Sally Ember's Blog, page 69
June 6, 2015
Cover Reveal: Nonlocal Science Fiction Magazine, Issue 2
2nd issue of new #scifi zine!
Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis:
You may remember the ground-breaking Nonlocal Science Fiction magazine from my February cover reveal, or from my interview with publisher Dan Dombrowski. Yes, the one that included “Shoot the Devil,” a short story by yours truly.
The second issue will be released on June 15th, and the cover art is now ready, once again designed by Bioblossom Creative.
The ContentsThe second issue contains the following short stories:
“Threshold” by James Pratt
Two engineers explore the interior of an ancient alien artifact that appears, from the outside, to be a box of nothing. It isn’t.
“The Pallbearers of the Light” by Bennen Neithercoat
The night sky is devoid of all stars. Two lonely travelers share their stories by the light of a waning moon.
“Out of the Void” by Ian Broderick
A mining crew exits a wormhole near earth after a long trip home. At least, that was…
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Filed under: Writing
June 5, 2015
OPENINGS on *CHANGES* conversations between authors: 6/24 and beyond!
OPENINGS on CHANGES conversations between authors 6/24/15 and beyond!
CHANGES is a unique Google+ Hangout On Air (HOA) simulcast on YouTube most Wednesdays, LIVE, 10 – 11 AM Eastern time, USA, with host Sally Ember, Ed.D., in spontaneous dialogue with an author from any fiction length or genre and also from nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, and blogging.
The show is NOT an “author interview,” although some of those elements do occur during the show (promoting/talking about one’s writing, books, origins, plot, characters, ideas).
#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
Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES 30+ guests any time: http://goo.gl/eX0D8T
Filed under: CHANGES Episodes Tagged: *CHANGES*, *CHANGES* conversations between authors, authors, bloggers, G+ HOA, Google+ Hangout On Air, Google+ HOA, live, Sally Ember, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, Writers, YouTube
June 4, 2015
6 Tips for Using Beta Readers
Thanks, Ryan, for hosting Monique Hall, and Thanks, Monique, for a great post. I especially like the table/chart for collating feedback: Stealing that!
About to bite that Beta Reader bullet, myself, for Volume III, so timing couldn’t have been better (beta…).
Best to you all!
Sally
Originally posted on A Writer's Path:
Before I had finished the third draft of my manuscript, I kept it from view in much the same way a vampire would shy away from the sun. Whenever someone would walk into the room, there would be a lot of hissing and flailing of arms attempting to protect the work in its infancy.
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Filed under: Writing
Diverse Summer Reading: A Round-Up of Responses to the NY Times List
I love “responses” to unrelenting whiteness that pervades any “best of” lists, especially those of authors and artists. Check these writers out!
Originally posted on readers+writers journal:
The Unrelenting Whiteness of The New York Times Summer Reading List
When The New York Times’ Janet Maslin released her Summer reading list for 2015, the fact that it contained 17 books by 17 white authors did not go unnoticed. In a year when national events have made race, diversity and embracing difference a topic of national discussion, many were stunned that Times’ Summer reading list of 2015 is so homogeneous. Jason Parham, writing for Gawker congratulated Maslin and The Times for achieving “peak caucasity,” and Slate.com’s Katy Waldman wondered if Maslin “believed she had compelling reason to confine her search for worthy books to a single racial group”. 
Proof That People of Color Write Books
The silver lining: in response to Maslin’s inexplicably uniform reading list, a diverse group authors, publications and commentators have created alternative summer reading lists that are more inclusive. Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC’s The Melissa-Harris Perry Show…
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June 1, 2015
Part I: Science Alert, Serious Wonder and Cosmos Up
Part I: Science Alert, Serious Wonder and Cosmos Up
I should have been a research scientist. I love science. I’m extremely intelligent, determined, creative, and organized. I coulda been a contenda for a Nobel prize. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Why am I not a scientist? I had a series of misogynistic (one of my teachers hated the four girls in my advanced science class so much he would pith [paralyze] the frogs by holding them in the air directly in front of one of us so that each frog would urinate on our blouses), anti-Semitic (another one wore his “John Birch Society” pin to school every day, displayed prominently on his lapel; there were three girls in my class and he insulted each of us daily), incompetent (in an lab accident at his “real” job, this poor man had lost most of his sight and drive and spent each class time mostly ignoring all of us) and otherwise horrible science teachers in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades.
