Alex Mallory's Blog

A Book Series That Can Help You Change a Habit – Permanently!

Author, Richard Fast, has come up with an ingenious way to help you drop a bad habit of your choice in only 29 days and replace it with a habit that you really want. Fast’s new series is made up of four unique books:

• 29 DAYS…to your perfect weight
• 29 DAYS…to your life without cigarettes!
• 29 DAYS…to saving money and financial independence
• 29 DAYS…to becoming a great listener and communicator

You can purchase one or all of the books in the series – and you can get, “29 DAYS…to a habit you want” as an ebook at no charge or read it online at the website. This e-book isn’t sold separately from the books in the series, but is available for you to get started right away on learning how you can make a change in only 29 days.

Not only that, each book you purchase comes with an online coach that interacts with you twice a day for a full 29 days. Simply register online after you purchase a book in the series and repeat the course as often as you like.

Using the principles that you’ll learn in the habit books can help you change your thoughts and behavior patterns to lose weight, quit smoking, save money and/or listen and communicate.

The concepts are simple, but the way Fast explains them helps you to truly understand why and how you think as you do. You’ll learn how thoughts create the lives we currently live, how to change those thoughts to get benefits rather than repeating the same old destructive habits, and how these changes will affect our lives in a positive way.

For example, in the 29 DAYS…to your perfect weight, Fast will teach you how to change your thinking process about fat – and almost effortlessly reach your perfect weight.

29 DAYS…to your life without cigarettes, explains how you can change your mindset from thinking you’re “giving up” smoking to “getting” endless benefits and how that new mindset can get rid of the destructive desire to smoke.

You’ll develop a new understanding of saving money in 29 DAYS…to saving money and financial independence. In this book, Fast teaches you how to take a small amount of money and manage it into a large amount of money.

Everyone wants to be a better listener and communicator, and in the book, 29 DAYS…to becoming a great listener and communicator, Richard Fast helps you learn the skill that so many of us long for, but have never mastered.

Choose all or one of the books from Richard Fast’s 29 DAYS series and you’ll be well on your way to replacing bad habits with one you’ll enjoy and be proud of.

The post A Book Series That Can Help You Change a Habit – Permanently! first appeared on Alex Mallory Books.

Book Review of Historical Books

A e-book assessment of The Reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln and The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln. The Reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln explores historical proof of life after loss of life. The e book chronicles the existence of a President and the surveillance of Charles Lindbergh. A fascinating historical angle, the book speaks about and chronicles the lives of both President Lincoln and Charles Lindbergh. Often the e-book talks about minute information of President Lincoln like his smile, letters he wrote, his writings and analyzing the bible. The e-book need to provide the reader with an know-how of a “direction to greatness of a President” which can be emulated as a leadership style.

The e-book is going on to chronicle the route of Lincoln before and after the slain President’s funeral in Washington D.C. Thought-frightening and ancient the books take a look at the Lincoln-Lindbergh connection as the 2 men were no longer buddies but in truth competition at odds.

I consider the energy President Lincoln may want to have had with out these competitors. I think about the significance of surrounding your self with buddies and no longer enemies. Finally, I think about the significance of ancient preservation for a President.

The e-book asks the question: What could President Lincoln have done after his Presidency if no longer for this regular evaluation? I do not know the solution to that question; however, I do recognize that President Lincoln was an sensible, humble man worth of being President.

President Lincoln mentioned harmony and in the end grew to become to mediation as a consequence eliminating the idea of battle in his mind. Hail to the Chief President Abraham Lincoln.

The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln focuses on the life of The President born in Illinois in 1809. Was the President’s regulations formulated from India’s cost device? Maybe.

How become the Emancipation Proclamation written? These are subjects included in this e book The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln. The ebook covers these topics and a lifestyle most people dream of in terms of highbrow wealth and the freedom of the thoughts and proper American values.

Don’t forget about this value device was developed during the time of the first-rate melting pot in America when residents and immigrants became United States citizens lived together in peace and concord. It was a time of highbrow freedom and an intellectual lifestyle and freedom of thoughts that human beings flocked to and sought in America.

This ebook evaluate examines The Reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln and The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln as it suggests a “route to greatness of a President”. A need to read for any History buff. Honest Abe suggests us a path to greatness and is one of these excellent human beings.

The post Book Review of Historical Books first appeared on My Blog.

Books Are a Thoughtful, Welcome, and Easy Holiday Gift

This year everyone on my gift list is getting a book. I am my husband’s caregiver and don’t have much time to shop, so books are the ideal solution. Though I may wander about in a book store, most of my shopping will be done online. When I have a spare moment, I order a book for a loved one or friend.

