Wednesday, June 1, 2011

What Am I Doing?





Perfect picture for this week.
My questions are driving ME crazy! So I figured I'd share.
I'm not looking for answers, just venting.
Can't decide if I should buy a house or add on to mine.
Or maybe just build one myself.

Look how cool this one is! But I have NO trees where I live.

 Or what about this one?

This could be my office! I love the colors on this one!

Or...how about this?
I would LOVE a real swimming pool!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

G.P. Ching, Belinda Frisch, Megg Jensen, Nicholas La Salla, & Donald Wells On The Nook

I went out of town again today, this time with my son, my partner in crime and spent some time in B&N. I had my camera with me and I went to work uploading indie books. This employee came up to me and said, "Can I help you?" And before I could answer him he said, "I don't think you can take pictures in here." I slyly replied, "Oh sure I can, watch!" I snapped a picture of Soulkeepers that I had up on the Nook. Then I showed him the book pic on the camera and said, "See? It worked!" Then my cell rang and I ignored him and answered the phone walking away from the Nook. (It was my son calling).

A few minutes later I went back to the Nooks that were displayed. I had my son with me again. He was my lookout. He knew I had a list with me of books I wanted to leave showing on their Nooks. He would stand on the opposite side of the display case and whisper, "Tell me when you're ready." I'd get everything up and I'd tell him, "Ok, it's done." Then I'd have to wait for him to tell me when the coast was clear for me to snap another picture.
It was sooo hard trying not to laugh and being sly at the same time. Oh...and this is a brand new camera I got for Mother's Day. So I had no clue how to use it. I had to go to Walmart to buy a memory card for it, then drove to B&N and put the card in the camera in their parking lot.

I was not happy with the pictures as I kept getting the lights from the ceiling reflected on the picture. On the last picture, which was "Crisis Hospital" by Belinda Frisch, I had my son stand next to me and he held up his hand over the camera to block the light. It didn't turn out very well at all. By now a good half hour had gone by and I figured I was pushing the whole "Oh look how cool this Nook is!" thing. I didn't put up the other books I had wanted to. As we were standing there trying to shield the light and take the picture, my son whispers,
"We're being watched."

It made me laugh the way he said it. Like we were trying to get away with some big heist or something. I grabbed the picture and we walked away pretending to be interested in something else. I couldn't even tell you what we were looking at. I couldn't stop laughing which made my son laugh and his laugh is funny as hell so I laughed even more.
We were a wreck!

My son walks up behind me and whispers, "LET'S GO!"
So these are the shots we got...sorry if they're not that great. Between using a new camera for the 1st time, laughing for half an hour, and nearly wetting my pants, this is what we ended up with.
I promise to do better next time.

As for the Nook...I don't like it. I had the worst time trying to figure out how to use the thing. I love my Kindle!
And why are taking pictures of a Nook so bad? Do I LOOK like a computer geek that can figure out how to make one? I don't think so!
And Megg...if you see this...I wore heels with my jeans! *lol*

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Thank You G.P Ching and The 17 Day Diet!

Today was amazing! I had to go out of town for another doctors appt. I was 30 minutes early and FORGOT my Kindle! I even joked with the receptionist about forgetting it. They got behind and I had to wait another 30 minutes. I could have been reading!
Anyways, my cell phone died on the 2 hour drive to the appt. so I had no communication all day with anyone in my life. (It was pretty nice!) *lol* After my appt. I shopped all over the place since I live so far from a town that has more than one grocery store. So after midnight I finally got home. It's now almost 2AM and everything is put away and I've just checked my emails and had my phone charging since the minute I got home.
Here's the amazing stuff that's happened:
I won a book called Soulkeepers from the contest she was having on her blog by G.P. Ching at..
http://genevieveching.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/gift-redemption/B004RR1NZI/GSCUQG4JQ8ENRRD/ref=pe_kinw_eml_rdm?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

And because of that same contest she was having on her blog, I won
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/gift-redemption/B004TTWQXW/GSGE7BFM7PPEQ5X/ref=pe_kinw_eml_rdm?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

And also because of her blog I won
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/gift-redemption/B00480OJPU/GSWUH53BQC72KSJ/ref=pe_kinw_eml_rdm?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1
And by the same author
Stacey Wallace Benefiel
I also won, from this SAME contest

And I'm not finished yet!
It's a long story of how I received this book by UPS...but on my way home I picked up a hardcover book that I won! I won this one from a blog contest ran by Missie at
http://www.theunreadreader.com/search/label/giveaway
Here's the book by Jon Skovron
http://www.amazon.com/Struts-Frets-Jon-Skovron/dp/0810941740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305623617&sr=1-1-catcorr

And hold up...one more thing I won today! After my phone charged, I checked my messages. I actually got a phone call from a woman telling me that because I was an active poster on the 17 Day Diet blog, I won a Soda Stream!



http://www.sodastreamusa.com/PopUps/Helpmechoose.html

 I should have gotten lottery tickets today! And the weird thing is, I got on the wrong freeway after my appt. and was headed to Calif for a minute there. Calif is only 30 minutes from where I was! I don't live in Calif. *L* We don't sell lottery tickets in this state at all. I should have kept driving.

