C.J. Fosdick's Blog, page 3

From Minnesota With Love: Surviving My Ice Age

                                                             History was my favorite subject in school. Westerns were my favorite TV shows.  My favorite books ranged from mystery to historical romance. Every movie on my favorite list is a historical. So when I began my first novel, guess what?  It was a 19th century...

TOUGH TRUTHS ABOUT REVIEWS by Cj Fosdick

      Reviews are to books what “Consumer Reports” is to electronics.  A book can live or die by review buzz—whether written or by word of mouth.  Reviews are important for new releases, especially important for debut authors. Authors understand this; readers not so much.     With my debut novel, The Accidental Wife, I didn’t know about marketing early for pre-orders or even that an ARC was an “Advanced Review Copy.”  Blogging, tweet...

TOUGH TRUTHS ABOUT REVIEWS

      Reviews are to books what “Consumer Reports” is to electronics.  A book can live or die by review buzz—whether written or by word of mouth.  Reviews are important for new releases, especially important for debut authors. Authors understand this; readers not so much.     With my debut novel, The Accidental Wife, I didn’t know about marketing early for pre-orders or even that an ARC was an “Advanced Review Copy.”  Blogging, tweet...

Morphing the Christmas Letter

      Since 1968 I’ve sent out a dutiful Christmas letter each December that had three major intentions. Touching base with friends and family was always a given, but exercising my writing skill and incorporating a historical timeline were ulterior motives. Each of our children will someday benefit from a Christmas binder of letters that includes a parallel view of the family in changing times, along with some family photos and greeting cards through the years.  &nbsp...

NEED BLOG IDEAS?

Facing a blank screen on your blogspot? It can be daunting--finding something new and catchy to blog or write about in your newsletter when your mind goes on vacation and deadlines pop up faster than ideas.

Try googling HOLIDAY INSIGHTS for some crazy deviations from the norm and dates in history, There's even an "Ask a Stupid Question Day" in September. Are you ever too old to learn something stupid?

For more insight, check out Cj's blog link:
http://bit.ly/2cSneVz

Trolling For Blogs?

TROLLING FOR BLOGS?   Need a quick blog or newsletter idea?  Like searching for that special fishing hole in your favorite stream or lake, a well of inspiration can often be hard to locate…or even found bone dry.  HOLIDAY INSIGHTS, an internet site listing historic ordinary and bizarre holidays OR alternate Days to Celebrate, is a good resource.  For instance, I learned that Star Trek debuted on TV in September 1966. Good for any relateable Trekie or Sci-Fi trivia war...

MOVIES TO BOOKS OR BOOKS TO MOVIES?

                                           WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

Ever see a movie based on a book that drives you to pick up a copy of the book? Or vice versa--read a book that sends you to the theater adaptation?  Chances are you may be disappointed by one or the other...unless you are an author. 
Any author who has gone through the editing process with a professional editor i...

THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE-- A GOLDEN QUILL FINALIST!

         Spring is in the air…and in my heart this month. On May 17th I was emailed notice that THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE was named a Finalist in the RWA Golden Quill Awards for Best First Novel. The Chairman wrote: “The judges in our contest are readers who love romance, and they loved your book!”  
     But is it a true romance? Wild Rose Press qualifies a romance as having the HEA (happily-ever-after) ending between hero and heroine after push-pull...

Blarney or Truth?

Nineteen months ago I kissed the Blarney Stone, lunched on Irish Stew under a thatched-roof pub near a Famine Cemetery and learned the truth about shamrocks. The wee part of me that's Irish felt a tug of allegiance to the Emerald Isle even before our bucket-list tour.
As I do on most St. Patrick's Days in America, I wear green, sometimes even a button that says "Kiss me, I'm Irish". . . http://bit.ly/1UevJLD

SHAMROCKS, SNAKES AND BLARNEY!

     Nineteen months ago I kissed the Blarney Stone, lunched on Irish Stew under a thatched-roof pub near a 19th century Famine Cemetery, and learned the truth about shamrocks. The wee part of me that’s Irish felt a tug of allegiance to the Emerald Isle during our tour. As I do on most St. Patrick Days in the U.S., I wear green, sometimes even a button that says “Kiss me, I’m Irish.”      My early memories of St. Patrick’s Day include me singing “Too Ra Loo Ra Loo...