Do You Want to be a Guest Blogger?

October 26, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 4 Comments

Yooo-hooooo? It just so happens I have an opening for a Guest Blogger this Friday, 10/30. If you’d like to contribute a post on almost any subject, let me know. And even if your post doesn’t relate to any books you might have out, you can mention them, with Buy links, at the end. Email me for more info: mmeara@cfl.rr.com

Thanks! (If no one volunteers, I’ll be forced to be my OWN guest, you know. 😀 )

#FabulousFridayGuestBlogger – Rosie Amber

October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 35 Comments

Today, our guest blogger is Rosie Amber, who is going to talk to us about how and why she does book reviews, where you can follow her blog, and how you can contact her if you’d like to submit something of your own for her or her team to review. Thank you for being here today, Rosie. Now take it away, Flower Lady! 🙂

Thank you for inviting me to The Write Stuff blog today for a chat about book reviewing. I’m Rosie Amber and I run a book reviewing blog at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/
You can also find me on Twitter @rosieamber1

Why as a reader I think reviews are important

In today’s world the book market is reaching saturation point. Self-publishing and e-book opportunities have opened the doors to publishing which were once held closed by publishing houses. More and more people are buying books online where they look at the book cover, the book description and they check out other reader’s reviews.

I love reading and want to share the books I love with others, so what better way than by writing a review and posting it on various online platforms and book buying sites.

As a reviewer, I post reviews about nearly all the books I read as long as I can rate them 3* or above. Below this I won’t review, I feel a “no review” says as much as a 1 or 2*. If I’ve been asked to review the book for an author and it will be below 2*, I’ll contact the author with an appraisal of their book, with my thoughts on how it could be improved.

What makes a good review?

I write short reviews. I’ll explain the book genre up front, then if it’s not one a reader likes, they can move on. I’ll usually talk quickly about the main characters and where or when the book is set. I’ll then go on to give a bit of information about the storyline, so that readers can decide themselves if the book sounds enticing. I’ll finish with a summary of what I liked about the book and if necessary what didn’t work for me. If the book needed another run through editing I will mention that and it will reflect in my rating. It’s so important in this competitive market for writers to put out their VERY best piece of work and not rush to publish.

Running a review blog

A year ago I filled my blog with all my own reviews, but my request list was getting long and I was being asked to review genres which I didn’t enjoy. So I created a book review team. Members join on a voluntary basis and review books around their own lives. There is no minimum or maximum number of books to read as long as they read and review a book in a month. We post reviews on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Goodreads, reviewer’s blogs and I get a copy of each review which goes out on my own blog.

It is set up so that authors provide several copies of their work and we give them multiple reviews of the book all from one place.

It is complex, I’m fielding book review enquiries from authors, managing the review requests from the team, making sure they review within the one month and dealing with any of their queries, sending out notification to the author when the reviews comes in and drafting up my copy of each review for my blog. On top of that I have my own review request list which is currently around 50 books. I try to read a book in no longer than 2 days. This is a hobby, I have to work it around family life and part time employment. All the reviewing is free with no monetary values exchanged. This is important with the current Amazon clamp down on paid reviews and fake reviews breaching their rules.

Approaching us for a review

The best type of author wanting a review is one that has found my blog, spent a good time checking out the type of books we read, the style of reviews we write and actually getting involved with some of the posts via comments and sharing on social media. I hang out on Twitter a great deal.

Then when they have got a good feel for us I’m happy for them to make contact via the contact forms. There is a good set of instructions about the RIGHT way to go about it.

It’s very obvious if a new author finds my blog, “Follows” by joining and then fills in the book request form. I get all the e-mails, the one which says “You have a new follower” and when it’s followed by a book review request I KNOW the author has spent little time checking me out.

Then when they send a copy and paste review request or they call me Amber or no name at all, I get miffed. Most authors understand I’m busy reading and living my life and I will get to their book, some are a little impatient. DON’T OFFEND A REVIEWER BEFORE THEY’VE READ YOUR BOOK!

All I ask is that authors remember the team and I are human, we do this because we like reading, we won’t like every book we read but we won’t be rude or leave a 1* and no reason why. We spend several hours reading your book and thinking about a fair review all for free and in our own time so that you might benefit from others who will buy your book.

What else do we do on the blog?

