Janalyn Voigt's Blog, page 39

Grace Notes: Storm Song

The thrum of rain in the gutters, the swish of tires on the street, the purr of my cat are music enough.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Novel Notes: Reorganizing

Well, I'm back in the blogging seat once more. The time off helped me rethink some things. While I remain committed to blogging, this year I need to allow time for promotion of my debut novel. I've decided to publish blog posts only once a day. (Yes, I know. Some people hyperventilate at the thought of blogging once a day.)  Since I have three blogs, it wasn't difficult to blog more than once a day on some days.

Why do I have three blogs? It's complicated, but mainly because I'm three people in one.

I'm a reader who is passionate about spreading the literary virus. I started Book Readers Central to encourage and inform other readers.
I'm also a writer who noticed a need for an online writing retreat — a safe place for those who brave the tempest that is the publishing industry today. Hence, Author Haven was born.
LiveWriteBreathe, my Web site blog, is all about solutions to the challenges emerging authors (like myself) face.

Rather than incorporate these blogs all in one place, I inform visitors to this Web site of upcoming posts (by myself and my co-bloggers) in the sidebar of http://janalynvoigt.com. This feature acts as a hub that makes it easy to find me on any given day and has clickable links that will open up posts in a separate window. I hope you'll take advantage of it. It may be a little off this week as I do have some pre-scheduled posts with promotional tweets already scheduled, but by next week it will be accurate.

As DawnSinger draws closer to its launch date, I'll probably back down my blogging commitments more. For now, I'm happy with the following schedule:

Monday: Book Readers Central ~ Meet and Greet (author interview, often with a giveaway drawing)

Tuesday: Author Haven ~ Weekly Post (inspirational, platform-building and/or writing-craft related)

Wednesday: LiveWriteBreathe ~ Quick Notes (efficiency and time savers)

Thursday: LiveWriteBreathe ~ Notes to Self (observations and thoughts on life from a working writer)

Friday: LiveWriteBreathe ~ Viral Notes (book promotion, marketing and social networking)

Saturday: Book Readers Central ~ Whistlestop Book Review (and notification of book giveaway drawing winner, if any)

Sunday: LiveWriteBreathe ~ Newsy Notes (snippets and links to current events of interest to writers and readers)

I've had to give up my "Grace Notes" feature, which consisted mainly of my advice for purposeful living. This pains me a little since I know this feature touched many of you in a special way. I suggest you catch "Notes to Self" on LiveWriteBreathe, since often those posts were quite similar. Also, watch for future e-books on the subject of purposeful living.

I've also given up "Novel Notes" (this will be the last post in this category on my Web site). If you are interested in the details of DawnSinger's progress toward publication and the progress of my writing career, please sign up for my email list through the "Click Me" button on my Web site. You will receive a  newsletter that includes this feature.

Thanks for following my posts.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Novel Notes: Interview and Pre-Release Giveaway of "DawnSinger"

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Stop by K. Dawn Byrd's blog, enter the drawing for a free copy of  "DawnSinger," and then click the header to go to the home page, where you can read interviews and enter drawings for books by all featured Clash of the Titles contestants.

http://kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com/2010/12/clash-of-titles-janalyn-voigt-giveaway.html#links
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Grace Notes: Child

Child

by Janalyn Voigt

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I longed to shield you always

In the circle of my arms,

To keep the bitter world away

And hide you from its harms.

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You were a gentle king, to me –

The greatest child on Earth.

Your father could only agree

The night you had your birth.

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I gazed at you in rapture

As you nestled at my breast.

I wished that I could capture

Every moment of happiness.

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I wanted only to protect you

From the world and its strife.

But that wasn't mine to do.

You were born to give your life.

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How freely did you give it,

With victory in view.

They beat you, pierced you, laughed and spit.

You took their sins on You.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Grace Notes: Surprise Christmas Post

Yes, I'm really taking a couple of week's rest but I couldn't resist posting this for Christmas. Enjoy!

