Why Would I Do That?

I know a lot of folks like to read. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say, there are a lot of folks who LOVE to read. I’m one of those folks. Most writers probably are. Everyone has their favorite authors, books, series, genres, etc. Me? I like to read lots of stuff. The only things I don’t read are science fiction, horror, and books that “preach” at me about anything.

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What’s On Your Bucket List?

Today we’re going to play a game. I don’t know about you, but I love to play games. As in actual games with rules and prizes and stuff, not the emotional games game. I don’t play those games. Those are hurtful. But I digress.

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Easter Fools

So this year Easter falls on April Fools Day. You’ve probably all seen this meme

I’m not normally one to appreciate pranks. In fact, I usually hate them. But, this guy is brilliant.

I love his made up words. And the definitions were even better. And, the best part, he did it with a straight face.

Well folks, the story does not end there. No sirree. This guy’s video went viral and that lead to this:

I love Ellen and I love that she gave him a spelling test. So perfect.

Have you seen this video before? Do you think this guy is clever? I think he’s probably an amazing teacher. And, he’s cute to boot. Do you like pranks? Are you one to go all out for April Fools? Come on, fess up and share the details.

Word of the Day: Ethamivan

Fun fact about me: I don’t think I’ve ever played an April Fool’s joke on anyone.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2018. Meme courtesy Google Images. Videos courtesy YouTube (ellentube)

 

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My Olympics Experience

I enjoy watching the olympics. I can’t always watch during prime time, (my husband doesn’t like the olympics so watching during primetime is not an option for me), but that’s why I have a DVR. However, my viewing experience of the winter olympics in Korea has been disappointing thus far for a number of reasons.

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Counting The Days

We’ve probably all heard the expression, “Don’t count days, make the days count.” Well, I believe that’s a good motto. It reminds us to be thankful every single day for all of the blessings that happen around us, most of which, sadly, we don’t even pay attention to.

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The Numbers Don’t Lie – Or Do They?

Writing is a touchy business. All subjective and sometimes VERY opinionated. Tom Hanks famously said, “there’s no crying in baseball.” Well, let me tell you, there’s a lot of crying in the writing business.

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How To Help A Starving Author

Lots of people think authors live a glamorous life; sitting in a beach chair, toes in the sand, large floppy hat, cool beverage with little umbrella in the glass with a laptop or tablet on their lap, just tap, tap, tapping away on the keys until – BAM – 90,000 words later, a best-selling masterpiece appears. The next day someone slaps a gorgeous glossy cover on it and plasters it all over the Barnes & Noble front window.

Then, after several hours of tap, tap, tapping, said author dons oversized dark glasses and some sparkly flip flop sandals, gets into their luxury sports car and dashes off to some posh restaurant for lunch with their editor, agent, and some movie producer from Hollywood to discuss the details of turning your latest masterpiece into a Hollywood blockbuster.

Spoiler alert – that NEVER happens. Oh sure, JK Rowling probably does that NOW, but not when she first started. Steven King is a household name and James Patterson’s name gets tossed around a lot on movie sets and such, but seriously, that didn’t happen overnight.

So, how did it happen? I’ll tell you – I have no idea. Believe me, I wish I did. I wish I knew what secret, besides hard work and perseverance would shoot me straight up that ladder to the beach chair in the sun because God knows I would love love to dig my toesies into some white sand right about now. Not to mention that little umbrella drink.

Here’s what I do know, those people spent many, many long days and sleepless nights fussing over the right words, the parts they deleted and maybe shouldn’t have, the opening scenes that should work but for some reason don’t, a reviewers harsh comment, hours of endless re-writing.

In other words, they worked hard and they didn’t quit. They didn’t let disappointment ruin their vision.

And, despite how it seems to authors most days, they didn’t reach a certain level of fame alone. What? You’re saying others helped along the way? Absolutely. A lot of people probably helped and didn’t even know they helped. Strangers can help strangers. Readers can help writers. Here’s how:

Buy books, read books, talk about awesome books.

A great way to take it up a notch, is to leave a review. It’s easy, it’s free, it doesn’t take that long, and it goes a long way in helping authors’ careers. Here’s a few places where you can leave a review: https://www.goodreads.com/; https://www.amazon.com/; or http://allreaders.com/.

Go to book signings if you can and BUY THE BOOK, even if you gift it to someone else.

Spread the word on social media. A “like,” a “share,” a comment, helps boost that author’s visibility. It seems trivial, but like election time, every vote matters. (Please don’t make this political people. God knows we don’t want to go there again.)

Gift a book. A great way to help authors is to buy books for someone else. Especially in this day and age of electronic gadgets, almost everyone has an e-reader of some fashion. If not, you can download a free app to most smart phones. Heck, you can read books on your home computer. What better gift for a person who has everything or no longer wishes to “collect things?” Again, it’s easy and relatively inexpensive. Some e-books are less than a dollar. Gifting an e-book is super easy through Amazon or other on-line e-book retailers. All you need is the recipient’s e-mail address. What a lovely surprise for the recipient to open their e-mail and discover a gift! And it won’t clutter up a closet or shelf.

 

Here’s how I’m going to help some authors this week: Every person who posts a comment on this blog between now and Friday, February 24th, will be gifted an e-book of my choice. Simply leave a comment and mention your favorite genre so I can choose an appropriate book for you from one of my favorite starving authors. Some of you I can wager a pretty good guess about genre, but others not so much. If I don’t already have your e-mail address, send me an e-mail at jansen.schmidt@yahoo.com so I can make sure your e-book arrives. (Caveat: I will only be gifting from Amazon so you’ll have to have a Kindle in order to participate. Sorry to those who prefer other e-reader methods.)

You in turn can help the author of the book I gifted to you by posting a review and I strongly encourage you to do so. I’m acting on good faith here that you will leave a review. If you do not wish to write a review and post it on any or all of the sites I listed above, please let me know if the comments. (Caveat: If you absolutely hate the book I gift you, please do NOT leave a bad review. An honest review yes, but not a scathing one.) Remember, the purpose of this week’s blog is to help each other out. I’m helping readers, you’re helping writers.

That’s it. Easy peasy. You can pass the word to your friends if they want a free book all they have to do is leave a comment and their e-mail address. I’ll do the rest.

So, thanks in advance to all who post a comment and enjoy your books!

How do you help starving authors? Do you routinely leave reviews? Do you attend book signings? Do you have an e-reader?

Word of Day: Acroter

Fun fact about me: I have 3 e-readers but I prefer paper books.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, February 2017. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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Lessons Learned From the Chili Cook-Off

 

Last Saturday I attended the Chili For Children chili cook-off at the Lady Luck Casino here in Vicksburg. It was a charity event to raise money for Vicksburg’s children’s home. 

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Weird = Commitment = Success

My heart is heavy and I am saddened as I write this blog. Sometimes blogging material comes easily and quickly, other times I have to coax it out of nowhere or dig it out of bedrock. This week I had lots of things I wanted to blog about, but my spirit kept taking a beating and I didn’t have the emotional strength to post those things. I generally try to avoid controversy and I always try to take the high road. So, I guess that’s what I’ve decided to do by tackling more important issues – self-worth and ignoring haters.

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The Power of Music & Tuesday’s Tune

This week, I am quest blogging over at Making The Days Count. My cyber friend, Clay asked me to participate in his Tuesday’s Tune inspirational lyrics blog. I willingly agreed because Clay always strives to be positive and has many good things to share.

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