I like to put fresh ideas out on the blog, so I get involved with other projects too. Every April I take part in the April A-Z Challenge, where bloggers from all over the world blog their way through the alphabet. This is a fantastic way to meet new people and make new friends/ followers. If anyone is trying to build up their blog, I recommend taking part in this free challenge. http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

I also run my own free tours, I’ve just finished the third annual #RomancingSeptember tour with fellow blogger Stephanie Hurt. Earlier in the summer I also ran a Beach Reads tour and last year I ran a #MysteryNovember tour. These are hard work but a lot of fun for all that take part.

This October I’m running a Readathon, where I’m inviting anyone who follows the blog to read and review three books and we’ll post their reviews.

The #FridayFiveChallenge is a quick research post for people who blog. Each Friday people write a post about a book they found online after just a five minute search. The idea is to use a search term and then scan the book covers and choose a book from its cover/ book title. There’s time for a quick read of the book blurb and maybe a look at the number of reviews, then you must make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS? The idea behind it is to look at it from a buyer’s POV. Many people now shop online for books and the thumb-nail book cover is often the first point of sale, get it right and hook the reader, get it wrong and they’ve passed you by.

There is plenty more, from my Wednesday Wing posts with tips from a readers POV, Resources for writers and posts by Avid readers, people who aren’t book reviewers but friends who say they’ve read a great book and tell you just a couple of lines about it.

Do drop in, say hello, pull up a chair and get comfy with people who LIKE books https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/

Fabulous Friday Guest Blogger D. G. Kaye #Aging Gracefully

October 16, 2015 / D.G.Kaye / 49 Comments

A misnomer – aging gracefully; pretty words for a difficult time for many who face new dragons at this certain time in life where physical appearance changes, yet some women bow gracefully to the onslaught of face and body alterations.

I admire the attitudes of many women whom just accept the changes, but I am a polar opposite to that kind of acceptance. I will use my last ounce of vanity to seek out the best methods I can find to combat aging. Sure, it’s inevitable; I’m not immortal, but most likely, I’ll leave this world wearing something leopard, a pair of stilettos (if I’m not caught dead at home on my computer wearing slippers), and sporting my signature orange lipstick and flaming red hair. All of these things became a part of me at a younger age, and I’ve maintained them for decades, so why would I cave?

Why should I have to stop striving to be the me that I’m comfortable in just because I’m in my mid fifties? I don’t have to. And nobody has to if they don’t want to. Getting older doesn’t dictate the rules on when we have to stop caring about the way we look and feel. That decision, my friends, is all up to us. From the choices we make for health and diet, to our preferences about our outward appearance, including skin-care – body and face, we all get to decide how we want to face the progression of time. We can let it slip in through the night like a thief, or we can ride the waves kicking up our heels.

I am anything but graceful. I’m assertive, inquisitive, investigative and bold, but I’m downright afraid of getting old. I know my attitude stems from my feelings of inadequacy I’ve harbored since childhood, and since that time, I’ve been an ongoing work in progress with myself, always striving for ways to feel better about myself; mentally and physically. And just when I thought I had the perfect antidote for my self-esteem, menopause came along and assaulted much of my diligent lifetime work of maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. And so I persevered in a new battle.

I’m not delusional, certainly when we approach our fifties and onward, we’re not going to look or feel thirty. But with a little maintenance, we can look remarkably good as the years and decades try to take control of us. Now, I’m not talking about man-made alterations with surgeries and injections. I’m talking about taking care of ourselves from the inside and out with healthy eating, a little exercise, and a plethora of choices available from the beauty department. My decision not to ever have to succumb to polyester, elastic waist pants and orthopedic shoes is a driving force within me that keeps me focused on my maintenance plan. Continue reading →

Fabulous Friday Guest Blogger – Deborah Jay

October 9, 2015October 7, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 12 Comments

First, I’d like to thank Marcia for all the work she’s done, creating this blog and inviting us all to participate – and what a great group of authors this is turning out to be!

Seeing as Marcia has given us free rein on topic, I thought I would write about the greatest writing asset I have outside of my own imagination and learned skills: the fabulous writers group I belong to.

And I mean an honest-to-God, in-the-flesh writers group – less common these days perhaps than virtual ones, but a great way for writers to meet face to face and discuss issues in the here-and-now.

