My deepest thanks and appreciation goes out to all who have fought to protect our country and preserve our freedom. Wishing you peace.
I hope everyone has a great day of fun and relaxation! I made a pitcher of icy mint and cucumber water to keep me cool while on grill duty. Any plans? What's your favorite thing to eat or do on Memorial Day?
Monday, May 28, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Curing Diabetes
I apologize for being MIA and not visiting blogs last week. I'd lost a dear, dear friend to diabetes. The type of friend who is more like family. He was a big brother to me, and I'm sure I'll hear his advice and wisdom in my head forever. He believed in raising kids with love, respect and patience. He was genuine, kind and hated seeing anyone suffering or being treated unfairly. He was a hero in my book.
It so happens that he passed away the same month that Brenda Novak's Annual On-Line Auction for the Cure of Diabetes is being held. I know that my friend would want nothing more than to see others win the battle against diabetes. He'd want to prevent others from suffering.
Please check out the auction. My bid last year resulted in invaluable feedback from an editor. Not a writer? There are auction items for everyone, including kids. Hurry though. The auction closes May 31st.
Peace and good health.
It so happens that he passed away the same month that Brenda Novak's Annual On-Line Auction for the Cure of Diabetes is being held. I know that my friend would want nothing more than to see others win the battle against diabetes. He'd want to prevent others from suffering.
Please check out the auction. My bid last year resulted in invaluable feedback from an editor. Not a writer? There are auction items for everyone, including kids. Hurry though. The auction closes May 31st.
Peace and good health.
Monday, May 7, 2012
My latest craft book must have!
Cliches have met their match!
The Virgin Widow's Heart Stopped When She Saw the Book That Would Change Her Life Forever by Ellen Hartman and Sophie Gunn just released on Amazon (Kindle) last week, and I promise it really will change your life. Well, okay, your writing life, although it could inspire people everywhere to discover their individuality and revamp their social skills :). I mean, who likes a cliched pick-up line. Right? Seriously though, I rank this book up there with Debra Dixon's famous Goal, Motivation, and Conflict as a staple for all writers.
The book is based on Ellen and Sophie's popular workshop, which I attended at last year's RWA Nationals meeting. The room was packed with not only published and unpublished writers, but editors as well. You know the workshop where everyone laughs, takes notes like crazy, then they push and shove to get to the speakers and ask more questions at the end? Alright. Romance writers are more civilized than that, but yes, it's that great and this is your chance to find out their anti-cliche secrets, as well as their fail-proof way on how to find your voice. Whew, that was a long sentence! It's because my heart's racing with excitement! (Okay, that was bad ;)
This isn't just about killing cliched phrases. It's about fixing cliched characters, plots, situations, and even promo. I hate it when people point out problems but don't provide solutions. This book tells you how to un-cliche a cliche. It's full of examples and step by step approaches to making your writing unique. It's a fast-paced, funny read loaded with a phenomenal amount of information. Definitely a craft reference must have.
Buy it or find out more on Amazon.
Note: I'm aware that the word cliche has an accent, but I couldn't figure out how to make it happen. Let's just pretend that I'm wildly clever, and I left it off to symbolize ripping apart cliches :)
The Virgin Widow's Heart Stopped When She Saw the Book That Would Change Her Life Forever by Ellen Hartman and Sophie Gunn just released on Amazon (Kindle) last week, and I promise it really will change your life. Well, okay, your writing life, although it could inspire people everywhere to discover their individuality and revamp their social skills :). I mean, who likes a cliched pick-up line. Right? Seriously though, I rank this book up there with Debra Dixon's famous Goal, Motivation, and Conflict as a staple for all writers.
The book is based on Ellen and Sophie's popular workshop, which I attended at last year's RWA Nationals meeting. The room was packed with not only published and unpublished writers, but editors as well. You know the workshop where everyone laughs, takes notes like crazy, then they push and shove to get to the speakers and ask more questions at the end? Alright. Romance writers are more civilized than that, but yes, it's that great and this is your chance to find out their anti-cliche secrets, as well as their fail-proof way on how to find your voice. Whew, that was a long sentence! It's because my heart's racing with excitement! (Okay, that was bad ;)
This isn't just about killing cliched phrases. It's about fixing cliched characters, plots, situations, and even promo. I hate it when people point out problems but don't provide solutions. This book tells you how to un-cliche a cliche. It's full of examples and step by step approaches to making your writing unique. It's a fast-paced, funny read loaded with a phenomenal amount of information. Definitely a craft reference must have.
Buy it or find out more on Amazon.
Note: I'm aware that the word cliche has an accent, but I couldn't figure out how to make it happen. Let's just pretend that I'm wildly clever, and I left it off to symbolize ripping apart cliches :)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Paper, ebook and audio stats...what are yours?
We're all aware that ebook sales have been climbing like monkeys on caffeine, but I hadn't paid much attention to audio book sales until recently. Apparently, ebook publishers, such as Carina Press, are big on putting out audio versions of their books. I suppose it makes sense that, in an era where music is an ipod and earplug away, hands-free books would be popular as well.
Sure enough, according to data collected by The Association of American Publishers for sales between January 2011 and January 2012, audio book sales have climbed along with ebooks. For adult book sales, while mass market paperback dropped 22.5%, ebook sales rose 49.4% and downloaded audio sales rose 29.4%. More stats on adult book sales are available at the link above. Overall, all trade book sales went up, but what really jumped out at me was the enormous increase in children/YA ebook sales. It went up a whopping 475.1%!!! That's kids and electronic gadgets for you. But hey, if it encourages reading...
So this is where I admit that my percentage of ebook reading is less than 1% and audio is at nill. I'm still largely a paper girl. My kids are still paper readers (just because they don't have ereaders), but they have enjoyed listening to the Harry Potter books on tape while in the car with their dad. They've read the paper versions, but audio was the only way they could get their dad in on the series.
What about you? What are your ebook vs audio vs paper book reading stats?
Sure enough, according to data collected by The Association of American Publishers for sales between January 2011 and January 2012, audio book sales have climbed along with ebooks. For adult book sales, while mass market paperback dropped 22.5%, ebook sales rose 49.4% and downloaded audio sales rose 29.4%. More stats on adult book sales are available at the link above. Overall, all trade book sales went up, but what really jumped out at me was the enormous increase in children/YA ebook sales. It went up a whopping 475.1%!!! That's kids and electronic gadgets for you. But hey, if it encourages reading...
So this is where I admit that my percentage of ebook reading is less than 1% and audio is at nill. I'm still largely a paper girl. My kids are still paper readers (just because they don't have ereaders), but they have enjoyed listening to the Harry Potter books on tape while in the car with their dad. They've read the paper versions, but audio was the only way they could get their dad in on the series.
What about you? What are your ebook vs audio vs paper book reading stats?
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