Tag Archives: Writing

Meet Guest Author Gem Stone…

Gem Stone is a guest on The Story Reading Ape, and she tells us she’s an author who never dreamed of being a writer. I call that a first! She’s brutally honest about this and almost everything else in her life ~ including her husband. What a sense of humor! I loved this post. You might not have dreamed of being a writer, Gem, but a writer you are! And as a sideline, might I suggest stand-up comedy? 😊

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

You know that woman in the supermarket who sits behind the till smiling? She always remembers your name and knows what you buy every week?

That’s me.

me

I’m always happy and look like I really enjoy my job and on those three days a year where I don’t have to serve a single idiot all day, I actually do.

Now, I know you’re expecting me to say. “But I always dreamed of being an author.”

Well, that’s not correct. I didn’t dream of being an author. But I did have ideas, lots and lots of them, I just didn’t think about writing them down until last year.

I remember it clearly. I was lying in bed with my husband; he was talking about… something. I can’t remember what. He tends to drone on so I just zone out after a while. But at some point I said, “I have all…

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Addiction and The Power of Letting Go – Guest Post…

A heartfelt “Thank You” to Chris The Story Reading Ape for guesting me on his blog. You’re the bees knees, Chris; the cat’s meow. Or perhaps I should say, the ape’s bananas. Not quite an analogy, but much more delicious 🙂 Chris has hosted many authors over the past 4 months, giving us exposure for our books leading up to the holidays. Aside from being an ape of the highest quality (King of the Jungle ~ the lion has nothing on him), he is an honorable man with a big heart. I know he’s probably blushing under his fur right now, but his praises can’t be sung high enough. Thank you, Chris, for all you do, all you give, and all you are 

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Image is courtesy of Lucie Stastkova

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You’re extremely disgusted with an old habit. You’re ranting. You’re pacing. You’re regurgitating. You’re spent. You pick yourself up from the floor, dry your tears, and swear on your life that this is the last time. You throw away all accouterments, all paraphernalia, all reminders of the loathed and dreaded addiction. You make it through the day with firm resolve. Then you awaken the following morning with an insatiable craving. You recall your commitment and fight doggedly not to give in. You argue with yourself. You become frustrated. The stress grows into a pressing mass in your belly. Then suddenly… a comforting thought: One more day won’t hurt! You acquiesce. You give in. And the roller coaster ride begins…

A teacher once told me that the masters, the avatars, often carry an addiction in order to stay in form — to…

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My New #Novel Is Now Available on #Amazon

I am so pleased to announce that the Kindle version of my new novel, Vampyrie: Origin of the Vampire, is now available on Amazon. CreateSpace should have it out in paper shortly.

VAMPYRIE: Origin of the VampireI’m also very relieved! Talk about birthing a baby . . . I did most of the work myself, from formatting to cover text — not to mention writing the 388-page book.

Don’t let the title fool you. This is not your typical vampire book. I’m incapable of writing a book without a spiritual bent. Vampyrie also has a basis in science, specifically medicine.

I’ve always been intrigued by the myth of the vampire and often have wondered if the phenomenon actually could exist. My background in medicine led me to speculate about how this might have a basis in reality. If rooted in science, how might this myth come to life? The most likely answer would be as a physical disorder or disease.

One day during my morning walk, the word Valkyrie came to mind. Vampyrie: Origin of the VampireAs many of you know, a valkyrie is one of a host of female helping spirits of the god Odin in Norse mythology. Depicted as both loving and bloodthirsty, valkyries decide who lives and who dies in battle. They also assist Odin in transporting his favorites among the slain to Valhalla, the hall where he houses the dead whom he deems worthy of dwelling with him. In my novel, Valkyrie becomes Vampyrie and Valhalla becomes the Haven.

I do hope you’ll visit my Amazon page and peek inside. I have many people to thank for their interest and encouragement; you’ll find their names listed in the acknowledgements.
Tina FriscoI’ve also updated my author photo, which took quite a bit of doing, I might add. I never recognize myself in photographs. Who IS that person? I even startle myself at times when walking past a mirror, because I think a stranger is at my side. I’m told this is an attribute of Aries. We’ve incarnated into this sign in order to learn about “I.” People often think we come complete with the characteristics of the stars under which we’re born, when the reality is we’ve come into this earthwalk to learn those attributes.

Now it’s time to pop a cork, relax, and get to those 100+ emails that are still mounting up 🙂

Until the next time, my friends . . .  Namaste ❤ 

 

Zoe Saves the Day

Zoe the Fabulous Feline saves the day with her keen eyesight and persuasive tenacity. Unfortunately, her person Emily misreads the cues and lands herself in a bit of hot water. Head over to The Story Reading Ape for the full throttle 🙂

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Zoe Saves the Day


¡Hola, mi amigos y amigas—saludos! I just love saying “Hello – Greetings!” in Spanish to my boy friends and girl friends.
I want to tell you about an adventure where Yours Truly was a hero. I guess the correct word is heroine, but, same difference. Before I tell you all about it, let me introduce myself to those who may not know me. My name is Zoe. I live with Emily, and she is lucky to have me. Here’s what happened.

img_7361It was a hot New England night. It was not raining, but we were hearing the deep rumble of thunder and experiencing the occasional flash of dry lightning—that’s what they call the lightning that you get during a heat wave, you know, when the rain is still very far off in the distance. It was beautifully fierce. Unlike some, who shall go unnamed, the thunder…

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This Is How to Monetize Your Knowledge and Make Money Blogging

Janice Wald posted an outstanding article on her blog today, detailing the successful elements of blog monetization. Topics include content marketing, growing our readership, and writing a compelling CTA or call to action. Janice’s new book, An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Blog, is jam-packed with tips on how to engage readers, increase blog traffic, and much more. This post is a plethora of information that made me realize monetizing a blog is not difficult; it merely requires focus, intention, and tenacity …

Monetize your blog, tips from an expert #BlogMonetization #ContentMarketing

Do you want to know why most blogs fail, abandoned by their owners between three and nine months?

