While doing my weekly shopping, I’ve noticed that the commercial juggernauts of Halloween and Christmas are seemingly displacing one of my favorite holidays – Thanksgiving.
I love Thanksgiving. I look forward to going to my sister’s house and getting together with family and friends to celebrate the wonderful gifts we’ve been given. As we sit down to eat our delicious meal, replete with so many tasty treats, we all take a moment to express for what we’re thankful. Even though some of those thanks seem redundant – family and friends – there are lots of things in our minds which we may not have the time to express in that short Thanksgiving moment.
So this year, take a moment to reflect and be thankful on your blessings. No, not the new car, Wii or other material things. Be thankful for those things that can’t be measured, like the Liberty that’s safeguarded by our military men and the sacrifices of their families, the law enforcement officers and firefighters who keep our homes safe, good health, friends who’ve got your back and of course, the family that supports you in all that you do.
It makes me think of a saying that I’ve seen recently – The important things are not things.
So true. I’ll carry that thought over to Christmas and remember the reason why we celebrate on that day.
How about you? What will you be thankful for this Thanksgiving?
Also, if you’ve got the time, come visit with me and my friend and fellow author Chris Redding. I’m blogging there today! You can click here or cut and paste this link: http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com
My friend Rayna Vause and I were recently at the Moonlight & Magnolias conference in Atlanta to give a workshop on publicity and promotion in cyberspace. One of the topics we discussed was Social Media and how to use it to help build your brand online.
One of the major concerns expressed by many was the time demands of being in so many places online. It’s a truly valid concern. With so many authors still holding down jobs and/or the needs of family, spending time on the web and social media sites can be a major time suck, especially when you’re also trying to write a book.
But it is possible to use technology to alleviate some of the demands of Social Media promotion. If you’ve got a blog, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, it’s possible to automate many of these applications so that you’re content will be available on all of them with minimal work. How do you do that?
Feed your blog to your Twitter, Facebook and/or Myspace pages:
Both Twitter and Facebook allow you to feed content automatically from your blog. In Facebook, find your NOTES section and you will see a spot where you can add your blog feed to bring it into your Facebook profile. With Twitter, you can use Twitterfeed to automatically post your blog content as a tweet.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a similar application for Myspace, but it is possible to create a widget for your blog feed that you can embed on your Myspace page or in other applications that accept Widgets. I’ve used Spring Widgets and find their RSS feed widget very handy.
Feed your Twitter, Facebook and/or Myspace to each other:
It’s possible to feed your various tweets, status changes, etc. from one Social Media site to another.
To feed your Facebook status to Twitter and vice versa, you can use this Twitter application on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=twitter&init=quick#/apps/application.php?id=2231777543&ref=search&sid=1130005412.376077238..1
There are a number of applications that will allow you to view and take action on your various sites at once. Two of the more popular and useful applications are TWEETDECK and HOOTSUITE.
Tweetdeck is a desktop application that will allow you to see tweets, respond, retweet as well as view your Facebook and Myspace content. Hootsuite is a web-based application that also does much of the same, but also allows you to schedule tweets. A great ability to have if you must get information out but know in advance that you will not have access to the web.
I hope you found today’s Tuesday Tip helpful and that it will help you avoid the possible time suck of Social Media. If you have any good applications that you can recommend, please let us know by posting them to the comments section.
For today’s Tuesday Tip we have with us Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, rejected writer turned self-published author (Family Plots: Love, Death and Tax Evasion) who is an expert at loss. Below Mary offers five simple steps to overcome dead dreams, dashed hopes and disappointments. For more information about how Mary transformed rejection into rejoicing, visit her website at www.MyDreamIsDeadButImNot.com.
Denial.
Pretend it never happened. You did not get the diagnosis. She did not break up with you. The sheriff isn’t going to escort you from your foreclosed home. If you read enough self-help, you learn that it’s not what is happening in your life that matters; it is what you believe about what is happening that makes it true. Simply choose to believe that, no matter what it looks like, all is well. This approach is not for the weak of mind or spirit. And it may lead to incarceration, institutionalization, and in extreme cases, premature death. But in the end, what difference does it make? It’s not like anyone gets out of this gig alive anyway, and your unwavering denial will spare you a whole lot of cumbersome worry and stress.
Grieve with gusto.
