Joylene Nowell Butler's Blog, page 8

Book Release! – HAPPY GHOULIDAYS by Shannon Lawrence

Writing a novel is no easy feat, so, when someone I know does just that, I want to help share the news. Please join me in congratulating Shannon Lawrence on her newest book, “Happy Guoulidays”, a wild collection of short stories.

The holidays can be a stressful time, as we all know, but I’m hoping to lighten up this winter season with a little holiday horror.

Maybe “lighten up” isn’t the right term.

The first story begins the winter holidays with Thanksgiving, with stories representing Christmas, Hanukah, Hogmanay (the New Year), Yule, Groundhog Day, and, finally, Valentine’s Day. From serious horror to tongue-in-cheek. Read them all at once or save them for their holidays. Or both! 

Release day is November 20, which also happens to be my birthday! Just in time for Thanksgiving week. You can pre-order the Kindle version, with other versions, including paperback, available on release day.

 Family time can lead to murder and mayhem, especially during the holidays. A turkey with a tale to tell, elves under attack, sorority sisters putting on a killer party, a woman’s desperation to save her family, and a stranger ringing in the New Year. These and other tales of woe await you beneath the mistletoe. 

Be careful who you offer a kiss. It may be your last.
 

Amazon pre-order link:

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MDZR9K5

 

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes in

her dungeon when her minions allow, often accompanied by her familiars.

She writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in several

anthologies and magazines, and her collections, Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations and Bruised Souls & Other Torments, are available in stores. 

You can also find her as a co-host of the podcast “Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem.”

When she’s not writing, Shannon’s hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings. Though she often misses the Oregon coast, the majestic and rugged Rockies are a sight she could never part with. Besides, in Colorado there’s always a place to hide a body or birth a monster. What more could she ask for? 

 

Find her:

 

Website |  Facebook |  Twitter |  Amazon Author Page |  Goodreads |  Instagram

 

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller – YA Novel THE ASSIGNMENT: Encouraging Young People to Speak Up

Some of you may know of my free nonfiction Holocaust theater project THIN EDGE OF THE WEDGE to combat anti-Semitism and hate. The project has been developed to educate teens about the past (the Holocaust) and to encourage these teens to speak up for what is right today.

Thus I was very excited when I came across an article on Kveller.com about the new YA novel THE ASSIGNMENT by Liza Wiemer based on a true story:

In 2017 in the town of Oswego, New York, during a college-level English class for high school seniors, a teacher asked his students to debate the WWII Final Solution of the Nazis taking either the side of exterminating all Jews in Europe or the side of concentration camps, sterilization, and starvation.

Two students in that class composed predominantly of non-Jewish whites — Archer Shurtliff and Jordan April – protested the offensive assignment. The teens believed that no one should defend the indefensible.

The novel begins:

What you’re about to read is a fictionalized story based on an actual assignment given to students in a New York high school education program. It’s an assignment that could be given anywhere.

Any country. Any town. Any school. Even yours.

 This YA novel and the true story behind it constitute a wonderful example of what fiction writers can achieve in encouraging young people to speak up for what is right. As the fictional teens said, both sides of the assigned debate argued for murdering innocent men, women and children.

What I especially applaud is author Liza Wiemer’s willingness to show the pushback and ugliness that the fictional teens endured from their fellow classmates, the school administration, the community, etc. before ultimately getting the assignment squashed. The two real-life teens as well as the two fictional teens did not give up!

As inspiration for fiction writers as well as a compelling story, THE ASSIGNMENT is a great read for both teens and adults.

And speaking about inspiration –

We fiction writers can inspire our readers/viewers in other ways, such as depicting visibility for people with disabilities.

On October 26, 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (sponsor of the Oscars) presented a virtual program – ACCESSABILITY/VISABILITY: BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN MEDIA – in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

After my younger daughter watched the virtual program, she told me I needed to put a character in a wheelchair in my TV pilot script SOLOMON’S JUSTICE. I not only agreed with her; I realized I could also put a character in a wheelchair in my TV pilot script DEFENSE.

I’m asking every fiction writer who reads this guest post to consider these two actions in their own fiction writing:

Portray young people speaking up for what is right even in the face of strong opposition.
Portray characters with disabilities in a wide range of jobs and fields.

Until next month, stay safe and MASK UP!

