R. Shannon's Blog, page 12
July 10, 2024
Book Review – Pride and the Peacock by Victoria Holt
Amazon Description of the Book:
A young woman uncovers her family’s dark secrets in this mystery and her connection to a famously cursed gemstone in this Victorian gothic thriller from an internationally bestselling author
To secure her inheritance, Jessica Clavering agrees to a marriage of convenience, but will her handsome new husband’s desire for her ever surpass his obsession with a famously cursed opal?
Raised in the shadow of her family’s financial ruin, Jessica has never felt as though she fit in. When her only friend, an elderly neighbor, offers her the chance at a new life, she’s eager to take it. His only condition: she must marry her son, Joss.
The newlyweds inherit a fabled opal mine in Australia. It’s only once they arrive on the faraway continent that Jessica starts to uncover her family’s dark past and her connection to the Green Flash, an exquisite and spellbinding opal. The stone arouses a dangerous desire in anyone who sees it—even her husband.
Blending historical romance with elements of the paranormal, The Pride of the Peacock is an exhilarating tale from the Queen of Gothic Romance. Fans of Susanna Kearsley, Daphne Du Maurier, and Kate Morton will be spellbound by classic story of an overseas voyage, a cursed opal, and forbidden desire.
MY REIVEW AS AN AUTHOR:This was the second Victoria Holt Gothic book I read. I loved this one as well. I can see that the her style is formulaic — but in a good way. She includes all of the elements of a great gothic story: A large house, a story weaving around the wealthy vs. a lower caste in society, a family secret, a mysterious question arises that weaves all the way through the story. As an author, I could see the formula, but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story, not one bit.
This story included a journey into the world of opal minors and it gave the reader a historical view and close up view of the life of an opal minor. This was the educational part of the plot, and it was very enjoyable. I would never have chosen to read a magazine article about mining for opals, but the way Ms. Holt weaved it into the story added a depth to the story and gave the reader the experience of entering a different world.
Her writing style was just as beautiful as the first novel. I found myself watching what verbs she chose to use, and how she described her scenes. I learned a lot about weaving descriptions into the storyline. Below I have a few of my favorite ‘turn of phrases’.
I don’t want to go into the storyline too deeply, but it was a story of a young woman who saved the life of a neighbor, who is intricately involved in her family in ways she has no idea of in the first half of the story. She learns about this connection one secret at a time, and her fate is also taken up by the man she saved.
I went through my notes after reading the book and put together a crossword puzzle for anyone who also read the book and wants to try their hand at it. I used mostly the words I either had never heard before or had to look up! Below, I will speak to the gothic issues that we are all interested in.
SUSPENSE: For suspense, I give this a nine out of ten. This story twisted and turned in a few different directions, enough to keep me reading chapter after chapter, long after I planned to put the book down.
PLOTTING: I give this book a perfect 10 too. The story and relationships were well planned. The clues were dropped into the storyline in a way that kept the reader — and the main character — guessing. Just when you thought you had figured out where the story was going, there was a plot twist.
GOTHIC ELEMENTS: I give the story an 7 out of 10, not because it was lacking anything. This is more of a rating based on how gothic the story was in it’s setting and timeframe. Dracula would get a 10 in gothic elements, but this story was less than that level of dark or scary. I would say it was more of a gothic intrigue. I would give it a 10 in gothic intrigue.
CLARITY OF WRITING: I give this book a perfect 10 just like the last one. There was never a time when I had to re-read the story to figure out who was talking or what was going on. The story was quite intricate, but Victoria Holt’s writing style is so crisp and clear, the reader is never abandoned on the page. It was easy to read and clearly written. The editing and grammar were perfect.
PROSE: I give this book a perfect 10 again because she is a master at writing prose. I read a bit about the author’s story and she wrote for many years and wrote I think well over a hundred books or more, so she rose to the top in my opinion. I enjoyed every page of this book, just as I did the last book.
I have even chosen another Victoria Holt book to read next. I may have found my favorite author!
BELOW ARE MY FAVORITE TURN OF PHRASES:❖ He was an actor of a kind, for when he talked of people his voice and his expression would change.
❖ Hers was an evil sort of beauty. She was what was known as a siren, the sort who would lure men to destruction.
❖ Little eddies of dust swirled just above the ground, and I thought: The wind is certainly rising.
THE CROSSWORD:CROSSWORD – Click on the graphic below to get he google drive file to download. It has the puzzle, the clues as well as the answers (on page 3)
Book Review – Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt
Amazon Description of the Book: Mount Mellyn stood as proud and magnificent as she had envisioned…But what about its master–Connan TreMellyn? Was Martha Leigh’s new employer as romantic as his name sounded? As she approached the sprawling mansion towering above the cliffs of Cornwall, an odd chill of apprehension overcame her.
TreMellyn’s young daugher, Alvean, proved as spoiled and difficult as the three governesses before Martha had discovered. But it was the girl’s father whose cool, arrogant demeanor unleashed unfamiliar sensations and turmoil–even as whispers of past tragedy and present danger begin to insinuate themselves into Martha’s life.
Powerless against her growing desire for the enigmatic Connan, she is drawn deeper into family secrets–as passion overpowers reason, sending her head and heart spinning. But though evil lurks in the shadows, so does love–and the freedom to find a golden promise forever…
I loved this book and everything about it. There was a mystery at the core of the story, but at the same time, this was a family drama that played out among several interesting characters. It was a love story, but it was also a gothic story. It had all the elements of a gothic novel, and took me away as a reader to another time and place.
Although it was a classic gothic novel and had all the elements — spooky house, odd suspicious characters at every turn — there was also a mystery that the main character was trying to solve the entire story. This made the story all the more enjoyable.
MY REIVEW AS AN AUTHOR:I got so much out of this book being an author myself. It was intricately plotted and executed with mastery. I was in awe of the author’s talent as a writer. It held my interest the whole way through.
Part of the story was a bit educational about the historical times and I personally love when an author adds this level to the book — but also knows where to stop. Victoria Holt had the perfect mix.
Her writing style is beautiful. I was in awe of it the entire way through. There was another almost poetic turn of phrase on each page.
I don’t want to go into the storyline itself other than to say it was the story of a young woman who is chosen to be a governess at a time and place when being a governess was considered a ‘lower class’.
I went through my notes after reading the book and put together a crossword puzzle for anyone who also read the book and wants to try their hand at it. I used mostly the words I either had never heard before or had to look up!
SUSPENSE: For suspense, I give this an eight out of ten. It was very suspenseful, but I wouldn’t call it a suspense book. It had a ribbon of suspense throughout the book which added very much to the gothic novel.
