Fay Risner's Blog, page 25

Honorable Mention For Authors Early April Fools Spam

I'd like to alert everyone to the email I mentioned in my last blog post. When I received the email, I tried to look up the article and couldn't find it in News Digest. I assumed I might have been too late to read the article since Lisa Davis's message said it would only be available for a few hours. I'm always looking for things to post in my blog that draw attention to my books and online bookstore so I went ahead and posted with excerpts from the email to prove Lisa Davis had sent it to me just in case.

But something about this email spelled fake so I kept looking for some mention of the New Digest article in Google alerts. What I found was that spam emails are being sent out for other articles in News Digest and signed Lisa Davis. There isn't any such article or a Lisa Davis or an Anthony Moreno that has interest in who's who for authors and publishers.

In my Google search, I found a former real estate agent that wrote about an email she received. She said it might be linked to a virus. What alerted her was she hadn't been a real estate agent for a few years when she received the email. A comment in another area said it might be a way to get people on spam lists. Once we check the link on Lisa Davis's email, we go to News Digest, and we are linked to a spam list. Since my email address is listed in many sites online because I sell my books online, I receive a lot of spam and most of that go in my spam digest and gets deleted. I wouldn't know if my checking out the News Digest site caused an increase in spam.

There wasn't any harm done to my computer. I think I'd know it. On the bright side, I know others are reading my blogs or found my post in Google. I was contacted by several authors that received the same email and ask me how to find the article. My author ego is still in tact whether I make a Who's Who list or not. I love to see mention of my books. I enjoy writing and creating books. That's enough.

I've printed the email in its entirety so the website links to News Digest aren't there. If you received this email do what I've done and warn people about it. Beware that the website and the sender's name may change.

Good morning!

We wanted you to know that you received Honorable Mention in yesterday's article titled "Who's Who Among Authors and Publishers" by Anthony Moreno.
The article will remain available at News Digest for the next few hours and is available for download and printing, without cost.
We hope you have a joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year.
Sincerely,
Lisa Davis
News Digest International
News Digest

Honorable Mention in News Digest Article Who's Who Among Authors and Publishers by Anthony Moreno

Happy Holidays

From July until October, I wasn't on the computer with the exception to check emails once in awhile. I didn't have time to miss writing for those months while my husband was sick. My wanting to get back to work came later when I had more time at home. Hubby is feeling much better and the new year is looking up.

The daily work of writing involves spending many hours alone with my mind full of characters that I've made up. Sometimes, it seems like I am the one who is in their heads. After writing each book in the series, it becomes easier to put together another story about them, because I know each of them so well by now. In fact sometimes it is a surprise to me when the story leads me in a scene hadn't thought about until I was writing it.

I'm editing the fifth Nurse Hal Among The Amish book right now titled Emma's Gossamer Dreams and will have it ready to publish by the first of January. So state tuned for the release.

It really helps when I hear from readers after they read my books. Their opinion of the characters is very important to me. That's why I was so thrilled to find this message in my emails recently.

I am a new fan of yours! I just finished reading Book 2 in your Nurse Hal series and was wondering if you plan a third book about Hal and the Lapps. Honestly, I feel as if all of the people I've read about in the series are friends of mine, and that's thanks to the way you write. I am so curious to know what's happened to Hal and John after their camping trip in the picnic grove and if Hal actually gets baptized, marries John, and becomes mama to the Lapp children. Guess you could say I'm not ready for that series of books to be at an end.

I pray that you'll continue your writing career; what an awesome blessing from the Lord to be able to express yourself in such a way. I'm also praying for Book 3.....and 4....and 5....

The reader has A Promise Is A Promise and The Rainbow's End. Her prayers have been answered. I emailed her that she can find out the answer to her questions about Nurse Hal and the Lapp family in book 3 - Hal's Worldly Temptations and book 4 - As Her Name Is So Is Redbird. Now in a few weeks book 5 will be ready - Emma's Gossamer Dreams.

There are many sites online that carry my books now. Amazon, Smashwords, Create Space Self Publishing bookstore, my own bookstore www.booksbyfaybookstore.weebly.com and from me with an email to order. I put the readers on a mailing list and send notice of each new book. Not all in a bulk mail but one at time to each individual. I've never liked the idea of putting multiple names on a bulk email so everyone else can see other readers names.