Amazon link for THE ASSIGNMENT (not an associate link): www.amazon.com/Assignment-Liza-Wiemer/dp/0593123166

YouTube link for Academy accessibility virtual program: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmvksiPxiR4&feature=youtu.be

Information about my free nonfiction theater project: www.ThinEdgeOfTheWedge.com

 

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is an author and screenwriter in Los Angeles. She can be reached through her website at www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.com

www.linkedin.com/in/phylliszimblermiller

http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller

Skype: PhyllisZimblerMiller12

Member of Women in Film
Member of the Dramatists Guild
Member of Military Writers Society of America

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IWSG – Nov 2020 – Grand Bali Hotel Nusa Dua

A year has passed since my trip to Bali. It’s a different world now. For all of us. The new reality. In adapting to this new reality, I pledge to become even more accepting, appreciative, and grateful for all I have.

They say that no matter how you view the world, you’d be correct. If you see it as a beautiful place, it is. If you don’t….

In answer to this month’s question, I write suspense thrillers that draw on the complexities in the parent/child relationship. Why? It’s really all I know.

As for Alberta Camus’s quote: ‘The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself,’ shouldn’t he have also acknowledged photographers, artists, musicians, singers, teachers, comedies, and aboriginal storytellers? Oh–and grandparents?

Here are links to the previous posts about my trip/journey to Bali. They are sort of a legacy for my family. Today I’m sharing photos of my stay at the marvellous Grand Bali Hotel Nusa Dua. I hope these pictures bring you joy.

Post #1 – https://joylenebutler.com/may-2020-iwsg-me-encountering-manila/.htmlPost #2 – https://joylenebutler.com/june-2020-iwsg-tuban-kuta-bandung-bali/.htmlPost #3 – https://joylenebutler.com/july-2020-the-long-flight-to-bali/.htmlPost #4 – https://joylenebutler.com/iwsg-sept-2020-blooming-lotus-yoga-bliss-retreat/.html

 

The bridge to Benoa reminded me of the Confederation Bridge in Nova Scotia, Canada. Minus the palm trees.

 

It took more than 90 minutes, but that was fine with me. I couldn’t get enough of Indonesia. There are more photos in my 4 previous posts linked above.

 

I saw many, many temples.

I believe this is Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She’s everywhere.

Grand Bali Nusa Duo Hotel

 

On the way to the shuttle for the beach, I only got lost twice.

My room was two steps from the pool!

The terrace for my room is on the left. The restaurant and bar area–at the far end. The pool is U-shaped. If you look closely you’ll see the rooms beside me had ladders leading into the pool. I had steps!

When I first arrived they had me in a large suite upstairs with its own terrace. I told the young lady that chances were I wouldn’t be back and could I please have a room on the ground floor. I think she thought that strange because all they had left were single rooms. I explained that my legs, knees, and back needed a vacation. “Ah,” she said, and I knew she was thinking of her grandmother.

 

 

 

 

My Tahitian room.

I sat at the desk nestled in the corner of the windows and wrote every day.

 

The tub looked wonderful, but I used the large shower (room for 4) not shown in the picture below. The tile floors were extremely slippery when wet, and so, I didn’t test out the tub.

In the mornings I swam, wrote until noon, swam, lunched at the outside bar, chatted with the kids that worked in the hotel, (we’re all friends on Facebook now) then worked on my WIP most of the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only people I hear speaking English were the staff. Many of the guests were from Asia, Russia, and the Middle East.

Speaking of food: Delicious, and yes, I sampled everything. Once or twice I made a mental note: OOOH, I’M NOT EATING THAT AGAIN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was literally the first person for breakfast each morning. Apparently, people sleep in on their holidays. Who knew?

Every other day I went to the beach and chatted with the employees. I was pleasantly surprised at how much they knew about Canada. They were surprised I travelled alone. One of them told me his grandmother, whether she liked it or not, had an entourage of family wherever she went.

The young woman in the green uniform below had just started at the hotel.  She and her boyfriend were new to the area. She was very homesick.

These kids work 7 days a week, with the odd day off. The three young men at the beach said most everyone comes from somewhere else because jobs are scarce. They share accommodations with 5 or 6 roommates because they can’t afford the rent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each hotel has its own spot on the beach with shuttles that run every hour until 5 pm.

 

 

I took 5 million rupiahs just in case. Most of that went for taxis and restaurants. I did buy a few paintings, a mala (prayer beads), and shell bracelets.