Why are books an easy, welcome gift? There are several reasons.

1. You may customize your gift. Does your sister, brother, or friend like to garden? If so, a book about gardening is an ideal gift. When you search the gardening section of the book store, or online, look for volumes on related topics, such as miniature terrariums, container gardens, or unusual house plants.

2. Books are treasure troves of information. The public library in my home town of Rochester, MN has used the sentence,”Books change lives,” in its marketing. The sentence is true. The book you choose for a relative of friend may expand their interests, lead to new ones, or support an existing hobby.

3. Your gift should fit. After the holidays clothes may be returned, and though a book may be returned, chances are the recipient will keep it. Check newspapers and magazines for holiday book ideas.

4. You have buying options. Choose remainder books, books on sale, and garage sale volumes. If the price of the book you prefer doesn’t suit your budget, look for a less expensive one. The local Salvation Army store may have a book section.

5. You link the receiver with history. Historic books seem to be gaining in popularity. The Friends of the Library book store in my home town sells old church cookbooks with record speed. “We can’t keep them in stock,” a volunteer explained. Other historic topics include the Civil War, World War II, invention of machines, antique cars, and more.

6. Extra touches are easy. I like to include a bookmark with the gifts I buy. You may buy a set of bookends to go with your gift. If you have chosen a book about a hobby, add something that goes with the hobby, such as measuring spoons to go with a cookbook, or a paint brush to go with a book about watercolor painting.

7. Gift wrapping is a cinch. Unless you’re giving someone a set of books, all you need is a little paper, some sticky tape, and a bow. Instead of wrapping your book, you may put it in a book bag. Your local book store will have bags for sale. Bags are also available online or you may make one.

Start your gift list now. Write down the names and list a potential topic by each name. I taught school for a dozen years and think a child can have too many toys, but never too many books. Reading expands the vocabulary and the mind. Or as May Hill Arbuthnot once said, “Books are no substitute for living, but they can add immeasurably to its richness.”

The post Books Are a Thoughtful, Welcome, and Easy Holiday Gift first appeared on My Blog.

Write A Series Of Books – Not Just One!

Whether you’ve just started your first book or have completed it, don’t stop with just the one. Establishing a presence online or in print is crucial and will have readers coming back for more. One way to achieve this goal in a reasonably short amount of time is to break a novel apart into several “books” and they can also be stand alone, but linked. This way, you can publish them all individually and then as a whole. This will increase your sales.

Link your book series together with similarly styled but individually designed covers and they will more than likely also be loaded onto a single page in your eBook store and be recognized as a series there. When you load up your books, if you put the series title in the title of the book they will be on one page and readers can find them easily.

A continuing character or characters should be established in the first book if you go for a series. This person or couple or group has to change and grow as you write the series, as I did for my lead character in my first book, and thereafter.

Feel free to change your covers if you find that sales are slow or there doesn’t seems to be enough attention being paid to your books. There isn’t any charge to change the outside or inside on the major online retailer, as well as in their P.O.D. division. As a reminder, in that same major retailer you do have to physically submit separate files to enable readers to Look Inside on the print version posted online. They take care of that automatically with the E version of your book/s.

Lengths may vary of course but a good “short story” or chapter in a linked series is about 5,000 to 6,000 words. This enables you to develop the character or characters and gives a reader the chance to get to know them. You can also have a series of novellas and these should be a minimum of 25,000 words to qualify as long form fiction, because they are true novels.

When you go to load up your Ebooks on this retailer’s direct publishing site, there’s no need to put a cover jpeg inside of your book as well. They take care of that now so it will save you a step! If yuu create your cover jpeg for your eBook site, then make it 5×8 inches as this looks great both on the site, plus you can use it for your book’s print version, if you choose.

The post Write A Series Of Books – Not Just One! first appeared on My Blog.

Three Steps to a Good Historical Essay

A good historical essay will always start with a well-crafted topic (and end with a good writing software’s assistance), one that’s both manageable and has actual relevance. When trying to decide on the subject for your own historical piece, here are the things you should be looking for. With just three steps on how to write a good historical essay, you will surely find it easy to start one if you were assigned to write something about it.

It should ask a good historical question. A good question is broad enough to be interesting, as well as important enough to have relevance at this day and age. As a corollary, make sure it’s not too broad to be impossible to answer within the length of text your are allowed to produce.

It should connect with previous work from other historians. Producing an entirely new historical idea is difficult. As such, you should use previous work from other writers to contrast your topic with. If someone has done the same subject before, you can’t just repeat their process (lest be chastised for plagiarism). However, you are allowed to reach the same conclusions using different sources.

