D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 129
May 18, 2017
123 of the Best Free Blogging Tools that Will Save You Time Blogging (2017 Update)
I’ve had to cut down my weekly Author Interviews to twice a month now instead of every Friday so I can spend more time writing. In lieu of those alternate Fridays I’d like to share articles that I’ve come across which I feel will be valuable to bloggers and authors, and today I’m sharing a wonderfully informative article by my friend and ûber blogging expert Janice Wald from Mostlyblogging.com
In this post, Janice is offering 123 FREE blogging tools we can add to our arsenal of tools. I’m sure many of us are already using some of them, but this post would be excellent to bookmark for future reference because as time goes by and we find our blogs growing , our interests tend to become more piqued about more things we can do with our blogs to gain readership, as well as using different avenues of social media. Check out Janice’s post below.
123 of the Best Free Blogging Tools that Will Save You Time Blogging (2017 Update)
MAY 7, 2017 BY Janice Wald
Are you aware of bloggers’ two most important priorities?
They are saving money and saving time.
This post, an update to my 2016 post 89 Best Free Blogging Tools That Will Save You Time Blogging, does just that.
The sites and apps I’ve discovered since the original post’s publication have been added. Sites no longer in existence have been removed.
These websites and apps make blogging so much easier you might wonder if they are free. Have no doubts. They all are.
The blogging tools are presented in alphabetical order.
Let’s get to them.
Free Blogging Tools
Accessify will analyze your site’s loading speed and make recommendations for improvements.
Ahalogy I used to use Ahalogy to schedule all my Pinterest pins to my boards and community boards. I am such a fan.
Alexa has your blog’s Alexa score. Many experts revealed they won’t subscribe to someone’s blog if that person doesn’t have a low Alexa score.
AnswerthePublic This fascinating site gives you blog topic ideas as well as ideas for long-tail keywords. Blogger Julie Kaulpali called it “fun” to use. I actually enjoyed seeing the extremely specific analytics. Make blogging decisions based on your reader preferences, which it will share with you. I will give you fair warning: When you get there, you will see a man waiting for you. His name is “The Seeker”. At one point, he started picking his teeth while he was waiting for me. As Julie expressed, a “fun” site to use. I was shocked to see how many ideas showed up when I typed in my niche, blogging.
aSleep You don’t have to use the app to go to sleep. However, it produces white noise that will allow you to block out distracting background noise when you are trying to blog. If you find listening to the sound of the rain or the wind more relaxing than noisy neighbors when you are trying to blog, try the app.
Backlink Checker tells you which sites have linked to you.
BeFunky Photo Editor I find BeFunky quick to use and user-friendly. [Read: This is How You Spruce Up Your Visuals with 3 Free Tools]
Bounce Rate can be found at Alexa.com. Its analytics are important. It will tell you how long people are staying on your blog and how many pages on your blog they are viewing. [15 Guaranteed Ways to Make Your Bounce Rate Look Amazing]
Buffer is my choice for social media scheduler but only allows up to 10 links to be scheduled at one time for free. [Read: 17 Reasons Buffer Will Blow Your Mind]
Buzzsumo.com shows you trending topics. If you write about popular topics, you will be more likely to get page views. Blogger Harsh Agrawal recommends Buzzsumo. “You can use this information to discover what content performs best for your targeted keyword so you can create an even stronger article and get it to outrank your competitor’s.” . . . Please continue reading HERE for 113 more tips!
Source: 123 of the Best Free Blogging Tools that Will Save You Time Blogging (2017 Update)
May 16, 2017
Amazon’s New KDP Print Feature is Bad News for CreateSpace Users – Diane Tibert
Read the Fine Print
Today’s reblog is an interesting look at what the pros and cons are for authors to create their paperbacks on KDP as opposed to using Createspace. It may be beneficial for some, but as far as mine and Diane Tibert’s opinion goes, for Canadian authors, it’s a lose, lose. Despite the fact that Createspace holds our (Canadian) royalties as hostage until they’ve reached a $100 threshold, it would cost us even more than it already does to order our own books through Amazon with NO discount.
Have a read in more detail about Diane’s article:
The first news I heard about KDP Print was in an email from Amazon on February 15th. Since then, I’ve read articles, blog posts and comments about it and watched the praise given by Amazon for this service dwindle quickly.
In the email, Amazon announced they were making print book publishing easier for writers. They stated, “KDP prints your book on demand and subtracts your printing costs from your royalties, so you don’t have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory.”
