Sabrina Giles's Blog, page 12
February 19, 2014
Blogging Woes… Then Revelation!!!
February 5, 2014
New Adult: The Bullied Genre
January 10, 2014
Announcing the Story Crush Winter Tour!!!
January 9, 2014
The Man Who Hugs Wild Lions
January 6, 2014
A Witchy Little Experiment
I have decided to start an experiment of sorts. If you’re on Goodreads often then you’ve probably seen the discussions I’ve started about “Blogger vs. WordPress”. WordPress has a wonderful connectivity between other bloggers, and it takes little effort to build likes and a following. It’s a little difficult to do the same with Blogger, but on the flip-side of that Blogger offers a freedom to customize your site any way you want.
On the flip-side,you can also do more things on Blogger for free that aren’t allowed on WordPress without paying for an upgrade, like posting videos, gifs, direct links to your products, and things like raffelcopter for giveaways.
So, for my experiment I’ve set up a blog on Blogger to compete with my blog here on WordPress. I tried to make them look the same so if the looks do effect the followers it’s only the differences that I can’t match on the competing blog. I’m going to be making the same posts on each blog, or as much as I can because I will definitely be taking advantage of the free abilities offered by Blogger.
I can’t wait to see what happens! What do you guys think of this test? Tell me your thoughts!
~Sabrina Giles
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Blogger, Goodreads, rafflecopter, WordPress
December 31, 2013
2014 Here We Come!
I actually haven’t done a New Year’s Resolution in a while, but seeing as how this is going to be a pretty big year for my family anyway, I figured I’d start the tradition!
Here we go…
I know pretty much everyone has “lose weight” and “get into the best shape of my life” at the top of their lists every year, but not me. I’m not saying that I’m trying to be original by not doing that, because I absolutely would say that… if I wasn’t pregnant. Haha, so instead I opt for staying in the best shape I can, and being as healthy as possible for my upcoming little one.
Write “Empowering (or Enduring) Darkness”.
Write “The Whispering Wood”.
Work on my art. I want to build up my skills and be the best I’ve ever been! I’ll also be making posts on my progress for you all to see.
Do more crafts. I know “art” is technically a craft, but on this list the word “craft” is used more generally for my other crafty things like crocheting, learning to knit, loom knitting, sculpting, etc.
Get ready for baby.
Save money!!!
Read 30 books. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot to some of you, but I’ve never really counted how many books I’ve read in a year, and I’ve been slacking a bit with all my other activities, so for this year I’m setting it low just in case.
Try new things. You’ve always got to be willing to try new things, like maybe some new foods, or new crafting ideas, new recipes to try out on Hubs, things of that sort.
Don’t worry so much and enjoy the little things.
Go with the flow.
Relax.
I know the last three things are pretty much redundant, but I tend to worry a lot, over-think things, and get tense over things I shouldn’t. Sooo yeah I need the redundancy. Haha 
I asked Hubs what his list would be and he said he’d never done it and doesn’t really believe in it, I’ve decided to make up a list I think would go along with what he would want.
This is Hubs’…
Give Wife more butt-whippings.
Pull more pranks on Wife.
Buy more books.
Buy more games.
Save money.
Get ready for baby.
Take care of my family.
Be more smart-elec and sarcastic to Wife.
Scare Wife more after watching scary movies.
I know some of it is funny, but I know that’s what he plans on doing! o.O
~ Sabrina Giles -_^
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Arts, Book, Business and Economy, Chinese New Year, Classroom, Holidays, New Year, New Year's resolution, new years eve, Shopping
December 20, 2013
Book Reivew: Asylum by Madeleine Roux
Title: Asylum
Author: Madeleine Roux
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Page Count: 310
~Goodreads Summary~
For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it’s a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.
As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it’s no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux’s teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.
~My Review~
Of scary books, I’ve read many, but not in years. Not sure what happened, because they used to be all I would read of fiction, but I when I decided to try my hand at writing my first scary book I wanted to dive back in. Asylum is my first scary book read and I’m glad I started with this one. It is definitely creepy, but it takes a bit to really grab you with creepy claws. Of course, I don’t mean that it’s a boring beginning, but that the creepy well… creeps up on you. Haha 
This 5 week summer program not only changes Dan Crawford’s life, but the life of his friends too. Madeleine Roux did an amazing job of incorporating the real-life pictures in the book into the story. I thought they were just going to be unsettling pictures of insane asylums to hype up the creep factor, but Roux went one step further. There are pictures of letters found in an asylum, where every word in the letter is in the story. It’s amazing! It’s like she went into this place, took all these pictures, and wrote a story as an idea of what might’ve actually happened. Amazing.
I give this book:
~ Sabrina Giles
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Book, Dan, Dan Crawford, Goodreads, Hampshire College, Insanity defense, Jordan, Madeleine Roux
December 11, 2013
Readers Speak Out: Authors’ Online Marketing Techniques
Readers Speak Out: Authors’ Online Marketing Techniques
via Readers Speak Out: Authors’ Online Marketing Techniques.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Good Times for Gold-Diggers are Gone ...
Reblogged from Savvy Writers & e-Books online:
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Molly Greene wrote in a recent blog post "Book Sales Dismal Lately? Could Be The Big 5!" about flagging independent book sales, and at the same time desperation-book-discounts by established publishers who are continuing to consolidate. She interviewed several bestselling authors about their sales.
Bad News the Burgeoning Amount of Competition
Mimi Barbour also wrote about the future of indie books: "Amazon's algorithms are spinning with so many choices that the cutthroat era will be soon upon us if it hasn’t already started.
I agree with this post. The easy-going big boom of success for the lazy Author is gone. If you want to make it big, don't try and do the get-rich-quick BS your friends are doing. Be smart. Work hard. And reap the long-lasting rewards of royalties and a solid fan base.
December 6, 2013
The New Plan
This post is the sequel to yesterday’s post “Do Not Be Afraid“. If you haven’t read it, take a look now!
But if you have….
So, from yesterday you learned that I’m gathering the ashes of my negative experience and creating an entirely new plan for my future. This involves lots of variables, twists, and maybe a bit of multitasking while playing hopscotch. (Haha, I don’t know why I thought that was funny, but I’m leaving it there for everyone to see anyway!)
I have taken my book, Ensuing Darkness, off the market on
