Simon Duringer's Blog, page 23

September 23, 2014

70 Essential Hashtags for #Bloggers #Readers and #Authors

Twitter! What a mad place, full of its codes and discreet messages that it seems only a priveledged few are aware of… But as one becomes familiar with the site and the daunting reams of codes, otherwise known as hashtags, one begins to learn of their incredible value. So, let me share with you a little of what I have learned. Specifically, about hashtags.


Twitter #hashtags


As one throws in the towel and begins allowing life to deteriorate into the murky depths of Twitter, before fully evolving into a Twitter monkey, you will come to realise that amidst the millions of others trying to have a say, sending posts without hashtags is like; eating cereal without milk, bread without butter, or drinking gin without tonic! There will always be a few takers for these partner-less potions, but the serious boys and gals are focussed more specifically on their own area of interests and have devised these dreaded tags as an easy way to filter through to information that’s of interest. Therefore if you don’t know them, you are likely to miss a huge proportion of your target audience.


During the past year I have been accumulating a list of hashtags for my own use. Rather like one of my books; “How Do I Win on a Lottery ?” I never actually expected anybody to read it or use it. It’s largely for my own benefit to try and keep things in one place (yes, really I am trying to be organised for a change!) So, as my own accumulation of hashtags gets ever more fragmented amongst writing notes, post-its, napkins, scraps of paper and the back of fag packets, I have now devised a reference list, more selfishly for my own use, but if you would like to use it, be my guest!


A brief word of warning is that some Twitterites can be rather protective of their hashtags and whilst, in general, they are used to popularise messages specific to peer groups; over use, spamming or using hashtags whilst not a member of some of these groups can be more trouble than it’s worth. So please, before using them, take a look at the posts behind the tags and ensure they are right for you and vice versa!


Here we go…


I require no thanks, but if you feel inclined why not bookmark this site, there’s always something of interest (to me anyway!) and/or you can follow me on Twitter by following the link below;


@SimonDuringer


General Hashtags for authors and readers…


#BYNR

#amreading

#amwriting

#Mystery

#Mysteries

#fiction

#erotic

#scifi

#fantasy

#Romance

#YA

#nonfiction

#biography

#Poet

#writer

#write

#author

#read

#mustread

#mustwatch

#scriptwriter

#fridayreads

#Indie

#IAN1

#Bestsellers

#Books

#ebooks

#bookworm

#Weekendreads

#TopTen

#booklists

#free

#bookreview

#Readit


These ones are more application or hardware specific…


#amazon

#AmazonPrime

#Nook

#Apple

#Kobo

#booklovers

#ebook

#kindleauthors

#kindlethrillers

#eBookDeal

#BookBoost

#bookadayuk

#RebelsBookClub

#kindle


A few for bloggers and writers…


#blog

#BookBlog

#BookBlogger

#writing

#writingtips

#WritersRoad

#interviews


A number of clubs exist to gain followers, quite often they drop out as quickly as they follow, but there are a few good ones in here…


#MustBeFollowing

#Followback

#Followers

#Follow

#FF

#F4F

#TFB


A number of ways exist to encourage Re-Tweets, but be sure to Re-Tweet others as it’s a two way game. Also, some of these are used to suggest it is not a users own tweet. Confusing huh?!


#RT

#madRT

#RNRT

#RETWEET

#FWRT

#Share

#IARTG


Here are a few more random ones picked up along the way… I can’t remember why I wrote them down, but hey ho that’s the point of this post!


#TDIM

#BritishValues

#CR4U

#K8chat

#BONUS

#teamIDF

#WAAR

#tcot

#pdf1


So… There you have it and at last I have done it. No more scrambling, hair tearing moments for me! If you have any hashtags to assist authors reach readers and readers reach authors then please feel free to leave a comment and I will attempt to add new ones in as we go. It’s for the mutual benefit of all :-)


Have a nice day!!