PLOTTING: I give this book a perfect 10. The story was well planned. There was enough foreshadowing where it didn’t feel like anything was pulled out of a hat at the last minute. The story was complex enough to remain interesting the entire way through, but not over complex where I had to keep notes. This balance and mix made the book completely enjoyable.
GOTHIC ELEMENTS: I give the story an 8 out of 10, not because it was lacking anything. This is more of a rating based on how gothic the story was in it’s setting and timeframe. Dracula would get a 10, but this story was less than that level of gothic. It was the perfect amount for the story that was told.
CLARITY OF WRITING: I give this book a perfect 10. There was never a time when I had to re-read to try to figure out who was talking or where everyone was. It was easy to read and clearly written. The editing and grammar were perfect.
PROSE: I give this book a perfect 10 here too because I love Victoria Holt’s style of writing and her style of storytelling. I literally enjoyed every page of the book.
BELOW ARE MY FAVORITE TURN OF PHRASES:❖ We climbed to the plateau and a pair of intricately wrought-iron gates confronted us.
❖ This was a phrase I never heard before and I was not even able to find a definition on the internet. If anyone knows what this means, please let me know! there was a whatnot in . . .
❖ I deliberately bearded you in your carriage . . .
❖ dangerously demure
❖ tomb of a place
CROSSWORD – Click on the graphic below to get he google drive file to download. It has the puzzle, the clues as well as the answers (on page 3)
July 5, 2024
Emergency Supplies & Preparation – Part 2
After a lot of research over several years, and living through several Florida hurricanes, I came to the following conclusions about emergency preparation and the best way to prepare for food shortages.
Second freezers vs. Canning Foods:
This freezer is from Amazon and it is approximately $179. They come in all sizes and all price ranges. However, if the electricity goes off for a few hours, it is virtually impossible to save frozen foods. No matter how many second freezers you have with extra food, they will all spoil at the same time. And eating everything in the freezer is not going to do anything for you except make you too full and maybe get sick.
On top of that, there’s an emotional toll watching all of your food go bad one minute at a time takes on you. No matter how many bags of ice you buy and how many Styrofoam chests you get, you won’t be able to keep up with the food spoilage. I know, I’ve been there. You’ll be lucky if you save some coffee milk.
Buying food on sale and keeping it in a freezer is a great hedge against inflation. That’s where having an extra freezer or two can really pay off, especially in times when inflation is getting worse every week. But if you anticipate being in a situation where you there electricity may go off, then you will wish your food was canned.
PRESSURE CANNING:
Investing in a Pressure Canner is much cheaper than the cheapest refrigerator. This canner, which is the one I have, is only $131 dollars. I have canned meat in this many, many times.
I got into canning when signs of civil unrest became too great to ignore. By watching YouTube Videos, I have taught myself to can and I mainly can meat. I don’t bother canning vegetables as I believe they will be easier to find during tough times. We have local farms in the area and I even taught myself to grow lettuce, celery and tomatoes. So instead of canning vegetables, I always make sure I have plenty of seeds on hand. I keep them refrigerated.
WHAT DOES CIVIL UNREST LOOK LIKE?Most Americans, including myself, don’t now what war looks like as none of us remember the civil war or the revolutionary war. We also don’t know exactly what happens when civil unrest occurs. However, during the summer after 2020, we saw BLM and Antifa jump into action, and there were fires, riots, looting, cars set on fire, police stations attacked, and even a section of a city was taken over in a few places around the country. That was only a glimpse of what a mob can do when it decides to.
So canning enough food to be able to hide out for a few weeks until the worst of the unrest occurs will be one safety measure you can take. By canning about $120 worth of chicken, you can feed a family for over 30 days — as long as you have pasta or rice to bulk out the meals.
HERE ARE MY OWN TEACHERS:These are two channels I watched and I was able to teach myself how to can chicken, beef and pork. They both have great channels and you’ll enjoy lots of their videos.
CANNING INSTRUCTIONAL:
I will assume that if you are really interested in learning canning that you will watch a few of the above-referenced videos. It’s important to see a few people canning as everyone has their own techniques.
Above are the tools that you will need. The canner and lid. I use one that requires a pressure weight (in the yellow box), canning jars, canning rings and brand new lids. Everything can be reused except the actual lids. So each time you do a new canning session, you can wash and sanitize everything except the lids. They must be new.
When you buy a package of canning jars, they all come with lids and rings. But once you use those lids, you need to purchase a small package of new lids as shown in the picture above this one.
I don’t like the way raw chicken or beef looks in the jars, so I always brown my meat just a tiny bit. To do this, I use a small grill that I picked up at Walmart. At the time it was $20. They are probably $25 or $30 now.
HOW LONG OF A CANNING SESSION WOULD BE GOOD FOR YOU?If you’re young, you can do this whole process in one long afternoon. However, if you are over sixty like me, you may be more comfortable breaking this down into two days of work.
DAY 1:On Day 1, I go to the store and buy the chicken at my local Sam’s or Aldi’s in a big family size tray. Then I come home and cut it up into the small 2 inch square pieces. I set up my electric grill and brown the meat just to give it some color.
At the same time, I put 8 empty mason jars into my dishwasher and run it on the sanitize cycle. This cycle takes a while but they will be sanitized and ready to go in the morning.
Once all the chicken has been lightly browned — not cooked, only browned — I put the chicken in a covered container in the refrigerator. I brown the chicken for 2 minutes on each side just to give it a little color. I mention this because the chicken will be “cooking” when being canned for over an hour so thoroughly cooking the chicken at this point is unnecessary.
DAY 2:Then the next morning, I take the chicken out of the refrigerator and place it close by where I’ll be working.
On one stove burner I heat up the water with the bouillon cubes on medium heat and allow them to melt. On another burner, I fill my pressure cooker with the manufacturer’s suggested amount of water. In my pressure canner, it’s about 2.5 inches from the bottom. I set this on medium heat.
As the bouillon cubes are melting, I get the jars out of the dishwasher and line them up next to where I will be working.
Then I run the sink water until it gets really hot. I fill a small saucepan 1/2 way with the very hot tap water. I place the brand new canning tops into the water. This will allow the reddish waxy substance to soften a little and give you a good seal.
Once the bouillon is good and hot, I begin to fill each jar with chicken and then ladle the bouillon over it until it is 1/2 inch from the top. This is where you will use the funnel that comes in the canning tool kit. Then I plunge the air stick, which also comes in the canning kit, into the jar to remove any air bubbles. Once or twice into the jar is good.
