D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 79

What Can We Learn from Comments as #Bloggers Plus Tips!

I received a lovely comment from a newcomer to my blog last week, complimenting me on how nicely I relay information on my blog without adding a ‘lot of filler’ as he put it, and with legible font size and good white-space. What a lovely compliment!   I do try to live my life with the adage of ‘Do unto others’ mantra. That’s what inspired me to share this comment I received. I try my best to keep my blog ‘clean’ and not crowded, and thought I’d pass on a few tips. Now, I do know that sometimes my blog posts will have the occasional wonky formating in them – courtesy of WordPress and theme not playing nice. But I do use the ‘preview’ before scheduling a post to make sure it doesn’t look wonky, and sometimes, there are conditions beyond my control, which I will always state on my blog so that others don’t think I’m being sloppy. So below, I’ll mention a few options we have in our WordPress editors to enhance the reader’s experience.   Some Things to Keep in Mind When Drafting a Post   Are you aware you can alter the font size, color and styles on your blog? Are you previewing your posts before you hit schedule or publish? Are all your paragraphs conjoined without proper space breaks? Are you using sub-headings to break up your points of conversation or information? Is your font too light or too small for some of us with vision impairment? These are some of the things I take into consideration when drafting a post.   How to Give Your Post a Clean and Inviting Appearance   I like to summarize what my readers will find in my opening paragraphs so they can get a gist of what they’re about to read without having to scroll to get ‘to the point’. And using subheadings for talking points is a good way to direction attention. Leaving enough white-space in between paragraphs and headings make a blog look crisp. Reading a blog shouldn’t read like a newspaper article, but should feel welcoming with white-space to give us a pause. White-space is kind of like a giant comma where we can take a breath and read (or scan)  through a paragraph with ease then take a breath for a pause before reading the next paragraph, enabling us to take what we want from that paragraph with ease, and without having to scroll through mounds of information to find what we’re looking for in a long tome of information not broken up. With no white-space, it’s comparative to talking non-stop without taking a breath where all the information that comes out is in one monotone long announcement. Font size is also important. I know from my own experience, if I go to a blog with tiny font, it hurts my eyes, and doubly so if there’s barely any white-space. This will often cause me to leave. Some bloggers, like myself, like to use colored fonts, which is a great idea to make headlines or words stand out, but not so much a good idea if the chosen font is too light – especially when used on a similar colored background for the whole post – not reader friendly. You can use the ‘paragraph’ drop-down box in the editor to enlarge headings and sub-headings to make them stand out. You can also use the little box underneath the paragraph sizing box to change size of font for the whole post or just for parts you wish to emphasize. I’m not sure if you all get a choice of fonts in another drop-down box in your editor with free WordPress blogs, which allows us to change the font and to add some flair to a post. My blog is self-hosted, which gives me the opportunity to add any new Google fonts to my font options. If you’re self-hosted or on the WordPress business plan, you will have the option to add new fonts. Have you noticed how I bolded some key words in the above paragraphs? By bolding certain words, it attracts the eye in those paragraphs at quick glance and indicates what the topic of that paragraph conversation is about. The same goes for highlighting and/or bolding and using italics – these tools are all there for the benefit of bettering our blog content. Lastly, it’s also important to ‘preview’ your posts before hitting publish because trust me, the way we have set up a post in draft does not always display the way we think it will once published if the WordPress gremlins are at play, or if some of your plugins are not playing nice with your theme. ~ ~ ~ I hope you found this post helpful, and if anyone would like to add to the conversation, please do so in comments.   Happy Blogging!    