I’m sure you have many theories.

Lack of readers, lack of subscribers, lack of patience to wait for the readers and subscribers, and lack of time are likely causes.

However, according to successful blogger Minuca Elena, the reason most blogs fail has nothing to do with any of those things.

In a recent interview, Minuca explained that the reason most blogs fail is the blog owner has no idea how to make money blogging, also called blog monetization.

My recent content marketing post about how to monetize your blog was met with controversy.

For example, Gilly Madison responded that bloggers fall into two categories, those wishing to make money and those not wishing to monetize. I beg to differ. I believe there is a third category of bloggers– those who might want to monetize one day.

This post will offer two ways you can monetize should the desire to make money blogging ever come.

Fortunately, publisher Lois Hoffman is here to explain how you can make money writing on the Internet.

Lois’s forte is helping writers monetize, so she is an expert in this field.

Are You a Blogger Looking to Monetize Your Knowledge?

For many bloggers, writing is simply a creative pursuit. It’s a way to share what you know or what you’re experiencing and be part of a vibrant blogging community. But if you’re looking to your blog as a source of income, it’s important to think more strategically about your content marketing strategy. It’s not just about getting visitors to your site. Content marketing (or authority marketing) is about generating leads and then driving sales from your traffic.

What is Content Marketing?

The Content Marketing Institute describes content marketing like this:

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

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Smorgasbord Christmas Party – Guest author D. G. Kaye with Childhood Christmas Wishes and My First Biggest Tree

A poignant and moving Christmas story by Debby Gies … Most of us have many childhood dreams that never become reality, but Debby didn’t give up on one of hers. Her very first apartment became home to the realization of that dream. Visit Sally Cronin‘s blog and enjoy this beautiful Christmas story 💖💖

Smorgasbord Christmas Party Guest Phillip T. Stephens – Comfort and Hair Balls? You Better Think Twice.

Adopting a companion animal shouldn’t be done on a whim. Many times parents think a kitten or puppy would make a lovely gift for their children, especially on birthdays and holidays. Author Phillip T. Stephens is a guest on Smorgasbord – Variety is the Spice of Life, where he discusses the pros and cons of adopting a kitten. Hop over to Sally’s blog for the details …

Food in Fiction – Part 4 – Guest Post…

Christine Campbell brings us Part 4 of Food in Fiction as a guest on The Story Reading Ape. Christine’s novels tend to feature food. Yet even if our novels don’t, she suggests at least deciding what and where our characters like to eat, in order to enhance their reader appeal. Good advice! Hop over to Chris’ blog for the full story …

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In this, the fourth and last article on the topic of Food in Fiction, I thought I’d let you into a badly kept secret.

Having been married since forever and having brought up a family of five, I can cook – but I wouldn’t say I was good at it. Perhaps that’s why none of the main characters in my novels have been great cooks. I’ve had my share of disasters too, though not ever on the scale of Hugh’s in my WIP, For What it’s Worth.

By the time she turned into the communal stair of the flats, Sandra had built up a fair head of steam in her boiler, fuelled by the indignity she suffered at work set against the memory of Hugh lying warm and sleepy in their bed when she left him this morning and sitting with his feet on the coffee table all day…

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Writing on the Edge – A World of Dark Fantasy – Guest Post…

As a guest on The Story Reading Ape, Jaq D Hawkins discusses the inherent challenges of writing dark fantasy. The characters don’t normally eat, drink, dress, or toilet like normal folk; so fleshing out a story demands considerable imagination . . .

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

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I never set out to write Dark Fantasy. As a lifelong Fantasy genre reader, all I had in mind when I started my goblin series was to create my own Fantasy world. The darker aspects came of their own accord.

This is what happens when a writer gets fully in tune with their muse. Stories go in unexpected directions and worlds form, the details working themselves out as the plot moves along. The experience of creating a world is very similar to that of reading about one, yet that little bit more exciting because the writer has godlike power to form it in whatever direction flows naturally from their own subconscious.

Horror writers and Dark Fantasy writers share some common ground. Both delve into the deeper motivations of human or non-human characters. Both explore the darker aspects of the subconscious and the fears that lurk in its deeper realms.

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EDITING 101: 14 – Self-Editing Part 2…

In Part 14 of her Editing 101 series on The Story Reading Ape, Susan Uttendorfsky brings us Part 2 of Self-Editing. She discusses proper and improper usage of semi-colons and commas. Consider these examples: Woman without her man is nothing; Woman, without her man, is nothing; Woman, without her, man is nothing. Hop over to Chris’ blog and enjoy the fascination of punctuation 🙂

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Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.

Courtesy of Adirondack Editing

Self-Editing Part 2

Last week in Self-Editing Part 1 we talked about some specific tasks that can be done while self-editing.

Today we’re going to talk about tasks involving grammar.

Grammar was developed to make writing understandable since you’re not there to correct any misunderstandings.

Your writing needs to stand on its own two feet!

  1. Using commas properly. The first use of the comma is to replace the word “and.”

  • I went to the store and bought apples and pears and bread and milk.

  • I went to the store, buying apples, pears, bread, and milk.

The first example is not wrong, but the excessive use of the word “and” makes it hard to read. A comma is generally not used…

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