#hashtag #tweet


Simon Duringer is both a Goodreads Indie author and Independent Interviewer. Simon’s most recent book is The Word: The Best of Simon’s 10Q Interviews, featuring 28 equally interesting and exciting interviews, with some great names in the literary trade from both sides of the fence (Indie and Traditionally Published). It is available on Kindle, Prime (#Free) and Paperback. Links to Simon’s Amazon Author Page are as follows;

UK Link – Simon Duringer Author Page

US Link – Simon Duringer Author Page


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Simons 10 Q Interviews was a Finalist in the U.K. Blogging Awards 2014.

Finalist in the UK National Blog Awards 2014








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Published on September 23, 2014 00:45

September 19, 2014

The Georgia Melaris Interview

She sent me 50 shades of red during this interview, get along to it quickly and have a read... You won't regret it!

Georgia Melaris has run the gauntlet of Simon's 10Q Interviews. Prepare yourselves for something warm and chocolatey! It's live NOW!
http://simonduringer.com/?p=3499
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Published on September 19, 2014 10:53 Tags: books, erotic, fantasy, food, georgia-melaris, interviews, paperback, romance, simon-duringer, simons-10qi

Simon Williams

My next guest on Simon’s 10 Q Interviews is one of a highly charitable nature. All royalties from his latest book are going to the worthwhile charity The adopting and fostering charity, TACT. For that alone he deserves a huge pat on the back.


But Simon’s 10 Q Interviews isn’t directly about the charities, though raising the status of any worthwhile cause is always a bonus of the job. But primarily we want to know what is behind the author and what makes them tick… Perhaps for my next guest this presents a very large hint!


So, let’s find out who my next guest is and what we might expect from this interview…


Profile Simon Williams


We are soon going to be in the company of Simon Williams as he comes blogging with me… Here is his latest cover, and for those feeling charitable, remember, all proceeds go to TACT.


simon williams #book cover


Looks a tad spooky doesn’t it. Well, that maybe as Simon’s main genre is that of fantasy, or one might say fantasy thrillers… We might have to ask him for the correct genre type in due course.


As with most he has always been a writer, but having written a number of magazine articles in the 1990’s he suddenly became aware that people were actually reading his work and that perhaps he should get back to hitting the QWERTY for something greater than the odd article! What followed was the AONA series of books, a form of experimental fantasy one might say, or indeed one might ask!


Here are the covers of his other books from the series; Oblivion’s Forge, Secret Roads (Aona Book 2), The Endless Shore and of course, his latest offering for the benefit of TACT, Summer’s Dark Waters.


Simon Williams Covers


Simon has been churning the books out at a rate of one per year, which, given the complexity of plots, the twists, turns and original nature of these books, is no mean feat!


So, what can we expect of our next guest? An author with such an imagination, who knows where we might end up, or more to the point, where he might end up! *Mu-ha-ha-ha*… What was the name of that Jurassic island?


Well, let’s leave it there for now as we don’t want to give too much away…


So, if you would like to learn more about author Simon Williams and his exploits then why not use the links below to see his books on Amazon, not forgetting to bookmark this page of course in order that you can return soon to see how Simon gets on running the gauntlet of Simon’s 10 Q Interviews;

For US Readers;

Oblivion’s Forge

Secret Roads (Aona Book 2)

The Endless Shore

Summer’s Dark Waters

For UK Readers;

Oblivion’s Forge

Secret Roads (Aona Book 2)

The Endless Shore

Summer’s Dark Waters


You can also find Simon on Twitter: @SWilliamsAuthor

or on the website: Simon Williams Website


If you would like to know more about TACT, Simon’s charity of choice, please click on the following link to go to their site; TACT Website


You can also visit Interviewer Simon Duringer’s Amazon Author Page using the following link;

Simon Duringer UK Amazon Author Page

Simon Duringer US Amazon Author page








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Published on September 19, 2014 05:29

Denise Kahn

We seek them here… We seek them there… In fact we seek them everywhere… My next guest has done enough travelling in her time to make us all envious. It’s always slightly embarrassing to find that the type of author I seek out for Simon’s 10 Q Interviews has been working alongside me promoting authors for some time, though it was only recently that we actually said “Hi”. Such is the life of an author attempting to make good on Social Media, yet not always taking the time to pay attention, and I refer to myself and not my guest in that statement!


