Facing Rejection with Confidence

Everyone has experienced rejection at some point in their life--either from a friend, romantic interest, a publishing house/magazine editor, or a sports team. Maybe you've experienced all of the above (I didn't realize it until now, but I have!).

Sometimes we bounce back from the blow as if we weren’t hit in the first place…but other times, we’re KO’d for the next three rounds.

Here are 3 tips that have helped me see the sunny side of rejection and that may help you face rejection with confidence:

Rejection…

1) Gives you time to re-evaluate yourself, your goals, and your intentions.

Ask yourself, ‘Was I really doing this for the right reason? Was this honestly a stepping stone to achieve a goal, or was it something that would've lead me down a different path--possibly far away from where I want to be?’

I’ve concluded more than once that my intentions weren't all that great. I once tried to get on the tennis team to avoid babysitting a sibling (that wasn’t the only reason, but it was on my list).  

Rejection gives you time to reflect—your conclusion about your aim and intentions the second time around may be different than the first.

2) Can reveal your weaknesses.

Wait, isn't this supposed to be positive? >_> (Don’t worry; it is.)

Having an awareness (or stronger awareness) of your weaknesses allows you to combat them. If you search long enough, you're bound to find that you have a strength that "makes up" for a weakness (i.e. you rock at strategizing but are terrible with driving directions...so you take the extra time to make 2-3 maps or snag a friend to help ahead of time).

In some cases, knowing your weaknesses gives you the chance to improve in those areas. If you're terrible at sinking a free throw, there's a simple solution: practice the free throw!

And in the "worst case scenario" in which your weaknesses don't improve much despite genuine effort/a lot of time, you can take that as a sign that maybe this isn't for you.

*Welcome to Adelheid Blog Tour with Masquerade Tours*

Written All Over Her

By Mia Darien

Book Four in the Welcome to Adelheid series

Published: May 27, 2013

Here's what you can expect to find in this post:

• The synopsis of the novel and purchase links 
• Mia Darien's author bio and links to connect with her 
• A great giveaway
• The tour schedule with Masquerade Tours --click on the banner to check out all of the stops!

Enjoy :) 

One word can change the story of your life forever. 

Abduction. Torture. Surrender.

Eleven months from her adolescence have framed thirty-one years of Detective Nykk Marlowe’s life. Despite the trauma of her past, and the unique physical scars it left her with, she’s built a career as a detective for the Adelheid Police Department.

Her personal life might only consist of caring for her sister and a pet rabbit, but she accepts that.

She accepts that she’ll never be able to be like “normal” people, even the supernatural ones. As long as she can keep the past where it belongs, she’s okay.

But when the body of a teenage girl shows up with the same scars that Nykk sees in the mirror every day, her “okay” life gets turned upside down and she’s forced to confront the past she’s been looking away from for sixteen years.

And when it turns out there’s already more than one victim, the pressure’s on to stop the killer before any more girls are tortured, mutilated, and murdered.

“…This installment of the Adelheid series is dark, creepy, and extremely well written…”

“…Another winner from Mia Darien. It’s impossible for me to NOT fall in love with Darien’s carefully crafted protagonists…”

in eBook and paperback!

Amazon  |  Barnes&Noble  |  Smashwords  |  Createspace

Mia Darien is an indie author of speculative fiction, and a New England Yankee transplanted into Alabama clay. No matter her geography, she continues to stubbornly and rebelliously live the life of her choosing along with her family and pets. She doesn’t miss the snow.

Connect with Mia

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click the banner to check out all of the stops!

Review of Kristin Cashore's Graceling Realm Series

Kristin Cashore is aYA author of the popular Graceling Realm series--Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue. While Fire is technically labelled as a companion novel, the events within the novel coincide with events in both Graceling and Bitterblue, which makes for a rich meta experience. 

If you're looking for creative, well written, and intriguing fantasy, Kristin Cashore is an excellent author to go to...and I highly recommend that you take a peek at her work if you haven't gotten the chance yet. :)

Here's what I have to say about Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue:

Graceling

I'd give Graceling 5 out of 5 stars. (Well, maybe 4.8.) 
Here's the official synopsis on Goodreads:

In a world where people born with an extreme skill—called a Grace—are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even shedespises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Ok, so the setting was fairly typical--it had a renaissance feel, complete with castles, forest(s), and snowy mountains. At first, this disappointed me; I thought I had gotten myself into yet another fantasy novel whose culture had all but been ripped from ye olde times. But after reading through the first 2 pages (usually it takes me longer than that, but hey, it was good) I was completely hooked! 

Katsa, our dauntless female protagonist, is introduced with the stellar hook that she's Graced with the ability to kill people...and this entire world is filled with people who are Graced with strange, albeit exceptional, abilties. These abilities can range from altering people's dreams to sensing people to baking the most delicious cakes (ever, of course). Those who are Graced have two different eye colors, and are typically "employed" by the king/ruler of a particular district. 

The plot is fascinating, good enough to make you want to finish the book in one gulp. Some aspects of the plot are a bit formulaic (aka predictable), but I think that even those parts are enjoyable. Part of the enjoyment lies in the expectation of an event or budding of a relationship, after all. 

Road Trip! *Alabama to Pennsylvania*

A couple weeks ago, I was on the road with my husband traveling to PA for a wedding. It was kinda brutal ^_^'; I get car sick sometimes and I hate being cooped up in a car for hours at a time...but the scenery was incredible!

I wanted to share some of the things I saw--from nifty bridges and buildings to breathtaking landscapes--with everyone. 

Here's to a mini road trip without the drive!!

Beautiful mountain landscape

How the world should be--GREEN

So. Southern. :)

Blue skies, smiling at me...well, most  of the time. 

Is this not one of the coolest buildings you've ever seen??!
I thought it was pretty snazzy for a medical center...