[image error]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been trying for a year to interpret the impact of my trip to Bali. I’m not sure this will make sense but I went because I felt the need to reconnect with me. I thought the only way I could do that was by attending a spiritual retreat. Over the years I felt as if I’d lost myself along the way. I left Canada seeking; I returned home content. What does that mean? I’ve learned that you control your happiness and that you can and you will be happy anywhere if that’s what you choose.

IWSG was created by Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh — because Alex understands we need a safe place to congregate, insecurity is part of our creative nature, and together we’re stronger.

On the first Wednesday of each month, you can write on any subject related to your writing journey or adopt the option of answering the month’s question. Either way, you’re in safe territory.

If this sounds like a good place to be, sign up here.

IWSG’s Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Every month, a question is announced that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

Remember, the question is optional!

November 4 question – Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?

The awesome co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria!

Please take time to stop by and thank them for their time.

–namaste

joylene

ps. A trick for getting the most out of your photos regardless to how bad your camera is, place your sunglasses over the lens.

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excerpt: SELF-PUBLISH and MARKET A BOOK

SELF-PUBLISH AND MARKET A BOOK by Hank Quense

The book marketing possibilities are endless, so which ones are the most important? This article provides such a list and it’s based on the author’s own experiences.

What if you can’t work on all the marketing tasks you’ve read about? After all, life has a way of butting into one’s writing and publishing work. Obviously, not all marketing tasks are created equal, so the question comes down to this: What marketing tasks should you concentrate on?

Here is my answer to that question. If you have limited time and or money to spend on marketing, make sure you do the following:
• Identify the customers for the book
• Get a webpage
• Develop a set of keywords
• Write a book blurb
• Join Goodreads
• Request book reviews in a few of the groups on the Goodreads site
• Join LinkedIn
• Request book reviews in a few of the groups on the LinkedIn site
• Write a short synopsis

Note: a book blurb and a short synopsis are not the same thing: they are two very different animals. I wrote an article about the differences. You can read it here on Medium.
A neat thing about this list is that, with the exception of the webpage, all these tasks are free. All they require is the investment of your time.

On the other hand, if you have a limited marketing budget, which marketing tasks should be on the bottom of the list?
• Get a trailer
• Commission a blog tour
• Hire a promotion company

This material is extracted from my book How to Self-publish and Market a Book.

For vacations, Hank and Pat usually visit distant parts of the galaxy. Occasionally, they also time-travel.

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and settings. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders. The book’s title is Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

Blogs & Books

Hank’s Amazon Page Creating a Story

How to Self-publish and Market a Book

Writers & Authors Resource Center 

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller – Presidential Election: Can We Behave Civilly to Each Other?

I don’t write on political topics – I’m not going to write here about why you should vote for the Presidential candidate for whom I’m voting.

I am going to ask you to behave considerately towards people with different political views than your own. (This considerate behavior was not on display in the first Presidential debate this evening that I just watched.)

Remember the hive mind of the Borg from the Star Trek franchise? We Americans do not have a Borg society, so of course we all have different opinions on so many things, including who should be elected the next President.

And because we are individuals, we have our different reasons for why we think Candidate A or Candidate B should be elected. And those individual reasons need to be respected.

If in the next few weeks before the Election you do discuss candidates, please keep to a civilized tone and do not engage in name calling. Do not call your best friend an “idiot” because he or she is voting differently than you. Do not say, “How can you vote for that candidate?” Assume each person has thought about his or her vote as thoroughly as you have.

The U.S. has enough problems now without letting our choice of Presidential candidate tear families and friends apart with divisions that may never be mended.

We can, of course, choose to express our preference and the reasons for our preference. Yet this should be done in a non-antagonizing way. We use our words to connect with people – we shouldn’t use name-calling and aspersions to create hatred.

Whoever wins the election, the country is going to need all the goodwill people can muster to get us through this divisive time in the midst of COVID, economic downturns, violent protests, forest fires, hurricanes, and whatever else Mother Nature and/or foreign powers may have in store for us.

I have recently noted the establishment of new organizations committed to encouraging dialogue among disparate viewpoints. While these organizations can serve a helpful purpose, I think a more productive use of time, effort and resources is to actually do something rather than talk about it.

As Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

I have read about someone who said that, every time her mentor and she spoke, her mentor would ask her what she had done for her country that day. During Yom Kippur remote synagogue services this year (the evening of September 27 and the day of September 28), I thought about that exhortation to daily do something for one’s country.

In answer to myself, I decided that reaching out each day to someone new about my free nonfiction theater Holocaust project www.ThinEdgeOfTheWedge.com – developed to combat anti-Semitism and hate – is what I’m doing to help counteract the current religious and racial hatred in the U.S.

Although reaching out to a single person isn’t major, if someone to whom I reach out uses the free resources for himself/herself and perhaps others, then that reaching out could swell to educating more people. After all, one small step could lead to bigger and bigger steps.

In conclusion, two simple requests:

First, is there some small act that you could do each day to help people move forward through these difficult times?

Second, would you share my free nonfiction Holocaust education resources with people who could use these, especially middle schools and high schools doing remote learning? (See www.ThinEdgeOfTheWedgeProject.com)

And finally, stay safe for yourself and others. WEAR A MASK, practice social distancing, and wash your hands!

 

 

 

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BUBBA and SQUIRT’S MAYAN ADVENTURE by Author Sherry Ellis!

Lucky for us, author Sherry Ellis has a new children’s book!  And, you have a chance of winning a copy!

Here’s an excerpt:

CHAPTER 4

SQUIRT: TROUBLE WITH THE LOCALS

I nearly fell off the pyramid when I heard the voice. I spun around to see a girl about Bubba’s age wearing khaki shorts and a blue T-shirt. Her long, black hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

“Hola,” she said again, studying me with dark, almond-shaped eyes.

It took a minute to get over the shock of seeing her. “Hola,” I said when I found my voice. I knew that word from Spanish class. It meant “hello.”

She grinned and spoke more Spanish.

Bubba interrupted. “Excuse me. Can you please say that in English? Because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The girl stopped for a second to look from me to Bubba. A second later she laughed. “Si. Yes. My name is Esperanza. What’s yours?”

“I’m Squirt,” I said, “and this is my brother, Bubba.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You scared us,” Bubba said.

“Lo siento. Sorry. I came up from the other side.” She walked across the flat top of the pyramid and pointed down. “See? Mi padre is working over there.”

I followed and looked where she pointed. Lines of white rope formed rectangular sections along the ground. Several men were crouched down, looking at something. “What are they doing?”

 

As you can see from the excerpt, BUBBA and SQUINT’S MAYAN ADVENTURE is a delightful juvenile fiction story for all ages.

 

◊ Genre: Juvenile Fiction
◊ Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press (Sept. 7, 2020)
◊ Print & eBooks
◊ Paperback: 96 pages
◊ ISBN-10: 1939844703
◊ ISBN-13: 978-1939844705

An ancient Mayan civilization!      

That’s what Bubba and Squirt find when they travel through the mysterious vortex for another wild adventure. There they meet archeologists who are unearthing priceless artifacts.

But someone is stealing them. And an encounter with the Tate Duende awakens magic within Bubba. Throw in the mysterious Alux and a new discovery and things get sticky.

Will Bubba and Squirt solve the mystery, or will they be stuck forever in the jungles of Belize?

Bubba and Squirt available at

AMAZON US   *   APPLE BOOKS   *   DANCING LEMUR PRESS   *   BARNES & NOBLE  *  BAM   *   KOBO

 

Meet the Author

Sherry Ellis is an award-winning author and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin, viola, and piano. When she is not writing or engaged in musical activities, she can be found doing household chores, hiking, or exploring the world. Ellis and her family live in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Contact with Sherry on:

Twitter *

Facebook *

Goodreads *

Blog *

Website *

Amazon Author Page

 

GIVEAWAY

Sherry is sponsoring a tour-wide giveaway. She is giving away ten (10) autographed print copies of the book open to all. Be sure to enter below on the Rafflecopter widget. If the widget doesn’t appear, click HERE to enter the giveaway. The giveaway ends at midnight on Oct. 17th.

