Sometimes a humorous quip can drive home the importance of things. Here's one for grammar - I absolutely love it ...
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Eating Grandma
Tell Me a Story
Sometimes a humorous quip can drive home the importance of things. Here's one for grammar - I absolutely love it ...
Sometimes a humorous quip can drive home the importance of things. Here's one for grammar - I absolutely love it ...
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Book Promotion
Tell Me A Story
Well, that four week vacation soon whizzed by. It feels like I've hardly been away. There's a load of work waiting in the garden and pool area - including some tiles that have mysteriously dropped off. I'll have to get stuck in before the autumn rains hit us. We don't have rain very often but boy, does it know how to rain when it does.
I thought you might like to share this morsel of advice I received. As far as I'm concerned ANY help with book promotion is useful. I absolutely hate it.
Don’t forget - whatever approach you take, you should always deliver something of value.
Well, that four week vacation soon whizzed by. It feels like I've hardly been away. There's a load of work waiting in the garden and pool area - including some tiles that have mysteriously dropped off. I'll have to get stuck in before the autumn rains hit us. We don't have rain very often but boy, does it know how to rain when it does.
I thought you might like to share this morsel of advice I received. As far as I'm concerned ANY help with book promotion is useful. I absolutely hate it.
One way to promote your book is to tailgate audiences of others who have already established clout with your intended readership - people such as specialists in your sphere, authors in your genre, reviewers, reporters, bloggers, radio or TV presenters, and magazine editors.
Ways to schmooze with people who have clout.
- Hook up with them on social networks and interact with them.
- Make particular and useful observations on their blogs or articles.
- Invite them to post as a guest on your own blog.
- Review their books and post the review on your blog. Share the review on Amazon GoodReads, LibraryThing or Shelfari.
- Re-tweet their relevant posts on Twitter - do it more than once. A regular RT will get noticed by them - and remembered by their fans and followers.
- When you've cultivated an association, you might buttonhole them, suggesting ways you might operate together.
Don’t forget - whatever approach you take, you should always deliver something of value.
Monday, 29 August 2011
Review of Deception Creek by Terry Persun
Tell Me a Story - Review
Deception Creek by Terry Persun
The hypothesis is good and promises to make a good story. However, the central characters are perhaps not sufficiently fleshed out to for us to fully empathise with them. The story also finishes rather hurriedly, and doesn’t take us on the journey it promises at the outset.
Deception Creek by Terry Persun
Book Description
Secrets from the past overtake a man who never knew his father. Will old wrongs destroy him or will he rebuild his life? Billy Maynard, raised by his mother and grandparents, comes home from college for the summer and meets Jack, an ex-con. When Billy's mother forbids him to speak with Jack, Billy wants to know why. The answers he unravels lead from deception to deception leading back to a terrible incident at the creek bend one spring night long ago. The truth about what happened, once uncovered, still has toxic effect on everything that Billy cares about. He will lose everything unless he can find the strength to transform a malignant past into a future of reconciliation and hope.
Billy comes home from college and learns that his life is a lie and that his family is full of secrets.
Secrets from the past overtake a man who never knew his father. Will old wrongs destroy him or will he rebuild his life? Billy Maynard, raised by his mother and grandparents, comes home from college for the summer and meets Jack, an ex-con. When Billy's mother forbids him to speak with Jack, Billy wants to know why. The answers he unravels lead from deception to deception leading back to a terrible incident at the creek bend one spring night long ago. The truth about what happened, once uncovered, still has toxic effect on everything that Billy cares about. He will lose everything unless he can find the strength to transform a malignant past into a future of reconciliation and hope.
Billy comes home from college and learns that his life is a lie and that his family is full of secrets.
The hypothesis is good and promises to make a good story. However, the central characters are perhaps not sufficiently fleshed out to for us to fully empathise with them. The story also finishes rather hurriedly, and doesn’t take us on the journey it promises at the outset.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Is Your Book Different?
Tell Me A Story
Book promotion - I hate it.
When promoting a novel, you must persuade readers and reviewers that your story is distinctive and unique. As an author, if you don't understand why your book is unique, then they won’t either.
To become successful, your book needs to be innovative, distinctive, fresh, and stimulating - be sure to let people know just what those attributes are.
Your book needs to have a reason for being there. Undertaking that dreaded book promotion, is an ideal time to explain things. Make sure readers understand why they should read your story, and what they will get from it if they do.
