A Book About Macaroni and Cheese
August 15, 2022 by Renae Wrich in category Writing tagged as ChildrensLit, MacaroniAndCheese, OriginStory, writerslife, writing inspirationSo, I wrote a book about macaroni and cheese. It wasn’t something I ever planned to do, but like all happy accidents in life, I sure am glad it happened the way it did.
While writing has always been a passion of mine, and a muscle that I frequently flex during my day job, it wasn’t until a daycare pick-up one fateful afternoon in 2019 that propelled me on the path of writing a children’s book.
One sunny afternoon, I picked the kiddos up from school and asked them what sounded good for dinner. They immediately responded with what I already knew they would say, “Mac and cheese, please, please, please”. I turned the words over in my head the whole seven-minutes it took for us to get home.
I decided to give into their demands that day and make a box of macaroni and cheese, because it had been AT LEAST three days since they’d last had it [Insert parenting eye-roll].
I kid you not… In the time it took me to make a box of macaroni and cheese, I had scribbled out a children’s book.
I can still picture it in all its felt-tip marker and wide ruled notebook glory. I read it to my kids while they shoveled the orange noodles into their mouths; giving me nods of approval.
It didn’t come as a total surprise that a random lightening bolt of inspiration had struck me. After all, I’d been creative writing and plotting storylines on paper and in my head for years. I just had never guessed that it would come in the form of a children’s book, much less a children’s book about macaroni and cheese. Yet, here we are!
That’s the origin story of my book, which just celebrated its two-year birthday last month.
The absolute best part of having a book about macaroni and cheese is when I get a picture or Snapchat from my little Mac and Cheese Army out there. I had a friend reach out and tell me that her three-year-old accurately explained that they were having “elbow noodles” for dinner. These moments always serve as a good reminder to listen to those random lightening bolts of inspiration, especially since my little Mac and Cheese Army demands more.
Neetu Malik: August Featured Author
August 14, 2022 by Neetu Malik in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, Neetu Malik, Poet's Day, 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.
You can find Neetu’s poetry in these volumes.
Hover on the cover for buy links. Click on the cover for more information.
Putting Words to Paper by Ralph Hieb
August 13, 2022 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group
The reason I write is for my pleasure. The joy of putting thoughts from my head down on paper is thrilling, especially if it is in a story that is enjoyable.
I can take a scene of combatants and put that heat of battle into the mind of the reader. They can imagine every swing of a sword or the sudden blast as a gun spews its lethal venom at an adversary. When done right, you can smell the odor of spent powder. Maybe the fragrant scent of a flower as it sends out its invitation to a pollinating insect. The mind can smell what the mind imagines. A powerful tool for me to utilize.
The images that can be placed on a sheet of paper have no limits. I can find myself, in the form of my characters, sailing a ship on the high seas or flying through the depths of space. Sometimes being lowered by rope to explore uncharted caverns in the Earth’s crust. There are times I would think that the story is a memoir of times when I was existing in another realm.
There are scenes that can describe sweet flowers blooming in a meadow on a mountain, the warmth of the sun with its brightness making the world magical. Or the chill of wandering through a forest with tall trees, their branches blocking the sun from reaching the ground, the dampness of rotting vegetation seeping to the very bones of a person. These places are hard to find but easy to come across with a description from the vision in my mind.
You might think that these are strange thoughts coming from a person who generally writes paranormal. However, not all the tales I have written contain ghosts, vampires, werewolves, or the other creatures that might go bump in the night. Sometimes I do dream of having a log cabin in the mountains situated at the edge of a lake with good fishing. These dreams need to find a home on paper along with the Dennison’s of dark imagination.
There are also times I sit down to write, and the words or ideas refuse to come to the surface of my thoughts. These are times I write just to scribble. These are things that make no sense whatsoever. It is only to keep my fingers on the keyboard and stop me from checking my social media accounts, going through my e-mail, or browsing stories that the news media thinks are important. These are times when only playing on the keyboard will, hopefully, bring ideas forth.
So, there you have it. My thoughts on writing putting words or ideas down for not only myself to enjoy, but, I hope, for others to see the visions laid out on paper or electronic device for them to imagine along with me.
Ralph’s Books
What’s All The Hype Over Keywords?
