Sally Ember's Blog, page 86

Steampunk: Learning the Genre

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

Learn about #Steampunk,a subgenre of #scifi, from my upcoming *CHANGES* guest, Wendy van Camp! Watch our LIVE conversation 1/7/15: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cs3reovico2nqpvctdv1ikgqevg or catch our conversation any time then or later on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-OOvBXtGRM

Originally posted on No Wasted Ink:

A popular subgenre of science fiction and fantasy is known as steampunk. It features steam-powered technology with the decorative sensibilities of the 19th century Victorian era. Steampunk stories can also be considered a sort of alternate history where the British Empire continued on to be a major power in the world and their empirical style of culture and manners still hold sway in a future world.

It is often thought that the origin of steampunk as a genre began with H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. The stories of the adventurer explorer or the gentleman inventor who travels through the world or in time via their abilities and education and bring British culture to other peoples is a trope that is common in many steampunk stories. While Wells and Verne were certainly part of the inspiration of steampunk as a genre, they were writing alternate history or true science fiction of…

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National #Science-Fiction Day is Today! Celebrate #Scifi #Authors

Woo-hoo! #Aliens, #Robots and more: Oh, My!

TODAY is National Science-Fiction Day! Who knew? An entire day to celebrate #sciencefictionwriters in honor of what may (or may not) be Isaac Asimov’s birthday!

Full post here: http://genrelove.co/2015/01/national-science-fiction-day/

image from http://www.treehugger.com

http://www.sallyember.com/Spanners gets you all info and links about my sci-fi series.

ENJOY!

Filed under: Science Fiction and Fantasy Tagged: aliens, Isaac Asimov, robotics, robots, Sally Ember, sci-fi, science fiction, scifi, The Spanners Series, Tonya Moore

Farewells – Writers We Lost in 2014

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

Some very sad good-byes to some amazing writers whose authorship has influenced my life greatly. http://readerswritersjournal.com/2014/12/31/authors-who-died-in-2014/

Originally posted on readers+writers journal:

2014 Saw the loss of several Nobel, Booker Prize and Pulitzer winners, as well as the passing of some of the most beloved authors in the English language.

Nadine Gordimer 

Nadine Gordimer was a South African writer and activist whose works took on racially-charged themes, especially apartheid in her home country. Her famous novels include 1974’s The Conservationist, 1979’s Burger’s Daughter, 1981’s July’s People, and 1987’s A Sport of Nature. She also wrote numerous collections of short fiction and essays. Gordimer received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991.

 Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Nobel winner Marquez died from pneumonia at the age of 87 after years of declining health, which included being diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1999. García Márquez started as a journalist, and wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but is best known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967),

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First-Year Ebooks Author Stats: Sally Ember, Ed.D., and The Spanners Series

First-Year Ebooks Author Stats: Sally Ember, Ed.D., and The Spanners Series

Just completed my first full year (plus 11 days) as a published sci-fi/ romance ebooks author (2 pubs, Vol I, 12/19/13; Vol II, 6/9/14) in the 10-book The Spanners Series, on Amazon, Smashwords, iBooks, nook and Kobo (and Smashwords’ affiliates).

Thanks to all my readers, fans, followers, reviewers and downloaders as well as friends, family and connections in the global authors and readers communities!

Overall Stats, 12/31/13 – 12/31/14:

AZ Author Rank, overall: 182,741 – 468,671

AZ Kindle ebooks, all Combined Rank: 295,000 – 313,420

AZ Sci-fi/Fantasy ebooks Combined Rank: 23,167 – 25,127

AZ Sci-fi ebooks Combined Rank: 11,687 – 12,645

AZ Romance ebooks Combined Rank: 27,206 – 29,043

Sales Ranks and Stats:

Vol I, This Changes Everything (released 12/19/13; permafree since April 1, 2014)

figures for 12/20/13 – 12/31/14

Total Paid Sales: 85

Total Free Downloads: over 1,100 (figures for free DL not available from all sites)

