I’m Home and Settling In
September 29, 2008 by Lillie
Finally … my Web site and blog are together. I love the Revolution Pro Business theme and the gorgeous header designed by the talented artist, Aundrea Hernandez (who also created the cover for Dream or Destiny).
I’m still working to get everything right. I lost my blogroll in the transfer so will have to re-create it. If your blog has been on my blogroll, check when you see the blogroll is back in a few days. Let me know if I’ve overlooked you.
There are still a lot of images missing. Though they seem to have transferred, somehow the links went haywire. So I’ll be working on that.
As far as I know, all the pages are complete. Please let me know if you find any links that don’t work or see anything missing or strange.
You may not see any new posts this week while I finish settling in, but I’ll be back to a normal schedule next week. Thanks for sticking around!
Temporary Quarters
September 27, 2008 by Lillie
Well … kouji wished me only one hiccup in updating my blog and Web site. Though I have been delayed in finishing the project because I’ve been under the weather, everything had been going smoothly. I got everything pretty much the way I want it on my test site, but when I tried to transfer to the right domain, something went wrong. I have redirected the URL (lillieammann.com) to the test site (lillieammann.net) while I figure out the problem. Some images are missing, and some links don’t work.
As you can see, I have put the entire site on WordPress, the Revolution Pro Business theme. My Web site hadn’t been updated in ages—maybe I’ll keep it up better in WordPress instead of Dreamweaver.
New Novel Released: Dream or Destiny
September 26, 2008 by Lillie
Finally, my new novel, Dream or Destiny, has been released as an e-book. When you order an e-book from GASLight Publishing, LLC, you receive a zip file that contains four e-book formats: PDF (which you can read in Adobe Acrobat), HTML (which you can read in your Web browser, whether or not you are connected to the Internet), Word .doc (which you can read in your word processor) and text (which you can read on your computer or in many e-book reading devices).
The print version will be available October 18th.
You can read an excerpt in a free PDF download.
I’m planning a blog book tour when the paperback edition is released. If you would like to host me on one of my tour stops, please contact me by e-mail or leave a comment below.
Here’s the back cover blurb:
Marilee Anderson dreams about a murder and wakes to find it really happened. She and David Nichols, the victim’s brother, become the prime suspects. Though they have their secrets and aren’t sure they can trust each other, Marilee and David team up to find the killer.
Does Tess, “the crazy lady,” know anything about the murder or is she just delusional? Does the cheating couple on the victim’s floor have any information about the night of the crime? Why has the abusive father of the victim and her brother suddenly reappeared? What about Barbara’s ex-husband? Will Marilee and David find the killer? Or will they end up in jail—or dead?
“Lillie Ammann’s unique talent brings her characters to life in this tension filled suspense. From the first paragraph she’ll have your heart racing as Marilee’s nightmare takes over her life and changes it forever.” ~ Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, author of A Time to Dance
“Lillie Ammann has written more than a book about two people trying to solve a crime. She delves into the effects of grief and guilt, attraction and suspicion, compassion and evil. “ ~ Helen Ginger, Freelance editor, book consultant, writer, and speaker
Update
September 25, 2008 by Lillie
I hope to unveil the new design soon. I haven’t been able to work as much as I would like because I’ve been under the weather. The delay isn’t because of any problems with the redesign … and it’s not because I’m creating an absolute masterpiece. 
Change is afoot …
September 15, 2008 by Lillie
I’m making changes to my blog.If anything looks strange or something doesn’t work in the next few days, it will be a temporary situation. The new and improved blog should be unveiled later this week.
Patriot Day 2008
September 11, 2008 by Lillie
Great Editing Blog: The Blood-Red Pencil
September 9, 2008 by Lillie
I’ve recently joined a great new editing blog: The Blood-Red Pencil. A dozen professional editors ”take the mystery out of of book manuscript revision.” My first post on the blog, Ten Tips for Self-Editing, appeared today. I encourage you to subscribe so you don’t miss any of the great editing advice.
Thanks to August Commenters
September 6, 2008 by Lillie
August brought more comments from fewer commenters than July: more than 400 comments from 100 commenters. I appreciate each and every comment, though I prefer to respond to people rather than keywords as I explained in my last post about comments.
Thanks to these great folks who visited and commented in August!
Top Contributor (24 comments) She might have as many words as I do on this blog this month.
