I am delighted to feature Sacha Black today. For those of you who don’t know Sacha, she is the founder of the Annual Bloggers Bash and Bash Awards. (More about the Bash at the end of this post). Please join me in congratulating Sacha on the release of her first book, 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft Superbad Villains, a step-by-step guide to creating multi-dimensional villains and much more.
Why did you write this book?This book started out as a couple of blog posts. Everything I’ve learnt on my journey to publishing, I’ve blogged. I guess as both a consolidation of my learning and a way to give back and share the lessons and mistakes I’ve made so others don’t have to. When I was studying villains it was no different. I wrote up the things I’d learnt as blog posts and I was fortunate enough they proved popular. But that told me that kind of content was not only wanted but needed too. So the seed was sown for 13 Steps To Evil.
Did you feel there was a gap in the market for this type of book?Absolutely, because of the popularity of the posts, I did some research and discovered that although there were lots of blog posts, there were only a couple of books out there that covered the topic and none were as in depth as I wanted. So absolutely there’s a market.
Does the book shed new light on a common issue?I think so. It comes at villain-creation from a different angle. For a start, it’s based on a myth busting concept. Your hero is not the most important character in your book. Your villain is.
Most writers have hero-worship syndrome. Blindly concentrating on their hero and creating his or her depth of character and forgetting that a novel isn’t just one character.
So 13 Steps To Evil tries to blow that concept apart by suggesting the villain is actually the most important character in an author’s book. Why? Because a villain is the source of conflict, and without conflict, there is no story and no need for a hero.
Is it a topic that a lot of people can easily relate to?Absolutely. This isn’t a stuffy textbook. I purposely use really well known character examples from books, film and TV because most people will have heard of all, or at least most of the examples. I try to sprinkle a little humor and sarcasm into the book and provide a couple of thought provoking exercises at the end of each chapter.
How will the book help writers?The book is an easy to understand, step by step guide to creating Superbad villains. Each step has bite size chunks of info a summary and a couple of useful questions/exercises. There’s also a free checklist to go with the book, a short course and I’m also opening up a Facebook group for the short course completers where they can discuss their ideas/feedback with each other, and I will be in there monitoring it as well.
It will take writers from the basics all the way up to their ultimate warlord.
Who’s your favorite villain?Can you ask me that? That’s totally not fair! Honestly, I have a penchant for anti-heroes. The first anti-hero I ever fell in love with was Beetlejuice, I secretly wanted to wear his stripy suit. I love Deadpool too, with his ego and outrageous sense of humor, Loki, Patrick Bateman, Dexter, GAH there are so many. If we’re talking pure villain, then one of the best has to be Hannibal Lecter, surely?
BIO
Sacha Black has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. She also has the mind of a perpetual sixteen-year-old, only with slightly less drama and slightly more bills.
Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.
When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, blogging, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.
BLURB
Your hero is not the most important character in your book. Your villain is.
Are you fed up of drowning in two-dimensional villains? Frustrated with creating clichés? And failing to get your reader to root for your villain?
In 13 Steps to Evil, you’ll discover:
How to develop a villain’s mindset
A step-by-step guide to creating your villain from the ground up
Why getting to the core of a villain’s personality is essential to make them credible
What pitfalls and clichés to avoid as well as the tropes your story needs
Finally, there is a comprehensive writing guide to help you create superbad villains. Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned writer, this book will help power up your bad guy and give them that extra edge.
These lessons will help you master and control your villainous minions, navigate and gain the perfect balance of good and evil, as well as strengthening your villain to give your story the tension and punch it needs.
If you like dark humour, learning through examples and want to create the best villains you can, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting superbad villains. Read 13 Steps to Evil today and start creating kick-ass villains.
EXCERPT
Why Writers Fudge Up Their Villains
Villains are like newborn infants. So much glorious potential. Until we writers get our grubby mitts on them and balls it up. With the careless flick of a pen, we can turn a finely sculpted baby villain into a cringe-worthy cliché because we didn’t make him bad enough, or we create something so heinously evil it’s unrealistic.
A villain might be a plot device, but he still needs a purpose and a goal, or he’s unworthy as an opponent for your hero (See STEP 3 for motives and goals).
