GET HEALTHY BLOGHOP

Hello there! Thanks for stopping by. I know you've got a lot of hoppin' to do, so I'll just give you one hint that works for me.

I'm a writer and a teacher. Both sedentary occupations. I have to work at optimizing fitness into my time-poor day.

I love to run, so I run when I can rather than walk. I teach at the State Library of Queensland, now about 1 kilometre from home since I've moved (instead of 5 minutes), so I pack all my books, notes, pens and laptop into my smallest pull-along luggage bag and jog, jog, jog as much as I can with it bouncing along behind me. Helps to keep it nimble between overseas trips too...an added bonus. So my motto for getting/keeping healthy -- run, run, run....

Thanks to Stephen Tremp, Alex J Cavanaugh, L Diane Wolfe and Michael di Gesu for hosting this awesome, life-changing bloghop. A full list of participants is here.

• If you think I'm not blogging anymore, think again. For some reason, my posts are not being updated, so I'm trying to fix the problem. Meanwhile, if you can remember to visit, I'd be mighty grateful!

Writers for Writers - Promoting Gwen Gardner and Melissa Bradley -- L Diane'Wolfe's latest book, How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now!

Have you heard of W4W? 

From author Stephen Tremp's blog --

Mission:

• Help writers bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people

• Help writers reach Amazon Top 100 in at least one category (i.e., suspense, free, whatever)

• Increase sales of their book(s) after the promo is over

• Drive new traffic to their blog and increase following

• Create verbal and viral buzz

W4WS targets friends and followers of friends and followers. I got the idea trying to think of ways to promote my books beyond my personal social network.

In A Nut Shell:  Each month we will spotlight one, two, or possibly three new authors through social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

Then, the good people in the Blogosphere will promote the author’s book to their Twitter followers or Facebook friends, that is, incredibly large new audiences the author could not reach on their own.  Example:

Facebook: There is a Writers4Writers Facebook page.  Authors will post an image of their book along with a short blurb and a link to Kindle on their blog. Visitors simply click the Facebook page, then share the link with their FB friends and Writers Groups.

Simple. Easy.

Please take a moment to check out our W4WS Facebook page. As an example, we have Mary Pax’s new release there now. We would greatly appreciate it if you also click the LIKE button. And if you feel so inspired, you can practice by sharing Mary’s link!

Twitter: The spotlighted author will post pre-written Tweets on his/her blog. At your convenience, simply copy and paste Tweets into Twitter. Or go to #W4WS on Twitter and Retweet other Tweets. 

Now Imagine: A hundred bloggers over a few days Tweeting and sharing links for author's book and reaching potentially tens of thousands of new people!

Finally: Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Christine Raines and I have a Linky List. We'd love to have you participate and show support for our fellow writers. Thanks again.

Writers4Writers (W4WS) Monday February 18th: W4WS is this Monday and Tuesday. Take a moment to stop by Gwen Gardner and Melissa Bradley’s blogs. They will be posting pre-written Tweets you can copy and paste into your Twitter page. They will also post a link on the W4WS Facebook Page you can share with your FB friends. (Gwen Gardner is giving her book away free for Monday and Tuesday.)

Denise says -- If, like me, you are a little leery of promoting books you haven't read, but wish to promote fellow blogger/authors, you'll have to sort out what works for you.

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY



RomanticFridayWriters have a love fest of a different style - fan fiction - story/poem of 1,000 words to be published between February 21 - 24.  Go here to sign up, or click on Submit in my top right-hand sidebar.


YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Now while we're talking about promoting your book/s, by now you must have heard that L. Diane Wolfe has a great new book out:

Book Spotlight: L Diane Wolfe

HOW TO PUBLISH AND PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW!

By L. Diane Wolfe

Publishing and promoting made simple!

Have you always dreamed of publishing a book but didn’t know where to begin? 

This book walks you through the steps of identifying markets, budgeting, building an online presence, and generating publicity. Get the whole story on:

·         Traditional publishing,   Self-publishing

·         Print and e-book setup, formatting, and distribution

·         Finding your target audience

·         Generating reviews and media interest

·         Networking and developing an online presence

·         Promotional materials and appearances

Uncover your ideal publishing path and numerous marketing options before you begin. Writing is your dream. Give it the best chance for success!

Available February 5, 2012

Publishing/Marketing, 214 pages, Dancing Lemur Press LLC

$14.95 Trade paperback ISBN 978-0-9827139-5-2

$4.99 Ebook ISBN 978-0-9827139-9-0

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-publish-and-promote-your-book-now-l-diane-wolfe/1113516811

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/How-Publish-Promote-Your-Book/dp/0982713959/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359139094&sr=1-1&keywords=9780982713952

Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/Publish-Promote-Your-Book-ebook/dp/B00B8X5WEM/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359715649&sr=1-8

Please Allow me to Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest and Jessica Bell's The Book.