If you like ebooks, try the kindle, nook stores and smashwords. Looking for more places? Put my name in Google Search and come up with more. Just be careful about the price. Some sites charge way too much. I probably sell my books at a lower price than anywhere you can find them and to sweeten the deal I sign each book for the reader.

I'm blessed to be able to get back to normal. I appreciate what I have more than before when I took for granite the important things in life. You have a great holiday season and look forward to hearing more from me in the coming year.

Author Fay Risner Winner in Nanowrimo Contest Nov. 2012

After months of not working on a book, I came back the first of November with a passion to write something so I entered the National Novel Writing Month contest. I've entered it before so I have a better understanding of how to work on my word count to make it to the finish line. It's easy to keep track of how I'm doing with the STAT board that tells me how many words I wrote and totaled them. I check on my computer, but my word count on it is always less than on the contest site. This time I had my 50,000 plus 657 more words by November 22nd then I stopped. For making the finish line, I will get some free books when I publish this book at Create Space Self Publishing.



I had to be gone almost every afternoon, taking my husband to the clinic in Iowa City. So I was up early and writing. Now as soon as I edit the book I can publish it. This book will take a lot of editing so I'll be awhile. The site wanted a book cover so I made one. It's good to have that out of the way. Now I need a blurb for the back cover.



The title of the book is Poor Defenseless Addie - Seventh book in the Amazing Gracie Mystery series.



The story is about an elderly woman that takes in her son. He turns out to be an abusive drunk. Gracie Evans and her friends from the retirement home in Locked Rock, Iowa visit with Addie often. They notice the bruises on Addie so they tell the town Marshal. He tells Sheriff Logan to do a background check on Addie's son. In the meantime, Gracie is afraid the man is going to harm Addie. When he finds out, Gracie has been to the Marshal's office then she has to fear he will harm her.



The contest is fun to try and free. It's really great to motivate writers to get the shell of a book done. Give it a try even if you aren't sure you can write a book. No one judges the correctness of words and sentences. When a person is writing that fast the sentences are bound to be sloppy. What you want is 50,000 words to be a winner. Editing is for later when you can take your time.



Now I've got a year to think about what kind of story I'm going to write next November.

Helpful Contributors Ebook filled with writers tips published by Publetariat Editor April Hamilton

I received word that some of my blog posts have been added to a book by April Hamilton editor of Publetariat an online site that is very helpful to writers. Title is Publetariat Omnibus 2008-2012

Publetariat editor April Hamilton has published an ebook which is a compilation of content from Publetariat.com, a site for which she is the founder and Editor in Chief. The site reprints articles in full from named Contributors, as well as printing excerpts and backlinks to other content of interest to Publetariat's readership.
The only content appearing in this book is Contributor content, and every named Contributor (see book cover and title page) has given his/her express permission for the content to be compiled into this book and sold by April Hamilton. I'm proud to be a contributor to April's ebook and to be mentioned.

For purposes of the book, the site from which the content was drawn is http://www.publetariat.com. This site is full of helpful content about successful book writing, publishing, publishers and sales. As the editor, April Hamilton has worked hard to keep the site up and running. For writers that could use tips to help them be successful authors the ebook complied from this site will be very useful. Also, continue to check out the site and learn more that is helpful to authors.

Here's the book's link on Amazon's U.S. Site and in a few days, the book will be published on Amazon's international sites.

Http://www.amazon.com/Publetariat-Omn...

My blog posts appear in several places but one is http://www.booksbyfaybookstore.weebly...
My posts are forwarded to Facebook and Twitter.
Not only do I blog at this website, I have all of my books for sale here, bio, updates on the next book and accomplishments. So first go to the address for April Hamilton's new ebook to see about downloading it, check put the publetariat site to learn more information that will be helpful to you as a writer and author, then check out my bookstore site. Keep April's ebook in mind for a Christmas gift for an aspiring writer who could use the tips. Check my site to see if there are any of my books of interest.






My best sellers are my Nurse Hal Among The Amish series set in southern Iowa and these books are signed by me and sent through media mail as soon as you buy the book for quick delivery.
One more bit of information. I have entered all my Nurse Hal series on ebay for a week at a lower price then at stores and will sign the books if you need a gift for someone that likes Amish stories.

Happy web surfing!

