Book Review: Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers

Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers: Tweaking Your Tweets and Other Tips for Integrating Your Social Media
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
Copyright 2010
ISBN: 9781451546149
Paperback, 130 pages, $12.92
Nonfiction

When I was approached to review this book, I warned the author that I have a strong resistance to Twitter. At various times, I’ve decided I would start tweeting, only to change my mind before I actually followed through. She was brave enough to want to know my reaction to the book, anyway.

First, although the book is part of a series of books for retailers as indicated by the title, you don’t have to be a retailer to benefit from the information. Anyone who wants to promote a business, service, or product (such as a book) can learn to do it following this guide.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has written a number of how-to-do-it-frugally books for both retailers and authors, and she’s a pro at it. Her writing voice is friendly and conversational, and she explains each step of the process simply but thoroughly. I really appreciate that she not only tells the reader how to do something, but she also explains why it’s important.

For example, in describing how to write a Twitter biography, she says:

YOUR TINY TWITTER BIOGRAPHY is the most important of your Tweeting tools because it is what you say in your biography that will have the greatest influence on Tweeters who are deciding whether to follow you. A bio should establish your credentials and make you and/or your store come alive for your homepage visitor.

The book is only 130 pages, but those pages are crammed full of step-by-step instructions and details. She suggests you go to twitter.com and actually take the actions rather than just reading her advice. I’m confident that if you did that as a beginner, you would be up and running on Twitter in no time. If you are experienced on Twitter, you’re bound to learn some new tips and tricks that you didn’t know before.

The appendixes include samples of tweets, blog posts, and media releases as well as information about applications that can enhance your Twitter experience. A table of contents and an index make it easy to find specific information.

If you want to get started on Twitter or use it more effectively, you will find Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers invaluable.

Did this book convince me to get on Twitter? Well … no, it didn’t. However, if I ever decide to start tweeting, I will certainly use this guide to do it right!

Disclosure: I received an electronic copy of the book from the author. I have not accepted any compensation for this review and made no commitment to give a favorable review. The link to Amazon.com is an affiliate link.

Beating Time at Its Own Game: Life Begins at Sixty – Guest Post by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Sometimes the big barriers in life aren’t abject poverty, dreaded disease, or death. Sometimes it’s the subtle ones set upon us by time and place. The ones that can’t be seen and can’t be acknowledged because we don’t know they are there. They creep up silently on padded feet and, if we sense them at all, we choose not to turn and face them. The decade of the 50s was a time when barriers like these faced those with dark skin, those who lived in closed religious communities, and those who were female.

 When I applied for a job as a writer for Good Housekeeping (Hearst Corporation) in New York in 1961, I was required to take a typing test. I was piqued because I wasn’t applying for the typing-pool, I was applying for a post as an editorial assistant.

I was told, “No typing test, no interview.” I took the test and was offered a job in the ranks of those who could do 70-in-a-minute. I had to insist upon the interview I had been promised. I was only twenty and had no real skills in assertiveness. I am amazed I had the wherewithal to insist on anything.

The essentials of this anecdote lie in the fact that I was put out for the wrong reasons. My irritation was a reflection of hubris. However, that pride was probably what goaded me into speaking up so I guess pride is not always a bad thing to have.

It never occurred to me that this typing requirement was one that applied only to women, much less that I should be angry for the sake of my entire gender. Prejudice is sometimes like traveling on well-worn treads; you have no idea you’re in danger. It also feeds on the ignorance of its victims. They benignly accept their lot because they know no better.

Something similar was at work when I married and had children. I happily took a new direction to accommodate my husband’s career and the life the winds of the times presented to me. The two of us (often with our children’s help!) opened an art gallery and it grew into a chain of gift shops, so I left my writing with hardly a backward look. Back then—in the days before women had been made aware—the possibilities were not an open book to be denied or accepted. I just did what was expected by the entire culture.

As a shop owner, I was often surprised—even after it happened many times—when suppliers wouldn’t talk to me. They insisted on talking to the “decision maker,” presumably someone with a masculine voice. Once I met disbelief when I told the person on the other end of the line that I was it.

