Sally Ember's Blog, page 66
July 8, 2015
Same-Sex Marriage: It’s Not All Rainbows and Unicorns
A thoughtful, personal post about the impact of SCOTUS’ making marriage equality the law in the USA from a lesbian’s perspective. I would add my 2 cents, as a bi woman who has eschewed marriage for many reasons: it is NOT a great idea to get married.
Why? People of all backgrounds get married for specious and inadequate reasons, don’t keep their vows (or even understand the consequences of making vows), and divorce as easily as changing houses. I find all that very sad and that is makes “marriage” ridiculous.
That being said, anyone who wants to should be able to make that mistake, have that experience and/or enjoy that right and all the legal rights that come with it, any time, even in Vegas married by a fake Elvis. Period.
Best to you all,
Sally
Originally posted on Pamela Helberg:
I have some things to say that are not going to be very popular, Dear Reader. Seems to be a trend lately, but I’ve got to be true to myself. Here’s the deal. Yesterday morning when my running buddy texted me asking if I’d seen the SCOTUS ruling yet, my heart sank a little. Not because I don’t believe we need equality. I totally believe we do. I’m just not sure marriage is the best means to that end.
So, while I’m happy that so many people I know are happy, I’ve not rainbowed my Facebook picture. I probably won’t. And here’s why: I’m a failure at gay marriage. As I type this blog, my same-sex marriage is dissolving its way through the Whatcom County Court system. My wife and I (for technically we still are married) were together 15 years. We got legally married in December 2013, and our…
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A Letter I Wrote To Myself About Getting Fat
This is beautifully expressed and wonderful to read. Thanks for posting.
#loveyourbody #women #feminism #bodysize
Originally posted on Put On Your Happy Face:
Shall we talk about your body?
Your body, which used to be thinner. Which you took for granted, because it fitted into cheap, tight dresses. Your body, which took you up and down Brixton Hill, every day, twice a day, never unheralded by catcalls, the stream of men and their “Oh baby hey baby nice tits nice ass hey WHERE YOU GOING?”
Your body was a girl’s body, made from dancing and late nights and skipped dinners, of hopefulness and sleeplessness and sadness. It took care of itself, or rather, you didn’t care that it couldn’t. It wasn’t for you, and so you didn’t mind that you couldn’t always afford to feed and nurture it. The admiration of others was nourishment enough. You often went to bed feeling empty. You thought it was heartbreak. It was probably hunger.
Then your body became plump with love.
Late dinners and later breakfasts…
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“Let’s Talk #Anthologies: How To Put One Together And Sell It”: Guest Blog Post by Alesha Escobar
I am so pleased to welcome Alesha Escobar as my guest blogger today. Alesha is a #fantasy/science-fiction and thriller author who does “mash-ups.” Alesha also concocted the idea of and edited an anthology of stories related to time travel, one of my favorite topics!
To honor the release of the anthology, Masters of Time (MOT), this month and because many of the included topics appear in my own writing, via The Spanners Series, http://www.sallyember.com/Spanners-2, we both welcome your comments, questions and experiences! Join the conversation, please!
Because MOT includes contributions from one of my CHANGES conversations between authors Google+/Youtube Hangout On Air (HOA) guests who is guest blogging here next week (July 15, ) about MOT-related themes, Devorah (Dee) Fox, and a previous guest blogger, Samantha LaFantasie (November 5, 2014, “5 Ways to Deal with Writer’s Block”), I am especially glad to help publicize this new anthology.
For more information about how to reach Alesha and know more about her writing, to become a guest on CHANGES or become a guest blogger on my site, see below this post.
Thanks for visiting!
Let’s Talk #Anthologies: How To Put One Together And Sell It
by Alesha Escobar
If I could gather some of my favorite sci-fi and fantasy authors into one room, I’d politely inform them that they couldn’t leave until they’ve handed over a compilation of new, addictive stories for my reading pleasure.
