Sally Ember's Blog, page 100
October 4, 2014
Consciousness Bookshelf
Some good and new recommendations, here. I added to the list in the COMMENTS section, also.
Originally posted on Jessica Davidson:
A selection of recommended books about Consciousness for anyone on the path to awakening and self-knowledge. These are some of the books I’ve found particularly helpful or interesting over the years. There are longer reviews attached via links, and more to come…
Dr Eben Alexander – Proof of Heaven
This is an astonishing account of a neurosurgeon’s Near Death Experience after suffering bacterial meningitis and falling into a coma. What he saw led him to question everything he believed in. This case of NDE is particularly interesting because Dr Alexander is uniquely qualified to explain exactly how and why his experience couldn’t be a mere hallucination as his neocortex wasn’t functioning. The book recounts in detail what happened during the week he was in a coma, pieced together from his medical records and testimony by his family and the doctors who helped him to recover.
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Filed under: Writing
“Quick Book Reviews” Gives “Thumbs Up” to This Changes Everything, Vol I, The Spanners Series!
This Changes Everything, Vol I, The Spanners Series, gets a great review from Quick Book Reviews back in January but I just found out this week!
Here are two quotes from the review:
“I found the story itself to be one of the most immersive and original ones I have read recently. Amongst the sea of science fiction novel clones, there is This Changes Everything, a book in which old ideas are taken in completely new directions (such as the whole intergalactic committee actually trying to help the humans), and new ideas are spawned by the dozens.”
“This Changes Everything is certainly much more than what I expected from it, presenting us an enthralling and original storyline set in a majestic and extremely-detailed world, populated by many characters that will stay with you once the last pages are closed. I wholeheartedly recommend the book to science-fiction fans, especially the ones who prefer their literature to explore ideas and concepts through words rather than actions.”
This Changes Everything is now PERMAFREE everywhere ebooks are sold and Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, is $3.99.
Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, is due out early in 2015.
Read the full review here:
http://quick-book-review.blogspot.com/2014/01/this-changes-everything-volume-one-by-sally-ember.html
Filed under: Indie or Self-Publishing, Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Thought Things Would Change Tagged: aliens, Book Review, Clara Branon, ebook, Many Worlds Collective, multiverse, romance, Sally Ember, sci-fi, The Spanners Series, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
October 2, 2014
NATIONAL POETRY DAY 2nd OCTOBER 2014
Pick a poem and share it! National Poetry Day is TODAY!
Originally posted on THE HAY WRITERS:
This year’s National Poetry Day will take place on Thursday 2 October… TODAY!
The theme for 2014 is ‘remember‘.
Recollect those little things
Each cup with two sugars in,
Mother’s bright red hat and scarf,
Evergreen trees, bumble bees,
Mirror-pictures in the bath.
Bring them to life, they will talk
Even if you think them poor
Riches grow from every thought.
By ECvW ©2014
Why don’ you have a go and write your ‘remember’ poem? :)
And enjoy this wonderful poetical day!!!
Filed under: Writing
The Power of Six hits #1 on Amazon
Look what happened to my most recent guest, Nicholas C. Rossis’, book of short stories, featured on CHANGES G+ HOA the very next day after his appearance!! Seeking new guests! http://www.sallyember.com/CHANGES for more info! Congrats to Nicholas!
Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis:
I woke up this morning to a lovely surprise: The Power of Six had reached #1 on Amazon – without any ads or promotion!
So, I wanted to thank you all for your help with that. I know a lot of you have been kind enough to buy the book after finding out about it here, and I wish I could hug each and every one of you to thank you.
I hope you enjoy it! :)
Oh, and a teaser: October 17 sees the one-year anniversary since Pearseus was first published. I have something very special planned for that date, with lots of giveaways, so mark the date on your calendar!
For a few more days, The Power of Six will be on sale. Read seven short sci-fi stories for only 99c!
Filed under: Writing
10 Obsolete Beliefs that Can Block Self-Publishing Success by Anne R. Allen
10 Obsolete Beliefs that Can Block Self-Publishing Success
by Anne R. Allen
This is an excellent post with pertinent, supportive, specific information for indie writers. Please read the whole article on her blog (link is below).
My favorites of Anne’s 10 points:
#1: Do we really need paper books to be “successful”?
