Sally Ember's Blog, page 38

Happy Holidays! BUY BOOKS! Special Sale! #SciFi #Romance #Utopian #TheSpannersSeries

Happy Holidays! BUY BOOKS! Special Sale! #SciFi #Romance #Utopian #TheSpannersSeries

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10% off paperbacks on CreateSpace for the first three Volumes in The Spanners Series!

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The Spanners Series by Sally Ember, Ed.D., offers something like… 

—having the authors Tom Robbins and Ursula K. Le Guin collaborate, 

—inviting (since all time is simultaneous, this could work) Robert Heinlein, Zenna Henderson, Kate Wilhelm and Sherri Tepper to add to /revise the Volumes, 

—then getting advice and fact-checking from scientists Brian Green, Michio Kaku, Max Tegmark, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lisa Randall 

—and wisdom from the spiritual leaders, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Pema Chödron, Rabbi Zalman Schachter and Cantor Linda Hirschhorn, prior to publication!

Use CreateSpace Coupon Code GJDS99JV for 12/9 – 31/16 for any or all three:

Volume I, This Changes Everything, usually $17.99, save $1.80 http://www.CreateSpace.com/5837347 

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, usually $19.99, save $2.00 http://www.CreateSpace.com/5844431

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, usually $19.99, save $2.00 http://www.CreateSpace.com/5844474

http://www.sallyember.com for book trailers, author interviews, excerpts, blurbs, more!

OR, use Kindle MatchBook to purchase the ebook along with the paperback on Amazon for any of the three Spanners Series’ Volumes and get a discount on both: each ebook is only $1.99 (but Volume I is already permafree). Vol I = B00HFELTG8; Vol II = B00KU5Q7KC; Vol III = B0177Z1KRM at http://www.amazon.com

OR, go to Smashwords to get The Spanners Series Volume II or III ebooks in other formats besides for Kindle readers (Volume I is permafree), or go directly to the other vendors’ sites to purchase ebooks (nook for Barnes and Noble; iTunes for Apple; Kobo). Search under “Sally Ember” or “Spanners.”

All from [image error] by Sally Ember, Ed.D.

Filed under: Indie or Self-Publishing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Timult Books, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III Tagged: books, coupon, CreateSpace, Discount coupon, holidays, Kindle Matchbook, Sale, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, The Spanners Series

A Jewish Buddhist at Christmas/ Chanukah/ Solstice Time

A re-posting, with some minor changes:

Christmas and I are not friends. We are not even good neighbors. I was raised Jewish in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods, school systems, summer camps and other social encounters. This made me an outsider in an insider world every December.

Despite about 75% Jewish population in our local public schools, the relentless Christian-ness of the USA permeated. Most of our teachers and all of the school administrators were not Jewish. Therefore, we Jewish students were forced to learn and sing Christmas carols alongside our Christian classmates every year in music classes and choirs in our classes and assemblies. I mouthed but would not sing songs with lyrics like “Jesus, our God,” or “Christ, our King.” I refused to “celebrate,” but I would go along as required.

I hated it.

All of my childhood and most of my young adult life, I also hated Christmas. I hated the trees, the lights, the candy canes, and, especially, the incessant carols on muzak almost everywhere we went. I hated the silly fashion and accessory affectations (reindeer hats, Santa sweaters, elves in snow globes on chains, fake snow on windowsills) and the massively wasteful appropriation of space and time every December. This extravaganza has gotten worse over the decades, now beginning prior to Hallowe’en and including some year-round “Santa Villages,” “Christmas” stores and such.

Appalling.

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Christian adults still post and say ridiculous, ignorant things to me and other non-Christians, like: “Christmas isn’t religious; it’s American.” And, “It’s not a Christmas tree. It’s a holiday tree.” Or, my personal favorite, “You can celebrate Christmas and still be Jewish. I know lots of people who do!”