So, who is my next guest on Simon’s 10 Q Interviews. Let’s find out…


author denise kahn


This is the wonderful Denise Kahn, previously iTunes has ranked one of her books Peace of Music #1 in their Top Books Category and in total she now has eight novels. If you enjoy a goodread and have an appreciation for the therapeutic nature of music, Denise is the author for you! You will find her passion for music plays a part in most of her novels.


An incredible character and massively intelligent to boot, Denise has one of those minds that simply sucks up information like a Dyson hoover and then is able to regurgitate it at will. Such is her ability that she, amongst other things, is able to speak several languages with ease, five with complete fluency. Whilst in awe of such talent, one often feels that my own feeble attempts, which amount to not much more than asking for a coffee and counting to ten in several languages and usually doing so in the wrong language therefore coming out with complete gobbledygook most of the time, leave much to be desired!


So, we have a well travelled, highly educated and politically aware academic in our midst, before I rattle on let’s just take a quick look at her offerings…


Denise Kahn #books


Awesome huh? So, what can we look forward to when Denise comes back to run the gauntlet of Simon’s 10 Q Interviews..?


Well, she has military connections, indeed much of the source of her travels were due to her upbringing within a family working in the US Diplomatic Core, her own son has followed down the military route and served in the US marines in Iraq. So, we have a lot of common ground that will enable me to do a bit of harmless prying!


We know she is a great fan of Jules Verne, so I am guessing she might be itching to get into the Time Machine and am wondering to where she might venture… and given her military background, anybody wishing to hide her away on a desert island should certainly be aware that her survival skills are likely to be right up there with those of Ray Mears or Bear Grylls… Hmmm… It could be a tricky one to outwit this gal and take her out of that comfort zone!


So, venture back soon and see how Denise gets on as she runs the gauntlet of Simon’s 10 Q Interviews!


In the meantime, of course, I would encourage you to check out Denise Kahn’s author page on Amazon using the following links or watch the video at the foot of the page for Warrior Music, which Denise graciously donated all proceeds for quite an extended period of time to a worthwhile veteran’s charity;

Denise Kahn Amazon US Author Page

Denise Kahn UK Amazon Author page


You can also visit Interviewer Simon Duringer’s Amazon Author Page using the following link;

Simon Duringer UK Amazon Author Page

Simon Duringer US Amazon Author page









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Published on September 19, 2014 03:45

September 13, 2014

FREE TODAY ONLY!

Top #10 in genre on both sides of the pond. Helps Ms Brown get to Number #1. Read the interview and download a copy of her Novella for FREE! She's awesome... It's raunchy, hilarious and based upon a true story. Surely worth a click!
http://simonduringer.com/latest-news/...
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Published on September 13, 2014 20:28 Tags: amazon, free, kindle

September 12, 2014

E H Brown - Author Interview

Debut Author E H Brown has been Rambling On... about hew new novella published this week. The Satirical Account of a School Boys fantasy; School Capers and Love Makers. Catch the interview now and get your weekend read!

http://simonduringer.com/?p=3642
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September 11, 2014

E H Brown

Otherwise known as Eh? (Kidding…) Debut author E H Brown has has an offering to catch the eye and help those in passing a lunch break or an early evening spate of boredom. It’s funny, in fact hilarious and so much can be related to!


