spajonas

[spajonas]

This will be the last post on Tumblr

I started this Tumblr ages ago, around 2010 or 2011, in order to gain some inspiration for my writing. Over time, it has morphed into many different things, finally as just an outpost for my blog and Instagram. Well, lately I’ve been getting a lot of errors while the Wordpress plugin for Tumblr posts here, and I haven’t reblogged anything in months. I think it’s a sign to let this place go and not worry about it anymore.

If you need me, you can find me at the following places — https://www.spajonas.com http://www.instagram.com/spajonas/ http://www.instagram.com/sjpinjapan/ http://www.facebook.com/SJPajonas/ http://www.pinterest.com/spajonas/ http://www.twitter.com/spajonas/

(If you subscribe at https://www.spajonas.com/newsletter/ you’ll get a blog digest of posts every Friday. If you’ve been reading my posts here, that’s your best bet to cross-over. Thanks!)

xo, S. J.

[spajonas]

One of the last beautiful days at the pool!! #365 #365days #dailyphoto #ig2018 #pool #summer https://www.instagram.com/p/BnEkNEohb3w/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1i989r9cyjh2o

#365 #365days #dailyphoto #ig2018 #pool #summer

[spajonas]

These #books and more in my latest blog post, Top Ten Non-Fiction Books On Japan. Go back to school and learn a lot about #Japan! Link to my blog in my profile. #bookstagram #bookish #bookworm #booksaboutJapan #booklove #japanlove https://www.instagram.com/p/BnEaFlehR_Q/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3dw5nakvwn6a

#books #japan #bookstagram #bookish #bookworm #booksaboutjapan #booklove #japanlove

[spajonas]

So. Many. Tomatoes. So. Much. Produce. I took 90% of the tomatoes, cored them, threw them in a freezer bag, and put them in the chest freezer. Hoping they'll make great sauce someday! #365 #365days #dailyphoto #ig2018 #tomatoes #CSA #peppers https://www.instagram.com/p/BnCwHg1Beik/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vp9vlj8wmvch

#365 #365days #dailyphoto #ig2018 #tomatoes #csa #peppers

[spajonas]

Nighttime in Shinjuku. #japan_of_insta #japan #tokyo #shinjuku #shinjukutokyo #japan_focus #japan_night_view #japantrip #japantravel (at Shinjuku) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnCRFNiBF4Z/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=a5s2sjd3bog7

#japan_of_insta #japan #tokyo #shinjuku #shinjukutokyo #japan_focus #japan_night_view #japantrip #japantravel

[spajonas]

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books On Japan

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted every week by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s theme is “Back to School” so I decided to send you all back to school with some knowledge of Japan! These books are all ones I’ve read or referenced in order to write all of my books. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of education from talking directly with Japanese people, observing Japanese in Japan, watching Japanese movies and documentaries, and experiencing Japan myself. But books will always be a top reference for me.

So, here we go!

A MODERN HISTORY OF JAPAN: FROM TOKUGAWA TIMES TO THE PRESENT by Andrew Gordon

An excellent book if you’re looking to learn more about Japanese history. I gained insight into battles and family clans from this book that I used mostly in the Nogiku Series.

JAPANESE PROVERBS AND SAYINGS by Daniel Crump Buchanan

This book was really helpful for inspiration in the Nogiku Series. Many of the sayings or mottos in the books from Mark Sakai came from this one. I also learned a whole lot about the Japanese group psyche just from reading these, then researching any of them that sounded interesting. It’s where I got “Duty knows no family” which I use in many of the promotional materials for the series.

ASK A NINJA PRESENTS THE NINJA HANDBOOK: THIS BOOK LOOKS FORWARD TO KILLING YOU SOON by Douglas Sarine and Kent Nichols

Such a fun book! And lots of great information on ninjas, what they did, and how they did it. I used plenty in here for Jiro in the Nogiku Series.

IZAKAYA: THE JAPANESE PUB COOKBOOK by Mark Robinson and Masashi Kuma

When I needed inspiration for food in my books, this izakaya cookbook saves the day. I pulled several ideas from here for every book I’ve written.

MAKING OUT IN JAPANESE: REVISED EDITION (MAKING OUT BOOKS) by Todd Geers and Erika Geers

Sometimes the polite Japanese words just will not do. When I need people to swear or be rude, this is the book I go to first. Then I double check it with my regular dictionary and ask a few Japanese speaking friends to make sure I get it right.

