Jo Robinson's Blog, page 57
December 29, 2014
Ten Things Not to Do on New Year’s Eve
Originally posted on Fiction Favorites:
Since this is Monday you should expect a Top Ten list. This week will be the same as the others for the last year. YES, here is the Ten Things Not to Do list (although a little late today). This week���s was inspired by a New Year���s Eve party I attended (or maybe many). Not saying if I was a perpetrator of any of these things, but hope you enjoy them.
Ten Things Not to Do on New Year���s Eve.
10 On New Year���s Eve, do not try to set a personal record for consumption of alcohol. If you do, at best your evening will close early. At worst, New Year ���s Day will represent your personal purgatory just begging for relief.
9 On New Year���s Eve, do not set resolutions that you think would be great to accomplish if you were a superhero. If you do, at best you���
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Originally posted on 
A New Year’s Wish: Ask what you can do for your world!
Originally posted on beyondtheflow:
The countdown is ticking: 10,9,8,7,6,5,,3,2,1..Happy New Year!
In the light of recent tragic events, I sub-consciously found myself reworking the words of President John F. Kennedy. Indeed, in�� this rogue terrorist era where there seems to be no respect for national boundaries, this variation seems far more appropriate:
���Ask not what the world can do for you, ask what you can do for your world- Rowena.���
It is my heartfelt desire that we now extend our vision way beyond our own back pockets. As overwhelming as it may feel at times, somehow we need to attain a more global perspective and not just switch off because ���it���s��� happening somewhere ���over there��� .�� We need to switch on to both the good and the bad of what���s happening elsewhere and have a heart. It is our world and it���s the only world we���ve���
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December 28, 2014
Rewind – Three Things Episodes 29 – 30
Originally posted on Teagan's Books:
Welcome back to the Jazz Age and our little 1920���s serial story.
There are so many different (not to mention fascinating) holidays at this time of year. ��Whatever you may have celebrated ��� or perhaps you choose not to honor any day at all ��� no matter what the case, I hope it has been a time of happiness, health, and satisfaction for you.
Click for clues and my inspirationI��appreciate��each of you for sticking around for this ���rewind��� of the original interactive serial. ��With work and other things, my writing time is very limited. So this rerun has given me a little time to work on novels in progress.
Available at AmazonI���m still fleshing out the draft for��The Guitar Mancer. ��The mythology I created for that story (National Novel Writing Month 2014) took me to unanticipated scenarios, causing me to��stumble for awhile. But now I���ve embraced���
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Pre-Release Review of THE HEALER
Originally posted on writerchristophfischer:
Thank you for this amazing review of ��THE HEALER:One of the best books I���ve read in a while, and written by a true craftsman, who knows his stuff. Set in UK and Europe, The HEALER covers areas that fascinate me, both geographic and medical, but from a whole new perspective. The research is detailed, and the plot has me wondering just what the various characters��� truths are. We have Erica/Maria as the woman diagnosed with Grade 4 pancreatic cancer seeking a miracle cure. And her workplace junior, Hilda, who becomes her best friend and support. Enter Amesh/Arpan, the hippy guru-styled healer, who believes he has lost his healing mission due to pharmaceutical giants, who in turn feel their empire is under threat if this healer is not completely shut down. But then again, with all their backing millions, they have been trying for a score of years or more���View original 459 more words
December 27, 2014
End of an Era Revisit: Origin Week! Charles E Yallowitz . . . Wait . . . What?
Originally posted on Legends of Windemere:
Here���s one from February 2013.�� It���s the last one unless I get enough people wanting more, but next week will be the last full week of posts from me.�� Try not to celebrate until my back is turned.�� No idea what I���ll be doing most days.�� Part of me wonders if this is going to be a gradual disappearance from WordPress.�� Those topics were keeping me focused and now I���m just . . . I don���t know.�� Here���s the finale:
I have a backlog of character origins and figured I would do one a day for this week.�� How could I start this great event that will be rough tomorrow since I will be hanging in NYC with one of my closest friends?�� Tell my own origin story because I actually get asked a few times how I knew I wanted to be a writer.�� For those wondering, that���s���
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Defining Moments – The new Sunday Show starting in January.
