Tangled Tuesday- Reviews and #Book Bloggers Who Steal #authors #bookreviews

The title says it all but let me clarify. Authors need reviews to get our book in the spotlight. No reviews and our books sink into Amazon obscurity, never to be seen by the masses. We get those reviews via readers but we can also send out free copies of our novel to book bloggers. An exchange of goods, so to speak.  A book blogger gets a free book in exchange for writing an honest review delivered in a timely manner on their blog. It’s a win-win. As an author who doesn’t have the advertising budget Stephen King or Neil Gaiman might, I appreciate those blog reviews as much as anyone. What I don’t appreciate, is stealing.

Three scenarios:

1) A book blogger or review site advertises something like this: "Fill out the form, send us your book and we will post a review." (or) "...we will forward your book to readers who, in turn, will post a review."

2) A book blogger or review site signs up for a book tour, receives a free copy of your book with the understanding they are to read, review and post such in their blog.

3) An avid reader approaches you online and promises to read your book and post a review on their YouTube channel or blog out of the goodness of their heart.

Outcomes of 1, 2 and 3: Nothing. No review. No further contact. Crickets chirping. Snow falling. The sound of a breeze blowing through empty pages. You get it.

Most book bloggers are pretty cool. The majority post the review whether it's good or bad. A few prefer not to post if they really didn't like the book but will email the author with an explanation. I've even gotten an apologetic email stating the review would be late because life got in the way. That's completely fair. I'm talking about book bloggers who take your book...and then fade into the woodwork. Yeah, they suck. It takes little effort to send out an email excuse such as, "I'm sorry, I couldn't finish your book because I had to walk the dog. Because my house was destroyed in a fire. Because I had to boink the milkman. Because I'm a kleptomaniac and couldn't help myself." See how easy that was? No hurt feelings, no harm done. Both the blogger and author can move on.

What's an author to do? Too many authors are afraid to follow up for fear they'll be trashed on social media in retaliation. So they let it go. The "reviewers" get a free book which makes them no better than the pirating sites we authors rage against.

Let me just clarify what goes into "writing a book" for those who aren't authors:

In my case, writing a book takes, on the average, over a year of hard work. We're talking more than 40 hours a week with no pay. After I finish the book it may take up to nine months to be accepted by a publisher. After that, it may take up to another year for the publisher to edit and release the book on their schedule. I get paid when the book sells and even then, royalties (per book) are less than a $ cup of coffee. When someone steals my book, either by pirating or agreeing to read/review and then not doing so, quite honestly it pisses me off. Do I go into their homes and steal from them? No, I don't. Maybe I should. "Dear, So-and-So, I thought your cat looked intriguing, so I decided to take him. I'm sure you don't mind." Oh, wait. That would be leaving a note. Okay, strike that. No note. No explanation. I'll just steal their cat. I like cats.

Recently, I searched for a site where you could report a book blogger who habitually steals books. You want to know what I found? Nothing. Authors are either too afraid to make a fuss, or they shrug their shoulders and write it off. We get screwed over by bad publishers, why shouldn't we get screwed over by shifty book bloggers? We've come to expect it. But guess what? Authors talk. If you're one of those people who steal and run, you will get a reputation. Authors can be devious. We spend half our time on the internet, and the other half creating chaos in our heads. We will find a way to destroy you. Okay, that may be overly dramatic.

But we will.

#MeatlessMonday - #Vegetarian Cauliflower-Cheese Soup

I'm all about spending less time in the kitchen, so here's a recipe you can set up in the crockpot and off you go. You can substitute chicken stock (if you wish), low-fat milk, or different vegetables for a change in flavor. Experiment and enjoy!

Vegetarian Cauliflower-Cheese Soup

Photo courtesy of Lower Columbia Collage via Flickr

1 chopped onion
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
4 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley.

Add everything into a crock pot (or soup pot) and cook until veggies are soft.

Add:

2 cups light cream or milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese.

Blend until smooth.
Add some salt/pepper.
Serve!

#FolkloreThursday - #GhostStory Bites for Your Reading Pleasure...

It's October! Time for some ghost stories....
I've gathered these little tidbits from around the globe. Enjoy!

Photo by Glen Bowman

The Radiant Boy
Northumberland, England. 

Chillingham Castle is a 13th-century castle reputed to be the most haunted place in the world. The most famous ghost in the castle was the "Radiant Boy" who used to haunt the Pink Room. His cries would emanate from a spot near where a passage was (later) found. As his cries faded away, a bright halo of light appeared, followed by the figure of a young boy dressed in blue. During some renovation work, they found the bones of a young child behind the wall, wrapped in decaying fragments of blue cloth. The child was given a proper burial and the hauntings ceased.