While researching this book, writers told me all kinds of problems they encountered while creating their villains. From getting the dialogue right and avoiding clichés, to knowing how evil to make a villain, to how to reveal her motives without using blatant exposition.
Behind all these issues lie two basic barriers that are the Achilles in every writer’s villainous heel:
1. Depending on the point of view (POV) the book’s written in, the villain is usually seen through the eyes of your hero.
A solitary POV gives you a page-limited amount of time to show your villain’s best, most authentic and devilishly evil side. Page-limited to the point it makes it eye-wateringly difficult to convey her backstory effectively without information dumping. You have to be better, clearer, more tactical and more concise with your words to create superbad villains.
2. Writers are hero worshippers.
We love our heroes and protagonists more than our spouses. And as a result, we spend shameful amounts of time honing our protagonist’s muscular heroics into shape. But that relegates our villain (the plot-driving conflict-creator) to the corner of our book, complete with a nobody-loves-you-anyway hat. In other words, writers don’t pay enough attention to their villain.
Sacha organizes the#AnnualBloggersBashalong withAli Isaac, Geoff LePard, andHugh Roberts. This year, the Bash will be held on June 10th in London. If you haven’t yet voted for your favorite blogger, you can do soHERE. But hurry, because voting closes on June 2nd at 12 p.m. BST.
Chris Grahamis much admired, respected, and appreciated in the blogging world. His indefatigable support of authors and bloggers is rivaled by few others.The Story Reading Ape‘s 4th blog anniversary is April 4th, and I can think of no better way to show my appreciation than by featuring him on my blog. Here’s to you, Mr. Ape! May you live long and prosper. I’m also putting energy out there for you to win the lottery 😊
When did you start blogging and what prompted you to do so?
I started blogging on April 4th 2013 after reading authors’ pleas (on Goodreads) for promotional opportunities on blogs.
What moved you to choose an ape as your gravatar and online presence?
My Most favourite author was (and still is) Terry Pratchett, who once stated, “The anthropologists got it wrong when they named our species Homo sapiens (‘wise man’). In any case it’s an arrogant and bigheaded thing to say, wisdom being one of our least evident features. In reality, we are Pan Narrans, the storytelling chimpanzee.”
From this I extrapolated that since I didn’t TELL stories, but listened to, or READ them, I must be a Story READING ape (Pan Audiencia – as near as I can get).
What motivated you to make author promotion and support the focus of your blog?
I’ve always enjoyed reading, either to learn or be entertained, and owe a debt of gratitude to authors, so when I saw their pleas on Goodreads, I decided to focus on authors, rather than the stories they wrote.
After all, there are LOTS of book review blogs, but very few that give authors the opportunity to talk about themselves (as well as getting a plug in about their books).
You also add a weekly dose of humor to your blog. Does humor play an important role in your daily life as well?
Yes, it does.
Like everyone else in the world, I have my bad times, as well as good, but was raised not to dwell on, or agonise over, the bad things. It’s better to learn from them and get on with those aspects of life I DO have control over.
Laughter and the ability to see humour (or the stupidity) in bad situations helps me get over, or overcome, the depths of despair that others seem to slip into easily.
It may well be an Irish trait, an example being after a funeral, where humour, song and celebration are an important part of remembering the deceased (and overcome grief).
This could be summed up in the old joke about friends putting a crate of drinks on top of the coffin and saying, “He left instructions that the drinks were to be on him.”
How much time each day do you spend blogging?
Too long I suspect; I often pop in and out of the blog to respond to comments and thank those who share the posts, while I’m reading emails, other peoples’ posts and searching around for articles that might be of interest to my blog readers (and myself).
Who are some of your favorite authors and what are some of your favorite books?
Apart from Terry Pratchett, I enjoy books by the old masters like Dickens, et al, but there are quite a few modern (and self-published) authors I enjoy as well – however, I’m not going to say who – they already know who they are 😊
You and your sister recently published a book of your mother’s poetry. Tell us a little about your Mum, her poetry, and the book.
It was my sister Lorna who collected the poems and Jo Robinson who edited and formatted the book – all I did was upload and publish it.
Poetry was a side of Mum that I never knew about until Lorna sent them to me. So I was both surprised and humbled when I read them.
What most inspires you in life?