Except George R.R. Martin. I’d only let him participate if he promised to stop killing characters.
One of the best things about settling into a good sci-fi/fantasy book is being taken away to an imaginative world, running alongside characters you care about and feeling their heartache and triumphs. An anthology is a tasty buffet of good stories, whether they’re short tales or full-length ones. They can treat you to the scope of a single author’s creativity or a varied range of authors collaborating with each other.
Last year in an end-of-the-year blog post, I predicted (as much as one could) that we would see an uptick in time-travel stories. I decided to put my money where my mouth was and compile a time-travel anthology, Masters of Time.
Now that I had the concept down (science-fiction and fantasy time travel), I knew I had to reach out to authors I respected and whose work I’ve enjoyed. Once I had that taken care of, then came in the “business aspect.”
If you’re an author thinking about contributing to an anthology or compiling one, I’ll share about this process in the hopes that it gives you an idea of the amount of work it takes, as well as how to avoid some pitfalls.
So, You’ve Got Your Book’s Theme and Your Author Line-up: Now What?
Contracts, Baby!
I’m the co-owner of a micro-press, Creative Alchemy, Inc. Not only was I going to contribute to this anthology as an author, I was also going to publish it through Creative Alchemy. As much as my co-authors love me, they have busy lives, projects, and bills to pay. They weren’t going to contribute a story for free, and as savvy writers, they wanted to know the royalties breakdown, publishing rights, and the length of time they’d have to wait before they could publish their individual stories on their own.
These are all valid concerns, so I drew up contracts in order to have it all settled and agreed upon. Even if the people you’re working with are friends or are trustworthy, still: have a signed contract. It won’t hurt.
Secure an Editor
I highly recommend that your editor is someone who is not a co-author of the project. It will help with objectivity, it will be one fewer thing you have to worry about, and it will guarantee that you’ll come out with a polished book. When compiling Masters of Time, our amazing editor, Charmaine, had no qualms with throwing us into the re-write dungeon when needed. Her insight, constructive criticism and feedback helped shape our work and mold it into something we could be proud of.
Set Deadlines
When is the first draft due? The second? And the last? Try to have a tentative release date scheduled as early as possible so you can work “backwards” toward that goal. Having specific dates written down also motivates writers and keep them accountable for turning in manuscripts.
Get a Professional to Format the Book
When six or more people email you their stories in MS Word format, they’re going to be coming in different fonts and sizes and with different formatting. Y’all know how picky Smashwords is with its vetting system and you don’t want to upload to Kindle Direct Publishing and use the preview feature only to find that your book looks horrible.
Save yourself the headache; once all the stories are compiled into a master document and edited, send it off to the formatter. This is also the perfect time to remind you to get your cover artist and work on the best image you believe will perfectly represent the book.
Dot Your I’s and Cross Your T’s
Don’t neglect things like spelling the co-authors’ names the way that they want them to be spelled. One of my co-authors always needs his middle initial included, otherwise he is confused with another author by the same name. Does your author want to go by a pen name? Make sure you’ve got that down as well.
Have your co-authors submit their bios, book links and social media profiles, storing them in Evernote or another handy place. It’s a pain to ask them twenty times for this information because you never bothered to copy it down.
Double-check each story title and make sure they’re the final choices. Sometimes authors will start off with one title (or a temporary one) and then change it for the final version. Everything should be up-to-date and consistent.
And, after all has been edited and formatted, do another comb-through!
Don’t Wait Until Release Day to Tell the World about It
I swear I still have friends and relatives shrugging their shoulders and telling me, “Sweetie, why didn’t you say you wrote a book? I didn’t know!” Oh, believe me, I’ve been saying it ;)
Many people, including interested readers, lead busy lives. The internet throws loads of information at us all day, every day, and our social media feeds get more crowded by the second. It’s not a surprise that some people miss the exciting news that your latest project has just been released—so don’t wait until release day to alert people.
