D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 157
February 26, 2016
Jerome, Arizona – #Mining town

Jerome, Arizona is an old mining town, population of a meager 450 people, but it wasn’t always so lightly populated. It’s approximately a 2 hour drive northwest of Scottsdale in the Verde Valley. The tourist map recommends it as a must-see place to visit.
My husband and brother-in-law are fascinated with anything cowboy, so we decided to take a little road trip up there, one warm, but mostly overcast, cloudy day.
Jerome sits up on a cliff known as Cleopatra Hill. The elevation is 5300 feet. It was a lot colder up there than where we’d come from in Scottsdale. I can tell you that the one lane up and one down the mountain was a pretty narrow ride with barely a guard rail or lights. I remarked how I’d be scared to drive in or out of Jerome at night or in the rain . . or worse, the snow.
A Brief History:
In the 1880s, Jerome was a billion dollar mining town full of ore. For 70 years, the two copper mines made hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. The town was named after a New York Lawyer, Eugene Jerome who formed the United Verde Copper Company.
By 1920 the population began to rise to 15,000. It hosted saloons, hotels and the town brothel, and of course a county jail. Through the years, many buildings had burned down from the two fires of 1894 and 1899, but were rebuilt.

The mines yielded millions of tons of copper, silver and gold. In 1938, an underground blast rocked Jerome’s foundation and much of the business district slid down the hillside 225 feet – most notably, the county jail. This event was the beginning of the downfall of Jerome, resulting in its becoming a ghost town.
With the depression and the advent of World War II, and fluctuating copper prices, the mines finally closed in 1953. By then, the remainder of the townspeople left, leaving a mere 50 people residing in Jerome.
Through the later decades, Jerome was rediscovered by artists who moved there for its magnificent views and cheap real estate. Now there are galleries, a few restaurants and gift shops and a few bed and breakfasts which are said to be haunted.

My Observations:
The town is quite small and doesn’t appear that much has been updated in 100 years.
There are a few updated bar/restaurants, and now ‘family’ saloons. The town brothel had been turned first into a restaurant, and has become a store of ill repute, full of nostalgic girlie photos, flapper hats, pins and badges from earlier wars, and some old signs.
But what I found most interesting in there was a table with small cardboard boxes, each filled with coins representing various states’ brothels in the mid and southwest.
These coins were what gentlemen would purchase when entering a brothel that gave them access to a lady for the evening. Each coin had engraved the brothel name and state where it was from, and every one of them had engraved on the flipside, “Good for one night.” One could purchase these coins of choice as a souvenir for $3.00. I couldn’t help but wonder how much they paid for the service when purchasing these coins back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
I wandered into some other gift shops and found items from natural stones to old signs to Tshirts, and found them all rather expensive compared to any other tourist place I’d been to in Arizona. I couldn’t believe that this tiny town with nothing more than a beautiful view and a bit of history, charged such high prices for souvenirs. I didn’t see anyone walking around with bags.
I realize it’s now a small tourist town and everyone has to make a living, but it’s not like there’s a waiting list to get there. To me, these sky high prices were like ‘shooting yourself in the foot’ (a fitting phrase), by being a little more competitive, price-wise, I think that tourists like myself would have liked to pick up some souvenirs.
All in all it was an experience to go to Jerome and see a bit of this history. It felt strange being in that little store that was once a brothel and looking at some of the old hotels and remnants of burnt out buildings from the fires.
On the way back, I managed to capture some gorgeous sunset photos:

Sunset on the highway from Jerome
DGKaye©2016
February 23, 2016
10 Tips For Doing Your (Aaaaauuuugh) Author Interviews | Dan Alatorre – AUTHOR

