Spam Again …

photo credit: Gauravonomics

For some strange reason, I had a few spam-free days when I moved my blog from a subdirectory to the main directory of my Web site. In the previous two years, Akismet had caught 97,000+ spam comments. Then for a day or two i had zero spam comments!

Then the spam started coming again—a trickle, a stream, a river, a flood. Now, a month later, Akismet has caught 10,000+ spam comments. 10,000 in one month! During the same time, I’ve had about 500 legitimate comments—20 spam comments for every real comment.

The bulk of the spam can be classified as porn, pills, and plagiarism …

Porn: Ads about perverted sex are wasted on a person who openly expresses her Christian faith and values on the blog.

Pills: If the pill purveyors only knew of the adverse reactions I’ve had from prescription medicine they’re trying to sell without prescriptions, they would know there’s nothing for them here.

Plagiarism: Perhaps the thing that amazes me the most are those spammers who plagiarize earlier comments—or even my post! At first, these were hard to catch because they showed up on old posts with lots of comments. But now I’m getting comments that repeat a sentence from my post within minutes of posting.

Thank heavens for Akismet. I’ve been checking comments in spam to look for legitimate comments. A few of my regular commenters end up in spam—I don’t know why, but I try to catch them. But skimming through hundreds of spam comments each day is time-consuming and very unpleasant, and I may stop doing it. If your comment doesn’t appear, e-mail me and I’ll look for it. Otherwise, I may miss it.

Can anyone explain to me why in the world spammers spam?

Blog Book Tour Stop at Cute Writing

Today I’m visiting Cute Writing, a blog run by Lenin Nair. Lenin covers a variety of writing and blogging topics. His blog is especially beneficial for beginning writers. I share tips for aspiring writers on preparing a manuscript for submission to editors and agents. Leave a comment there if you have a question about writing or publishing, and I will check back during the day to respond.

Blog Book Tour Stop at eWritings

Today my friend Mihaela (Mig) LIca is hosting me on her blog eWritings - Online Public Relations. Mig was one of the first readers for Dream or Destiny, and I really appreciate her generous comments. But having known Mig for about a year and a half, I know she is always generous and kind. I’m delighted to be a guest on her blog, where I answer the question, “Where did that idea come from?”

Podcast Interview at The Bluestocking Guide

I’m back at The Bluestocking Guide again for the next stop on my blog book tour. Brooke aka Bluestocking interviewed me for a podcast. She is an attorney and domestic violence victims’ advocate so the interview is focused on domestic violence in general and domestic violence in Dream or Destiny in particular. As I said in the interview, I became very emotionally involved with the characters and their psychological reactions to the abuse they suffered. Brooke and I had a great conversation that I think you will find it interesting and enlightening. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I hope Dream or Destiny and this interview will help raise awareness of this very important topic.

Happy birthday, Liz Strauss and Successful Blog!

Although it’s late in the day, I want to wish Liz Strauss and Successful Blog a happy third birthday. Liz is one of the most generous bloggers on the Internet, and she has built a huge community. Join the celebration, thank Liz for her contributions to the blogosphere, and share in the fun.

Blog Tour Stop at The Bluestocking Guide

Today’s blog book tour stop is at The Bluestocking Guide. Bluestocking describes her blog as “reviews by a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant reader.” Though she has strong opinions, she’s fair and very intelligent. She has an interesting and unique rating system for books, and I’m thrilled that she gave Dream or Destiny an “L” for loved it!

Bluestocking is an attorney and domestic violence victims’ advocate. She discusses the domestic violence in Dream or Destiny and also gives excellent information on how to recognize abuse and how to treat victims. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I’m glad to help raise awareness of abuse.

Stop by for a visit and a chance to win a copy of Dream or Destiny. While you’re there, take time to read some of other posts. I think you’ll add The Bluestocking Guide to blogs you read regularly.

First Stop on Blog Book Tour: Words for Hire

I kick off my blog book tour today with a guest post at Words for Hire. You probably recognize that as the blog of Karen Swim, who is an eloquent writer with a beautiful soul. If you’re not already a regular at her blog, you’ll become one when you read a few of her posts. I’m honored to be starting my tour at Words for Hire.

Since November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I share some advice for writers who plan to participate in NaNoWriMo. 

I hope you’ll visit and leave a comment. Karen is giving away a copy of Dream or Destiny so don’t miss your chance.

Dream or Destiny and the Kindle

Dream or Destiny is now available at Amazon.com as a Kindle edition. This is exciting to me because I recently bought a Kindle: Amazon’s Wireless Reading Device and love reading on it.

When the Kindle was first introduced, I wrote a post about it: What Will the Kindle Do for the E-Publishing Industry? Since I hadn’t seen the device at that time, I based the article on information gleaned from a variety of sources. I concluded:

What I really like about the Kindle is the attention it is bringing to e-books. I believe that Amazon.com getting involved in the industry and Jeff Bezos personally promoting the product will have a positive impact on the future of e-publishing.

I believe the Kindle has had a positive impact on the e-publishing industry. Now that I have used the device for a few weeks, I’ll share my thoughts about the device from a reader standpoint. Although I will point out some things that take getting used to (some of which I’d like to see changed), my overall reaction to the Kindle is extremely positive. I love reading on it!