I belong to several authors/writers groups online and in person, and without exception, they are filled with eager, interesting people. Except, at Christmas. Then, they devolve into ignorant, unaware bigots who claim things like: “If we call it a ‘Holiday’ sale instead of a ‘Christmas’ sale, we’ll get fewer hits on Google”; and, the most appalling, “We did it your way last year. This year, it’s a ‘Christmas’ sale/program/event.”

The most insulting? “You are included if you feel included. Your choice.”

For every kid who feels oppressed by the pervasive and invasive Christmassification of everything for almost two months every year, it’s difficult to separate hating the holiday-ness from despising the people who rightfully celebrate it. I often did/do not succeed in making that distinction. I breathe a sigh of relief every December 26.

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Yippee!

I celebrated the Solstice for a few years. We were tentatively friends, paganism and I. I even created a Solstice “advent” calendar with thirteen paper strips as “rays” of the sun to be unfolded, one on each of the thirteen days prior to December 21. I liked this because each “ray” jad written on it a quality or positivity we wanted to affirm or invite into our lives. That was fun and interesting, and I liked the symbols and intention, but Solstice and I did not remain friends, either.

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For about twenty years, after our son was born, we—my son’s Christian (Episcopalian-raised)/Sufi and somewhat Muslim father and sometimes members of his family—celebrated a kind of Christmas, usually when at one of their homes.

For two years in the late 1980s, when I worked as the Director of Religious Education for the local Unitarian Universalist “Church,” I/we “celebrated” several December holidays, including Kwanzaa. i even went to church and sang Christmas carols and enjoyed it a little, holding a lit candle and the whole shebang.

Mostly, I hostessed Chanukah parties for my mostly Christian friends and half-Jewish son (not Jewish at all, except by birth). and and then my Jewish/fake Mormon/Buddhist female partner. I did this primarily because I liked to make and eat Chanukah food and give presents. Also, my mom (bless her) mailed (from Missouri) a huge box every year after our son was born that had eight gifts for him and many for us (some were small, like a pair of socks, but still: very welcomed!). So, we needed a way to spread out the opening of these and other gifts so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed and not appreciate any of them properly. I created and shared an English lyric about visualizing miracles to be sung when lighting the Chanukah candles (since the religious parts of the Jewish holidays and I parted ways when I was about ten years old) for each of the eight nights.

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I tried to make Chanukah mine. It only kind of worked, and only for a while (mostly for the years that our son lived in my house or was visiting for the holiday). But, since it wasn’t an authentic, deep relationship, Chanukah and I gradually drifted apart.

Partly, this drift occurred because I became a Buddhist. That made “the holiday season” even more irrelevant. I not only stopped celebrating Christmas, but don’t do much with Chanukah or Solstice any longer, either.

Each fall, when I can afford it, I buy some gifts for friends and family members (honoring whatever they celebrate), and wish people well for whatever they celebrate. But, I also try to keep to myself on the actual days of these holidays, since they’re not “mine.” I really do not celebrate or believe in them.

I do not miss these holidays. I do not feel left out. I do not feel angry. I do not feel deprived, alone, or otherwise sad or depressed. These just aren’t my holidays. I view them with slight amusement and a keen detachment over the last fifteen years, as if I were visiting from another culture (which I kind of am).

This year it is a little more difficult to escape both major holidays because Chanukah and Christmas are coinciding on the calendar: Christmas Eve is the first night of Chanukah and it ends on New Year’s Eve for the first time, ever, in my life. I don’t have much money, but I do want to buy some gifts for loved ones and this is as good of an excuse as any to do so.

I’ve gone through despising, hating, avoiding, celebrating, enjoying, participating, encouraging, hostessing, attending, bowing out to relinquishing December holidays over my six+ decades. I’m quite happy, now, taking the parts I like (mostly some good food and a few songs, gift-giving and receiving, days off) and ignoring the rest.

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Please don’t take it personally that I don’t participate in or celebrate any holidays in the fall “holiday season” the ways you do.

Enjoy your holiday(s). Really.

Just don’t impose them on me. And, by the way, I hate Capitalism, for real.