A Break From Writing

I've been lucky for two decades now that my time has been spent doing what I loved to do. First a CNA position at a local nursing home, taking care of elderly residents. Then retirement with plenty of leisure time mixed with gardening, fishing and helping my husband take care of our animals and chickens. No alarm clock breaking up our early morning sleep. No looking at the clock to see if it was coffee break time. We sit down any time we want to just enjoy the day. Best of all, I've had time to practice writing, develop books and thanks to Create Space Self Publishing get my books printed at a price I can afford - free.

I've made a blog post each week to keep my readers updated on my progress with each book I've been working on or have published. Once in awhile, I've missed a post when life got in the way but not for a long extended period of time. That is what I am facing now. A few months of uncertain future where my priorities are centered on my husband's health. He is just starting a long road of procedures and recovery which means we will be on the road to doctors and the hospital. So until my husband's health improves my focus is on him.

The process of creative has been fun and a blessing that years ago I wouldn't have realized would be in my future. Remembering that will be the guiding force that keeps me looking ahead to brighter days. Right now I need to assist my husband with his needs. I am hopeful that this time in our lives will be behind us one day, and I can get back to my book writing and blog postings. Until that time I'll post when I can although the posts might be few for awhile.

County Fair Memories

I actually have been working on a book now and then. It seems there are so many things that got in the way of writing in the last few weeks. We live on an acreage that keeps us working with a garden, chickens and livestock. We're in the middle of a terrible drought now so we spend a lot of time watering the garden, trees and flowers. I actually had enough cucumbers to make 15 quarts of dill pickles, a few jars at a time.

Though I have the fifth Amish book in my Nurse Hal Among The Amish series well underway, I stopped working on it to work on another project. In the last two years, I've written two family history books, one for my family and the other for my husband's family. Both books were for just the families, because I didn't see a reason anyone would be interested in all the family pictures, memories and stories. Awhile back, it came to me that the history from 1900 to 1960 in Vernon County, Missouri might be of interest to those that weren't living when radio and telephones came in to use. When the Great Depression and World War 2 happened or the struggle of farming families in the Ozarks during those sixty years. For those who do remember, they can read the stories and think, I remember what that time was like. So I'm in the process of combining the stories from both family history books. I thought it might be a quick project but combining and editing takes time.

Speaking of memories, we stopped at the county fair Thursday morning in Vinton, Iowa. It has been years since we walked around the grounds and through the livestock barns. It seemed like a good time to do it just to see what had changed. This was the first pleasant day we had seen in days, and we missed the crowded part of the day which was later in the afternoon and evening.

However, we didn't miss the 40th RAGBRAI which is Iowa's Great Bike Ride across the state in a week. When we were in town that day, fifteen thousand bikers rode through Vinton's downtown and eat lunch on their way to Cedar Rapids for an overnight stay. The bikers don't come along all at once. It takes hours depending on when they left the last overnight spot and how slow they are so the way we went home was traffic controlled by a deputy sheriff. The route is different each year. Always on roads that aren't heavily traveled and through mostly small towns. The roads are blocked off so the bikers don't have to worry about traffic, and the towns love to see them come. What the bikers spend is a boost for the local economy.

For years, my husband and I belonged to a two county sheep producers organization in Benton and Iowa Counties. I was elected president for a couple years. One of my duties was to organize the fair's lamb food booth. That consisted of buying all the supplies, signing up volunteers and spending five long days from 9 a.m to midnight in the booth. My husband grilled outside, and I cooked inside while volunteers handled the customers.

The booth had been used for years without repairs. The year I took charge, my husband did the carpentry to screen in the cooking area to keep the flies out. We repainted the building and covered up the large black Suffolk sheep across the front under the counter. I did the free hand painting to replace the sheep.

We have just gone through one of the hottest summers in record keeping, and it may not be over yet. Back then it always seemed like the county fair was scheduled on very hot days the last of July. Our sheep booth was the only food booth that kept ice cubes for the pop. The sheep exhibitors came after ice in a quart baggy several times to cool down their overheated fat lambs.

Twenty years ago, the sheep producers group broke up. Our booth was torn down to make room for something else. The sheep barn has nicely painted metal pens instead of the splintering wooden gates now. The grooming table was in the aisle with a tethered Suffolk patiently waiting for his grooming to finish. Only half the barn was pens with sheep in them. The other half was pens of goats. Seems they have become a popular choice for FFA projects.