Things are so much better now. I don’t think women younger than their mid-fifties have any idea of how ignorant most women were to their own possibilities. That there was a time when we didn’t even know we had choices is not fiction.

I had always wanted to sit in a forest or an office or a newsroom with a pencil in my hand. I dreamed writing, lived writing, and loved writing. I wanted to write the next Gone with the Wind, only set in Utah instead of the South. (I figured enough had been written about the South and hardly anyone knew anything about the unique culture I was raised in.) That was my plan, but it was soon gone with the wind.

My dream was a victim of the status quo. It never occurred to me to just strike out in my own direction when my husband and children needed me. The pain was there. I just didn’t recognize it so I could hardly address it and fix it.

My husband and I built a business. We raised a lawyer and a mathematician, grew in joy with a grandson, lived through floods and moves, enjoyed travel. For forty years I didn’t write and, during that time, there were changes. Women had more choices but more than that they had become more aware. The equipment, gears, and pulleys were in place for a different view on life. In midlife I became aware that there was an empty hole where my children had been but also that the hole was more vast than the space vacated by them. I knew I not only would be able to write, I would need to write.

Then I read that, if those who live until they are fifty in these times may very likely see their hundredth year. That meant that I might have another entire lifetime before me—plenty of time to do whatever I wanted. In fact, it’s my belief that women in their 50s might have more time for their second life because they won’t have to spend the first twenty years preparing for adulthood.

One day I sat down and began to write the “Great Utah Novel.” I thought it would be a lot easier than it was. I had majored in English Lit. Writing a novel should be pretty much second nature.

Since then I’ve written books of poetry, a series of HowToDoItFrugally books for writers, and a series for retailers. The nonfiction books are the result of many of those experiences, the wafting and ebbing of life. They wouldn’t have been possible had I not been led off track. I guess that realization is a form of the wisdom people say we get as we age.

I am proud of my novel and poetry. I’m glad that I waited until I was sixty. I believe that forty years brought insight to the story in terms of the obstacles that women faced in those days and a gentler perspective of the culture in Utah. But I’m also proud of my nonfiction books, my efforts to share what I learned through all of my careers. Each was valuable.

But mostly I like being proof that a new life can start late—or that it is never too late to revive a dream.

———————————

Be sure to return Friday for a review of Carolyn’s latest book: Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers:Tweaking Your Tweets and Other Tips for Integrating Your Social Media. And don’t think this book doesn’t apply to you because you’re not a retailer. The information can be used by authors or anyone trying to promote a product or service.
———————————

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s first novel, This Is the Place, and her creative nonfiction, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, are both award-winners. Her fiction, nonfiction, and poems have appeared in national magazines, anthologies, and review journals. She speaks on culture, tolerance, writing, and promotion and has appeared on TV and hundreds of radio stations nationwide. She is an instructor for UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program and has shared her expertise at venues like San Diego State’s world renowned Writers’ Conference and Call to Arts! EXPO. She was recently awarded Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by the California Legislature and her city’s Ethics award for her work on promoting tolerance. Her nitty-gritty how-to book, The Frugal Book Promoter won USA Book News’ Best Professional Book award and the Irwin Award and her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success was also a USA News winner and a Reader Views Literary Award winner. Her chapbook of poetry, Tracings, won the Award of Excellence from the Military Writers’ Society of America and was a Compulsive Reader Best Read. She loves to travel and has studied writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, UK; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, RU; and Charles University in Prague.

photo credit: Riebart

One Lovely Blog Award

Thanks to Dominique at 4Walls and a View for the One Lovely Blog Award. Dominique has one lovely blog—in spite of serious chronic illnesses and many other challenges, she is upbeat and encouraging to her many readers, especially others with severe health issues.

Recipients are asked to pass the award along to 15 other blogs, preferably blogs new to us. Narrowing down the list was a challenge. In general, I tried to select blogs that I’ve started reading within the past few months and that update regularly. I also tried to select a mix of blogs—some are Christian devotional blogs; some relate to writing or books; and some focus on other topics. Some will not pass the award on, but I wanted to recognize them anyway.