Book promotion - I hate it.
When promoting a novel, you must persuade readers and reviewers that your story is distinctive and unique. As an author, if you don't understand why your book is unique, then they won’t either.
Here are some things you might ponder on, before trying to explain your book:
- What makes you believe your story treats an old theme with a new twist
- In what way does your book serve a market that other books in the same category do not
- If your tale isn't different, why did you write it?
To become successful, your book needs to be innovative, distinctive, fresh, and stimulating - be sure to let people know just what those attributes are.
Your book needs to have a reason for being there. Undertaking that dreaded book promotion, is an ideal time to explain things. Make sure readers understand why they should read your story, and what they will get from it if they do.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Cheap Ad-Sponsered Kindle 3G
Tell Me a Story - Tech Bits
Those who have been wondering whether to purchase an Amazon Kindle e-book reader might finally be able to come to a decision with this particular model – an ad-sponsored Kindle 3G that will retail for $50 below the standard model, which is AT&T’s $139 Kindle 3G - with Special Offers of integrated Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity without being tied down to a monthly fee, data plan or annual contract.
Undeniably, most things in this world have a price, and to secure the advantages of this discount, you will be exposed to adverts from AT&T as well as other companies.
The college multitude might also look at the new ad-sponsored Kindle since it will support the Kindle Textbook Rental service – that allows users to rent books for up to 360 days at up to 80% off the textbook list price. Anyone already latched on to this particular version of the Kindle?
Those who have been wondering whether to purchase an Amazon Kindle e-book reader might finally be able to come to a decision with this particular model – an ad-sponsored Kindle 3G that will retail for $50 below the standard model, which is AT&T’s $139 Kindle 3G - with Special Offers of integrated Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity without being tied down to a monthly fee, data plan or annual contract.
Undeniably, most things in this world have a price, and to secure the advantages of this discount, you will be exposed to adverts from AT&T as well as other companies.
The college multitude might also look at the new ad-sponsored Kindle since it will support the Kindle Textbook Rental service – that allows users to rent books for up to 360 days at up to 80% off the textbook list price. Anyone already latched on to this particular version of the Kindle?
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Looking for a good read? Try:-
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Past Sins - Contemporary fiction Saturday, 20 August 2011
Unique Help With Characterization
Tell Me a Story
Not only do characters have to overcome major and minor obstacles throughout a story, they have to grow in some way. Shortcomings are what make our central characters seem human; however, readers want those shortcomings made virtuous by the end of the book.
Each central character has to surmount some part of their personality in order for them to develop during the course of the story. In order to achieve this, writers need to understand what a character’s significant flaws might be. Sometimes it’s difficult to think of, and to balance these shortcomings.
It is convenient that enneagram philosophers have classified nine personality types, each with a distinctive strength, and flaw. These strengths and flaws can build trouble for personality types and those around, especially if a strength or flaw is taken to extremes.
As writers, we can exploit those nine types to generate conflict between our central characters and use them as internal struggles they have to conquer.
So there you are. Someone else has done it for you. Keep this list in front of you as you build your character’s profile, and use it to advantage. It will serve you well.
Not only do characters have to overcome major and minor obstacles throughout a story, they have to grow in some way. Shortcomings are what make our central characters seem human; however, readers want those shortcomings made virtuous by the end of the book.
Each central character has to surmount some part of their personality in order for them to develop during the course of the story. In order to achieve this, writers need to understand what a character’s significant flaws might be. Sometimes it’s difficult to think of, and to balance these shortcomings.
It is convenient that enneagram philosophers have classified nine personality types, each with a distinctive strength, and flaw. These strengths and flaws can build trouble for personality types and those around, especially if a strength or flaw is taken to extremes.
As writers, we can exploit those nine types to generate conflict between our central characters and use them as internal struggles they have to conquer.
- Type One is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic.
- Type Two is demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and possessive.
- Type Three is adaptive, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.
- Type Four is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental.
- Type Five is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated.
- Type Six is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.
- Type Seven is spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and scattered.
- Type Eight is self-confident, decisive, wilful, and confrontational.
- Type Nine is receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and complacent.
So there you are. Someone else has done it for you. Keep this list in front of you as you build your character’s profile, and use it to advantage. It will serve you well.
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