Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 164
May 4, 2015
Monday's random mutterings: special bloggerversary and royal baby edition - May 4th 2015
I'm reading some Star Wars novels at the moment. They're set around the same time as the computer game Kelly plays, which is set some time before the Star Wars movies; about three thousand years before, apparently.
Anyway, today is also a bank holiday in the UK; this past weekend was the May Day bank holiday weekend, to be exact, since May Day - or, Beltane... Call it whichever you like - was the end of last week; last Thursday, or last Friday, depending on who you ask, and whether they consider the date to celebrate to be April 30th or May 1st.
Personally, I consider it to be May 1st, but the local annual celebrations for it are happening today, since they generally happen on the first Monday in May; the May Day bank holiday, as I already mentioned.
As part of the May Day celebrations, there's some kind of motorbike show happening in town today, and I can hear the bikes roaring past as they race along the road that seporates us from the beach. There's a bunch of other stuff happening to, but I'm too far away to hear the other stuff, and don't really feel like going to check it out. There will be Morris Dancing though; there usually is.
Anyway... That's not all that's happened this weekend to give people reason to celebrate!
The little Prince of Cambridge, George Alexander Louis, who will be 2 years old in July, became a big brother on Saturday, when his baby sister was born; I'd planned to put her name in this post, but it doesn't seem to have been announced just yet.
So, proud parents, Prince William of Wales, Duke of Cambridge (who's full name, if you're interested, is William Arthur Philip Louis) and Princess Catherine, Dutchess of Cambridge (who's full name is Catherine Elizabeth, if you'd like to know that too), now have one of each; a little prince, and a little princess.
From what I've heard, Charlotte and Alice seem to be popular choices for those making bets on the name. Personally, I think either Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Margret, Anne, or Victoria are quite likely to be in there somewhere, possibly even more than one of those names, and agree with those saying there's a high chance of the name Diana being in there too. Maybe they'll call her Charlotte Diana Elizabeth, or something like that? Hopefully they won't leave us wondering too much longer.
Regardless of her name though, as it happened, the little princess was born on my hubby's birthday. Yep, it was Kelly's birthday Saturday!
My first ever post was a belated happy birthday post for my hubby. Which reminds me...
Yesterday (May 3rd 2015) was my bloggerversary; I've now had this blog for 9 years. Sure, I stopped blogging publicly for a while, but I was still technically blogging, and the blog still existed, so it counts.
So...
Congratulations to the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge on their new little princess, belated Beltane blessings to all, belated happy birthday to Kelly, horray for reaching my 9th bloggerversary, and happy Star Wars May Day bank holiday to all!
May 2, 2015
Anthology to raise money for Guide Dogs - a post by Kevin Morris
I originally thought I would do a post with links to where you can download the anthology and make a donation. But when I told Kevin, he kindly offered to write a post to tell you all about the anthology, as well as why the Guide Dogs For The Blind Association is so important to people like him. So, since I thought his idea was better, here's what Kevin had to say...
***
I lost the majority of my vision at about 18-months-old as a consequence of a blood clot on the brain. While at a school for the visually impaired I learned to use a long white cane which greatly enhanced my ability to live and work independently. I still own a white cane (although not the same one I had as a boy)! However today I use my trusty four-legged friend, Trigger who accompanies me everywhere while my cane moulders away, forgotten on a shelf in my hall cupboard.
Trigger and my previous 3 guide dogs have enabled me to live and work independently. A cane can help the visually impaired user avoid obstacles, prevent them from falling off the edge of the kerb and, generally make getting around much safer than would be the case in the absence of a cane. However guide dogs possess the ability to avoid obstacles so the guide dog owner may not even be aware they have walked past an obstruction due to the dog having taken evasive action.
Guide dogs have the capacity to remember routes which can be extremely helpful. On occasions I have been unsure as to my location but my trusty friend has got me to my destination safe and well.
While guide dogs don’t understand that traffic is dangerous, they are taught to sit or stand at kerbs and to stop dead if a vehicle is approaching. While guide dog owners are told not to rely on the ability of their working guide dog to prevent road traffic accidents Trigger has, on several occasions prevented me from walking out in front of oncoming traffic, something which a cane can not do.
Guide dogs are not merely mobility aids. I, along with all other guide dog owners love our four legged friends. Trigger and I are together more or less constantly which builds a tremendous bond between us.
