Sherry Ellis's Blog, page 2

Distractions

 

Do you find yourself constantly distracted?  Does it take away from your writing time?  These are the questions for this month's IWSG post. Life is a giant distraction. Mostly it's work that takes me away from writing. My to-do lists are endless.  Seems like as soon as I check one item off the list, two more pop up! Can you relate?  I admire people who can actually carve out time each day to write. And people who write thousands of words a day? All I can say is WOW! 

When I do carve out some writing time, I make sure my phone is on silent. I don't want to hear the constant dinging of message alerts!  I also make sure I'm far away from anyone who might distract me. I write in solitude. 

Are distractions a problem for you? How do you deal with them?

Here's a distraction for you—a vacation to Virginia Beach! I went there to visit my son, Bubba, who's stationed there (in the Navy). He now has his own apartment. It seems like just yesterday he was chasing butterflies!

 And my last bit of news—the fourth book of the Bubba and Squirt series, Bubba and Squirt's Shield of Athena is coming out on May 7th! It went on vacation to Virginia Beach, too!

Blogging through the Years

 

Today's IWSG question asks how long I've been blogging and have been on Facebook, and what has changed about them. I've been blogging for a long time! About 15 years. What has changed?  Well, for one thing, I'm not sure blogging is as popular as it once was. I don't know if this is my impression because I've gone from posting stories about my kids every day to showing up once a month to do these IWSG posts. My kids have grown up and are out on their own. No more funny stories about them. And I'm pretty busy working.  I've noticed though, that many bloggers who were regulars way back then are no longer on Blogger. Maybe for the same reasons I don't show up often.  What do you think? Is blogging not as popular or is it still going strong?

Facebook. I've been on Facebook even longer than I've been blogging. I think Facebook is good for keeping in touch with people you don't see regularly. It's okay for marketing, but honestly, I think Instagram and TikTok are the more happening places. It's gone through periods of being political, which I don't exactly appreciate. When that happens, I avoid it. I think Facebook has lost some of its popularity. And I think it will continue to do so since the younger generation is more into TikTok and Instagram. What do you think?

Other news: The next Bubba and Squirt book comes out on May 7th. If you'd like to be a part of the tour, you can sign up here. Thanks! 
And here's a very cute Spring picture of Mama Dove and her babies. 😄 (Not sure what I think of her nesting choice, but it seems to work.) 

  

  

Using AI to Write a Synopsis

 

There has been a lot of debate on whether or not AI should be used to create books and illustrations. But what about writing book blurbs?  Today's question for the IWSG group asks if you've ever used it to write a blurb or synopsis.  After hearing about all the controversy, I decided to give it a shot when writing the blurb for my last book. (What do they say? Curiosity killed the cat?) I was curious. So I put in the information about my book and waited for it to spew out the blurb. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't enamored. I played around with the words, trying to see if I could create something spectacular. No dice. So I scrapped the whole thing and came up with my own blurb which is way better. (I think). My conclusion? I think the human brain is better than AI when it comes to creating, and an author knows his/her book way better than any AI does. Have you ever used AI? Were you happy with the results?    

Author Websites

 

Have you ever been frustrated while visiting an author's website?  Today's IWSG question asks what bothers you when visiting an author's website. Honestly, I've never been bothered by anyone's website, but I'd say a big factor is the ease of getting around and the ease of finding the book(s) and making the purchase.  I'd say the home page should give a sense of who the author is, and what kind of books the author writes. 

What do you think? Is there anything that's a personal pet peeve when visiting an author's website?

On a different note, thanks to all who have purchased or reviewed my new book, or visited the tour stops for Bubba and Squirt's City of Bones. If you'd like to win an autographed copy of the book and a $50 Amazon gift card, there's still time. Visit this site to see the remaining tour stops and enter:   https://www.thechildrensbookreview.co...

I will mail the books anywhere in the world (as long as they can be mailed to the destination).

   

Book Bub and book release announcement

 

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all have a happy, healthy, and productive 2024!  We'll start off with the IWSG question of the month:  Do I follow readers who follow me or just other authors on BookBub?

Honestly, I don't spend much time on BookBub. I visit when I have a new release, and I'll visit when I want to post a review, but that's about it. I do more following of people on AllAuthor. It's easy. As soon as I log in, there's a list of authors to follow, so I check just about everyone.

What about you?   Are you on BookBub? 

And here's my big announcement:  My book, Bubba and Squirt's City of Bones will be released on January 16th!  I'm super excited about it. It's the 3rd in the Bubba and Squirt series. 

If you'd like to follow along on my book tour and have a chance to win an autographed copy of the book and/or a $50 Amazon gift card, here's the schedule:

January 16 The Children's Book Review

January 17 Icefairy's Treasure Chest

January 18 The Momma Spot

January 19  Life is What it's called

January 22 Crafty Moms Share

January 23 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

January 24 Barbara Ann Mojica's Blog

January 25 A Blue Box Full of Books

January 26 One More Exclamation

February 5 The Fairview Review

February 6 Country Mamas With Kids

February 7 Twirling Book Princess

February 8 My Reading Getaway

February 9 Cover Lover Book Review

Book Reviews and a Shout out for Conduction

I know—I'm several days late for the IWSG post. Sorry about that!  It's the season for lots of music playing. I finally got an evening of no rehearsals or performances, so I'm getting this done. The question of the month is, do I review for authors or readers?  I review books for authors because I know how much reviews are appreciated and I like to help fellow authors. But I also write them with the consumer in mind. What about the book is appealing? Who would like the book? Is there anything offensive? If there are major problems, I may note them in the review, not because I want to bash the author, but rather because I am alerting the reader and hoping that the author will learn something for writing future books.  What about you? Do you review for the author or the reader? Have you ever left a negative review?