With better teachers in those critical years, my life could have turned out very differently. Those terrible teachers turned me so far off science I only took one more “hard” science course (because it was required, in undergraduate college), despite many more years of education, through getting a doctorate.
As an adult, I became enthralled with quantum physics, health/anatomy, nutrition, child development/learning and the multiverse/astrophysics, so I read. A lot. I also watch documentaries. I am not even close to understanding some of the physics stuff, but the rest I got quite adept at utilizing. To “keep up,” I subscribe to many science-oriented blogs and curation sites.
My favorites are: Science Alert, Serious Wonder and Cosmos Up. I will excerpt from some of the “best of the best” of what I’ve recently perused. Part I is all from Science Alert.
I hope you enjoy! Go subscribe!
Astrophysics and Quantum Physics/Mechanics
19 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/TRtzJD
“For the first time, scientists in Australia have detected a gigantic burst of radio waves from outside our galaxy in real time. Called blitzars [also known as ‘fast radio bursts’ (FRB’s)], these bursts generate as much energy as the Sun does in a day, but they do it in mere milliseconds….The source of these ‘blitzars’ has so far remained a mystery….[T]hey’ve calculated the blitzar to be up to 5.5 billion light-years away from Earth.”
22 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/v6Q8S4
“Researchers have found that have found that quantum mechanics can cause more than two optical systems to become entangled, potentially across large distances….[Q]uantum entanglement states that two particles can be implicitly linked and can seemingly influence each other no matter how far apart they are….[Q]uantum entanglement exists and forms the basis of teleportation and quantum cryptography. [In 2014], researchers from the University of Geneva managed to teleport a photon across a distance 25 kilometres….[This new experiment] provides an important step towards validation of mesoscopic quantum mechanics. Mesoscopic refers to the discipline of physics that deals with matter in between micro and macroscopic.”
10 Feb 2015 http://goo.gl/v9nm44
“New model suggests the Big Bang never occurred. Instead, the Universe has simply been going forever….A new quantum equation suggests that the Universe has no beginning or end, and it could also account for dark matter and dark energy.”
05 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/BAKoZa
“The LHC [Large Hadron Collider]…the monstrous underground atom smasher that hurls particles at near light speed, has been restarted….Here’s how it could change physics forever! ”
“The hunt for dark matter is on.”
These new LHC experiments may also resolve as-yet-unanswered questions regarding supersymmetry, antimatter, gravity and dark energy as well!
08 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/i8yQw4
“NASA’s chief scientist predicts we’ll find signs of alien life by 2025: ‘I think we’re going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years,’ NASA chief scientist, Ellen Stofan…
“‘It’s definitely not an if, it’s a when,’ said Jeffery Newmark, NASA’s interim director of heliophysics….
“‘[O]bservations by NASA’s Kepler space telescope suggest that nearly every star in the sky hosts planets – and many of these worlds may be habitable,’ says Mike Wall at Space.com.”
16 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/jdGFtQ
“Big news: Dark matter may not be as dark as we originally thought. Astronomers have found the first evidence that dark matter interacts with forces other than gravity.”
Child Development/Learning
05 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/5POY6W
“If you want to sure up your child’s communication and problem-solving skills, chatting…to your baby about nothing in particular while you’re getting ready or doing work around the house…can be even more important than reading to them, new research suggests….[R]eading is great for young kids, but… on its own, it’s not enough to shore up their cognitive development.”
Anatomy/Biology/Zoology and Gender
09 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/60Zmfi
“Is it a male, or female? This unusual butterfly, apparently, couldn’t decide on its sex, resulting in beautiful and starkly different sets of wings….[I]t was a Common Archduke (Lexias pardalis) butterfly, with a condition known as bilateral gynandromorphy…[which] also been reported in crustaceans, such as lobsters, as well as in birds….”
