Quiet In the Country

I'm up in the Hill Country this weekend, and I must say that I'm really enjoying the quiet. Everything here seems more peaceful than at home. Life moves slower. When you shop in small towns, people take time to smile and chat with you even though you're a stranger to them.

When we travel up here, leaving Houston behind, eight lanes of concrete give way to two-lane blacktop roads. Landscaped esplanades carefully planted at precisely spaced intervals with live oaks yield to fields of golden-petaled Black-eyed Susan's and vibrant orange Mexican Sombrero wildflowers.

Country Living's Lack Is Appealing

Don A. Dillman said, "Ironically, rural America has become viewed by a growing number of Americans as having a higher quality of life not because of what it has, but rather because of what it does not have!"

I guess he was right because time spent up here is more relaxed because of the technological aspects of life which are absent -- by our choice -- here.

The air smells differently up here. The sky seems bigger. We look east to the horizon and whirl around to look west and see where the land curves down to the other horizon. Spectacular. At night, there's no light pollution to diminish the light from the heavens. Stars twinkle brightly, and the full moon, at perigee this weekend --the point at which it makes its closest approach to the Earth -- is like a spotlight hanging over the house.

I can feel myself relaxing as if the tension inside were physically manifested as a tightly-wound spring suddenly weakening and uncoiling. As the stress ebbs, I find my imagination stirring. An idea I'd been "playing with" surfaces, just begging to be explored. With no television, video games, or even people except for my husband, I can yield to my creative self and explore all the ideas that pop up.

Albert Einstein said, "I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind."

Takeaway Truth

I think Einstein was right. Without other interruptions and disruptions, a quiet life nourishes the imagination. 

Review: Flirting With Death by Heidi Hall

This week I read a book that's a fun mix of genres -- paranormal, mystery, espionage, a touch of romance, and a big heaping spoon full of black humor. The book? Flirting With Death by Heidi Hall.

I'll confess I totally agree with Kayla McKenna, the heroine of this first book in the Assassins Anonymous series, when it comes to drivers who yak on cell phones, people who abuse animals, anyone who is rude and crude in public, and a whole host of others that find themselves on this former government assassin's black list.

Unlike hit woman McKenna, I don't go around plotting how to whack these annoying humans. Too bad for McKenna that the government has canned her cranky behind and tossed her back into Stepford land aka suburbia. This rip-roaring droll adventure may not appeal to some readers, but I found it a hoot that I couldn't put down.

Tiny Quibble

I have one quibble. No, make that two. First quibble? The non-ending. I'm sorry, but I think even if the book is a lead in to the second book that it should have a firm satisfying ending. That said, don't let that dissuade you from this book. Definite 2 thumbs up.

Second quibble? I desperately want to read book 2, but it's not yet out. I'm just hoping that Kayla decides to go after the bad boy that got away because he turned out to be too gallant for her own good.

(Note to Heidi Hall: send me an advance review copy! Pretty please?)

Takeaway Truth

Like I always say, a good story is a little vacation between the covers of a book.

ISBN Database

A few years ago, I heard about ISBNdb, a digital database for books.

Just today I checked to see if the ISBNs I had registered for my ebook editions were in the database. A quick search revealed only print books so they still don't index ebooks here as far as I can tell. However, I think the database is still a useful research tool.

Originally, the website said they "archived digital records for 4.2 million books, collected from 10 million different sources. They get their data by scanning libraries worldwide for book information. The scanning is random and similar in a way to how general purpose web search engines scan web sites. Scanned results are parsed and stored in the website's searchable database. They try to cross-index the database by author, publisher, genre... ."

Takeaway Truth 

You never can tell when you might need to find a book's ISBN.

3 Fun Ways To Learn New Words

Why improve your vocabulary?

There are millions of words available to you. Sometimes, one word provides a better meaning of what you're trying to articulate than another.

Mark Twain said: "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is... the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."

Yet, we often don't bother with finding the perfect word to use in conversation or in writing. Why? Maybe we're lazy and stuck in a verbal rut.  Maybe we haven't expanded our vocabularies since we were in school. Maybe we think others won't understand us if we use a different word.

Words are the tools of our trade. I know when I was a kid and reading voraciously, I learned a lot of new words simply by reading. That's the side effect of reading for entertainment. You can learn new words as well as new facts.

Don't be afraid to educate readers albeit subtly with your choice of words by making what you write organic to the writing. I know, as a reader, I love to see how a writer uses vocabulary.
Benefits Of Increased Vocabulary

• Better articulate your ideas
• More effective writing
• Better reader comprehension
• Improved conversational skills
• Improved speaking skills
• Improved image because you're judged on how you speak and write in the business world--and the social world

All that should result in more success in your professional and personal lives.