That’s what CreateSpace does. Sort of. I believe CreateSpace takes the cost of the printing of the book from the sale price, then takes a cut of the royalties. Until I see the numbers and do the math, I am unsure which service will offer a better financial deal for authors.
The message also stated, “It also enables you to receive consolidated royalty payments for paperback and eBook sales. You can view combined reports and manage your print and eBook publishing from one website.”
Except, I’m okay with visiting two sites to get my sales reports. In fact, I prefer CreateSpace’s sales report much more than I do Kindle’s. Kindle’s is not straightforward and too clunky to find answers quickly.
Amazon claims the benefits of using KDP Print over CreateSpace are:
Reach paperback readers through Amazon websites in the US, Europe (amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.es, amazon.it) and Japan (amazon.co.jp).
Earn up to 60% royalties on the list price you set, minus printing costs.
You get to use Amazon’s catalog system. CreateSpace’s catalog used the BISAC system. With the new KDP Paperback features, you can use the same categories you picked for your eBook, plus you get keywords!
Distribution to Japan.
My Assessment of These Benefits
My paperbacks through CreateSpace already reach these markets and more. Did you notice one important country missing from the list? CANADA! In other words, I cannot order a copy of my own book, and neither can my friends, my neighbours or anyone else . . . Continue Reading
Source: Amazon’s New KDP Print Feature is Bad News for CreateSpace Users – Diane Tibert
May 13, 2017
Sunday Book Review – The Courage to be Creative – Doreen Virtue
My Sunday book review today is featuring two wonderful and inspiring books from Doreen Virtue. Doreen is a best selling author of over 100 books and a doctor of psychology. She works with angels and besides books, she offers several types of angel decks, podcasts and has appeared on several television shows through the years.
Get This Book on Amazon!
Blurb:
You were born creative, because you are the creation of the Creator, as we all are. If you don’t feel that way or your artistic endeavors haven’t worked out, this book can help you. Doreen Virtue, the beloved author of over 100 best-selling books, card decks, and audio/video programs, shows you how to gain more than a dozen forms of courage that lead to creativity – including an unshakable belief in yourself and dedication to seeing your sacred ideas and dreams through to fruition.
In these pages, Doreen reveals the secrets behind her own incredibly prolific creative output, details what guides her writing process, and offers an unprecedented window onto what it really looks like to be self-employed in the creative arts. In addition, each chapter features useful tips to lead you to discover your natural talents as a writer or artist and in other creative vocations or avocations. Doreen also includes summaries of fascinating psychological studies that showcase how to become a successful and satisfied creative individual.
Filled with real-world advice, scientific research on creativity, and true stories, The Courage to Be Creative both lays bare the divinely guided path to “birthing” a creative work and charts the earthly path to jump-starting your creative career (including confidently navigating the labyrinth of literary and creative agencies, publishers, marketing outlets, and much more).
This extraordinary book merges the spiritual with the practical, demonstrating how to courageously harness your innate gifts for purposeful artistic pursuits and lasting fulfillment – creatively, personally, and professionally, as well as financially – and leave your unique mark on the world.
My 5 Star Review
As a long time follower of Doreen Virtue, and a reader of many of her books, I couldn’t help but want to read this one too. One may think there is only so much one can write about angels, but if you’ve read Virtue’s books you will know there are many angels among us and each serves a particular realm they govern over.
This book resonated with me because the author shares more of herself in this book with her journey to becoming a writer and obstacles she’s overcome in her own life in pursuing her dream to be a prolific writer and a messenger of the angels with her words. She also shares what it’s like to have a low self-esteem and how she learned to build herself up and pursue her dreams despite the rejection along the way.
As a writer myself, who writes about overcoming low self-esteem and growing through adversity, it was interesting to read from a most popular fellow author that many of our paths are not easy. Virtue offers a wealth of positivity in this book by recognizing that we all have creativity within us. She shows us the way to find our own creativity and use it with the useful tips offered in this book and includes an extensive list of references we can use to build our creative selves and places we can let our work be seen.
Get this book on Amazon!
Blurb:
When you clear away negative energy residues from fear and worry, your natural spiritual power awakens. This innate power allows you to know the future; freely communicate with God and the angels; and heal yourself, others, and the planet. In Chakra Clearing, Doreen Virtue guides you through meditations and visualizations to clear your chakras, which activates your inborn healing and psychic abilities.
Enclosed you’ll also find a download link for meditative audio that complements the material in the book. The audio starts with a morning meditation designed to begin your day with a bright, positive energy frequency and surround you with healing light. The relaxing evening meditation that follows clears away energy that you may have absorbed during the day, and invites angels to enter your dreams and give you divine messages.