23 Mar 2015 http://goo.gl/aQyTet
“Scientists have found a drug that makes people more compassionate. It turns out altering people’s brain chemistry can stop them from being selfish jerks….The drug, called tolcapone, prolongs the effect of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, a region involved in the regulation of complex thought and our emotions. And early tests suggest that it encourages people who take it to be more fair-minded when it comes to money.” I posit the biological bases for better or worse humans, particularly regarding behavior and selfishness, in my sci-fi ebooks, The Spanners Series.
09 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/ED8UKh
“Brain ‘gender’ is more fluid than originally thought, research reveals….[C]ontinual Dnmt [DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt), an enzyme that usually silences certain genes] exposure is necessary throughout development to ensure that a brain turns female.”
“Scientists have managed to neurologically switch newborn rats from female to male….Not only did their behaviour change dramatically, but the rats’ brains also structurally transformed.”
In the 1990s, I my doctoral research and wrote my dissertation on the mutability of both gender and sexual orientation identities with the factors of interpersonal safety and connection being pivotal in how frequently, fluidly and diversely each individual’s identities might fluctuate, inventing a term for this contextualized fluctuation: differential authenticity.
“‘”It was thought that once established, sexual differentiation could not be undone,’ Nugent told PBS. ‘Our work shows that sex differences in brain and behaviour are epigenetically regulated, meaning that sex differences are not hardwired in our DNA but programmed during development.'”
I would add: and identities could change throughout life, regulated by circumstances and experiences.
21 May 2015 http://goo.gl/oSpB7e
“Octopuses are able to ‘see’ with their skin, new research finds….[T]he same kind of skin perception might be happening in other cephalopods, too. In other words, these creatures can feel changes in light as well as see them.”
Cephalopods are featuredin my sci-fi ebooks, The Spanners Series.
Health and Nutrition
05 Feb 2015 http://goo.gl/RFcvRZ and https://goo.gl/2HhO4z [with two videos from ASAP Science]
“Want to know how to decrease your odds of developing a cold by 58.8 percent, and if you do get one, how to shave 1.5 days off the length of it? The latest episode of AsapSCIENCE has got all the – scientifically approved – answers.” The two accompanying videos provide tips and advice and then debunk 6 common myths about how to behave/what to do/not do/eat/not eat when getting sick or already sick with a cold.
18 Mar 2015 http://goo.gl/iU4jW4
“The longer you’re breastfed, the higher your IQ and adult earnings, study suggests, but not too long, or the benefits become disadvantages….And the difference was pretty huge. If a child had been breastfed for an entire year, they scored on average four more IQ points, had almost another year of formal education, and earned an extra 341 reais a month – which is about about a third more than the average income level in Brazil – than those who had breastfed for less than a month. But beyond 12 months, and the benefits in later life dropped off significantly – in adulthood, these people were on average poorer, and less educated.”
08 April 2015 http://goo.gl/1ImN59
“Amazing chart shows the planet’s longest-living animals. See how your puny human lifespan compares.” Humans don’t even make the top 10! The longest-living (an ocean quahog [an edible clam, pronounced in Massachusetts, USA, “co-hog”] exists for over 400 years! Eight of the top 10 longest-lived animals are all sea-dwelling creatures; the other two are land tortoises. I guess living on land shortens our lifespan considerably. Humans should have stayed in the sea.
Look for Part II in late June, focusing on info gathered by Serious Wonder.
After that, look for Part III in late July, info from Cosmos Up.
Filed under: All Volumes, Science, Statistics, The Spanners Tagged: astronomy, astrophysics, breastfeeding, cosmology, futuristic tech, gender identity, IQ, physics, quantum physics, science, sexual orientation identity, technology, The Spanners Series
May 31, 2015
Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest
“There is a $10 entry fee, which helps defray a portion of the cost of operating the contest. All entries must be received electronically or postmarked by *July 1, 2015*.
“Stories must be between 1,500 and 5,000 words in length. All stories must be previously unpublished (excluding personal website and/or blog publication). No extreme profanity or graphic sex scenes.”