Apparently not: “EVERY SUCCESSFUL INDIE AUTHOR YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS HAS MADE THE BULK OF THEIR INCOME SELLING E-BOOKS.”
image from: http://blog.nathanbransford.com
#4: Does book “swag” sell books?
Apparently not: “Toys don’t sell books. Word of mouth from readers sells books. Especially word of mouth online, where people can simply click through to a buy page.”
image from: http://lizcoley.com
and, best of all, #10 (and previous ones relate to this as well):
“So what’s the best way to launch a book in this new publishing world? Nobody really knows. Sometimes books take off and the author doesn’t have a clue why…”
Imagine this next image with a big red line diagonally running through it!
image from: http://ebooklaunch.com
What do I keep reading/hearing, repeatedly, sells more ebooks? QUALITY and QUANTITY, both. Write well and publish a lot!
Please go to Anne’s site, read and comment/thank her for the rest. Great post, Anne. Thanks!
posted 8/24/14 and STILL HELPFUL every day!
http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2014/08/10-obsolete-beliefs-that-can-block-self.html
Filed under: Blogging and others' content, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing Tagged: book "swag", book launches, ebooks, Indie Publishing, marketing, paper books, publishing, self-publishing
October 1, 2014
My Fall #NewTVShows Reviews: 2014 is a VERY Mixed Season, thru 10/1/14
Yes: I watch TV. Not reality shows, not zombie shows, not most half-hour sit coms and not late-night or daytime shows. But, prime time shows sometimes get my attention.
I have a few I keep watching (until they end or are cancelled; you can find most of those on my Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/sallyember), but this post is about new shows.
Then, there are this Fall’s new shows. For a somewhat unbiased summary of each new show, check TV Guide: http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview/new-shows.aspx
Since my mom and I are sampling some of the new shows, I kindly provide my /our recommendations and opinions, below.
#unexpectedlygreatTV: Red Band Society premiered this week and blew me away. My mom didn’t want to watch it since it features adolescents and she isn’t so interested (well, she is over 80…). But I have a soft spot for teens and decided to give it a try. It has Octavia Spencer and Dave Annabelle, it is produced by Steven Spielberg: how bad could it be?
#RedBandSociety is astonishingly excellent: script, acting, story, values, humor, poignancy, pathos, hope. It’s got it all. The promos (branding it as “‘The Breakfast Club’ in a hospital” does NOT do it justice) are not sufficient.
Give it a watch. I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprise. Bring tissues. BTW: I am not paid or compensated in any way for this review. I HATE Fox news, but Fox TV is often great.
Episode 2 was also good, but not as good as Episode 1, BTW. http://www.fox.com/red-band-society/
#asgoodasexpectedTV: Madam Secretary was excellent. If you like great acting, scripting, suspense and twists in your political dramas, watch #MadamSecretary!
Kudos to Tea Leoni for picking, co-producing and starring in this intriguing show and to producer Barbara Hall for bringing another of her favorites from other shows into this one: great to see Tim Daly again. Enjoying the relationship between his character and Tea’s (married to each other).
Give this one a chance. http://www.cbs.com/shows/madam-secretary/
#reallylikethisshow Forever has an interesting premise, a good-to-excellent cast, and Sherlock-like mysteries/crimes to solve. Well-timed flashbacks give just enough to tantalize and inform slightly. What’s not to like?
Good to see Judd Hirsch, again (liked him in NUMBERS), and I like the dynamic between him and Ioan Gruffudd (the lead). Their actual relationship becomes apparent and is fascinating. Ioan Gruffudd and the police detective, Alana De La Garza, have great potential as well.
Also interesting to see one of the former interns from BONES working in another morgue-like setting (Joel David Moore) and Lorraine Toussaint in another role as a high-up police officer.
Give #Forever a whirl! Both the pilot and Episode 2 (playing in the same week for inexplicable reasons) were fun. http://abc.go.com/shows/forever
#fantasticTV Scorpion delivers, bigtime, especially if you like harrowing, fast-car and airplane antics, last-minute rescues and strange combinations of characters and plot. I like the “true-story” basis, with the backstory and complicated relationship between the Robert Patrick character (loved his irascible self on the X-FILES and his odd-ball, shapeshifting father on TRUE BLOOD, among other roles) and one of the leads,
Elyes Gabel.