AZ Sales Rank: 129,665 – 12,539

iBooks: unrated rank (not enough sales)

nook: 481,550 – 471,792

Kobo: 1,429 – 8,732

AZ Actual Sales: 61

AZ Free Downloads: 940

Smashwords Sales: 4

Smashwords Free DL: 45

iBooks Sales: 6

iBooks Free DL: 85

Kobo Sales: 13

Kobo Free DL: 60

Nook Sales: 1

Nook Free DL: 8

Vol II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever ($3.99, released 6/9/14)

figures for 6/30/14 – 12/31/14 only

Total Paid Sales: 10

AZ Sales Rank: 480,464-1,559,867

iBooks: unrated rank (not enough sales)

nook: unrated rank (not enough sales)

Kobo Sales Rank: 4,836 – 5,223

AZ Sales: 6

Smashwords Sales: 3

Smashwords Free DL: 12

iBooks Sales: 0

Kobo Sales: 1

Nook Sales: 0

ALWAYS appreciating REVIEWERS for both/any Volumes, especially Volume II/the newest.

Ebooks free to reviewers in any ereader format via coupon on Smashwords.

Contact: sallyemberATyahooDOTcom

Look for Vol III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, and

Vol IV, Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude, in 2015!

Thanks to my amazing cover artist for The Spanners Series, Aidana Willowraven

Filed under: Cover, Gratitude, Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Statistics, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, This Is/Is Not the Way I Thought Things Would Change, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III, Volume IV, Writing Tagged: 2014, Aidana Willowraven, Amazon, Author, Author Rank, ebooks, free downloads, iBooks, KOBO, nook, romance, Sales, Sally Ember, sci-fi, science fiction, Smashwords

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Switch your USA Landline or Cell Phone Company to Support Great Causes! CREDO DOES!

CREDO (formerly Working Assets) has been donating a large portion of its profits and allowing customers (“Members”) to vote on where the profits are donated for decades.

I had been using WALD for my landline and then CREDO for my cell phone since the 1990s (WALD used to provide coupons for free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pints for every new customer I referred, so I referred a LOT!).

CREDO will:

buy out your contract
provide free or paid cell phone model options (Android only, of course)
actually provide English-speaking humans to talk to you from its 24-7 Customer Service
give you access to its great website
offer competitive prices.

Truly worth a switch. STOP supporting multinationals like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc., TODAY!

Make your phone bill work to help YOUR choice of nonprofits and good causes!

CREDO uses the Sprint network, so be sure that network operates well enough where you live before switching carriers.

For the end of 2014, CREDO sent this email (images below), which I hope inspires YOU to switch carriers.

I am NOT an “affiliate marketer,” and I am NOT getting paid (or even getting any ice cream) for promoting this.

It’s just the right thing to do. Please switch this month!

Filed under: Support for Good Causes Tagged: Charity, CREDO, Donations, nonprofits, phone carriers

Follow Amazon

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

More great tips and advice from Chris McMullen! Thanks, Chris! Sharing (and doing)!

Happy New Year!

Originally posted on chrismcmullen:

Images from Shutterstock (human icons are modified images from artist Orla).

FOLLOW AMAZON

When I first began using Twitter, I found Amazon on Twitter. I followed Amazon. And received a pleasant surprise. Amazon followed me back! (I’m not special. Thousands of others have received the same pleasant surprise.)

Obviously, when Amazon follows you back on Twitter, you shouldn’t expect this to be an active member of your audience, reading and enjoying your tweets, interested in any products or services that you offer. But it’s still cool.

If you’re a writer, you also want to follow KDP Amazon.

TIP: You can find a good variety of free writing and publishing tips on KDP Amazon’s Facebook or Twitter pages. (Note that following KDP Amazon is different from following Amazon.) KDP Amazon makes effective use of social media, so KDP Amazon’s posts provide good examples of how to tweet or Facebook effectively.

KDP…

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You need to reorganize your life if you are outsourcing your #dating activities

I saw this actual ad on Craig’s List in St. Louis:

“Dating Expert 10 Hours a Week (work from home)” was the headline.