So here we go… let’s find out some more about Ms Brown…

School Capers and Love Makers


Regular readers will know that Rambling On… is a self service form of interview and open to all authors Indie and Traditionally published. It differs from Simon’s 10 Q Interviews in that each author gets to choose their 10 questions from a list of over 55. Those who take part can also contribute a question for future participants…


Author E H Brown has this week published her first Novella; School Capers and Love Makers (The Robin “Hoodie” Blakely Series Book 1) It’s “Different”. Funny, hilarious in places and whilst it’s classed as a Novella, I am guessing she wisely stopped in order to give us readers a chance to take a breath, recover the ability to speak and take control of our stomach muscles once more… It comes highly recommended for those with an alternative sense of humor! Here is the cover;


School Capers


So, without further ado, let us find out which questions Author EH Brown has chosen and how she gets on…


SD Q6: Black, White…or 50 shades of grey ?


EHB A6: I’m probably the only girl I know who has not read Fifty Shades of Grey! Pain is not my thing and is that not what it’s about? I’m more pink, which in black and white I guess is one of those shades of grey. E. L. James seems to have got all the grey’s covered, so go on Simon, Let me be Pink!


SD Q8: What is your favourite hobby?


EHB A8: Nothing beats a good glass of Chateau Neuf Du Pape, there’s a smidgen of history in each glass and I probably drink more than my fair share. However, I don’t see why the boys should have all the fun! So you will regularly find me out frequenting the cocktail bars in the city (Is that classed as a hobby!). One of these days I’ll find somebody who shares my passion for fun, good wine, dancing and great movies. But until then, I’m a party girl and when not partying I’m writing, often transferring those experiences to script!


SD Q10: What is your favourite quotation and by whom?


EHB A10: So many to choose from, how about this one from the Margaret Mitchell classic;

“No, I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That’s what’s wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by somebody who knows how.” Gone with the Wind.


SD Q12: If you could step into the shoes of anybody of all time, who would you choose?


EHB A12: Cleopatra. But I would have to make a request to borrow your Time Machine Simon, as I would like to be in her shoes in the modern world! She had everything going for her, the power that few women could achieve, other than possibly Boadicea or Boudicca, as she is sometimes referred. But for all Boadicea’s battles and due to the era in which she lived, I suspect she may have had a few hygiene issues! Cleopatra on the other hand enjoyed bathing in Goats milk and wearing extravagant jewellery. That is the way forward and I think she would probably have a field day in Cartier or, for the best of all worlds, within the Harrods Jewellery concessions.


SD Q14: Coffee or Tea?


EHB A14: I rarely drink either. I’m bubbly enough from all the Bollinger I consume and it’s unlikely I would have space to fit any milk into my fridge, I can’t drink either coffee or tea black… When not drinking champagne straight or enjoying a glass of wine, I do enjoy a Buck Fizz. Any spare space is needed to keep the freshly squeezed orange juice. It’s a wonder I can stand up sometimes!


SD Q30: Why do women aspire to be a size 6 or is that a fashion made myth!?


EHB A30: You would really have to ask those who do. I’m a size 8 but couldn’t imagine wanting to be any slimmer. I’m at a comfortable size. The ladies described in the Novella; School Capers and Love Makers (The Robin “Hoodie” Blakely Series Book 1) are curvy and more voluptuous, I can’t imagine how you would describe a size 6 in a romcom. Perhaps, “…She approached him with the grace of a ballerina, and he took her up in his arms. Moving to the gentle sounds of the ocean’s breaking waves, they danced under the moonlight, on this, the sandy beach where they had first met. Together they created their own music. Al Fonso was a tall, dark and athletic man. He attempted to block the pain. Her loosely covered and bony rib cage was exposed and cutting into his torso like a cheese grater as they danced. He attempted to bring her in closer, his muscular arms engulfed her in a temporary embrace. In the days since he had gone to war, she had dropped four dress sizes. She was less now than a handful. All skin and bone she slipped between the crevice between his muscular torso and bulging biceps. She fell, sinking, rather….floating like a goose feather onto the soft and golden sands! “Forget it honey, let’s go eat!” he rasped in his deep Southern accent. Ha ha ha… Maybe that is the way forward for a satirical piece of work! Not exactly a pulse racing descriptive!