You can also follow Sherry’s tour for more information and chances to enter by visiting the following sites:

Monday, Sept. 14 – Write With Fey – Guest Post
Alex J. Cavanaugh – Guest Post
Tuesday, Sept. 15 – Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews – Interview
Wednesday, Sept. 16 – The Story of a Writer – Review
Thursday, Sept. 17 – Book Reviews by Pat Garcia – Review
Friday, Sept. 18 – Booked Solid with Virginia C – Feature
Rockin’ Book Reviews – Review & Top Ten List
Monday, Sept. 21 – Just Jemi – Review & Interview
Anna del C. Dye Official Page – Excerpt
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – Baroness’ Book Trove – Review
Saturday, Sept. 26 – Storeybook Reviews – Excerpt
Monday, Sept. 28 – Elizabeth Spann Craig’s Blog – Guest Post
Joylene Nowell Butler – Excerpt
Journaling Woman – Feature
Wednesday, Sept. 30 – Nesie’s Place – Excerpt
Friday, Oct. 2 – Thoughts in Progress – Review
Monday, Oct. 5 – The Sexy Nerd “Revue” – Excerpt
Wednesday, Oct. 7 – Willow Writes and Reads – Review
Friday, Oct. 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – Excerpt
Monday, Oct. 12 – Literary Rambles – Interview
Wednesday, Oct. 14 – Writer’s Gambit – Feature & Top 10 List 

Thanks for stopping by today. Do you enjoy all different types of genres and age-related stories?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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PUBLISHERS and PACKAGERS

by Hank Quense

When you self-publish a book, you, the author, are the publisher. Hence, you don’t need a publisher. But you do need a packager. Many people think publishers and packager are the same thing: they are not. The situation isn’t improved by many packagers trying to pass themselves off as publishers.

What does a packager do? It performs several vital functions. Initially, you upload the manuscript and the cover file to the packager, who puts the files together to produce the ebook or print book. Once the book is released, the packager distributes the book to various sellers. Whenever one of the sellers records a sale, the packager receives the sales revenue, accumulates it and sends you a royalty check, usually once a month.

Both the seller and the packager keep part of the sales revenue and you get the rest.

Smashwords is an ebook packager. Kindle is an ebook packager and they are now also a print book packager. IngramSpark is print book packager.

There are a number of packagers available, and the numbers keep changing as some pop up while others disappear. A web search will provide lists of packagers to choose from. Don’t sign up with the first ones you come across since not all the packagers are reputable and some may actually be vanity press outfits masquerading as a packager. The issue with vanity presses is that they aren’t interested in your book. They are only interested in how much money they can siphon out of your wallet.

A vanity press, and there are many of them, is a publisher/packager who’ll publish anything, no matter how bad it is, as long as the author can pay the multi-thousand dollar fees. Besides the publishing fees, they will also try to suck the author into buying expensive marketing programs. I recommend you avoid all vanity presses. Actually, the vanity presses are easy to spot: they advertise. When visiting a website and you see an ad for a publishing company, it most certainly is a vanity press publisher. To learn more about vanity presses visit https://blog.reedsy.com/scams-and-publishing-companies-to-avoid/

When considering a packager, study the submission guidelines. If you don’t adhere to the submission guidelines exactly, your submission will be rejected.

In addition, make sure you read ALL the fine print on the website. In the website’s fine print, you may find onerous conditions, and it’s devastating to find out about those conditions after you sign a contract or agree to the Terms and Conditions statement. One possible onerous condition for print book packagers is that you agree to buy a large number of print books at an outrageous price. I’ve seen this condition on a number of print book publishers sites and vanity presses and it’s possible some print packagers now also use it.

Here is a list of questions to ask or search for answers when considering a packager.

◆ What distributors do they use, if any? Barnes & Noble? Kobo? iBooks?

◆ Are the distributors optional? If so, how are they activated?

◆ Is there a fee associated with the distribution process? If so, how much?

◆ Does the packager provide any marketing efforts on your behalf? If yes, what are these efforts?

◆ Does the packager charge for marketing assistance? And how much?

◆ What is the revenue split from the packager sales?

◆ What is the revenue split from distributor sales?

◆ How frequently does the packager disburse sales revenue? Monthly? Quarterly?

◆ Is there a minimum value before the packager will disburse sales royalties?

◆ Where will you find sales reports? Online? In an email?

◆ Will the packager provide an ISBN for your book? Is it free? If not free, how much do they charge for the ISBN?

For vacations, Hank and Pat usually visit distant parts of the galaxy. Occasionally, they also time-travel.

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and settings. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders. The book’s title is Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller – Jewish New Year in the Time of COVID

September Reflections on the Jewish New Year in the Time of COVID

While many of you reading this guest post will not be celebrating the fall Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), I feel strongly that all of us can learn from these meaningful holidays during this very stressful time of COVID.

