Less Than 10 Minutes to Go...

With less than 10 minutes to go, I am concluding my project on Kickstarter. Time's up and my 35 day funding period will be over soon. I have worked so hard putting up posters, creating contests and giveaways to encourage people to share my project, reaching out to lots of friends and family members, and using every social network I have an account on to try to advertise my project. Ninety percent of my attempts to fund one of my dreams failed and in less than 10 minutes the rest is history.

However, there is a bright side to funding my novel through Kickstarter. A lot of my friends, family members, people I know, and even some of my clients were very supportive through out the whole journey. Although my project was not successfully funded and I did not receive any money towards my novel at all, I learned that there's a time and place for everything and that I will publish my novel, just not this year. I also learned that if you're truly serious about your own work, people will do whatever they can to support and encourage your endeavors.

My novel will hopefully be published next year and I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Also, to those who pledged and selected a reward tier that included a copy of the novel will still be sent a paperback copy of my novel as soon as it's published. Just as a thank you.

You can still check out my novel "Within the Bindings" on Kickstarter, Like the "Within the Bindings" page on Facebook, Tweet me questions or comments with hashtag #WithinTheBindings, and read all about my novel writing journey on my blog.
xoxo,

Share It to Win It: Win a $25 eGift Card to Barnes & Noble!

I have been going insane trying to get the word out on how my novel "Within the Bindings", is being funded through Kickstarter. I have been sending e-mails, handing out posters, and making overseas calls- it's all very hectic. Beyond that, I am trying to focus on writing the novel itself and getting everything in order for it to be published. It's a lot of work to do on my own so I'm asking all my readers and friends to pitch in, hence this Share It to Win It contest!

The Prize
The person who directs the most referrals will win a $25 eGift Card to Barnes & Noble. The eGift card can be used both online and in stores and will be sent to the winner via e-mail on August 25, 2013.

How to Enter
Share my Kickstarter project link (http://kck.st/11kQSYo) for my novel by writing a blog post OR by posting it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Google +.

You can also pin my Kickstarter video (found on Kickstarter) or any of my campaign photos (below) on Pinterest.

E-mail (me) zobia@theeternityjournal.com the link to your blog post or social network posts and the person whose link gets the most referrals (I will be checking through Kickstarter) will win the $25 eGift Card to Barnes & Noble! 

Feel free to use any of the information or photos in this post!   

My Novel's Details
Title: Within the Bindings
Author: Zobia Alvi
To Be Published: Mid-November 2013
Short One Sentence Summary: A novel about family, love, Muslim culture in the United States, and the meaning of life that we're all trying to find.
Full Summary: 
After becoming a successful entrepreneur and living a comfortable lifestyle, Zara Abudallah-Cummings knew she had what she had always prolonged for. She had earned all of her success and changed almost every aspect of her new beautiful life. The only thing Zara never changed about her life was the way she perceived her past. Her past shaped her; it created the person she became. She kept her past in her heart and mind at all times. And every now and then, she would think about the life she lived.Mistakes were made and her dearest were deceived, but Zara never failed to see the light of it all.

  

Her family was clueless as to what secrets she kept from them. Little did she know, she was not the only one with a secret. She believed her past was the wall that stood between her and her family, but as her journey to life continues, she learns it was "the outsiders" that gradually tore her family apart. The more she opened herself up to others, the more detached she became from her family.

Based on some of my personal experiences and all the wonderful people I owe my inspirational soul to. A story about family, true intentions, and loyalty in a generation that has forgotten the value of love and true friendship. A story about Muslim families adjusting to the westernized life in America, while trying to keep the tradition of family alive. Told in the perspective of Zara herself portraying people in her life that have left an imprint on her heart, but had her push away from those whom she truly loves.

Campaign Photos for You to Use





This contest basically consists of getting the most referrals, no one is obligated to pledge. However, please encourage your readers/followers to support the novel! There's only 16 days left and I'm 25% closer to my goal! Every dollar counts! 

Thanks for your support & good luck!
xoxo,

You All Overwhelmed Me...With Joy!

I just recently launched my novel "Within the Bindings" on Kickstarter and I was overwhelmed with the response and feedback I received since then! A lot of my friends showed interest in my work and even some family members from the other side of the world decided to pitch in as well! I was so happy about all of it! The project has only been live on Kickstarter for about a day and I only raised 1 of 100 percent! It may not sound like a lot, but it was to me. I usually never receive responses that fast or that early. It was a great feeling.

My Kickstarter project took a lot of work to put up. The verification process took me about a month. (I blame myself, Kickstarter approved me within a day). Plus, shooting and editing my Kickstarter video was the hardest part. I shot the video twice. The first time I shot it with my phone and it appeared in HD on when played back on the phone, but on my computer it looked as if it were shot on an old flip phone. I could never publish that! The second time, I had my sister, Tabeer help me. She did great and all it took was about 3 hours of editing and staying awake until 5 A.M. to upload it to Kickstarter and send it in for approval.