For more info and where to enter:
https://goo.gl/9QeQTt Thanks, Kathy Temean.
Originally posted on Writing and Illustrating:
The 2016 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest is underway! In its nearly three centuries of existence, The Saturday Evening Post has published short fiction by a who’s who of American authors including Ray Bradbury, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Louis L’Amour, Jack London, Joyce Carol Oates, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Tyler, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Sinclair Lewis, among so many others.
Now you have the opportunity to join our illustrious lineup by entering The Saturday Evening Post’s fourth annual Great American Fiction Contest. “This contest is a tribute to the Post’s legacy of featuring the most renowned American fiction writers,” says Steven Slon, editorial director and associate publisher for The Saturday Evening Post. “Our goal is to continue the tradition of finding and featuring compelling stories and the authors behind them.”
The winning story will be published in the January/February 2016 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, and the…
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Filed under: Writing
Class Dismissed!
Indies unite! Save good authors from unnecessary despair and good books from oblivion! Eschew traditional publicatio!!
Originally posted on So you want to be a writer?:
This is what I took away from the master class on how to get published last Friday: agents are pompous snobs.
Correction: the agents at this class were pompous snobs. ‘Well, the truth is, most people can’t write,’ one said in a lofty tone. The other one said, ‘And to be honest, I’m very, very busy with my already existent clients, so I don’t have much time to read from the slush-pile.’ However, they wanted to ensure us that if the writing was good, then of course they would take us on as clients.
Someone asked about taste, as in: aren’t agents just as subjective as the rest of us? How much of the decision making comes down to personal taste? ‘None,’ they said. We are professional people and know good writing when we see it,’ they said.
I raised my hand and asked how much of the decision making is colored by trends…
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May 28, 2015
My #SocialMedia Ground Rules: I Hope You’ll Adhere to Them; I Will Enforce
My #SocialMedia Ground Rules: I Hope You’ll Adhere to Them; I Will Enforce
Dear Social Media “Friends,” “Followers” and those who “Circle” me:
—Please do not privately message (PM or DM) me to promote ANYTHING or ask me to “LIKE” something or follow you. I will block you from then on.
—If you are an #author and want me to notice your books, write good books and let me find them. I don’t have much time to read much these days and I do not write reviews of most books. I’m trying to write my own!
—Please don’t request #bookreviews from me unless I know you and have reviewed your books already. I do not do swaps.
image from http://brightestyoungthings.com
—Please do not become a “friend” or “follower” and then send me private messages in order to “date” me. It’s creepy. That is a horrible way to get connected. I will unfriend/uncircle you immediately.
—Please do not comment on my appearance, my photo, or my life in a private message if we don’t know each other. It’s also creepy. I will block you.
—Please do not “ping” me (put my name in your post) just to promote your…. whatever. See above.
—Please don’t ask me to vote up, promote, or review books I haven’t read. Do not send me “chain” posts or demand that I… Whatever. I won’t do it.
image from: http://www.fanpop.com
—If you keep posting (I give you one “free pass”) about Jesus, Mohammed, God, or your non-Buddhist religious books, I will mute and then “unfriend”/”uncircle” you. I’m not interested. I don’t want Bible verses (“Old” or “New” Testament), Q’ran passages, Vendanta quotes or anything else that is not Buddhist appearing on my pages, EVER.
—I will post quotes from Buddhist leaders any time I want. If you don’t like seeing those, mute or unfriend me, but please do not argue or post nasty comments about these posts.
—Please do not post pictures of anyone or anything else that is even a tiny bit NOT PG-13 on MY pages, ever, unless you’re making a salient point about sex-trafficking, abuse of minors or women, or health information.
—If you post “artistic” photos that are almost always pictures of half-naked people, I will mute your posts and probably uncircle/unfriend you; same if those are your usual book covers. My audience rating is to remain PG-13.
image from: http://www.downtownmiaminews.com
—In fact, unless we are actually friends and I know you fairly well, don’t post on my pages at all. PM/DM or email me and ask permission, being specific about what you want to post. Then, I will respond with “Yes, thanks!” or “No, thanks.”