For more knowledge on the holidays, I’ve included links at the end of this guest post to the specific chapters of my co-written Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION.

Now, though, I want to talk about universal concepts:

The other day my youngest brother said something very compelling. To paraphrase him (hopefully accurately), he said that there is no society if people only help others because they are paid to do so or they expect a reward for doing so. My brother said there is no society without people willing to help others just because it is the right thing to do.

The recent news article “Honesty of the long-distance runner” from FairPlayInternational.org provides an amazing example of this. I am including the link to the article at the end of this post so you can read the compelling article in its entirety.

Last month as my guest post here I wrote about how writers can encourage others to follow COVID safety steps, including WEARING A MASK — https://joylenebutler.com/phyllis-zimbler-miller-modeling-good-behavior/.html

As I reflect during the upcoming days of the Jewish High Holidays on how I can be a better person, I hope that I have done all I can to prevent my infecting anyone with COVID. I believe we all have a moral duty to protect each other as best we can – the opposite of selfishness. (And, yes, I’m going somewhat stir crazy, too, but that does not give me the right to put anyone else at risk.)

If you read science fictions books, you may have an idea of what the world could look like in which no one cares about others and there is total anarchy. Or what would happen if we followed Mel Brooks’ words from THE 2,000-YEAR-OLD MAN – “Let ‘em all go to hell except Cave 76.”

What I’m asking of the readers of this blog post right now is very simple:

Try to be understanding rather than judgmental of others – we don’t know the “backstory” of someone’s behavior. (In the Netflix eight-part drama series GIRI/HAJI about unintended consequences – the self-destructive behavior of the young London rent boy Rodney is incomprehensible until in the 8th and final episode of the show he visits his mother after a six-month absence. The few sentences of that scene are all we need to know to understand and have deep empathy with Rodney.)Follow the health and safety regulations of your local, state and federal governments. You do NOT know better than health officials what is needed.Reflect on how you can offer a helping hand (socially distanced, of course) in small acts of kindness through this difficult period of COVID.Get a flu shot as soon as it is available in your area to protect yourself and others.

Pouring honey on a slice of red apple with a honey dripper

One more thing, as the wife of an estate planning lawyer I’ve heard too many horror stories of people dying without estate planning documents or with outdated ones. Both my 95-year-old parents died in the past few months during the lockdowns. Thankfully they had up-to-date estate planning documents so no family feuds over possessions ensued.

And because COVID can strike any of us at any time, even though I have up-to-date estate planning documents, I’m going through my own mementoes so that I don’t leave my adult children with mounds of miscellaneous items to wade through.

I hope that this Jewish New Year guest post has provided food for thought for your own lives, and do check out the links below.

Honesty of the long-distance runner: http://www.fairplayinternational.org/honesty-of-the-long-distance-runner

Rosh Hashanah chapter: http://www.millermosaicllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Rosh-Hashanah.pdf

Yom Kippur chapter: http://www.millermosaicllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Yom-Kippur.pdf

Free estate planning articles at www.EstatePlanningForYou.com

May this coming year be one of health and productivity for all of us.

Traditional Challah.

 

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is an author and screenwriter in Los Angeles. She can be reached through her website at www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.com

Phyllis Zimbler Miller

Screenwriter * Author

www.linkedin.com/in/phylliszimblermiller

http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller

Skype: PhyllisZimblerMiller12

Member of Women in FilmMember of the Dramatists GuildMember of Military Writers Society of America

 

 

 

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IWSG – Sept 2020 – Blooming Lotus Yoga Bliss Retreat

, Just this morning I was saying to myself, “Self, eleven months have passed; you’ve written three posts about your trip to Bali and you’re still not finished. What’s with that?”

Post #1 – https://joylenebutler.com/may-2020-iwsg-me-encountering-manila/.htmlPost #2 – https://joylenebutler.com/june-2020-iwsg-tuban-kuta-bandung-bali/.htmlPost #3 – https://joylenebutler.com/july-2020-the-long-flight-to-bali/.html

There are five reasons why I’m not finished:

1.  All my photographs won’t fit in one post.

2.  It was a huge experience, hard to wrap up in 3000 words or less; at least, for me.

3.  If I’m putting this out in the world, I need to do it justice.

4.  Long posts take time to read .

5.  I’m an author. When I finish a book, I say goodbye to my characters. I don’t want to say goodbye to Bali.

To recap:

Oct 1  – I left Canada.Oct 3 – Arrived in Manila and stayed at the historical Luneta Hotel.Oct 5 – Flew to Denpasar and stayed at the beautiful Novotel Hotel.Oct 6 – Traveled north to the Blooming Lotus Yoga Bliss Retreat.