He also offered: “compensation: Great! telecommuting okay.”

The ad copy, exactly as it appeared, is in the block quote, below. I decided to respond, which follows.

I am a 30 year old busy executive with a New Year’s resolution of meeting my “dream girl.”

I work full time in corporate America and I simply don’t have a good way to meet available women.

I signed up for match.com more than a handful of times in the past and have met some really great women along the way. I found that it required a significant amount of time to both search for the type of women I was interested in meeting as well as spend the time actually writing back and forth.

I am at the point now where I would like to hire this out rather than continuing to fool with it myself.

So you, my ghost-writer would create a profile for me on a variety of dating sites such as Match.com and OKCupid.com and Fling.com. to search out both casual encounters and long-term relationships. You would ultimately ask some interview questions of me to figure out who I am and what I am about, gather all information necessary to complete the profile including bio, likes and dislikes, relationship goals and photos.

We would share a gmail account and a google voice line. You would search out and find the type of women I am interested in meeting, email them something witty and creative and get them interested in me.

You would then continue the dialogue with them via text message and email up to the point where they are really ready to schedule a date. You would then check my calendar (also on google) where you can see my free and busy times. You would schedule the date, pick the place, the whole nine yards.

I would then get an email from you outlining the discussions with them and a copy of their profile.

Once the date is scheduled I would go and see if there is a connection…

To figure out if you are a good fit for this job please email me a cover letter explaining why you will be a good fit. Also develop a profile for a stereotypical A-type personality executive for match.com. and a profile for Fling.com. Write 10 examples of opening emails that could be used generically to email potential mates.

Please provide also your salary requirements for 10 hours per week of work. Please use subject line of “CL mail expert”

I emailed this young man the following message:

SUBJECT: You need to reorganize your life if you are serious about getting involved with someone

MESSAGE:

Hi,

I am not applying for your job. I am a parent of a son about your age and I have to tell you this: if your life is so busy that you don’t even have time to have a conversation (via text or otherwise) with potential dates, your life is too busy to have a meaningful, satisfying relationship. That is the truth.

You need to reorganize your life if you are serious about getting involved with someone. It is NEVER going to be a good idea to “outsource” your important relationships, such as intimate partner, parent, or your other significant connections to actual humans.

Really.

Best to you,

Sally

image from http://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk

Any other opinions? Comment here! Email him yourself! mqxx9-4814518745@job.craigslist.org

Apply for the job:

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/wri/4814518745.html

Filed under: Life lessons, Opinions Tagged: dating, millennials, outsourcing, parenting

New year, new blog? Make it a great one.

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

If you are new to #blogging or to html, widgets, or other more “high-tech” aspects of setting up your site, check out this opportunity!

Originally posted on WordPress.com News:

New to blogging? A new session of our introductory blogging course starts on Monday, January 5 — and all bloggers are welcome, whether you blog on WordPress.com, a self-hosted WordPress blog, or somewhere else entirely.

Blogging 101 is four weeks of daily bite-size assignments that take you from “Blog?” to “Blog!” — along with a supportive community to encourage you all the way through. At the end of the course, you’ll have a blog you’re proud and excited to publish, and that others are excited to read.

Here’s how it works:

Assignments fall into three broad categories — publishing posts and pages, customizing your blog, and engaging with the community — and are designed to build on one another.
We’ll post a new assignment here on The Daily Post each weekday at 12AM GMT. Each assignment will contain all the inspiration and instructions you need to complete it. Weekends are free (but we’ll…

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The Very Inspiring #Blogger# Award Landed Here!

My blog and I have been nominated for the The Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

Thank you so much, Dale Furse, for nominating my blog for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award! I am honored!

Dale is a children’s and YA fantasy author/ playwright/ songwriter/ poet who writes science-fiction novels, as I do. Please visit Dale: https://dalefurse.wordpress.com to find out more about her, her books, her reviews and more. She lives in Australia, so be aware of the time difference between there and where you live, if you’re not also Down Under!