Used by Permission via Mr. Harman

Resurrection Mary 
Chicago, Illinois 

There are many hitchhiker ghosts reported across the USA. The most famous resides near Resurrection Cemetery on Chicago's Southside. Since the 1930s, many have reported picking up the blonde, blue-eyed young woman dressed in a white party dress. Once the driver reaches the cemetery, the young woman asks to be let out and then disappears. She is thought to be the spirit of Mary Bregovy, who died in a 1934 auto accident in the Chicago Loop, or possibly Anna Norkus, who died in a 1927 auto accident while on her way home from the Oh Henry Ballroom.

Used by Permission via McKarri

Flying Dutchman 
Oceans of Europe, Asia, and Africa

The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost ship doomed to sail the oceans forever, unable to make port. The myth likely originated from the 17th-century golden age of the Dutch East India Company. The ship and its crew became eternally cursed when its Dutch captain refused to take safe harbor during a storm despite pleas from the crew and passengers. Instead, the captain challenged God to take them down. There are many sightings and literary references to this ship. If hailed by another ship, the crew of the Flying Dutchman will try to send messages to land, or to people long dead. In ocean lore, the sight of this phantom ship is a bad omen.

Blackbeard's Flag
Used by Permission via Fred the Oyster

Blackbeard's Ghost

Oracoke Island, North Carolina

Ocracoke Island is an inlet off the coast of North Carolina. The inlet is reported to be the favored spot where Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, anchored ship. It's also said to be where he met his end. Some say his ghost haunts the spot to this day. On moonlit nights, people have reported that the ghost of Blackbeard (Edward Teach) can be seen swimming around Ocracoke Island cove where he died. It was rumored that after being shot and stabbed repeatedly, his headless body swam three times around the boat before it finally sunk. Many people report seeing a strange light moving beneath the waters of the cove. This ghostly light is thought to be Blackbeard's spirit searching for his missing head.

Eleonore Zugun (right)
Used by Permission via Unbekannt, Wien

Eleonore Zugun 
Teleorman County, Romania

In 1926, Eleonore Zugun, an illiterate 13-year-old Romanian peasant girl, suffered spontaneous attacks of poltergeist activity and stigmata. Fearing she was possessed by the devil, the villagers locked her away in an asylum. She was brought to London for a series of experiments at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research. Conclusions were made that the stigmatic markings (ranging from a whip, scratch or teeth bitemarks) were spontaneous and she was not consciously responsible for the production of the marks. According to the report, she could also move small objects without physical contact. There were over 1,070 recorded instances of either stigmata or poltergeist activity. The activity soon diminished and by 1928, Eleonore returned to Romania where she later married and was said to have lived a “normal life”.

Used by Permission via KatyaMSL

La Llorona ("The Weeping Woman") 
Mexico

The story tells of a woman by the name of Maria who drowned her children in order to be with the man she loved. The man would not have her, and she ended up drowning herself in a river in Mexico City.  Maria was not permitted to enter the afterlife until she found her children. Trapped between the living and spirit world, she wanders the Earth for all eternity. Her constant weeping as she searches for her children has earned her the name "La Llorona."

Portrait of Lady Dorothy Walpole
by Charles Jervas,  circa 1805
Public Domain 

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall 
Norfolk, England

Said to be the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686–1726). She became one of the most famous hauntings in Great Britain when photographers from Country Life magazine claimed to have captured her image in 1936. Lady Dorothy Walpole was the second wife of Charles Townshend, who was notorious for his violent temper. The story says when Townshend discovered that his wife had committed adultery, he punished her by locking her in her room. She remained at Raynham Hall until her death in 1726 from smallpox.

#Paranormal Wednesday - Ring-Around-the-Rosie with my Tulpas

Photo courtesy of thejbird via Flickr

A friend and I were discussing the concept of tulpas the other day. A tulpa is defined as an intelligent companion imagined into existence. They can be people, animals, or "other." As an author, I don't find this concept weird at all. I don't know an author alive who doesn't think of their characters as "real" people. Some more than others. We spend countless hours, days, weeks and years writing their deepest thoughts and desires. We create their lives from nothing. We cheer them on, we laugh and we cry with them. To us—and hopefully, to our readers—they are real. We have in a sense, created tulpas.