The criteria for accepting the award are as follows:

• Post it with the name of the person who granted you the award along with a link to her Web site.
• Pass the award on 15 blogs that you have newly discovered (if possible).
• Contact the bloggers to notify them they have received the award.

Here are my choices (in the order they appear in my feed reader):

• Books on the Knob—Every day Karen lists books that are free or discounted for the Kindle and other e-readers. Many of the books on my Kindle right now are there because I clicked on a link at Books on the Knob to download a free copy.
• Carolyn Scheidies’ I Deal in Hope Blog—I confess this is not a new blog for me. I’ve known Carolyn Scheidies and read her blog since she started it several years ago. However, I’ve never acknowledged how much I appreciate her daily devotionals and want to do that now.
• Daily Grace—Dr. Bobbi Jo’s devotional blog is a recent discovery for me. Her daily devotionals are short but packed with meaning.
• George Angus, Tumblemoose Writer—George’s passion for writing and passion for books shines through his posts.
• Good Honest Dollar—This is another blog I’ve read for a while but never recognized. Andrew discusses the ethics (or lack thereof) in real-world business situations.
• In His Name—Angela Joseph has been posting Christian articles and devotionals since 2005, but I only discovered her blog recently and am very glad I did.
• Indie Author—April L. Hamilton provides great advice and information about self-publishing.
• Sally’s Words—Sally is a minister’s wife who writes an eclectic blog about ministry, motherhood, and  more.
• Self-Editing Blog—John Robert Marlow doesn’t post often, but when he speaks, authors listen to his excellent advice.
• Solid Rock or Sinking Sand—Lloyd Cannaday’s reflections constantly remind us to build our lives on Solid Rock (Jesus), not sinking sand (the world). 
• The Book Designer—You would expect a designer’s blog to be lovely, which it is, but Joel Friedlander provides much useful information that every self-publisher needs to know if they want their self-published book to look like a traditionally published book.
• The Old Geezer Blog—The Old Geezer writes about faith, politics, current events—and he’s funny. I do have one thing against him. According to his bio, he’s a few months younger than I am, so if he’s an old geezer, what am I?
• Visual Arts Junction—You’ve seen links to VAJ several times here, so you may think this is not a new blog to me. However, I didn’t discover Aggie Villanueva’s blog until I hosted her on a blog book tour early this year. In addition to all the great information for authors, VAJ is one lovely blog because of Aggie’s fabulous photographic art.
• WordJourney Magazine—This is another blog I’ve read for quite awhile, since it first began, but have never publicly acknowledged how much I appreciate Matt Keegan’s information and inspiration.
• Words for Hire—Another not-new-to-me blog that I couldn’t leave off because everything about Karen and her words is absolutely lovely.

Thank you to each of these special bloggers for bringing me pleasure, information, and inspiration every time I open my feed reader. There are many more wonderful blogs that I enjoy reading regularly, many of whom I’ve recognized previously with other awards. Thank you for your contributions to the blogosphere.

People First: Empowering People with Disabilities

Today, bloggers are uniting to raise awareness about empowering people with disabilities.

After my stroke, I was in a manual wheelchair for months. I wasn’t strong enough to maneuver the wheelchair myself so I hired someone to drive me and push my wheelchair. People always seemed to be uncomfortable around me. Often they spoke to my helper and ignored me. They looked at me with pity, but most of the time, everyone I came in contact with went out of their way to help me—rushing to open the door or make room in the elevator.

Then I got a motorized scooter and no longer needed an assistant.  Instead of looking at me with pity, people talked and joked with me: “How fast does that thing go?” “Been in any races lately?” “Hey, don’t run me down!”

Suddenly, I was a person again—no longer an object of pity. Although some individuals still seemed unsure how to act around me, most people treated me the same as they would as if I had been walking on my own two feet. They didn’t see me as totally helpless like they did when I was in a wheelchair pushed by someone else.

I hadn’t changed, but people’s perception had. When I was dependent on someone else to help me, people looked away and ignored me. When I could get around on my own—because of the power of the assistive device I was using, not because of any change in my own physical ability—people treated me as an independent human being.