Sunday Book Review – Everything is F*#ked by Mark Manson

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. This week’s book – Everything is F*#ked – A Book About Hope by Mark Manson, was a bit difficult to review because I couldn’t feel an appropriate conclusion on what the book’s messages were really giving off. Now, I don’t normally review books I give 3 stars or less, but seeing as I struggled to finish this book and put in the time to finish, which seemed to drag on each time I picked it back up, I felt I at least should share some sort of a review. Also, I do want to add that I did read and review Manson’s previous book – The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*#k, which I thoroughly enjoyed – (you can read that review HERE) I presumed I’d enjoy his next one, but that’s not always the case.     Blurb: From the author of the international mega-best-seller The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck comes a counterintuitive guide to the problems of hope. We live in an interesting time. Materially, everything is the best it’s ever been – we are freer, healthier, and wealthier than any people in human history. Yet, somehow everything seems to be irreparably and horribly f*cked – the planet is warming, governments are failing, economies are collapsing, and everyone is perpetually offended on Twitter. At this moment in history, when we have access to technology, education, and communication our ancestors couldn’t even dream of, so many of us come back to an overriding feeling of hopelessness. What’s going on? If anyone can put a name to our current malaise and help fix it, it’s Mark Manson. In 2016, Manson published The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, a book that brilliantly gave shape to the ever-present, low-level hum of anxiety that permeates modern living. He showed us that technology had made it too easy to care about the wrong things, that our culture had convinced us that the world owed us something when it didn’t – and worst of all, that our modern and maddening urge to always find happiness only served to make us unhappier. Instead, the “subtle art” of that title turned out to be a bold challenge: to choose your struggle; to narrow and focus and find the pain you want to sustain. The result was a book that became an international phenomenon, selling millions of copies worldwide while becoming the number-one best seller in 13 different countries. Now, in Everthing Is F*cked, Manson turns his gaze from the inevitable flaws within each individual self to the endless calamities taking place in the world around us. Drawing from the pool of psychological research on these topics, as well as the timeless wisdom of philosophers such as Plato, Nietzsche, and Tom Waits, he dissects religion and politics and the uncomfortable ways they have come to resemble one another. He looks at our relationships with money, entertainment, and the internet, and how too much of a good thing can psychologically eat us alive. He openly defies our definitions of faith, happiness, freedom – and even of hope itself. With his usual mix of erudition and where-the-f*ck-did-that-come-from humor, Manson takes us by the collar and challenges us to be more honest with ourselves and connected with the world in ways we probably haven’t considered before. It’s another counterintuitive romp through the pain in our hearts and the stress of our soul. One of the great modern writers has produced another book that will set the agenda for years to come.   My 3 Star Review: Let me preface this by saying, I tried so hard to follow this book – to no avail. After reading Manson’s previous book – The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*#k, which I loved, I was eager to read this one. It took me quite awhile to finish because I just couldn’t get into it or form a connection with what seemed discombobulated and random facts, anecdotes, quotes and opinion, and of course, Manson’s style of emphasizing with expletives in his sarcastic humor. Normally, when feeling uninspired by a book, I’d just put it aside, but I was curious to see where it was leading, and was left wondering the same after I finished it. While touching on scriptures and philosophical stories on such topics as, thinking brains vs. feeling brains, choices we make in life, excerpts on the life and teachings of Newton, Plato, Nietzsche, and several others, I just didn’t feel the theme was cohesive. Eager to finish each chapter hoping for a point or conclusion, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. A hodge-podge of thoughts on religion, war, artificial intelligence and more, I felt this was a bit all over the map rather than carrying a central theme, often waiting for a point. And I just didn’t get the feeling of hope or inspiration from this reading. I’m sorry Mr. Manson.    

Introducing My First Chapbook: A Skeleton in the Attic – Art by Rob Goldstein

Today I’m sharing a post from Rob Goldstein. Rob is a prolific blogger and a very talented artist and writer – what a gift!  Rob has finally published his first short story ‘Chap’ book. If you don’t know what a Chap book is, please enjoy Rob’s post and do visit the link to his newest creation.     Introducing My First Chapbook: A Skeleton in the Attic   A Skeleton in the Attic   I realized my goal of publishing a book of poems was unreasonable for a man with no experience in online publishing, so I took a break. I started the break by evaluating different programs for self-publishing and discovered Ourboox. Ourboox is a free platform and seems ideal for writers who are new to online publishing. I researched the company and the founder, Mel Rosenberg, is exactly who he says he is: Mel Rosenberg is a microbiologist best known for his research into treatment of bad breath; he went to a children’s book fair in Bologna and came home with the idea of a free web based platform for publishing children’s books. The template is limited but flexible. If you’ve used WordPress Classic, Ourboox is easy. The e-books I saw on the Ourboox site reminded me of chapbooks. What is a Chapbook? A chapbook is “a small book or pamphlet containing poems, ballads, stories, or religious tracts” (dictionary) The term is still used today to refer to short, inexpensive booklets. Chapbooks were the zines of early modern Europe and played an important role in the history of publishing and literacy. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, chapbooks were the most popular way to disseminate poetry and children’s books: they were easy to make and cheap. . .  please continue reading at Rob’s blog – and do have a look at this most beautiful story by Rob – A Skeleton in the Attic   Link to Rob’s Chap book https://www.ourboox.com/?p=676183   Source: Introducing My First Chapbook: A Skeleton in the Attic – Art by Rob Goldstein