Friend and author Dan Alatorre is a diverse writer who runs a most interesting and entertaining blog. Dan’s blog is full of tips for writers, and he makes up some really neat writing challenges to throw in the mix.
Dan incorporates his natural sense of humour in all his posts, no matter how serious and informative the post is, that’s just Dan.
Today I’m reposting Dan’s 10 tips on doing author interviews.
“I can hear your collective groans from here. Stop it.
As an author, you will occasionally get to do interviews. As the shy, retiring type that most of you writers are, you won’t want to do them. As a marketer, you do want to do them! Interviews raise awareness of your product – the book you want to sell – but don’t be fooled. The TV stars you see being amazing in interviews on late night TV or the Ellen show didn’t just fall out of bed and hit a home run, being all charming and spontaneous and witty.
Luckily, most of the interviews you get to do will be by email or some other written version. (For some sample interview questions I put together, click HERE. Many are the typical stuff you’ll be asked; some are just me.)
Why is that lucky? Because radio and TV interviews are hard.
First, you will probably have to contact people to do an interview regardless of the medium; they don’t come out of the woodwork to track you down just cos you published a book. According to some radio people I spoke with, authors are alwaystrying to get interviewed – and trust me, doing radio is tough. Quiet spaces while you think of an answer seem like HOURS, and you react by trying to answer quickly – and usually too fast – so it isn’t your best answer and you aren’t happy with the result. The nervousness is noticeable in your voice. You sound like a gerbil.
TV is the same except they get to SEE you becoming a gerbil. That’s just… painful. . . “
Continue Reading
Source: 10 Tips For Doing Your (Aaaaauuuugh) Author Interviews | Dan Alatorre – AUTHOR
February 21, 2016
I Challenge You to Build Your #Email List – Nose Graze
Today I’m going to share a great website with you called Nosegraze.com. Ashley runs a fabulous blog there which is like a help site for all bloggers. She’s a web developer who, besides selling services such as coding, web design, themes, plugins, and so much more, blogs about wordpress and issues we can run into, as well as tricks of the trade to show us how to get the most out of our blogs.
In today’s post that I’m sharing, Ashley is talking about the importance of setting up a mailing list on our blogs.
3 Full-proof ways to grow your email list:
“I don’t care how hot Bloglovin’ or Feedly are, or even Twitter/Facebook/Periscope or whatever new social media is all the rage. The #1 subscription avenue you should be promoting is email. Above all others: email. Email is the best and most reliable way to get people to read your content. People check their email all […]” CONTINUE READING
Source: I Challenge You to Build Your Email List – Nose Graze
DGKaye©2016
February 18, 2016
How To Become A Successful Blogger: Part 3 – How To Ensure Readers Will Keep Coming Back | Hugh’s Views & News
My friend and blogger extraordinaire Hugh Roberts has a diverse blog where he writes and shares some fantastic short stories, creates some fun and interesting blog challenges, he’s on the Annual Blogger Bash committee, and he also offers up some great advice in his latest series on how to become a successful blogger.
Today I’m sharing Hugh’s post on How to Ensure Readers Will Keep Coming Back to your blog.
How To Become A Successful Blogger: Part 3 – How To Ensure Readers Will Keep Coming Back
By Hugh’s Views and News on February 6, 2016
“If we were inviting people around to our house for dinner, a party or just for a coffee, most of us would want to ensure that our home was clean, tidy and looking good, right? If that’s the case for our homes, then shouldn’t it also be the case for our blog?
After writing a new blog post, WordPress allows us to preview the post before we publish it. If you haven’t noticed it then the ‘Preview’ button sits right beside the publish button. I’m always surprised by how some blog posts look as if the author never previewed the post before publishing it. One of the most common errors I see is when large gaps appear between paragraphs or when there is a large blank space at the end of the post. Another error is a sentence being interrupted by an image or photo.
Another off-put for me is when there are large blocks of text within a post. . . ” Continue Reading
You can read Hugh’s post for successful blogging Part 2 on Creating Pingbacks HERE
And Part 1 is all about creating an ‘About me‘ on your blogs and what’s important to include. Read that article HERE
DGKaye©2016
February 16, 2016
Wouldn’t It Be Great to Have a Magic Button on Your Keyboard That Corrects Everything? But Editing and Proofreading Need to be Done by a Human Being. Here’s Why! – BowmanAuthor and Writer/Editor