The whole fair grounds had the fresh scent of wood shavings mingled with the smell of the various livestock. A person raised on a farm with livestock can walk through one of the fair barns blindfolded and know which animals are housed in each by the smell. My favorite is the sheep and goats. My husband likes the horses, but we checked out the calf barn and fowl and rabbit barns, too.

It's fun to see all the different breeds of chickens, ducks, turkeys and rabbits. We watched the young people who take such pride in making their projects special. One boy was instructing another, evidently a first timer, on what to expect when the judge came by his chicken cage.

We ate lunch at the pork booth. The grilled loin sandwiches were delicious, and the lemonade hit the spot. Then we went across the grounds to the 4-H exhibits. I enjoyed looking at all the different photography entries. The children have great imagination. One took a colorful picture of a tree top with very blue sky and white cotton clouds above it. Another picture was a horse's eye. There were many more pictures and other exhibits such as clothes, posters and food. I can't imagine how the judges picked the exhibits to go to the state fair.

By the time we looked at all those exhibits, I worked up enough room to have a milk shake. We sat in the shaded bleachers at the cattle arena and watched people go by while we ate our shake. One happened to be our neighbor girl, a senior this year. I can't believe she has grown up.

A man stopped to visit and told us we missed a running of the bull. Just one bull, but I was glad to hear the story second hand and not be on that end of the grounds when it happened. A exhibit of open steers had been brought in earlier. They were wild. Two jumped the pen fence and ended up in the bean field by the fair grounds. One was surrounded and brought back before the beef had time to get to the nearby houses. The other steer was determined not to be caught. When the men tried to get around him, the steer took after one of them. When that man out run him, he went after another man. The storyteller said the man came out of the bean field with a pasty white face. He didn't want to go back. The vet was called to tranquilize the steer. Some men kept an eye on the steer while they waited. By this time, the steer was very hot and panting hard. The vet came and looked for his tranquilizers to load the gun. He had forgotten to put them in his pickup so he left to go get them. While he was gone the steer laid down and stopped moving. One of the men mustered up the courage to go near enough to see why. The steer had died of heat exhaustion.

I loved the days we spent working at the fair. So many people to talk to that we didn't see very often. So much going on with the carnival and grandstand events like stock car races, the demo derbies and tractor pulls. A calliope of noises of motors, tinny music, animals, talking and laughter that was only repeated once a year in that fair ground. Then there were the unexpected, exciting moments like the running of the bulls.