Then I wet a paper towel with white vinegar or pour it into a little dish to have beside me. Once you are finished filling each mason jar, use the vinegar soaked paper towel to clean off the top of the mason jar, the area that will touch the new lids. Then using the magnet stick, which also comes in your canning tool kit, take out a top from the hot water and place it onto the top of the new-clean jar. Once the top is on, then twist on a ring and make it finger tight. Finger tight means you would be able to open it without using any arm strength, only finger strength.
Now the jar is ready to add to the canner, with the can mover tool that comes in the kit. The water in the canner will be slowly heating up, so the cold chicken from the refrigerator will get a chance to come up to heat slowly. By placing the jars in the canner one at a time, they will heat the chicken up a little at a time.
Fill all the 7 or 8 jars with chicken and bouillon and place them into the canner. Toss in any extra white vinegar that you poured out and didn’t use. This will prevent your jar contents from getting cloudy.
CLOSE THE CANNER AND BEGIN THE CANNING PROCESS:Then following the manufacturer’s instructions, properly close your canner. There will be instructions on how to create a vacuum. On my particular canner, I need to bring the heat up and allow the canner to heat until there is a stead stream of steam escaping from the top hole on the lid for a full 10 minutes. This allows the canner to work properly.
After the steam escapes for a full ten minutes, then I place the weight on the little stack that sticks out of the top of the pot lid. Then I must watch the canner until it comes to the proper pressure. I live in Florida and canning meat requires 1 hour and 15 minutes at 11 pounds. You will need to check the little book that comes with your canner to find the right pressure for your elevation and area.
The first couple of times, it can get a little tricky to figure out how to keep the pressure at a stead level. I have an electric stove and I need to start my canner on high to get it to get up to 11 pounds. Then I need to put it down to just under half in order to maintain 11 pounds.
I set my cell phone to check it every 15 or 20 minutes to make sure it doesn’t go below 11 pounds. If it goes below your mark, then you have to start over. So when you are first canning, have a chair handy and be ready to watch it like a hawk and even take notes on how your stove works.
TIMINGS FOR FLORIDA:MEAT:
Pints: 75 minutes at #11 (1 hour/15 minutes)
Quarts: 90 minutes at #11
Head Space: 1 inch
CHICKEN WITHOUT BONES:
Pints: 75 minutes at #11 (1 hour/15 minutes)
Quarts 90 minutes at #11 (1 hour/15 minutes)
Head space: 1.25 inch
If you want to download the above Canning Instructional, click below:
June 25, 2024
Emergency Supplies & Preparation – Part 1
Everywhere I turn there are economists, political thinkers, ex-military generals all warning about the coming of World War III or some other impending doom. These don’t seem to be people who are just trying to get internet attention, which makes me worry a little.
As an American, I can’t even envision what a war on our soil would look like. And whether we have to worry about an outside invasion, or the invasion of fighting age men who have already arrived, many of us — especially woman — may need to baton down the hatches.
Which raises the issues, what does one need to baton down the hatches?
EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY:There are rain water supply systems that can be installed alongside your house that cost thousands of dollars and for those of you who have the means, this may be something you want to consider. This would be done by an expert whose whole business is installing these and it would come with all the labor included. I don’t have any idea of what something like this would cost, but I do know it’s an option.
A second choice is a garden rain barrel system. Now, this doesn’t have to be in a garden, but it has to be somewhere in the open where it can catch rainwater. It can be next to your house or even on a balcony or a cement yard as long as it is able to catch the rain.
This would be too big for a single woman living alone to handle, in my humble opinion. I’ll cover a system for us next!
THE BUCKET SYSTEM:
In any true emergency, after several days, people will begin to get desperate. They may begin to roam around looking for these easy-to-spot water barrels with the intention to take them or even take a supply of water for themselves from them.
By using small buckets with a “mosquito netting shower cap” on top, this may be a more stealth way to collect water in not only emergency times, but times of danger.
These buckets can be hidden behind bushes or even placed outside while you are able to watch them a bit. They won’t look as inviting as the more professional systems above — at least that’s my opinion.
These are also more female-friendly as you can more easily move these buckets. A 53 gallon system would be impossible for most females to move without the aid of a husband or other male. It may even be hard for any male to move on his own.
If you get the food grade buckets, you can also put some food in them and you may even feel more comfortable collecting water to drink in them too. These are easy to pick up in any home store and they can be a life saver in times of emergency.
Besides the buckets and mosquito netting, you will also need to pick up 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch elastic that you can tie around the top to hold the mosquito netting in place. They sell this in fabric and craft stores, but the home stores may have a reasonable replacement for this.
FOOD SUPPLIES:I’ve lived through enough hurricanes to know that when the electricity and internet is out, people tend to eat snacks more than anything. However, if the electricity is off for any extended time, you will need to have a stash of food in case there are any emergencies that require you to stay home.
Below is a list of food combinations that will create a “complete protein”. In my next posting, I’ll cover the basics of canning meat, but if you don’t have canned meat, you can create complete proteins by combining the following foods:
Rice & Beans – Individually, rice and beans lack certain essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Rice is low in lysine but high in methionine. Beans are high in lysine but low in methionine.
When eaten together, they complement each other. Rice provides the lysine beans lack, and beans provide the methionine rice lacks.
This combination creates a protein source with all nine essential amino acids, making it a “complete protein.
Below are other combinations that work together in the same way:
Brown rice with peanuts or almonds.Whole-wheat crackers with sunflower seedsQuinoa with pumpkin seedsCorn and Beans: A classic combo in many cultures, like corn tortillas with beans or succotash (corn and lima beans)Peanuts and Whole-Wheat Bread: A peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread is a complete protein sourceSoy products: Tofu, tempeh, edamame, and miso are all excellent sources of complete plant-based protein.Certain whole grains: Quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth are all considered complete protein sources on their own.Seeds: Hemp seeds, chia seeds, and nutritional yeast are all good sources of complete proteinEggs: Scrambled eggs with chopped red potatoes or a potato omelet would create a complete protein dishOatmeal with nuts and seedsOatmeal and milk or yogurtOatmeal with Almond milk and sliced bananaOatmeal with a scoop of protein powder and a fruitLET’S HOPE THIS WILL ALL BE UNNECESSARY:In mid-June of 2024, Russia moved a fleet of warships into the waters off Cuba. The alleged purpose of these warships is to conduct military exercises in the Caribbean Sea. This move by Russia was seen by some as a show of force amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West due to the war in Ukraine. PBS News.