3 Fun Ways To Learn Words

Free Rice Game

This online game is addictive, fun, and increases your vocabulary as well as providing food for millions. No kidding! According to the website: "The rice you donate makes a huge difference to the person who receives it. You and the thousands of other Freerice players have fed millions of people since the game launched in October 2007."

I love to play games and find them highly addictive. This is one I don't feel guilty about because every time I play, I'm helping feed a hungry person.

It's easy to play.

1. Click on the right answer in the middle of the page.

2. If you get it right, you get a harder question. If you get it wrong, you get an easier question.

3.For each answer you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

  
Wordnik Word of the Day

Kim Komando alerted me to Wordnik, an expansive online dictionary and thesaurus that publishes an obscure or archaic word every day. They offer multiple sources of definitions for each word and examples of its use in literature. A feature I really like is the sound file to show you how the word is pronounced.

Vocabulary Building Games

This website is a repository of games from the classics like Hangman, or Hang Mouse, to games designed for specific elements like anagrams, foreign words, homophones, idioms, Latin words, etc. There's truly something here for every taste. You'll be challenged, have fun, and learn a lot.

Takeaway Truth

Words are how we communicate. Learn how to communicate more effectively by increasing your vocabulary.

Be Smart: Wipe Hard Drive

I'm getting ready to junk an old computer, but I'm going to donate it to a charity-operated resale shop.

If you ever donate or even junk an old computer, take a few moments to do it correctly. Yes, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, and in this era of identity-theft, you need to do it the right way.

Properly De-Commission Computers

Whether you’re going to give the old desktop or laptop to a family member, donate it to Goodwill, send it to a recycling center, or set it on the curbside for garbage pick-up, be smart and wipe that hard drive clean.

Surely you all know that just because you delete a file, doesn’t mean the file has disappeared. Anyone with a few skills can recover deleted files. So obtain software that wipes the hard drive clean. There are many software packages available that do this.

WipeDrive by White Canyon is one, and it’s inexpensive. The Department of Defense used this product so that should tell you something. There are other softwares on the market. You may even find some freeware or shareware that accomplishes this task.

Shop online or your local stores for a software that meets your budget and needs. Then use it to ensure your private information remains private.

Takeaway Truth

The few minutes you take to secure your private data is a time investment well spent.

Teaching Readers & Writers About Tags

Most writers know how important tags, or keywords, are. However, tags are important elements for readers too because it gives them an opportunity to express their opinions about a book.

(A version of this article previously appeared on Writing Hacks, my subscription newsletter for writers. Subscribe today if you'd like articles like this as soon as they are published.)

Tag or Keyword Defined

Tags, often called keywords, or the words or phrases used to describe something in a way that someone entering those specific words in a Search Engine can find the information for which they search.

Keywords are important in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and that means you want the best and most popular keywords (meaning used most often) to send searchers to your information or product. With books, you want to use the perfect keywords in writing your Product Description and in tagging your book. Using the perfect keywords is optimizing the search engine results. That's your goal.

Amazon

I'll be talking about Amazon today, but all the ebook sellers use keywords or tags.

Amazon allows an author to specify 7 keywords when you upload a book file through KDP.

After the book is live on the webpage, the author may add another 8 keywords. Always do this so you have 15 keywords that you have specifically selected to describe your book so that Search Engines (and that's what Amazon is) can find your book.

Readers can also add tags if they don't see one on there that they think describes the book. That's why you see some books with far more than 15 tags--readers added the others.

The more times someone has clicked to AGREE with your tags, the higher in the rankings your book will appear. This means, for example, that if my book has had my tags agreed with by web visitors 50 times, but another very similar book has only had 1 person agree with their tags, my book will come up in a search result sooner than the other writer's book.

Anyone who visits your book page can click to AGREE with the tags or to DISAGREE. If you want to agree or disagree with a writer's tags, make sure you expand the Tag list so that all tags show so you'll know what you are expressing an opinion about.Don't forget, you can also add other tags.

Authors love it when readers who like their books, agree with tags, add new favorable tags, agree with good reviews, etc.

Only 1 Per Customer

Since all ebook sellers place tracking cookies, you can only undertake these actions above only once. That's right, 1 time per authorized user. That keeps people from voting themselves up or a competitor down. (Yes, it happens. There are jealous authors out there.)

How You Make Your Opinion Known

Readers, if you like a book or an author, show them in these ways:

1. Click LIKE right below the book title.

2. Click AGREE on any good review if you agree.

3. Click DISAGREE on any negative review if you think it is without merit.

4. Write your own favorable review. It doesn't have to be long.

I think everyone has a right to their own opinion about a book. I would never vote against a review that was thoughtful and stated why they didn't care for the book. Everything is subjective. However, if I had a review that said things like a lot I've seen, i.e., "I hate romance but I read it anyway and it was a piece of garbage." or "This was only 99cents and it wasn't worth that." or "This author is stupid and doesn't know what she's talking about." or "This book was about adultery, and that's a sin so I give this book 1 star."