Great to see Katherine McPhee in a non-singing, maternal-figure role and getting to play an action heroine as well. So far, so great! Had some great actors in bit parts for the Pilot which bodes well for future episodes.
Plus, the co-producers/exec producers is like a who’s who of film and TV producers that spans SCRUBS to STAR TREK to THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN to FAST & FURIOUS. Unique plot and effects combos can come from that crew!
If you liked and miss TOUCH, ALPHAS, SNEAKERS (film), and/or other ensemble cast of misfits shows in which they each showcase their talents/skills and solve problems/crimes and save lives, #Scorpion is for you. http://www.cbs.com/shows/scorpion/
#ShondaRhimesdoesitagainTV I predict that Shonda Rhimes has another hit on her hands with How To Get Away with Murder. Strong female leads, especially African-Americans, are her specialty: THANKS for those, Shonda: great storylines, interesting supporting characters, fascinating peeks into medicine, politics, and now, law. Throw in parenting, marriage, college/graduate school, small business dynamics and sex and you can see the formula but it doesn’t feel formulaic at all.
I like the writing, by Peter Nowalk. Viola Davis was provided a nuanced, deeply troubled character to play: a brilliant role that Davis plays to perfection. Good to see [a very much blonder and thinner (why?)] Liza Weil (loved her in Gilmore Girl, among other series and guest appearances), Alfie Enoch (from Harry Potter movies, now all grown up and calling himself Alfred) again along with many surprise “new” and not-overused faces in this diverse cast.
If you like courtroom/law and mixed-age dramas, you’ll like this! #Howtogetawaywithmurder does not disappoint! http://abc.go.com/shows/how-to-get-away-with-murder
#triteandprobablycancelledTV The Mysteries of Laura, with Debra Messing, should have been better. Instead, the script was predicatable and trite, many of the fine actors were wasted, there were too many car chase sequences, and her single-mom-as-crack-detective is not credible, if only because she keeps leaving her NOT pre-school (but billed as such) twin hellion boys with random staff and who knows whom to race off to solve crimes. Sure.
And no one predicted (SPOILER ALERT) that her soon-to-be-ex is her new boss. Right.
Messing looks great and has wonderful acting chops but is wasted in this travesty of a cop show. Give it a miss.
I did watch Episode 2, just so no one could say I made a hasty judgment. It was marginally better than Episode 1, but only in that they kept the fake pre-school-aged kids mostly out of it. Otherwise, The Mysteries of Laura is now is a parody of itself, cliches abounding. Too bad.
My prediction: #MysteriesofLaura will run probably 4 shows, tops. http://www.nbc.com/the-mysteries-of-laura
#beentheredonethatbetterthanthisTV Gotham was disappointing in almost every way. First of all, do the writers not understand anachronisms? E.g.:
1) There would NEVER have been any people of color, much less any women, in high-ranking positions in either the police or organized crime syndicates when the character of Bruce Wayne was a child, yet this Episode, the pilot, had several in the PD and one in crime.
2) Black women in that era did not dye parts of their hair bright red (probably didn’t even have the materials to do so), yet one character in this Episode had hair like that.
3) The opening scene, intended to make the character of Jim Gordon as a rookie seem brave and clever just came off as his being arrogant and stupid, especially since the anti-psychotic pills the criminal was clamoring for did not exist in that era; that criminal, if he had been that psychotic, would have been in residential care (pre-Reagan, they ALL were); and, the PLASTIC bottle of aspirin did not exist yet, either.
Sheesh.
Next, why is the character of Alfred suddenly more Australian than British? Was that an accident or are the writers that ignorant of the original Batman story?
Finally, the story was improbably, boring, and untrue to the origins in too many other ways. Whenever any TV show or film spends a lot of time in “chases” or creepy entrances, we know they are short on plot and low on in-depth characterization.
Too bad. The original story and premise would have made great TV. Oh, wait; they already DID movies and a TV show about Batman. http://www.fox.com/gotham/
#anotherdisappointingspinoffTV NCIS New Orleans is not only disappointing but completely unnecessary. There was not one original moment in the entire first Episode of the series even though NCIS and NCIS Los Angelesgave this series a running start and even had many of the characters and the setting pre-trialed last year on NCIS.