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Filed under: Personal stories Tagged: Buddhism, Buddhist, Chanukah, choir, Christmas, family, Hannukka, holidays, Jewish, Sally Ember, Solstice

Happy Holidays! BUY BOOKS! Special Sale! #SciFi #Romance #Utopian #TheSpannersSeries

Happy Holidays! BUY BOOKS! Special Sale! #SciFi #Romance #Utopian #TheSpannersSeries

10% off paperbacks on CreateSpace for the first three Volumes in The Spanners Series!

The Spanners Series by Sally Ember, Ed.D., offers something like… 

—having the authors Tom Robbins and Ursula K. Le Guin collaborate, 

—inviting (since all time is simultaneous, this could work) Robert Heinlein, Zenna Henderson, Kate Wilhelm and Sherri Tepper to add to /revise the Volumes, 

—then getting advice and fact-checking from scientists Brian Green, Michio Kaku, Max Tegmark, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lisa Randall 

—and wisdom from the spiritual leaders, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Pema Chödron, Rabbi Zalman Schachter and Cantor Linda Hirschhorn, prior to publication!

Use CreateSpace Coupon Code GJDS99JV for 12/9 – 31/16 for any or all three:

Volume I, This Changes Everything, usually $17.99, save $1.80 http://www.CreateSpace.com/5837347 

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, usually $19.99, save $2.00 http://www.CreateSpace.com/5844431

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, usually $19.99, save $2.00 http://www.CreateSpace.com/5844474

http://www.sallyember.com for book trailers, author interviews, excerpts, blurbs, more!

OR, use Kindle MatchBook to purchase the ebook along with the paperback on Amazon for any of the three Spanners Series’ Volumes and get a discount on both: each ebook is only $1.99 (but Volume I is already permafree). Vol I = B00HFELTG8; Vol II = B00KU5Q7KC; Vol III = B0177Z1KRM at http://www.amazon.com

OR, go to Smashwords to get The Spanners Series Volume II or III ebooks in other formats besides for Kindle readers (Volume I is permafree), or go directly to the other vendors’ sites to purchase ebooks (nook for Barnes and Noble; iTunes for Apple; Kobo). Search under “Sally Ember” or “Spanners.”

All from by Sally Ember, Ed.D.

Filed under: Indie or Self-Publishing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Timult Books, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III Tagged: books, coupon, CreateSpace, Discount coupon, holidays, Kindle Matchbook, Sale, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, The Spanners Series

December 3 – 4, 2016, Science-Fiction & Fantasy #FREE #EBOOKS and #SALE!

December 3 – 4, 2016, Science-Fiction & Fantasy #FREE #EBOOKS and #SALE! on SF & F, by Patty Jansen. The Spanners Series’ Volume I on ALL ebook retail sites is FREE. Volume II and Volume III #ebooks are $3.99; #CreateSpace #paperbacks 25% off through 12/31/16! http://pattyjansen.com/promo/

Look for Volume I, This Changes Everything, free ebook in the Science Fiction or Fantasy Romance category for all vendors (4th grouping of covers when you scroll down for each vendor).

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If you haven’t gotten my free ebook or used the CreateSpace coupons to get GREATLY discounted paperbacks, DO IT THIS MONTH! See below for details and coupon codes.

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The Spanners Series first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW! Proud member of Clean Indie Reads #CR4U and Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network #FSFnet

The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Smashwords has The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) and the links to all formats for all major ebook vendors are on the sale site SF & F as well.

Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!

Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, fall/winter holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!

The paperbacks of all three Volumes are 25% off on CreateSpace! See below for details and coupon codes for each of the Volumes.

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This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.

Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. 

In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?

This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.

Are YOU ready for the changes?

Volume I, This Changes Everything:

Ebooks are PERMAFREE on every major site. See http://pattyjansen.com/promo/ and click on the logo for your preferred ebook vendor. Then, scroll down to the 4th grouping and look for my cover. Click on it and it will go right to the vendor’s ebook page.