I was blessed that the Americans with Disabilities Act took effect around the time I was going out into the world as a disabled person for the first time. I seldom had any trouble finding a parking spot—people who had been disabled for a long time apparently weren’t getting out yet because they hadn’t discovered that they had opportunities they didn’t have before. Sometimes, though, able-bodied people didn’t seem to understand why the best parking spaces were marked with a wheelchair icon. One time, I went to a movie with family members. Every handicapped spot was taken. We had to wait until the previous showing ended before a bunch of teenagers ran out to the cars with handicapped license plates and drove off.

On one occasion, I was visiting a client of my interior landscape company and needed help opening a heavy door.  The building manager looked at me on the scooter and said, “If I had to get around like that, I’d never go anywhere.”

I responded, “I’m not going to stay home, just lying around feeling sorry for myself.”

She obviously realized I was offended and hastened to explain that she meant it as a compliment. She thought I was very brave for facing the world from the seat of a moving chair. I told her no one knows how they would respond in a given situation until they have experienced it. We all have to make decisions every day as to whether we will let our circumstances get us down or do all we can in spite of whatever circumstances we face.

Many bloggers today will be posting about the need for government action on disability rights or about the importance of social agencies providing services to the disabled. My approach is a little different. I want to emphasize how disabled individuals can empower themselves and how the ordinary people they come in contact with—you and me—can empower them.

None of us can completely control our circumstances. We can do some things: Driving safely and soberly can reduce the chances we’ll be in an accident that disables us, and eating right and exercising will lessen the risk of disability caused by lifestyle diseases. However, regardless of what we do or don’t do, we can still find ourselves in less-than-desirable situations.

If you are disabled, don’t let your disability define you.

• Take advantage of every opportunity you have to participate in the activities you enjoy, even if that means some people will look at you with pity and others will suggest you don’t belong. Understand that every morning you have a choice: Lie in bed feeling sorry for yourself or do all you can to participate in life, whether that’s going out into the world or using assistive devices to get online.
• Be thankful for what you have rather than focusing on what you don’t have. If you are in the United States today, you have incredibly more opportunities to participate in activities of all kinds than were available 20 years ago. No, the situation isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely improving.
• Educate others about how they can help. Most people would be glad to help, but they don’t know how. Individuals who don’t have personal experience with disability (their own or a loved one’s) usually don’t understand the challenges you face. Often they will appreciate your pointing out that it’s difficult for you to see what’s happening when you’re in a wheelchair and everyone else is standing up or that the aisle that seems plenty wide to them is obstructed for someone in a scooter. Sometimes just a smile and a hello from you will make another person more comfortable around you.
• Remember that you are God’s precious creation. He loves you, and He will help you handle pain, fear, and rejection. Call on Him for strength when you don’t have any of your own.

If you are a healthy, able-bodied individual, recognize those who aren’t as fortunate.

• Treat everyone you meet with respect and courtesy. That person in the wheelchair or with the guide dog or acting strangely because of mental illness is a human being with emotions just like yours. Don’t  ignore them or look at them with pity. Realize that disabilities come in all shapes and sizes—and not all are visible. 
• Provide assistance, if appropriate, without condescension. Open a door for someone in a wheelchair, just as you would hold the door for a person carrying a heavy load. If someone seems to be struggling, ask if you can help them, but don’t be surprised or offended if they prefer to do it themselves. If they need help and you’re not sure what to do, ask how you can best assist them.
• Don’t pre-empt handicap facilities. Leave the handicap parking space for someone who needs it, even if you’re driving your grandmother’s car with handicapped license plates. Leave the handicap stall empty in the restroom even if you have to wait for a minute.
• Advocate for the disabled. That doesn’t mean you have to become politically active and try to get laws passed. But if you’re in a business and notice that the trash can is blocking wheelchair access into the restroom, notify the manager. If you have input into hiring where you work, ensure that a qualified applicant isn’t turned away because reasonable accommodation is required. If you see someone parking in a handicap space who is obviously not handicapped, politely remind them that disabled people really need the space. Of course, you must be careful about this—someone can have a heart condition that limits their walking ability but that isn’t visible to the casual observer. However, if you see a teenager run across the parking lot to join her friend, she probably doesn’t need to be taking up a handicap parking space.