What a waste of the many talents of Scott Bakula (he wasn’t even playing the piano live in the jazz music scene!), C.C.H. Pounder and the rest of the cast, writers, crew and director. Too bad. No wonder they don’t look happy in this promo shot…
Even staunch fans of NCIS‘ other two shows, like my mom, didn’t like it. She and I agreed that it was BORING.
I give it a half season at best. #NCISNO is a no-go. http://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis-new-orleans/
October 2 and beyond:
#lookingforwardtoTV
Kathyrn Heigl’s new drama, State of Affairs (Mon., 11/17)
#suretoskipTV
Kate Walsh’s sure-to-be-short-lived “comedy,” Bad Judge (Thurs., 10/2, NBC)
#mightgiveitatryTV
Cristela Alonzo’s semi-autobiographical comedy, Cristela (Fri., 10/10, ABC)
#neverina1000yearsTV
Jane the Virgin (Mon., 10/13, CW) offends me just by the title.
Shows I already Skipped and I am not Sorry:
A – Z
The Affair
Black-ish
Constantine
The Flash
Gracepoint
Happy Land
Intruders
Kingdom
Manhattan Love Story
Marry Me
The McCarthys
Mulaney
Selfie
Stalker
Survivor’s Remorse
Utopia
Z-Nation
Filed under: Opinions Tagged: 2014, Fall Shows, new TV shows, Television, TV
September 29, 2014
Latest #Author #Interview with Sally Ember, Ed.D., on Connie Dunn’s page, goes live TODAY!
Thanks for a fun and great #interview, Connie, conducted/recorded on September 4, 2014, despite numerous technical difficulties!
My interview goes live TODAY, September 29, 2014. We talked about #writing, #science-fiction, The Spanners Series and its #aliens, the Series’ #cover art and Aidana Willowraven as the cover artist,
my #utopian views, writing in the present tense to emphasize the #multiverse/#paranormal/#psi elements, #science/#research, book #reviews, “crowd creating” and other #collaborations, ghost writing, #series writing, writing across #genres and for multiple audiences/age groups, inspiration/creativity, my writing history (from age 9 on), #editing, #indie publishing and much more.
http://publishwithconnie.com/mondaymorning is the link to Connie’s website. Please visit, look at her books and what she offers to authors!
From there, you can go listen to my interview: http://publishwithconnie.com/teleseminar-dashboard/sally-ember/
Filed under: All Volumes, Indie or Self-Publishing, Interviews with Sally as Author, Personal stories, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, Themes from The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Thought Things Would Change, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III, Volume IV, Writing Tagged: aliens, Author Interview, Clara Branon, ebook, editing, free, indie authors, Many Worlds Collective, meditation, multiverse, paranormal, Psi, Sally Ember, sci-fi, self-publishing, speculative fiction, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, utopian, Volume I, WillowRaven, writing
September 27, 2014
My post for the Goodreads’ Genre-Specific Review Group’s Fall 2014 Blog Hop Tour: “COMFORT” is this year’s theme.
Do you like to read and/or write: mysteries, fantasy, science-fiction, romance, children’s, young adult (YA) or any combination of these? Genre is what we call those types of stories and novels, and if you say “YES!” then this Blog Tour is for YOU! Visit, read, comment, LIKE, share, reblog!
My “COMFORT” post appears today, on Sept. 27, so visit other sites, below, also!
THE COMFORT THAT COMES FROM WRITING AND READING
UTOPIAN SPECULATIVE FICTION
by Sally Ember, Ed.D., author of The Spanners Series ebooks, blogger and host of CHANGES, almost-weekly Google + Hangout On Air (HOA)
When I’m discouraged, disheartened, heartbroken, experiencing achingly painful unrequited love, unemployed, displaced, uprooted, tired, in physical pain, lonely, confused, disempowered and in despair about the state of world affairs, our climate and so much more, what do I do? I write my way out of this mess into my imagined (and actual, according to multiverse theories) utopian near-futures in The Spanners Series ebooks (full-length novels) and short stories.
Why be “here” when I can be in a better “there”?
