L.A. Sartor's Blog, page 13

Take Five With Author Vicki Batman

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Vicki Batman.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Just Desserts…and other stories.
Thanks for hosting me L.A.
I love these romantic comedy stories and had to pull together this collection. There’s funny things like bugs, and a man’s theory on love, sticky gum, etc. I’d written them for a popular magazine, and although I received good feedback on many, they did not acquire them. ☹ The magazine gets many, many subs every week.
Have you been a lifelong reader of mysteries?  What are some of the first books you remember reading?
I cut my teeth with the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden mysteries, reading them over and over desperately wanting to be them. *Very big sigh* I remember loving Harold and the Purple Crayon when I was a kid because the crayon took him on cool adventures. Lots of Beverley Cleary books, too.
If you were not a writer, what vocation would you pursue?
Handbag buyer. I LOVE handbags and blog about them with other friends and writers every Monday. I have lots of vintage, needlepoint, and new ones as well as special ones Handsome gives me for my birthday and Christmas. I haven’t exactly counted; however, there’s about eight full shelves.Do you prefer to read in the same genre you write in, or do you avoid reading that genre?  Why?I’ve always read mysteries, and at age fourteen, my mom introduced me to Emilie Loring romances. I still read these genres. I have a soft touch for mysteries with humor, something I incorporate into my work.When you’re brainstorming for a new story, what usually comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
I will see or hear something and my heat goes *boom*! All of the sudden, I scribble things like a madwoman and keep on and keep on. Being a pantser, the writing process takes me longer to edit; however, I love the spontaneity I get when I’m inspired this way.
If you were a TV, film or book character, apart from one you've created, who would you be?  And why?
I love Stephanie Plum and her crazy antics. I also love Mrs. Maisel because of her fabulous costumes and because, helloooo, handbags!
Give us a brief summary of Just Desserts…and other stories: Love blossoms in the small town of Sommerville in these heartwarming, “cute meet” tales, filled with fun and forever possibilities.
Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble  | Smashwords







Bio: Vicki Batman, has sold many romantic comedy works to magazines, several publishers, and most recently, two humorous romantic mysteries. Along the way, she has garnered awards and bestsellers. 
She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and several writing groups. An avid Jazzerciser. Handbag lover. Mahjong player. Yoga practitioner. Movie fan. Book devourer. Cat fancier. Best Mom ever. And adores Handsome Hubby. Most days begin with her hands set to the keyboard and thinking "What if??"
Find Vicki: Website | Facebook: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | Author Central | Goodreads | Instagram   



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R&R: Raves and Rants With Amanda Cabot

A Case of Pronouns   
When you read the title, did you expect to see a picture of a packing carton with “He, she, it” and other pronouns tumbling out of the top? I doubt Leslie will be able to find that graphic, so we’ll have to make do with nothing more than words as we discuss pronouns and their cases.
Depending on your perspective, English is either an easy or a difficult language to learn, particularly where nouns are concerned. Unlike German or Latin, which have different forms of a noun depending on its purpose in a sentence, the way English speakers distinguish between the subject and the object of a sentence is by the word’s position in the sentence, not by a unique form of the noun. Subjects come first; objects follow.
Let’s try some examples.
       The cake is in the refrigerator. In this case, “cake” is the subject of the sentence.
         We ate the entire cake. Even though the word is spelled exactly the same way as it was in the first sentence, this time the cake is the object.
Pronouns are different. While position in the sentence is still critical, pronouns have different forms depending on their case. Case, according to my dictionary, is “an inflectional form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective indicating its grammatical relation to other words.” Clear? Probably not, so keep reading.
Pronouns have three major cases: subjective, objective, and possessive. Those terms can be a bit confusing, since “subjective” and “objective” have more than one meaning. In this case, “subjective” refers to the person who’s taking the action in a sentence, while “objective” denotes the recipient of that action.
Subjective Objective Possessive I Me My You (either singular or plural) You Your He Him His She Her Her It It Its We Us Our They Them Their Who Whom Whose
       Subjective Case – If Charles was the one who ate the cake, and you wanted to use a pronoun instead of his name, you’d say “He ate the cake.”
       Objective Case – If the book was given to Mary, but you didn’t want to use her name, you’d say, “The book was given to her.” (Don’t shudder at the passive tense here. We’re going to talk about that in another rant.)
       Possessive Case – If we’re discussing people who live in a specific city, we might say, “Their homes are in Cheyenne.”
As long as you know which case you need and have access to a table like the one I’ve included, finding the right pronoun should be easy. Notice that I said “should.” All too often I see and hear errors.

