Zed Amadeo's Blog, page 3
November 16, 2015
Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes from Books I Read This Year
Aaaand this week on Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, I’m counting down my favorite quotes from books I’ve read in the past year (or so). Sit back and enjoy!
“There’s no honor among thieves, and even less among witches.” – from Malus Domestica by S.A. Hunt.
One of my favorite dark fantasy books I’ve read this year.
“She could spend hours talking to it in its own language and fail to communicate.” – from Dawn by Octavia Butler.
Though this quote refers to a human walking trying to speak to an alien, I’ve sometimes felt this way while talking to a fellow human being.
From
“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
A beautiful way to think about living.
From AZ Quote
“You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.” ― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
As a writer, I hope that someday I’ll be able to weave magic this powerful using my words.
“Some dreams never leave you, because they’re more than just dreams. They’re truth, distilled to purest potency.” ― Brian Hodge, Whom the Gods Would Destroy
I’ve always been a vivid dreamer. My dreams have often served as sources of creativity for me, even forming the foundation for some of the stories that I write.
From AZ Quotes
“That’s how the madness of the world tries to colonize you: from the outside in, forcing you to live in its reality.” ― Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation
Occasionally, the world certainly does feel this way to me.
From IzQuotes
“The king was pregnant.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
Admittedly I wasn’t a huge fan of the story itself, but I thought the premise itself was fascinating. This quote in particular is an engaging piece of language.
What are your favorite quotes from books you’ve read recently?
The post Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes from Books I Read This Year appeared first on Zed Amadeo.
November 12, 2015
CookFiction: Real recipes for imaginary foods
Ever wish you could grab a bite to eat from your preferred fictional fandom? With CookFiction, now you can! Check out their database of recipes inspired by food and drink from the fictional worlds of TV, books, and movies. Now I’ll actually be able to grab a butterbeer. Too bad the recipe doesn’t come with a real life version of Hogsmeade…
CookFiction is a recipe library for foods that have been inspired by works of fiction. Our goal is to bring people of all walks of life together to the same table to eat good food, stretch their imaginations, and have fun.
Source: CookFiction
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November 10, 2015
Top Ten Tuesday: Book to Movie Adaptations I Want to Watch
Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week it’s the top book-to-movie adaptations I’m most excited to see, whether they’re upcoming or they have already been made. All book covers from Goodreads.
Upcoming Releases
1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book had been on my to-read list for far too long before I decided to give it a try over the summer. Boy was that a good decision. The movie adaptation of the circus had better look as beautiful as the book made it sound.
2. The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
The movie adaptation of one of my most beloved graphic novel series could easily end up a tangled mess. It better have the best special effects that I’ve ever seen.
3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This is kind of a weird choice because although I wasn’t a huge fan of the story, I still liked the premise and the way that the author came up with the idea for the book. I think with some story tweaks, this could be an awesome movie.
4. Night Film by Marisha Pessl
I finished Night Film this weekend, although I wished that I had finished it much sooner. It was the kind of book that I couldn’t put down, and if it hadn’t been for other commitments like sleep, I probably would have finished it in a couple of days. I’m not entirely sure whether this adaptation is still going to be made, but the IMDb page still says “in development,” so I can hope, right?
Movies that are out (but I still need to read the book!)
5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I just started reading this book over the weekend. It’s a bit different than the rest of my reading library lately. I’m excited to mix it up a little!
6. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
As a fan of Neil Gaiman, I’m surprised I haven’t read this book and seen the movie already!
7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I started reading but for some reason never finished the book. Looking up books for this TTT reminded me to finish this again someday.
8. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
We talked about this movie in a couple of my Psychology classes as an undergrad. I didn’t even know that it was originally a book until browsing through Goodreads.
Which book to movie adaptations are you most excited to see?
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November 6, 2015
Book Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to Selling More Books
If you’re an author and/or fanatic booklover, you’ve probably heard of Bookbub. In case you haven’t, Bookbub is a daily newsletter that sends you eBook deals on the genres that you love once you subscribe. As a writer, getting a Bookbub ad can be a fantastic way to boost sales and recognition for your eBooks (provided you are accepted into the newsletter). Beyond their daily newsletter, Bookbub also provides a plethora of free information to help you boost your book sales.
I have been a Bookbub subscriber for many months, but I only recently discovered their Bookbub Partners blog, a regularly updated site packed with tips on improving your book sales, covering topics from finding a great book cover designer, defining your target audience, improving your author bio, and much more. If you’re not sure where to begin, check out Bookbub’s page The Ultimate Guide to Book Marketing, which separates their blog posts into discreet sections that cover every step of the book marketing process. You can also subscribe to the Bookbub partners blog for updates whenever a new post is published.