My 5 Star Review:
Another inspirational self help guide and book from a great author and communicator with angels.
Virtue is a master at showing us the way to heal ourselves with the help of meditations and learning how to manifest healing and desires with the summoning of angels. In this book she introduces us to the Chakras, where they are positioned in our bodies and how to recognize blockages which can stagnate the energies within us. Her guidance will help us understand how the Chakras work, and her tips on how to clear the blocked energies which govern our bodies is written to demonstrate how visualization can manifest and regenerate the light within us. There is also a section about how to call on your angels, and what the different angels represent when calling on for protection.
If you’re a believer in angels, or wish to learn more about the subject then this book is for you.
Two winning and insightful books by Doreen Virtue.
May 11, 2017
Guest Author Feature – Balroop Singh – Allow Yourself To Be A Better Person
Today’s guest feature is author/blogger and friend, Balroop Singh. She is a nonfiction writer and a poet.
I met Balroop through blogging when I found so many of her posts resonated with my own personal beliefs. Balroop is a beautiful spirit, and an eternal optimist despite weathering many storms in her past, and all of her books are based on her spiritual and inspirational writing.
I recently had the pleasure of reading her latest book – Allow Yourself To Be a Better Person, (my review is here), and I knew, based on what she shares of herself and her experience that I would love that book and I look forward to eventually reading all of her books.
About Balroop:
Balroop Singh, a former teacher, an educationalist, a blogger, a poet and an author always had a passion for writing. The world of her imagination has a queer connection with realism. She could envision the images of her own poetry while teaching the poems. Her dreams saw the light of the day when she published her first book: ‘Sublime Shadows Of Life.’ She has always lived through her heart. She is a great nature lover; she loves to watch birds flying home. The sunsets allure her with their varied hues that they lend to the sky. She can spend endless hours listening to the rustling leaves and the sound of waterfalls. Balroop lives in Danville, California.
Balroop’s latest book, Allow Yourself To Be a Better Person is Available at Amazon
Blurb:
Do you think you are a good person? Would you like to meet your better self? Welcome to the vast vistas that this book unravels before you by highlighting the shaded areas that could never get your attention.
Enhancement of personality is a long process, which starts only when we acknowledge the need for it. Often we detest looking at our imperfections and if somebody is professionally successful, the thought doesn’t even strike.
This book enlightens you about the goodness, which lies dormant within us till we make an effort to explore it. It exhorts you to introspect and accept natural human failings. It guides you towards the metamorphosis that could make you an endearing personality.
Welcome Balroop and I’m happy to have you here today to enlighten us about yourself and your inspirational writing.
From conversations we’ve shared in comments and many of your posts and your poetry, I detect that your childhood wasn’t ideal. How did you learn to rise above and not fall prey to the negativity you encountered?
Whenever I hear this song – “Give me some sunshine, give me some rain, give me another chance, I wanna grow up again”…tears well up in my eyes and my heart can feel the pang concealed in this verse. I know there are children who don’t have a perfect childhood even today and when I look at them or read their stories, I tell myself…I was okay.
It is quite difficult to share layers of darkness that shroud me but I lost my father to a road accident when I was 12 and you can understand how challenging life could be for us. I grew up in the cauldron of circumstances, adversities molded my personality and my mother’s determination steeled me. I learned all the lessons of life by encountering them head on and negativity was a very little element in the face of setbacks that I saw at a very young age. When you tell yourself what could be worse than what we have, negativity dare not touch you!
Your writing is not only beautiful but filled with such wisdom about human emotions. What kind of experiences did you encounter in life when you were younger that inspired you to write books?
Who cares about human emotions? Do people understand them? Is it essential to display them when they can be read through one’s eyes? Many such questions haunted me when I was told to grieve. ‘How dare you smile or laugh’…was the perpetual message! Societal norms, judgmental people and a feeling of emptiness encompassed me during the most impressionable years of growing up.
I did put up a brave front, telling myself that it must be the way of the world. Moments of joy around me were snatched away by those who chose to live in sorrow but I learnt very early that emotions could never be suppressed; it is better to accept them, embrace them and conduct a meaningful dialogue with them. Some of them were shoved into the obscure corners of my mind, which crept out when I learnt to deal with them. All these now find way into my books, making a natural spring of emotional resilience.
Most of your writing and poetry is based on human emotions and inspirational and uplifting prose. What inspires your poetry?