Publically and passionately revel in your pain. Stop trying to act normal, mature, or reasonable when, YOUR DREAM IS DEAD! YOUR HOPES ARE DASHED! Embrace the horror of your loss. Sob openly and uncontrollably whenever any song, billboard, or scent triggers a memory that leaves a nasty sting in your heart. Drive along dark, deserted highways and scream endlessly until your throat is as raw as hamburger. Whine to friends, complain to coworkers, and when the hostess at the restaurant asks, “How are you?†TELL HER THE TRUTH. Make sure everyone knows how devastated you are. Your obsessive love affair with your own despair will alienate you from anyone and everyone you come into contact with, including yourself. Like all of those whom you have repelled with your self-pity, you will grow so bored with it, you’ll decide to simply turn your attention elsewhere.
Blame others.
There is an alarming new trend that requires that we take responsibility for what we have made of our lives, when it is so clear that the true culprits of our failures often range from the toxic influences of large corporate, government and religious institutions, to the ineptitude of the insensitive, incompetent, and/or controlling individuals who prevent us from getting what we want and need. There is always time to take stock of how you might have participated in the demise of your cherished goal—but for now, make a list of all the people, places and circumstances that have undermined your success. Do not forget to include the impact of any negative astrological influences during the period of your profound disappointment. When the list is complete, make a promise to yourself that you will have NOTHING to do with any of the institutions, people, places, or planetary alignments that sabotaged your success EVER again—even if it means you have to live alone in a cave in Afganistan. Or. You can declare a new dream—one that will require that you work tirelessly to change the circumstances that led to your current demise. Which come to think of it, dammit, requires taking responsibility.
Seek revenge
Years ago, I had the pleasure of entertaining the young sons of a visiting friend of mine. Boys love snakes, rodents, and bugs, so I took them to the East Bay Vivarium, a place that sells such creatures. Set among the vast display of terrifying creepy-crawlers, there was an aquarium full of scorpions. I asked the pierced, tattooed, spiky-haired sales clerk if the staff ever worried that someone might purchase these poisonous pets to let loose in the house of a foe. Without missing a beat, she said, “Oh, there are much better ways to seek revenge.†She then suggested that I purchase their inventory of pregnant Madagascar hissing cockroaches and slip them through the mail slot of this person I wanted to torment, advising me that once the eggs were dropped, my unsuspecting rival would be forever deluged with both the bugs and their terrorizing hisses. Before I had a chance to explain that I had no victim in mind, she suggested I might also purchase a bag of frozen mice and shove them deep in the crevices of this person’s car windshield. “They’ll thaw and rot and put off stench that they’ll never get rid of,†she snickered. Later, when the boys and I met up with their mom, in a whisper, the little one asked her why I was such a mean person. Alas, why to I tell you this long story? (1) It contains some clever revenge suggestions that aren’t widely known, and (2) It’s an opportunity to WARN YOU to give serious consideration before launching any vicious attack campaign. Revenge may be sweet, but evil tactics such as those noted above may invoke this thing called “KARMA,†that could set something in motion that may come hissing its way back to you in some scary, smelly way.
MoveOn.now
We’ve all heard of Elizabeth Kubler Ross and her famous stages of grief, right? (If not, check Wikipedia or just trust that key aspects of these stages are mixed into this handy list.) The point being, when you have to get over something, you spend an exhaustive amount of time running on the hamster wheel of pain, repeating thoughts, ideas, complaints, and arguments against what already happened- WHAT ALREADY IS. That’s just nuts, right? At some point you must come to terms with the fact that this circular path gets you nowhere. Your only hope for escape is to leap off—take an entirely new direction. And this great leap is what will lead you to the easy-breezy tropical Island of Acceptance. We know it is nice there. It’s the place where we can shrug our shoulders, say the magic mantra (“Oh Wellâ€) and be free. So why, oh why, do we keep crawling back onto the hamster wheel? If you do find yourself struggling to let go of dead dreams, dashed hopes, failed relationships, pain, or obsessive thoughts of the past, may I suggest a powerful ritual that will allow you to move on. Gather your friends for a formal funeral party to put it to rest. In fact, you are invited to attend one this New Year’s Eve. For more details, visit me at www.crapintocompost.com.
I’ve seen it over and over again and can’t agree more – The sexiest organ on a man is his brain. Especially when you couple it with using that brain to produce humor.