SD Q42: Fillet or Sirloin steak and why?


EHB A42: Who makes up these questions? Fillet of course. If cooked appropriately it should retain all of those natural juices. It should melt in the diner’s mouth and, in a really good restaurant, a patron should be forgiven for releasing a slight moan of pleasure as the experience tantalizes the taste buds to the extreme. Remind you of anything?


SD Q44: Skiing or sunbathing?


EHB A44: Do I have to choose one? I rather enjoy both. I suppose given the Political Correct world we live in I would have to choose skiing over sunbathing. The comradery and social side of the sport is rather unique. I enjoy the challenge of going off-piste and seeing the views from perspectives that few people have enjoyed. The air in the mountains is so clean too, so refreshing after the smog of the city. Sunbathing is great if you want to simply relax, get away from everything and ogle people in their swimming cozzes’ for a week or two.


SD Q47: Butter or margarine?


EHB A47: I would not make a great health guru, it has to be butter and salted butter at that. I am yet to find an alternative worth spreading on toast or bread. If God wanted us to eat margarine I doubt he’d have gone to all that effort to give cows several stomachs!


SD Q50: Why should you be in The Word Volume 2?


EHB A50: Is that coming out soon? I would be delighted but suspect, given all the other names lined up, that I probably wouldn’t get a look in. It would be fabulous, perhaps if people are curious enough to download my novella School Capers and Love Makers leave me some nice reviews, then maybe you’ll ask me back! I think it’s only £1.53 or $2.99 for our american cousins… Can you even buy a Harrods plastic carrier bag for less, here’s a link for the cheapest Harrods plastic bag I could find!! £18.95 Those who could afford one of those I am sure could consider buying my book without breaking the bank? Tee-Hee!


Thank you so much for allowing me to take part. People can find me on Facebook and Twitter now the links are as follows;


E H Brown Facebook Page

E H Brown Twitter Page


SD Comment: Well, I still don’t know your name eh? But thank you very much for taking part. For those who would like to download a copy of the new Novella from E H Brown, please don’t be shy in popping across and obtaining a copy using the following links;

US Readers: School Capers and Love Makers (The Robin “Hoodie” Blakely Series Book 1)

UK Readers: School Capers and Love Makers (The Robin “Hoodie” Blakely Series Book 1)


http://www.amazon.com/School-Capers-M...

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Published on September 11, 2014 14:49

September 5, 2014

Dawn Kopman Whidden

The Dawn Kopman Whidden interview is now live... Beware of the dog, it bites!

If you enjoy the interview Dawn would obviously be grateful if you could tweet or share with your friends! Txs.

#RT Savaged by a 60lb Dog...Bob is not happy! The Dawn Kopman Whidden interview is now live! http://simonduringer.com/?p=3454 #books #kindle #amazon
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September 4, 2014

The Morgan St James Interview

Here it is folks, an incredible person with a great story to tell, the likes of which can only be found on the #UKBA14 Blog Award finalists Simon's 10 Q Interview website.

The Morgan St James Interview...

If you enjoy it please feel free to share or tweet it!

#RT An incredible #interview with an incredible #Indie #Author @MorganStJames It's live now! http://simonduringer.com/?p=3427 #wkbpromo #IAN1 #ASMSG
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September 3, 2014

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, right underneath a waterfall!

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Right underneath a waterfall

All the Kings horses and all the King’s men

Had a heck of a time drying him off again!

Simon Duringer 2014 – #IceBucketChallenge


The other day I was nominated for that soaking, you know the one, that #IceBucketChallenge which started out as a group of nice people in a warm country tipping a box of ice over their heads to raise awareness of “something”. It then went viral and migrated to colder climbs such as ours, with more whacky individuals doing more whacky things on video.