Let’s all look at people with disabilities as people first.

Do you have other suggestions for how those who are handicapped and those they encounter can empower people with disabilities? Please share in comments.

Message in a Word

I have a policy that I edit only books I love. Usually, I do a sample edit before taking on a new project so the author and I can determine whether I’m a good fit as the editor of that manuscript. Sometimes I have the chance to visit with the author in person even before that.

Early in April of this year, I received a phone call from Margaret Blincoe to schedule an appointment to discuss a book she had written. As soon as she described her book to me, I wanted to  be part of this project. Margaret and I bonded immediately, and I knew working with her and working on Message in a Word would be a double blessing. I was right.

The book contains 52 devotionals, each based on a single word, defined in an acrostic that encapsulates the essence and essential truth of the word.

For example:

God’s
Only
Son
Purchased
Eternal
Life

Does that not perfectly describe the GOSPEL?

Here is a quote from the back cover blurb:

MESSAGE IN A WORD

MEANS
EXPLORING
SPECIFIC
SUBJECT
AND
GETTING
ENLIGHTMENT

IN
NUTSHELL

AS

WRITTEN
ORACLE
REVEALED
DEITY

Words can heal or hurt, save or destroy. Words are so important that the Bible describes Jesus as The Word. Often we have tunnel vision and focus on what we think a word means, when God has so much more for us to see and understand. This book gives a different perspective on many common words, revealing the divinely inspired and inspiring message in the word.

Message in a Word is available in paperback and multi-format e-books from the publisher’s Web site and in paperback and Kindle edition from Amazon.com.

Margaret will be my guest here on Monday, August 2nd sharing the amazing story of how God directed the birth of this baby  from conception through delivery. Every author I know talks about her books as her babies, but the description applies to Message in a Word in a unique way. You’ll want to be here to meet Margaret and learn how it all came about. 

Disclosure: I received compensation from the publisher for editing and laying out the book, creating the electronic editions, and designing the Web site and promotional materials. I have received no compensation for writing about the book on my blog. I’m sharing with my readers because I love the book and think they will too. The links to Amazon.com are affiliate links.

The Growing E-Book Market

I entered the e-book market when my first novel, Stroke of Luck, was published as an e-book in 1999. I got my first e-book reader shortly after that. Back then, few people had even heard of e-books. We demonstrated e-book readers at booksignings and spent as much time educating readers about e-books as promoting our individual books.

How times have changed! In a press release from Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos said,

Even while our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books–astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.

Recently, I’ve come across several indications of the growth of the e-book market.

• Amazon.com press release, July 19, 2010—in the past month, Amazon has sold 180 Kindle titles for every 100 hardcover books (excluding free Kindle editions), and the Kindle is the best-selling item on Amazon for the second year in a row. 
• Article at Zeta, July 2, 2010—As prices of e-book readers continue to fall, e-book sales are expected to overtake print book sales soon.
• Several articles in Publishing Poynters newsletter, July 15, 2010—Barnes & Noble sees strong growth, all from e-book sales; Borders and Books-a-Million are both opening e-bookstores; and James Patterson has sold more than 1.4 e-books.
• Smashwords has published its 15,000th e-book title—The blog post also mentions an author who has earned over $4,000 in a month from his Smashwords sales at Barnes & Noble.

When I used to read from my e-book reader in public, I always had people asking what it was. Now when I read from my Kindle in public, people either say they have one or they want one.

And don’t forget the Smashwords’ Summer/Winter Sale throughout the month of July. You’ll find a list of my e-books that are on sale in an earlier post.

And, of course, if you want to join the e-reading movement, you can buy a Kindle at Amazon or a variety of other e-readers from several different vendors.

