Jo Robinson's Blog, page 37
April 17, 2015
Laughter the best medicine – The Irish View on Life.
Seriously LMAO! Sally’s sharing some wickedly hilarious Irish jokes, and a photie of what my guardian angel looks like at least once a day. :D :D :D
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
I have to mention that my husband is Irish and his father is one of the finest raconteurs of jokes and stories, Irish or otherwise. My own mother���s family originated from County Cork.. in Ireland, Cork men have been the butt of many a joke as have those poor souls from Kerry. The Irish have a long and revered history but they have also endured dark times. And I have little doubt that it is there wonderful sense of humour and their ability to take the mick out of themselves that make them so universally liked.
We had been married about 17 years before we returned for several years to live in Ireland. I had visited many times of course to visit my in-laws but had never been fully immersed in the culture or the sense of fun.
I remember coming out of the Shelbourne Hotel in St.Stephen���s Green in���
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NEW TSRA Book Covers for Sale…
Here are some more cool covers from Chris at BARGAIN prices!
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog:
All the covers below are available for US$ 25.00 / ��15.00 each without text.
Title and Author text can be added for US$10.00 / ��6.00.
�� �� ��
�� �� ��
Don���t fancy them?
Click HERE to see more available now
OR if you prefer affordable Custom Made Covers,
including Paperback / Hardback versions,
plus explore the gallery of covers already commissioned by authors.
April 16, 2015
Smorgasbord Health – Prescription Medication and your safety.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
April 7th was designated as World Health Day and this year the theme was food safety which is of course a subject of great interest to me. The focus was on the over 200 diseases caused by unsafe food containing parasites, harmful bacteria, viruses and chemical contaminants. Also on the fact that it is estimated that 2 million people worldwide die from contaminated food or drinking water.
The problem with looking at any of the many health issues on a global scale is that we tend to minimise our contribution to those statistics. Whilst the focus for World Health Day was on unsafe food and water we encounter, there are other products that we ingest that can cause us harm if not carefully regulated.
Today I am going to be looking at prescription medication and whilst I am going to give you some overall figures for the UK it���
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#Read #Authors – #Copyright #Infringement #Notification…
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog:
I have been hearing from a LOT recently that more SCAM BOOK SITES are appearing online in ever increasing numbers���
What can YOU do about it?
If you are an author and YOUR book(s) are being offered without your permission ��� issue DMCA Notices (SEE BELOW FIRST)
If you are a reader ��� PLEASE DO NOT USE THESE SITES!
It may be tempting to get books FOR FREE or at greatly reduced prices but���
They may be��a click farm looking for your email
and you will be infected with a virus.
*****
AUTHORS ��� VERY IMPORTANT!!!
DO NOT SEND THE OFFENDING SITE A DIRECT NOTICE.
If they are on Facebook ��� Use Facebook���s reporting form to remove their link source from Facebook���s server.
My attorney warns me not to click on them, but to send a form letter to their server.
You can find out their server here:
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Fiction Writers Can Write Great Non-Fiction Books Too
Originally posted on I have several non-fiction books at various stages of completion which I plan on self-publishing. These are about things that are important to me, things that I know something about, and that I want to share with others. Writing for me is first and foremost because it���s what I love to do ��� what I always will carry on doing even if I win the lottery. At the end of the day though, the goal for the self-publishing author is to earn enough to support yourself. So it���s good to point out that having a non-fiction book or two out can be a great way for an Indie to create another source of income, and also find new readers for your fiction who might not have come across it if they hadn���t been looking for a How to Groom a Poodle book.
The ebook market is glutted with hundreds of���
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April 15, 2015
The Sunday Show – Defining Moments with Kevin Morris
A very seriously interesting interview with author Kevin Morris. I would never ever have guessed that students would be forced to do things like this because of debt.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
Welcome to Defining moments and my guest this week is not a stranger to us here in blog world. Most of us have a tough time being consistent with our posting and find juggling full-time jobs and other commitments a bit of a stretch at times. However, Kevin manages to work full-time in London, write and publish books and post interesting articles on his blog New Author Online. The added twist to this is that Kevin uses software that most of you reading this will never have to utilise.
Kevin has been blind since a blood clot caused severe damage when he was just 18 months old. Whilst he possesses enough vision to distinguish between light and dark and can see the outlines of objects he requires the assistance of Jaws (Job access with speech) and braille to use his computer.
However, you will find as you enjoy conversations���
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Bloom Where You’re Planted
Today she issued instructions that my office was to be ���properly��� cleaned and kicked me out. I tried to take as much as I could with me, being a bit funny with anyone other than me fiddling with all my files and bits, but didn���t get to a lot because ��� well ��� Elisa. To be honest I���m seriously OCD about my workspace, and so far I���ve never allowed anyone else to touch it. Today I failed. So I took my Kindle and carried on reading my current book, which is brilliant by the way, so it wasn���t really too much of a hardship.