Nature in all its diverse forms, from the variety and tenacity of life, to the wonder and immensity of the Universe.
Any parting words for your followers?
Read, learn and experience as much as you can about everything.
If Reincarnation exists, it will help you progress.
If it doesn’t, you will have enriched your time while alive.
I hope you enjoyed learning more about our very own blogging Ape. I’m sure I speak for all of us in thanking Chris for his abiding support of authors and in wishing him a
What is love? Not romantic love, but the essence of love, pure and unadulterated. Pure love lightens and enlightens. But what is it? In truth, love can’t be defined; we can only talk around it. In attempting to de-fine it, we con-fine it and thus lose it. Love simply is. And love is our true nature.
What is the opposite of love? Many would say hate. Seems logical, right? When we’re not sitting in love, expanded and with an open heart, we’re struggling to keep our heads above the quicksand of raw emotion. Truth is: the opposite of love is fear. All that isn’t love stems from fear. Love and fear are our primeval baseline emotions.
So what is this seemingly ubiquitous, all-consuming emotion we call fear? When we constrict – when our hearts close, our muscles tighten, our thoughts ricochet, our spirits dim – we sit in…
Michelle Eastmanis collecting children’s books throughout the month of March to benefit children of incarcerated parents. This is part of the MARCHing Books to Kids initiative for the VNS of Iowa Storybook Project. She is reaching out to kid lit authors and book bloggers to get quality books into the hands of deserving kids.
TAKE THE PLEDGE TO DONATE A BOOK and keep passing it on! You can make a difference to a child in need…
Please use these tags when sharing: #PBPiO #MARCHingBookstoKids
I would like to reach out to kid lit authors and book bloggers to get quality books into the hands of deserving kids.
Throughout the month of March, I am collecting new children’s books to benefit children of incarcerated parents. Authors, I hope you will consider donating signed copies of your books. Book bloggers, please help us by sharing this information with your readers.
I am a children’s author, teacher, and mom who is passionate about children’s literacy and the power of children’s books. When I learned nearly 2/3 of children, living in poverty, DO NOT own books, I was moved to act. I founded the literacy initiative, Picture Book Pass it On, to raise awareness for literacy issues and get books to kids in need.
Three years ago, the Picture Book Pass it On initiative grew to include a month-long book drive called MARCHing Books to Kids.
This is a brilliant post by Lynne LeGrow at Fictionophile on book reviews and blogger bashing. A poignant question raised is: Can you write a book review that’s totally devoid of personal preference? I don’t think anyone can write a completely objective book review that doesn’t sound as if they’re dissecting the author’s writing skills. If you’re incensed by blogger bashing, this is a must-read.
When someone – anyone – calls me or my fellow book bloggers dishonest – then steam starts to come out of my ears.When I give a book 5 stars it is because I love it. I’ve recently given a book 2 stars because it wasn’t to my taste. Everyone’s taste is different. I get most of my books from NetGalley, Edelweiss or directly from publishers. They do not cost me anything, yet I still rate them ALL as according to my enjoyment of them. Why would anyone post anything this hurtful. I do not lie when reviewing books! I do try to be kind, as I know authors invest a lot of emotion, time, and hard work writing. Just because I don’t care for it, there…
It’s a pleasure to be part of Sally Cronin‘s Blog Sitting Special while she’s off celebrating her birthday with her sisters in England. There will be many more hosts throughout the week, so do stop by and enjoy the variety of posts she has lined up for our edification in her absence 💜
Thank you to Chris The Story Reading Ape for his enduring support of authors. I’m so pleased to have another guest post featured on his outstanding blog 💚
Throughout our lives, we hear ourselves say: ‘I’m not that good!’ ‘I’ll never make it.’ ‘I wish I could write that well.’ ‘If only I had said. . .’
Words are powerful. Energy follows thought. The words we speak to ourselves drive our subconscious minds. Diminishing thoughts tell the subconscious we are not enough.
The subconscious mind is self-serving. Its mission is to fulfill our every desire, and it sets in motion the means by which to do so. It takes our words at face value and strives to manifest what they represent. It assumes that what we think and say is what we hope and dream.