Q and A with D.G. Kaye – Featuring Damyanti Biswas

Welcome to the first of my November interviews. Today I’m happy to be featuring Damyanti Biswas. Damyanti has an impressive resume. She is author of the newly released and gripping crime novel – You Beneath Your Skin, which I just finished reading and will be reviewing next week. Damyanti is also the creator of the We are the World Blogfest – #WATWB, where writers contribute by posting something good going on in the world to deflect from the negativity, on the last Friday of each month. Please read on to learn more about Damyanti and the projects and organizations she supports, which led to the writing of the book.     About the author: Damyanti Biswas lives in Singapore, and supports Delhi’s underprivileged women and children, volunteering with organisations who work for this cause. Her short stories have been published in magazines in the US, UK, and Asia, and she helps edit the Forge Literary Magazine. Damyanti Biswas volunteers for the non-profits, Project WHY and Stop Acid Attacks. She speaks passionately on the subjects of gender, violence, and poverty. The narrative of Damyanti’s new novel, You Beneath Your Skin (Simon and Schuster) releasing this September, has been shaped by her years of interaction with women and children in these two organisations. Using a framework of a crime thriller, she conjures in this book an authentic portrayal of poverty, misogyny, and political corruption. A woman from Delhi upper classes suffers an acid attack, and this case is investigated amid the backdrop of a crime spree. Unclad bodies of slum women are found stuffed in trash bags, their faces disfigured with acid. Project WHY’s journey began in 2000 with 40 children who wanted to learn spoken English and a handful of volunteers. Over the years, as the number of children increased, their demands multiplied, new teachers were discovered within tiny jhuggis and lanes, and ad-hoc classrooms found. They started their first after-school support programme at Giri Nagar for children coming from underprivileged homes, and today through seven after-school support centres, they reach out to over 1100 children, 200 women and have created 50 job opportunities for people from the community. Their aim is to bridge the education gap for underprivileged children and improve their learning outcomes in a safe environment, as well as life-skills and all-round development for women. Stop Acid Attacks (SAA) is a campaign against acid violence. This organisation has been actively campaigning for the cause of acid attack survivors by continuously creating dialogue with the political and legal system, to bring about a social change. The survivor of an acid attack requires immediate medical, financial and psychological support on human grounds. But, the judicial procedures in this country do not assure any such intervention or help to the survivor until a court announces it. It is this loophole in the procedure of justice that they work on, by generating immediate medical and final support for the victims and providing them and their families the needed psychological and legal support. Using the visual medium, and engaging with their supporters worldwide through social media and the internet, they aim to sensitise and educate people about the gruesome nature of this crime, and the oppressive injustice of a gender-biased society. Damyanti’s dedication to both the causes has led her to ensure that her proceeds from the book You Beneath You Skin go to Project Why and Stop Acid Attacks. Earlier drafts of this novel were long-listed for the Mslexia Novel Competition and the Bath Novel Award, and the writing was helped by a grant from the National Arts Council of Singapore. Damyanti’s short stories have been published in anthologies and journals around the world, including Litro, Griffith Review, Bluestem and others. She’s also one of the editors of the Forge Literary magazine. Her book was launched at the IIC Delhi on the 17th of September, where she was in conversation with well-known journalist Shutapa Paul. On the 22nd September she was invited to the Odisha Literary Festival to speak on a panel with Ravi Shankar and Kishwar Desai, about crime novels that tackle social issues. She has also attended a panel with Gita Aravamudan, noted journalist, author and feminist where they discussed about crimes against women.     Blurb: ‘Gripping…crime fiction with a difference. This is a novel full of layers and depth, focusing on class and corruption in India with compassion and complexity.’ LIES. AMBITION. FAMILY. It’s a dark, smog-choked new Delhi winter. Indian American single mother Anjali Morgan juggles her job as a psychiatrist with caring for her autistic teenage son. She is in a long-standing affair with ambitious police commissioner Jatin Bhatt – an irresistible attraction that could destroy both their lives. Jatin’s home life is falling apart: his handsome and charming son is not all he appears to be, and his wife has too much on her plate to pay attention to either husband or son. But Jatin refuses to listen to anyone, not even the sister to whom he is deeply attached. Across the city there is a crime spree: slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid. And as events spiral out of control Anjali is horrifyingly at the centre of it all … In a sordid world of poverty, misogyny, and political corruption, Jatin must make some hard choices. But what he unearths is only the tip of the iceberg. Together with Anjali he must confront old wounds and uncover long-held secrets before it is too late. The book has already received a fantastic early praise: ‘Biswas’s masterful You Beneath Your Skin is an intelligent page-turner that mixes a thrilling murder case with a profound psychological and sociological study of contemporary India.’ – David Corbett, award-winning author of The Art of Character ‘You Beneath Your Skin is a gripping tale of murder, corruption and power and their terrifying effects in New Delhi. Highly recommended.’ – Alice Clark-Platts, bestselling author of The Flower Girls ‘Suspenseful and sensitive, with characters negotiating serious issues of society, this crime novel will keep you awake at night!’ – Jo Furniss, bestselling author of All the Little Children and The Trailing Spouse ‘Gripping…crime fiction with a difference. This is a novel full of layers and depth, focusing on class and corruption in India with compassion and complexity.’ – Sanjida Kay, Author of psychological thrillers, Bone by Bone, The Stolen Child, My Mother’s Secret and One Year Later ‘You Beneath Your Skin – beautiful writing, strong characters and a story that will stay with me for a long time. Set in New Delhi, this novel tackles important issues as well as providing a tension-filled read.’- Jacqueline Ward, Bestselling author of Perfect Ten   You Beneath Your Skin is an indubitably disturbing novel. It holds up an ugly mirror to a deeply entrenched misogyny in Indian society that manifests itself all too often in gruesome crimes against women. This decade has been particularly frightening, and 2012 marks a defining moment in it: the heinous gang rape of Jyoti Singh Pandey in a moving bus in Delhi by six men made India sit up and take note. There was extensive media coverage of the incident and its aftermath (including unprecedented nationwide protests and changes in India’s criminal law); the years that followed also saw a controversial BBC documentary on the subject (India’s Daughter, 2015), and a fine Netflix series in 2019. The Netflix series – the seven-part Delhi Crime – based on case files, was very much on my mind while reading Damyanti Biswas’s debut novel. For two important reasons: First, at the heart of both is a crime that is particularly savage in its enactment. And second, the police investigation not only unravels a crime but also lays bare the dynamics of a fraught filial relationship – in the series, between a mother and teenage daughter (DCP Vartika Chaturvedi is hell bent on nabbing Pandey’s assailants not only to deliver justice to the victim but also to restore the faith of her own daughter in their city and the law of their country), and in the novel, between a mother and teenage son (psychiatrist Anjali Morgan, an Indian American, settles in Delhi to flee her past in America and has a hard time being a single mother to Nikhil, who has autism). Mother and son There is however not one but multiple fraught filial bonds in the novel – between Anjali and Nikhil, between Anjali and Dorothy (her mother), between Jatin and Varun (Anjali’s lover and his son). The most dramatic confrontation scenes are between the latter. But it is Anjali’s relationship with Nikhil that anchors the whole story. It is difficult not to be moved by it. And by the daily challenge of their lives: The mutual stress, the difficult recalibration of their moods as advised by therapists, the enormous need of one to protect and of the other to be protected, the comparisons with other children that inevitably crop up in parents’ mind, the unpredictable behaviour that the slightest change in routine can provoke in the child… the list is endless. This bond – fierce, all-consuming – established at the very beginning of the novel, falls apart soon after. The rest of novel can be said to be a painful recovery of it. Too much, too few Just as there are multiple fractured relationships in the novel, there is also a surfeit of concerns, all radiating from Anjali: A single-mother with a challenged child, having had a traumatic childhood herself, in a long-standing extramarital relationship with a police commissioner (who happens to be both her father’s protégé and her bestie’s brother), sucked into a drug and prostitution dragnet that exposes both the misogyny and corruption of the society she lives in, and the hypocrisies hiding behind social norms. While they are inter-related, each one of these concerns could have had novels unto themselves. Anjali, one can’t help feeling, has just too much to bear! You Beneath Your Skin is also a novel peopled with many characters and moves fast between different settings (though mostly within Delhi). It is difficult to give space to the exploration of relationships over time in such a scenario – but Biswas does manage to give us effective back stories through deft flashbacks. And for a novel that centres around violence, the most moving scenes, surprisingly, are small intimate moments. “He hugged her from behind her. She stared at the picture they made, Jatin’s strong arm around her waist, his face on her shoulder, her hair tangled under his chin. She liked that he was so much taller than her five feet nine, and she liked him when he relaxed into her, lost his hard edges.” ‘I like that that you father gave your this love of poetry.’ ‘He didn’t give it to me.’ Jatin’s eyes turned wistful. ‘I got it from him. I’m trying to do a better job as a father. Everything he never gave me, I’ll give Varun.’” Alas, there are too few of these moments. It is easy for a writer dealing with such an incendiary theme to easily slip into sensationalism, especially while writing in the crime fiction genre – where people expect “action-packed thrillers”, the “thrill” element coming primarily from the peddling of violence and sex. Biswas steers clear of that route with élan – giving us all the necessary details of what it means to be an acid attack victim (from the nature of the chemical through what it does to the skin to the painfully long and complex recovery process), but never allowing it to slide into a “thrill”. Brutally honest and evolved selves I really liked the ending of the novel. Both Jatin and Anjali have to own up to themselves and their pasts and cope with their failure as parents – as events spiral out of control and they face the greatest crisis of their lives. It is particularly hard for Jatin, as it is impossible for him to be fair to both his...

Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – The Christmas Book Fair with Guest Writers – starting November 18th 2019 | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Sally Cronin has done it again . She’s come up with another wonderful holiday season series at the Smorgasbord Invitation. Sally invites writers to join her Christmas Bookfair to showcase your books and stories.   Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – The Christmas Book Fair with Guest Writers – starting November 18th 2019     I know that this is a tad early but the series will be starting on Monday November 18th to ensure that every author that is in the Cafe and Bookstore is featured before Christmas. Each author in the Cafe and Bookstore will have one of their books showcased, and I will usually pick the first in a series, with links to the other books, or the author’s latest release. I will include the best review for that particular book and the usual links to Amazon, Goodreads and social media. If you are on the shelves, you don’t need to do anything, but I would be grateful if you would share the post on your own social media to help promote, not just your books, but the other authors that are featured. Guest posts for the Christmas Book Fair. This year I will also be running a separate series alongside the book fair. I will be inviting some special guests along to talk about various aspects of writing, proofreading,editing, formatting and design as well as those who write within a specific genre such as non-fiction, romance, crime thrillers and fantasy. And I will ask some book reviewers to share the key elements they look for in what they consider to be a four or five star rated read. New Books on the Shelves of the Cafe If you have a new book coming out between now and Christmas then please let me know. For those already in the Cafe and Bookstore, all I will need is the link on Amazon either as pre-order or available. If you are new to the Cafe and Bookstore here is the link to the submission post: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpre... There will be other promotions in the run up to Christmas including A Christmas Blog Party on Friday 20th December that everyone will be invited to.. food, drink and music… and an opportunity to promote your blog in the comments. In the meantime.. do not forget to let me know about new books due out before Christmas…thanks Sally. Please visit Sally’s Blog to find out more!   Visit Sally’s Books on Amazon     Source: Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – The Christmas Book Fair with Guest Writers – starting November 18th 2019 | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Blogging – How to Add Extensions and Universal Share Buttons

