3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe

I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog today and a big welcome to Alyson Burdette and Nightfire

To contact us Click HERE
Today is the third day of my blog tour. I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog which she calls Theresa's Tales of Teaching Tribulations and Typing Teen Texts. Patrick Dilloway would be proud of such alliteration. I would appreciate a visit over there to say hi if you have the time.

Today I'm turning my blog over to a talented debut author named Alyson Burdette. I just purchased Nightfire two days ago on my Kindle and haven't gotten that far. But the prologue was good (Yes! she had the courage to write a prologue).Why You Should Be Writing.

Some people think that it takes a certain sort of person to write a book. (Insert mental image of furrowed brows, typewriters and crumpled papers.) I, personally, think anyone can, and should write a book. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work and incredibly time consuming but the payoff is worth it. It’s a great feeling to know that you’ve finished something so few people do.

I also think that every individual has something unique and interesting to say. No one else in the world has your perspective, beliefs or experiences in the world. You can take your life experiences and put them into fictional characters, a memoir, a poem, or any other form you can think of. Writing is a great way to solidify and understand who you are as a person. It can be great therapy, or even a simple distraction to get you through a difficult time. And it’s a great way to share who you are with the world.

Think you don’t have time to write a book? Think about it this way. If you write just 1,000 words a day, in less than two months, you will have a short 50,000 word book put together. In four months at that pace you will have a 120,000 word book done. That’s writing 3-4 double spaced pages a day. If you write just a little at a time, it becomes a much more manageable task.

So if you are writing, Great! Keep doing it and try not to let the frustrations of the writing world overwhelm you. If you aren’t, why not start? There’s no better time than now.

Look, I did it. If I can do it, so can you. Just peek at the blurb below- my 60,000 word paranormal romance, Nightfire, was an idea floating in my head and now it’s an E-book. Real-live people can buy and read it.

Nightfire Blurb:

When a murder shakes the small town of Peninsula, all eyes are on Olivia Townsend. She may look eighteen, but the townspeople can sense there’s something darker hiding behind her pretty eyes. Olivia knows the smart thing to do is to get out of town. Suspicious neighbors can only mean trouble for a vampire. But leaving becomes much more difficult when William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder. As she starts to fall for him, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.

I know everyone of you is capable of creating something amazing. So do it.

Alyson Burdette currently lives in a small town in Ohio. She graduated from The University of Akron, where she majored in Anthropology. When she’s not writing, she spends her time hiking, dancing, and hunting for ghosts.

You can find her at: http://alysonburdette.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/AlysonBurdette

http://www.paranormalpursuits.net

or contact her by email:

Alyson_burdette@yahoo.com

Nightfire is available atMusapublishingAmazon
and other major E-book retailers.

I'm off!

To contact us Click HERE
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhId-y9lBsm8G47rbpnWGsD7SF85_fK1r7kpKYfHGb6bzMXTpk6e32VewGwJE9pqMpWTzE5iJ9OnTBDg3cyNPd8Cs97RMYITB_kVMIoQCC28WU69c0kQE3m4hHh2LFjX1u_IV-uV36jiWVq/s1600/i'm.off..jpg ...to Tulsa, OK for what looks to be a fantastic series of events.

Every year the Tulsa Library puts on a "BOOKS TO TREASURE" event, which involves an author coming and reading to a whole bunch of kids and doing a public appearance.

In addition, thanks to The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, every second-grader in Tulsa County will get a special edition of "Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator!"  Frequent visitors know important getting books into the hands of 2nd graders is to me, so this opportunity was not one to miss.



There's even an Amanda and Her Alligator library card available for 2nd grade patrons! 

I'll be speaking this Friday, Nov. 16, at 7pm in the Central Library followed by a signing.

The full details are here!

If you're in the area, stop by and say 'hi'!

Mo' Dining Room Dinner Doodles...

To contact us Click HERE
Here are a few more recent dinner doodles.  I've been getting reports from pals all over that have begun putting paper and crayons on the dining table and having a blast.  How cool!



Old school commuting penguins.

And some new stuff
Having fun with wonky perspective..

Here's a doodle by my daughter who likes to draw both realistically...

...and Manga style!

My wife is into abstractions.




Speaking of doodling and drawing, thanks to NY's Newsday for putting DON'T LET THE PIGEON FINISH THIS ACTIVITY BOOK! on their Holiday gift guide.
 



It's a drag...

To contact us Click HERE
If you live in the Pioneer Valley and like ballet and holiday traditions, why not drop by Northampton's Academy of Music for the Pioneer Valley Ballet's annual production of the Nutcracker.

The show runs for the Weekend of Dec. 7th-9th.  On Sun. Dec. 9th at the 4:30 pm show I will reprise my role as Mother Ginger for the 3rd time.  


Even so, you should still go see the show. The kids are adorable and the dancers know their stuff.

Tickets are here.  See you at the show!

Mo' Mo Dining Room Dinner Doodles!

To contact us Click HERE
Here are a slew of new Dining Room Doodles.

The family draws every night after dinner.  It's a great time to sit and chat and doodle (and sometimes listen to the original radio broadcasts of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Enjoy!