These warships reportedly included:
A frigate (Dictionary: “any of various types of modern naval vessels ranging in size from a destroyer escort to a cruiser, frequently armed with guided missiles and used for aircraft carrier escort duty, shore bombardment, and miscellaneous combat functions.”)A nuclear-powered submarineAn oil tankerA rescue tug AP NewsLet’s hope this is only saber-rattling of some kind and that it will be resolved in some peaceful way. I live in Florida, and the craziness is getting a little too close for me. It’s time to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Emergency Supplies –
Everywhere I turn there are economists, political thinkers, ex-military generals all warning about the coming of World War III or some other impending doom. These don’t seem to be people who are just trying to get internet attention, which makes me worry a little.
As an American, I can’t even envision what a war on our soil would look like. And whether we have to worry about an outside invasion, or the invasion of fighting age men who have already arrived, many of us — especially woman — may need to baton down the hatches.
Which raises the issues, what does one need to baton down the hatches?
EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY:There are rain water supply systems that can be installed alongside your house that cost thousands of dollars and for those of you who have the means, this may be something you want to consider. This would be done by an expert whose whole business is installing these and it would come with all the labor included. I don’t have any idea of what something like this would cost, but I do know it’s an option.
A second choice is a garden rain barrel system. Now, this doesn’t have to be in a garden, but it has to be somewhere in the open where it can catch rainwater. It can be next to your house or even on a balcony or a cement yard as long as it is able to catch the rain.
This would be too big for a single woman living alone to handle, in my humble opinion. I’ll cover a system for us next!
THE BUCKET SYSTEM:
In any true emergency, after several days, people will begin to get desperate. They may begin to roam around looking for these easy-to-spot water barrels with the intention to take them or even take a supply of water for themselves from them.
By using small buckets with a “mosquito netting shower cap” on top, this may be a more stealth way to collect water in not only emergency times, but times of danger.
These buckets can be hidden behind bushes or even placed outside while you are able to watch them a bit. They won’t look as inviting as the more professional systems above — at least that’s my opinion.
These are also more female-friendly as you can more easily move these buckets. A 53 gallon system would be impossible for most females to move without the aid of a husband or other male. It may even be hard for any male to move on his own.
If you get the food grade buckets, you can also put some food in them and you may even feel more comfortable collecting water to drink in them too. These are easy to pick up in any home store and they can be a life saver in times of emergency.
Besides the buckets and mosquito netting, you will also need to pick up 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch elastic that you can tie around the top to hold the mosquito netting in place. They sell this in fabric and craft stores, but the home stores may have a reasonable replacement for this.
FOOD SUPPLIES:I’ve lived through enough hurricanes to know that when the electricity and internet is out, people tend to eat snacks more than anything. However, if the electricity is off for any extended time, you will need to have a stash of food in case there are any emergencies that require you to stay home.
Below is a list of food combinations that will create a “complete protein”. In my next posting, I’ll cover the basics of canning meat, but if you don’t have canned meat, you can create complete proteins by combining the following foods:
Rice & Beans – Individually, rice and beans lack certain essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Rice is low in lysine but high in methionine. Beans are high in lysine but low in methionine.
When eaten together, they complement each other. Rice provides the lysine beans lack, and beans provide the methionine rice lacks.
This combination creates a protein source with all nine essential amino acids, making it a “complete protein.
Below are other combinations that work together in the same way:
Brown rice with peanuts or almonds.Whole-wheat crackers with sunflower seedsQuinoa with pumpkin seedsCorn and Beans: A classic combo in many cultures, like corn tortillas with beans or succotash (corn and lima beans)Peanuts and Whole-Wheat Bread: A peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread is a complete protein sourceSoy products: Tofu, tempeh, edamame, and miso are all excellent sources of complete plant-based protein.Certain whole grains: Quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth are all considered complete protein sources on their own.Seeds: Hemp seeds, chia seeds, and nutritional yeast are all good sources of complete proteinEggs: Scrambled eggs with chopped red potatoes or a potato omelet would create a complete protein dishOatmeal with nuts and seedsOatmeal and milk or yogurtOatmeal with Almond milk and sliced bananaOatmeal with a scoop of protein powder and a fruitLET’S HOPE THIS WILL ALL BE UNNECESSARY:In mid-June of 2024, Russia moved a fleet of warships into the waters off Cuba. The alleged purpose of these warships is to conduct military exercises in the Caribbean Sea. This move by Russia was seen by some as a show of force amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West due to the war in Ukraine. PBS News.
These warships reportedly included:
A frigate (Dictionary: “any of various types of modern naval vessels ranging in size from a destroyer escort to a cruiser, frequently armed with guided missiles and used for aircraft carrier escort duty, shore bombardment, and miscellaneous combat functions.”)A nuclear-powered submarineAn oil tankerA rescue tug AP NewsLet’s hope this is only saber-rattling of some kind and that it will be resolved in some peaceful way. I live in Florida, and the craziness is getting a little too close for me. It’s time to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
June 24, 2024
Scrivener – Creating a Theme, Downloading a Theme and Importing a Theme
HOW TO CHANGE SCRIVENER'S DEFAULT THEME:
The first thing you need to do is click on File => Options. It's down at the bottom of the options list under the File Tab. There is a picture to the right.
This will open a dialogue box. Choose the Appearances Tab. You can see it in the second picture above.
June 19, 2024
Organizing Information for an Infographic
I’ve always found that infographics can give you an instant bird’s eye view of any information, system, or strategy that makes understanding the information so much easier.
I’ve also found that organizing information in a way to make an infographic is a good way to actually study a subject. Most of the style of infographics come from color, symbols, icons, and shapes. The test of it is made up on bis and pieces of organized information.
INFOGRAPHICS AS A WAY TO LEARN INFO:
The last few times I was wrestling with learning something, I “took notes” and then organized them into an infographic or two. What I found was that the process was easier than I thought.
After analyzing what makes an infographic, I realized that it all starts with the organized information set up in some kind of hierarchy, sectioning or divisions
Once you know how many containers of information you will need, your design begins there. The rest of it is color choice, container sizes and shapes, and whatever illustrations, charts or icons you want to use to dress it up.
INFOGRAPHICS AS A WAY TO PASS ON WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED:
Once you are done, you know the material much better. And with an infographic now in your hands, it’s easy enough to pass it on. People love to have easy-to-understand information or directions at their fingertips!
If you would like to download an infographic about organizing information for infographics, sign up below. This list only gets one email newsletter a month with other infographics, sales, deals and steals.
May 29, 2024
Writers Research – Gypsies from All Over the World
Look what I found! This young man explains all of the different subgroups inside the World of Romani. These are the gypsies that are often referred to in fantasy and even vampire stories. I thought this was a great find because these subgroups exist all over the world.
He gives the names of each subgroup on screen, so if you want to do further research, it will be easier to do. This was a great find, so that’s why I’m including it in my Writer’s Research section.