Thank you very much G. P. Ching! You made my day today SWEET!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Joe Konrath Giving Advice On Ebook Publishing...

 I love this blog post of his.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-works-promo-for-ebooks.html

Here are his motivational quotes from this article...

Konrath Motivational Quotes

There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published.

Denial is a powerful opiate.

If you're selling eggs, don't piss off your chickens

Ebooks are forever, and forever is a long time.

When you're learning how to walk, you don't take classes. You don't read how-to books. You don't pay experts to help you, or do it for you. You just keep falling until you learn on your own.

Before you make the key, study the lock.

People would rather fight to the death to defend their beliefs than consider changing their minds.

It's about what you have to offer, not what you have to sell.

You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than becoming successful in this biz. But if you really want to get hit by lightning, you can improve your odds.

No one is entitled to anything.

What are the last ten books you bought, and what made you buy them? Use those techniques to sell your books to other people. Do what works on you.

Hard work trumps talent. Persistence trumps inspiration. Humility trumps ego.

Praise is like candy. We love it, but it isn't good for us. You can only improve by being told what's wrong.

Your book is your child. You can't recognize its shortcomings, any more than a proud parent can consider their child dumb and ugly.

The experts don't know everything, and they might not know what's right for you.

Fate is a future you didn't try hard enough to change.

Anyone looking for you can find you. Get them to find you when they're looking for something else.

Life gives you wonderful opportunities to conquer fears, learn skills, and master techniques. "I can't" shouldn't be synonymous with "I don't want to."

People seek out two things: information and entertainment. Offer them freely, and they'll come to you.

The Internet isn't temporary. What you post today can lead people to you decades from now.

Writing is a profession. Act professional.

No one said it would be fair, fun, or easy. But it can be worthwhile.

We're all in the same boat. Start rowing.

If you can quit, quit. If you can't quit, stop complaining--this is what you chose.

There are a lot of things that happen beyond your control. Your goals should be within your control.

Just because something is publishable doesn't mean it will get published. Just because something is published doesn't mean it will do well.

Write when you can. Finish what your start. Edit what you finish. Self-publish. Repeat.

The most successful people on the planet have one thing in common: nothing can stop them. Don't expect to reach your goals without sacrificing things that are important to you. You can't be both happy and ambitious.

Being your own best advocate is about understanding how people react to you.

Fake confidence, and real confidence follows.

Maybe you can't win. But you sure as hell can try.

Always have two hands reaching out. One, for your next goal. The other, to help people get to where you're at.

If you can't be smart or funny, be brief.

If you're not in love with the sound of your own voice, how can you expect anyone else to ever be?

Knowing you're not original is the first step in becoming unique.

There's a word for a self-published writer who never gives up... rich.

Friday, May 6, 2011

If You Go Into The Woods...Free Give Away...by David Gaughran

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTI01Y

So I was reading David's blog and saw where he was giving away a free book if you tweeted, facebooked or blogged about it. I tweeted twice and then decided to get a little creative with the blogging of his book title. He said being creative is ok. :)
So here it is...

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I Saw Donald Wells and G. P. Ching at Barnes & Noble!

I love having no neighbors and choose to live in a small town. There are some downfalls, but having no neighbors makes it worth it to me. I had to see my doctor today which is 90 miles each way, and when I do that, I shop. A lot. But not the hoarding kind of shopping, which is a show I recently discovered and nearly puke at every episode. That show is like a car wreck! I can't help but watch it.
ANYWAYS...so I saw my doctor and knew I also had to grocery shop unless I wanted to pay 6 bucks for a gallon of milk in my town. But before I went grocery shopping, I treated myself to B&N. I had seen another blogger post about an idea and I went with it. I walked into B&N, saw their 6 displays of the Nook and went to work. Only 2 were available so I went to those and...I did it! I was so excited! I left B&N with 2 Nooks laying on their display counter showing 2 books.
Donald Wells...The Fix It Man and G.P. Ching...The Soul Keepers were the 2 authors I left showing on those 2 Nooks!
I shop about every 2 weeks or so and now I have something else to do besides shop! I have now added B&N to my to~do list and leave them with some authors that others can check out! Next time I'm bringing a list with me in case I get to play around with all 6 Nooks!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Joe Konrath and Donald Wells

I love reading Joe Konrath's blog. I am discovering books I might not have known ever existed. I read a few pages of his book named Serial and it scared the hell out of me already! The night I read it I had a nightmare about someone sitting on top of me slicing my eyelids! Just like in his book. I am determined to finish reading that book but thrillers really do a number on me. I don't know why, but thriller movies do the same thing.
I found Joe's tips and I am reading that every day without fail.
I also started reading a book by Donald Wells, The Fix It Man. I am loving this book! I'm not too far into the story yet but I had to jump on here and say I love this book. I will be reading books from the few others that have commented on this blog as well.
I discovered that more friends than I knew of have Kindles. So now we send each other links to their books on Amazon and we all read them together. It's been really fun discussing them!
Ok..I'm jumping off because I want to see what happens next with Johnny and Felicia!

I finished the book by Donald Wells. I LOVED it! I love reading the kind of book that you just can't put down...and this was one of them. I stayed up almost all night to finish it. It was great!