Monday, April 30, 2012

Taking over + Favorites = Awesome

Love Books by LoveDgirlA1065
I'm so excited!!!
I was asked to write a guest post for an author's blog!  I was so excited that I decided to write about favorite books.  Included in the post, you will get to know me a little bit better and even see a short list of some of my very favorite books.

Click here to be taken to the guest post!

J.S. Sharp is an author and blogger.  We have very similar book tastes when it comes to mysteries, thrillers and suspense and through Twitter we have become fast friends.  I love reading his blog and highly recommend any of his short stories!  Stop over, say hello and let him know I sent you.  He's also new to the blogging world, so don't forget to follow!

Happy Guest Post Day!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

SM Boyce Takes Over!

Hey gang!  I’m thrilled to be sharing some awesome news with you, and I’m so grateful that Hilary let me kidnap her blog for the day to do it.  You may remember me from when I was here a last month on my Hidden World blog tour promoting my novel, The Grimoire: Lichgates.  To those of you who participated and won some of the hundreds of dollars in prizes, thanks for making that tour so epic!

So today, I’m here with awesome, Grimoire-related news I think you’ll really like.  Because we of the modern era like information to be fast and furious, I made this quick video to tell you what all the fuss is about:


There’s a lot of buzz around the pendant, and I’ll fill orders in the order they’re received.  That means it’s really best to act as soon as you know which pendant you want.  For all the ordering info, head over to the pendant’s page on my blog.

*HilyBee butts in...*
Oh!!! Let me tell them!!! You can also enter to win a short guest appearance in Heritage, the epic finale!!  All you have to do is pre-order a pendant and enter the giveaway.  Click here to be taken to the giveaway!

(okay okay...I'll go away now..)
Thanks again for having me today!  You’re all amazing and I can’t thank you enough for reading Lichgates. You’re making all my geeky little dreams come true.
 

Learn More:

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Authors Not-So-Anonymous Week #16

Welcome everyone to the sixteenth Authors Not-So-Anonymous weekly meeting!! This weekly series is about authors from Twitter and Facebook!  This week, I would like to introduce Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali into Authors Not-So-Anonymous!


Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali is the author of An Unproductive Woman and a certified breast oncology nurse in Texas.  "I don’t ever recall not writing, however, in the beginning I don’t think I considered writing as a serious lifetime goal until I was in my late twenties...Writing was a neat intellectual and artistic exercise.  A hobby, nothing more."

What began as a hobby, turned into a career but not one without trial and error - "Looking back though, I think I wrote AUW was an act of catharsis.  Writing the story, developing love and hate for the characters, living and commiserating with them, was my way of buffering myself from the things that were troublesome in my life at the time.  I’m not sure it was the healthiest thing for me to do, but I do think it was a blessing of sorts.  I was buoyed by the strength of my main character Asabe.

After writing AUW, I shopped it out to several different publishers.  There was some interest, but nothing ever panned out.  So, AUW spent several years in a box in a closet or garage virtually forgotten.  Then I stopped writing altogether.  Life got busy and I forgot this great gift that sort of completed my identity.  An opportunity arose to self-publish AUW and I’ve been writing seriously every since then."  Her writing career is much like her character's life, Asabe struggled but also had the strength to keep going and try again.



Khaalidah's biggest inspirations are her children, herself and breaking the mold of typical literature.  "My children open my eyes to possibilities and they make me hopeful.  My three children ages 20, 19, and 10 are foremost in my mind when I write, because I always want to write something that they will be proud of and will want to read.  Believe me when I say however that this is no easy task.  They are a discerning group with an intuitive understanding for what make s a story work.  They are heavy hitters when it comes to critiquing, especially my eldest."  

"I am a woman of color and a Muslim.  These are traits that I believe broaden my scope as opposed to restrict it.  This inspires me to write the kinds of stories that I would want to read, the kinds of stories where I can see myself reflected.  I’m pretty sick and tired of the status quo as regards contemporary literature and film.  Both industries, I think, are built in great part, on shock value.  How much leg and cleavage can we show?  How many sex scenes can we justify in the midst of a zombie outbreak?  Let’s pepper this dialogue with “f” words.  It’s lazy and insulting.  In my opinion, these are tactics meant to divert us from what we were really searching for when we sat down to read or watch or listen, that we want to be moved.  We want to think and feel and see something of our own strength in the conflict."  I couldn't agree with her more!  As an avid reader, I too am tired of all the *typical* stuff that happens in novels - which is why I branched out and read more Indie authors now than I have ever read in my life.  Plus, aren't we always trying to please ourselves when we read?  Why not write something you would read.

Khaalidah is currently working on two project - The Hinterlands and a graphic novel Honor&Truth.  She is also working with the Grim5next Express - a collaborative project that include musicians, artists and writers!  I recently read and reviewed her book An Unproductive WomanClick here to go to the review.  Khaalidah can be found on her website, Goodreads, Facebook, Google+, Amazon, and SmashwordsShe has graciously given me a code to pass along that allows everyone to get a free copy of An Unproductive Woman from Smashwords!  The code is CX79A (code ends on May 7, 2012).



Have an author to nominate?  Send me a message via Twitter or leave a comment with the author(s) name and Twitter name and the tag #ANSA.  I'd love to add new members!  Happy Reading!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Dos and Don'ts of Commenting

Lets chat...about leaving comments - shall we?

Tips for leaving comments - How to not cheese off bloggers 101.... Dos and Don'ts of commenting...

1. Do ask a question - If you ask a question that is an actual question you want answered, I will answer if I can understand what you're asking...so please, try to use spell check and grammar check.

2. Do post anonymously if you don't have an account or simply don't want anyone to see your *name*. 

3. Don't expect all comments to be seen right away.  Anonymous comments almost *always* get sent to the spam pile.  And if they don't, it's because they don't look spammy. (anyone else craving spam?)

4. Do leave a comment. I will not judge you or be mean to you - so leave your thoughts!

5. Don't leave a rude, nasty, hateful comment and expect to receive any kind of feedback.  I just delete them and forget them within minutes of reading it.

6. Do have fun, interact, and check back on the comments more than once (especially if you love the topic we're discussing).

7. Don't judge other people in the comments.  This is a bully free zone!

8. Do leave me quirky comments.  I love them!

9. Don't leave a comment because you think you have to.

10. Do give me your feedback on a certain type of post.  I like hearing your feedback!

I'm trying very hard to interact with each person who leaves a comment.  Please understand that I am a busy college student, and I promise to get back to each person ASAP.  This was needed, sadly...anything else to add to the list?  Happy Commenting!