So, yesterday was my turn. Nominated by my own girlfriend Liz, I retained the British stiff upper lip and tried to make something of the challenge. Liz, armed herself with the bucket of icy water, well, she swears it was water but as my hair started falling out in clumps later that evening and the aroma of toilet duck seemed to follow me through every room of the house I did become slightly concerned. The subsequent telephone call from my life assurance company asking where they should send the claim forms for Mr Duringer’s recent accident didn’t inspire much confidence either! Anyways, I digress, Liz carried out the deed with the assistance of her eldest daughter, who was standing by with a secondary source of water, presumably just in case the bucket developed a leak within those last few minutes of preparation. She stood loyally by with a hose pipe in one hand, yes a hose pipe, with a powerwash nozzle, and a video recorder (or whatever they are called on phones these days) in the other. This proved not only do women learn to multi-task from a very early age, but also that Liz and her daughter were taking their responsibilities of carrying out this dastardly task very seriously indeed!


Dressed for the occasion in My Sunday best, (ok perhaps post-challenge they are my best no longer) the suit designed by his lordship Ted Baker, I headed for the garden…


Charity is not all just about #ALS and it was recently discussed in the media whether the #macmillan charity were hijacking the challenge… Me? Well, I am not a fan of band wagons and consider myself more of an underdog supporting type of guy. So, I figured with both charities going viral why not share the love so to speak, I figured they wouldn’t miss one guy going astray. That said, we did dutifully look up both charities, educated ourselves on their great deeds, and where they are listed below you can click through to their websites, I’m not a hijacking kind of guy either…


So, I used my #IceBucketChallenge to raise awareness of The Royal British Legion. I have nothing against #ALS or #macmillan, but for me I would like to stick with ones I do know and support.


I could of course have nominated any of the hundreds of charities out there which are always looking for additional funding for their causes. But the Royal British Legion has a place in my heart, right up there with the NSPCC who also do extremely good work. The RBL assisted me many years ago and I might add did not send me on a guilt trip in the process, that is something I shall never forget and came at a time when I really had few options on places to turn for assistance.


Applying myself to this challenge fairly late on in the game has brought with it some secondary challenges. Who the heck to nominate! It would appear I have been one of the last people on the planet to have taken part. Two of my three nominees; Claude Bouchard and Giles Kristian had already taken the challenge (links below). My third nominee Jack Hayes, The bestseller of many a WW2 spy novel, is camera shy but is currently donning a balaclava to hide his identity and heading to some remote and secret location to take part… Either that or he has fooled us all and is actually racing in to hiding, I am so far unsure of which!


So, I have had to re-think two of my three initial nominations and came to the conclusion, who better than Tim Stevens (Doctor and author of Ratcatcher) and MJ Summers (Author of erotic novel and Top #10 kindle novel Break In Two).


Now, having played my part, I can put on my nice warm cardigan which, Sorry Ted, I managed to bleach the last time I washed it and, comfortable as it is, I can only wear whilst out of sight. The last time I wore it out in the High Street of the metropolis that is Chorley, people mistook me for a homeless person and would approach me with donations for a warm meal and a coffee!


Actually… perhaps I should wear it out more often as I probably made more money that day than I did in the previous month through sales of books! Lol. But, for now as I continue to consider my ongoing quest for world domination, I can sit back with bleached cardi, don my slippers, and stoke my pipe in front of the fire (winter is drawing in quickly you know!), safely and in the knowledge that my duty for the #IceBucketChallenge is done…


Below are my challenge and those of Giles Kristian my original nominee and Claude Bouchard


My Challenge… The British Fool that I am! If you want to see how it turned out, follow the link below…



Giles Kristian… The Norweigan Viking and invader of England… Also author of globally bestselling Raven Series and more recently God of Vengeance



Claude Bouchard… Canadian Social Media Guru and author of bestselling Vigilante novel and many more…


Right now…


Jack HayesNo Easy Mission (Maddox Book 3)


Tim StevensAnnihilation Myths (Martin Calvary 2)


MJ SummersBreak In Two (Full Hearts Book 1)







You’re up, lips puckered or stiff, you’ve been nominated :-)

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Published on September 03, 2014 07:23