What takes getting used to:

• The position of the “next page” and “previous page” buttons. There are buttons along the side of the screen on both sides of the Kindle. This presented a challenge at first—many times I turned pages backward or forward unintentionally because I couldn’t find a comfortable spot to hold the device. I’ve found a good way to hold the Kindle, but I still occasionally turn pages accidentally. I would prefer the buttons be smaller or placed differently.
• The flash of the e-ink as each new page appears. The first few times I read on the Kindle, I found it disconcerting that the page flashes briefly before it fully opens. However, it didn’t take long to reach the point that I don’t notice the flash anymore.
• The tiny size of the keys on the keyboard. I can’t read the letters on the keyboard without a magnifying glass, so I had to learn the keyboard before it functioned well for me. Now that I know the position of the keys, I can use the keyboard.
• The lack of a backlight. I can’t read in the dark as I can with my eBookwise reader. This is offset by the wonderful reading experience in bright light and glare. I am keeping my eBookWise reader and will use it when I want to read in the dark. The rest of the time, I prefer the Kindle.

What I absolutely adore about the Kindle:

• The easy to read screen. The e-ink technology is amazing. It is much clearer and brighter than any other e-book reader I’ve seen, even than print. It’s absolutely the best reading experience I’ve ever had.
• The size of the font. I can adjust the text as large as I want and find it easy to see.
• The WhisperNet. The wireless connection is fabulous. All I have to do is select the Kindle store from the menu, shop on Amazon, select a book or a blog or a magazine … and it’s downloaded instantly to my Kindle. Unlike other devices, the Kindle doesn’t have to be connected to a computer—or anything else—to download content. I never have to worry that I will run out of reading material when I take the Kindle with me. If I finish all the books I have stored, I can just purchase a new title from wherever I am.
• The ease of adding personal content. The Kindle comes with a USB connection. If I want to read a work-in-progress or an e-book purchased for another device, I connect to the computer through the USB cable, then drag and drop the files from my computer to the Kindle. The device accepts several formats; I have found text files usually result in the best conversion. Although the Kindle doesn’t read PDF files, I copy and paste the content from PDF e-books into a text file and transfer to the device. This works well unless the PDF is encrypted.
• The convenient size and weight of the device. The Kindle is lightweight and smaller than a paperback—easy on arthritic hands.
• Features such as search, bookmark, and highlight. I haven’t even used all the features yet, but I really appreciated being able to find and bookmark the passages I wanted to read at my book launch party.

All in all, I love the Kindle and highly recommend it. Have you tried the Kindle? What is your experience?

$50 Discount: (added 10/26/08) In response to a question in comments about a discount Oprah is offering for the Kindle, I tracked down the offer on her Web site:

As a special offer for Oprah Show viewers, Amazon.com is giving $50 off the price of Kindle. Enter the promotional code OPRAHWINFREY during the checkout process at Amazon.com to receive the discount. This offer is valid through November 1, 2008.

Code for $50 off the price of Kindle: OPRAHWINFREY

Blog Book Tour for Dream or Destiny

Note added 10/27/08: Check the blog tour page for a tour schedule that is updated daily with direct links to the posts. The list below includes links to the host blogs’ main page rather than to specific posts.

I’m going on an international tour for Dream or Destiny—a blog book tour, that is.

As you can see from the schedule below, I’m stopping at some fabulous blogs. The hosts are located in Germany, India, Scotland, Belgium, Guatemala, and the US. They have lined up a variety of activities—interviews, a podcast, reviews, and guest posts. The interviewers came up with some intriguing questions. I hope you’ll follow the tour and visit all the super blogs who will be hosting me. You’ll have a chance to win a copy of Dream or Destiny at many of the stops.

• Monday, October 27
  • Words for Hire
  • Guest post: Write a Novel in Six Months … or Thirty Days
• Tuesday, October 28
  • The Bluestocking Guide
  • Review
• Wednesday, October 29
  • The Bluestocking Guide
  • Podcast interview
• Thursday, Oct 30
  • eWritings Online Public Relations
  • Guest Post: Where Did That Idea Come From?
• Friday, October 31
  • Cute Writing
  • Guest post: Preparing a Manuscript to Submit to Editors or Agents
• Monday, November 3
  • Life of a Writer
  • Interview
• Tuesday, November 4
  • Unwriter Ron Berry
  • Review
• Wednesday, November 5
  • Unwriter Ron Berry
  • Interview
• Thursday, November 6
  • Confident Writing
  • Interview
• Friday, November 7
  • eWritings Online Public Relations
  • Guest Post: Getting Published with a Little Help from My Friends
• Monday, November 10
  • Writer’s Notes
  • Review & contest
• Tuesday, November 11
  • The Dark Phantom Review
  • Guest Post: A Twisted Tale of Cover Art
• Wednesday, November 12
  • At Home Mom Blog
  • Interview
• Thursday, November 13
  • Straight from Hel
  • Guest Post: How Things Change—Editing a Manuscript Ten Years Later
• Friday, November 14
  • Writer’s Notes
  • Interview & answer readers’ questions

I hope to see you at all my stops around the blog world!

Books and Autographs

If you’re eager to buy Dream or Destiny, the publisher has books in stock now and Amazon.com will have books soon. And if you want my autograph, fill out the request form and I’ll send you an autographed bookplate for your book.

Order Dream or Destiny from GASLight Publishing, LLC

Order Dream or Destiny from Amazon.com

Added 10/23/08: If you bought the e-book, I’ll send you an autographed postcard. Just indicate on the form whether you want a bookplate or a card.

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