Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 28
April 4, 2017
Link of the Week – Viabox
Need a PO Box address but don’t want to pay for it because you won’t use the physical box? That’s the case with many authors. We send out newsletters but because of the CAN-SPAM Act, we must provide a physical address. Most of us don’t want to give out our home address for obvious reasons. And many folks don’t want to pay the post office or other facility a monthly fee to have a box we likely will not receive mail in.
[image error]Here’s a great solution! Viabox! This company provides a FREE physical US address. One you can receive mail at…or not. (wink, wink)
In a nutshell, Viabox is a package forwarder — shop any US retailer, ship to any country. Viabox “allows you to receive mail, packages of any size or even oversized items on pallets that are shipped from merchants using major shipping carriers such as UPS, FEDEX, DHL, USPS, etc.” You only pay them if you want them to forward anything that has been mailed/shipped to you. Sa-weet! This is perfect for those of us who need that physical address that is not our private residence—even if we don’t live in Oregon (which is where Viabox is located).
https://www.viabox.com/about-us.php
March 31, 2017
Friday Fun Facts- Pirates!
Now here’s a topic! Pirates have been romanticized, vilified, and sensationalized. What is the truth about them? It’s sometimes stranger than fiction!
Pirates pierced their ears not to look devilishly handsome, but it was believed if you pierced your ear with precious metal, it was thought to improve one’s eyesight. Even respected seafaring men did it![image error]
No one has actually ever found a real pirate’s buried treasure map. Never too far from death, most pirates tried to enjoy their money quickly. [image error]
The Jolly Roger with its skull and crossed bones was designed to be scary. It was not used by all pirates, but many in The Spanish Main did use it to strike fear into their victims.
It is a fact that many pirates had eye patches, hooks, or peg legs. This was a dangerous profession and many of them were maimed.
Pirates have been around since boats were built. In fact, Julius Caesar was twice captured by Mediterranean pirates!
There were up to 80 pirates on most boats in contrast to the British which usually had around 30 men aboard.
A few of the pirate ships were large. Captain Bellamy’s Whydah, for example, had 28 guns and weighed 300 tons!![image error]
Pirates probably didn’t have talking parrots. Sorry.
A gang of Pirates from 1714 called the “Flying Gang” were the inspiration behind Jack Sparrow and Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Pirates believed that whistling on a ship could call up a storm.
They also believed having a woman on board was bad luck!
Pirates weren’t all men! There were several notorious and totally bad-ass women pirates.[image error]
Here’s another idea as to why so many had eye patches…it’s not because they lost an eye! Patches were worn so one eye would remain constantly adjusted to darkness, which made it easier to fight below deck when boarding ships. The technique was so effective that keeping one eye closed is still a technique used in the military today for night survival.[image error]
Many captains had a pay scale for extra booty if the pirate was injured. The more extensive the injury, the more they got. If fact, injured pirates who continued with that life were held in respect and seen as being very brave.
People from all social classes became pirates, they weren’t all thugs and thieves.
*** If you loved these facts, you’ll LOVE these books!!
Romance on the High Seas: Seven Swashbuckling Pirate Romances
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March 29, 2017
Hump Day Kick Start – Billy and his Blade Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
Since announcing the Romance on the High Seas box set of 7 swashbuckling tales yesterday, pirates are on my mind this week. Well…they’re always on my mind. So I give you this week’s prompt—Billy.
He doesn’t have to be a pirate. He could be a mercenary, a blacksmith, heck, even a taxidermist. Whoever he is to you, what’s his story? What is going through his mind? Is he angry, contemplative, remorseful, scared, or insane? Could he be plotting revenge? Spiraling into a dark place in his mind over the loss of someone he loved? About to deliver justice to a captive? Cleaning his nails?
Tell me a tale, mate, or caption the pic. I’d love to hear from ya!
March 28, 2017
Link of the Week – Romance on the High Seas
One Thrilling & Epic Box Set
Seven best-selling and award-winning authors of pirate romance take you on thrilling and epic high seas adventures with seven swashbuckling romances sure to satisfy the pirate in you. Argh!
The box set weighs anchor May 18th but you can PRE-ORDER your copy TODAY at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or iBooks.