Those are subjective comments, not reviews. A review tells what's good about a book as well as what was lacking. Too many of the reviews you find on Amazon and other ebook seller sites sound like the snark you find at office parties. So think carefully and analyze before you take action.

5. Scroll down and find the TAGS. AGREE, ADD, or DISAGREE.

Make sure there are no typos in the tag you assign or the book may end up with a meaningless tag like OMANTIC rather than ROMANTIC.

6. Don't use your ability to express your opinion about a book as a forum for airing any personal grievances or grudges or for expressing political, religious, or sexual opinions.


Takeaway Truth

The ability to express an opinion online also carries with it the responsibility to be fair. Authors work hard at their craft so please be objective and honest. What you say may impact their ability to earn a living.

Do We Ever Leave High School?

I've written a couple of books, Just One Look and Jane (I'm Still Single) Jones, populated by characters who had so much emotional baggage from high school that their experiences had a lasting effect on them.

A few reviewers took issue with the fact that a person would be so profoundly affected, 10 or more years later, by something that happened in high school.

I was thinking about that this morning when I learned that Is There Life After High School by Ralph Keyes is now available as an ebook.I read that book long ago and agreed with everything it said!

In my first ebook romantic comedy, Just One Look, my heroine Jennifer Monroe comes face to face, in a most embarrassing manner, with the man who had broken her heart when they were both in high school. When he not only doesn't recognize her but also inadvertently insults her, she wants payback--and she goes about getting it!

If you didn't read Mr. Keyes's book when it was first published in 1979, I recommend you do so now. It's a great resource about the effect of one's high school experience. Even 33 years later, the book is still relevant and is often quoted by other psychologists in papers, blogs, and websites.

Backstory

Mr. Keyes interviewed hundreds of people across the U. S. from the obscure to the famous...  "successful and unsuccessful, after reading countless magazine articles, books, and scholarly treatises, after listening to stacks of 45 rpm records, watching television and movies, and after attending all manner of reunions (from a fifth to a fiftieth), Ralph Keyes has come to the conclusion that Kurt Vonnegut was right — high school is closer to the core of the American Experience than anything else I can think of."

Forced To Agree

I concur with Mr. Vonnegut and Mr. Keyes. In fact, I've listened to so many high school stories of heartbreak, embarrassment, and humiliation--from my generation to my kids' generation--that I often wonder if we ever leave high school behind us. For so many, the way we were treated in high school made us who we are--the good and the bad. Many of us carry those high school hurts inside just as many of us strove to excel just to prove that we were more than our high school image showed.

In JANE I'm-Still-Single JONES, my second book with past high school angst as a defining moment, my heroine Jane Louise Jones agrees to attend her 10-year high school reunion only because she thinks that Morgan Sherwood, the high school geek who left town--and her--to make it big to the tune of millions, isn't going to be there. Unfortunately, Morgan shows up, the problems begin, and the sexual tension skyrockets.

Those Who Disagree

Maybe the naysayers--those who don't believe that high school has a lasting traumatic effect--are those who were the popular kids in high school. Maybe they were the football heroes, the cheerleaders, and the beauty queens--Miss Most Popular or Mr. Most Likely To Succeed.

Takeaway Truth

I wasn't one of those. Chances are, you weren't either.

Wind And Resistance

I'm at Rancho Reeves. That's what we call our little house here in the Texas Hill Country. Often, I use the time here as my own personal writing retreat. No television to speak of. Not much of anything going on here which is kind of nice. It gives one a chance to tune in to nature and notice things.

For instance, today I'm noticing the wind. It's really blowing here. The windsock at the private airfield is straight out with the wind coming from the north. It's actually quite cool here today.

I'm sitting on the back porch and watching the fields of native grass ripple like waves on water as the wind sweeps over it like a giant hand brushing against the slender green strands.

Poet Kahlil Gibran, a favorite of my hippie generation, wrote: "For what is it to die, but to stand in the sun and melt into the wind?" There's a profound truth to those words that appeal to me.

Wind Is Resistance

Winston Churchill said: "Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it."


As an author, indeed, as a human being, we often face obstacles and resistance in our effort to achieve something worthwhile. Sometimes, wind will send a kite crashing to the ground. The trick is to use the wind to send the kite aloft. Tending the kite, feeding it line until it catches the wind. Veteran kite flyers know this.