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Quick Notes: Dreams For Kids

[image error]Yes, I'm taking time off but I couldn't resist pre-scheduling this post. I'm not affiliated with Stever Robbins, but I do believe in his life mission to bring joy and freedom to others. Here's his latest endeavor:

In an effort to make dreams come true for Kids this holiday season, Stever Robbins will provide his best-selling audio coaching product "You Are Not Your Inbox," which teaches how to overcome email overload, for just a small $7 donation to DREAMS FOR KIDS.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Viral Notes: Is Your Facebook Brand Negative or Positive?

How to build a positive brand on Facebook.

How one woman built a negative brand on Facebook.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Notes to Self: The Benefits and Perils of Daydreaming

I sometimes stare at people in disbelief when they ask me how I come up with my ideas. I want to ask how they don't have ideas. A veritable barrage of them plague me — so many, in fact, that I'd need several lifetimes to pursue them all. After much pondering, I've concluded that the world contains two types of people — those who dream and those who don't. You may have already guessed I fall into the more-rational category. Some of my best ideas come from daydreams. But there are hazards.

Daydreaming can breathe new life into my ideas or tie them up in impracticalities.

Dreams can make me prone to rush in where angels fear to tread.

Because dreams don't regard normal constraints, they can alarm others. My husband leans toward the conservative in everything he does. When I chatter away about the future, well, he sometimes says I "alarm him." For the sake of marital harmony, I've learned to let him know I'm "only" dreaming.

Note to Self: Count the costs of dreams before I commit to them.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Newsy Notes: Kindle Sales, Updates to Google Earth

Amazon Sold "Millions" of All-New Kindles

Thanks to you, in just the first 73 days of this holiday quarter, we've already sold millions of our all-new Kindles with the latest E Ink Pearl display. In fact, in the last 73 days, readers have purchased more Kindles than we sold during all of 2009.  ~ Amazon Announcement Thank you Kindle customers – we've already sold millions of all-new Kindles

Of interest to writers: E-books are here to stay and will continue to shape the publishing landscape.

Google Earth Updates to Version 6

Google has announced the release of Google Earth 6. The latest version is available … for Windows, OS X and Linux. ~ Mashable Google Earth 6: Here's What's New

Of Interest to Writers: Changes include an improved street view, 3D trees and better historical imagery, all designed to help the armchair traveler (or researcher) get a better feel for a location. If you haven't yet experienced Google Earth, this video will give you an idea of what it delivers. Download it here: http://earth.google.com/intl/en_US/download-earth.html

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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Novel Notes: Of Maps and Heroes

Paper littered the card table around my sketch of a portion of Elderland, the fantasy world of my Tales of Faeraven trilogy. I worried my bottom lip and murmurred to myself. "I'm in big trouble."

It seems fantasy worlds are much easier to imagine than to chart. With the artist waiting for my preliminary sketches, the rubber had to meet the road.

It wasn't that I was unfamiliar with Elderland. After years of carrying the story around in my head, not to mention the year spent writing the novel and the additional months of editing, I knew it like the back of my hand.

No, the problem stemmed from the amount of detail an epic adventure requires. The three books of my trilogy chew through a lot of terrain. Certain plot elements demand accurate propotions and even dictate the shape of the landscape.

I paused to respond to a Facebook comment from Holly Heisey, the artist who will render the finished maps. "Oh boy, do we have our work cut out for us, Holly. Why'd I have to create such a complex world?"

Holly responded with a Pollyanna-esque, "It'll be great."

This remark from someone who carries an entire universe in her head (Holly's Krynaston will release with Port Yonder Press in 2012), failed to reassure me. I'm not sure what I've done to warrant such an expression of faith. How could I fulfill her expectations?

Enter my husband, John, who gave me valuable advice on the geography of Elderland and even offered to draw a neater version of my map. John has a mathematical bent whereas I, well, I write poetry. I accepted his offer.

The last time I accepted an offer from this fellow, it turned out well.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

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