Day: December 24, 2013

Sneak Peek: So This is Christmas

Today we have a sneak peek from the young adult holiday story by Jim Devitt: So This is Christmas.

The Anderson family loves Christmas. You could even call them Christmas junkies. After moving up north, Mark, Carla and their children Cindy and Tony, finally get their postcard Christmas of warm fires and snow.

As the big day approaches, it’s a joyous time for everyone, except for Tony. Adjusting to a new school can be hard on a nine-year old and he’s ruining Christmas for everyone. In this holiday story, the magic of Christmas comes to life in the most unusual of places.

For young and old alike, this magical tale of Christmas spirit is sure to become a new tradition.

So This is Christmas is available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Here is an excerpt from So This is Christmas…

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A Gift to Give: Writing Your Memoir

Guest Post
by Alastair Henry

Writing a memoir should be on every boomer’s bucket list

The most endearing and enduring legacy you can leave your family is you – your story. And anyone can do it. All it takes is time. You don’t need money. The form that your memoir takes can vary widely: from just a stack of notes, or in a story format if you, your child or grandchild want to convert your notes into a memoir, or even a simple digital recording of you reminiscing about your life.

Imagine how thrilling it would be if you could read, in their own words, what your great, great grandparents had to say about their life – the way the world was back in say 1860; how they lived: what they did, believed in, and what they hoped for the future. Conversely, imagine how meaningful it would be for your great, great, grandchildren to read your words a hundred years from now telling them about your life. Continue reading “A Gift to Give: Writing Your Memoir”

How to Share a Review

5 star reviewOkay, so maybe that sounds ridiculously simple, but I have noticed over the past couple of months that when people are trying to share a review, they share a link to their book. Which review on that page did you want people to see? Hopefully there aren’t any one- or two-star reviews on there. You realize this means that the folks you’re trying to impress aren’t seeing what you’re trying to impress them with, right? Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, not all retailers make it simple for folks to share a link that goes just to a specific review. So far, I’ve found that you can share individual reviews from Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing. I guess the latter three make a lot of sense since they are, in fact, review sites. I double- and triple-checked – unfortunately, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords do not have a way to share individual reviews.

So, how does one go about sharing individual reviews for the sites which allow it? Most of them make it pretty easy. Continue reading “How to Share a Review”

How to Write a Blog Article

writing a blog articleWriting a good blog article is a fairly simple thing. If properly constructed, a well-written post will invite traffic from search engines and promote commentary. It may seem strange that people who can write a novel of 100,000 words can struggle so much over a mere 750 word post. In truth, it is no more surprising than discovering a decent sprinter might beat a champion marathon runner in a 100 yard dash. Writing a good blog article requires a different skill-set than writing a good novel. All that is required for success is an understanding of how to apply those skills within the framework of article writing.

Let’s cover some of the basic considerations in crafting an effective blog article: form, focus, and strategy.

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