BTW: I did this BY MYSELF!

I returned to Canada on October 17, 2019, looking like the same ole joylene, but I wasn’t. I’d visited heaven on earth and I came away breathing a more joyous, loving, and compassionate life.

Now 11 months later, COVID-19 later, I yearn to go back to that glorious feeling of awareness, peace, and gratitude in Indonesia.

The wise one inside of me, the one who’s always been, even though I don’t always feel her, knows I don’t need to go back. I have the capacity to be aligned with my spirit without having to travel 13000 km. All I need to do is be still and breathe.

 

The Blooming Lotus Yoga Bliss Retreat is set in the lush jungle of Bali. The place is magical. There are classes in the sacred wisdom of Yoga, Tantra & Vedanta. My 7 days encompassed the Hatha, vinyasa, & yin styles of yoga asana.

What you’re seeing in the photo below is the compound. The three tiers house private and shared villas, which can have 2 to 6 guests in each. Please forgive the poor quality photos. They didn’t transfer from iPhone to Dropbox to WordPress the way I’d hoped.

I stayed in a single room, (centred in the photo) under the yoga studio, sharing the villa with 4 others. Each villa had its own swimming pool. The community swimming pool near the bottom of the photo is next door to the spa.

The top tier with the rows of lights is the dining room on your right with the large yoga studio on your left.

 

BloomingLotusYogaBliss

There were 26 in attendance … from all walks and countries. Five travelled from Canada. The others were from Spain, Australia, Turkey, Sweden, Korean, Denmark, United States, Switzerland, and the UK.

Among these beautiful souls were a nurse, yoga instructor, doctor, teachers, computer coders, designer, government worker, animal rescuer, accountant, banker, lawyer, prosecutor. I was the only author.

Going out on a limb and admitting I was the oldest person in attendance.

 

 

My room, behind the glass doors.

The interesting thing is my room was very white, not the colour in the photo at all. I had the room to myself.

I did have a single suite like the one below, but I moved to be closer to the studio.

After morning lessons and before the evening ones, we were left to our own devices. I did a walkabout as often as I could. Camera in hand.

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Breakfast was at 7:30 sharp each morning.

Dinner was 7:30 pm sharp…

 

 

There was a temple across from us.

Blooming Lotus is strictly vegan so some of us went to town for junk food.

 

 

 

One day we all went to a temple and had our chakras cleansed.

A moving experience.

 

Our teacher and angel: Bindi

I will conclude my posts on Bali next month, summing up my impressions of the people, the landmarks, and the overall trip. If you are considering a trip to Bali in the future and have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below. I’ll answer next month.

So much happened that I’m left a little overwhelmed, still. I don’t feel as if I’m adequately showcased just how special my trip was. It was life-changing.

“In Yoga everything is centered upon letting go and falling in love with love itself.”

…  Ramananda Mayi

IWSG was created by Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh — because Alex understands we need a safe place to congregate, insecurity is part of our creative nature, and together we’re stronger.

On the first Wednesday of each month, you can write on any subject related to your writing journey or adopt the option of answering the month’s question. Either way, you’re in safe territory.

If this sounds like a good place to be, sign up here.

IWSG’s Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Every month, a question is announced that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

Remember, the question is optional!

September 2 question – If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?The awesome co-hosts for the September 2 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, and Louise – Fundy Blue!When you have a moment, please stop by and thank the hosts for their time. They’re the reason nobody gets left without visitors.–namastejoyleneps. The one thing I did learn even before I visited Bali:“The secret to happiness is happiness itself. Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other, the wonder of our breathing. We don’t have to travel anywhere else to do so. We can be in touch with these things right now.” … Thich Nhat Hanh.

