http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/ en Copyright 2013 Wed, 22 May 2013 13:58:00 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/05/hanging_out_with_brit_mums.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/05/hanging_out_with_brit_mums.php Gloss Wed, 22 May 2013 13:58:00 -0500 ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/05/the_fiverr_video_i_did_for_kic.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/05/the_fiverr_video_i_did_for_kic.php Wed, 22 May 2013 13:44:37 -0500 I love this review (and giveaway) from Anne Marie Stoddard. Two blog posts in one day? I just had to--I just finished reading Jennifer Oko's "Head Case," just in time for another Sunday Book Review. Read my review below and then enter to win your own ebook copy of "Head Case"! Olivia Zack is a neuroscientist who has just been murdered after being kidnapped and brought to a Russian mobster. The book is told from her ghostly point of view, dialing back and clock and recounting the events that led up to her death, as well as a few that happened after. Olivia recalls events and conversations with her best friend, celebrity publicist, Polly Warner. The two girls got mixed up in the sometimes glam, sometimes sordid world of dealing prescription drugs. While dealing pills has its perks, it also has its price: which is how Olivia ends up with a bullet through her skull. It's up to her spirit to sort through the mess that led up to her death and to send Polly and her boyfriend Mitya a few clues from the great beyond in order to not only solve her murder but to also save the day against the Russian mafia, drug-dealing grannies, corrupted cops, and some nasty unethical pharmaceutical execs. I loved this book. Being in my twenties, it was very easy to relate to--who doesn't know someone--in their circle of friends or otherwise--that has suffered with addiction or substance abuse? And who hasn't seen one of those pharmaceutical commercials for a pill that marketers will convince you that you need while downplaying the long list of potential health hazards and side effects attached? Yes, even with prescription substances rather than drugs. The story is one that, while the stakes are much higher, can still, at the core, hit close to home for a lot of readers. While there are a small handful of editorial errors/typos and the jumping around in the timeline can be a little confusing, overall this is a great book and a fun read. I even found myself tearing up a little at times. Oko has a great tale on her hands, told with a perfect blend of snark and heartfelt emotion about the bond between two friends separated by death. I would recommend this book to anyone who is on the fence about reading it--and to anyone else, for that matter. Now that you've gotten my take on "Head Case," why not read it yourself? Enter below for a chance to win an ebook copy of "Head Case" by Jennifer Oko for Kindle! Good luck!]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/04/great_blogger_reviews_adding_u.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/04/great_blogger_reviews_adding_u.php Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:40:53 -0500 This review is so nice, I want to post the whole thing! But it won't fit here, so please check it out. http://ow.ly/jt7OX Head Case is an adventure and a half as the reader follows Olivia Zack, as tries to discover who killed her. Yes, Olivia, neuroscientist and pharmaceutical consultant, has turned up dead and now her ghost wants to know who lay the “hit” on her. Olivia, with the help of roommate Polly Warner, sets out on a crazy adventure involving drug-dealing grannies, pill popping celebraties and a rat named Raskolnikov to discover the truth! I’m a huge fan of Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiassen, so I love any mystery that has a large dose of humor. Head Case definitely falls into this category. It had me laughing every minute of the adventure, as Olivia tries to discover who killed her. Olivia was a fun character, strong and witty, and nothing will stop her from discovering the truth. She’s just my kind of girl, and was an absolute blast to read along with. Head Case was such a fun read and it kept me entertained every step of the way. Jennifer Oko has definitely written a great mystery and I sure hope there is more to come from this brilliant author. ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/such_a_nice_review_for_head_ca.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/such_a_nice_review_for_head_ca.php Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:46:43 -0500 Smashwords. Now that it's uploaded there, it will go through their so-called Meatgrinder, and will soon appear everywhere else eBooks are sold. Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc. And of course it will remain on Amazon. ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/head_case_is_now_available_on.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/head_case_is_now_available_on.php Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:19:02 -0500 Smashwords. Now that it's uploaded there, it will go through their so-called Meatgrinder, and will soon appear everywhere else eBooks are sold. Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc. And of course it will remain on Amazon. ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/head_case_is_now_available_on_1.