, etc. now it will quiet down for the next two weeks until we’re off to Cambridge Folk Festival at the end of the month.

i apologise for not being around. but i’ve been working on some things — including a new review site that i’ll work on with my friend Sarah. watch this space for that website address.

other than that, not much happening in the Cresswell house. we’re enjoying our new home where it’s quieter and much more tolerable than where we used to live. just waiting on some news to see if we’re moving again next year. will let you all know about that soon too.

FOREVER TRAILER CONTEST

jennzah — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:05:58 +0000

for you, Maggie!! (and for me, because i’d love to win, ha!)

FOREVER comes out in AUGUST. i cannot wait.

Up & Coming

jennzah — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:25:57 +0000

so, yeah. there’s been radio silence here at the site for ages. this is because there’s been chaos alike going on in the Jennzah household. my husband and I are in the process of moving to Portsmouth, about three hours east of here. we’ll finally be moved and stuff on the 9th of May. Also, i’ve head my head deep in a book for what seems like the last month or two (lots of books, actually), so i’ve neglected this blog considerably. but guess what?? i’ll be (trying) to make up for it after the move.

I’m planning on giving away a set of my friend Nancy Haddock’s amazing LA VIDA VAMPIRE series to make up for it. there will also be an interview about the series, including her newest book, ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE. i’m also going to try to lock down some other interviews/giveaways in that time frame. so look out for this site!!

and, what have i been reading since i left you?? well, here’s a list :

The EVERNIGHT series (books 2,3,4) by Claudia Gray
HUNGER by Jackie Morse Kessler
I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pittacus Lore
THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy by Suzanne Collins
WITHER by Lauren DeStefano (a favourite)
HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter

all really good reads. i think dystopian is what i’m really into at the moment though, because i’ve just started MATCHED by Ally Condie. along with reading i’ve also been hard at work at editing my WIP, and of course planning this move!

so keep watching, people! it’s going to be a great summer!

Waiting on Wednesday : SWEAR by Nina Malkin

jennzah — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:05:42 +0000

if you know me, you know i don’t do things traditionally at ALL. so it’s not a Wednesday, but im posting my WAITING ON anyway

SWEAR by Nina Malkin.

The description from Amazon.com :

It’s been six months since ghost-turned golem Sinclair Youngblood Powers confessed his love, stole Dice’s heart, and disappeared from Swoon, perhaps from existence. Despite the hurt, Dice has been moving steadily toward ordinary. Dreams of Sin still plague and pleasure her sleep, and the mark of Sin’s love remains on her skin, still sore. But Dice has been throwing herself into music, finding solace in song and sometimes even in the arms of her band mate, Tosh. Life seems almost…normal. The last thing Dice wants is to mess with anything remotely supernatural. But when her best friend’s boyfriend goes missing, Dice has no choice but to become very much involved. She knows that his disappearance was no accident, and it somehow has everything to do with Sin. Because Dice can feel it: Sin is back. And the promises and deceptions he left in his wake have returned to haunt him.

What do you do when an oath of devotion threatens to destroy the one you love?

SO looking forward to this one. As a big fan of SWOON, I was hoping there would be a sequel. Can’t wait til October 18th, 2011!

Song of the Day : GRENADE by Bruno Mars

jennzah — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:40:05 +0000

last night i was watching the Hollywood bits of American Idol. I don’t usually watch American Idol, preferring the UK’s XFactor, but they were doing something with groups and one of them performed this song, and it made me want to hear the original. I LOVE IT. It’s been on nonstop pretty much all day.

what have you been unable to stop listening to recently??