Thanks to June 2010 Commenters

Thank you to the 180 commenters who left 268 comments in June. Your comments extended the conversation and added value and interest, and I enjoyed replying to every one of them. Every month when I post thanks to commenters, I get questions about how I compile this list. I have explained my system in detail in Compiling Thanks to Commenters.
Top Contributor (10 comments)
Christopher Roberts	Christopher Roberts’ Website
Major Contributor (8-9 comments)
Bluestocking	The Bluestocking Guide
Dominique	4 Walls and a View
Jane	Recovering Deleted Files
Outstanding Contributors (4-5 comments)
Dave	Best Man App
Jake	HypnoBusters
Matt Keegan	PR Beam
Ron	Smart Trading
Vinish Parikh	Let’s Learn Finance
Significant Contributors (2-3 comments)
Dave Bridge	Oil Torches
Dawn Colclasure	Dawn Colclasure Blog
Don	Painted Desert Realty
Jenny	Software Business Partners
John Lasserton	Zip Box Media
Karen Swim	Words for Hire
Keith Davis	Easy Public Speaking
Kevin	Complete Boxed Set
Sarah Lam	Writing Consultation
Aqeel	UK  Embassy/British High Commission in Pakistan
Cath Lawson	Cath Lawson
celine	Custom Harley Davidson Handlebars for All
Chris	Chris Fessler Photography
Chris	DC Locksmith
Dave G	Blood Pressure and Health
Don	Christian Marriage Help
Emerson	Emerson Roble Maningo
Geoff	San Diego Homes and Real Estate
Jenny	EQA Office Furniture
Jeremiah	Yes PDX
Jim	DIY Back Links
Neil Martin	Out and About Mobility
Paul Jones	Express Carpet Cleaning
Rich	Curbside Hospitality
Santiago	Isagenix
Tatyana	Schengen Area without a Problem
Terrance	Free Microsoft Points
Ven	What Ven Thinks
Vicki Rocho	Rambles and Randomness
vishnu	Beautiful Minds
xander	Tsuiping
Zack	Helpful Guide of Brother Toner Cartridges
Important Contributors
Aaron	Amarillo TX Real Estate
Adriaan Brink	US Blackjack
Agung	Bale Bali
Alex	All About Online
Aiping Wang	Shortcut to the Future
Alina Popsecu	Words of a Broken Mirror
Adam	Free iPod UK
anas	Smart Ideas for Growing Your Business
Anderson	n/a
Andrew	Good Honest Dollar
Andrew	Webb Hotells
Andrew	Watch Free Live Sports Online
Andrew Keir	Andrew Keir
Angela	eRage
Arun Thakur	Eurotech
Ben	Prime Spine
Bob Jenson	Action Online
Bobby	Words in Emotions
Brian Wells	Cars for Veterans
Camille	Turning Winds Academic Institute
Carlos	Firenze Jewels
Chris	EZ Articles: Top CD Rates
chris b	Premier-Kitchen-Design
Claire	Star Applet
conner	Aspect Fire Solutions
conner	Positive Funding Solutions
Cury	Axis Techno Labs
dan	north American
Dani	The Scooter Store
Dave Jones	20 Gallon Fish Tank.com
David	Melby Commercial Real Estate
David Gregory	David Gregory
DavidGZ	Forex Robots
Deb	Punctuality Rules
Devra	Bali Villas
diocelin	Art Viper
Diocelin	Nursing Uniforms
Don	Two in Harmony
Edward	Mississauga Home Hunter
Elizabeth	Topplista for Smslan
Elva	Texto Gratis
eric	Cambium Works
Eve	On Time Electric
Feuerschlucker	n/a
Francis	Girls Sleeping Bags
Greg	Health I Talk
Guruprashad	Alternative Therapies
Isaac	Da Loan Guide
Ishfak	Tycoons Weekly Update
J. Anne Huss	Simple Schooling Classroom
Jason	n/a
Jeanne Dininni	Writers Notes
Jennifer	Family Musings
Jessica	James Blond
Jim Taylor	14Ft Trampoline Site
jimmy41687	Learn How to Make Money Online from Home
Jo	Cruise Reviews
Joanna Paterson	Confident Writing
Joe	Buy Pepper Spray Today
John	Distance Learning Online Degrees
John	Mother Earth Recycling
John	Multiply: SEOP
John	Surround Sound Speaker Stands
John	Vena Pro
John Reynolds	Reynolds Performance
Joy	Ovarian Pain
Julia M. Lindsay	Our Little Books
Juan	Walls Talk Catholic Art
Julie Musil	Julie Musil
Karen Putz	A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Katy Caroline Designs	Katy Caroline Designs