There are a number of reasons people choose the wrong case.
Confusing PositionSometimes errors are the result of confusion caused by the position of the pronoun in the sentence. Consider this:
          Who should Mary ask to bake the cake?
The speaker probably thought that he should use the subjective case, since the pronoun began the sentence. But Mary is asking someone – the object of the sentence – to bake a cake, so you need the objective case. The correct sentence is, “Whom should Mary ask to bake the cake?”
Multiple Pronouns Serving the Same FunctionErrors with multiple pronouns are all too common, but there’s a simple way to determine which case you need. Rewrite the sentence with only one pronoun and see what makes sense.
       It was a busy day for him and I.
“It was a busy day for him” is correct, because the preposition “for” demands an object after it. On the other hand, “It was a busy day for I” is a sentence that makes a grammarian cringe, because the author has used the subjective case. The sentence ought to be, “It was a busy day for him and me.”
What about this one?
          Him and I went to the movies.
“Him” did not go to the movies. In this case, you need the subjective case for both pronouns. The correct version is, “He and I went to the movies.”
Shorthand PhrasesNo, that’s not an official grammatical term, but there are times when the best way to determine which pronoun case is needed is to turn a phrase into a full sentence.
What do you think about this sentence? Is it correct?
       Sue was busier than me.
If you thought it was correct, think again. This sentence is an abbreviated version of “Sue was busier than I was.” You need the subjective case. That’s why you should say “busier than I,” no matter how wrong it may sound.
Here’s another example.
       Jim likes her brother more than she.
You’ve probably guessed that it’s wrong, and that’s the case (pun intended). The full version is “Jim likes her brother more than he likes her.” We need the objective case here.
There are other things to consider about pronouns, including independent possessive pronouns and subjective complements, but we’ll save them for another month. Come back in June, when we’re going to tackle the pesky passive voice.

~Amanda
A lifetime of reading and writing, not to mention a host of teachers who believed that good grammar was one of the essentials of life, have given Amanda Cabot such firm opinions about the printed word that I asked her to share some with us in her Raves and Rants posts.  
Although her working career was in Information Technology, Amanda achieved her dream of selling her first novel before her thirtieth birthday and is now the author of more than thirty novels as well as a number of books and articles for Information Technology professionals.  
Her most recent book, A Tender Hope, is the final book of the Cimarron Creek trilogy.

Find all of Amanda's books, newsletter info and social media links here.



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Class Flash ~ 2nd Quarter Class Schedule From Laurie Schnebly Campbell!

online: FROM PLOT TO FINISH
(April 8-19)
writeruniv.wordpress. com/classes
            For anyone who’s taken Plotting Via Motivation online or in person at some point, this group gets you plotting a brand new or already-begun book (using your completed 14-point worksheet) from start to finish. No need to prepare a new story idea, character bios, goal charts or anything else, because you’ll see how to plot an entire book -- and actually have it ready to type -- by the end of this hands-on workshop.

live in Tucson: YOUR PLOT / CHARACTER / STORY BRAID
(April 27, 11-2) tucsonrwa.org/
             Weave your story's strands to surprise & satisfy genre readers.

 live in Toronto: From MOTIVATION to PLOT to OUTLINE (& BEYOND)
(May 11, 9-4) torontoromancewriters.com/using-motivation-to-plot-your-next-book/
            Bring some random fragment for a story idea you can use to see how the process works, and take home an outline. Don’t think of this as a “fix” for your current work, but rather as a tool for when you begin your next…and the next… and the next…. And if you need to finish revising your current work before starting the next, don’t miss the finale on turning Revision Hell into Heaven!

online: TECHNIQUES FOR SHAPING CHARACTERS
(May 13-24) heartsthroughhistory. com
            Tools for determining naturally lovable (and intriguingly flawed) characters include Adlerian birth order, Jungian thought/feeling scales, the Dewey priorities, and other theories of temperament. Learn which ones will offer the best opportunities for conflict between your realistic hero & heroine...whose “inborn” personalities will both oppose and attract.

live in Phoenix: YOUR HERO’S FATAL FLAW
(May 28, 7:30-8:30) desertroserwa.org/
            Which wonderfully heroic trait makes him Mr. Not-Yet-Perfect?

blog: GRAB ‘EM, KEEP ‘EM, BRING ‘EM BACK
(May 31) writersinthestormblog. com
            Sure, you’ve got to start strong. But that’s not necessarily enough.

online: BOFFO BEGINNINGS & FAB FINALES
(June 10-21) writeruniv.wordpress.com/classes
            How can you make sure your book will draw readers in from the very first paragraph, through the next several pages, continuing into further chapters until they realize they’ve been reading so fast and so deep they can’t put this story down? How can you leave them, after reaching The End, so wonderfully satisfied with the book they just finished that they’re already vowing to read whatever else you’ve written and are going to write next? That’s what this class is about.

live in San Diego: BRAIDING YOUR STORY
(June 15, 10:30am) rwasd.com/meetings
            Same as the April's two-hour workshop, but this one will be a half-hour longer! 