As you can see from the above, guide dogs provide invaluable assistance to their owners. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (GDBA) is a registered charity receiving no government funding. Given the huge benefits I and other guide dog users have gained from the Association I wanted to give something back by raising money for GDBA, hence the anthology in aid of Guide Dogs was born. The book is free to download. However I and my fellow authors hope that anyone who downloads the anthology will make a contribution to GDBA. To download the anthology and make a donation to GDBA please visit the following link, http://newauthoronline.com/anthology-to-raise-money-for-guide-dogs/.
Finally I would like to thank Tori for giving me the chance to talk about the work of Guide Dogs.
Kevin
May 1, 2015
Furkid Friday - May 1st 2015
Hey, did you read the post about the release of mine and Bilbo's new ebook this past Tuesday? Baggins is super excited about it. But, now that I think about it, my brother tends to get super excited about just about everything. Still, I have to admit, having a book out is really cool!
You know what else is cool?
A while back - I forget when - the humans brought us this wooden cube toy thing with holes in the sides. We didn't really know what to do with it at first, so we just buried it for later. I've learned recently though that it's a really cool and fun toy! You can climb through the holes and come out wherever you want, and gnaw on it.
Here's a photo of me demonstrating how it works:

Pretty neat, huh?
Squeak soon,
Bilbo
April 29, 2015
Wednesday's writing related ramblings - April 29th 2015
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The coupons to get a discount on some of my books are still valid today, and will be for a few more days!
You can find the details of which books are on sale, as well as the coupon codes you need to use to get the discount, by reading last week's "Wednesday's writing related ramblings" post.
The coupons are only valid until May 1st 2015 though, so hurry, because that's only a few days away!
***
I did a guest post on Friday, which I posted about on Saturday.
If you missed it, you might want to go check it out... Especially if you're a fan of the "Kero's World" books, since that's what it's about.
***
As I mentioned in my post this past Sunday, I'm this week's guest author on http://ritaleechapman.com!
This means that for this week only, you can read my interview with Rita Lee Chapman on her website, because I'm her author of the week.
If you want to do so, go to http://ritaleechapman.com/guest-authors and take a look.
But, remember... The interview is only up for a few more days, and will be coming down on the weekend, so if you want to read it, then you need to do it now!
***
Did you see yesterday's post?
If you did, then you'll already know about my latest release: a book called "Home Squeak Home" that tells the story of our gerbils becoming part of our family. If you didn't, then you know about it now, because I just told you.
The story is a semi-fictionalized account, which is told from their point of view, with some changes; one to make the book more child friendly, and the other to make sure I don't get in trouble for using names so obviously taken from JRR Tolkien's books. The first change is that it's a little boy named Matthew who brings them home, rather than an adult, and the second is that Bilbo and Baggins are called Sooty and Scamp in the story.
If you're interested in hearing more about the writing of "Home Squeak Home" - and missed seeing it when I posted about it yesterday - you might want to check out my guest post from yesterday.
Anyway, some people were able to get copies of the book early, but now everyone can grab copies. Well, everyone who wants to, that is!
***
As I mentioned at the start of the month, April is NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month).
Many poets were challenging themselves to write a poem a day to celebrate; in fact, that's the general idea, and what most poets who acknowledged NaPoWriMo actually tried to do, I believe. But I only challenged myself to do a poem a week.
I wasn't just being difficult, or trying to make my challenge stand out from the crowd or anything. I just knew a poem a day wasn't going to happen, and wanted to set myself a goal I had a chance of succeeding in completing. I mean, what's the point of setting yourself a writing goal you know you can't reach? All that does is set you up for disappointment when you don't reach the goal.
So, my challenge was to write four poems in April... I wrote seven!
***
See... I told you it's been a busy week!
In fact, it's been quite a busy month, despite the fact I'm not quite as far along with my "Zeena Dragon Fae" books as I'd hoped to be by this point in the year; they are coming along nicely though.
But, I'll tell you about that next week, and keep the writing related links I originally planned to post today to share next week too, because I think I've given you enough to check out this week, and this post is starting to get quite long.
April 28, 2015
Guest post: writing Home Squeak Home
Kevin is a fellow blind author, who you will be hearing more about in a few days, because he'll be doing a guest post of his own on this very blog at the start of May.
But, for now, let's get back to my own guest post...
My guest post is all about how I came to write "Home Squeak Home" so sort of follows on from the guest post I did at the end of last week, which I posted about on Saturday.