Probably I am too sensitive and intuitive. Even small incidents of misery, oppression, injustice, discrimination and violence around me pursue my thoughts till I decant them into words of my choice. Emotions have imprisoned me, ruled me and tried to smother me but I channelized them and poured them into my poetry. A somber solace pervades around me now!
When I published my first book of poetry ‘Sublime Shadows Of Life’, I sent it to my friends. One of my school friends who had not been in touch with me rang me up and asked me – ‘is everything ok in your life?’ When I replied in affirmative, she said she got worried as many of my poems are submerged in grief!
You write with such depth and knowing of the human psyche. Did your background in education involve studies in psychology, or did you accumulate your insights from observing and your own experiences?
I could never get the opportunity to choose Psychology as a subject of study though I would have loved to delve deeper into human psyche through a systematic study. Most of my insights and perceptions were gathered from observation and analysis of people who meet us in various garbs and gears. The study of Literature, discussion of diverse characters and their motives, critical analysis of poetry and drama must have developed my interest and ability.
I have spent a major chunk of my life amongst youngsters of the age group 15 – 17 years; their intrepid and unassuming reactions, their idealism, aspirations and their buoyant, ever-inspiring energy further honed my skills of getting into the skin of various kinds of people around us.
When do you think was the pivotal point in your life that inspired you to begin writing books?
There comes a point in life when we discover we have plenty of time, when you arrive at a station, which welcomes you with your solitude and inspires you to start afresh, when one phase of life gets over and you realize you have a lot inside you…that was my point of awakening. My girls flew away overseas for further study and a deluge of emotional outburst resulted in my first poetry book. One of my friends told me ‘this is just the tip of the iceberg!’ It was indeed!
What advice would you give us about how we can work to free our souls from emotional, negative chains that keep us bound to people that aren’t bringing any positivity to our lives?
Negative and emotional chains are very subtle and deceptive. They absorb more energy and often walk away victorious, testing our patience and strength yet they ennoble us, tame our ego, thereby transforming us into humble human beings. However hard you try, you wont be able to knock negativity out of your lives. You have to deal with it – self-talk, introspection, detachment and writing your reactions down often helps.
All those hurts, the agony, the emotional throttling gets assuaged when we pour it out, when we weave a wreath of words to be placed on those buried memories, when we share it in the form of a poem, a story or a book that we write. Freedom starts the moment we pen down our thoughts. We feel relieved. We learn to forgive. We rise above human imperfections.
What advice would you like to share with us about building and maintaining healthy, emotional relationships?
I have written a book about ‘Emotional Truths of Relationships’…here is an excerpt that answers your question:
Relationships have to be nurtured slowly and carefully, their brittleness is felt only when they are on the verge of falling apart. Take care of the words you use. They act like arrows, words spoken in anger or frustration cause deep wounds, which never heal. It may not be always easy to control your rancor but prudent are those who think before they speak.
Many loving relationships break up due to arrogance of establishing supremacy, whether it is your spouse or sibling. If you think you have the capability to control, you are seriously mistaken. Self-respect and freedom is dear to all.
When we pretend to be loving and affectionate but our actions and words are not in consonance with what we pose to be, such relationships never grow well. Do you think people are so dumb that they can’t see through your sham? If you expect others to respect you, don’t forget they too expect the same. Hurting their self-esteem can boomerang. Lack of respect for each other is a slow slayer of relationships!
We all possess human frailties, which are either inherent or picked up from the environment. Nobody is born perfect…we learn from each other. All we need is the will to improve our relationships.
Blaming our past or our parents who could not give us the best of this world will not make us better human beings. Our own efforts would.
Your book, Allow Yourself To Be a Better Person offers much insight on traits and habits of our personalities in which many are formed from our backgrounds and upbringings, shedding light on how we can overcome the negative traits and build a more stable and happier sense of self. Would you please share an excerpt with us?
Sure! Here is an excerpt from my latest book:
There was a time when I never gave a thought to becoming a better person as I considered myself to be ‘the best.’ Probably we all think like that!
At the threshold of youth, we are too vain and self-centered, living in the world of our dreams and friends…a blessed domain of self-absorption, of freedom… devoid of any fetters that link us to societal norms.
Then I came across William Faulkner’s observation: “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
Better than myself? But ‘I am the best,’ I told myself!
The arrogance of this thought hit me hard when I met my husband. I hardly knew him as he was ushered into my life as a prospective groom who had been chosen for me. I was told ‘he is the best!’
But that is another story.
I am glad I soon realized that we all have some imperfections, which we refuse to reflect on.