Today’s post is about sharing – not just sharing on blogs, but sharing from just about any page you come across on the internet and find an article of interest you’d like to share or capture to potentially use in a blog post or social media. The two options I’m going to write about today are the ‘Add Any’ Chrome extension and the ‘Press This’ marker.   I know I’ve written on these topics before, but it’s come to my attention many times through the years that some bloggers are still not aware of or how to use these must have tools to capture reblogs and/or any articles from anywhere on the web, as well as to be able to share an article from any page – including articles that don’t offer share buttons on their posts.   Add to Any Let’s start with the Chrome extension. So what is that? On the top right-hand corner of your computer you will find the 3 vertical dots. If you click on that you will get a drop-down box. Move your mouse over ‘more tools’ and you will see the option to click on ‘extensions’. You will now be offered a list of extensions you can add, and the one you want to click on is the ‘Add to Any’. If by chance you don’t get that option, just type it in the above search bar. Once you’ve downloaded the extension, you will then discover the tiny blue blue icon with a plus sign in the middle, now resting on your top right-hand corner of the page. By clicking on that icon you will get a long drop-down box of social share buttons you can use from anywhere on the internet to share the current page you’re on. I find myself using the ‘AddAny’ extension multiple times a day on many sites I visit – especially blogs. With the advent of the new Gutenberg editor, which I still haven’t endeavored into switching over to, I have noticed that approximately 40% of the blogs I now visit no longer display a Twitter share button to me. I’ve questioned many of my blogging friends about the missing button, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s me, not their blog that no longer can see a tweet button, and in some cases even a Facebook share button has gone missing. Enter the ‘AddAny’ extension. With this extension I now have the ability to click on the little blue icon and share that blogpost via the extension to any social media by clicking on. The only drawback I find with using it is that it doesn’t tag the author of the post as it does from clicking that share button directly under a post. So what happens is I have to either remember that blogger’s Twitter handle or hop over to Twitter to obtain their handle. This is a bit of a time suck, but still a great sharing option. I can share to anywhere with this extension whether I choose to add a tag or not, which is a huge help for me when reading articles I wish to share from anywhere. I love to share posts and articles I read to various platforms so this little tool is invaluable for doing so.   To give you an idea of what your top tool bar will look like after you’ve added these extensions, I’ve captured a screenshot of my top tool bar. Notice the ‘press this’ I have there for easy access at top left, for when I want to capture something to reblog. On the top right is the blue ‘addany’ icon for sharing on social media when there are no share buttons offered. And at the very top right are the 3 little dots you can click on to add the extension. (Note: you will have to enlarge the toolbar to see as I couldn’t enlarge the screenshot itself.)     Press This The Press This tool is another invaluable tool we should all have access to, especially for reblogging someone’s post and there is no reblog button offered under the post. This happens mostly when I’m on self-hosted blogs like my own, where we don’t get an option to add a reblog button (more on this later). This saves a lot of time from having to open a new post in your dashboard, copying a link to a post and having to copy and paste everything over to that post. When you download the ‘press this’ marklet from your blog’s dashboard in ‘Available Tools’, it will send an icon to your top toolbar for easy access when you’re on any web page and wish to reblog it. You only have to click on the icon and a draft editor will open up with the link to the post you wish to reblog. Once it’s opened you have the option to type whatever you want to the draft and hit save, or just hit save with the link to the post embedded. This will now become a saved draft in you dashboard. You can also hit ‘publish’  right away in that draft box, which I prefer not to do because I’d rather save it and be able to elaborate on it before publishing. Once you have that link in a blog draft, it’s easy to go back to your drafts and view. Just open the post, click on ‘preview’, then click on the link you’ve saved in that preview. Now the article you wish to share will open up for you on a new page. You can then copy and paste whatever you wish to share from that article back into the drafted post. And voila! Now that I’ve alerted you to some helpful extensions to make your blogging and sharing life easier when you’re visiting other blogs, I’m also going to introduce you to another valuable plugin you can add to your own blogs to make it easier for visitors to share YOUR posts: If your blog is a free blog with WordPress – meaning your blog’s URL address ends with ‘.wordpress.com’ then you don’t have the option for plugin add ons, but WordPress made sure they gave you a reblog button as a means for others to share your posts. But for those of us who are self-hosted or on the WordPress business plan, you have the option to add your own plugins. I highly recommend for those bloggers who don’t have the option for bloggers to reshare your work that you add the plugin ‘Add to Any’, which is available to install from your plugin page in your dashboard. You only have to open the page and click in the ‘find new’ search box and it will come up. Now you can add the ‘add any’ plugin and activate it. You can click on the blue ‘plus sign’ on the page and the drop-down box will offer you a multitude of share buttons you can add to your posts. And with that, I’ll now list some of the advantages and disadvantages you will encounter with these new sharing buttons:   When someone shares from the ‘add any’ share buttons, the only disadvantage, as I mentioned earlier, is that the writer’s name of the post is not automatically tagged like it is with regular share buttons. So if you want the poster of the blog to be accredited and alerted to the share, the only way is to add their tag name manually – such @ so and so for Twitter. Still, at least a great option to share if you don’t decide to tag. A great advantage of adding these buttons are that now people can share your posts to more of their social media outlets. You will be able to add the ‘W’ button – one of the only means of having somewhat of a ‘reblog’ button for self-hosted blogs! Yes, it’s true! I finallyyyyyy have a sort of reblog button now on my blog!!! So many bloggers have asked through the years why I don’t have a reblog button that has been out of my control until my recent discovery of the ‘addany’ button! If you look at the end of my post, you will see my ‘follow me’ on social media buttons where you can visit my pages on all offered buttons. Below the ‘follow me’, are the ‘share this’ buttons which will allow you to share my post directly to your social media. BUT NOW . . . look just below those share buttons (I still cannot find a way to keep all buttons together) and you will see my new row of share buttons. Yes, Twitter and FB buttons are an automatic, so I couldn’t delete them, but look what I’ve got now! I’ve added a share to: Gmail, Amazon, Mix,, MeWe, plus the ‘addany’ button for any other social sites I haven’t included but you may want to share to, and most of all,  THE W BUTTON! Yes! If any of you aren’t yet using the ‘press this’ method to share a post without share buttons, you NOW have the ability to share my posts by clicking the W (WordPress) button! I’m so excited! All you need to do is click on the W button and fill in the URL to YOUR blog when prompted, and voila, you can open a draft post (you may have to scroll to bottom like I do). The only thing I’d advise is to copy the link to the URL of the post you’re going to reblog or draft before clicking on the ‘W’ button as it does open in a separate window and it doesn’t grab any text without you entering it. So open the draft and paste the URL you wish to reblog inside, title it (you can always change later) and hit save. Now the post will be in your drafted posts and when you’re ready to reblog, just open it, click on preview, then click on that link you’ve saved in post and the original post will open. From there you can copy and paste back in your draft having both posts open to work easily. Then save or post as your heart desires.   I hope you found these tips valuable. If you have any questions about these excellent tools, please leave them below in comments and I’ll do my best to help you with these tools. Is anyone here today using any of these tools?    