You can then navigate from there to the other two Volumes’ ebook pages for that vendor, or return here to get the CreateSpace discount codes for purchasing paperbacks of any of the three Volumes throughout December.

Volume I’s paperbacks are now $13.49, 25% off the regular price of $17.99, on CreateSpace, using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5837347 

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This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.

Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.

How would YOU do with the changes?

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:

Volume II’s eBOOKS are $3.99 everywhere ebooks are sold and in every format on #Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969 

Volume II’s paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844431 

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This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series

Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.

Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.

Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?

What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:

EBOOKS are $3.99 everywhere ebooks are sold and in every format on #Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588331

Volume III’s paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844474

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The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks on CreateSpace

Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books

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REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com

For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com

Filed under: All Volumes, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Timult Books, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III Tagged: #CR4U, coupon, coupon code, CreateSpace, December, Discount, ebooks, fantasy, free, FSFnet, holidays, Sale, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, science fiction, 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

December 3 – 4, 2016, Science-Fiction & Fantasy #FREE #EBOOKS and #SALE!

December 3 – 4, 2016, Science-Fiction & Fantasy #FREE #EBOOKS and #SALE! on SF & F, by Patty Jansen. The Spanners Series’ Volume I on ALL ebook retail sites is FREE. Volume II and Volume III #ebooks are $3.99; #CreateSpace #paperbacks 25% off through 12/31/16! http://pattyjansen.com/promo/

Look for Volume I, This Changes Everything, free ebook in the Science Fiction or Fantasy Romance category for all vendors (4th grouping of covers when you scroll down for each vendor).

If you haven’t gotten my free ebook or used the CreateSpace coupons to get GREATLY discounted paperbacks, DO IT THIS MONTH! See below for details and coupon codes.

The Spanners Series first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW! Proud member of Clean Indie Reads #CR4U and Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network #FSFnet

The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Smashwords has The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) and the links to all formats for all major ebook vendors are on the sale site SF & F as well.

Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!

Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, fall/winter holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!

The paperbacks of all three Volumes are 25% off on CreateSpace! See below for details and coupon codes for each of the Volumes.

This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.

Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. 

In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?

This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.

Are YOU ready for the changes?

Volume I, This Changes Everything:

Ebooks are PERMAFREE on every major site. See http://pattyjansen.com/promo/ and click on the logo for your preferred ebook vendor. Then, scroll down to the 4th grouping and look for my cover. Click on it and it will go right to the vendor’s ebook page.

You can then navigate from there to the other two Volumes’ ebook pages for that vendor, or return here to get the CreateSpace discount codes for purchasing paperbacks of any of the three Volumes throughout December.

Volume I’s paperbacks are now $13.49, 25% off the regular price of $17.99, on CreateSpace, using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5837347 

This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.

Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.

How would YOU do with the changes?

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:

Volume II’s eBOOKS are $3.99 everywhere ebooks are sold and in every format on #Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969 

Volume II’s paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844431 

This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series

Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.

Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.

Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?

What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:

EBOOKS are $3.99 everywhere ebooks are sold and in every format on #Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588331

Volume III’s paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844474

The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks on CreateSpace

Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books

REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com

For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com

Filed under: All Volumes, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Timult Books, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III Tagged: #CR4U, coupon, coupon code, CreateSpace, December, Discount, ebooks, fantasy, free, FSFnet, holidays, Sale, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, science fiction, 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

Amazon’s Even Newer Reviewing Rules Will Book Reviews Be Affected?

#Amazon reviewing rules: update and concetns5/questions.

happymeerkatreviews

WARNING: Amazon.com have updated their review guidelines…Again!  Along with the already restrictive guidelines I have discussed previously in this article – Amazon’s New Reviewing Rules – Could it Affect Authors in the Future?  But now they’ve updated these guidelines yet again by adding additional rules near the bottom.  These rules are on amazon US, the UK and other sites may or may not adopt these rules in full but in my experience almost all rules are adopted given a bit of time.