Humor is so sexy and for me, Kevin James is one of those examples of a man who is sexy by virtue of being funny and totally endearing. This is a shot of him in HITCH where he stole the show from Will Smith (another hottie) with his portrayal of a totally socially inept man in love from afar with a gorgeous and uber-wealthy woman.
What about you? Do you find humor and brains sexy?
Today’s Wicked Wednesday is a look at the science fact and fiction in SINS OF THE FLESH. By now you may know that the “paranormal” part of my exciting new paranormal romantic suspense series is the genetic engineering that has occurred with Caterina, the heroine.
Caterina had been suffering from a brain tumor and goes to the scientists at Wardwell Laboratories in the hopes of curtailing the pain from the tumor. Told that a radical new gene therapy might not only help with the pain, but eliminate the tumor and restore her sight, Caterina willingly takes the risk. Unfortunately, the scientists also decide to use Caterina for a guinea pig and implant other genes which produce a number of side effects, the most evident of which are the changes to Caterina’s blood, skin and eyes.
Did I mention Caterina is glowing in spots as depicted on the cover? The glow is the uncontrolled proliferation of the genes implanted in Caterina which have been tagged with green fluorescent proteins (also known as GFPs). GFPs are used by scientists to track the expression of genes since they know where the GFP-tagged genes have gone when phosphorescence occurs.
Scientists have even been able to create fish, cats and mice that glow in the dark using these GFPs. Why do this? Some might say that it’s because you can, but the reality is that it also helps scientists determine if the genes they wish to use are being incorporated where they should go. With the glowing fish, scientists use them to track the effects of pollution and other problems associated with fish populations.
If you want some glowing critters of your own, you can visit www.glofish.com.
That’s the fact. As for the fiction part of it, while the first thing Mick Carrera notices about Caterina is her glowing blood after she’s been shot, it’s certainly not the last thing that grabs his attention!
Interested in more? Here’s a short video showing a cat that has been implanted with GFPs. Watch for the glow in the visible skin areas of the cat.
You can also sign up for the RT Book Reviews SINS OF THE FLESH giveaway contest for a chance to win a SINS OF THE FLESH lunch bag, t-shirt and autographed copy of the book. Just click here to enter!
Penny Sansevieri, the CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., tweeted the other day about how Starbucks had taught her something about Search Engine Marketing. For the full text of the article, you can click here on this link:
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/what-starbucks-taught-me-about-search-engine-marketing-260912.html
The article contains some useful examples for you on how to increase your visibility on the Internet and improve search engine rankings.
We’ve discussed some of them before, like leaving comments on blogs (and finding those blogs by using news alerts). Sending out books for review and having those reviews posted online is another great way to get your name noticed.
Likewise, we’ve talked about doing article submissions to create buzz and drive traffic to your site.
What else can you do?
Having links from key sites back to yours is another way to improve visibility. How do you do this? If you’re book has something that would be of interest to a particular industry (i.e., knitting, crafts, civil war), find sites for that industry and see if you can’t be listed there. Make connections to stores, vendors and magazines in that industry.
An excellent example of using this kind of marketing is Debbie Macomber’s connections from her books to the knitting industry. Macomber even has her knitting related products with her name available at HSN!
If you’re book is in a particular genre, like vampires, search out sites for that genre and ask to be placed on their list of links. Oftentimes sites may require that you link back to them which seems like a fair exchange.
Search engines will see those incoming links and if the site on which your listed is a high ranking site, that will improve your page ranking.
Finally, don’t forget press releases, especially close to the date of your novel’s launch. Reach out to local papers and use those free press release sites to get the word out!
My sis and I were talking about George Clooney the other day and I realized that I hadn’t done him as a Guilty Pleasure Monday.
My sis thought George was more like Cary Grant while I had always seen George as a kind of Clark Gable. Handsome in on offbeat kind of way with powerful charisma.
While doing my weekly shopping, I’ve noticed that the commercial juggernauts of Halloween and Christmas are seemingly displacing one of my favorite holidays – Thanksgiving.
For today’s Tuesday Tip we have with us Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, rejected writer turned self-published author (Family Plots: Love, Death and Tax Evasion) who is an expert at loss. Below Mary offers five simple steps to overcome dead dreams, dashed hopes and disappointments. For more information about how Mary transformed rejection into rejoicing, visit her website at 
Today’s Wicked Wednesday is a look at the science fact and fiction in 
My sis and I were talking about George Clooney the other day and I realized that I hadn’t done him as a Guilty Pleasure Monday.