Kathy Cyr's Blog: Kathy Cyr- Author, page 105

Thursday Three

Morning!

It's Thursday Three: 3 writing prompts for writers. :)

1. You couldn't find a dragon on sale.

2. The sound of breaking glass stopped your character.

3. Your character is a witch and she has been cursed by a rival.

Have a great day everyone! :)

#writers #readers #selfpub #publishing #author #books #bookseries #maxhamby

Website Templates & Personalization

Yes, it's becoming a bad habit to redo my website template when I am not writing or stuck on an idea.

I enjoy Weebly, for the most part, but I cannot stand the lack of personalization.
I think I've tried every template they have to offer and am not into any of them. No offense to their makers, but they're so boring.

I've tried the starter package, but even with that I still feel limited as far as design goes and the cost of the starter plus domain name is too expensive. That's one of the reasons I've stuck with the free website. Wix is no better. Limited and expensive.

Maybe it's me. I'm not schooled in CSS. I've looked at several tutorials and generators, but I don't get it.

So far, I don't see any webhost that really stands out, although suggestions for Weebly do seem to pop up on various websites, so that doesn't help. Wordpress does too, but I've never thought about using Wordpress for a website or Blogger, Tumblr, etc.

Wednesday Wisdom

Good Morning!
It's Wednesday Wisdom: words of wisdom for #writers & #readers

“At its best, the sensation of writing is that of any unmerited grace. It is handed to you, but only if you look for it. You search, you break your heart, your back, your brain, and then — and only then — it is handed to you.”   Annie Dillard

“In both writing and sleeping, we learn to be physically still at the same time we are encouraging our minds to unlock from the humdrum rational thinking of our daytime lives.” Stephen King

“You have to finish things — that’s what you learn from, you learn by finishing things.” Neil Gaiman

#writers #readers #selfpub #publishing #author #books #bookseries #maxhamby

2 for 1

Good morning.

I hope you all are doing well and feeling fine. I am a bit late, so today you'll get Monday Mentionables and Tuesday Traveling.

First up are two links to articles that I found interesting and I think you might, too.
The first is about characters changing throughout your book/s. I am starting to go through this now, as I'm on the second book in the Max Hamby series.

http://killzoneblog.com/2015/04/how-should-characters-change.html


The second link is something I think all writers experience at one point or another. It's how the people around you react to your writing and or books. I know, for me, it was disappointing to discover that no one was as ecstatic as I was when I published my first book. I learned that it's normal. Not everyone is into books like I am and very few will sit and have a discussion on writing.

http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/dealing-with-friends-reactions/?utm_content=buffer98619&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Traveling Tuesday:

First up is The Barbican Gate entrance to Tollymore Forest Park, near Newcastle, Northern Ireland
https://500px.com/photo/93999395/the-barbican-gate-by-stephen-emerson?from=user_favorites&user_id=8951325

What would your character be doing here? What scene is taking place?
Next up is somewhere in Cornwall.
http://ohmybritain.tumblr.com/image/117270165564

Such a beautiful place. When I look at this photo, I imagine pirates.
What do you see? Is there someone waiting on the beach?
Thanks for stopping by. Join me tomorrow for Words of Wisdom Wednesday.

Updates on book 2 of the Max Hamby series will be posted soon.
But, for now, if you love magic and fantasy as much as I do or know someone who does, Max Hamby and the Blood Diamond is available at Amazon US, UK and many other online retailers.

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NQFKZW4

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQFKZW4

Under the weather

Sorry everyone. The rest of the blog posts for this week will have to wait.
Will, hopefully, be back on Monday. Am experiencing an out of the blue case of hives and it's just unbelievable. Praying that it doesn't get worse than it already is.

Drop by Monday for Monday Mentionables. :)

#writers #readers #selfpub #publishing #books #author

Traveling Tuesday

Good Morning!

I hope your week has started out great for you. It's Traveling Tuesday: picture prompt for #writers
Today we're off to Neal's Yard, London. I've never been, but I love all the pics online. I adore this spot and how colorful it is. It says 'happy' to me. What do the pics say to you?
I've included different angles, so that you can get a great view. Place some characters at a table or coming out of a shop. Perhaps one of them own a shop in Neal's Yard. What are your characters doing?

Have a great day everyone.

#writers #readers #books #ebooks #author #selfpub #publishing #writingprompts

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5026440... http://stories.eurostar.com/tips/neal... http://www.kellybrooksyoga.com/wp-con... http://plajer-franz.de/en/news/neal-s-yard-london/

Monday Mentionables

Good Morning! Can you believe April is coming to a close? It feels like it flew by, doesn't it?
Mother nature is a bit on the grumpy side as of late and refuses to fling the doors open for spring, but there's good news, because today is Monday Mentionables: links worth mentioning for #writers & #readers.