The feathered horde were also banished from their daily hangout, so they messed up the lounge again instead. It���s amazing how much mess such little guys can make in a few hours.
Now I���m back here feeling like I could totally get used to this. Everything���s gleaming and shining and perfectly placed. And I���m buggered if my files aren���t all exactly where they should be. With everyone else who���s worked for me I���ve always insisted on cleaning certain areas myself, including the kitchen and my workspace. I have a strong feeling that those days are over now. This lady isn���t a bully ��� she���s actually a sweetie. She just out-dodges you and gets things done at hyper speed. She told me that she loves clean houses, and that she loves the process cleaning of them even more. I found this really hard to believe considering my own not so rosy view of housework. But I���m pretty sure that she means exactly what she says. You can see in everything that she does that this is true too. I���ve never asked her to do a thing ��� she just motors on and does what she thinks needs to be done. The feathered horde are very wary of anyone in the house for at least the first few months. When she arrived she greeted them all and immediately got on with things. They all followed her around a bit, staring ��� I mean really staring, and then instantly decided that they liked her.
It���s funny the places you meet inspiring people ��� or rather the places that inspiring people end up according to where and to whom they���re born. I reckon she���d make a fabulous president of a country, or at the very least leave everyone in her dust sprinting in the Olympics, but instead she cleans houses. She doesn���t care though. She���s a genuinely happy and confident woman, happy with her lot and her life, happy with her work, and she does it to the very best of her abilities. I don���t think that she���s capable of whining. I really look forward to the days she comes in, not only because I���m fond of the zoomers of life and like a clean-ish house, but also because she puts everything into perspective for me every time I see her. She inspires me to do my best and to have a blast while doing it no matter what it is. Maybe it���s not so much the lot we���re given in life, as what we do with that lot, and having at it right now rather than waiting for some magical future moment. She���s also taught me – rather abruptly – that I don���t have to do everything myself, and most certainly that I don���t do any particular thing any better than anyone else. It can be quite cool to sit back now and then and let someone who really wants to take the reins for a bit – ahem – sometimes by choice or not.
April 13, 2015
Smorgasbord Health – The Lungs – Foods that support the respiratory system
The gut is the most important part of your body – this is a must read.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
I hope that I have already established over the last few months here in the health posts that eating a natural, unprocessed diet at least 80% of the time is essential to your health. As is reducing the refined sugars which impact the ability of your immune system, to clear the body of toxins, and to provide an effective defence system.
In addition there are certain nutrients that are of specific benefit to the lungs and if you have a weakness in this area, such as repeated bronchitis�� or other chest infections, you should consider including more of the particular foods in your diet on a regular basis.
I advise that you obtain these nutrients from food sources as this is the most effective way for the body to process and use. Taking supplements is not something to contemplate lightly. Whilst it might seem cost effective to respond to the���
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The Saturday Round Up – Chocolate shortage, Jazz, funnies and hot stories!
Check out Sally’s fabulous round up for last week for lots of great news.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
Welcome to the weekly round up and as usual it has been a busy week with guests, stories and the occasional laugh���Thank you so much for collaborating by adding your thoughts to the posts they are valued very highly.
I cannot remember an Easter where there was such a distinct lack of chocolate. My husband and I shared a 200gm bar of chocolate over two days, eating just a few squares at time. This has to be a record for me!
With my sweet tooth I really could have gone wild��� But, I thoroughly enjoyed what I did have and even more so the fact that I did not put 5lbs on over Easter.
The Sunday Show
As it was Easter last weekend there was no Sunday show but tomorrow I am joined by Kevin Morris author and blogger at New Author Online. He will be sharing some interesting information���
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What Does a Proofreader Actually Do With Your Book? by Guest Author @wendyproof
What goes into a proofreaders work – a lot!
Originally posted on You���re considering sending the manuscript of your novel to a proofreader.
Her website is error free ��� that���s a good start.
She has a number of testimonials ��� so that���s reassuring.
You agree rates and dates, and she confirms it will take her ten to fourteen working days to return your book. You picture that happy day when, hey presto, typos will have been eliminated, inconsistencies expunged. Although you have confidence in her skills, what you���d really like to ask is: ���What do you actually do with my book during those fourteen days?��� You don���t want to sound like you don���t trust her, but���
So, this is a post for anyone who has ever wanted to know what a proofreader actually does with a manuscript but was afraid to ask. Of course this is only how I work, but from chatting with colleagues we all do pretty much the same���
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