Masters of Time will be officially released July 13, but I’ve been advertising the anthology since the beginning of this year. How? As soon as I could, I put the book on pre-order and alerted my email subscribers (if you don’t have an author newsletter, start one). Several book promotion sites will advertise your pre-order, and then there are some seriously cool book bloggers out there who will also be happy to do a cover reveal, an interview, feature or a review of an advanced copy. Bloggers also love giveaways, so if you have a giveaway attached to your book release, it’s a plus!
I’ve announced my anthology at my own blog as well as brought in and featured my co-authors. We’ve exchanged guest posts. I hit the social media pavement and let my Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ friends know. As we got closer to July, the advertising became more urgent, and I did all this while abiding by the principle of not spamming. It’s great to tell people about your book, but remember not to spam.
Also, while the bulk of your efforts may be through the internet, don’t neglect creating awareness in real life: is your local bookstore or library open to your holding an event? Can you share bookmarks, cards or flyers? Perhaps you can host a speaking engagement at your nearest book club or school campus? Get creative with the ways you can reach people and grow visibility for your book.
Now, Here Are Some Things I Already Wish I’d Done Differently
I wish I would’ve added a few more authors to the anthology. While this collection is an amazing read, there are six of us contributing short stories and it’s 100 pages total. Not bad, but some promotion sites are used to presenting 800-page book collections and boxsets to their audience. I should’ve considered book length as one of my goals, though in my gut I do believe I chose the right authors and stories. This won’t necessarily harm us, but it will definitely be part of my planning process next time.
I wish I would’ve done cross-critique among my co-authors. Though my in-house editor oversaw the book, I think there is additional value in authors reading one another’s contributing stories and offering feedback. This was done with the New Myths anthology I contributed to for HDWP Books, and it was an amazing process. It also lets your co-authors know what the other stories are about and it gives them room to mention these stories in interviews and blog posts.
I wish I hadn’t had a “this is my responsibility” mentality. My co-authors were (and are) willing and ready to boost promotion and cross-promote, but sometimes I shied away because I felt that I needed to “prove myself” and show that I knew how to market a book. I also didn’t want to disappoint them. Duh! There is strength in numbers. If you’re the publisher or “leader” of an anthology, there’s nothing wrong with being open to letting your cohorts help you pick up the marketing and promotion slack. In fact, it’s better to have them all on board, helping. We have various skills, gifts, contacts and audience sizes. Working together to promote the book will only benefit the group—you’re in this together.
Hopefully, sharing my anthology process has given you an idea of what it’s like and what you should plan for.
If you’re a reader, perhaps this has been a nice peek into the world of writing and what it takes to get that amazing, finished product out to you.
Thank you, Sally, for inviting me today, and I hope you all continue to be entertained and inspired by great stories!
About the Author
Alesha Escobar writes fantasy to support her chocolate habit. She enjoys everything from Tolkien and Dante to the Dresden Files and Hellblazer comics. She resides in California with her partner-in-crime, Luis Escobar, a 20-year art veteran on The Simpsons television show.
Alesha is the author of The Gray Tower Trilogy, an action-packed, supernatural spy thriller set in an alternate 1940’s. The trilogy books have hit the Amazon bestsellers lists for Historical Fantasy and Mashups.
You can find Alesha at her weekly blog, Fantasy, Mashups, & Mayhem, where she discusses fantasy and science-fiction TV shows, movies and books, and celebrity gossip…She’s just kidding about the celebrity gossip.