—If I don’t like your politics but you are not offensively promoting them, that’s usually all right, depending on what they are. I’ll let you be. If I really hate your views, I can mute you.
—If you are hate-mongering, misogynistic, racist, classist, mean-spirited, name-calling and otherwise right-wing/ultra-orthodox anything and therefore, in my opinion, obnoxious, I will block you.
—Please do not post rabid anti-Israel views on my pages, ever. My family is Jewish and some of them live there. Get a clue. I may not support all of its politics or actions, but I definitely support Israel’s right to exist. Intelligent, thoughtful discussions about Israeli politics and actions are welcomed; they are not always what I wish Israel would be doing, either.
Want to know what you are INVITED to do?
—Curating Good Content: If you write or repost something you think I’d be interested in and it’s NOT an attempt to sell me your stuff, then by all means, “ping” me. I love learning/seeing new stuff on topics I’m interested in (which are MANY: check my previous posts. I will reblog/repost/share your great posts and give you full credit.
—Connecting: If you are a reader of my books or posts, a sympathetic author, a meditator (especially Buddhist), a science-lover (especially quantum physics), a science-fiction fan, in harmony with me politically (feminist, left of liberal), or otherwise resonate positively with my writing, talk show and/or posts, please contact me to ask questions, offer suggestions, get to know me, especially if you live in or are coming through St. Louis, MO, USA!
image from: http://youthclubblog.wordpress.com
—Chatting: Want to promote yourself and have a great conversation while doing it? Check out my talk show, CHANGES conversations between authors, and offer to come on as a guest. Info is on my website: http://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/
—Cooperating: Want more exposure? Offer to Guest Blog something that is NOT purely for self-promotion. Use my email address for these inquiries, which is on my website’s
“Guest Bloggers’ Hall of Fame.” http://sallyember.com/guest-bloggers-hall-of-fame/
—Community-Building: To get to know me, join groups/communities I’m active in (not a lot of those, though: on Facebook are “Clean Indie Reads,” “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Net,” “Gutsy Indie Publishers”; on Google+ are “User2User LIVE!,” “Lights, Camera, HOA!” are a few) and post something besides self-promotional posts and I might become interested in you and your books.
—Collaborating: To get my attention, comment on my blog, follow my blog, comment on my posts, participate/view my talk show, CHANGES, buy my books and write reviews (or do that for Volume I, which is free), offer to help “crowdcreate” my two Volumes (VIII and IX), THEN email or PM me. http://sallyember.com/spanners-2/
art by Aidana Willowraven
—Crowdfunding: To support getting my ebooks into print, my videocasts into podcasts, my next two book covers and my ongoing support of other authors, my blog and my writing, AND get at least a free ebook or reduced-price editing/proofreading/writing tutoring services, please visit and donate to my crowdfunding campaign! I even sing a song for your consternation pleasure! : http://www.patreon.com/sallyember
I know many won’t see this, but it’s worth a try.
Where to find me:
http://www.sallyember.com main website, which has ALL links to books, other sites, reviews, interviews, CHANGES episodes, Guest Blog posts of mine on others’ sites, and more
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HEV2UEW Amazon Central author page
https://www.twitter.com/sallyemberedd Twitter: @sallyemberedd
https://www.facebook.com/TheSpannersSeriesbySallyEmber Spanners Series’ page on FB
https://www.facebook.com/sally.ember Sally’s FB page
http://www.pinterest.com/sallyember Pinterest Boards
http://goo.gl/tZKQpv Spanners Series’ page on Google+
http://www.google.com/+SallySueEmber Sally Sue Ember on Google+
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqnZuobf0YTCiP6silDDL2w/videos Youtube Channel
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7237845.Sally_Ember Goodreads page
Filed under: Buddhism, CHANGES Episodes, Indie or Self-Publishing, Life lessons, Opinions, Social Media, The Spanners Tagged: #crowdcreating, *CHANGES*, Amazon, Collaborating, crowdfunding, Facebook, Goodreads, Google +, Patreon, Pinterest, Sally Ember, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, social media, The Spanners Series, Twitter
May 27, 2015
“What to do to Keep Writing Even if You Think You Don’t Feel Like Writing”: Guest Post by John Howell #Amwriting #author
Suffer from writer’s block (which today’s guest blogger declares NON-EXISTENT)? Lack inspiration? Find it difficult to keep to a schedule, a word count goal, a deadline?