And now, a big shout out to blogger friend (who I've met in real life on several occasions), Tara Tyler! She has a new book out. The 4th of her Pop Travel series, which is very cool!  Check it out.

 

CONDUCTION by Tara Tyler

Sci Fi Detective Thriller or Techno Thriller

Book 4 in Pop Travel series

Blurb:

In 2085, cutting-edge technology is the most valuable currency, and the black tech market offers high pay-offs for  diamond-level code. Jared Nertz is an easy-going ex-juicer gone legit working for Pop Travel Technologies, and just  when he finishes his long-awaited Conduction project--the process of storing data in the brain--someone immediately  steals it and kills his mentor, framing him for the murder. Now it's up to his lawyer/wife Miki and their resourceful  friends, Geri and Cooper to prove Jared's innocence by recovering the stolen tech before the criminal killer sells it. But  that's only the beginning, as they discover a darker threat when they dig deeper into the case.

Bio:

Tara Tyler has had a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After moving all over the US, she now writes and teaches math, yes math, in Ohio. She has two novel series, Pop Travel (sci-fi detective thrillers) and Beast World (fantasy adventures), plus her UnPrincess novella series where the maidens save themselves. She's a commended blogger, contributed to several anthologies, and to fit everything into her busy schedule, she economizes her time, aka the Lazy Housewife—someday she might finish that book... In addition to writing and teaching, she does school presentations encouraging young minds to reach for their goals. Make every day an adventure!

Buy on Amazon

How to find:

website: Tara Tyler Talks  twitter: @taratylertalks

Facebook: Tara Tyler - Author Instagram: taratylertalks

Nano?

 

This month's question is, "Have you ever participated in National Novel Writer's Month? Why or why not?

No, I'm afraid I haven't participated in the Nano challenge. It's a good thing and can result in a very productive month of writing. I just don't have time. Maybe if I ever retire...

Have you participated?  Were you successful at completing the required number of words? 

This month I took a mega vacation. It was a celebration of our first anniversary. We visited Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, San Francisco, Tucson, and Salt Lake City. I think I need a vacation from my vacation!

Other cool news:  The Bubba and Squirt books are going to be available as audiobooks! The narrator is an awesome 12-year-old British actor. So excited about this!

Here are a few photos from the trip:

My Thoughts on AI Writing

 

This month's IWSG question is What do you think of Artificial intelligence (AI) being used to write things (like books).

I think AI can be helpful for giving ideas. For example, when I built my new website, there were options for AI to create some of the verbiage in the text boxes.  I let the AI do its thing and decided I didn't really like it. But it gave me some ideas for what I could write. In that respect, I think it's helpful.

But to let AI write a whole story, I'd say no way! Writing is a process of human creativity. A big reason I write is to create. It's a source of enjoyment. So why would I want to give that up to an AI? 

What are your thoughts on this? 

This past weekend I went to a rock orchestra concert and saw violinist, Mark Woods perform. Ever heard of him?  The 65-year-old dude has a serious amount of energy! (An aside...this week I've been practicing with and will perform with a high-school rock orchestra. I look like a high-school kid, right? 😂😂 It's been so much fun!)

(I wanted to upload the video, but it's too big. So here are some photos.) 

                                               I caught him in a moment preparing to go onstage. 

Happy Birthday to IWSG!

 

Happy Birthday to the Insecure Writer's Support Group! If my memory serves me correctly, I believe it's 12 years old! Which means I've been blogging for at least that long. Wow! 

How did I get involved?  I think I saw information about it on Alex's blog. Eventually, I joined. I'm glad I did! It's a very supportive community, with helpful information in every monthly newsletter. I'm sure if it were not for this group, I would have stopped blogging long ago. The questions of the month are great prompts to keep us writing and connected. 

Thanks to Alex and the whole crew for keeping it going!

Here's the latest and greatest:  Have you ever heard of Dragon Con? It's a huge sci-fi convention held in Atlanta every Labor Day weekend. Georgia Philharmonic, the orchestra I play with performs for it. We had 3000 plus people in the audience. Crazy fun!

 

Photo credits:  Mark Rainey

Writing Regrets

 

This month's IWSG question is an interesting one:  Have you ever written something that afterward made you feel conflicted about it? If so, did you let it stay as it was or change it? 

In the first book of my Bubba and Squirt series, Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China, I have young Bubba use some bathroom humor. I figured the kids would like it. Kind of like Captain Underpants. When it was reviewed by a reader slightly older than the intended audience, I received feedback that the humor was disrespectful to the culture. I was appalled that somebody would feel that way, and it was certainly not my intention to offend anyone! Since the book has already been published, I did not change it, but had I known this beforehand, I would have eliminated this kind of humor.  

What about you?  Have you ever written anything you weren't sure you should write?

This month's grand adventure is a trip to the zoo to feed a giraffe!