It should offer a persuasive thesis. All essays should have a well-organized and persuasive thesis, your historical work included. For this specific form of essay, your thesis should answer questions of “how” and “why,” as the “what” are usually facts you can dig up from volumes of historical books already. Your main thesis should answer a research question, elucidating the meaning of past events in the process.

The post Three Steps to a Good Historical Essay first appeared on My Blog.

Things to Look Out For When Collecting Antique Books

Old books are out of date, obsolete and boring – right? While you may think so, there are plenty of antique books floating around that many people will pay up to thousands of dollars to buy from you. Not any old book, mind you. These are rare historical books that have a market of collectors wishing to buy them.

Many people have old and antique books at their house and have no idea how much they are worth. Below you will find some helpful tips in trying to appraise how much an antique book is valued in the market place.

As with other types of antiques, there are no hard and fast rules about how much an antique book is worth. However, there are some guidelines that will help you in determining how much you may be able to get for it. The number one factor is rarity. It is simply about supply and demand – the more rare the book is the more it will worth to someone if there is a demand for it.

First edition books are usually the most sought after versions. Typically, they are the rarest types and therefore the more valuable than editions published after it.

Other rare versions are those that have typographical errors. More often than not the publisher will withdraw a book with an error and therefore they are in limited supply in the general antique market place. Other rare editions are those with autographs from famous or historical persons.

The second factor that can cause a book to increase or decrease its value is its condition. The closer a book condition is to is original condition the more it will be worth. Any marks, stains, page tears or binding wear can decrease a books value markedly. However, any written remarks and notes by famous people or the author can actually cause the value of the antique book to increase.

Oftentimes, evaluating the value of an antique book can be very bewildering, so whether you’re going to buy an antique book or sell one, it is recommended to consult an expert first to examine the antique book’s real worth. But make sure that you do your own research, because trusting solely another’s word can be deceiving.

Because the condition of a book is very important in determining its value, you really should store any antique books in a proper and book friendly place. Extreme conditions can cause paper to undergo certain chemical reactions that will damage their condition. Therefore, avoid place any old books in humid, hot, wet places or anywhere where there is direct sunlight.

Also, avoid storing books in places that release acidic vapors, such as unsealed woods. and placing them in your basement, under plumbing and water pipe. Flat, smooth shelves will do. But if you have enough budget, try storing them in high quality archival boxes. With proper care, you sure will find wealth in what you thought is already rubbish.

The post Things to Look Out For When Collecting Antique Books first appeared on My Blog.

Best New Fantasy Book Series

Fantasy writing is probably THE example of imagination at its highest. The author is creating a whole new world – one filled with dragons, creatures, rules of magic – very different from the reality we know. Unlike science fiction which pushes the boundaries of physics and biology, fantasy pushes something more inward, belief and wishes. For the most part people don’t believe in elves, fairies or dragons in the day-to-day, but in the fantasy author’s world, those elements thrive…and the more fantastical, the better.

The battle between good and evil, right and wrong is the main theme of fantasy and of course magical solutions which replace the laws of nature as we understand them. Events occur, things appear, change just because they do. It’s all at the mercy of the author’s galloping imagination. For children in particular this works beautifully. They have very little hard fact for why things work as they do, making believing a fantasy story just another happening in their lives.

Five Arenas of Fantasy Fiction

Dividing fantasy up into categories is challenging and just asking for a battle to ensue…but I think these general arenas are a good start. Authors of fantasy fiction are quite free, and often do, choose elements of more than one category, after all, that’s what fantasy is..the author’s world.

High Fantasy:

These stories are generally about kings and queens, knights, castles, villagers, etc. Peaceful kingdoms are threatened by some great evil and conquering heroes ride forth. It’s not uncommon to see parodies on this theme, poking fun at it’s usual loftiness. (Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories comes to mind). For the most part, these stories come from mythology and European legend, particularly Britain.

Adventure Fantasy

In these stories our heroes are not really facing the “big” battle but rising to the challenge of smaller, more personal forays into fantasy worlds..and quite often having a darned good time doing it. We’ll commonly see a small group of friends and possibly their animal sidekicks working together for the common good. The Wizard of Oz is a fine example of this type of fantasy book.

Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales could never be left out in the world of fantasy writing and are probably some of the oldest examples. Fairy tales in general deal with a personal transformation of some kind. The ugly duckling becomes the swan, the poor maid becomes a princess and the frog becomes the prince. They are ‘smaller’ stories, but by no means any lesser of a fantasy with any less number of fans. Older works of Hans Christian Andersen to the more modern tales from Jane Yolen and Patricia McKillip fall into this group.