One of my guests on CHANGES conversations between authors (see below for more info about our Episode), John Howell, offer tips, advice, humor and more to help you out of your slump! Welcome to my “Guest Bloggers Hall of Fame”, John!
“What to do to Keep Writing Even if You Think You Don’t Feel Like Writing”:
Guest Post by John Howell
#Amwriting #author
image from http://venture galleries.com
I am very grateful for the guest spot on Sally Ember’s blog. Thank you, Sally, for having me today. I had originally wanted to do some humorous stuff about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
However, as I thought about being a guest of Sally Ember, Ed.D, I had some second thoughts. After all, Sally’s blog is a source of all kinds of interesting information as well as a place to visit to learn new things. Stand-up comedy may be more of a fit over at my dump.
I should explain why I chose the subject I did choose. I have been asked, since becoming a full-time writer, about the most important piece of advice I could give a new writer. My answer always includes the advice to keep writing.
Just last week I was being interviewed and the question came up again. I gave my answer. Then, after the interview, I thought about what I would say to someone wanting to become a writer but not knowing how to keep writing. I decided right there and then to put some hints down on paper.
This post is the result of taking the time to detail some strategies that may be helpful to encourage a person to keep writing. So here goes.
To keep writing…
…establish a routine that includes writing something.
This routine, by necessity, has to include other parts of the person’s life as well. It does a writer no good to commit simply to writing and meanwhile ignore all the other things that make a life a life. These other things include eating, sleeping, socializing and whatever work one has to do. It also includes those things that being part of the family dictate.
When I first started writing, I would do jobs around the house in the morning and then turn to writing after lunch. One of the problems with this routine is there are so many things that can get in the way of the writing. Things getting in the way is especially true if the writing is difficult or the scene a little unclear.
So, I changed my routine. I gave writing the top priority and once a minimum amount accomplished, I would be available for other parts of living.
I am suggesting that new writers only commit to writing a low level of word count or page count. As a writer progresses, the count will go up during the same amount of time.
I currently write one thousand words each day. After that, I am free to do other things or keep writing.
…do not show others any work that is not finished. Work includes full manuscripts, short stories, and poems. The quickest way to stop writing is to succumb to well-meaning criticism before the work is complete.
Once you complete a piece of work, you can show it to anyone you wish and collect all the comments meant to improve the product. Trying this prior to finish is a completion-killer.
…do not recognize the phantom phenomena called writer’s block. There is no such thing. There may be a lapse in creativity, but as far as blocked is concerned, a writer should not give themselves the excuse of explaining the lack of writing as writers block.
When I feel stuck on a story line, I write a short story. In this way, I am still writing and keeping the creative mind open. I find that the story will cause me to think of a solution. I have had some short stories become part of the manuscript, since the story solved whatever the issue was in the first place.
…vary the medium. Do this by creating a blog, guest posting on other’s sites, entering contests and writing book reviews. These are just a few of the things that can be done to keep the writing assignment fresh and interesting.
Simply working on a novel day after day can cause the creativity to dry up: the writer will find they are going through the motions as opposed to bringing the passion and creativity needed for the task.
I currently post seven days a week on my blog. The posts are original material and of various subjects. I do not write about writing. I spend enough time doing writing; I don’t feel like continuing the subject in some informational format. Besides, there are a lot of very qualified people who give a lot of good advice on writing. I just want to have fun. [Except for today!… note from Sally]
…don’t pay any attention to query rejections. The only message in a rejection is the piece did not fit what was going on with the reader at the time of the rejection. It could be that the one who is rejecting the work couldn’t face reading one more thing that day and didn’t take enough time. They could have awakened on the wrong side of the bed or quit drinking coffee for some unknown reason.