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/head_case_is_now_available_on_1.php Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:19:02 -0500 Socrates Book Reviews just posted a super nice review along with an author interview. Check it out!: Olivia Zack is a smart, hardworking neuroscientist and pharmaceutical consultant. She is also very much dead. Now, she wants to know who was behind her murder and she intends to find out. It all started when she was hired by Pharmax to research a new drug that will make people who are unhappy with their jobs, very happy. They lavished her with money and she was totally taken in by them, but then she became suspicious that there was something underhanded going on. It even caused her to lose her best friend. Unfortunately, she also lost her life. Olivia gives us an hysterically funny narration of her quest to learn the details of her murder as well as a satirical look into the pharmaceutical industry. I loved the character of Olivia. She was not perfect, but she was strong and witty. This book gave me many hours of enjoyment and laughter. It has everything you would want...a humorous premise, an intriguing mystery involving everyone from the Russian mob to celebrities to unethical executives. It all mixes for a fast paced mystery that will leave you laughing. Jennifer Oko is an author I'll be adding to my "must read" authors. ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/super_new_review_and_blog_inte.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/03/super_new_review_and_blog_inte.php Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:20:15 -0500 With the 90 day Amazon exclusivity clause soon over, I am now working on getting the manuscript ready for Smashwords. My hope is to launch Head Case into all other eReader formats on March 21, 2013. http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/02/heads_up_nook_fans_head_case_i.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/02/heads_up_nook_fans_head_case_i.php Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:10:30 -0500 Facebook page, which is important since I have not been able to update this site yet! Please check it out and "like" it! ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/01/head_case_chroniclesthe_facebo.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2013/01/head_case_chroniclesthe_facebo.php Wed, 02 Jan 2013 21:54:51 -0500 http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/murder-mystery/3338]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/12/my_first_promotional_link_from.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/12/my_first_promotional_link_from.php Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:45:02 -0500 I am starting to promote Head Case and came across this very interesting sounding site called Ask David. Check it out! http://askdavid.com http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/12/starting_to_promote_head_case.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/12/starting_to_promote_head_case.php Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:26:05 -0500 http://preview.tinyurl.com/cuwcco9]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/12/head_case_is_now_on_sale.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/12/head_case_is_now_on_sale.php Sat, 22 Dec 2012 22:47:09 -0500 Kickstarter backers. Just one week in (three to go) and we are more than half way there!]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/10/kickstarting.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/10/kickstarting.php Tue, 23 Oct 2012 23:30:34 -0500 http://kck.st/S2mpJhhttp://kck.st/S2mpJhhttp://kck.st/S2mpJh ]]> http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/10/head_case_kickstarter_is_launc.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/10/head_case_kickstarter_is_launc.php Tue, 16 Oct 2012 21:32:15 -0500 This is what&#8217s so nice about being dead. I get to play the role of wise sage, and with an amazing perspective. Because when you die, not only can you flit around the present, you also get to watch stuff in rewind. You get to go inside peoples&#8217 heads in the past tense and follow the firings of their synapses, medicated or not, as they spit them toward the present. Yes, Cher, it turns out that you can turn back time. But the catch is—drum roll please—you can&#8217t be alive to do it. And so, proverbial remote in hand, I&#8217m now able to backtrack; I can take a look and try to figure out how this all happened to my best friend. And by extension, of course, how this happened to me. How, at the ripe age of twenty-eight, with a future as bright as whatever cliche the tabloids will soon be gushing, my body—the body of Olivia Zack—is lying down there in the back of a black Lexus SUV (license plate NYX1KZ, in the event anyone can do anything with this information) while I&#8217m up here, floating around bodiless in the ether, shape-shifting, wall-transgressing, house-haunting, and whatever else it might be that you imagine we ghosts can do. I&#8217m trying to figure that out as well. After all, this is fairly new for me, too. I&#8217ve only been like this for a few minutes, just long enough to zip up to Polly&#8217s apartment and witness her flailing about, waiting for me to come and comfort her once again. Oh, the irony. Anyway, in order to figure this out, it seems logical that before I can fully focus on my ending, I need to go back to the beginning of the whole mess. Because it&#8217s very clear, considering who shot me and who they missed, that I seem to have gotten caught up in a drug war. And I&#8217m not talking crack cocaine. I&#8217m talking Prozac. I&#8217m talking Ritalin. I&#8217m talking Adderall, Lexapro, Zyprexa, Klonopin and what have you. The good stuff. The blockbusters. The billion-dollar babies. Go get some popcorn. The show&#8217s about to begin. http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/10/excerpt_from_head_case.php http://www.jenniferoko.com/weblog/2012/10/excerpt_from_head_case.php Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:46:41 -0500