Jeanne Dininni Writers’ Notes
Major Contributors (6-9 comments)
Cath Lawson Cath Lawson
Uptake in Ohio Uptake
Outstanding Contributors (3-5 comments)
Helen Ginger Straight from Hel
John Hewitt Poewar: Writer’s Resource Center
Karen Swim Words for Hire
Rita Bloggrrl
A-1 Medical Supplies A-1 Medical Supplies
A. Smith Attractive Bust
Wilson Will You Mind
annakat
Bonnie @ Data Entry Data Plus+
Renae Morning Coffee
Robert Hruzek Middle Zone Musings
Significant Contributors (2 comments)
Alina Popescu Words of a Broken Mirror
Amy Derby Write from Home
Andrew Flusche, Fredericksburg Lawyer
Brad Shorr Word Sell, Inc
Diane Her SCA Blog
Harvey Free PS3
Jacob JobMob
Joanna Young Confident Writing
Laura Spencer Writing Thoughts
Lionel Acid 42
lionheart
Monika Mundell Writer’s Manifesto
Robyn McMaster Brain-Based Biz
Yiwu Amanda IEC
Important Contributors
Alex Fractus
Amaterashu Shwoomp
Anne Tramadol.gs
arac kiralama Alper Rent a Car
Bible Search Bible Dictionary
Blogging Tips Blog About Your Blog
Brian Armstrong Utah Reverse Mortgage
Charlotte Dentist Williams & Drake Dentistry
child safety services Instant Amber
Ciara Ciara Get Up
Coaching Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness
Cristiana Rome Rents
Custom Printed Mouse Pads Print and Stitch
Data Entry Services Data Plus+
David@Dioscount DSLRs Discount DSLRs
Davina Loving Pulse
denver Shine Solar
error fixer Registry Optimizer
Find a Job Damn I Need a Job
Fluge Kanada Ticket Point
funny news No Nonsense News
Glyconutrients My Glyconutrient Store
guy who needs cosmetic surgery Cosmetic Surgery Facelift Guide
Hamurabi Hamurabi’s Weblog
Indoor Lighting Low Voltage Indoor Lighting Buyers Guide
Internet Business Opportunity First One There
Jackie Cameron Consult Cameron
James Chartrand Men with Pens
Jane Blogedy
Jasia Creative Gene
Jesse Chapter Bankruptcy
Jesse @ DTT901 Reviews Digital Converter Box
Jessica My Organic Gardening Tips
Job Teen Job Finder
Joseph Mercola Mercola.com
kouji A Haiku Poem Blog
Larry Hood
Liza Ray Men’s Health Blog
Logo Design Templates Graphic Design Team
Loky WowJuju
Magic Mummy For Kids
Matt Keegan Word Journey
Mihaela (Mig) Lica Online Public Relations
Mike Goad Exit 78
Mobile Blog VaroLogic Blog
nintendo wii fit Wii Balance Board Games
Ohm Simplistic Zen
Pad Learn Aikido
Passive Harry Free Poker Cash Bankroll
patrickd Xlibris
pay per click management isotree
Sally Ferguson Sally’s Words
Schuppen Dermindo
Selma Handy Mit Notebook
Stephen PostMilitary
Steve H20 Fun
Tammy Hensel Dedicated Writer
Techy Technorino
willy Lose Your Weight
Zen Zen Tricks
If I’ve overlooked anyone or have any bad links, please let me know. Thanks to each of you, and thanks to those of you who read and don’t comment. I appreciate you all.
Comment Spam, Do Follow, Keyword Names, and You
September 3, 2008 by Lillie
I’m pleased with the number of insightful comments this blog gets, and I appreciate comments from diverse readers from around the world.
As my comment policy specifies, first-time comments are moderated; after the first comment is approved, future comments from that person are not subject to moderation. In theory, at least. Recently Akismet, which generally does an excellent job of catching spam and not blocking legitimate comments, has blocked comments from regular commenters. I usually delete spam comments without looking at them, so it’s possible that some valuable comments have slipped through and been deleted. If you have commented before and your comment doesn’t appear immediately, e-mail me.
If you haven’t commented before, your comment won’t appear until I have approved it. If your comment hasn’t appeared within 24 hours, you can contact me.
However, if you leave a comment that says “great post,” “now there are more reasons than ever to comment,” or any other comment that doesn’t even indicate you’ve read the post, expect it to be deleted. The first time, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and delete the comment; if it happens again, the comment will be marked spam and any other comments you leave will go into spam.
This blog is a Do Follow blog, which encourages comments. It also attracts spammers. If you come here to comment because you want a link that search engines will follow, I’m happy to have you … IF you read the post before you comment and leave a comment that says something. If the comment is so generic it doesn’t relate to the post … that’s a different story.
The most egregious case of inappropriate commenting started with a comment I approved. The comment related to the post, and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary so I approved it. The next day that person left about 15 comments—all of which posted immediately because the previous comment had been approved. The first comment I read sounded familiar so I read through all the comments on that post, only to discover that a comment left by another person had been copied. I checked all the comments, and all were duplicates of other comments. The comments were made on older posts with a lot of comments to make it more difficult to catch. Since they were copied from relevant comments, they were appropriate for the post and seemed like legitimate comments. In fact, they were legitimate comments from the original commenter—but plagiarized by the spammer. I marked all the comments, including the first one (which had also been copied though I didn’t recognize at first), as spam. So now we have spam and plagairism in the same comment!
Commenters we bloggers love. Spammers are not welcome.
I do appreciate all legitimate comments, and I reply to every comment. I like to address the commenter by name, but I won’t address someone as California Liposuction or Timbuktu Real Estate. I will approve and reply to the comment, but I’d much rather respond to Susie of California Liposuction or John @ Timbuktu Real Estate. Including keywords with your name is fine—you get a keyword link, and I know I’m replying to a real person. I have a hard time relating to Fat-Burning Miracle.
If you are a blogger, what is your comment policy? If you comment on blogs, what do you think of my comment policy? How do you feel about using keywords rather than names?
Labor Day
September 1, 2008 by Lillie
Labor Day, the first Monday is September, is set aside to honor American workers. Although it was started by the labor movement for union workers, I think all workers—blue collar, white collar, professional, union or non-union—deserve recognition … and a day of rest.
Enjoy your holiday, fellow workers.