May 16, 2024
WRITING EXERCISE – Analyzing a Murder Mystery TV Show
I've started watching several British Midsomer Murder Mysteries during the last two weeks while I proofread my latest novel, Where is Lucia. I love the British mysteries as they are famous for having several suspects in the story, all of whom seem guilty. And the real murderer is always a shocking surprise.
I decided to analyze one or two of the stories to see how the script writer handled the suspects and hid clues of the real culprit.
I watched this on YouTube where it's free. I'll have the show below where you can access it on YouTube if you want to watch it too.
MY PROCEDURE FOR THIS IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO TAKE A SHOT AT DOING THE SAME WITH ANOTHER SHOW:
I chose a murder mystery that I had already seen. I knew how it ended and I was then able to focus only my author mind on watching for clues, subtext and foreshadowing while I watched the show.
The name of the show I chose was DEATH AND DREAMS. I used my cellphone and an app called "One Note". It has a dictation feature on it. I also had a small notebook that I jotted down a few notes on so I wouldn't forget to mention in my dictation review. I paused the show and dictated my notes. When I opened my laptop, I copied and pasted them into this blog post and cleaned it up.
Many British script writers specialize in murders where everyone is a suspect and there are more than two or three suspects in each drama. And the real culprit is always a surprise.
Below is the analysis I did after watching a Midsomer Murder Show on YouTube. It's free with ads. I'll post the video below in case you want to read my analysis and see what you think.
THE OPENING SCENE VS. THE SHOW OPENING:
This show opened with the camera walking through a common middle-income family home. A radio was playing a call in show. The woman speaking was referring to her kids being downstairs and probably laughing at her for calling the show. The announcer had the usual fake enthusiastic voice talking with her.
The camera moved slowly during two minutes of this show talk and then you saw a man sitting in a chair with his head back. His eyes were closed but it was not possible to determine if he was sleeping or dead. The camera then showed an elaborate knotting system of fish wire that was strung around to a shotgun on the other side of the room. Then you heard the explosion and the camera showed you a grizzly scene of a man blown down into a bloody mess against his stove.
The next scene was the usual opening of the Midsomer show, which is an introduction of very sweet music showing various scenes from English village life. Each scene is beautiful, cottages, ducks waddling around, beautiful weather, long windy roads, lots of trees. This opening made the last scene seem even more ghastly.
As an author, I think following up a ghastly scene with a scene of domestic life would have the same effect.
INITIAL CLUES - SUICIDE:
The next scene shows Det. Barnaby and Sgt. Troy show up and discuss what they see. Troy draws a conclusion that it has to be suicide. Det. Barnaby is not so sure. He wonders why the guy didn't just go outside and shoot himself; why the elaborate fish-wire setup.
Barnaby notices a silver trophy that is present on the table. He smells what's inside and he also sees a bottle of wine present in the kitchen. They mention that the housekeeper is the one who found him.
INTERVIEW WITH THE HOUSEKEEPER:The housekeeper, Mary May, confirms she found him when she showed up at 8:30. Her affect is off, however. This is one way the writer cast some doubt about her. She was too contained, too reserved in her reaction with the cops.
She goes on to say that she and others may have seen this coming. Mr. Martin Roth was a mean man. He hadn't paid her for 4 weeks before he died. She went on to say he owed a lot of people money. She also said a lot of people didn't like him. This too creates the possibility that maybe someone else wanted to murder Mr. Roth.
NOTIFICATION OF THE ESTRANGED WIFE:Barnaby and Troy go to notify his next of kin which is his estranged wife, Sarah Roth. She says he was a miserable drunk, gambler and cheater and also physically abused her. She is shocked however when they say her husband killed himself. She is now living with another guy, Gordon, who is a part time chemist/pharmacist and local musician who leads a small town marching band. They have a small baby that she is taking care of.
The wife does show some guilt when she says she hopes it wasn't over her. It comes out that her husband wanted her back and he kept coming over when he was drunk and shouting things at her from outside. When Barnaby is there, he sees similar trophies to what he found at the murder scene. Silver cups. This casts suspicion on the wife or her new boyfriend. Her ex made all kinds of trouble for her and her new husband who were set to be married as soon as the divorce went through. This, of course, could be a motive as well.
Somewhere in the beginning Barnaby gets a report that Mr. Roth was on a large amount of Tenzine and this is an antidepressant but it would have rendered him incapable of pulling the trigger. He was killed first and then blown apart. The cops know it's murder not suicide.
THE CHEMIST FINDS OUT:In the next scene, Mary May, the housecleaner, runs into the pharmacy and tells Gordon -- Sarah's Baby Daddy -- that she found Martin Roth shot dead. He almost rudely escorts her out of his shop without explanation. It makes you wonder if she is just a gossiping troublemaker.
BARNABY'S OLD COLLEAGUE FROM MERCY PARK ENTERS THE STORY:
Next we find out that Martin Roth was receiving psychological treatment at a local psych hospital that was run by his old pal, Dr. Jane Moore. Jane runs the institution and is widowed now. Her husband died on a climbing expedition a few months earlier. She is now taking care of her three step children, two of whom witnessed their father's death, but they all appear to be a happy family.
Dr. Moore is referred to as a psychological profiler and she worked a case with Barnaby in the past. He has great respect for her, but Troy resents a chumminess that exists between them -- probably because Barnaby is a married man.
Dr. Moore is shocked to hear her ex-patient killed himself. She admits she used to go there and check in on him. You get the impression it may have been friendship or she is just being a good doctor.
THE DOCTOR'S FIRST PARTY - THE ANNIVERSARY:
Dr. Moore has a party to celebrate her hospital being open for a year. Barnaby brings his wife and Toby comes with Barnaby's daughter, I think her name is Cilly. This is where the young resident says he would do anything for the doctor and the two daughters are standing next to him. They roll their eyes at him and the younger one giggles at him. They think he's a fool.
Troy still doesn't like the closeness between his boss and Dr. Moore. He decides to leave with Cilly and he wants to go to the obstacle course at the hospital and climb the elaborate rope climbing.
Cilly sees movement in the bushes, but she dismisses it because it was only a second. The viewers know there's someone in the bushes. Troy tries to climb but he's a little tipsy from drinking and he falls down onto the ground and laughs. Cilly says, I'll show you how it's done. She climbs up with no trouble and as she comes to the top, she looks up and the young resident is dead and hanging from a hangman's rope. Cilly tells her father the next day at lunch about seeing the bushes move and thinking someone else was there but she can't be sure.