This is a fun blogfest, short and sweet. Brainchild of Stephen Tremp, Mark Koopmans, Elise Fallson and C.M.Brown. It is refreshing to read an optimistic spin on blogging, seeing there is a 'blogging is a waste of time' movement gathering impetus as some find facebook, twitter etc a much quicker way to connect with people. Sure, blogging is a time commitment, but to me and many others, worth it, as long as you don't try to blog too much!

Click on the above badge to join up, read more entries...

To re-introduce myself--I've been blogging since 2008, very long lived in this virtual world. I've made so many blogging friends in that time, met some in person, and hope to meet more. 

When I started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing, so have made many changes to my blog/s as I've discovered who I am in this blogging world.

There are many posts telling you what you should blog about, who should blog and that unpublished novelists shouldn't even bother, but I think there's a lot more to blogging than that--to your own self be true on this one...

When I joined blogger, I was a short story, non-fiction and travel writer...over the years I've been morphing into a writer of novella and novel-length fiction. I'm about to submit my first fully-completed novel, Fijian Princess, to Harlequin.  

I founded RomanticFridayWriters with Francine Howarth (who is mainly found on fb these days), and now co-host with Donna Hole. This is a great way to keep writing fiction--flash fiction--from which many a full-length novel has been birthed. Every month there is a new challenge afoot, open to all! Check out our latest challenge in the right sidebar!

Did you get the message? I love blogging and meeting new bloggers and learning so much from everyone! Thank you bloggers!!

• Now tell me about why you're a blogger...I LOVE to hear other's stories...

And to back up my words, I'd like you to check out the latest from Aussie author, Jessica Bell:

Ever wondered how a five-year-old girl perceives the world? Then you definitely need to get your hands on THE BOOK, a novella by Jessica Bell.

Check out these awesome reviews:

"Jessica Bell’s surprising risks with language capture a child’s clear vision in a world of adult heartbreak. Indelible. Courageous." ~Thaisa Frank, author of Heidegger's Glasses and Enchantment

"THE BOOK is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. It's going to rip your blood pump out of your chest, kick it around like a football, and then shove it back inside you, leaving you with a potently reinvigorated faith in humanity. A curiously captivating read that somehow manages to encapsulate the length and breadth of love and family in one slim volume." ~Josh Donellan, author of Zeb and the Great Ruckus

Here's the blurb:

This book is not The Book. The Book is in this book. And The Book in this book is both the goodie and the baddie.

Bonnie is five. She wants to bury The Book because it is a demon that should go to hell. Penny, Bonnie’s mother, does bury The Book, but every day she digs it up and writes in it. John, Bonnie’s father, doesn’t live with them anymore. But he still likes to write in it from time to time. Ted, Bonnie’s stepfather, would like to write in The Book, but Penny won’t allow it.

To Bonnie, The Book is sadness.
To Penny, The Book is liberation.
To John, The Book is forgiveness.
To Ted, The Book is envy.
But The Book in this book isn’t what it seems at all.

If there was one thing in this world you wished you could hold in your hand, what would it be? The world bets it would be The Book.

Intrigued?

Available at all major retailers in e-book and paperback, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Blood, Sweat and Tears...and is your blogfest on this list?

I know some of you are having snow and other cold-related weather events, but down here at the bottom of the earth, we are sweltering. This facebook photo says it all...

Well, not quite all...yes, Christmas was a sweat bath--no roast dinners at my place--but we are continuing to experience heatwave conditions with resultant bushfires which are ripping through the country destroying properties and livestock. Just as well Aussies are a tough lot. Thank God for firefighters! What would we do without them?

Meanwhile, those of us who are not in bushfire areas are surviving on-going temperatures up to 43 deg. Celsius (109 deg. F), by moving from an air-conditioned room, to an air-conditioned car, to an air-conditioned shopping centre, to the pool, to the beach...none of which is conducive to writing. However, write we must...

RomanticFridayWriters has hit the road again, so I wrote my first flash fiction for the year--my story is below this post. I managed to squeeeze the bushfires in, along with a touch of Hugh Jackman.

RFW's FEBRUARY CHALLENGE will be announced in a week's time. It's going to be wow! Hope you can join the writing train--you will have 3 weeks to come up with a 1,000 word max. story/poem after the prompt is announced.

So, moving right along, there are lots of upcoming blogfests in this wonderful community...I've picked a few to pass along. I hope to enter all...