Watch the video and see for yourself.



All your feedback and pledges mean the world to me! Please don't stop sending them! Be sure to follow my novel's Facebook page for updates and Tweet questions or comments to hashtag #WithinTheBindings!
xoxo,

Project Update: #7ThingsProject and Kickstarter

I have lots of projects going on and I want to make sure I can keep track of them all. I'm a multitasker and I'm known to launch several projects at once. I like being busy, what can I say? Two projects that I am currently working on are the #7ThingsProject and funding my yet-to-be published novel on Kickstarter.

My Kickstarter project is soon to be launched for my novel titled "Within the Bindings".

The novel is written by me and is about family, love, and the meaning of life in general. The novel itself was started in November 2012 and will be published November 2013 or December 2013 through Kickstarter funding. Be sure to show some love once the funding process is live and drop a comment or pledge a buck or two. I'm going to be giving back to all of my project backers by trying to make their experience with me as friendly and genuine as possible. I will be accepting questions and reading comments on Twitter through hashtag #WithinTheBindings and also giving a few backers the opportunity to be character in my novel. Follow my Twitter or Facebook for updates on when the Kickstarter project will be live or search "Within The Bindings" on Twitter, Facebook, and Kickstarter

The #7ThingsProject is a 7 part blog series and hashtag project run on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. 

What is the #7ThingsProject?

This 7 part blog series & hashtag project brings people closer to achieving their goals, facing their fears, and just embracing life. 

Most people spend their lives saying one day I will be able to do this, one day I'm going to do that, and perhaps one day I'll be strong enough to do everything I ever wanted. This project brings these people closer to dreams by taking little steps (7 steps actually). 

Check out the official #7ThingsProject page for more details and how to sign up!

Love,

Photo 365: My Week According to Instagram

Since I promised weekly photo updates following with my Photo 365 project this year, here's my first photo week update! This week I used Instagram to capture a glimpse of every day during the first week of January.

This is the book I just recently finished reading. There's also a review on the book that I posted, scroll down to the next post if you'd like to read it.

After purchasing the Wii for my little sister, I went shopping for video games for the first time in my life. I wouldn't say I'm an epic gamer, but isn't MySims just an adorably epic game? 

Here's a small sneak peak at my wonderful novel in progress' cover! What do you think? A simple classic cover with a catchy title? I thought so too!

If you don't know this already. Roses are my favorite flower and someone once told me a blue rose would represent me well. Plus, these blue rose earrings would go with almost anything!

Printing Invoices for my Fragrance Essence orders and writing personal business letters. I'm finally in business!

The journal I received as a gift more than a year ago that I still haven't used yet. I have not even used the pen. As soon as I finish writing in my current journal, I can finally get to fill in this novel with all my thoughts and experiences of 2013! 

It's just too many thoughts and not enough pages.

 I realize my photos are not very interesting to look at. There is no scenary or landscape, no people, or places, just plain stuff that somehow pretain to my days. I hope to get better at this and provide much more beautiful pictures, but until then please check back soon.

xoxo,

Journey in Novel Writing + Giveaway Winner Announced!

Most of you that read my blog may already know that I have been writing a novel from my National Novel Writing Month badge or tweets about NaNoWriMo. I entered the novel writing month and achieved writing a novel in that month. The novel is called "Within the Bindings" and it's a very unique novel written in an unusual sequence that falls together once you finish reading. It's hard to explain the sequence, you have to read it yourself to find out. I am actually planning on finishing this novel and then entering it in a contest to possibly get it published! It's going to great! I hope you all as my readers will agree too!
So far it's been a hard working journey, writing almost every hour of everyday, it's quite hectic actually. Plus, I haven't even began editing! Oh what fun that will be! Here's the novel's summary, let me know what you think of it!

A girl named Zara is seen sitting in a parking lot in the middle of the city near where everything in her life seemed to have taken place. Throughout her life she had the urge to know everything, the urge to live every life she had seen, and to understand everything around her. Her open heart and mind allowed her to know everything about anyone's life. As soon as she formed a trusting bond with someone, all their life's experiences, all their feelings, and thoughts became something she had within her fingertips. It wasn't a talent, it wasn't a gift she was born with―Zara was a girl who saw the world naturally and synced her heart and mind into everything to find a natural meaning within. Zara knew everything without knowing a thing. 

Sound lovely enough? Comments are welcome! 

By the way, the winner of the $25 Fragrance Essence Gift Card Giveaway is Amber D. Please e-mail journeytoeternity@yahoo.com for details on how to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone who participated! The contest had a great turn out! Don't be discouraged if you did not win. Check out FragrancEssence.com for deals that will be sure to make you feel like a winner! 

xoxo,