THE ART OF JAPANESE SWORDSMANSHIP: A MANUAL OF EISHIN-RYU IAIDO by Nicklaus Suino

I knew nothing of Iaido before reading this book and watching YouTube videos on it. Between the two, I was able to construct real kata for Jiro to use when he was training Sanaa in REMOVED.

GEISHA by Liza Dalby

This is a favorite! It’s so well written, researched, and photographed. A must-have if you are interested in geisha or the geisha world. And let me tell you, it’s nothing like the depiction in MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA.

DIASPORA AND IDENTITY: JAPANESE BRAZILIANS IN BRAZIL AND JAPAN by Mieko Nishida

This is new to my collection. I’ve been wanting to read more about Japanese who live outside of Japan and the cultural differences between Japanese in the diaspora and those at home in Japan. It’s been a fascinating read so far, and I hope to include some of what I read here in my new series next year.

YOKAI ATTACK!: THE JAPANESE MONSTER SURVIVAL GUIDE (YOKAI ATTACK! SERIES) by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt

In THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE RETURNS A FAVOR, Mei likens herself to a shojo, which is a mythical Japanese monster/witch/creature. I learned about tons of yokai from this book! And the author, Matt Alt, is one of the co-hosts of Japanology Plus on NHK World.

THE BOOK OF KIMONO by Norio Yamanaka

Writing about my characters getting dressed in kimono, I realized I needed to learn a whole lot more about the garments and their accessories before really describing them. Between this book and more YouTube videos, plus purchasing my own kimono and accessories, really helped me craft the right prose for those parts of the books.

And that’s it! Hopefully you find plenty here to keep you informed and entertained for some time.

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books On Japan was originally published on S. J. Pajonas

#book chat #books #Top 10 #Top Ten Tuesdays

[spajonas]

Another day, another batch of Eggplant Parmesan. We're doing our best to eat all this produce we have! #365 #365days #dailyphoto #ig2018 #eggplant #eggplantparm

#365 #365days #dailyphoto #ig2018 #eggplant #eggplantparm

[spajonas]

We had lunch with my mom today. I could only eat half of this giant plate of shrimp scampi. Yum.

[spajonas]

Just two turtles, hanging out in the sun. #365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #turtles

#365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #turtles

[spajonas]

Sunday Update - August 26, 2018

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

It was a week of staycation! Or the best we could do in staycation mode when work still needed to be done. My husband got called away from the family fun for work, and I spent most of the week putting all of my books up in the Payhip/Direct store. But we made sure to get the kids out and about every day.

My husband took the kids into Manhattan on Tuesday for fun at the MOMA and the Empire State Building. There was pool. There were cupcakes. There was the beach! All in all we had a great time, we got a lot done, and now we have one more full week left before the summer is over.

My work on the Payhip/Direct store is complete. All of my current books are available for sale there and I added a monster Nogiku box set as well. There’s a 20% off coupon for the direct store if you’re interested. I plan to put some more box sets up there soon. Hopefully in September.

My site update continues apace. This week, I’ll be updating all of the book pages on my website. Adding review snippets and Pinterest pinnable images. Updating the FACE TIME trailer. Then planning trailers for the rest of my first-in-series books and the Kami No Sekai books. Once all those are done, it’s back to my website audit because in September I need to focus on writing again.

What else happened this week?

We woke up to 4 deer chillin’ in the yard one morning.

My park is still quite soggy from all the rain we had this summer. I could’ve sworn I was living in the Northeast, not the tropics.

The day at the beach was fabulous, though I didn’t go in the water, sat in the shade and read all day.

I can’t say no to red velvet cupcakes.

Turtles hanging out in the park’s lake.

Plenty of time spent at the pool.

We had Italian lunch out with my mom today since she was in state to visit us all and her family.

And last but not least, my post on Friday was my 900th post on the blog! I will definitely have to think of some way to celebrate my 1000th post when it comes around.

Coming up this week on the blog: Top 10 Tuesday and a Japan post (finally).