How often have we heard ourselves utter, ‘Did I say that’? Unless we’re channeling spirit, the mouth speaks what the subconscious mind thinks. If thought rests in the conscious mind, we are aware of it and can choose whether or not to give it a…
Debby Gies had fired up our excitement in anticipation of attending the annual Bloggers Bash in the UK this June. I’m looking forward to meeting all of my wonderful new friends and giving them a hug in person. Hoping to see you there! ️
Oh yes, it’s coming back, The Annual Blogger’s Bash will be held this June 10th in London, England! Are you going? Although I live ‘across the pond’ a fair distance away from here in Toronto, you bet your sweet bippy I’m doing everything in my power to get there!
I must get there! Why? I’m overdue to expand my horizons and step out of my writerly perimeters and go where many of my friends reside behind my computer screen, the friends who often keep me sane.
Writers need hugs too! Blogging friends are the ones who can identify with a writer’s struggles, the friends we can turn to when we need a dose of inspiration, or a smiley face and a heart to remind us they get what we do, what we go through as writers. These are the friends we can bounce ideas off of, rant to about our work, and WordPress and computer woes. And these are the friends who cheer us on for our accomplishments, pick us up when we’re in self-doubt mode, and share our work.
That said, how long do we have to know someone before we could burst from wanting to share a real cup of coffee (or wine?) with our friends, the ones we spend most of our writing days communicating with?
Well, this blogger wants more than just virtual hugs! It’s no different when geographically-crossed lovers build a relationship online and reach that point where they have to meet in person because virtual is no longer enough. There’s just too much to say that our fingers couldn’t possibly type as fast as our mouths can gab when we crave the real-time human interaction. This is why I’m going to meet my long-time close friends for the first time, and make new friends with others I’m not already acquainted with.
It’s time to hug my virtual pals and bring their characters to real life! I’m especially excited to meet my good friends, like my great galpal Sally Cronin
Hoping my dear friend Tina Frisco with the beautiful soul can make it
I’ve thought for some time now that I’d like to have a theme for my blog. Many of the blogs I follow have themes I find most enjoyable. I’ve asked several of these folks to be my guest, tell us what they envision for their blog in 2017, and include their images and links.
I want to thank all of those who responded and wish them great success in the New Year. They are listed below in alphabetical order by first name. Please visit their sites, like and follow, and perhaps download a book or two. Enjoy!
2017 will see the South Branch Scribbler hosting a variety of authors with some artists, photographers, and musicians. I have a lineup of terrific folks for the first three months of the New Year and am adding more weekly. I will be trying some different things in regard to formatting as well as featuring selected authors for back-to-back posts and serials.
I have started a new page called The Detective Jo Naylor serial, where I will adding chapters to an ongoing story I am writing. My main goal is to showcase some of my writing occasionally, but my favorite posts are of other authors; I get to read a lot of great stories. I know the struggle all too well in trying to find a new audience. I receive tremendous pleasure from showcasing authors, hoping they might at least find one new reader. At present I’m getting over a 1000 page views per week from all over the world, and I’m very excited. I extend to all of you an invitation, should you like to be a guest. Send me an email if interested: aandghudson@live.ca.
This is the cover for my novel, Wall of War, to be published in Spring of 2017. Thank you, Tina.
Many thanks to Tina for inviting me onto her blog to promote my blog.
As many of you know, I created my blog to be an Independent Author Promotions Platform and Resources Hub(Click and read HERE)
Since it started, the viewing stats have stunned me:
2013201420152016
As you can see, 2016 saw a staggering (to me) number of blog visitors and followers, leading to viewing stats exceeding 500,000 over the year (as of 29th December).
Note: the number of direct WP followers = 4,000+, but because I use WP Publicize to upload also to Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, the blog’s a total number of followers = 10,500+ (many of whom re-share the posts on their blogs and/or other media).
Sadly to date, only a few of the 500+ writers in my Authors Hall of Fame have made the effort to use this independent promotions platform beyond their Introductory Guest Author posts; so, because 2017 has the potential of even greater viewing stats, I encourage all writers who are in my Authors Hall of Fame, to reap the benefits of this level of potential promotional exposure. HOW? CLICK and READ HEREHow do new writers get into the Authors Hall of Fame? CLICK and READ HERE
I have two blogs. Fairy Whisperer is my main author blog. I like to share book reviews from the Indy authors I have read, my poetry, and interesting fairy nymph lore. On January 3, 2017, I will release my début novel, The Heart Stone Chronicles: The Swamp Fairy. Book Two, The Meadow Fairy is well under way, with my intention to publish by Autumn 2017.