The new rules can be read here but here are the new points and be warned if you are an amazon reviewer:

If your review is removed or rejected because it does not comply with our guidelines concerning promotional content, you may not resubmit a review on the same product, even if the resubmitted review includes different content.
Reviews may only include URLs or links to other products…

View original post 810 more words

Filed under: Writing

Thanksgiving dinner and other help for low-income or isolated folks in the USA, from nationwide site, “Aunt Bertha: Connecting People and Programs”

Share! RT! Thanksgiving dinner and other help for low-income or isolated folks in the USA, from nationwide site, “Aunt Bertha: Connecting People and Programs”

For help with finding free meals, job training, housing and other kinds of assistance, searchable by zip code, for low-income people and/or those without family or a place to have #Thanksgiving, nationwide, use the “Aunt Bertha” site, here : https://www.auntbertha.com/

TED Blog

No, Aunt Bertha will not pinch your cheeks. That’s because she is not actually a person. Aunt Bertha is a service, created by TED Fellow Erine Gray, that connects people in need of food, healthcare and housing with the wide variety of programs available in their area.

This week, Aunt Bertha is aiming to connect as many people as possible with a free and hearty Thanksgiving meal. To do so, Aunt Bertha created a database of more than 1,000 places in the United States that are serving free meals—complete with turkey—over the course of this week. At AuntBertha.com/Thanksgiving2014, you’ll find a searchable map of free meals available in your city, along with details about how to get more information.

Aunt Bertha has also cracked open the data to look at when the most free meals are taking place (hint: on November, 27 at 11am) and what kind of organizations…

View original post 252 more words

Filed under: Support for Good Causes Tagged: assistance, Aunt Bertha, housing, job training, jobs, low-income, meals, Thanksgiving

TONIGHT! Nov. 17, 6 – 8 PM: Local Author Open House for Over 100 Authors! near St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Local Author Open House for Over 100 Authors!

TONIGHT! November 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Spencer Road Branch of the St. Charles Public Library, 427 Spencer Road, St. Peters, MO 63376

(near St. Louis, Missouri, USA)

Many prizes, discounts, free and low-priced books and coupons for ebooks, just in time for your holiday shopping! I know it’s on a weeknight, but it’s early enough that you can come and still get home in time for evening activities!

We eat local, we shop local, so let’s read local! Don’t miss the St. Charles City-County Library District’s Local Author Open House. At this one-of-a-kind event, more than 100 local authors will be gathered in one place to sell and autograph their books, and to talk to visitors about how they got their start.

The 2016 Local Author Open House, now in its 8th year, is being held on Thursday, November 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Spencer Road Branch, 427 Spencer Road, St. Peters, MO 63376.

“This gathering of so many local authors in one place, is an event that you will not find anywhere else in the area,” said St. Charles City-County Library District Adult Services Manager Sara Nielsen. “We are excited to be able to help people discover the many authors that live right here in our own community.”

The St. Charles City-County Library District offers a special collection that features the work of local authors. This collection is housed at the Middendorf-Kredell Branch, or you can browse and reserve a title online.

To access the collection online, go to http://www.youranswerplace.org/specialservices and select “Local Author Collection.”

Refreshments will be provided, and attendance prizes will be given out.

Register online at youranswerplace.org or call the Spencer Road Branch at 636-441-0522.

Participating authors include:

of course, Sally Ember, Ed.D. – This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III, and Volumes I and II of The Spanners Series, with special discounts to attendees for purchases at or via the Fair: visit my table! Or, visit http://www.sallyember.com/Spanners for book trailers, discount coupons, blurbs, covers and more!

and

Debbie Manber Kupfer – P.A.W.S. former guest on my video talk show, Episode 27! Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES conversations between authors’ guests any time: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq Learn more about and get yourself or recommend someone to be scheduled as a guest: https://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/

and

Fedora Amis – Mayhem at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

Peggy Archer – Name That Dog! Puppy Poems from A to Z

Linda Austin – Battlefield Doc: Memoirs of a Korean War Combat Medic

Bradley Bates – Trinity

Jessica Marie Baumgartner – Embracing Entropy

Stephanie Bearce – Stan Musial

Jenny Beilsmith – The Change: Insights into Self-Empowerment

Chris Bostic – Savage Hills

John Bryant – Something of an Ordinary Life

Marvin Byrd – Make it Plain – Keys to being a successful high school student

Lynn Cahoon – A Story to Kill

Ann Chandonnet – Barn Raisings and Cemetery Cleanings: Frolics, Bees & Other Old Time Occasions for Good Food

