It’s A ‘Short And Sweet’ Mother’s Day!
May 12, 2019 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby, Writing tagged as books, Mother's Day
Today is Mother’s Day. I was very excited when I realized my monthly post fell on this special day. I knew immediately what I wanted to write about. So first, I want to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day, whether you are a mom or you have a mom (which we all do, even if they are no longer with us!)
This is my first Mother’s Day since my mom passed.
I have to admit, it’s really weird. But as a mom myself, I’m celebrating with my kids and my mother-in-law, and thinking about my mom in so many ways.
I’ve actually written a lot about her this past year. Writing is therapeutic, so maybe writing about her has been part of my healing process. So given it’s Mother’s Day, I figured you wouldn’t mind if I wrote about her, again.
After all, she is my mom!
Even though I miss my mom, I have much to be thankful for this Mother’s Day, including a new article published in the 6th edition of the Short and Sweet series, titled Short and Sweet’s Family Album. All of the articles and poems are written about family members and each article is in one word syllables.
My article is all about my mom, titled Thanks To Mom.
I had originally wrote it as a poem a few years back (which I posted last July in the post Smile and Be Grateful In The Little Things when my mom passed away).
Since it was not included when my first article was published in the 3rd edition, which I wrote about in this post, I was quite excited to be contacted for this issue.
The editor asked me to rewrite it in prose vs a poem, so it’s completely different than the poem, even though the underlying theme is the same. I was even able to include a picture of my mom and myself.
It’s special to me, that I’ve been able to write about her in such a permanent way.
And it’s special to me, that I have yet another publishing credit to my name! I love being a part of the Short and Sweet family.
And Mother’s Day is a perfect time to celebrate both my mom and my writing.
Have a blessed day!
Denise
Books by Denise Colby
Eat . . . I mean, Write What You Want Day by Jina Bacarr
May 11, 2019 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as pizza, romance, writing
Ever want to indulge in a pepperoni pizza and then chocolate gelato? A splurge to celebrate a book deal or soothe a broken heart when your online date turns out not to be your dream guy (that’s another story).
You had me with pizza and gelato.
So the same can be true with your writing. On this Eat What You Want Day, let’s take a look at Write What You Want Day.
Suppose you’ve been cranking out hot contemporary romance until your bleary-eyed and drinking hot, black coffee for what seems like forever. You’re good at it, readers like it…your editor likes it.
But you’ve had it. Up to here. The ole mojo ain’t working.
Pizza and gelato time.
In other words, don’t abandon your shirtless hunks and sassy heroines. Just give them a day off. Write something different. Taste the honey on the next beehive by trying something different with your magic pen.
Your imagination.
So, what shall it be? Prince Charming or history?
Why not have both in a sizzling historical romance.
Love mystery or crime shows? Dark fantasy? Write a scene about a female knight solving a mystery in a dystopian world while trying to save her little sister from the underworld creatures making slaves of her people. And the avenging superstar from the future who steals her heart.
Okay, a bit over the top. But you get the idea. Let your mind run free for a day and write whatever comes to you.
It’s like sorbet for the mind.
You may find that your contemporary romances have a fresh spin on them the next time you sit down at the computer.
And always, always write from the heart…
May Featured Author: Neetu Malik
May 7, 2019 by Neetu Malik in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Author of the Month, Neetu Malik, poetry
Neetu Malik’s poetry is an expression of life’s rhythms and the beat of the human spirit. She draws upon diverse multicultural experiences and observations across three continents in which she has lived. She has contributed to The Australia Times Poetry Magazine, October Hill Magazine, Prachya Review, among others. Her poems have appeared in The Poetic Bond Anthology V and VI published by Willowdown Books, UK, NY Literary Magazine’s Tears Anthology and Poetic Imagination Anthology (Canada).
Her poem, “Soaring Flames”, was awarded First-Place by the NY Literary Magazine (2017). She has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2019 for her poem “Sacred Figs” published by Kallisto Gaia Press in their Ocotillo Review in May, 2018.
Neetu lives in Pennsylvania, USA.