I also host a weekly challenge called Tanka Tuesday, a chance for poets to share their love of poetry in the form of a Tanka poem. Join me on my other blog, A Mindful Journey, where I am learning to be kind to myself through yoga and exercise, weight loss, spiritual awareness, and mindfulness.
Hello all you neophytes out there. It is I, Danny the Dog, come to bring you into the New Year with a little class.
First, I must thank my hostess, Tina Frisco, for having the perspicacity to invite me here today. She’s one smart cookie! I mean, who else but the great Danny the Dog could lead you into a new world, a strange world, a world where up is down and down is up? A world known as 2017.
Tina told me that the rules—or the guidelines, if you will—for this post were to be what I, as a blogger, will be doing in the coming year. Well, that’s easy. I’m gonna do what I did last year. I’m gonna reblog everyone else’s hard work. Why should I kill myself writing new stuff and searching the internet to find appropriate pictures to go with my posts? You guys do a great job and I thank you for it. Tina also told me my piece was to be one paragraph. Sorry, Tina, but once I open my big yap, I find it hard to shut up.
P.S. I was informed that I could promote my services or beg for treats if I gave up a paragraph for the cause. So, if anyone has need of a good doggie, I’m available.
Thanks for inviting me over, Tina. I think it’s important to set goals for ourselves; and although some plans may change sporadically, our goals at least allow us to have some structure.
I’ll continue my Friday Authors with a New Book series, my Sunday Book Reviews, and my author guest posts; but they won’t be every week. My weekly posts will be restructured, because I’ll be taking a break come February and part of March in order to relax and rejuvenate. 2016 took a lot of wind out of my sails trying to keep up with life, book writing, my husband’s illness, and other interferences. But I still plan on visiting Facebook to post updates, photos, and maybe a few short videos while on vacation, so my readers won’t think I’ve abandoned them.
In March I’m heading back to my beloved Arizona, and I’m sure I will post at least once weekly. In April I’ll resume scheduling authors with new books, as well as posting book reviews, ‘memoir bytes’ – snippets of life – and articles on tips and gadgets I find useful and interesting. I’ll be working more with video and hopefully doing some podcasting. I’m also aiming to complete my next book by summer 2017. Then Fall will bring re-writes, edits, and publishing. Before I know it, it will be Christmas again!
So, what do I envisage for my blog in 2017? I’m planning a brand new feature, which will be promoting bloggers over the entire year. I haven’t invited guests as I’ll be making the selections myself during the course of the year. I’m also bringing back ‘Hugh’s Weekly Photography Challenge.’ This proved to be very popular on my blog during 2016; only postponed because of the time I had to dedicate to getting my first book ready for publication. I am also planning lots more posts containing blogging tips. Again, these posts proved very popular during 2016, and I always enjoy sharing blogging tips and advice that work for me.
I’ll be participating in writing challenges, which will go on to create new Short Stories. I will also be participating in photography challenges to satisfy my growing interest in photography. Books will also feature on my blog, including my ‘Book Of The Month’ that showcases a book and its author. As a member of the Bloggers Bash committee, I’ll also be promoting the Bloggers Bash to be held in London on June 10th, 2017. I’m sure lots of ‘off the cuff’ posts will also appear as and when events unfold or when something happens that prompts me to immediately write about it. Humour? Yes, there will also be plenty of laughs, as well as the occasional look at posts that dwell inside the archives of Hugh’s Views And News.
Tina asked what I envision for my blog in 2017. I have several goals.
1. I recently published
an eBook. I hope to continue my monetization efforts.
2. I would like to try to increase my Pinterest traffic. I have already
started making changes to my graphics and hope to reap the rewards in 2017.
3. I plan on using a virtual assistant more often since I am getting busier.
4. I have heard bloggers consider my site a resource, which gives me great joy. I would like to see Mostly Blogging become an even greater resource for bloggers, and I plan on implementing that goal.