The Hitchhiker's may explain some of the loopy 70's stuff I seem to be doodling lately...







Never trust a seagull.
Sad clown...


My daughter is continuing in her Manga style..




My wife is still working on patterns that later appear on her ceramic work.


Why don't you have a family doodle day? It's great fun!

2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba

I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog today and a big welcome to Alyson Burdette and Nightfire

To contact us Click HERE
Today is the third day of my blog tour. I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog which she calls Theresa's Tales of Teaching Tribulations and Typing Teen Texts. Patrick Dilloway would be proud of such alliteration. I would appreciate a visit over there to say hi if you have the time.

Today I'm turning my blog over to a talented debut author named Alyson Burdette. I just purchased Nightfire two days ago on my Kindle and haven't gotten that far. But the prologue was good (Yes! she had the courage to write a prologue).Why You Should Be Writing.

Some people think that it takes a certain sort of person to write a book. (Insert mental image of furrowed brows, typewriters and crumpled papers.) I, personally, think anyone can, and should write a book. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work and incredibly time consuming but the payoff is worth it. It’s a great feeling to know that you’ve finished something so few people do.

I also think that every individual has something unique and interesting to say. No one else in the world has your perspective, beliefs or experiences in the world. You can take your life experiences and put them into fictional characters, a memoir, a poem, or any other form you can think of. Writing is a great way to solidify and understand who you are as a person. It can be great therapy, or even a simple distraction to get you through a difficult time. And it’s a great way to share who you are with the world.

Think you don’t have time to write a book? Think about it this way. If you write just 1,000 words a day, in less than two months, you will have a short 50,000 word book put together. In four months at that pace you will have a 120,000 word book done. That’s writing 3-4 double spaced pages a day. If you write just a little at a time, it becomes a much more manageable task.

So if you are writing, Great! Keep doing it and try not to let the frustrations of the writing world overwhelm you. If you aren’t, why not start? There’s no better time than now.

Look, I did it. If I can do it, so can you. Just peek at the blurb below- my 60,000 word paranormal romance, Nightfire, was an idea floating in my head and now it’s an E-book. Real-live people can buy and read it.

Nightfire Blurb:

When a murder shakes the small town of Peninsula, all eyes are on Olivia Townsend. She may look eighteen, but the townspeople can sense there’s something darker hiding behind her pretty eyes. Olivia knows the smart thing to do is to get out of town. Suspicious neighbors can only mean trouble for a vampire. But leaving becomes much more difficult when William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder. As she starts to fall for him, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.

I know everyone of you is capable of creating something amazing. So do it.

Alyson Burdette currently lives in a small town in Ohio. She graduated from The University of Akron, where she majored in Anthropology. When she’s not writing, she spends her time hiking, dancing, and hunting for ghosts.

You can find her at: http://alysonburdette.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/AlysonBurdette

http://www.paranormalpursuits.net

or contact her by email:

Alyson_burdette@yahoo.com

Nightfire is available atMusapublishingAmazon
and other major E-book retailers.

I'm off!

To contact us Click HERE
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhId-y9lBsm8G47rbpnWGsD7SF85_fK1r7kpKYfHGb6bzMXTpk6e32VewGwJE9pqMpWTzE5iJ9OnTBDg3cyNPd8Cs97RMYITB_kVMIoQCC28WU69c0kQE3m4hHh2LFjX1u_IV-uV36jiWVq/s1600/i'm.off..jpg ...to Tulsa, OK for what looks to be a fantastic series of events.

Every year the Tulsa Library puts on a "BOOKS TO TREASURE" event, which involves an author coming and reading to a whole bunch of kids and doing a public appearance.

In addition, thanks to The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, every second-grader in Tulsa County will get a special edition of "Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator!"  Frequent visitors know important getting books into the hands of 2nd graders is to me, so this opportunity was not one to miss.



There's even an Amanda and Her Alligator library card available for 2nd grade patrons! 

I'll be speaking this Friday, Nov. 16, at 7pm in the Central Library followed by a signing.

The full details are here!

If you're in the area, stop by and say 'hi'!

Mo' Dining Room Dinner Doodles...

To contact us Click HERE
Here are a few more recent dinner doodles.  I've been getting reports from pals all over that have begun putting paper and crayons on the dining table and having a blast.  How cool!



Old school commuting penguins.

And some new stuff
Having fun with wonky perspective..

Here's a doodle by my daughter who likes to draw both realistically...

...and Manga style!

My wife is into abstractions.




Speaking of doodling and drawing, thanks to NY's Newsday for putting DON'T LET THE PIGEON FINISH THIS ACTIVITY BOOK! on their Holiday gift guide.
 



It's a drag...

To contact us Click HERE
If you live in the Pioneer Valley and like ballet and holiday traditions, why not drop by Northampton's Academy of Music for the Pioneer Valley Ballet's annual production of the Nutcracker.

The show runs for the Weekend of Dec. 7th-9th.  On Sun. Dec. 9th at the 4:30 pm show I will reprise my role as Mother Ginger for the 3rd time.  


Even so, you should still go see the show. The kids are adorable and the dancers know their stuff.

Tickets are here.  See you at the show!