If you believe in what you're trying to achieve, then know, going in, that you will meet resistance. Fight for what you want. Meet the challenges and figure out how to use the resistance to your advantage.

Wind Is Propulsion

Singer--yes, he was a singer before he was a sausage king--Jimmy Dean said it this way: "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."

That's what we must do to grab our respective brass ring. We must take each challenge that comes our way and learn how to use it to propel us forward much as wind pushes against a sail to send a boat skimming across the water.

Takeaway Truth


Wind can extinguish a small untended flame, but the same wind can stoke a small flame that's being fed kindling into a roaring fire.

Lone Star Writing Contest Open

Every year, the Northwest Houston Chapter of Romance Writers of America hosts the Lone Star Conference.

This year, the 20TH Annual LONE STAR Conference is slated for October 13 and features James Scott Bell as keynote speaker. Bell's topic is Plot and Structure.

Details

Editors and Agents

Chris Keeslar, Editor-in-Chief, Burroughs Publishing

Liz Pelletier, Entangled Publishing

Agent: Elaine Spencer, The Knight Agency

Location: Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint

Date/Time: October 13, 2012 from 9 am to 5 pm. Registration and breakfast are 8:30 – 9:00 a.m.

Cost: $130

Lone Star Writing Competition


As a part of the conference, the prestigious Lone Star Writing Competition is held each year. That contest for unpublished authors is now open. Clicking the link above will take you to the entry form.

Details

Fee: $25.00 ($20.00 for NWH members).

Payments accepted through Paypal.

Early bird entry: $5 discount on all entries submitted by midnight May 26, 2012.

Category:

Contemporary Series Romance

Single Title Historical or Regency Romance

Romantic Suspense or Romantic Intrigue

Fantasy, Futuristic, Paranormal

Inspirational Romance

Young Adult Romance

Deadline: Midnight CST June 9, 2012

First 150 entries are guaranteed admission. Additional entries accepted subject to judge availability.

Takeaway Truth

The Lone Star Conference is one of the best around. Take advantage of the chance to meet editors, agents, and authors published traditionally and as indies. Writers who win and place in the contest often end up with book contracts so don't hesitate to enter.

Readers Guide to Unfamiliar Literature

Do you know about DebbiesIdea? This is a website created by a reader to help other readers find new authors. What a fabulous idea for readers and writers!

(This article previously appeared on Writing Hacks, my subscription newsletter for writers. Subscribe today if you want to read articles like this as soon as they are published.)


Tagline Says It All

What to Read First: A Reader's Guide to Unfamiliar Literature. This website may be a great place to gain some free exposure.

If you just want to find new authors, you don't need to register. However, if you want to post a comment or make a recommendation about which book to read first, or to add to their database, then you do need to register.

Most of the authors listed on the site are traditionally published, but I didn't see any prohibition against indie authors so I registered. It's free. After you confirm registration, you can add data to the site. I added myself as an author. Here's my listing so you can see what a listing on the site looks like.

Promote This Worthwhile Site

If you sign up, be sure and promote the site because it's really a good idea in action. I plan to promote the site and my page via my blog and in emails to readers. I'll also put it on a business card to drop in those "win a lunch" goldfish bowls in local restaurants. There are a lot of ways you can utilize this listing. I think it's a worthwhile site and another place to gain some free exposure.

More Info

DebbiesIdea.com helps you decide which of an author's books to read first. (I have series, and I get emails about which to read first so this is a good site to list your series books especially.)

DebbiesIdea.com is a free, noncommercial public service created by people who love books. Here, you can get help deciding which book to read first by an author you haven't read before OR can help another reader by recommending where to start reading a writer whose work you know well.

Additionally, you can SEARCH for a specific author you are curious about reading or wish to recommend, BROWSE a list of AUTHORS to get ideas about what to read next, or BROWSE by GENRE to find books in a style you enjoy.

Marketing Theory

Writers who promote know that conventional marketing wisdom says someone must see or hear a name at least 9 times before the name is remembered. In today's world where there are so many people, media, and products vying for a customer's attention and money, it may take more than 9 times before a name makes an impact on someone's consciousness.

There are few credible, effective ways to advertise for free so always try different venues to see if they help you in name recognition and/or sales. This website may be one of the ways that can help, plus, it does a service to readers in helping them find new authors to read.

Takeaway Truth

The more places that display your name; the better your chance of being remembered when a reader is shopping for a book.

Note: If Joan Reeves aka SlingWords helps you get ahead, please consider buying one of my books (Written Wisdom is perfect for writers--readers too!), subscribing (only $.99 per month) to the Kindle Edition of SlingWords,or making a donation of any amount by clicking the button below. Thank you for your moral support and any monetary support you see fit to contribute.