#Blogtour – Let’s Travel In The Cosmos Of Colors, Book Launch | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer | Valentina Expressions

Today I’m taking part in a #Blogshare to help promote Valentina Cirasola’s newest booklaunch – Red – A Voyage into Colors. As Valentina quotes below – “Color is the language of the listening eye.” In this book, Valentina takes us into the world of color and how color plays an integral part into our daily lives from the foods we eat, to the clothes we wear and our home surroundings. I hope you enjoy this beautiful and colorful post Valentina has put together.   Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books so far, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host. She produces shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Her goal is to write a screenplay for theatre or TV. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble   I am happy to announce the release of the Second Edition of the book ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors, a book on colors I published for the first time in 2012. The book was performing well until one day I received the classic lemons from the publisher. I was asked to let go of 50% of my profits from the sale of this book. I refused to comply and my book was made “temporarily not available” on Amazon for three years. I am not a person who gets defeated easily. This year, I reworked the book and republished independently the Second Edition of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors. Now, the ball is back in my court. (Click on each picture to view it larger).   Available on Amazon   Red – A Voyage into Colors – Second edition is a paperback, 124 pages, full of my colorful photography of things that attract me and some of my clients’ homes. After all, what is a book explaining colors, if it doesn’t include colorful pictures? The eyes want to see the beauty and the brain feeds on colors. Often people refer to shades when they really mean the value, brightness or the darkness of a color. What is a color without referring to its profile and character? Just like humans, colors have their own character. If we understand how to describe the emotions and sensations they provoke, we will always have a good reaction around the colors we choose, we will subconsciously feel the harmony inside of ourselves and in turn, others will see it and respond positively to us. How people perceive us through colors is very important, colors transmit a message and that is what others see. What is your message when you get dressed? It doesn’t matter where you go. If you go to grocery shopping with rollers on your head and you are dressed in red, it means you don’t care what others think of you, you dare to be you, the red color will project you as having courage, and the rollers in your hair will pass in a second order. In the same scenario, rollers on your head and you are dressed in black, it means you are trying to hide from the viewers and protect yourself from their criticisms. The colors of your home have messages as well. If your front door is painted red, it means you are an upbeat person; if the front door is yellow, you are an inviting person, cheerful and sunny. My front door is burgundy… exactly…I like red wines and beyond that burgundy door, I added a bit of sophistication to my décor. Can you sleep and wake up in your zodiac colors? Of course, you can, you were born under those colors, they are natural to your soul. The moment you came “into the light” many planets revolved over your head making those colors your aura and affected your entire life since that moment. Often, people prefer totally different colors away from their zodiac sign and perhaps totally contrary to their character, simply because they are not aware of the beneficial effects of the colors they were born under or don’t believe it. Colors will determinate their actions, the troubled or unsettled souls living in the wrong colors will continue to feel troubled or unsettled. With this book, I wanted to depict a colorful bouquet of information regarding home interiors, fashion, and food, all the subjects dear to my heart, each of these subjects thrive on colors. I also delve into explaining colors from a spiritual point of view and how to use them in a technical way. Nature is our best teacher, where all colors are mixed together and co-exist well without rules and prejudices. We can simply copy nature and feel perfect in our choice of colors. If we live in a home reflecting our personality, if we wear colors becoming to our face and body and if we eat in the rainbow, we can only expect to exude positive energy, which in turn will captivate our surroundings. Gauguin said: “Color is the language of the listening eye”. It helps our imagination soar with inner power and mystery”. Allow yourself to experiment with various color combinations and challenge your fantasy!   Let’s travel into the cosmos of colors with Valentina and RED   This graphic represents all the authors and artists who have agreed to travel with me in the cosmos of colors for the launch and promotion of ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition.  They are Melissa Muldoon, Teagan Geneviene, Debby Gies, James J.Cudney IV, Sally Croning, Joy-Ruffen-Oake, Bonnie Smith, Robbie Cheadle, Shelly Wilson. Starting on Oct. 25, 2019, for twenty days, I will travel with them to their planet of birth, I will write about them, their books and arts and they will receive something special about their zodiac sign. This will be a fun and unusual book launch! Some giveaway will happen as well. Anyone can participate in the giveaway by following me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram,  MeWe, and commenting on the launch. The contest will start on Oct. 26th and will end on Oct.31. https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/dis...? I am so grateful to my Supreme Being to be able to see all the glorious colors in its realm, fantasize, wallow in their vibrations, sentimentally self-indulge in their atmospheres, and to be able to talk about them every day. Ciao, Valentina http://www.valentinadesigns.com http://valentinaexpressions.com   You can visit all Valentina’s book on Amazon   Join Valentina in her social sharing of her new release and you will be entered to for the giveaway!     Source: Let’s Travel In The Cosmos Of Colors, Book Launch | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer | Valentina Expressions    