A good friend of mine, author and editor Deborah Bowman (Bowman author) has written a wonderfully entertaining, yet very informative post on the importance of editing and proofreading. Deb is a vivacious, giving person who is always happy to share good tips and her time to help others:
“It would be wonderful to have a special button on your keyboard that would read your writing and correct every error, typo, wrong word, omitted word, added word, or verb tense. It would be really amazing if the “edit key” would automatically rewrite awkward sentences, paragraphs, or chapters. There are software packages that attempt to go beyond the rigidity of spell/grammar-check, but do they do a better job?
No, not really, or only marginally. The computer or software package would have to comprehend the content, distinguish whether the entire piece has a theme, rewrite sentences and paragraphs to support that theme, and draw a convincing conclusion .
How can the basic rules of grammar or spelling downloaded into a software package cover all the exceptions to the rules in language and enhance the quality of the writing? It is not possible. . . “ Continue Reading
DGKaye©2016
February 13, 2016
Live Love Laugh Every Day – #Valentine’s Day

Wishing all of you here a Happy Valentine’s Day!
While some of us get caught up in the romance of Valentine’s Day, I’m reminding everyone here that Valentine’s Day can be much more than just a day for romance.
Valentine’s Day is a day to remind us to show some love to those dear to us, but love and kindness is something we should practice every day . . . and not just to our loved ones.
If Valentine’s Day was acknowledged every day amongst one another, how much better could we make the world?
Don’t forget to love yourself. To give love freely, start first with yourself.
Don’t forget to love yourself – Soren Kierkegaard
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance – Oscar Wilde
You, yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection – Buddha
Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives – Louise L. Hay
If your heart is a volacano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom? – Khalil Gibran
Sharing Love
In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years – Abraham Lincoln
We do not remember days, we remember moments – Cesare Parese
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them – Dalai Lama
If life had a second edition, how I would correct the proofs – John Clare
DGKaye©2016
February 11, 2016
#Writers: How to Succeed at “Building Platform” Without Really Trying

I came across a fantastic article from the blog of author Anne R. Allen. I subscribed to her blogs well over 2 years ago, and I can tell you that Anne runs an always interesting and informative blog for writers. Besides her interesting articles, written by her, and sometimes by her co-host Ruth Harris, Anne also shares links at the end of her blogs for a writer’s ‘FYI’ on current events in the publishing world, contests, submission alerts, etc.
Anne wrote a post about the importance of building an author and blogging platform for writers. Anne goes into detail about some of the nitty gritty items many of us may tend to overlook as insignificant, and explains why they are not insignificant.
Have a look at a partial statement I’ve copied here, then be sure to click on the ‘Continue Reading’ link for so much more.
. . .When should you think about your platform?
Definitely as soon as you’re ready to send out a story or submit a manuscript to an agent. I’m not saying you’ll automatically get rejected if you have no platform, but editors and agents will Google you, and if they can’t find you on the first SERP (Search Engine Results Page) they may send an automatic rejection. Not all agents and editors are that harsh, but I’ve heard from many who are.
On the other hand some authors obsess too much about platform and waste time on pointless overkill. (More about how to skip the time-wasting stuff in my post, 7 Ways Authors Waste Time Building Platform.)
But many writers ignore platform-building entirely, often because they’re not quite clear on what it means.
It’s true that “platform” isn’t easy to define. Jane Friedman, former Writer’s Digest editor has written extensively about it. She says when agents say they’re looking for author with platform:
“They’re looking for someone with visibility and authority who has proven reach to a target audience.”
This is especially true for nonfiction authors. But no matter what you write, agents, editors, reviewers and even bloggers you’re querying about a guest post are going to put your name into Google and hit the “search” button.
The results are a good indication of your platform. . . .CONTINUE READING
Blogging:
But there’s something quick, easy and relatively painless you can do right now to raise your search engine profile that won’t take more than a couple of minutes from your writing time.
Ready for it?
Ta-da!
Comment on blogs.
With your real name. (Or whatever name you write under.)
Yup. Comments on high-profile blogs that are on Google’s radar get your name onto that search page. (Also on not-so-high-profile blogs that have been set up by somebody schooled in SEO.) . . . .CONTINUE READING
Source: Writers: How Succeed at “Building Platform” Without Really Trying
DGKaye©2016
February 9, 2016
5 #Memoir Lessons Learned from a Special Birthday Cake | Plain and Fancy