According to tulpa ideology, it takes time for a tulpa to develop a complex personality. As they grow older, their life experiences and the attention you give shape them into a person with their own hopes, dreams, and beliefs. Communication occurs through your thoughts and emotions, but your tulpa is said to have thoughts and emotions separate from your own. Tulpas aren't malicious. They aren't considered a spirit or demon. They coexist with their creator.

Does that blow your mind? Make you laugh out loud? Seem perfectly normal? Regardless, tulpas have a significant place in several cultures. In Indian Buddhist texts, they are defined as any unreal, illusory or mind-created apparition. In Tibetan Buddhism, tulpas are a spiritual discipline and teaching concept. In the Western occult tradition, they are called thoughtforms (magical emanation, phantom, or something conjured). They are as real as you or me—they just happen to exist in our minds.

That said, how many of you had imaginary friends as a child? Personally, I didn't have just one imaginary friend, I had an entire tribe. We could have held hands and danced a Ring-Around-the-Rosie. Tulpas? Probably not. If they were, they ran off to join the circus and didn't stick around. As far as my tulpa-like characters...that's a different story altogether. Excuse me while I go make more. We'll get that Ring-Around-the-Rosie going yet.  

Tangled Tuesday: And now for something completely different #writer #artist #motivation

Photo courtesy of april-mo via flickr

Stuck in a rut? It happens. In most cases, the best solution is to take a break. Walk away from what you're doing. That doesn't mean walk to your bed and flop across it like a dead fish. Walk away. Try something different, rattle your brain. Whatever it takes to climb out of your rut and get your creative-self flowing again.
Here are some things to try. And don't just read through them and say, "Yeah...I should try one of these," and then not do it.
Because I'll hunt you down.

1) Do something physical. Your brain can't be creative if you're catatonic in your chair. Muscles need to move. If you're stuck in an office, buy a mini-trampoline and keep it in the corner for jumping breaks.

2) Play. Jump rope, do cartwheels, build a fort, blow bubbles. You know, all those fun things you used to do as a kid but don't anymore because you're a boring grown-up.

3) Visit a factory. See how something is made. Candy factories are awesome.

4) Learn something new. Take a tap-dancing class if you like noise, a fencing class if you like swords, or a trapeze class if you want to run away and join the circus. It always makes me sad when I hear people say, "I've always wanted to (insert cool thingy here), but I haven't because (insert lame-o excuse here)".

5) Stomp grapes at a vineyard. While you're there, take a winery tour and see how wine is made. Next time you buy a bottle, you'll truly appreciate the crafting that goes into it.

6) Build a bird or bat house. Hang it in your backyard or donate it to a local recreation center or garden.

7) Rent a paddle boat or kayak and take off for the day. Find a secluded spot and go skinny dipping.

8) Try something completely new and out of your career-comfort zone. Are you a photographer? Paint a picture instead. Do you write romance? Try writing science fiction. Work with numbers all day long? I'm very sorry, I have no advice for you, your life must be a nightmare. Haha. I do have advice, actually. Fingerpaint. On the wall.

9) Plan and cook a meal using a one color palette. For example; a cheddar-cheese omelet, butternut squash soup, and saffron toast. End the meal with a lemon tart and apricot screwdriver.

10) Juggle. It's okay if you drop them all unless they're glass bottles.

11) Fly a kite. If you don't have one, now's the time to go shopping OR you can make one

12) Take public transportation to a random destination. Get lost and wander. It's okay, you will find your way home again.


What are you waiting for? I see you still sitting there. Don't make me come get you.

Happy October! #book #sale #99cents #paranormal #darkfantasy #ghosts

Happy October!
To celebrate, all my books are 99 cents October 1-7th. 

Amazon

#MeatlessMonday - Pumpkin & Green Chili Pepper Soup #vegetarian #crockpot

Our local grocery store has exploded in pumpkin-spice. Pumpkin-spice cookies, cupcakes, coffees, and chocolates. I even saw pumpkin-spice kale chips. *sigh*  I like my veggies as much as any vegetarian, but just...no.

This pumpkin-spice blend is a bit different, not sweet but the spicy warm flavors of cumin and chili. It's super-easy and takes a few minutes to set up in the crockpot. Perfect for a busy day.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Green Chili Pepper Soup

1 onion, diced
1T olive oil
4 ozs diced green chilies
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tsp ground red pepper
1-15 oz. can pumpkin purée
2-1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup sour cream

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent and transfer into crockpot. Add pumpkin purée, vegetable broth, green chilies, chopped parsley, cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt, and ground red pepper.
Cook in a crockpot on low/med for about an hour. Blend until smooth.
Stir in sour cream before serving.