Steven Clark – The Saint Louisans

Brad R. Cook – Iron Zulu, book II of The Iron Chronicles

Victoria Cosner – Missouri’s Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine

Liz Costanzo-Morrison – Flashback

James Creighton – Shark Bait: The “Misadventures” of an Oceanic Ferry Pilot

Suzanne DeWitt Hall – Rumplepimple

Eileen P. Duggan – The Not-Ready-for-Juilliard Players

Donna Duly Volkenannt – Chicken Soup for the Soul, Angels and Miracles

Jeanne Felfe – The Art of Healing – A Novel

T.W. Fendley – The Labyrinth of Time

Kristen Flood – Seeking Incandescence

William Flowers – William Flowers: Reflections Upon My First 3 Decades

Bridget Fogarty – Where My Heart Has Always Been

Cherita Ford – Leo, A Different World

Shyona Gaines – Broken

Marcia Gaye – Times They Were a’Changing

Lindsey Gendke – Ending the Pain: A True Story of Overcoming Depression

Linda Gilman – The Suffragette Takes a Husband

Judith Golightly – Billy’s Story – Every Parent’s Nightmare – The Loss of a Child

Ellen Harlie – Through Hell and out the other side

C.S. Hart – WindStone: The Secrets Within

Ann Hazelwood – Josephine’s Guest House Quilt

Judith Hennessey – First Rodeo

Mark Henrikson – Origins: Discovery

Michael Henry, Ph.D. – Ghosts of St. Charles

Bonney Hogue Patterson – The Devil Came to Town and the Angels Followed

Emily Humpherys – The Dark Ferret Society

D.L. Jenkinson – Faraway

Lisa Kelly – Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became

Valerie Battle Kienzle – What ‘s With St. Louis?

Robert Lampros – Intended Consequences

Louis Launer – Townies’ Turn: Molly’s Challenge

Lyssa Layne – My Calling

Dee Livers – Eva and Boo at the St. Louis Zoo

Terri Luckey – Kayndo Ring of Defense

Marita Malone – My Mother My Daughter: A Memoir

Ross Malone – Missouri’s Forgotten Heroes

Amalyn Martin – Max and Mila at the Beach

Jim Merkel – The Colorful Characters of St. Louis

Bryce Meyer – Of Oceans and Rivers, Fishes and Whales II

C. David Milles – Legacy

Sheree and Russell Nielsen – Folly Beach Dances

Jay Noel – Iron Warrior

Linda O’Connell – Chicken Soup, Living with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias

Chad Odom – The Last Archide: Warlord of Navarus Author’s Edition

Ellen Parker – Stare Down

Brian Peterson – Dragon’s Flight: Book III – Still Waters

Mark Pitts – The Good Shepherd and the Baaaad Sheep

Piper Punches – 60 Days

Robert Reason – SUCCESSFUL Sales People Listen To REASON

Rory Riddler – The Bitter Divide

Sioux Roslawski – Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be the Best You Can Be

Rebekah Ross – Nancy’s Numbers

Saturday Writers – Elements in Writing: Anthology #9

Tandy and Makenzie Schaller – Little Red Conquers Her Fear of Flying

Claudia Shelton – Slater’s Leverage

Angela Skurtu – Pre-Marital Counseling: A Guide for Clinicians

Christy Smith – Forever and Always

William Spradley – Cold Trail

Alaina Stanford – The Price of Magic, Hypnotic Journey Book 6

Jennifer Stolzer – Dog Park

Di Storm – YES SIR!

