A lovely interview with D. G. Kaye. Check it out to learn more about Deb, her books, and her future plans! 🙂
Miscellaneous News
Let’s take this show on the road!
Look what’s rolling out, starting tomorrow–the Story Empire Roadshow Bookmobile tour! There are giveaways at most every stop, reduced prices on a treasure-trove of fabulous ebooks and grand prizes when the week wraps up. Hop on the bookmobile and join us, starting on Monday, April 3rd!
Hey gang, Craig here. As you know, Story Empire is a cooperative effort of six talented authors. We try to bring you some wonderful content on this blog, but we’re all authors, too. Doing a bit of collaborative promotion is part of the deal.
This week we’re going on the Story Empire Roadshow. All six of us are doing a blog tour, there will be some deep discounts on our books, and maybe a few freebies along the way. Watch for the Story Empire Bookmobile out in blogland, and tell your friends about it. You might find some wonderful new blogs to follow, too.
For myself, I’m doing some discounts on my books, and giving a couple away, but you’ll have to follow the tour to get the exact dates. At the end, the two most prolific commenters will win some awesome coffee mugs I had made with a graphic…
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Things to keep in mind if you’re trying to be a Writer – Meme…
Look what Chris The Story Reading Ape found for us. Ha! I love this one. Especially the 3rd one down! 🙂
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What Your Author Website is Likely Missing
Some absolutely great information here, and you can bet I’ll be redoing a few things of my own. When I have time, of course. 🙂 Check this out!
Hi, SEers. Forgive me for being a hypocrite, but today’s post is going to be a do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do post. Remember, I used to work in corporate communications, so I know marketing strategies. (That doesn’t mean I use them myself; it just means I know them.)
Okay… Unless you literally just decided to become an author today, you almost definitely have an author website. Hopefully you’ve included the basics:
- landing page to advertise news and collect email addresses
- blog to share content, generate interest, and remain fresh in the minds of your fans
- book pages so your work is well-defined and easy to find
- about page to introduce yourself to new visitors
- social media links so people can find you elsewhere online
- contact page so your readers can reach you
- platform-wide cohesion and pleasing design
Many authors stop there. Okay, let’s be honest—many readers fall short in some/most/all of those categories.
- Their…
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LEXOPHILIA at LARGE…
If you are a Lexophile, and/or love puns, you’ll find some good ones here!
My thanks to Phil, the Tasmanian Devil, for these:
Some of these are old, but still clever and funny.
LEXOPHILIA – WHO ON EARTH DREAMS THESE UP?
A LEXOPHILE OF COURSE.
• Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!
• How does Moses make tea? Hebrews it.
• England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
• I tried to catch some fog, but I mist.
• They told me I had type-A blood, but it was a typo.
• I changed my iPod’s name to Titanic. It’s syncing now.
• Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
• I know a guy who’s addicted to brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
• I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
• This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I’d never…
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Grab a FREE romance ebook today!
Hi, Write Stuff followers! 🙂 A friend of mine has a breezy, flirty book available for FREE download. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share it with you. Don’t miss your chance to grab Babe Driven by Lizzie Chantree. Please help her spread the word. This is definitely on my TBR!
Jump into a new contemporary romance read, with a FREE copy of Babe Driven
Driving straight out of trouble and into paradise!
A laugh out loud, contemporary romance read full of humour and sizzling beaches.
Free to download 03/24-03/28/2017
Harriet’s crazily successful business idea is under serious threat, and the danger seems to be coming from inside her own family. She whisks her sister and her friends away to an exotic location to try and work out whose side they are on. It’s time to start damage limitation.
When the girls arrive at the glorious villa owned by Harriet’s maverick business partner Nikki, they find a gorgeous band and their sexy lead singer Max staying next door, out to entice their new neighbours into all kinds of trouble.
This isn’t a holiday for Harriet and she can’t afford to be distracted. She has to sell her business idea to the powerful…
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Freedom From Distractions
Here’s an app that might help those who fritter away way too much time on social media, instead of writing. (You know who you are!) 😀 Check it out.
Good morning SEers, Joan here. Happy first day of Spring! I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the longer days of summer, especially those summer evenings. But I digress.
Are you a disciplined writer? I admit to being easily distracted, and it often interferes with my writing time. Here’s what an ideal writing day might look like for me.
I have the entire day to myself. I’m on vacation from my job. I don’t have any chores to do, errands to run, and I’m not expecting any visitors. My husband is at work, the cats are asleep, and I plan to write.
So, I sit down at my computer, open Scrivener, and get busy. An hour has passed, and I’ve written 2500 words.
Feeling energized, I take a short bathroom break and grab something cold from the refrigerator. The words are flowing, and I feel as if…
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Everyone! Erin go bragh!
On this day, in 1944, at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida, guess who was born? Yep. Me. I arrived kicking and screaming, and pretty much kept on in that vein for the next 73 years. Well, I don’t scream as loud as used to, and I hardly ever kick anyone these days, but you get my drift. Today is my birthday, and do you know what I plan to do? Ahem. ANYTHING I DARN WELL PLEASE! All day long! 😀
My daughter gave me a lovely piece of art for Christmas, and the first thing I’m doing tomorrow is taking it in to be framed. Then I’m going to do some fun shopping, hitting the local bookstores (what’s left of ’em, anyway) and some garden centers I love to browse. After that, I’m getting a haircut, so I won’t scare the dogs anymore. In short, I’m going to have fun doing whatever strikes my fancy.