This one is already underway. I'm hoping to find time to slip it in...

To celebrate the release of her novel, you guessed it. 18 Things, Jamie is hosting a blogfest. Between Jan 17 - 24 you can post your 18 Things bucket list. I've been reading some, and they're awesome!

Jamie says:

All you have to do is blog about things on your bucket list.  If you don’t have a bucket list, you should, and now is the perfect time to start! If you’re not sure what a bucket list is (blasphemy!), it’s something completely personal that each person should do (IMHO). It’s a great reminder that gives an extra boost to live life to the fullest and keep us looking forward, even when life wants to drag us down sometimes. Finish a marathon? Read the top 100 books?  I’m looking for fun, heart-pumping, poignant, or inspirational things that you want to want to do, or maybe already crossed off your list. And it doesn’t have to be 18 Things . . . it can be anywhere from 1-18 things (I just needed my title to get out there. Marketing trolls said so!)

Anyone who posts their 18 Things between January 17th-24th can enter to win a number of prizes. 

Click the bucket link to sign up, then read about all the fab prizes--some are already gone, so hurry...

Next blogfest please: 

Click on the badge to sign up -- there's already 69 peeps!

The first is the Re-Introduce Myself blogfest on January 28, brainchild of Stephen Tremp, Mark Koopmans, Elise Fallson and C.M.Brown. who say:

2012 was an amazing year as so many new authors, writers, poets, musicians, and people with something to share such as recipes and movie reviews joined the blogging community. We visit other blogger’s sites and they visit us. But many new bloggers and the more established ones often don't really know much about each other.

So mark January 28th on your calendar for an opportunity to re-introduce ourselves to the ever-expanding blogging community. Simply take a moment and tell us something interesting about yourself. Anything. It can be about writing. Or blogging. Or a hidden talent. Perhaps you’re in the Witness Protection Program. Feel free to keep your post short. This is meant to be a quick and fun Blogfest. I’m keeping mine under 100 words.

Then we have:

Click on the badge for more info...

The Sarcasm Goddess is the whackiest blogger I know. If you enjoy sarcasm and all sorts of ironic posts, you need to follow her. Now she's come up with the idea of sharing one or two of your bestest posts in 2012--bring them out for an airing so to speak. 

She says:

Two weeks from now, on January 31st I will be hosting a linky open to all bloggers. Link up one or two of your favorite posts from 2012 and/or link up one of your most favorite posts of another blogger! And please, spread the word so we can meet lots of new bloggy friends!

The date again is January 31st, because what better day to celebrate last year than on the last day of the first month of this year!

Next Please...

We have voracious author and RFW member, Joy Campbell from sunny Jamaica, who is about to launch her new book Retribution at the end of January. Joy says:

Help me celebrate the release of Retribution by submitting your most interesting stories of people taking another shot at a relationship. 
 .

·         There is no restriction as it pertains to form or genre. Stories can be fact or fiction. Use your imagination, make your stories attention-grabbing.

·       . 
          Somewhere in there, you must tell the reader why the couple broke up and why they feel compelled to get back together. This can be done from any of your characters’ point-of-view.  
       .

·         The word cap is 500. 
       .

·         Indicate on your blog post, by the relevant badge, whether you’re in the fact or fiction category.  
      .

·         There will be voting and prizes, so it’ll be a reader’s choice situation, where you get to choose your favourite anecdote/poem/refection/story. The best piece of fact and fiction—as determined by your vote—will receive a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card, so that’s two prizes. 
      .

I will be reaching out to a few trusty bloggers so that in the event of ties, we can have a tie break decision. If we cannot decide on a winner in either category, prizes will be divvied up between the best two entries and the loot (meagre as it is) shared.
.

I hope you’ll join the fun and sign up below to participate. Entries open now, so get cracking on those stories. (NOTE change of date from Feb 1 to Feb 14 - Valentine's Day!)

Last but not least...

This bloghop is to help Andrew who has cerebal-palsy. Nick Wilford wants your 500 words of flash fiction on the theme, Overcoming Adversity. He will collate the stories and all proceeds will go towards Andrew's college fund. This is a great challenge. I hope you'll join me in posting a story between Feb 4-5th.

So I'll wipe my fevered brow and leave you with these inspiring thoughts...I'm doing a lot of the Read, Read, Read, Read (in my air-conditioned bedroom.) Have already read 7 books in January. Luckily, I don't need much sleep!

• Are you finding it hard to get writing in 2013?
• Does weather influence your writing? Good or bad way...
• What are your writer's goals for the year?
• Are you inspired to enter any of these blogfests/bloghops?
• Do you know of any more blogfests? Leave a comment...