Magical Realism

This type of fantasy fiction mostly takes place in the modern world, with magic oozing into one particular character’s life. And often without anyone else seeing the magic…just it’s effects. Like Water For Chocolate – A famous example of Magical Realism

Dark Fantasy

Dark Fantasy owns horror, gothic and erotic fantasy fiction from Bram Stoker (Dracula) and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) to today’s Ann Rice Stephen King, Laurell K Hamilton and Dean Koontz. These stories are brewed in fear, terror and death. Definitely not for the faint of heart, these tales have millions of fans.

Some may ask..”What value is fantasy in our lives?” I believe Tolkien answered that best. To him, fantasy or stories set in ‘faerie’ as he put it had three very important aspects. Recovery, Escape and Consolation. Recovery is about re-examining the world with the wonder we had as children. Escaping is leaving this sometimes very difficult, day to day routine to a vastly more exciting and rule-breaking magical one. Consolation is about the fact that most fantasy and fairytales end in happy endings, leaving us with a ‘feel good’ sense of comfort. Fantasy then, allows us to leave this world, experience one of eternal possibilities and then return, renewed.

The post Best New Fantasy Book Series first appeared on My Blog.

Comic Book Reviews – Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight

One of my special guilty pleasures on TV was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was not your typical scary vampire sucking the lifeblood out of innocent virgins but a rousing and irreverent dedication to youth, culture and its relationship with eternal damnation.. The television show kept some of the connection with the horrible movie of the same name but had its creator Joss Whedon at the helm to ensure its appropriate poignancy and humor came through loud and clear. Its creators made sure that the material kept us amused, surprised and caring for the young heroine as well as her friends and even some of the bad guys. After seven seasons the young cheerleading vampire slayer saved the world one last time and exited network television.

For the uninitiated, Buffy Summers was the young girl chosen from a long line of mystical maidens to fight the demons of the dark. She fights vampires with mad martial arts skills with the help of her best friends Willow, a witch and Xander a nice enough ordinary guy. The comic series is well drawn and is surprisingly consistent in its look and feel from issue to issue. The comic book series contains several story arcs but basically it’s Summers and her worldwide army of young slayers against vengeful demons with ulterior motives as well as the full force of the United States Army.

For five seasons Buffy the Vampire Slayer kept us entertained on a fledgling network called the WB then made the jump to UPN for two more seasons before going out with a bang. To the surprise and delight of many of its fans, the “Chosen One” returned in comic book form to continue slaying vampires and demons while taking on the establishment as well. The comic series was called Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 and picked up after the destruction of the Hellmouth and the city of Sunnydale.

Joss Whedon, the creator continued to guide the series in this new format; working feverishly to keep the flavor and style that made the series so unique. The comic series blasted off with Whedon scripting the story and artist Georges Jeanty on pencils and Andy Owens working inks; Dave Stewart created the exquisite colors with Comicraft and Richard Starkings filling out the team on lettering.

Series 7 ended with the group driving off into the great unknown apparently ready to assemble the hundreds of new slayers that have been awakened after the last great confrontation with evil. What we see in the opening segment is a much more emotionally mature Buffy Summers. Our pretty blonde cheerleader has now morphed into General Patton or more appropriately Nick Fury agent of Shield. Her new crew comprising of hundreds of new slayers are battle tested and dedicated to her cause. The TV show was unconventional in its delivery and dialogue and the comic series tries to deliver that same flavor.

You are probably in one it is you and ensure new a new day in the you delete it. If it is a good idea is to you and Vampire Slayer season eight continues many of the relationships that have blossomed throughout the television series while continuing to explore new themes. Even Buffy gets a new love interest that assists in the mending of her broken heart. The mythology that colors the world of Buffy Summers continues to evolve in the color comics. The material continues to feel fresh after all these years because Whedon and the original writers for the show treat the new material with care and pull the reader in with a mix of new characters and old favorites.

Buffy Season 8 started out as an exhilarating new opportunity for comics to continue the storyline and characters past their TV incarnations. Comics can be just as entertaining medium without the exorbitant expense of production. Continuing a TV series in this medium also allows for more merchandising opportunities in new markets. Although the concept of portraying television characters in comics is not new the idea of continuing a series while bridging the gap between television and comics in this way is novel and refreshing.