Some of the themes and problems I “tackle” and “solve” or at least improve via my plotting in The Spanners Series via extraordinary applications of science, intervention of the paranormal, including the newly or not-yet invented and/or the embellished, are:
homophobia/heterosexism and gender biases due to intolerance and ignorance of actual diversity in sexual orientation and gender identities
violence, depression, and anti-social tendencies caused/fueled by excesses of testosterone and other imbalances in body/brain chemistry
species-ism and the inability of humans to communicate well with and respect other species (on Earth and elsewhere)
habits of thinking that embed humans in linearity, singularity and other mistakes due to misunderstandings of physics and/or lack of knowledge of simultaneous time and the multiverse
motion/travel sickness and altitude sickness
political corruption and inappropriate, sociopathic leaders in positions of power and authority
greed and unequal distributions of all finite and necessary resources
unequal access to education, health care, housing, training and opportunities
inability to recognize and honor multiple forms of intelligence, talent and usefulness among individuals of many species, especially humans
intolerance and hatred due to limited or incorrect understanding of facts (of origins, science, truth) and lack of acceptance of differences in beliefs and values that inspires violent attempts to stay entrenched despite evidence to the contrary
fear-based decision-making and false narrowing of options due to willful or accidental ignorance of choices
and even more.
It is SO MUCH FUN as well as comforting to write my way out of difficulties we face into better circumstances, situations and experiences.
Or, if I’m not in the mood to write, then I go searching for others’ “solutions.” I need to read some stories with a “happy ending” or immerse myself in other uplifting genre or humorous modern fiction to COMFORT my spirit during these awful times. Fiction’s positive possibilities are endless: the love is sublime, the heroes and “good” guys/women prevail, the “bad” guys/women are caught/stopped. Aaahh.
image from: http://hopelovehappyendings.blogspot.com
I rely on getting to the beneficial outcomes: all is made right by the last page (or as right as it can be). I sigh with contentment, relief, happiness as I read/write.
What about you? What in your writing and reading comforts YOU? What do you look for in genre fiction to soothe your spirit?
Leave comments and suggestions here, please! And, don’t forget to visit and comment on the other sites’ posts in this blog hop tour! Thanks!
Goodreads’ Genre-Specific Review Group’s Fall 2014 Blog Hop Tour: “COMFORT” is this year’s theme.
TOUR DATES and SITES
(Posts are still LIVE or available in archives on and after the listed date, so visit any time!)
September 23 – http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com
September 24 – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/387792.Marilyn_Peake/blog
— http://www.marilynpeake.com
September 25 – http://rjcrayton.com/blog
September 26 – http://www.susandayauthor.com
September 27 – http://www.sallyember.com/blog
— http://michelle-abbott.weebly.com/
Filed under: All Volumes, Blogging and others' content, Science, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, Themes from The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Thought Things Would Change, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III, Writing Tagged: aliens, comfort, romance, sci-fi, speculative fiction, The Spanners Series, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, writing
September 25, 2014
Pay It Forward – “Most-Read” Books List
This list is upsetting on so many levels I can’t think where to begin. Only three female writers out of 10, to start. The first two of the 10 are compilations of fantasies, stories, pithy statements and/or doctrines that have relied/still rely on forced conversion to gain readers and have no actual author. Four of the books are fantasies that are arguably NOT well-written to the point of being awful examples of writing/editing. One is “nonfiction” yet makes ridiculous claims, among them that reading it can help readers “get rich”: really?
I’m disappointed with most readers when I see this list.
Originally posted on Vampires, Crime and Angels...Eclectic Me:
Have you read them all?
See the original article here.
Filed under: Writing
Pay It Forward – Most Read
This list is upsetting on so many levels I can’t think where to begin. Only three female writers out of 10, to start. The first two of the 10 are compilations of fantasies, stories, pithy statements and/or doctrines that have relied/still rely on forced conversion to gain readers and have no actual author. Four of the books are fantasies that are arguably NOT well-written to the point of being awful examples of writing/editing. One is “nonfiction” yet makes ridiculous claims, among them that reading it can help readers “get rich”: really?
I’m disappointed with most readers when I see this list.
Originally posted on Vampires, Crime and Angels...Eclectic Me:
Have you read them all?
See the original article here.
Filed under: Writing