The medical examiner says that this victim was drowned in the creek behind the climbing equipment and dead first before he was strung up. They also found Tetrine in his pocket, the same pills that Martin Roth had taken. It's starting to look like maybe it was the resident who was the murderer.
THE DRUM MAJORETTE OUTFIT HAS ARRIVED:
Now, in the next scene, the chemist is on the phone and he's whispering to someone that a little something has come in the mail and maybe you'd like to come and see me sometime. You hear his baby in the background which makes him seem even more sleezy.
The two cops are in the hospital looking through a bunch of stuff. Troy tells the doctor that the resident had Tetrine pills in his pocket and she replied that he probably had them to give to the patients. Troy asked here, why did he bring them to the party. You can tell there's a little tension between the doctor and Troy.
Then the older cop shows the doctor that there's a letter he found. He's holding a letter about Dean Honeysette, stating that in light of his recent behavior, he recommends that all of his privileges are suspended. Being a gardener off premises is a big privilege. It was signed by the resident. This makes the viewer believe that this would be a reason for Dean to kill the resident, to protect his privileges.
THE COPS TALK TO DEAN AT THE HOSPITAL:
The cops find Dean in the hospital and he's very guarded and uncooperative -- also still pretty weird too. And they asked him where he was last night when the resident was killed and he claims he has an alibi. He was in the wing of the hospital and there are 4 people who saw him. It was lights out at 9:30 and he claims he was in bed.
They ask him about his criminal record and it comes out that he was a car thief but he did resort to strangling someone then.
Dean tells the cops that he didn't kill the first guy and he said he didn't kill the second guy (the resident), but he thinks the second guy who died was weak. He said this place needs strong people like him and Dr. Moore. He claims that people look up to him and feel that he has been through everything and is still okay.
Dean also tells them that he told the doctor not to put the obstacle/exercise course along the river creek in the back, but the rope guy insisted that's where it should go. He knew it was going to be trouble.
THE COPS GO SEE THE ROPE GUY:As the cops pull up to see the Rope guy, he is acting weird and says that he loves rope, the feel of it. He asks the cop to smell the rope and reveals it's the best rope in the world. It's from the middle east somewhere.
He goes on to tell them that his family before him were Rope Guys. He had a distant relative who was a hangman. He says this with pride. He comes off like a nutball and he could easily be the culprit. It also comes out that Martin Roth also owed him money. They were supposed to go into business together. He shows the cops a stand that has a few handmade toys or some kind on it. That was the money Roth never gave him.
THE CLOTHESLINES BEGIN TO DISAPPEAR:
Then in the next scene, with no explanation to the viewer, you see a woman taking clothing off of a clothesline, an innocent domestic scene. She has her children in the yard with her. After she leaves, someone off camera comes up and cuts the clothesline at both ends and takes the rope away. No explanation.
The cops both go to talk to Gordon the chemist and Sarah his wife but they are out. The Doctor's daughter, Hannah, is babysitting. She gives him a cup of tea and they make pleasant conversation. She tells him she's nervous about what's happening all around them in the village. He tells her not to worry, they are on the case. She tells him she wishes they could all move away from there and go someplace where they could all take care of their mother. She asks Barnaby if he will be going to her mother's second event -- the second party. I can't remember what the occasion is, but it's the second party the doctor has at her place. Barnaby says, oh yes. Barnaby asks Hannah if she likes the marching band music. She says, oh, no, it's so silly with those outfits they wear. She rolls her eyes. She has no interest in it.
DR. MOORE'S SECOND PARTY:
They go tot he party but this one is set up like a little town bizarre or carnival. Gordon and his band are all dressed up in their uniforms and they are playing music at the affair.
In the background, the rope guy is present and acting generally weird, but nothing relevant, just weirdo stuff, looking mean and dastardly as he was playing one of the carnival games.
Dean is also there and he is wearing his Nazi look and demeanor. He's eating something and just pushing it into his mouth like a complete nut ball.
Mary Mays husband is a referee and he is organizing them into a tug of war. On one side is Dean the weirdo and his bunch of other guys. On the other side is The Rope Guy and his bunch of other guys. As Mary's husband counts down, the guys begin to pull before he says go and they all wind up falling down. The ref begins to scold them and Dean comes up and starts strangling him. The cops come and wrestle them apart.
Just at that moment, Mary Mays shows up and says what's going on here? And she reports on a terrible crime that just occurred at her house. They go and her clothesline has been put down. Hers and her neighbors. She left the crime scene alone, in other words, the clothing was still on the ground. Troy is about ready to roll his eyes when she refers to it as a crime scene.
Troy also tells Barnaby that he should arrest Dean because he's dangerous and he had the motive and means to be the killer of all of of them. Barnaby doesn't want to act yet. Troy thinks he is allowing his feeling for the doctor to get in the way.
THE CHEMIST GOES ON HIS SECRET RONDEVOUS:The camera shows Gordon put son a new uniform he bought, adjusts his hat, opens the door and says, "I'm glad you were able to come". Viewer can't see who is at the door. Scene ends.
ANOTHER ROPE CUTTING:Mary May's husband throws the garbage out from his business on Main Street. He looks across the street and someone has cut the rope that was holding his English flag up and it's now laying on the ground. He's outraged and like his wife, he considers this a serious crime and call the cops.
As Troy is dealing with Mary's husband, he looks over and sees Sarah with her baby in a carriage knocking on the pharmacy door calling out her husband's name. Troy goes over and finds out Gordon never came home last night.
Two musicians show up to the music room for practice and knock, but no one answers. They think it's odd, but wait. Then they go in and see Gordon has been hung from the back of the door in the music room. He's dead.
When Barnaby and Troy show up, they see scuffle marks and they believe that he too was killed first, and then strung up. It's all about the rope. His wallet and valuables were still present. It wasn't a robbery. They notice a package wrapping that is left on a couch. They trace it and find out it was for a majorette's outfit.
MORE CLOTHESLINES:There is another inexplicable scene where you see a farmer riding on his tractor. Off to the side he sees something. The camera shows rows and rows of clotheslines that are holding some kind of brownish muslim sacks. There's no explanation. In the midst of these sack is a the new Major music jacket Gordon bought for himself. The scene ends without any real explanation.
DR. MOORE IS AGAIN HORRIFIED:The cops go and tell Dr. Moore and she says it's horrible. She comments that he was harmless. She can't fathom why anyone would kill him. She tells them she has to show them something. She brings them into the back of the hospital and all the ropes have been removed from the obstacle/exercise course.
THE COPS VISIT THE ROPE GUY AGAIN:
The two cops go to visit the rope guy and when they arrive, he is walking out of his business. He tells them he was about to come and see them. He shows them that he has been cleaned out. Every rope he owned is gone. All of it. He only left to get something to eat, he couldn't have been gone fore more than an hour or so.