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8, Buffy and her new charges known as Slayers live and train tirelessly in Scotland. The US Army and a roundtable of old and new villains take on Buffy and her friends. A new villain named Twilight figures heavily in the plots and subplots which pepper the series. The slayer army and Buffy are forced to fight for their lives and in defense of their loved ones; as usual, not everyone makes it out alive in a Joss Whedon production. If you are a fan of the show and you are into comics I’m fairly certain you will like this series. Since there are no limitations when it comes to special effects in comics Whedon and the gang have a great time constructing their fantasy world. Although the season 8 story arc is over, Whedon and company are already talking about continuing the project which means lots more work for the Slayer.

The post Comic Book Reviews – Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight first appeared on My Blog.

The Harry Potter Book Series

If you haven’t heard about Harry Potter, where have you been hiding? Harry Potter is a character created by the brilliant writer J.K.Rowling, and first came known to us in 1997. 7 books later and with nearly 500 million copies sold, there must be something pretty special about them. Each book became a major film production which all broke box office records and the books were translated into 67 different languages.

So for those who have been in a coma for the past 14 years or have lived under a stone, the series is about a young wizard named Harry Potter. Sadly the story begins in his home where he is an orphan and lives with his Aunt and Uncle in a cupboard under their stairs. He is treated pretty badly and life isn’t great for the young Harry. It isn’t long before his life takes serious change when he finds out his is a wizard and attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn how to use magic.

With two great friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry encounters lots of adventure with some fabulous mythical creatures like dragons, trolls, werewolves, and to name just a few. It isn’t long before Harry learns that is he quite a famous wizard and the is the key to defeating the most powerful dark wizard Lord Voldemort. He learns that Lord Voldemort was responsible for the death of his parents because they didn’t wasn’t to use their magic for evil. At the time he tried to kill Harry but he failed leaving him with a lightening scar on his forehead.

The first movie viewers get completely drawn into the world of wizardry. The Hogwarts school itself is an amazing spectacle. The rooms tend to move around as do the stairs including the grand staircase. The pictures on the wall are like little movies as they move and talk to you. Each student at the school get an owl as a pet which is used much like a postman. To get to the Hogwarts school you need to take the Hogwarts express which is boarded from Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross station in London.

The Harry Potter book series is enjoyed by people of all ages around the world. There is pretty much every type of merchandise available and even movie location tours. Also a popular theme park attraction opened up at Universal Orlando in the spring of 2010.

The post The Harry Potter Book Series first appeared on My Blog.

The Need For a Pokemon Book Series

This is Dinah again at the Pokemon Cafe and Media club and I’ve just been engaged in lively intellectual discussion about the Pokemon story and possibilities for the future. It’s obvious from the development of the game and its spinoffs these years that Pokemon thrives on diversity. In fact, diversity and evolution are what Pokemon is all about! The latest ‘shinka’ (evolution) jump in Pokemon Mania is Pokemon Black and White (as if I needed to tell you that). As a mom who likes soft toys that can be thrown around without breaking things, I like the new Pokemon Black and White plush toys, or ‘plushies’ and my son has added some new Pokemon stuffed toys to his collection, though I must admit I bought them partially for myself. The Pokemon Black and White monsters are by far the ‘coolest’ so far in the game (as opposed to ‘cute’) and more dragon-like than cuddly. Still, like all Pokemon, they have agreeable and noble faces. Anyway, the Pokemon Black and White series has made the Pokemon card game a whole lot more interesting as well.

The Pokemon story has been developed in an animated TV and film series of course, and also in ‘manga’ (comic books). But my beef with Pokemon is that unlike Mario or other simple games, the basic premise of Pokemon is quite sophisticated and entertaining, and deserves much better development. Pokemon, as far as I’m concerned, has the potential to be entertaining to adults as well as kids, but so far Nintendo has declined to explore that aspect. The only thing it would need to do is sell the idea to the major film producing companies, which I’m sure would jump at a chance at the project. Given its options, in my opinion Hollywood would definitely be the place to take the idea.

The first thing Pokemon needs is a solid book series. Admittedly, it could get away without one and develop only film scripts (like Star Wars or Pirates of the Caribbean), but personally I’d like to see a well-written book series that was great to read and great to watch as well (Harry Potter is the shining example I’m thinking of).

In the release of a rich Pokemon saga that is full of thrills, heroes, and character development, there should be no doubters. Obviously, 3D and special effects of their favorite Pokemon will mesmerize kids more than the flat and silly animation that they already love now, and through solid literary and film production, Pokemon could become enjoyed by all and a classic of our times.

I don’t know if making Pokemon more sophisticated would boost its spinoffs, but I really doubt that it would hurt. One thing for certain is that it would push it even higher above its competitors now.

The post The Need For a Pokemon Book Series first appeared on My Blog.