First up is an article on how to record your own audio for your book. Now, you could pay the professional, which isn't a bad idea, but it's good to know your options.

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2015/04/20/record-your-own-audiobooks/

I found the next link interesting and I think you will, too. If your says are slow or nonexistent, this article gives some tips on what you can do to gain more interest.

http://www.creativindie.com/a-seriali...

I despise writing book blurbs and synopsis. I do not have the knack for it all. If you need some help in this area, then you might find the next article helpful.

http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2015/04/how-to-write-a-book-blurb/

This next link, you're going to want to bookmark. Before I was pointed to it, my Amazon keywords were very generic. I had, maybe, two handfuls listed and they were doing anything. So, jump on over to the KBoards and Evenstar's artciel about Amazon keywords. Believe me, it's fantastic and detailed.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,205816.0.html

I just discovered this link this morning. If you click on the graphic, it'll take you to the PDF version. You can download it and save it to your device of choice. It's the path to publishing and it looks at various ways you can be published, the value and the importance of each path.

http://janefriedman.com/2015/04/17/key-book-publishing-path/

Have a great Monday and I'll see you tomorrow for Traveling Tuesday.

#writers #readers #books #ebooks #selfpub #publishing

Site update

Hello, my friends.

How is your Sunday going? Everyone doing well and feeling fine? I sure hope so.
Just a small website update for today. Installed a forum on the website and you can find it in the menu.
There's a spot for book lovers, a spot for writers, general discussion and my (monthly) newsletter.
I did not care for the newsletter service I was using and thought this might be easier for all.

Have a wonderful afternoon/night. :)

#writers #readers #books #ebook #selfpub #publishing #bookseries #author

Saturday Series

Good Morning! It's Saturday Series.
If you haven't guessed already, I love magic, wizards, witches and anything else that comes along with it.
So today, I'm suggesting a wonderful series by Angie Sage. It's a seven book series with extras.

Septimus Heap

The first book in the series is Magyk:

The plot of the first book, entitled Magyk (published in March 2005), revolves around the pauper Heap family: Silas, Sarah and their seven children. The story begins when Silas finds Jenna in the snow. Septimus is born on the same day, but is declared dead by the midwife, who steals the baby and brings him to DomDaniel, an evil wizard. However, he is confused with the midwife's own son, and is sent to the Supreme Custodian to help start a boy army. On her tenth birthday, Jenna learns from ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand that she is a princess, but that she—and the Heap family—are in danger. Jenna and Nicko Heap escape to their Aunt Zelda's cottage. They are accompanied by a member of the Young Army called Boy 412, who discovers his magic powers and a legendary ring while at Zelda's. Marcia is imprisoned in DomDaniel´s boat, Vengeance, and nearly dies, but is rescued by Boy 412, Jenna and Nicko after they find a flying Dragon Boat in a secret cavern by Zelda´s cottage. At the end of the novel, Boy 412 is revealed to be Septimus, and his family hears of his past.
The covers have been updated since the series first came out. Personally, I like the old covers best, but you can grab your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Magyk-Septimus-Heap-Book-1/dp/006223692X

Septimus Heap website: http://www.septimusheap.com/
Angie Sage's website: http://www.angiesage.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/157663.Angie_Sage
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngieSageAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/angiesageauthor

#writers #readers #books #ebooks #author #bookseries #selfpub #fantasy #magic #wizards

Friday Fun

Good Morning! It's Friday fun for #writers & #readers. :)
Today there's links and some memes to shake off that work week and get ready for the weekend.

#Writers

For the over 21 crowd that likes to put up your feet and relax after a long day of writing, there's Writers Tears:
https://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/wri...

Bright amber color; appealing aromas and flavors of green apple, vanilla, caramel and ginger; medium-intensity with weighty alcohol, the finish is fruity and medium in length.

For those of you that like to get the day started with a bit of caffeine and yet, get inspired, this mug might do the trick: (not for the little ones)
https://store.therumpus.net/product/w...

And for the times a word, a sentence, a paragraph isn't working and frustration is setting in, spritz yourself with this little baby and get back on track:
http://www.demeterfragrance.com/70415... #Readers

For all you book lovers out there, the following item says it all. Wear it proudly:
https://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=readbutton

The next item I discovered is this tank. I do the very same thing. Check it out:
http://www.activateapparel.com/design/32452-my-workout-is-reading-in-bed

And lastly, some very cool library inspired candles. Great for #readers & #writers:
http://www.paddywax.com/Shop/Library



Have a wonderful weekend everyone. And for those of you that enjoy a good book series, drop by tomorrow.

#writer #reader #author #book #ebook #selfpub