In 2017 I’m looking forward to interviewing other authors who write in the same genre as me: family sagas. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but with my publishers releasing the prequel to my trilogy in August, it seems an apt time to buckle down and concentrate on that. Around July, I’ll be starting my usual interviews with authors who will be attending the annual book fair that I organise alongside my friend and fellow author, Thorne Moore. It’s a lot of work but great fun and will take place on the 23rd September. This year we’ve changed to a bigger venue so will be hosting around forty authors at the Narberth Book Fair.
I tutor creative writing, and every now and then, I post something one of my students has written. I’m hoping to do more of that next year; there’s plenty of great material comes from my classes. In between I want to add more blogs about our holiday apartment. I’ve written a few accounts of the visitors we’ve had over the years, mostly humorous, and they have been well-received. Reading back on this, it does all seem slightly ambitious. But as long as I can manage on four hours sleep each night, who knows; I might succeed in doing it all.
Well, the description of my blog is “the metaphysical and mundane meanderings of a female maverick writer,” and that’s what the blog will continue to express – both mystical and mundane aspects that appeal to me or that excite my need for self-expression. I write spiritual novels and my passion is for eastern mysticism; but I also enjoy many ordinary aspects of life, and my blog reveals all these facets of my personality.
There will be a few changes to my blog in 2017. I will build on my author promotion platform, center it around Sally’s Café and Bookstore, and simplify promotions to only two. The first will be for the 120 authors in the Café who release a new book or enjoy a great review. They will be assured a place to announce and showcase. The second will be for authors who are not yet in the Café and are new to the blog. They will be included in the seasonal reading post and their books will then be posted to the Café. I will continue Café updates and seasonal reading posts throughout each week.
New collaborators will be introduced. Author Paul Andruss will provide an article on a variety of subjects every fourth Thursday. William Price King will continue to provide jazz and classical music in a weekly post.
I will continue with the Sunday Interview, my own health posts, humour, and videos. I will change to a bloggers review three times a week instead of many reblogs each day. And I will continue writing The R’s of Life on the blog, which has just four chapters to go. That will be followed by another short story collection and three other books for release over the year. The one thing that is very important to me is that Smorgasbord retains its variety… the spice of life.
Thank you so much Tina for featuring a few words about my blogging/writing plans on your wonderful site! I had to think hard about this, as in almost 4 years of blogging, my plans have gone rather pear-shaped more than once. I never schedule a post, because life with an Aspie brings different, daily challenges and I need to be flexible. (I have posted a few articles about Asperger’s Syndrome).
I used to post three times a week, but my blogging suffered in 2016 while I worked on those dreaded revisions of my memoir (Stranger in a White Dress), the first draft of which I began 3 years ago. When my lovely mum suffered a stroke in March (she is recovering, thank God), and my darling dad died in July, blogging came to a standstill. Since I returned in October, I post when I can, about every 2 to 3 weeks, until I get back on my blogging feet. But I am still chasing the dream: God willin’ and the creek don’t rise, my goal is to hit my revisions hard in the New Year, keeping hope alive that 2017 is the year I publish at last. Whether blogging about my life as a Brit living in California, my English garden, my alcoholic dad and our crazy adventures, history and travel articles, photo challenges, 99 word flash fiction, and featuring Guest Bloggers, I aim to keep the dust from settling on the Summerhouse and the writing flowing, rain or shine. At least, that’s the plan.
Hi, Tina. When you asked me what I saw for my blog in 2017, my inner TV screen went black. I still don’t know what I intend for Teagan’s Books.When I started my blog at the end of 2012, I did a few posts. By 2013, I wanted a theme — something more than just talking about my début novel (Atonement Tennessee)each week. That’s how the first of my serials began — The Three Things Serial Story, a Little 1920s Story.
The narrator of this novella is Pip, a young flapper with a gift for getting in the middle of adventure. The Three Things Serial was followed by two more serials with Pip as protagonist. However, those also became culinary mysteries. My intention is to put them into book format as well, and release at least one during the first quarter of 2017.
So, while I can’t see what I plan to do at my blog in the new year, I am planning things for my books. As always, I hope the drain that comes with my “real job” and earning a living will finally subside and allow me to finish one of my many novels in progress, including Atonementin Bloom.