I discovered that each personality could be enhanced. I learned that self-enhancement is the dream of almost all people…areas may differ.
I also learnt that what holds us back is our own ego, which talks to us in hyperboles.
We can only become a better person if we have the inclination and the resolve, only if we accept that life is a learning curve and all experiences add something to our personality.
Debbie, I would like to extend my gratitude to you for providing me this awesome opportunity of sharing my works with you. I love your benevolence and amiable nature of taking such an initiative.
Thank you Balroop for coming here today to share some of yourself and your work. I’m sure your writing is inspirational for people of all ages, we are never too old to get in touch with our higher selves. It was a pleasure having you here to spread your wisdom by sharing with others.
Connect with Balroop:
You can visit my blog at: http://balroop2013.wordpress.com
Let’s connect: https://twitter.com/BalroopShado
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emotional-Shadows/151387075057971
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+BalroopSinghsrao/posts
https://www.pinterest.com/balroops/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7340810.Balroop_Singh
Visit all of Balroop’s books at her Amazon Author Page
May 10, 2017
Are you familiar with the Writing/Editing App – Prowritingaid?
Today I want to talk about a most helpful writing app I use called Prowritingaid . This is a wonderful writing/editing app which you purchase a licence for to use and then you download it into your Word program and/or your WordPress blog dashboard so the editing tools will display on your editing toolbars. The licence is also not limited to one computer which is a big bonus.
Having Prowritingaid in your arsenal of editing tools is immensely helpful for a multitude of writing sins. It’s more than a spell-checker offering suggestions for grammar checks, sticky sentences, fragmented sentences, repeated words, thesaurus suggestions and so much more.
Once you’ve downloaded the product you will receive explicit instructions on how to install it.
You can view just some of the apps capabilities to aid in your writing HERE
This is what your editing toolbox will look like when you download the Prowritingaid app to your blog’s dashboard. You will notice all the tools available to edit your posts, many more than the standard tools in our dashboards.
I received an email from Prowritingaid recently, offering anyone who signs up for licence for this app to receive 20% off if you purchase it through the month of May. If you sign up directly through this link https://prowritingaid.com?mafid=454475 I too will earn brownie points toward my licence with extending the service to me for one free month for each person who signs up.
Are any of you using this App? If so, how beneficial do you find it to your writing?
If you’re considering purchasing this app or just want to have a look around the website to get a broader scope of its capabilities, please do so from the link they’ve sent me here which they’ve coded to track who purchases through my link so I can gain the credits. Thanks and happy writing!
Here is that link again: https://prowritingaid.com?mafid=454475
More helpful links:
How to download Prowritingaid to Word
How to download Prowritingaid to WordPress
May 9, 2017
Did you know your #Kindle can do more than just hold books?
It’s come to my attention from some readers that they may not be familiar about how exactly Kindle works, and what it’s other capabilities are. So today I’m going to go over a few pointers about Kindle and some of its additional uses besides downloading books.
First, a Kindle is a cloud-based virtual bookshelf with no limit to how many books you choose to download to it. As a writer and an avid reader, I wouldn’t be without one. Don’t get me wrong, I love paperbacks and have too many bookshelves of books, many from years past and many from the years since I’ve been a writer which are mostly books on tools of the trade.
I tend to like paperbacks for referencing. I also destroy their beauty by folding pages, highlighting passages, inserting sticky notes, well, you get the drift. But my Kindle is for reading everything else and it comes in handy to read in bed and take on vacation, avoiding the extra weight to carry.
There are numerous updated versions of Kindles available which I’m not going to get into here, some of which have even become more like a mini laptop. But when I purchased my first Kindle, which is still the only one I use, I bought the plain, original version. Why? Well, I have a wonderful author friend who I refer to as my mentor because I learned a lot about self publishing from his help and advice, esteemed horror writer, James Thorn. He advised me to buy the plain one because it had no bells and whistles, but it also has no backlight. Without a backlight there is no glare, making it easy to read outdoors and while traveling. If any of you have tried to work on your laptop or look at your mobile phones while in the sun, you can appreciate this.
I digress, besides the ability of loading numerous books on our Kindles, we can also send other documents, articles, PDF’s, etc. to the Kindle. This can come in handy when we want to have access to read or use as reference without having to be at a computer. Also, keep in mind, in order to send books or anything to Kindle, you must have Wifi active to send. Once the book or document is loaded on the Kindle you don’t need Wifi to read anything.