But, there IS a giveaway for MOT: http://timeanthology.blogspot.com/p/enter-giveaway.html
Visit Alesha’s Blog
5 more days to Pre-Order Masters of Time: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Time Travel Anthology
The Gray Tower Trilogy (fantasy)
The Black Dagger Gods (short story, New Myths Anthology)
Find Alesha on:
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | YouTube
MOT links:
webpage: http://timeanthology.blogspot.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Time-Science-Fiction-Anthology/dp/1514173727
Trailer: http://youtu.be/PovabW4fyjQ
Apple iBooks/iTunes: http://apple.co/1bp77vK
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1K3ggGi
Barnes & Noble/ nook: http://bit.ly/1Kkkr0C
CHANGES conversations between authors is an almost-weekly, Google+/Youtube video chat show. Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES guests any time: http://goo.gl/eX0D8T
OPENINGS occur frequently! #Authors, especially those in sci-fi/speculative fiction and who blog, learn more about and get yourself on CHANGES, and
#Readers, recommend an #author to be scheduled as a guest: http://goo.gl/1dbkZV
If you’d like to be a Guest Blogger, please visit my Guest Bloggers’ Hall of Fame and learn what’s involved.
Thanks for visiting, commenting, following, and enjoying this site! http://www.sallyember.com
Filed under: Blogging and others' content, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Social Media, Writing Tagged: *CHANGES*, *CHANGES* conversations between authors, Alesha Escobar, anthology, book marketing, collaborating with other authors, Devorah Fox, editing, fantasy, Masters of Time, Sally Ember, science fiction, science fiction books, short stories, The Spanners Series, time travel
July 7, 2015
Six Hens Magazine Looking for True Stories by Women
I know a lot of women who could write compelling nonfiction accounts of their “before and after,” so check this out! Deadline: 8/10/15 pays $50; 2K word limit.
Originally posted on Writing and Illustrating:
Six Hens is looking for true stories about the moments that define and redefine. Our writers take us to the places and events that changed what they believe in, changed how they see their place in the world, and changed them. Through their storytelling, they change us.
The editors are seeking submissions for the second issue to be published this September.
Writers are invited to submit strong first-person nonfiction about places and events that changed what they believe in, changed how they see themselves in this world, and how they were changed.
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July 6, 2015
SFR Quarterly Issue 7 is out!
Great stories, features and more in this #Sciencefiction #Romance ‘zine.
Originally posted on Smart Girls love SciFi:
Issue 7 of the SFR Quarterly posted today with a bold new look.
In this month’s issue, Editor Kaz Augustine talks about Kick-ass heroines, Heather Massey talks about being and SFR Prospector, and I talk about Alien Abduction Trope Mash-Ups. Be sure to check my column out to see what I think of two recent SFR releases that made a big splash: Ice Planet Barbarians and Venomous!
As always, this issue also includes a list of new releases, lots of reviews, new short SFR fiction, and more.
Filed under: Writing
Look who’s featured on 7/6/15 as part of Indie Authors’ Month: Sally Ember, Ed.D.!
Look who’s featured on 7/6/15 as part of Indie Authors’ Month: Sally Ember, Ed.D.!
Visit every day this month and honor Indie Authors! Thanks, Mel Cusick-Jones and Tony Talbot, for organizing and promoting this event and including me!
http://Asidefromwriting.com
Indie Author Month 2015 is finally here! Thirty-one days, thirty-one indie authors for you to meet, sharing the best of what it is to be an indie author from their own experiences…
So, welcome to the first day of our Indie Author Month – now in its fourth year, we’re excited to be hosting more fantastic indie authors during the event, which will run throughout July.
As in previous years, the event aims to bring indie authors into the spotlight, helping them find new readers, as well as letting them share their experiences of writing and publishing as an indie author. There are highs and lows to this creative life and everyone’s experience and approach is slightly different…
This year specifically, we have opened up the event to authors of every genre – variety is the spice of life! The only thing we’ve asked from each of them is to tell us about their experiences as an indie writer…from their personal writing journey, to the things they’ve learned about self-publishing, you’ll find it all here this month.
We hope you’ll keep coming back each day through the event, to meet the authors and chat with them about their writing.
Download and purchase Indie Authors’ books!
Write #comments on our #blogs!