Doyle Suit – Baker Mountain

Izora Summers – Breaking the Silence from Shame: My Journey

Cleve Sylcox – Recluse – David Winter Mysteries

Steven Thomas – Aloha

Lugosi! Kimbra Townsend – My Neighbor’s a Real Turkey, Neighbor Series

Nancy Jo Van Hook – My Intimate Journey to Self

Pat Wahler – Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude

Ken Wheeler – Dead Spaces

Fred Wolf – Alexander the Good Dragon

Filed under: All Volumes, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Timult Books, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III Tagged: authors, book fair, books, discounts, ebooks, local authors, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, St. Louis, The Spanners Series

THIS THURS.!, Nov. 17, 6 – 8 PM: Local Author Open House for Over 100 Authors! near St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Local Author Open House for Over 100 Authors!

THIS THURS.!, November 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Spencer Road Branch, 427 Spencer Road, St. Peters, MO 63376

(near St. Louis, Missouri, USA)

Many prizes, discounts, free and low-priced books and coupons for ebooks, just in time for your holiday shopping! I know it’s on a weeknight, but it’s early enough that you can come and still get home in time for evening activities!

We eat local, we shop local, so let’s read local! Don’t miss the St. Charles City-County Library District’s Local Author Open House. At this one-of-a-kind event, more than 100 local authors will be gathered in one place to sell and autograph their books, and to talk to visitors about how they got their start.

The 2016 Local Author Open House, now in its 8th year, is being held on Thursday, November 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Spencer Road Branch, 427 Spencer Road, St. Peters, MO 63376.

“This gathering of so many local authors in one place, is an event that you will not find anywhere else in the area,” said St. Charles City-County Library District Adult Services Manager Sara Nielsen. “We are excited to be able to help people discover the many authors that live right here in our own community.”

The St. Charles City-County Library District offers a special collection that features the work of local authors. This collection is housed at the Middendorf-Kredell Branch, or you can browse and reserve a title online.

To access the collection online, go to http://www.youranswerplace.org/specialservices and select “Local Author Collection.”

Refreshments will be provided, and attendance prizes will be given out.

Register online at youranswerplace.org or call the Spencer Road Branch at 636-441-0522.

Participating authors include:

of course, Sally Ember, Ed.D. – This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III, and Volumes I and II of The Spanners Series, with special discounts to attendees for purchases at or via the Fair: visit my table! Or, visit http://www.sallyember.com/Spanners for book trailers, discount coupons, blurbs, covers and more!

and

Debbie Manber Kupfer – P.A.W.S. former guest on my video talk show, Episode 27! Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES conversations between authors’ guests any time: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq Learn more about and get yourself or recommend someone to be scheduled as a guest: https://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/

and

Fedora Amis – Mayhem at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

Peggy Archer – Name That Dog! Puppy Poems from A to Z

Linda Austin – Battlefield Doc: Memoirs of a Korean War Combat Medic

Bradley Bates – Trinity

Jessica Marie Baumgartner – Embracing Entropy

Stephanie Bearce – Stan Musial

Jenny Beilsmith – The Change: Insights into Self-Empowerment

Chris Bostic – Savage Hills

John Bryant – Something of an Ordinary Life

Marvin Byrd – Make it Plain – Keys to being a successful high school student

Lynn Cahoon – A Story to Kill

Ann Chandonnet – Barn Raisings and Cemetery Cleanings: Frolics, Bees & Other Old Time Occasions for Good Food

Steven Clark – The Saint Louisans

Brad R. Cook – Iron Zulu, book II of The Iron Chronicles

Victoria Cosner – Missouri’s Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine

Liz Costanzo-Morrison – Flashback

James Creighton – Shark Bait: The “Misadventures” of an Oceanic Ferry Pilot

Suzanne DeWitt Hall – Rumplepimple

Eileen P. Duggan – The Not-Ready-for-Juilliard Players

Donna Duly Volkenannt – Chicken Soup for the Soul, Angels and Miracles

Jeanne Felfe – The Art of Healing – A Novel

T.W. Fendley – The Labyrinth of Time

Kristen Flood – Seeking Incandescence

William Flowers – William Flowers: Reflections Upon My First 3 Decades

Bridget Fogarty – Where My Heart Has Always Been

Cherita Ford – Leo, A Different World

Shyona Gaines – Broken

Marcia Gaye – Times They Were a’Changing

Lindsey Gendke – Ending the Pain: A True Story of Overcoming Depression

Linda Gilman – The Suffragette Takes a Husband

Judith Golightly – Billy’s Story – Every Parent’s Nightmare – The Loss of a Child

Ellen Harlie – Through Hell and out the other side

C.S. Hart – WindStone: The Secrets Within

Ann Hazelwood – Josephine’s Guest House Quilt

Judith Hennessey – First Rodeo

Mark Henrikson – Origins: Discovery

Michael Henry, Ph.D. – Ghosts of St. Charles

Bonney Hogue Patterson – The Devil Came to Town and the Angels Followed

Emily Humpherys – The Dark Ferret Society

D.L. Jenkinson – Faraway

Lisa Kelly – Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became

Valerie Battle Kienzle – What ‘s With St. Louis?

Robert Lampros – Intended Consequences

Louis Launer – Townies’ Turn: Molly’s Challenge

Lyssa Layne – My Calling

Dee Livers – Eva and Boo at the St. Louis Zoo

Terri Luckey – Kayndo Ring of Defense

Marita Malone – My Mother My Daughter: A Memoir

Ross Malone – Missouri’s Forgotten Heroes

Amalyn Martin – Max and Mila at the Beach

Jim Merkel – The Colorful Characters of St. Louis

Bryce Meyer – Of Oceans and Rivers, Fishes and Whales II

C. David Milles – Legacy

Sheree and Russell Nielsen – Folly Beach Dances

Jay Noel – Iron Warrior

Linda O’Connell – Chicken Soup, Living with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias

Chad Odom – The Last Archide: Warlord of Navarus Author’s Edition

Ellen Parker – Stare Down

Brian Peterson – Dragon’s Flight: Book III – Still Waters

Mark Pitts – The Good Shepherd and the Baaaad Sheep

Piper Punches – 60 Days

Robert Reason – SUCCESSFUL Sales People Listen To REASON

Rory Riddler – The Bitter Divide

Sioux Roslawski – Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be the Best You Can Be

Rebekah Ross – Nancy’s Numbers

Saturday Writers – Elements in Writing: Anthology #9

Tandy and Makenzie Schaller – Little Red Conquers Her Fear of Flying

Claudia Shelton – Slater’s Leverage

Angela Skurtu – Pre-Marital Counseling: A Guide for Clinicians

Christy Smith – Forever and Always

William Spradley – Cold Trail

Alaina Stanford – The Price of Magic, Hypnotic Journey Book 6

Jennifer Stolzer – Dog Park

Di Storm – YES SIR!

Doyle Suit – Baker Mountain

Izora Summers – Breaking the Silence from Shame: My Journey

Cleve Sylcox – Recluse – David Winter Mysteries

Steven Thomas – Aloha

Lugosi! Kimbra Townsend – My Neighbor’s a Real Turkey, Neighbor Series

Nancy Jo Van Hook – My Intimate Journey to Self

Pat Wahler – Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude

Ken Wheeler – Dead Spaces

Fred Wolf – Alexander the Good Dragon

Filed under: All Volumes, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Timult Books, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III Tagged: authors, book fair, books, discounts, ebooks, local authors, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, St. Louis, The Spanners Series

Sample Saturday: Bayou Fire Sneak Peek — Sharon E. Cathcart

I had such a great response to including a music video with last week’s Sample Saturday that I decided to do it again. This is a tiny snippet from my current WIP. The song is “Tramp on the Street,” from a live performance by bluegrass greats Rose Maddox and Vern Williams. Enjoy! After supper, the […]

via Sample Saturday: Bayou Fire Sneak Peek — Sharon E. Cathcart

Filed under: Writing