To read the post, go to http://newauthoronline.com/2015/04/28/writing-home-squeak-home-a-guest-post-by-author-victoria-zigler/
Home Squeak Home - officially released today!
Most people agree that getting a new pet is an exciting experience for any child; or adult, for that matter. But have you ever stopped to wonder how the pet feels during this time? This is the story of two little gerbils, and how they learned to adjust after a little boy took them home. The story is based on the behaviour of a pair of real gerbils, and events are shown from their point of view."
That's the synopsis for my latest book, which is officially released today!
As I've mentioned in previous posts about this book: the gerbils in this story are our own gerbils, Bilbo and Baggins, but I changed their names for the story as I'm not sure where I'd stand on copyright with names so obviously taken from "The Hobbit" and "The Lord Of The Rings" by JRR Tolkien, and I don't want to get in trouble for using them. Better safe than sorry, right? Anyway, for the purpose of this story, Bilbo is Sooty, and Baggins is Scamp.
The book is already available from Smashwords in all formats they offer, as well as from Barnes & Noble, the iBook store, and a couple of other ebook retailers who carry my books; or will be soon, if it isn't yet.
Home Squeak Home
Genre: Children's Stories - Mice, Rats, & Other Rodents/Pets - General
Description: "Moving to a new home can be a scary experience; especially if you’re very small. That’s how it is for Sooty and Scamp; a pair of gerbils chosen by a little boy named Matthew to be the ones to leave the pet shop and their other two brothers to go home with him.
Most people agree that getting a new pet is an exciting experience for any child; or adult, for that matter. But have you ever stopped to wonder how the pet feels during this time? This is the story of two little gerbils, and how they learned to adjust after a little boy took them home. The story is based on the behaviour of a pair of real gerbils, and events are shown from their point of view."
Published: April 28th 2015
ISBN: 9781310502071
Buy it from Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Available elsewhere soon!
April 27, 2015
Monday's random mutterings - April 27th 2015


Although, some people say it's not a result of the weather, but instead is a result of sea fairies, water sprites, or some type of water spirit. Nobody seems quite certain.
Either way, we took those photos about two weeks ago... I'll let you decide for yourself what caused the mist that rolled in thickly from the ocean that evening.
***
I arranged with Iggy that he'd hold on to my Christmas gift until I was moved, so there was no chance of it getting lost. As it turned out, we took a long time to move, and there would have been plenty of time for him to get it to me. But we didn't know that at the time.
Anyway, it arrived almost two weeks ago, but I forgot to get photos of it in time to post about it last week, so I'm doing so now.
Here it is:

Of course, there had to be a lion... Iggy knows how much I love lions, and wish I could have one of my very own as a pet!
Anyway, I've named the lion "Baby" after Ayla's lion in Jean M Auel's "Earth's Children" series of books, and named the elephant "Babar" after Babar the king of the elephants, in the books and TV series of the same name (I've never read the books, but used to love watching the TV series; it was one of my favourites).
Thanks for my new animal friends, Iggy! :)
***
Around the same time, I also got this card from Rita, to thank me for remembering her birthday last month:

So, thanks to you too, Rita! :)
***
It was World Book Day on April 23rd.
Did you know?
I only realized the following morning, but since I spent a lot of Thursday reading anyway - which is normal for me - I didn't really miss out on celebrating it, and probably wouldn't have done anything different than what I did, anyway... Except maybe post a message on Twitter and Facebook mentioning it.
***
I got my appointment to go back to the dentist to have the other wisdom tooth out.
The appointment - which they told me would be in "a couple of weeks" - is for June 17th 2015.
*Sigh*
Luckily, the tooth they're taking out then isn't really bugging me as a rule, and is mostly just supposed to be coming out before it starts causing problems (like the other wisdom tooth did).
But... Seriously? That's what they call a couple of weeks?
Also... By the time this appointment rolls around, I'll have spent six months dealing with the same issue.
I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous! It should NOT take six months to pull out three teeth!
April 26, 2015
I'm Rita Lee Chapman's returning author of the week
This means that for this week only, you can read my interview with Rita Lee Chapman on her website, because I'm her author of the week.
If you want to do so, go to http://ritaleechapman.com/guest-authors and take a look.
But, remember... The interview is only up for a week, so if you want to read it, then you need to do it now!
April 25, 2015
Guest post: Writing Kero's World
Well, check out my guest post on Indies Who Publish Everywhere!
The direct link to the guest post is https://everywhereindies.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/guest-post-tori-zigler-on-writing-keros-world/
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