August 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Keywords, Marketing for Authors, SEO MarketingWe’ve all heard these statements: Use keywords in your blog posts. Up your SEO game with the right keywords. Keywords are the key. Keywords matter. So what is all the hype over keywords?
Here’s a simple definition:
Keywords are used in digital marketing to describe a word or group of words someone types in a search engine/search bar to perform a search.
As writers we use that search bar all the time for our research.
And that’s how our readers use the search bar too.
So when we write a blog post – think what your reader would possibly type in their search bar to find what you are writing. And use your search bar to test the keywords you are selecting.
The hype over keywords is no joke
Have you ever searched for something and had to change the wording several times to finally get to what you were looking for? That’s the keyword organization going on. The search engines have specific formulas to organize and index everything on the internet. When someone performs a search, they want to find relevant content. And why businesses in the SEO and search engine business hype the use of keywords all the time. And teach what they can on the subject. The better everyone uses keywords, the more organized internet content will be.
How do you write keywords?
Keywords are tricky. You can’t use the same ones twice. If you do, they sort of cancel each other out when being indexed. So, when you use only one word, it limits using that word ever again. So using two words and varying one of them for different scenarios would be a good strategy.
Another strategy is to not use words too broad or too narrow. Again, think about the terms you use when searching for similar topics. You want to land on the first page of the search. The more you research, you’ll start to see how to tweak and tailor your keywords to better fit.
Other tips for writing strong keywords
- Make sure posts and pages are focused and related to only ONE main idea. When you figure out your keyword FIRST, you write your blog post differently.
- Include your keywords in your title, first paragraph, a subhead or two, and the body text
- Use other relatable words that support the main topic through the post/page
- Include pictures that represent your keywords and add your keywords into the alt text
- Keywords can be tied into your Category and Tag strategy as well, especially if it’s a topic you cover frequently
- You could use your keyword phrase as your slug to keep things simple
Interested in learning more about SEO? Check out my Using a Blog SEO Checklist to Streamline Your Blog Post and/or sign up for my Marketing for Authors newsletter on my website.
Happy 3rd Birthday to my publisher Boldwood Books by Jina Bacarr
August 11, 2022 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as #Boldwood Books, #Historical, romance, writing@jinabacarrauthor Happy 3rd Birthday to #boldwoodbooks #booktok #boldwoodbirthday @bookandtonic
♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr
I was a shy kid growing up… glasses, pigtails, my nose in a book, but I came alive on stage. I think that’s because there I could be someone else who wasn’t always the ‘new kid’.
You see, I went to fifteen schools growing up.
But there was one thing constant in my life on every birthday no matter in which state we lived.
My mother’s butter vanilla cake.
Every birthday Mom made me a cake from scratch. Sometimes milk chocolate icing, or lemon or coconut , but always that soul-melty butter cake. Sweet but not too sweet, smooth, silky cake and dollops and gobs of yummy buttercream frosting.
So this year when my publisher BOLDWOOD BOOKS asked us authors to do a video to celebrate the phenomenal success of the company on their 3rd birthday, I so wanted to make Mom’s butter vanilla cake but–
For the past three weeks, I’ve been obsessed with finishing my next Paris/Berlin WW2 novel (many all-nighters) — handing in the manuscript, then working on the edits from the best editor a writer could ever have. Amazing lady who challenges me to write the best books I can. I’ve been with Nia Beynon from the beginning of my Boldwood Books’ journey and she’s the best.
I’m proud to say I’m the first American author they signed in 2019.
On this fab occasion, I want to wish Team Boldwood a very happy 3rd birthday!!
I hope you enjoy my birthday video — I shot the vid at my local fancy bakery…
And if you look close enough, you’ll see that little girl in an insert in the video… with glasses and pigtails wound on top of her head.
Jina
Paris 1940
The Lost Girl in Paris
My heroine, Angeline de Cadieux, is a Roma girl in WW2 Paris… she’s strong, fights in the Resistance… makes exquisite perfumes and comes up with an amazing marketing campaign during the war to boost morale in France.
Thank you!
The Resistance Girl
Juliana discovers her grandmamma was a famous French film star in Occupied Paris & her shocking secret…
CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08DNDHDG4
AU https://amazon.com.au/dp/B08DNDHDG4
The Runaway Girl
Once upon the ship of dreams… me dressed as a first class lady
Amazon:
HER LOST LOVE
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