Laurie's  Bio:


Laurie Schnebly Campbell published half a dozen romances with Harlequin, including one that beat out Nora Roberts for “Best Special Edition of the Year,” before discovering the only thing she loves more than writing is working with other writers. So she started giving workshops every month, online and in person, and now has a special area on her bookshelf full of books with acknowledgments from authors who’ve loved her classes.




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It's A New Quarter ~ What Is Your Goal List For Quarter Two?

It's quarter two...are you ready?Yes, a new quarter is here already. Have you jotted ideas down for Q2 that you'd like to tackle?  Maybe even have thoughts for Q3 and Q4?  

Good for you!  Write those future thoughts on a list and they will be there when you tackle Q3/Q4, and by doing so, you have shifted them off your immediate radar, so they're not cluttering up your gray matter.  

Below, I'm showing you a way to focus on what you want to accomplish in Quarter 2 (Q2) which is April, May, and June. 

Have you:

Defined your main goal(s)?  (Don't make too many.)

Listed Your projects to begin reaching those goals?

And thought about your tasks on a daily/weekly basis to work on the projects needed to move along. 



It's similar to the Kanban board above, but the first two columns, instead of TO DO and DOING use GOAL(S) and PROJECTS. 
The third column is reserved for the TASKS you'll come up with and move onto your three column board board or your To-Do List Book which is what I use. (See my post on this here). 
On my Q2 sheet, I've listed my main goals as Write More and Become More Visible With My Books.

My projects are: Study "Ask David", get some "stars" to post on my blog ~ like Scott Baker and Craig Martell, continue my study of Amazon, and start a Bookbub Ad Study.  That is more than enough on my plate for this quarter. 
Then from that list, I make sure some tasks are on my To-Do list several days a week. For instance, I need to email Ask David and start a conversation with him about how we can help each other achieve higher sales/income. 
And I've realized that my To-Do list is not only about listing my writing goals, but other things in my life... which is busier than ever it seems. So having limited writing goals, projects and tasks make my life manageable and things get done.

As I was going over my project list, I realized that two of my projects are very broad, and I think now I'll narrow them down. Like maybe "read chapter one of a marketing book" vs "read marketing book." Otherwise, I'll never get those post-its pulled off the to-do page and inked in as done. And narrowing down is good because it shows I'm focusing more on my projects and making them achievable.
So, as I looked back at Q1, I realized I achieved most of my goals. Audiobooks studied and started.  I learned that I really don't want to do Social Media Ads, but do want to do Amazon and BookBub ads. And I'm on a roll with my newsletter.   So I'm thrilled this concept works.  

The most important part of this idea (which I first heard about from Sarra Cannon) is not that you have this or that board or planner, but that you have a spot where you can gather your thoughts. And be able to focus on them in quarterly chunks to achieve the goals you want.  By listing them, your brain is clear to work on the immediate tasks and your future quarter lists are there so you can jot down thoughts without the fear of forgetting them, clearing your mind to move on. 
Have you tried it?  What do you think?
Hugs, ~L.A.


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Five Secrets Revealed By Author Amber Daulton

Amber DaultonThank you, L.A. for hosting me today. 
I’m the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. My books are published through The Wild Rose Press and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
I live in North Carolina with my incredibly supportive husband and my four demanding cats. The hubby and I love binge watching TV shows, and our favorites are Supernatural and Breaking Bad. When I’m not writing or promoting my books, I’m scrapbooking, digging in my flower garden, or reading.
Hi, Amber. Please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about Lyrical Embrace or you, but will after today!
1) Erica, the heroine, has family issues. Her parents divorced when she was little, but she had to live with her dad after her mother died. Unfortunately, she’s never gotten along with her dad and his new family.
2) Dylan, the hero, wasn’t always the levelheaded man he is during the course of the story. He’s a reformed bad boy, a semi-famous rock star, who gave it all up because he didn’t like the arrogant, sexist drunk he was becoming.
3) This story is book four in the Deerbourne Inn series, a multi-author collaboration of novellas all set in the small fictional town of Willow Springs, Vermont.
4) I did a lot of research into how a music school is set up and operated, and it’s more difficult than I’d thought. A teacher can either work for a school or work freelance, and there are pros and cons to each option, mostly dealing with pay and stress levels. Once the instructor gets a good routine going, however, it can be a fun, rewarding job to have.
5) Each author writing for this series is only allowed to write one story, but that might change in the future. I hope it does because I would love to write about Dylan’s sexy older brother, Birley. I’m not sure who his romantic interest would be yet, but hot single dads are completely mouthwatering.
Blurb:Out-of-work violinist Erica Timberly decides enough is enough. She leaves her abusive boyfriend and flees the big city, but then her car breaks down in the middle of the night. Though wary of men, she accepts help from Dylan Haynes, a stranger driving by on the road, and soon recognizes him as the sexy former drummer of her favorite indie rock band. Maybe, just maybe, her run of bad luck is finally turning around.
Music teacher Dylan Haynes knows Erica is in trouble, and her black eye is only the first clue. The stubborn yet vulnerable woman needs a friend, but he’s determined to give her everything she deserves.
Will Erica listen to the music in her heart and trust Dylan, or will her past always threaten her future?
Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes
Find Amber:Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads |Pinterest | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | Book Bub |  The Wild Rose Press