Today I’m reblogging a fabulous post from Marian over at PlainandFancygirl.com . In her post, Marian shares some excellent pointers about writing in memoir. What’s different? The spin she puts on it. In this post, Marian uses a metaphoric likeness with memoir writing to baking a cake.
Have a look at this delightful writing recipe:
“Memoir Lesson 1 – Don’t fool yourself into imagining writing will be easy. Writing is certainly rewarding, but learning a new skill can be hard. I had done plenty of writing as an academic, but switching to a new genre like memoir required a totally different mindset.
Even if you end up changing your plan, you have something (like starter dough!) to begin with.
Step 2: Assemble what you need. Anticipate the ingredients and tools necessary. Pull out the mixer, bowls, wooden spatula, measuring cups and spoons. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator to bring to room temperature if necessary.
Memoir Lesson 2 – A memoir is a slice of your life, not a biography. Ask yourself some serious questions: What part of your life will you depict – your childhood, a traumatic experience, a thrilling adventure like sailing around the world? Can you sketch out this “slice of life” in a series of memorable moments? Scribble random thoughts on colored sticky notes? Draw it as a timeline? Write an outline?
What is your theme? If it’s success after a failed first marriage, that controlling idea will be the filter through which you tell your story. Flashbacks can add dimension to writing, but only if these stories connect to your theme. . .” CONTINUE READING
Source: 5 Memoir Lessons Learned from a Special Birthday Cake | Plain and Fancy
DGKaye©2016
February 7, 2016
So you’ve written a book. Now what? | shehanne moore
I’ve been nominated again for the #Girllovechallenge.
My always entertaining friend and author Shehanne Moore (Shey) has been cracking the whip on her entourage of Hamster Dudes lately, and they seem to think they can write a book. (Lol.) I’m reblogging her latest post here, So You’ve Written a Book, Now What?
Shey was (unsurprisingly) nominated for the #Girllovechallenge and adds this later in her post. She is passing the baton to women of strength and encouragement, and I was thrilled, once again, to be one of her nominees.
As I’ve recently been nominated and did a post on this challenge, and gladly shared the award with all of you here, I’m merely acknowledging Shehanne and her beautiful gesture of nominating me, as well as giving you all a chance to visit Shehanne’s, always interesting blog.
Please have a read of Shey’s post. Besides the great info shared, it’s given by her hamster mascots who tend to be getting a bit full of themselves lately. I’m not posting part of it here because you really need to see the way Shehanne uses her hamster cartoonish photos to portray her stories. READ HERE
Source: So you’ve written a book. Now what? | shehanne moore
D.G. Kaye©2016
February 6, 2016
Book #Review – Sin and Syntax

I recently finished reading a wonderful grammar book, Sin and Syntax – How to Craft Wicked Good Prose, written by Constance Hale.
This book is a handy guide for anyone wanting to brush up on their personal writing skills, whether for writing emails, resumes, or any other writing activity. Of course it’s an excellent writer’s guide but not limited to only writers. I’m more inclined to call it a manual with a twist. Many other reviewers are comparing it to Strunk and White’s book with a modern approach and some added humour.
This book covers a vast array of writing mistakes and corrections. The sins cover everything from how to break the rules and when it’s okay to use euphemisms, cliches, run on sentences, fragmented sentences, proper usage advice of nouns, adverbs, adjectives and verbs, dangling modifiers, and much more.
All chapters have demonstrations of writing errors and good syntax snippets of published articles borrowed from the works of some literary greats of our time and from the past. The chapters are broken down into categories:
The Bones – The grammar lesson
The Flesh – The writing lesson
Cardinal Sins – Referred to as true transgressions
Carnal Pleasures – The results
The Bottom Line:
Sin and Syntax is for all writers to use as a great refresher course on the proper use of grammar, and a great guide to writing more succinct by carving out unnecessary words.
I bought this book in paperback version, as I prefer to have all my writing books in print for handy reference.
D.G.Kaye©2016