You can also stop by and LIKE our Facebook page where you might just pick up some booty.
https://www.facebook.com/HighSeasRomance/
March 24, 2017
Friday Facts- Can’t Call It Fun
Sexual Assault- It happens.[image error]
1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be a victim of sexual assault.
Every 98 seconds someone experiences this.
Good news! The number in the US has fallen by more than half since 1993.
Still…only 6 out of every 1000 rapists ends up in jail.
Every 8 minutes the victim is a child.
60,000 children are victims in a year.
55% of the assaults occur at or near the victims home.
12% occur at or near a relatives home.
There is help and healing!!– https://www.rainn.org/about-rainn (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network)
A Definition- Sexual assault is a sexual act in which a person is coerced or physically forced to engage against their will, or non-consensual sexual touching of a person.
Another place of healing!!– http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/... This was started by the actress Mariska Hargitay who plays on Law and Order SVU.
“But what really opened her eyes—and subsequently, her heart—was the fan mail she received. The letters didn’t say, “I love your show. Can you send me an autographed picture?” They said, “I was raped when I was fifteen. I’m forty now and I’ve never told anyone.” Survivors were disclosing their stories to her, many for the first time.
The fact that these individuals were revealing something so personal to someone they knew only as a character on television demonstrated to Mariska, and to all of us, how desperate they were to be heard, believed, supported and healed.
Her response was to create Joyful Heart.”[image error]
How You Can Participate! If you love to write or read, check out this great auction doing wonderful things!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.writersforhope.com/about
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March 22, 2017
Hump Day Kick Start – Writing Prompt #6
Writing prompts to kick start your muse.
Now THIS…this could go in so many directions. What are the side effects? Are they mental, physical, or something entirely different? Small and unassuming or epic? Who are they affecting? Human or beast? Just one person, an entire population, or all civilization?
Share your ideas and/or post your creations, even if it’s just a line or two. I’d love to hear them.
March 21, 2017
Book Gorilla- Good For Writers, Good For Readers
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Writer- “Are you an author? Just click here to see how you can submit (or update) information for your own free BookGorilla Author Page. Each author’s page accommodates a brief bio and a full listing of their Kindle titles.”
Reader- “Imagine a single daily email, tailored to your personal reading preferences, featuring the best deals on the best Kindle ebooks, either completely free or at deeply discounted bargain prices.”
March 17, 2017
New Release! Echoes In Time
AWAY FROM THE FRONT
Roark Foster kills at work. Truly. As a sniper for the Green Berets, he’s snuffed everything ever asked of him, including all emotion. That last part was easy. After the tragedies of his youth with a Native American heritage, his heart had to go—which makes it all the more difficult to return to Esterloch, NY, to settle the estate of his recently deceased mother. And to deal with the desperate stranger he finds lurking in his yard.
…AND INTO A MINEFIELD
Dr. Monica Peterson’s first step was to hide. That’s why she came to this tiny upstate town, fleeing everyone and everything to stay safe. Next will come Plan B, when she thinks of it, but until then her secrets will stay her own. Yet one intractable soldier calls out to her with his hard eyes and harder body, promising both solace and ineffable danger. For the past is not a war you can escape, and every step with Roark will lead toward an explosion: of old enemies, of hidden pain, and of a love that can erase all want.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XNPPWGN
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/711309
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March 15, 2017
Hump Day Kick Start – The Catch Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
In honor of this week’s St. Patrick’s Day, I give you one of my favorite Irishmen for today’s hump day.
What’s the story? Did he fish out a selkie from the sea? Is she alive? Why was she in the water? Had she fallen overboard? Was just out for a swim when she got caught in his net? Maybe she purposely swam into his net in an elaborate plot to destroy his reputation/go along with him on a treasure hunt/be on the next Deadliest Catch television show. Could she be his Moby Dick he’s finally caught?
Tell me a story or caption the pic. And Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
March 14, 2017
Link of the Week – Song Lyrics
Not sure if you can use a song lyric in your work? Here’s some advice from a once lawyer on the matter posted on the Self Publishing Advice Center blog. Check it out.