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BIG SPRING SALE AT DIGITAL SCRAPPER

This sale happens twice a year, so now is the time to add the classes you want to take. 
Remember, once you own the classes you can access them any time! Learn at your pace. 

 Buy now, the sale ends April 7th. 



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My Character Building and Plotting Notebook System

To-Do List & Sticky NotesYou all know I love the Happy Planner 365 planning system because of its flexibility. I've used it for my To-Do List  which is a modified and desk-sized KanBan board.  With the HP system, I've also created my action "board" (really a notebook-sized pictorial of my goals for the year) so I could add pages if needed.  

Today I'm showing you my plotting/character building workbook, again using the Happy Planner 365 system, this time the size of the 365 parts is BIG, so it fits 8.5"x11" paper and it takes 11 discs.

Mind you, what I'm showing you are NOT planners, but a system that allows me to add and remove pages far easier than any notebook I've ever used.  And if you buy a planner, which I've done occasionally when they are on sale, you can take it apart. Fist pump. 

WHY do I need a new system you ask? 

After publishing 8 books, I decided I must hone my plotting/character building system and the pictures below will show you why.

It's World Backup Day

You guys know my mantra about backup, right?  Well, I'm going to post it again.  It's the BIG 3.Local, external hard drive (EHD) or flash drive, and off-site.
1) Local means backing up in backup software on your computer.  However, if you have a hard drive (HD) crash or system failure, you may be out of luck.

2) EHD's give you the security of having another source of your back up, and make sure you store them safely. However, EHD's and flash drives can fail, or you can mistakenly erase them. Gulp.

The above is useless if you have a fire or other catastrophe or they fail on you.

Yes, you can store your EHD in a safety deposit box or a fireproof safe, rated with a high burn time. And that's not a bad idea, but what if you have to drive to the bank ... will you do it all the time? 

3) My third prong in my backup attack is to use off-site backup.  And my choice for this is BackBlaze.  I've used them for years and trust them.  If you need a single file or your entire system, it's there for you. 


I don't think $6/month is too much to pay to have my photographs, work...basically, life backed up continuously. YES, continuously.  

They will back up each HD on your computer and each EHD that you have attached continuously.  Yes, all that for $6/month. 

If you have more than one computer to back up, it's another $6/month. 

Be safe, BACK UP now and check out BackBlaze, they are my trusted partner.




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How-To Video From Design Cuts and a Freebie

How to Design An Elegant Wedding Invitation In PhotoshopAs promised here is the instructional video link showing how to create a fab project using Design Cuts latest bundle The All-Purpose Creative's Design Kit.
Don't miss the freebie link once you get to the tutorial.



In this tutorial, we will be designing a clean and elegant wedding invitation in Photoshop. To do this we will be using the beautiful Victoria script typeface from Blessed Print and a wedding invitation mockup from the Design Cuts Marketplace. 
The font we will be working with is from The All-Purpose Creative’s Design Kit – our latest bundle completely bursting at the seams with hundreds of beautiful resources! Each pack in this new collection has been lovingly put together by the designers to help save you heaps of time and get you working straight away on all of your creative projects. If you’re all ready to feel the love then fire up Photoshop and let’s begin!

Enjoy this tutorial, the freebie, and the bundle. Hugs, L.A.




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Buy Now before Price Increase ~ Digital Scrapper Photoshop/PSE Classes

There will be a price increase on several of Digital Scrapper Classes so I wanted to send this head's up.

So make quick like a bunny and head over to and grab these at the old price. They are forever classes, meaning you can access them forever, and the techniques are evergreen.


ATTENTION — Price Increases Coming As of April 1, 2019, these three classes will see an increase in price.QwikLearn PSE & PS by Linda SattgastNow $67After April 1, $97Selections 2 for PSE & PS by Jen WhiteNow $57After April 1, $77Secrets of Terrific Type by Jenifer JurisNow $49After April 1, $57Learn about each of these classes by clicking on the links above or visit our classroom.




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