All Kindles offer a menu where you can adjust fonts, jump to different pages, highlight passages, even look up words from. I know all the newer versions offer even much more.
So how do we send books and other things to our Kindles?
For books, you must start by signing up with an account on Amazon. Once you’ve signed up, you’re able to buy a book with one click. Your book will be automatically delivered to your Kindle. You will also be able to check in your ‘library’ in your account which books you have purchased, and if you happen to click to buy a book you may have already purchased, it will let you know you’ve already done so.
Before I got my first Kindle I already had many books in my Kindle library on my computer. When I received my Kindle from Amazon, it came loaded with all my books I’d already purchased! But no worries if you purchased elsewhere, because you have to register it with your Amazon account as part of the set up process and then your previously purchased library of books will automatically download to it.
Keep in mind, if you don’t own a Kindle, you can also read on your computer or phone. You would only need to load the Kindle App. To do that you would go to https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp and click on the applicable device you want to load the Kindle app on, then your books will magically appear there too.
Let’s say a friend has sent you a book, or PDF of their book, or you wanted to load a document or an interesting article off the web onto your Kindle. To do that you will need to add the ‘send to Kindle’ App to your computer first. Once you’ve downloaded that to your computer you would only have to go to your documents in your computer, or wherever you’ve saved an article or book you want to transfer to Kindle, right click on the item and an option will come up for you to ‘send to Kindle’, eazy peazy! Here’s the link to add the ‘send to Kindle’ App to your computer – https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle/pc .
I hope this article has been helpful to you, and if you have any further questions, I’m happy to answer them in comments 
May 6, 2017
Sunday Book Review -The Swamp Fairy Book 1 – Colleen Chesebro
Today’s book review is on Colleen Chesebro’s, The Swamp Fairy, Book 1 of The Heart Stone Chronicles. Although this book is in the genre of YA/Fantasy, I found it an enjoyable read for all ages because of the compassionate storyline that I feel anyone with heart will enjoy.
Get this Book on Amazon!
Blurb:
Fourteen-year-old Abigale Forester, recently orphaned and a ward of the State of Illinois moves from Chicago to Florida to live with her aunt, her last living relative. Magnolia Forester becomes her legal Guardian, and together they claim an ancient inheritance; land that belonged to Abby’s mother’s family for generations.
Holding onto the only piece of her mother Abby has left, a calcite pendant and her mother’s most sacred possession, she discovers the truth of her legacy. The pendant is more significant than she could possibly imagine. Forged from a giant mystical heart-shaped stone found on the very swamp land Abby now owns, it holds the power of her ancestors.
But with that power comes greater responsibility, one that pits her against Rafe Cobb, a greedy land developer, who will stop at nothing to own Abby’s swamp land.
As Abby learns to be part of a family again and explores her love of horses with friends, Savanna, and Blake, the swamp slowly gives up some of its secrets. She is summoned by a primeval nymph, who teaches Abby that her true destiny is to protect the nymphs from evil in an ever-changing modern world.
Can Abby save the swamp and the Naiad Nymph Clan from certain destruction before it is too late?
My 5 Star Review:
This book is a wonderful story about a beautifully spirited child, Abigale, who was orphaned at a young age when her mother died and consequentially, her father disappeared shortly afterward.
Abby was left in the capable and loving care of her mom’s best friend and later sent to live with her dad’s only living sister, uprooting her from Chicago to Pensicola, Florida, where she begins a new life and is taken back to the place of her mother’s legacy – a gifted parcel of land Abby’s mother left her. The land is filled with magical properties and fairies, and of course, an evil man who threatens to take away Abby’s legacy at any cost.
The story will have you turning the pages, eager to keep up with Abby as well as an eye on her, hoping she can overcome the ominous doom of Rafe Cobb who will go to any lengths to take Abby’s birthright land away from her.
Through the journey, we’ll cheer for Abby’s triumphs as she forms new friendships and deals with mean-spirited others who don’t accept the new girl in town, and feel our hearts tugged at as Abby shares tender memories about her life. One can’t help but root for Abby who deserves happiness in her life.
A perfect read and beautifully written characters who will draw us in, for young girls and boys alike, and anyone who loves to read a good story where we cheer for the underdog.
Noteworthy, to pay attention to the wonderful haikus written to introduce each chapter. This book was heartwarming and a most enjoyable read.
May 5, 2017
South Branch Scribbler: Guest Author D.G. Kaye
I was delighted to be featured on at the South Branch Scribbler with Allan Hudson, sharing a bit about me and my books. Allan’ is a fellow Canadian author who runs a segment on his blog South Branch Scribbler, where he features authors and their books.