Post #bookreviews and ratings of our books on sale sites, especially Amazon, and on Goodreads, Booklikes, Shelfari, Library Thing, nook, Kobo and iBooks!
All links for FREE downloads and purchase of ebooks in The Spanners Series as well as places to post comments and reviews: http://www.sallyember.com Look right; scroll down.
THANKS!
Filed under: Blogging and others' content, Indie or Self-Publishing, Interviews with Sally as Author, Marketing, The Spanners Tagged: indie authors, Indie Authors Month, Indies, Sally Ember
TV Reviews: Three New Summer TV Series – Proof, Complications, and Dark Matter: my reviews on Blog Critics’ site
Three New Summer TV Series – Proof, Complications, and Dark Matter: my reviews on Blog Critics’ site
went live on June 24, 2015
http://blogcritics.org/tv-review-three-new-summer-tv-series-proof-complications-and-dark-matter/
Filed under: TV and online Series Reviews Tagged: Blog Critics, Complications, Dark Matter, Proof, Sally Ember, TV reviews, TV series
July 5, 2015
How Solar Sister is fueling a women-led clean energy revolution in Africa. #ClimateChange
We need more projects like this! Thanks for posting. #microloans #solopreneurs #Africa #greenenergy #cleanenergy #solutions #solar #feminism #globalreach
Originally posted on jpratt27:
Solar Sister has women in rural Africa sell clean energy solutions, which brings light to their communities and turns them into entrepreneurs in the process.
In rural Nigeria, a woman named Iniobong opened a maternity clinic to serve her community. It had no electricity, so she used candlelight or kerosene to deliver babies and care for mothers. One day, a woman named Blessing brought a solar light to her prenatal check-up. It sparked Iniobong’s interest, so Blessing told her that she could sell it and other clean energy products herself if she became a “Solar Sister Entrepreneur.”
Iniobong started out by buying solar lights and a better cookstove to use at her own clinic. Today, the money she earns as a Solar Sister entrepreneur goes into running her clinic and providing care for the women in her community.
“When it came time to bring Blessing’s son into the world, there…
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July 4, 2015
Giveaway 2day only (7/4/15): Celebrate my topping 5K Tweeps and get #Free #scifi #Ebook!
To celebrate that I just topped 5K Tweeps (no ‘bots! no Twitter sharks!) on Twitter, I’m giving away one of my Spanners Series #ebooks!
Contact me: sallyember@yahoo DOT com for a coupon on #Smashwords to get Vol II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, #free today, 7/4/15 only (usually $3.99)
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 of The Spanners Series. 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?
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KU5Q7KC
Vol I, This Changes Everything, is #permafree
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 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 begins 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?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HFELTG8
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197
#scifi The Spanners Series by Sally Ember, Ed.D.
http://www.sallyember.com FMI, reviews, more links
Filed under: Marketing, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners Tagged: ebooks, Free coupon, giveaway, multiverse, permafree, Psi, romance, Sally Ember, science fiction, scifi, Smashwords, The Spanners Series, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Tweeps, Twitter, utopian
caliginous
Merlyn Ember and David Garelick will like this wordplay!
Originally posted on Sesquiotica:
You do well to be cagey when unlacing a language’s insouciant linguistic genius, for you may find its dark underside, its cabinet of Doctor Caligari, its closet of Caligula. But sometimes these dark undersides are callipygian: light and lithe on the tongue, prettily curved for the eyes, exquisite for lexical carousing. So fine, in fact, that they may slip into a party purely by pulchritude and do a star turn on a stage not their own.
Consider this line from The Wizard of Oz: “You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!” So expressive, so sound-symbolic. But therein is an obscurity: caliginous. What is this abecedarian coelacanth or architeuthis dux doing scaling de profundis into the mechanical racket as a sesquipedalian expletive? What, in fact, would caliginous junk be?
I’m rather inclined to think it’s what one finds in a Jawa sandcrawler or perhaps the corners…
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