Sally’s Defining Moments series is definitely something to look forward to. I’m also a firm believer in fate, having witnessed it in action firsthand. :)
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
The new series of Sunday shows begins in mid to late January with a wonderful array of guests from all walks of life.
The new theme is Defining Moments��� these often do not appear to be momentous at the time and can in fact be a small ripple that has a wide reaching impact on our lives.
The guests that have accepted my invitation are very well known here in Blogworld and whilst there will be links to their blogs, websites and social media and obviously an opportunity to promote their work, the interview will be about what they consider were the defining moments in their lives.
I am a firm believer in fate and I believe that sometimes these defining moments are not of our own making. There are many words used to describe this apparent intervention in our journey. Fate, Destiny, Kismet, Serendipity, Coincidence��� funnily I don���t believe���
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The Best Medicine
Image Credit: Zapiro
The loadshedding wasn���t as bad around here as it was in other places in South Africa this festive season. In Zimbabwe they switch you off every day for the whole day or the whole night without fail.
At least here they let you know when so you can get backup lights ready. I walked into many a wall strolling around at night in Zimbabwe.
Festive South African Light Bulb
I���m already so used to the comfort here I don���t often think of the discomfort up there much more. I still remember it though, and nothing will change my disgust at the suffering pure greed and the abuse of power is still causing.
Image Credit: Zapiro
That���s not my point though. I was thinking about the ability of both of these nations to always find something to laugh at no matter how bad things get, and especially the ability to laugh at themselves.
December 26, 2014
Trolley Armageddon and Free Short Stories
I���m in the middle of my launch tour for Echoes of Narcissus in the Gardens of Delight, and absolutely loving it! Party time! It���s fantastic connecting with new readers and friends on all the blogs, and also hearing from people who have suffered the same as Donna has. I���ll introduce you to all my very kind hosts when the tour wraps up on the 31st.
I���m very late logging on today because I had to go to town, and having committed the unforgivable sin of forgetting to buy ice cream in the first place, there would have been no peace otherwise. Then I spotted a thing ��� and then another thing ��� you know how it goes.
When I headed out the door I was accosted by a guy in a store uniform who very firmly insisted that he���d be pushing my trolley to the car. I said no and tried to hang on to it because I have my usual lovely old guy, who always hangs around the parking lot trying to earn a couple of bucks helping people wheel and pack their groceries, and he tells the best kind of stories. He was stronger than I though, and wrestled my trolley away, with me, and very soon my usual trolley guy too, in hot pursuit. Finally at the car a war had begun with a fairly loud argument, choice swearwords and the shaking of fists. I thought I���d just get a pic of the warriors for my blog ��� as you do ��� but the minute I aimed my phone at them, the trolley fell over ��� pushing me into reverse. Fortunately I���d already opened the back hatch so my bum hit nice soft car carpet instead of tarmac, but I didn’t get my fight scene shot at all.
Totally ruined my photo opportunity, and I wasn���t inclined to take another, so all I got was that pole with some weird objects flying through the air ��� I think one���s a bird but the other behind the pole isn���t – I cropped it and it just looks like a creepy thing. Poor trolley guys were mortified though, and I mortified them further laughing my head off while they scrambled around making sure that nothing had tumbled out of the trolley. I really love my beautiful, funny Africa. Then I had to go back in because I’d forgotten the ice-cream again, so I took this lovely pic of a trolley for you instead.
For those of you who fancy a short read and haven���t already got these, my two Fly Birdie and The Visitation are free from now until the 30th December.
December 25, 2014
HTML Crib Sheet
Originally posted on Lit World Interviews:
Because Christmas day is one of the few days when Indie writers can���t think up good enough excuses to stay hunched over hot computers in their garrets, and the time of year when they totally invest themselves in the overconsumption of mince pies while staring resentfully at their abductors, and probably drink too much eggnog trying not to think about their abandoned work in progress, I���ll keep this Thursday���s post very short with a couple of tips for those nontechie scribblers amongst us.
1. Create a clickable link to go into your eBook. Type the text as you want it to appear in your manuscript ��� the name of another book for instance. Highlight that text and right click on it. Select Hyperlink and paste the URL address into the box and save.
2. If you find it painful creating HTML for clickable links on your blog posts, go to
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