“Something New Every Week. Discover Great Stories. Guest Authors, Artists & Musicians. 4Q Interviews. Wall of War. Dark Side of a Promise.”
Guest Author D G Kaye
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Scribbler. So happy to have D G Kaye join us. She is also sharing an excerpt from her latest novel. A special note is that Debby is an author’s best friend. She has been most kind in introducing her readers to other authors and we are all indebted. Please see her links below. . . Continue reading
May 4, 2017
How can we encourage more readers to leave reviews for our books? | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Today’s reblog is an important post written by Sally Cronin. Sally wrote this post as a great window for readers to look into the importance of writing reviews on books they read as feedback for authors and future readers. For authors, Sally’s post offers various ways we can incorporate requesting readers to review our work after they’ve read our books.
Before I share Sally’s post, I’d just like to add that when this topic comes up, some readers say they don’t have the time to post, or perhaps they’ve waited too long to review and may have forgotten much of what they’ve read. I’d like to share my formula here for how I go about writing reviews.
While I’m reading a book and come across significant points that intrigue me I jot down little notes to keep for when I’m ready to write the review so I can refer to those points. After I finish reading a book, within a day, I hand write my review to prepare what I want to write as a review. I may also not get a moment right away to edit or post my review, both on Amazon and Goodreads, but I make it a point to do so within a week after finishing, and all I have to do is type in what I’ve already written. It doesn’t always have to be a long review, nor should it be a synopsis of the book, but a telling about how the book struck me and what I took from it. I hope this helps some readers who feel they don’t know what they should write and who sometimes feel intimidated to do so.
Now, let’s continue reading Sally’s great ideas for gaining more reviews:
How can we encourage more readers to leave reviews for our books?
Posted on April 18, 2017 by Smorgasbord – Variety is the Spice of Life.
I am very keen to make reviews a prominent feature of the book promotions and encourage readers to review the books that they buy and enjoy, or not as the case may be.
Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool that anyone who is selling a product benefits from. Authors are no different, and our books tend to be judged by the number and quality that they have received.
Part of the problem is that those who are not writers of books or blogs are uncomfortable in offering reviews and feel that what they have to say is not important. Many who do review a book, leave just one line after their star rating, simply saying that the reader enjoyed or disliked a book, but they do not elaborate.
That is obviously very welcome. But whilst a potential reader does not want to read three pages filled with spoilers in a review, they do usually want a little more about what they are going to find before paying good money for a book.
In future any books that I publish are going to include a page immediately following the end.
And it is going to be a request for a review – good or bad, and I will lay out some basic questions that might help develop a review that is constructive. . . Continue Reading
Note: My Friday Guest author posts will resume next Friday and from then on there will be guest features every other Friday instead of once a week. As we can all well appreciate, putting together questions and material to make up these interviews are quite time consuming, but because I enjoy doing them, I will continue to do so but only twice a month while I am juggling my time to finish writing and publishing my next book. When breathing room returns, I will fit more interviews into my schedule. Thanks for reading.
May 2, 2017
The #BloggersBash Blues – Am I Going to the Bash or Not?
THIS ISSUE OF THE BASH COMPETITION IS FEATURING ‘MURPHY’
I have been looking forward to going to the Blogger’s Bash since I saw video and blog posts about how fun the last one was last year, and because so many of my wonderful British friends will be there.
When I formulate a plan to do something, I do it. I will move mountains and obstacles and arrange whatever it takes to see me through my mission. The only problem is, I can control my stuff, but I’m not in control of what fates are in store for the people I’m counting on to make my plan come to fruition. Also, when it comes to me and my best friend Zan, we’ve always had a third party meddle in our plans. In fact, this third party has been a part of our lives as long as we’ve been friends, and yet, we’ve always managed a way to dodge or work around “Murphy” and his motto: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
Zan and I laugh a lot, and even when there’s a matter we share between us that isn’t a laughing matter, we’ll instantly bring up “Murphy’s” name and blame circumstances on him, because his timing is the absolute worst. So here’s the thing, my plans to get to the Bash in the UK are on lockdown at the moment. Unlocking the plans will depend on whether Murphy sorts himself out before the day of the Bash, plus a day to let me get to the UK, and recover another from severe jetlag.
So here’s the scoop on my our (meaning mine and Zan’s predicament).