The Very inspiring Blogger Award rules are as follows:

–Display the award on your blog

–Link back to the person who nominated you

–State 7 things about yourself that most people may not know

–Nominate 15 (I CHOSE 16!) bloggers, link to them, and notify them about their nominations

Seven things most people do not know about me…

I am no longer even 5 feet tall (I used to be almost 5’2″).
My first publication experience was to have a poem placed in my elementary school’s newsletter; I was 9 years old.
I studied faith healing in the Philippines in 1986.
My play, Crystal Dreams , was selected to be and was performed at Theatre-by-the-Sea at its end-of-summer New Playwrights’ Festival in 1984.
I began playing the piano and composing at age 3 but didn’t get formal lessons until age 9 because someone told my parents to wait until my hands got larger. I was aiming to become a concert pianist, having placed highly in a regional competition at age 13, but my hands did not grow from age 11 on.
I am now living about ten minutes’ drive from where I grew up after having lived elsewhere (on both coasts and in New Mexico) for 42 years.
I learned to swim and to read at age 3; I still do both.

I nominate these 16 bloggers, my first CHANGES Google + Hangouts On Air (HOA) talk show guests:

Dr. Shay West, Ph.D.: http://shay-west.com/
Marianne Jones: http://www.mariannejones.ca
Connie Dunn: http://publishwithconnie.com/
Janice Ross: http://culturalcocktails.com
Tonya Moore: http://www.signalpositive.wordpress.com
Charlee Allden: http://www.smartgirlsscifi.wordpress.com/
Dr. Nicholas Rossis, Ph.D.: http://www.nicholasrossis.me
Chase Knightly: http://www.chaseknightly.com
Charles E. Yallowitz: http://legendsofwindemere.com
Stefan Bolz: http://www.TheThreeFeathers.com
Victoria Noe: http://www.friendgrief.com
Dr. Anna Faktorovich, Ph.D.: http://www.anaphoraliterary.com/
Dr. Olga Nuñez Mirét, M.D., Ph.D.: http://www.olganm.wordpress.com/
John W. Howell: http://www.johnwhowell.com
Krysten Lindsay Hager: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/
Colette Vernon Black: http://www.coletteblack.net

Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES guests any time: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq

#AUTHORS: Learn more about and get yourself or #READERS: recommend someone to be scheduled as a guest: CHANGES G+ HOA http://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/

Best to you all and Happy New Year!

Filed under: Blogging and others' content, CHANGES Episodes, Personal stories, Writing Tagged: *CHANGES*, Award, blog, Blogger, blogging, Google+ HOA, Very Inspiring Blogger Award, writing

School bans ‘I Can’t Breathe’ T-shirts at tournament

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

I was one of the students whose suspension was erased after the Des Moines ruling came through (I was living in St. Louis, 10th grade, at the time, 1969, Moratorium Day). Also, I was living in Keene, NH, in the 1990s when one of the Keene Junior High School’s moronic administrators tried to force kids to stop wearing Bart Simpson T-shirts that bragged about being underachievers. He/the school also lost in court. Fort Bragg will lose this one, but those kids will not be able to play that tournament over again. That is really too bad: the morons prevail until they are proven to be morons.

Originally posted on theGrio:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A high school basketball tournament on the Northern California coast has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing protests over police killings of unarmed black men after a school was disinvited because of concerns its players would wear T-shirts printed with the words “I Can’t Breathe” during warmups.

The athletic director at Fort Bragg High School informed his counterpart at Mendocino High School this week that neither the boys nor girls team would be allowed to participate in the three-day tournament hosted by Fort Bragg High starting Monday, Mendocino Unified School District Superintendent Jason Morse said.

The boys were reinstated after all but one player agreed not to wear the shirts inspired by the last words of Eric Garner, the New York man who died after an officer put him in a chokehold, while on the Fort Bragg campus during the Vern Piver Holiday Classic tournament…

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