Recalling and Making Memories

I hope everyone had an enjoyable fourth of July even if we were baking under the hot sun. This is the first summer we have had an air conditioner in our home. I do enjoy the relief it gives me from the heat. Last year we spent so much of the summer chasing the shade in our front yard that I was having trouble working on a book. This summer I can enjoy being inside and am coming along well on the fifth Amish book in my Nurse Hal Among The Amish series. State tuned for new details as I get farther along.
It's good to take a break now and then from writing, the heat and home. We spent July fourth afternoon visiting with my husband's mother and sister in Belle Plaine. At first I didn't enjoy the oven the car had turned into by the time we headed home to do chores until the AC cooled us down.
Town was busy. Full of people for the 150 year celebration coinciding with the fourth. We came home, and after dark we braved the heat long enough to sit on our front porch to watch the fireworks miles from the city heat.
We had a good visit and took a tour of my husband's 91 year old mother's large garden and vast amount of flower beds. We commiserated about how hard it has been to raise a garden this year and flowers. It seems the wild critters and birds are even hungrier this year than most. Probably has something to do with the drought and heat. They are looking for an easy meal.
My husband's sister is always coming up with new story lines for my books. I always appreciate her help. She reads a lot and told me about a library book she was reading and liked. She wished she had a copy. I ordered her and myself one and am eagerly waiting for the books to get here. The book is Up A Country Lane by Evelyn Birkby. The author lives in southwestern Iowa. In the forties and fifties she had a recipe call in radio show in Shenendoah, Iowa. The book is about her life in those days on the farm while she raised her family, and recipes are scattered throughout the book. Simple recipes back when women used the few seasonings kept in the cupboard to make casseroles and dishes from vegetables they raised.
Friday was a delightful day for us. My brother brought his grandson to visit. My great nephew is a city boy so we love to show him the animals and chickens. His favorite is the cats, but right now they are suffering from the heat as all other animals are. They weren't in the mood to play like they did last year when he visited.
In an effort to take his ten year old grandson down memory lane, we went for a ride so my brother could show his grandson where we lived growing up near Keystone, where we went to school in Keystone, and we visited a couple cemeteries. In the one near Keystone, our parents are buried. We took pictures of my great nephew as he put a bouquet of pink roses in my mother's vase. All the while, we talked about how we used to make the annual visit with his great grandparents to many cemeteries in southern Missouri and listen to our parents tell tales about each ancestor.
We stopped at the Belle Plaine cemetery. My brother said he hadn't been there in years so I helped him fine our grandparents graves. We took pictures of my nephew by the stone as we explained what fun we had at the grandparents house on weekends. We were country kids that looked forward to going to the movie on Saturday night, eating Grandma's cooking and her huge sugar cookies. The treat of the weekend might have been that long, round about, country ride Grandpa took us on to get us back home. Our grandparents were country people too so they enjoyed those rides. For us, it was the lingering of time with our grandparents before we were home and back into the routine.
It was lunch time when we arrived in Belle Plaine so we ate lunch at the Lincoln Cafe, newly remodeled and a historical spot on the Lincoln Highway tour. We could have gotten ice cream dessert with our walleye special, but my brother had noticed a sign at the Mini Mart in Keystone on their way to our house that offers malts. He wondered if the malts were good. His grandson perked up and turned down the ice cream. He wanted to wait until we got to the Mini Mart and find out. I agreed.
Before we left Belle Plaine we took a tour of the north end of town, looking at the two homes our grandparents lived in when we went for those overnight visits. Then we were off to Keystone's Mini Mart for that malt. I couldn't believe I had room for one after that large walleye meal, but I made room. Since then I have stocked up on ice cream and milk. I don't have malt but a milk shake will do just as well. When I drink that shake I will think of the great day we had with my brother and his grandson.
I'm not sure how much my great nephew enjoyed the day or the stories we told, but I received a big hug when he was ready to leave. Whether he retains the memories we shared, or enjoyed the sites we showed him, I think he liked visiting his aunt and uncle. We can't wait until he can come back again.

Make Your Offer

Take a look at this ebook selling site in the UK and see if it is a fit for you as an Independent author. We need all the venues we can find to sell our books and ebooks and get exposure.
I spent all last week getting my ebooks in order and downloading them to the site. On Make Your Offer, customers can dicker over the price of your book with you and settle on a lower price or you can use fixed price option. I've never been able to bargain with anyone on the price of anything so I'm better off with the fixed price on my books.
There are many low priced books well worth the money on this site. No need to ask for a lowered price on most of them when you think about all the long hours, slaving over the computer went into these ebooks. I kept my books prices the same as I have them on other sites. My books sell at that price even in the UK on one other site. I'm a big believer in word of mouth. Once someone reads one of my books and passes the information along that the book or ebook was worth buying my sales increase.
I like the fact that there is a friendly feel about Make Your Offer site. I was sent a welcoming email message when I entered two of my books. I liked that but feared I might not be so welcomed when I suggested I could downloaded fifteen more right away. I was wrong. Any amount is welcome so now seventeen of my ebooks are for sale.
This site has groups to join, discussion groups to explore and other members to befriend like social sites except with this site many of the people you talk to are authors. I've already found I have a lot in common with some of the authors. They have discussed with me that they write wholesome books, because they believe there is a growing market for the clean and not so violent stories. I like that there are authors in this group that shared with me their passion for writing stories they believe in.
I've said many times I like to write books with a story line similar to books I like to read. My books are wholesome with a mixture of serious at times and make you laugh out loud at other times. I started out to write one Amish story about Nurse Hal and wound up continuing in a series, because readers liked the characters so well, they didn't want to say good bye with one book. The same with my mystery series. Readers that are looking for a story with humor in it keep coming back for another book about Gracie Evans. The readers tell me my books are a break from the more serious problems that are always facing us. What I found with continuing with the same characters is that the books are easier to write now that I feel like I know the fictional people I'm writing about.
So if you are an Indie author check out the site. Downloading is free, fast and easy. Just sit back and wait for the royalty to start coming in. Enjoy the company of others sharing the site. If you are a book buyer looking for a bargain try shopping at Make Your Offer. Discover the talented authors and their works.