Zan is known as someone who is notorious for moving . . . a lot. She has bought, renovated, lived in, and sold many homes throughout her life. She emailed me in March while I was in Arizona to notify me that her house was once again on the market. She presumed the house would be sold and moved out of into a temporary rental while her and her husband built yet another house, but assured me, wherever she was at the time of the Bash, I’d be staying with her because I’m considered family and don’t require ‘guest’ attention or accommodation, a couch would be fine, and I could assist her in packing or unpacking, whatever the case would be at the time. But there have been several interjections by Murphy.
At first I was worried about going to the UK, leaving my husband alone for a week or so, but I had managed to arrange things on that front. Then Zan and I kept missing each other’s calls from Skype (time zone issues) and we finally got hold of one another and she updated me two weeks ago that the house issue was still dragging out with the lawyers of the buyers, and when it does confirm, she’ll have 28 days from that date to pack up, find a rental and move. Yes, the woman is an amazon warrior woman who gets shit done.
We kept stringently in touch of the updates so I could know when it was safe to book my trip and that I wouldn’t be landing in the UK on her actual moving date where I would also be relying on her to pick me up at Gatwick airport, a good hour and forty minute drive away from Kent each way, and the Bash date was growing closer as another week passed before the deal went through and the 28 days begin counting down.
A week ago, we spoke and the deal still wasn’t sealed but she told me to book my airfare anyway and we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Something nagged away at my subconscience and intuition, telling me to wait out the end of the week before booking and wait to confirm all was going to work out before I committed to an airline ticket I didn’t want to lose money on if I couldn’t go. Before last weekend approached Zan Skypes me again with her announcement ‘New Event Updates’, I knew full well that Murphy was making things difficult for both of us to connect.
At first Zan informed me that matters still weren’t sewn up with the house issue, but in the next breath, informed me that she’s coming to Toronto either this week or next. “Omg, what?????????” I threw my hands in the air and pretended to be tearing my hair out on camera as we talked on Skype.
Zan’s mom is ill, a suspected return of a cancer is quite possible. She lives here in Toronto, where Zan is originally from, and Zan’s sister is also ill, her sister being her only sibling and no other family to help their mother out, and considerably too much for her sister to take care of by herself. Of course with all the kerfuffle, we managed to laugh as Zan pointed out that Murphy was up to tricks again because she obviously didn’t have enough on her plate without having to fly back to Toronto in the midst of mayhem, which of course falls onto our plans of me coming there.
Zan said she will stay in Toronto for approximately 10 days to assess her mother’s situation and talk to doctors and when the house closes confirmed, will fly home to pack up her house in whatever time is left on the contract while her husband looks for a temporary home and if need be she’d hire packers to pack up her house, depending on the time frame left. So where does this leave me, besides the fact that I’ll get to spend time with my bestie while she’s here in Toronto?
So I said to her, if she comes and winds up having to stay till the end of May, we’ll fly to the UK together and I’ll still make the Bash. Now, we think that sounds good in theory and we’ve agreed that I shouldn’t book my fare until her life takes some more definite structure, and if things work out okay by mid to end of May, I’ll be purchasing a last minute flight to the UK. On the other hand, Zan isn’t certain if her mom could be living out her last days now, and may have to stay longer in Toronto and merely dash home to the UK for a few days to straighten out legalities and living arrangements and having to fly right back to Toronto again. So basically, Murphy has indeed interjected himself once again into our lives and plans, and as of this posting, I am unable to confirm that I am still coming to the Bash or not, depending on how all these chips fall.
If you found this post confusing, try being me and Zan, but then again, don’t even bother.
I know myself and many of my good friends who will be at the Bash are all waiting anxiously to spend some time and give each other some big hugs and I am doing my best to keep on top of the situation and am fully still willing to come to the UK, if Zan’s situation permits, up until within 3 days of the Bash if it should so work out that way and I can get a last minute deal for late booking as opposed to being robbed by an enormous price for same reason. So I just wanted to let my wonderful blogging friends here know the situation currently, because I know we’ve been anxiously waiting to meet, and if I can make it happen, I wanted you all to know what is entailed in order for me to do so.
Now that you’re all updated with as much as I know up to this point, I will certainly keep you all posted as Murphy the situation unfolds. As Zan says: “Pause, alert . . . watch this space.”
Oh, and I promised to give a shout out to Zan’s little grandies, Poppy and Barney, as they were visiting Zan when we last chatted and they were thrilled to show up in our Skype conversation wanting to know who their glamma was talking to and found it was cool to talk to their grandma’s best friend across the pond on a computer, and to be chatting with a ‘real’ author, lol. I told you two little cuties I’d mention your name in this blog post.