Sunday Book Review – Media Training – The Manual by Sally Cronin

For my Sunday Book Review today, I’m featuring my good friend and author, Sally Cronin‘s book – Media Training The Manual. I read this book some two years ago, but after going through my reviews on both Goodreads and Amazon, I discovered my review was either removed, or perhaps Amazon wouldn’t let me post it, but whatever the cause, after discovering this I felt compelled to share my thoughts on this fabulous book. Read my review below to find out why.     Blurb: A quick reference manual for anyone who needs to deliver their message via “the Media”, TV, Radio, Print. It is rumoured that the art of communication has been lost but actually it has simply been adapted and expanded to suit the new technologies. However, we still use our voices and radio and television are very powerful tools that can enable us to reach hundreds or even thousands of people in the space of a few minutes. Those few minutes can have an enormous impact. By reaching out and engaging with an audience you can increase sales, sell your latest book, raise more funds for your charity or inform the public about an event or important community issue. This guide to media training is about opening the door to that opportunity and making the most of the experience. Reasons to build a relationship with the media. – Whether you are in business, running a charity or are a writer, artist or musician, there is a great deal to be gained by obtaining free publicity. Whilst print, radio and television media are in business, they still require interesting and topical news stories. – Having successfully obtained their attention, you then need to know how to deliver the interview that they will be looking for. – This brief guide to building a relationship with your local media will show you how to get their attention and how to prepare yourself for an article or those important few minutes behind a microphone or in front of a camera.   My 5 Star Review: Don’t be fooled by the 42 page count of this gem of a book, which is really a must-have manual with some of the best advice and in-depth examples and information detailing everything you need to know to help spread the word to market both, yourself and your work. This book is a succinct little marketing guide for authors, but can apply to anyone wanting to learn how and where to get the word out. From learning how to step out of our comfort zones and enter the realm of marketing, to putting together a press release, preparing for interviews, and how to put good copy together for advertising, Cronin has created an excellent, jam-packed manual of instruction to help navigate marketing ourselves and our products or books. #Recommended.   Visit all Sally’s books        

Colleen Chesebro’s Weekly Poetry Challenge – Synonyms Only

For this week’s Poetry Challenge at Colleen Chesebro’s blog, I’ve written a Nonet. Synonyms only for the words ‘Spell’ and ‘Treat’.   WELCOME TO TANKA TUESDAY!   Hi! I’m glad to see you here. Are you ready to write some syllabic poetry? Here are your two words for this week: Spell & Treat These words are homonyms. BE CREATIVE with your word choice. HERE’S THE CATCH: You can’t use the prompt words! SYNONYMS ONLY!      Self Preservation   When seeking truth, it’s imperative Not to be swayed by losing sight Propaganda is hexing Succumbing to pressure Don’t give up your rights Relinquishing Freedom’s gift Reminds Fight   Original post: https://colleenchesebro.com/how-to-wr...    

#WATWB – Turning Old School Buses Into Tiny Homes – Goodnet

Welcome to this month’s edition of #WATWB- We are the World Blogfest, where the last Friday of the month, we share some of the good things going on in the world to deflect from the negative. For this edition I wanted to shed light on a good deed doer who came up with a great idea to help give the homeless homes by converting old school buses into ‘skoolies’ – tiny homes.   Turning School Buses Into Tiny Homes for Homeless Families   Everyone needs  a roof over their heads. It could be a villa, an apartment in the sky, a cabin in the woods, or a converted school bus. For Julie Atkins, turning old school buses into tiny homes for working homeless families is a great solution. She came up with the idea when she was a freelance journalist living in Ashland Oregon when she began researching and chronicling the stories of homeless people according to People. She spent two years pitching a tent and living alongside homeless people in Denver Colorado. What she found was, “They want to have a place to live that is their own, that’s safe — and they want to be mobile, so they can get better jobs,” Atkins told People. Then she came across families living in old school buses.  She met a family with seven children who had ripped out the seats and were living on mattresses on the floor of the bus. “It was in disarray,” said Akins. “There was no toilet, shower, or kitchen.” That’s when the idea for Vehicles for Change was born. Atkins thought that the buses have 240 square feet (22 square meters) of space and are retired from school districts when they are only 12 years-old so they are in good shape. You could add electricity, a kitchen, as well as a bathroom, and house a family in a “skoolie” converted bus. She launched the nonprofit in 2017. Please continue reading The Skoolie Bus Project   Below is a video where Julie Atkins talks about her idea to fund old school buses to convert into tiny homes.     If you’d like to be part of the #WATWB, you can visit our Facebook group, and add the link to your post there.