Kim	Post Press Release
Kimberly Loomis	The Perpetual Writer
Kristen	Pitney Bowles
Lance	Tutankhamun’s Treasure Store
Lori	BlogSavy: Job Aptitude Test
Luke	Carp Fishing Reels
Maggie May	Flux Capacitor
Marbella	Living in the Sun
Marion Anderson	The Second Half of My Life
Marisa	Plumb Fast
Mark	PlayAuto.net
Martin B	New York Limo
Matt	Tiepedia
Matthew	Matthew Oconnor
Matthew Smith	Tees for All
Megan	Real Estate Windsor Ontario
Meghan	Storm Freeze Technology
Merudh	DJ My Party: Hire an Indian DJ for a Perfect Party
Michael	Calor
Michael	Marketing with Michael Brown
Michael Gutschein	Das Gutschein Blog
Michael Hasson	Michael Hasson
Michael Karter	Health Garden Vitamins
Michelle	Uprinting
Mike	The Hamper and Gift Place
Mommy D	Mommy D’s Kitchen
MONIKA	Middle and High School Online
Nicole Langan	Tribute Books
Pete	Dress in Vogue
Peter Y	Unboggle It
prashantsnv	Smartise
Rachel	Pet Hospitality
Rae	Blogging with Pride
Rafall	Relationship Advice for All
Randy	SoCore Energy
Renae Brumbaugh	Renee Brumbaugh
Richard	Mon Bel Ami
rob	1st Class Contracting, Builders
Robert	New Forest Guides
Robin Alley	Inspiration Motivation Information
Roman	Owners Direct
Ryan	Quality Web Solutions
Ryan	Web Guru India
Sam	Essay Kingdom
sam	Top Articles
Sandra	London Listings
Scott	GBG Business Opportunity Center
Scott	The Michael LeClerc Home Selling System
Shane	Go-Gulf
Sharon	Homes for Sale Toronto
Sharon	Pick Audio Books
Shyr	indifferent
skg	Curious Homes
Sonal Sinha	shri krishna Technologies
Spot	Spot Cool Stuff
Stephen Kavita	Self Improvement Tips
Steve	Home Gym Systems
Steve	Locksmith Solution
Steve	Piano Tutorial
Steve	Steve’s Playing Rock Guitar Blog
SteveB	Magnetic Generator
surene	Dream Day Invitations
Tahlia	Lethal Inheritance
Tambri	n/a
Tim	Mr. Lender
Tobias	Tinnitus Miracle Review
Travis	Solar Panel Plans
Victor Travison	The Book Lightwalker Files

Winners of the Hushed Recall Writing Contest

I had the pleasure of judging another writing contest at Visual Arts Junction. The theme was Hushed Recall, based on the photographic artwork by Aggie Villanueva.

You can read the entries in the Professional and Amateur categories on the winners page. You will see why I found it difficult to point out anything that needed to be improved!

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

This beautiful video expresses the way I want to live my life.

Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale

Smashwords is having a Summer/Winter Sale during the month of July. You can find lots of great bargains to read on the beach (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere) or curled up in front of the fireplace (if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere).

All my self-published e-books are on sale for 50% off. Visit my Smashwords author page to take advantage of the savings. Just enter the coupon code shown on the right side of the page to get the discount.

These are my discounted books and the sale prices:

• Fern’s Fancies (contemporary romance) – $1.00
• Finding the Information You Need: Research Tips for Your Family, Business, or Personal Pursuits – $1.50
• Preserving Memories: How to Write a Family History – $1.50
• The Secrets of Fantastic Houseplants – $1.50
• Trapped by Love (contemporary romance novelette) -  always free

Smashwords offers every title in ten different formats, so however you read e-books, you can download the format you prefer (or all ten if you want!). Hope you enjoy my books and lots of other great reads.

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