Sunday Update – August 26, 2018 was originally published on S. J. Pajonas

#Instagram #life #Sunday Update #writing

[spajonas]

Hidden amongst the trees in Yanaka. #japan_of_insta #japan #yanakatokyo #japanesetemple (at 谷中銀座商店街) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm854FsBCq4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gz8ljllzxjg8

#japan_of_insta #japan #yanakatokyo #japanesetemple

[spajonas]

Beautiful day at the beach. #beach #summer (at Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey)

#beach #summer

[spajonas]

We made it to the beach for the day!! I love this first photo. Lil'D is in mid dash to the ocean. Lol. I am, of course, in the shade. Time to read! #365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #beach #summer (at Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey)

#365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #beach #summer

[spajonas]

S. J. Pajonas's Books Are Now Available Direct! 20% Off Thru Sept 10!

I’ve been working hard all month, and especially this week, to provide you with another alternative to buy my ebooks online. And now I’m able to present my direct store! (Psst, it’s up there in the top nav and a button on every book page now!)

A lot of people have asked me why I’ve bothered setting up a direct store when so many people use Amazon. In fact, many authors do not even publish outside of Amazon! So they looked at me perplexed when I said this was what I wanted to do.

The answer is quite simple: options. I like to have options, and I like for my readers to have options as well. Sure, for most authors, Amazon, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and even Google Play are enough. But I’ve had other readers tell me that they want to use PayPal to buy books, and only some of these places take PayPal. They want that option to buy.

I’m also bothered by how much Amazon and the other vendors take from me to do nothing but deliver a book to a reader. Let’s face it. I’m not a big name author (though it’s great to have hit the USA Today list with some of my fellow cozy mystery authors) so they’re giving me no special promotion when I list a book with them. Yet, they take about 30% of books priced between $2.99 and $9.99. Amazon even takes 70% for books less than $2.99 and greater than $9.99! This is why you’ll never see a large box set of mine at Amazon.

Now, when I sell direct, I keep 95% of the retail price! And when I have a few titles that only sell 5-10 copies per year (if that), the extra percentage can mean quite a lot. If more people buy direct in the future, I may actually be able to pay off my advertising spend! I may even be able to make minimum wage! Think of what a huge difference that could make for authors in general.

Why should YOU buy direct? It’s actually pretty easy now. I had a Selz account in 2014, remember that? It was hard to keep updated, it cost me money every month, and it didn’t handle side loading ebooks. But now? Now I have more options to sell direct.

For my direct store, I have chosen to use PayHip, which is a company out of the UK, to host and deliver my files. When you purchase, you’ll get both the Kindle Mobi file and an ePub. Read them however you like. If you don’t know how to use these ebook formats, a second email from BookFunnel comes after purchasing which will load the book onto your e-reader or mobile device or tablet. I’ve timed it. You can buy and be reading within 5 minutes. Isn’t technology amazing?

If you have more questions about buying direct, read the Buying Direct FAQ. I plan to offer all of my books direct, and now, some of my books — the Kami No Sekai short stories, FACE TIME, and SUMMER HAIKUS — are ONLY available direct. I will also be offering other box sets and new releases direct-only. It’s a whole new paradigm!

Want to try out the direct store for yourself? Here’s another thing I can do: offer coupons! You can get 20% off everything in my direct store until Sept 10, 2018 with the following coupon code.

Check out the PayHip Store!

20% Off! Just use 058MIV4848 at checkout!

I hope you take advantage of this! Especially with my larger omnibuses also on sale. Have a great weekend everyone!

S. J. Pajonas’s Books Are Now Available Direct! 20% Off Thru Sept 10! was originally published on S. J. Pajonas

#Available Direct #books #self-publishing

[spajonas]

Mmmm. Dessert tonight was this awesome red velvet cupcake from @sprinklescupcakes that my husband picked up in the city today. Really good. Light, moist cake and the frosting was just the right sweetness (and not too much of it either). #365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #cupcake #sprinklescupcakes

#365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #cupcake #sprinklescupcakes

[spajonas]

Shinjuku from the executive lounge at the Tokyo Hilton. #japan_of_insta #japan #tokyo #shinjuku #shinjukutokyo (at Shinjuku) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm1PKFFhnWv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=boezzh9khp7x

#japan_of_insta #japan #tokyo #shinjuku #shinjukutokyo

[spajonas]

Took my girls to the pool for the afternoon. Summer is coming to a close. #365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #summer

#365days #365 #ig2018 #dailyphoto #summer