The point is, when a writer gets a rejection, it does not mean to stop writing. It is just a rejection; heaven knows, we all have received a lot of those.
…find a way to reward yourself for accomplishing your daily quota of writing. It can be as simple as relaxing with a TV show or book. The important thing is that the writer is giving the writer permission to recognize themselves for a job well done.
When I finish the week with my word quota achieved, I take some time on the veranda with a margarita. It’s not for everyone, but is my way of telling me I’ve done a good job for the week.
By the way, there is no other person on the Earth who will give writers kudos for doing what the writer loves to do. If a writer does not love what they do, they should find something else to occupy the time.
To summarize, Keep on writing, no matter what.
Thanks again, Sally.
About John Howell:
Photo by Tim Burdick
John W. Howell was held captive for over forty years by organized commerce. In 2012, he was finally released to begin writing full-time. His novel, My GRL, has been published by Martin Sisters Publishing and is the first of a John J. Cannon trilogy.
The second is now with the publisher and the third in the final editing stage. In addition, John has also finished another novel not in the series which is being queried.
John lives with his wife and rescue pets on a barrier island off the coast of South Texas.
Find John:…
Twitter: @HowellWave
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.howell.98229241
Website: http://www.johnwhowell.com
Authors db: http://www.authorsdb.com/authors-directory/6604-john-w-howell
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-w-howell/48/b59/462/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+JohnHowellAuthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/johnwhowell/
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/johnwhowell
My GRL is a fiction thriller telling the story of John J. Cannon, a successful San Francisco lawyer, who takes a leave of absence from the firm and buys a boat he names My GRL. John is unaware that his boat has been targeted by a terrorist group to be used to destroy a symbol of America’s greatness. John’s first inkling of trouble occurs when he wakes up in the hospital and learns he was found unconscious next to the body of the woman who first sold him the boat. John now is the only one standing between the terrorists and the success of their mission.
Links to My GRL:
on Amazon…
Amazon US: http://goo.gl/3bgc0E
Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/Q3gLxI
Amazon CAN: http://goo.gl/rLjzwD
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/johnwhowell
Elsewhere…
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/397934
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-grl-john-w-howell/1118199518?ean=2940045582575
ibooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/my-grl/id803503649?mt=11
Kobo: http://www.store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/my-grl
Martin Sisters Publishing: Http://www.martinsisterspublishing.com
John Howell was my guest on Episode 14 of CHANGES conversations between authors. Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES 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: http://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/
Want to be a guest blogger on my site? Visit my “Guest Bloggers Hall of Fame” to review other guest posts, read my guidelines and then contact me if you’re interested: http://www.sallyember.com/guest-bloggers-hall-of-fame/
Filed under: Blogging and others' content, Writing Tagged: Blogs, Guest posts, John W. Howell Author, Novels, Queries, Rejection, Reward, Routine, Sally Ember Ed.D Author, Tips to keep writing, Variety, Writers' Block, writing
May 25, 2015
Book Promotion: Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni by Mary Smith
Very happy to see my most recent guest on *CHANGES* conversations between authors, Episode 31, featured here: Mary Smith!
Watch conversations with my previous *CHANGES* guests any time: http://goo.gl/6xjSKl
#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
Originally posted on A Woman's Wisdom - The Book Blog For Lovers Of The Written Word:
Mary Smith lives in south west Scotland and is a freelance journalist, author and poet. She spent ten years working in Pakistan and Afghanistan, experiences which left their mark on her as a writer. She has described her time in Afghanistan in her memoir Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women. Her novel, No More Mulberries is also set in Afghanistan. She is currently working with photographer Allan Devlin on a local history book called Dumfries Through Time which will be published in August – and then she can focus on getting her second novel completed. Mary can be found on her website,blog, Twitterand Goodreads.
Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni, Mary’s wonderful memoir about her time working and living in Afghanistan, is now at the reduced price of 99p/99c from today until 31st May! You can see my…
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Filed under: Writing