But let me tell you about my real birthday present. My husband and I have both become quite hard of hearing in our old age. (I blame it on too much rock and roll in my misspent youth.) For a very long time, I put off doing anything about it because, frankly, hearing aids are quite pricey, and I didnt’t think I could afford it. Instead, I became pretty darn good at work arounds. I can lip read surprisingly well, and I’ve made sure folks know to face me and speak loud when telling me something. So I was coping. I thought.
Then I started reading some research on what happens to the mind from hearing loss. I Don’t want to depress you with all the details, but hearing loss is linked to many emotional problems you might expect, and just about as many physical ones, which you probably don’t. I didn’t. For instance, it is definitely linked to memory loss and dementia! Â
After some more research, I knew I couldn’t afford to wait any longer, and I consulted an audiologist (referred to me by my family doctor). She was amazed at how well I was functioning, given the severity of my loss, and worked with me to find a solution.
Now hear’s the good news. A few weeks ago, I was fitted for hearing aids, and there are no words to describe how wonderful my life has become because of them. I’m living in the world of sound again, and it’s astounding how much I was missing. The first day I had them on, I walked out onto my back porch, and I heard my beautiful wind chimes for the first time. I cried. My yard is filled with birdsong that had gradually disappeared. Turns out, it didn’t go anywhere. My ears did. 🙂
I’ve learned all sorts of interesting things, too. Like, every door in my house squeaks. Who knew? And light switches actually click when you flip them. Wow. A hundred times a day, I hear something I haven’t been able to hear for years. And a few more things I never knew made sound. (I think it’s been at least ten years since I heard the turn signal in my car!)
We are going to Charleston in a couple of weeks for my grandson’s 4th birthday, and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to being able to hear his sweet little voice clearly. Apparently, I never have.
Happy Birthday to Me. I can hear again, and it is glorious!
P.S. Those of you who recognize yourself in this story, do yourself a favor and have your hearing checked. Not only are you missing out on some of life’s most beautiful things, but you are risking damage to your brain that can cause severe memory loss and possibly lead to much worse than that. Make an appointment today, then one day, you can take a walk around listening to things you haven’t heard in a long time. You won’t believe how wonderful it is!
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A fresh start
I remember when I was a very little girl there was a fairy story my mother read to me. It told of how the fairies painted the sticky buds on the trees to protect the baby leaves from the frost. I thought of that tale when the dog and I were out for our pre-dawn wander. The buds are swelling, and reaching up, sure enough the tight little buds are sticky with sap.
There were celandines in the wood this morning, a sheltered little patch that seems to have stolen a march on spring. Their tiny, glossy petals were barely beginning to unfold their fragility to the dawn, but the brilliant yellow that showed against the green offered a promise.
There is promise in the sunshine today too. Not much warmth yet, but the skies are blue and bright, with a possibility, a mere hint, of warmer days to come. As the frost recedes and the green shows more vividly across the landscape, there is a little vernal vibrancy tingling in the air.
The birds are busy collecting stray fluff and feathers, early lambs and the odd calf gambol in the fields or snuggle close to Mum for warmth. It is a typical moment of the turning of the tides. In spite of iced ponds and bitter winds, you can almost feel the sap rising.
I love these moments where you can see the turning of the wheel, the cycle of life in motion. Spring may slide into summer with barely a noise, but the change from winter to spring comes with a fanfare, a riot of colour. For now Spring is waiting in the wings. We, the audience, hear the occasional rustle, catch an odd whisper of the glimpse of a golden skirt as she prepares for the raising of the curtain. It is all poised, hushed and eager to begin.
It is a season of births and beginnings and we ourselves feel and respond to the changing seasons. It is a rather nice feeling to be aligned with the forces of Nature in this way, waiting for the sun to come in and light everything, painting it gold and filling it with warmth and life. It feels right that this should be the moment where tomorrow begins.
Sue Vincent is a Yorkshire-born writer with a camera. She has written a number of books, both alone and with Stuart France, exploring ancient myths, the mysterious landscape of Albion and the inner journey of the soul. She is owned by a small dog who also blogs. Find her at scvincent.com and on Twitter @SCVincent.
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Guest author: Marcia Meara – Attitude really IS everything!
I am thrilled to let you guys know that I’m a guest blogger today on Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Please stop by and check it out. Hope you’ll enjoy the post, and share far and wide. Thanks so much!
No!
Yes.
You can’t!
I can.
Why?
Why not?
It’s all wrong!
It’s all right.
You shouldn’t!
I should.
You won’t!
I will.
It could be bad!
It could be good.
It’s too late!
There’s time.
You’re too old!
I’m still here.
You did it!
I did.
~Marcia Meara
Hi, Everybody! I’m Marcia, and I’d like to thank Sue for having me here today. She’s such a wonderful supporter of artists of all kinds, and I’m very pleased to be part of her guest post feature.
The little poem above is one I wrote three years ago, right after I published my first book, at age 69. As you might imagine, it was inspired by a lot of comments I received from folks who thought I was crazy to be attempting something as daunting as writing and self-publishing a novel at my age. I heard every single reason why I…
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The Write Stuff 