As writers, we tend to tap away on our keyboards in our ivory towers (or an over-crowded home office, in my case), and get most of our feedback after we’ve written our ‘masterpiece’. Working with a ‘live’ group is more than some writers can cope with (we’ve had the odd person join, come to one meeting, and never be seen again, and I promise you, we’re not that scary!), but if you can,

Find a group near enough to you to join
Find the right group, with others who really want to improve and with at least some experienced members

I feel they can be a magnificent resource. I joined my group (he-hem) thirty years ago. Back then, there was no such thing as indie publishing (not quite true – it was called ‘vanity publishing’, and all you succeeded in doing was spending money), so we were all seeking traditional publishing deals. Several members of the group already had professional sales of short stories (SF and fantasy has always had a market for shorts), and at that time I was the only one working on a full length novel. Continue reading →

Yesterday’s Guest Blog BooBoo

October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 3 Comments

This picture is apropos of nothing.
But who doesn’t love a good dancing bulldog photo?

Hi, folks! Just wanted to let you know that due to the vagaries of cyberspace, Deborah Jay’s REAL Fabulous Friday Guest Blogger post didn’t make it. She sent it to me, but it didn’t arrive. What I got was a link to her recent guest interview with Fiona Mcvie. Due to the time difference between central Florida, where I am, and England, where Deb is, I wasn’t able to contact her, so I went ahead and posted the interview–because 1) it was a great, all-encompassing interview, and 2) it was what I had.

I have since received the post that was supposed to run yesterday, and it’s LOVELY, so it will run next Friday, October 9. You’ll really enjoy it, I know, and I’ll remind you on Thursday that it’s coming. Deb has been a great source of support and encouragement over these last months at TWS, and I’m so grateful to her for taking the time to write such a super piece. (No, I’m not even going to give you a hint. Tune in, and check it out. You’ll be glad you did.) 😀

As you were, folks. Have a great weekend!!

#FabulousFridayGuestBlogger – Callum McLaughlin

September 25, 2015September 24, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 15 Comments

Welcome to The Write Stuff Callum. Take it away!
~~~

“Where did you get the idea for your book?” – It’s a question any writer will be asked countless times throughout their life. In some cases, we can pinpoint the exact moment when inspiration struck, while often it’s something as whimsical as an elusive dream or a brief conversation that triggers the construction of an entire imaginary world.

With my first book for example, I was simply watching a news report about a country in absolute turmoil. I remember thinking that it seemed like something from a story; far removed from most people’s lives and yet shocking in its reality. Thus, the plot of The Vessel began to form: A dystopian world, a depleted population, a corrupt government, and one woman at the heart of it all, determined to expose the truth. It’s not to say that what happens in The Vessel was happening in that news report, but it’s interesting nonetheless to remember the exact circumstances in which the idea first formed.

With my second book, False Awakening, it was much more random. There was no specific instigator this time around; the plot surfaced simply as a result of my imagination running wild one day. The image of a girl waking in hospital with no memory of what happened to put her there came to me and it soon blossomed into a story that is equal parts a psychological mystery thriller as it is a girl’s struggle to find her voice and place within the dynamic of her family.

With my poetry, it’s even more far-reaching; from the most intimate of thoughts to the most striking of views (I’m lucky to live in the gorgeous Scottish countryside). Really, with a poem, anything is fair game.

I’d love to know what inspired any of your own plot ideas. Did they hit you one day as a result of a specific incident or were they the amalgamation of several smaller threads of thought?

Callum McLaughlin is an eternal insomniac and crazy cat person in training.

Born and raised in the Scottish countryside, he works as a freelance writer, author and poet, taking his biggest inspiration from the world around us.

Though passionate about music and nature, his first love is literature and when he isn’t writing his own books he will most likely be found reading someone else’s.

You can connect with him on Twitter or his blog, and can find his published works on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Goodreads.

Coming Tomorrow…

September 24, 2015 / Marcia Meara / Leave a comment

Our first ever Fabulous Friday Guest Blogger! Tomorrow’s guest will be Callum McLaughlin, and I know you’ll enjoy his post as he kicks off this new feature of The Write Stuff. Spread the word, in traditional TWS style, so all sorts of people can get to know a bit about Callum and his work.

If I haven’t yet written you, and you’d like to be a featured Fabulous Friday Guest Blogger, please email me, and we’ll schedule something. (You can reach me at mmeara@cfl.rr.com )