More Promotion – Including Romance by Linda O Johnston
May 6, 2019 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as cozy mysteries, For a Good Paws, Linda O Johnston, Malice Domestic, The Ripped Bodice
I’m writing this post early since I’ll be in Bethesda, Maryland, for Malice Domestic from May 2 through 5—and this post will be up on May 6. And now For A Good Paws, my fifth Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, is officially available. As I’ve mentioned, For A Good Paws is the last mystery in the series—and my last published novel from Midnight Ink, which is going out of the publication business. Sad—but still enjoyable to have a new mystery published!
Since I’m writing this before I leave for Malice, I can’t tell you how much fun I had, but you can be certain I did have a lot of fun. For one thing, I’m scheduled to be on a panel called Paws on the Case: Pet Related Mysteries. For another, I’ll be joining some fun writers at the dinner table for the Agatha Banquet, including others who write about dogs and other pets! And I also hope to be getting together with some former Midnight Ink authors and the former editor, too.
This month I will also be out there promoting romance fiction. First, I’ll be one of the authors attending Romance Authors Day at the Anaheim Public Library on May 18. Later, I will be on a panel of three at The Ripped Bodice, the only store dedicated strictly to romance, on May 23, along with Sheila Roberts and Meg Tilly.
Oh, and by the way, since you obviously read the Slice of Orange blog, you most likely saw my interview by Jann Ryan a couple of days ago. Jann has been a wonderful friend for many years–and she’s the one who introduced me to Romance Writers of America and its Orange County Chapter quite a few years ago!
So, Happy May everyone. Hope you read a lot—and enjoy it.
REBRAND: Website Reveal
May 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category WritingHappy May and Happy Mother’s Day to all who are mothers.
Let’s talk websites.
I mentioned this before how labor intensive and time consuming this rebranding process has been. I’ll let you in on a little secret, I’d do it all over again.
When it came to redesigning my website, I knew I wanted it to be reflective of me. My old site was nice, but after having attended RAM {Romance Author Mastermind], I knew I needed to step up my look. I approached this sort of like a giant Pinterest Board. I studied bestselling author sites, sites I liked and sites from some of my also boughts. I made a list of the things I liked from each site and then went to work redesigning my site.
My new site has most of the information on the homepage. Each book has it’s own page as well as a playlist. I always create playlists when I write, but had kept them to myself. Sharing my playlists was something I saw on Laurelin Paige’s site. She shared playlist with some of her books.
I liked the giveaway Carly Phillips used for her new site launch. I enlisted the readers help checking for typos. She also hid a few intentional ones. This was such a great idea. For my site, I’ve set up a game asking the readers to “Find the Hot Guy”. It also includes a bonus entry for noticing the new cover. [I’m keeping A Southern Gentleman’s new cover a secret in this post until I share it with my list.]
I liked the printable book list from Brenda Novak. At RAM we learned about text messaging. I’ve added that feature. It’s an additional monthly expense, but I think it will come in handy with new releases.
This time around, I used free stock images I tweaked in Photoshop to match my color theme. I also added a new logo. I added a direct link to my reader group and cleaned up the store products. Basically, I added all of the information on the homepage keeping in mind, I had to grab the reader’s attention.
I also carried the graphics over to my email template. I wanted to establish my branding with the colors and the graphics.
Resources I used for the new website:
Shopify
I sell print books and reader boxes, so this is an excellent platform for me. It’s also easy to use. They offer 24/7 Customer Service. Another major feature is a POS app for my iPad and phone. I love using this at signings.
Photoshop
I use Photoshop to tweak my images before adding them to my website and the new logo font.
Unsplash Stock Photos
I found a series of images I felt best represented my brand. I could have used my covers, but they wouldn’t have given me the continuity I wanted. And the covers wouldn’t have stood out.
For the “Find the Hot Guy” giveaway, I used Depositphotos, Pexels, and Unsplash. And Google Docs for the form.
Spotify
I used Spotify to host my playlist. This one is a little tricky, because it’s not compatible with all web browsers.
EZ texting.com
I posted a question to one of my online groups about texting apps, and this one got rave reviews. I’m excited to see how this is going to work.
If you’d like to visit the site, click the image below or the link: https://bit.ly/2DOyvV1. I ask that you not share it yet, because I have a giveaway set up for the launch. If you have a problem with the link or have questions, email me [readtracyreed@me.com]
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