Every New Year is an opportunity for a fresh start. I don’t like resolutions because I suck at them. When asked what I envision for my blog for 2017, I paused. Hmm. Envision? My imagination is ocean-wide but I plan to keep this short. My modus operandi has always been by the seat of my pants and JIT (just-in-time). This year I’ll buckle down—get serious—I must.
My immediate plans are to:
Continue re-posts of the best highlights of my China adventure.
Share new travel adventure posts coming late May. Yay.
Initiate Newsletter sign-up with a free giveaway. Yes, moi. Blush.
Publish 26-story collection (imminent).
Prepare cover reveal.
My blogging schedule will take a hit as I concentrate on getting this book moving.
An aside: My story, The Woodshed, was published December 21st in Short Fiction Break along with almost 400 others. Read this amazing and outstanding collection.
I am so happy to be included on Tina’s blog today to share my blog plans for 2017! My blog has evolved slightly in the 2.5 years I’ve been seriously blogging. Although my niche is writing about leisure and lifestyle, I also share blogging tips and enjoy photography challenges, all while educating readers about leisure, “one blog post at a time.”
I rebranded my blog in 2016 and also delved into the world of self-publishing, gathering various subjects together for potential eBooks. In July, I launched my first eBook, Better Blogging with Photography, a
compilation of posts and information on how bloggers can utilize their own images to maximize their blog/website. I am also working on my next eBook tentatively titled, How Midlife Women Reclaim Their Leisure Time, for publication next Fall.
I will continue to share exciting photos, follow and read other bloggers who have self-published books, and actively review and share their work. I started a new link-up called Seasonal Sensations that is themed to the season-du-jour. Winter Wonders is still taking your links! I hope you find new inspiration for your own blog as the New Year begins!
Greetings! Tina has graciously invited me here today to talk about myself and my blogging plans for 2017. My name is Zoe, and I am a cat author. Just to be clear, I am not a human who writes about cats. I am a cat who writes about humans, or, more precisely, my adventures around them. On occasion, I reblog interesting articles and posts I have found along the way. So, my plan for the coming year is to continue this activity, but I also aim to help my human, whose name is Emily, expand her editing services business.
She’s inclined to look for errors in just about every piece of printed material that crosses her path. And she finds them! She does this without even realizing she’s doing it. In fact, she drives me a bit crazy with her love of words because she is always finding something to edit, somewhere, somehow. She has edited three different Amazon best-sellers, one of which has been awarded a couple of prestigious accolades—Book of the Year and Best Historical Fiction of 2016. So, if you find yourself in need of an editor for your work, check out Emily’s website. By the way, I hear her rates are very reasonable. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I think it’s good.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the 2017 blog visions these fabulous folks have contributed. Again, please visit their sites, like and follow, and perhaps download a book or two. I wish each of you a peaceful and prosperous New Year. And as my friend, Tess, reminded me: It’s coming soon on a calendar near you. 😊
Until the next time, my friends . . . Namaste ❤
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Thank you to Lucie Stastkova for the use of her images. Please visit and like her Facebook pages:
Sally Cronin is a nutritional therapist with years of experience. She developed her own comprehensive approach to weight reduction when it became critical for her personally. This article is the introduction to a series she will be featuring on her blog. Her book, Size Matters, is a superb reference and guide for anyone wishing to reduce their weight.
I am delighted to feature Sacha Black today. For those of you who don’t know Sacha, she is the founder of the Annual Bloggers Bash and Bash Awards. (More about the Bash at the end of this post). Please join me in congratulating Sacha on the release of her first book, 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft Superbad Villains, a step-by-step guide to creating multi-dimensional villains and much more.
focus of your blog?
How much time each day do you spend blogging?
These past few weeks I have read some rather unpleasant comments about book reviewers. Blogger ‘bashing’ seems popular just now.
When I give a book 5 stars it is because I love it. I’ve recently given a book 2 stars because it wasn’t to my taste. Everyone’s taste is different. I get most of my books from NetGalley, Edelweiss or directly from publishers. They do not cost me anything, yet I still rate them ALL as according to my enjoyment of them. Why would anyone post anything this hurtful. I do not lie when reviewing books! I do try to be kind, as I know authors invest a lot of emotion, time, and hard work writing. Just because I don’t care for it, there…
very excited. I extend to all of you an invitation, should you like to be a guest. Send me an email if interested: 
TINA FRISCO 
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