Troy still thinks the killer is Dean. Barnaby is still investigating. He goes to see Sarah Roth, the Chemists grieving girlfriend. She is upset about losing Gordon. Barnaby asks her if she ever noticed the trophy missing. She said, no, she didn't. He asks if her husband every told her it was missing. She said no. Barnaby asks if maybe Hannah the babysitter could have taken it. Sarah scoffs and says, no, she would never do anything like that.
Barnaby asks her if she knows anything about her husband getting a drum majorette's outfit. She said, no, he didn't mention it, but she knew he wanted to get majorettes for his band, but she told him she thought the village was too conservative for that. She wasn't alarmed at all by his behavior. Sarah tells Barnaby that Gordon thought her ex-husband took the trophy and that could be because he was always hanging around, watching them, and starting trouble.
BARNABY CHECKS OUT THE FARM WITH ALL THE CLOTHESLINES:Next scene is Barnaby going to talk to the farmer and there is a cricket game or some other English sport going on with the doctor's step son. The two girls, Hannah and her younger sister are sitting on a blanket with food and tea. They give Barnaby a tea.
The younger sister gets weird and asks Barnaby if he's ever been on a picnic with their mom. He says no, and she says, I bet you would like to. Her sister tells her to be quiet. Barnaby takes it all in. He takes the musician's coat that was hanging on the clothes line and he goes into his car. He puts his head back and closes his eyes like he wanted to take a nap.
When he wakes up, it's dark outside. He looks around and he sees some kind of movement over by the clotheslines. He gets out and goes over to see what is going on. Someone throws a rope around his neck and begins to strangle him.
Just in the nick of time, Troy pulls up and beeps his horn. Whoever was strangling Barnaby is thrown to the ground. He is taken to Dr. Moore's house and given some whiskey or something to settle him down. Her kids are all there with her. Barnaby is nursed back into shape by Dr. Moore and her kids.
THE COPS GO LOOKING FOR DEAN:After this, the two cops go looking for Dean. He hasn't returned to the hospital. They find all kinds of rope in his closet. Then they go back on the grounds to another area that he used to work in. They open up a shed and there's more rope inside there too.
Dean shows up and tells them that he saw Troy and his girlfriend in the yard that night. He was ready to cut the doctor down, but they showed up. (This resolves who was in the bushes when Cilly saw them moving).
He then says that he had to remove all the ropes so the killing would stop. It was the only thing that would stop the killing. Barnaby asks him how many are we talking about? He doesn't answer. He then refuses to talk.
BARNABY FIGURES IT OUT ON HIS OWN:
In the next scene, a white van pulls up and the school kids get off. Dr. Moore's kids are on the bus. They are then taken into custody and separated for questioning. Barnaby starts with the older sister.
She is snotty and scoffing and basically unresponsive for awhile until she figures out they have evidence on her. She finally comes clean and admits that they killed everyone and she ends by saying "no one will ever take our mother from us."
THEN THE REAL PSYCHO ENTERS THE SCENE:
The next scene is when the younger girl comes in for questioning. She asks where her mother is. There is a guardian there for her but not her mother. At first she just looks nervous.
Barnaby asks her a few preliminary questions and she is a little more cooperative than the sister. He asks her if she loved her dad and she said yes but goes on to admit she loves her mother more. Barnaby asks her if her brother and sister witnessed their father's death. She giggles and whispers to him that he didn't fall from the cliff, her brother and sister pushed him. She giggles and giggles. She's weirder than all three previous weirdos in the show. The actress playing the sister had spaces between her teeth and this made her seem crazier and more psycho when she giggled.
THE LAST SCENE - BARNABY IS REALLY A GOOD HUSBAND:In the last scene, the older cops wife pulls up in her car and she seems like she doesn't know what's going on. She asks him why have you asked me to come here? He tells her I may need you for this. They stand together as a couple as Dr. Moore meets them.
The show ends by Barnaby putting his arm around Dr. Moore's shoulder and walking with her and his wife into her hospital. He is telling her that her kids are all psychos and they were the ones who killed all the people.
The only thing that was left out of this narration, to the best of my knowledge, is that when Hannah and Barnaby were talking, it showed Hannah pulling the fish wire to fire the gun. It also showed all three kids holding the Resident underwater to drown him. They also showed the brother strangling Gordon while the two girls taunted him by mimicking drum majorettes.
WHAT I LEARNED AS AN AUTHOR:I found it surprising that they had about three scenes where nothing happens except characters act mean and crazy. Like other viewers, I didn't think twice about it as I watched the show the first time. I just thought these guys looked guilty or crazy and could be a suspect.
Secondly I learned that there was very little if any foreshadowing about the sisters during the entire show. Aside from their connection to the head of the hospital, there was no real connection to them until almost the end when it was time to wrap up the 1.5 hour murder show. I didn't think anything of this when I watched the first time which means the author got away with it!
Thirdly, I learned that bookending grewsome scenes in between two sweet domestic scenes makes the horror worse somehow. This is an important takeaway.
Fourthly, I learned that you don't always have to offer a reason right away for a character acting weirdly. It's okay to have some scenes where something strange happens with no explanation until later on.
Next I learned that there was no mention of the absurdity of having this serial killer on the loose in a small village in England and there's no press around and people seem to just take it in their stride. In the same way that a person agrees to suspend belief in a horror or science fiction movie, they will also suspend belief about the level of murder for the sake of a good murder mystery.
I also noted that the two sisters were not weird at all during the entire show, but in the last scene, for the sake of a little horror, the writer made the girls quite ruthless and horrible. To me, this also relies on the reader/viewer agreeing to suspend belief for the sake of a good mystery.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?If you would like to discuss this show, email me at rshannon at readfirstchapter dot com.
May 15, 2024
Book Marketing – Where Do I Start?
Each writer or author will have slightly different goals. My blog post will speak directly to website bloggers and/or to fiction authors. However, if you publish low-content books or children’s books — or even coloring books, all of these techniques will be relevant to you because they are about basic marketing. Just change up whatever technique is mentioned and make it more fitting to whatever type of marketing you need to do.
Marketing is not something that you do. It’s something that you build. Everyone has a first day and sits behind a computer not knowing what to do first. So let’s start there.
If you are self-publishing any kind of books or launching a blog from scratch, you will need to build a readership. Building a readership is also something you build over time. Everyone starts with no readers but their parents or spouses. However, once you establish a building process, the readers will accumulate slowly but surely.
One of the only things left that professional publishers can offer authors is an automatic reader list. They have gathered millions of names, addresses and emails over fifty years or more. So that is a valuable commodity and the one and only reason you should think about being with a professional publishing company.