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How to Write Really Bad Fiction and Enjoy the Benefits of Rapid Rejection

by Hank Quense

I’m an author of twenty books — both fiction and non-fiction — and over forty short stories along with a number of fiction writing articles.  From my experience, I’ve learned a number of important lessons and I want to pass them onto others.  One important lesson involves getting a book published; it changes your life.  No longer can you sit in your office and spend your time writing more fiction.  Once you become a published author, you also become the book’s marketing manager and its sales manager, a terrifying situation if you’re not prepared for it.  It’s enough to force some people to go get a real job instead of writing.

To protect others from the trauma of this situation, I’ve put together a list of fiction writing techniques that will guarantee non-publication.  Following them will ensure a rapid reply from editors who will use a preprinted form or a terse email. This rapid reply will allow you to maximize the rejections you receive in a given period of time.

Here is the list in no particular order:

Always use adverbs!  Lots and lots of adverbs.  One of your writing objectives should be to use an adverb to modify at least fifty percent of your verbs.  And don’t forget about using them in dialog tags.  Why show the reader a woman shredding a paper tissue?  Make it easy on the poor readers.  Tell them the woman is nervous. Thus, “He’s making me so fidgety,” she said nervously.

A naked noun is evil!  Adjectives exist to be used. Their primary purpose is to modify a noun, so make use of this most excellent writing technique. Load up your nouns with modifiers so the reader will have no doubts about the noun.  “The skinny, ugly guy wore a hideous, ripped t-shirt, dirty, baggy pants and shredded sneakers.”  Here’s an even better example of clever adjective usage: “The scrawny boy used his undersized biceps to try to pick up the clumsy weight and place it in the old-fashioned truck before the foul-mouthed old man became aware of his clever trickery.” Get the idea?  Remember, a naked noun is e-v-i-l!

Use conversation.  Don’t limit yourself to dialog.  Conversation is the stuff of life.  Don’t allow your characters to be stuck inside the story by restricting them to dialog that moves the story forward.  Make your characters more life-like by letting them engage in idle conversation just like real people do.

” How you doing?”

“I’m cool. What’s up?”

“I’m good.  Couldn’t be better.  Watching the Yankees tonight?

“Who they playing? . . . Yada, yada, yada.”

This stuff doesn’t move the story along like dialog does, but it shows the characters are just as boring as real folk.

Motivation is overdone.  To properly show motivation requires a lot of creativity, time and words.  It is much better to skip over that part and get right into the action. So what if the guy disarming the ticking bomb is only doing it because his shift doesn’t end for two hours and he doesn’t have anything better to do.  The character doesn’t have any motivation, but who cares; it keeps the story moving and doesn’t slow it down with a lot of words explaining the motivation.

Don’t worry about Point of View rules.  POV is perhaps the most technical of all aspects of writing and handling it correctly is time-consuming and requires advanced planning.  Who needs all that extra work when there is another scene to write or another crisis to defuse.  Most of the readers will figure it out and sort of follow the story.

It’s wise to develop writing habits such as peppering the page with -ing words.  This technique will give your writing a pleasing sing-song effect.  “Opening the door and running down the corridor while waving her hand, she tried shouting, calling attention to her life-threatening situation.” Doesn’t that sentence make you want to hum along from all the -ing words?

Use empty words.  Very, really, ever, still, just and others are words with no meaning but they do fill up sentences and make them look more impressive. Fiction writing is filled with opportunities to use these words and titillate the readers.  With a bit of imagination, you can also use these words to punctuate the sentence.

Why bother with multiple-dimensional characters?  Flat characters work just as well.  Flat characters can fight, love and die just as well as the more complicated ones, but take considerably less work.  The simple approach gives you more time to write still more stories.

Character Voice.  This attribute allows the reader to identify the characters from their dialog “voices.”  What nonsense.  That’s what names are for.  Just use the names in all the lines of dialog and the readers will be able to keep the characters straight.

Keep this list near your keyboard and refer to it frequently.  Within a short time, your friends and family will be impressed by the huge stack of rejection notices you’ve accumulated.  Soon you’ll be able to claim that you are an “Internationally rejected author.”  A side benefit is that your family will know you’re really doing something in your office.  Right now, they probably think you’re goofing off and playing computer games.

If you chose to ignore this excellent advice, there are alternatives listed in my book, Creating Stories.  Note that following the advice in that book can significantly increase the response time from editors.

For vacations, Hank and Pat usually visit distant parts of the galaxy. Occasionally, they also time-travel.

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and settings. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders. The book’s title is Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

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