IN MY MAILBOX (1)

jennzah — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:18:55 +0000

since Jennzah dot Net is a new blog, i’m starting over with the IN MY MAILBOX. here’s what I’ve gotten (or will get) in the post recently :

Books Recieved :

THE IRON WITCH by Karen Mahoney, MATCHED by Ally Condie, THE DEMON TRAPPER’S DAUGHTER (ARC) by Jana Oliver, TIMELESS by Alexandra Monir, SHADOWSPELL by Jenna Black, ENTANGLED by Cat Clarke, BLESSED by Cynthia Leitich Smith, NIGHTSHADE (gift from Lisa!!) by Andrea Cremer, and THE KENSEI (ARC) by Jon F. Mertz.
ORDERED/ENROUTE :

ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton, THE IRON THORN by Caitlin Kittredge, SECRETS AND SHADOWS : A 13 TO LIFE NOVEL by Shannon Delany, THE SWEET SCENT OF BLOOD and THE COLD KISS OF DEATH by Suzanne McLeod

lots of good stuff here and on it’s way! what’s in your mailbox this week??

It’s Superbowl Sunday! (this entry is not about football!)

jennzah — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:00:37 +0000

for a long time i’ve been thinking about what to write here at Jennzah dot Net, but it’s evaded me. so here’s a general update on what’s been going on in the life of Jennzah:

on December 31st, it had been one year since I left my family, my beloved cat Mneo, my friends, and 24 hour access to awesome Mexican food behind to move here to be with Anthony. In that year, I’d been to alot of different places here in England, met some great people, gone to some awesome book signings, and, oh yeah, gotten married! Best day last year was definitely 17th September when Anthony and I became an official family. We’ve loved every day since. I’ve gotten an awesome family on this side of the pond too. So 2010 was pretty awesome.

2011 means that Anthony and I are still waiting to hear when/if we will move to Portsmouth, which is about 3 hours closer to London than where we currently are. We’re both really looking forward to the move as we don’t particularly fancy it here in Plymouth. 2011 means that I am actively looking for work here in England…. right now I’ve got a voluntary job on Mondays helping out at OxFam on the high street. However, Saturday, I saw an opening for a library job that I would be fantastic at just over the Tamar Bridge in Saltash, so i’ve enquired about it and we’ll see where it goes from there. It means commuting about a half hour on the bus from here to Cornwall, but it’s a month long PAID position which is much more suited to me. so wish me luck, kids!

2011 means that we’re also starting to save up for our trip back to the US in September. CANNOT WAIT. Two weeks in Chicago/Wisconsin is just what i need right about NOW, so i don’t know how I’m going to wait until September!! but it’ll be worth it. I miss my friends, my family and my cat SO MUCH. it’s not to say that I don’t love my cats and my family here, but hey! i’ve been gone about 8 months from there now (I went back in May/June/July last year for a 2 week stay that turned into a 6 week stay, due to waiting for my Spousal Visa to come back), and I miss pretty much EVERYTHING about where I used to live. I’ve actually had some bad bouts of homesickness in the past month, but I have Anthony to support me so I’m okay most of the time. bottomline?? AMERICA : I never really gave you enough respect. I love how you have laws about littering and you actually DO something about it there. I hate, hate, HATE walking down the streets here in England (mostly in Plymouth) and seeing scores of garbage, human spitwads, and cigarette butts EVERYWHERE. it’s disgusting. I miss feeling as though i could walk barefoot in some places, i miss the general hygiene of my homeland. AMERICA : YOU ARE AWESOME. I’m sorry i ever dissed you in the past!

i’ve done way more reading than writing in the past year, but i feel as though the writing is on it’s way. It’s just so hard to write amongst so much chaos going on, not being sure if you’re about to move to a different city, with your husband working so hard to fix up the current place you’re in so you can rent it out for a decent price, etc. which is why it’s easier to read than concentrate on writing, but i’m working on it.

overall, i’m just grateful for my husband. he is always the light in the dark for me, he’s such an amazing person and im so lucky he chose me. i’ve never been so happy in my entire life.

alright, enough waffling around. I have a “IN MY MAILBOX” post to write just after this, so we’ll see you later, Kids!

Photo Entry : EZ PASS. NO CASH.

jennzah — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:30:33 +0000

ECHO – this one’s for you