However, some younger people who are social media savvy have been able to build millions of followers as an “influencer” so don’t count yourself out as someone who may have good luck with self-marketing.
If you are authoring fiction and selling books, your first order of business is to start collecting emails into a reader list. A reader list is referred to as a “newsletter list” in the industry, but when you are building a readership, I prefer “reader list”. Going forward, just know they are the same thing.
START COLLECTING EMAILS: Collecting emails to send to people about your book or books. I would recommend MailerLite as they are the least expensive but professional platform for a beginner. Everyone starts with a free account. They allow you to collect a couple of hundred emails before they want to get paid. And then they charge you per hundred or so. So your expenses keep steady with your marketing results.
JOIN 
GOODREADS: Establish a presence on GoodReads.com where the most avid and voracious readers hang out. Sign up for an account with them and you will get a chance to upload your book cover. It can be a little confusing at
Goodreads so I’ll post a video about joining and navigating around there.
The biggest tip I can give you is that Goodreads is a website about readers. When you log in, it recognizes you only as a reader until you go to your author dashboard. It took me a long, long time to figure this out. I was always looking for my book and I was disoriented within five minutes.
ESTABLISH LOCAL COMMUNITY CONTACT: Every library would be interested in who their local authors are. You can set up a talk and sell some books when you do a book launch.
I personally am too shy (and too old) to go this route, but if you happen to be a bit younger or extroverted, this can create a HUGE BUZZ. Local people become fans, they tell people they know you, they buy paperbacks and hardcovers — and many want you to sign them! So don’t underestimate the life of the buzz you can create by talking about your book in front of a few people at the local library.
KINDLE SELECT: Seriously consider entering your book into Kindle Select on Amazon so you can give away many books each quarter. This is the quickest way to get attention and reviews. The more readers you have, the better the odds of getting a review.
Many new authors get too hung up on how long it took them to write the book and they don’t like the idea of not getting paid for it. However, Amazon is the biggest search engine for books. That means that your competition is Steven King, Nora Roberts, Lee Childs, Agatha Christie, etc.
It’s important to understand that allowing people to read your book may create a fan, a repeat reader. That’s your realistic goal. Unless you have hundreds or thousands you can put into marketing each month, you will be building a readership one reader at a time.
LOW-BID AMAZON AD STRATEGY: And the last step for absolute beginners is to learn strategies for low-bid strategies (going for the low-hanging fruit) using Amazon Ads. This is where you bit .12 cents a click. You won’t rocket to the top of the best seller list, but this is a great strategy to begin to crawl your way out of oblivion. I’ll have a dedicated blog post about how to set up a low-bit strategy.
I personally don’t like social media — the whole thing. However, I also don’t really like marketing either! But in today’s world, if you want to self publish, you need to market your books or blog and there are lots of ways to market even if you are shy or introverted, like I am.
First establish Social Media Accounts in your professional Name. This could be your author name, pen name, website name, blogging handle, or some other name that is dedicated to your business. Don’t blend any personal social media with your professional social media presence.
So the first thing to do is to establish accounts at all of the following social media platforms:
FACEBOOK – Facebook is the biggest arena for Boomers, who are retired and have the most money and the most time to read. So you need to establish a presence on Facebook even if you are younger and don’t use it yourself. As stated above, create a Business Page in your author name, blog name, website name or pen name. This will be dedicated to subjects around your writing. If you don’t know how to do this, just search on YouTube for “How to start a Facebook Page”.
TWITTER-NOW-KNOWN-AS X: This website is growing quickly. It has the largest political group and finance group, both left and right, on the internet. This group too also tends to be economically comfortable and will buy what they want. If you don’t write about politics, it’s okay. You will be “posting to google analytics”. More on that below.
Posting to Google Analytics means that Google spider bots crawl the internet without stop. They are constantly cataloguing and making decisions about who is an authority on what subject all the time. So even if you don’t get a lot of views or reposts, the google bots are still absorbing what you are doing.
I don’t get that many reposts, but the most traffic that comes to my website is from Google. So it’s still working. It’s important to know this so you don’t feel like you’re being ignored or wasting your time.
LINKEDIN – If you write on business or off any type of service, anything business people would need or like, then you want to establish a presence on LinkedIn as well. Most people don’t look for their next book or interesting blogs on LinkedIn, but again, you are posting to the algorithms. In the next installment, I’ll be going over how to find complementary products and/or interests to post about, especially if you only have one book.
GAB – This website is a bit controversial because they had a big fight years ago with the ADL, but it is still a place that has a huge Christian presence. I’ve never seen anything anti-Jewish or antisemitic posted so I’m not sure what the big todo was about, but in any event, I thought I would mention this. It could have been just a big ego fight between two guys. But if you write Christian fiction, like I do, or write things that fellow Christians, patriots, or other spiritual people may be interested in, you will want to establish a presence on Gab. Just don’t let this be your own social media because it really specializes in Christian and Patriotic users and they are not the only readers out there.
INSTAGRAM: You also need to post to Instagram. This social media website has a much younger demographic that uses it, but they are also glued to their screens all the time. Instagram is very popular and has lots of graphic posts as well as videos.
PINTEREST – Establish a business page with Pinterest. Pinterest has millions of users and is probably the biggest search engine next to Google and Amazon. So this is a must. Again, don’t mix business with personal. Establish a page as an author, blogger, or writer.
There are ways to create many different pictorial posts representing one book, so be sure to join Pinterest right away.
TIKTOK: If you’re thirty-five and older, I would recommend holding off on TikTok, mainly because it is a platform for videos. Candid videos. There was a trend called “Booktok” that was pretty popular for awhile, but it got so competitive, I think it has blown over — unless you can post videos everyday.
Tiktok is also battling for survival with the US Courts. No one knows their fate at the time of this writing. However, like I said earlier, their platform is for video only. People under 35 have grown up videoing themselves all day long, so posting on Tiktok is easy for them. But for those of us over 35, making a video could be a half day or full day affair. So with that warning, I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether Tiktok is for you.
ESTABLISH A PLAN OF ACTION:
First: It’s only a plan of action if you do something about it all. So be sure to open your social media accounts in the next days if you haven’t established them already.
Second: Establish a mailing list on one of the many platforms out there. I would recommend MailerLite as the first email collection platform. There are others out there but the last time I did research — which was about six months previous to this blog post — they were the best deal for the monthly money. I was paying almost $135 a month to Mailchimp (I had about 3500 emails) and I got the same program for $35 a month at MailerLite.
Most programs start free, but don’t underestimate how soon you will build up a following.