LAST UPDATED NOVEMBER 04, 2015 by DIANA URBAN At the BookBub Partners Blog, we’ve published dozens of posts on book marketing, publishing insights, and self-publishing tips. We’ve compi…
Source: Book Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to Selling More Books
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November 5, 2015
Finding My Writing Tribe
Over the weekend I stumbled upon Jeff Goins’ inspirational guide Every Writer Needs a Tribe. Surprisingly, I think what I gleaned the most from this helpful guide were the sections that weren’t necessarily about finding a tribe to support my writing journey, but tips on how to handle some of the sticky obstacles that I have encountered while pursuing my passion
From Goodreads
Accepting my imperfections
In one section of the book, Jeff mentions an aha moment he had when he realized that he was not necessarily the best writer in the world. While this realization may seem disappointing, he also understood that he didn’t need to be a perfect writer to be successful. As a recovering perfectionist, this point really hit home for me. It’s all too easy to get caught in the negative feedback loop of editing your work and feel afraid to release it out into the world because you think it might not be good enough. And if you’re not careful, that little voice in the back of your mind that tells you “You Can’t” will grow louder than the one that tells you that “You Can.” I am not a perfect writer. And that is okay. What I can do is continue to push and improve my craft to the utmost of my abilities. Writing is a never-ending journey that I’m thrilled to have the chance to pursue.
You can please some people sometimes…
As a former perfectionist, another aspect of writing that I have come to accept is the fact that I cannot please everyone. Jeff explains the difference between helpful criticism and unhelpful commentary from “haters.” It’s easy to feel hurt when someone dismisses something that you’ve spent months or even years pouring energy into, but these are not the people that you should be focusing on. Sometimes even the harshest “haters” will have genuine points to make that you can use to improve your writing – or not, since for better or for worse, using criticism is at your own discretion. Instead of taking criticism as an attack on my character, I need to remind myself that criticism is a helpful way to improve my craft.
Remember why I started writing
When times get tough and the right words are hard to come by, sometimes I need to stop and remember why I began to pursue writing in the first place. What make me pick up a pen and paper all those years ago? It wasn’t to please anyone else or out of a hope for fame and fortune. I started writing out of a genuine love for telling stories. I need to remind myself that one rejection or period of difficulty getting my thoughts onto paper isn’t worth giving up on my passion. Even if I have some trepidation about what might happen once I release my stories into the world, fear is not an acceptable reason to hold off on pursuing my dream.
Overall, I found Goins’ book to be exactly what I needed to read at this stage in my writing journey. I would highly recommend it to others as a refresher if you’re ever feeling frustrated about the writing process.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how a recent read has affected your perspective on any writing challenges you’ve been facing lately.
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November 2, 2015
Screambox: The Netflix of Horror
Are you a horror fan like myself, but already exhausted the “Horror” section of your Netflix subscription? Check out Screambox to stream as many horror movies and shows as you want for only four bucks a month. Plus when you sign up you get a 30-day free trial. I’m looking forward to exploring what Screambox has to offer!
Watch Horror Movies Online. Uncut. Commercial Free.
Source: Screambox | Watch Horror Movies Online. Uncut. Commercial Free | Dare to be Scared.
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November 1, 2015
Niche Laboratory: Free LSI Keywords and Niche Researching Tool
If you’re ever struggling to find articles, keywords, or sources of content for your niche, check out Niche Laboratory, a free online tool to help you find all of that info plus more! Simply type your writing or blogging niche into the search tool and sit back as the site prepares a report of your niche. Give Niche Laboratory a try at the link below:
Source: Free LSI Keywords and Niche Researching Tool
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October 31, 2015
Happy Halloween Friends!
Happy Halloween to all of you out there! To celebrate, here’s a scene from one of my favorite Halloween films, Hocus Pocus. Enjoy!
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October 30, 2015
Erie-based Horror publisher uses unlikely way to bankroll, empower writers via The Denver Post
If you’re a horror fan like myself, you don’t want to miss out on the amazing story behind Hex Publishers, curators of “dark and twisted fiction.” Also check out Hex’s Nightmares Unhinged anthology, which is definitely going on my TBR list!
Hex Publishers, an upstart Colorado company, is using novel marketing and cross-media promotion for its debut anthology “Nightmares Unhinged.”
Source: Erie-based Horror publisher uses unlikely way to bankroll, empower writers – The Denver Post
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October 29, 2015
How to Get Traffic to Your Author Website: 30+ Tips for Discouraged Writers | Your Writer Platform
If you’re feeling at all discouraged or frustrated after pouring time and energy into your blog without much result, check out this article from Your Writing Platform for practical yet inspirational advice on becoming a more visible member of the blogging community:
From Your Writer Platform
Source: How to Get Traffic to Your Author Website: 30+ Tips for Discouraged Writers | Your Writer Platform
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