Un regalo de de Navidad. ‘A World of Joy’ (Un mundo de alegría)

Hola a todos:

Os prometí que durante las vacaciones navideñas os traería una selección de mis posts, y hoy os iba a dejar uno de algún clásico para que tengáis algo que leer estos días (aunque sospecho que la mayoría tendréis bastantes lecturas atrasadas y muchas otras cosas que hacer), pero me pareció mejor dejaros información sobre una antología de historias navideñas, en inglés, que ha publicado uno de los grupos con los que estoy asociada, ASMSG (Authors’ Social Media Support Group, Grupo de apoyo de autores en medios sociales) A World of Joy que contiene una de mis historias ‘Christmas On-Call’ (Navidades de guardia), que no es una historia demasiado típica (creo). El libro es gratuito, y hay un montón de historias de autores independientes con mucho talento, así que si leéis inglés, andais practicando, o conocéis a alguien a quién le pueda interesar, les podéis hacer un regalo.

A World of Joy, Christmas stories by Grey Mouse Publications

Aquí está el enlace en Smashwords, desde donde podéis descargar el libro en todos los formatos:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/383338

El grupo lleva un tiempo publicando antologías de lo más variado (de poesía, horror, ciencia-ficción, romance….) todas gratuitas, así que os dejo el enlace al grupo:

http://asmsg.weebly.com/

Y aquí el enlace a la página con sus libros:

http://asmsg.weebly.com/grey-mouse-books.html

Gracias por leer, y si os ha gustado o conocéis a alguien a quién le pueda gustar, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y sobre todo, haced CLIC!

A Norwegian Christmas, 1846 painting by Adolph Tidemand. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Y por si os apetece algo menos navideño, os dejo el enlace a mi historia ‘Carne de cañón’ en Wattpad. Ahora están las 9 partes disponible. El libro de ‘Una vez psiquiatra…’ del cual esta historia es la primera, con un poco de suerte estará disponible en enero. Espero que os guste!

http://www.wattpad.com/28235987-una-vez-psiquiatra-carne-de-ca%C3%B1%C3%B3n

‘Entering’ by Martie Preller/Mary Meddlemore. Review

Today I bring you a review of the new book by Martie Preller/Mary Meddlemore, who was my guest last week. I thought it only appropriate to share my opinion of her latest book.

Another Triumph of Storytelling from the Story Dimension Series

Talking dogs, doors leading to another dimension, an opinionated red pig, a walking mobile phone…Where else could you find such a fantastic combination of characters but in one of Martie Preller/Mary Meddlemore’s stories?

Mary Meddlemore, one of Martie Preller’s characters, decided it was time she wrote the stories. As she belongs to the story dimension Martie could only agree.

In ‘Entering’, Amy, the protagonist, a young girl who’s going through a difficult time at home, whilst trying to take refuge in her imagination, unwittingly opens the door to another dimension, where nothing is what it seems. She thinks she knows the stories and herself, but her adventures revisiting well-known fairy tales teach her better. By the end she’s learned about the world and more importantly, about herself.

Like the rest of the books of the series, ‘Entering’ is a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Dare to enter the story dimension! You’ll enjoy the ride and it might just change you as much as it changes Amy!

I recommend it wholeheartedly to children from 0 to 150 (or more!)

Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FBO2BM0/

And if you like what you’ve read, go on, like share, comment, and CLICK!

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What would your ideal bookshop be like? Please comment.

Bookshop (Photo credit: conxa.roda)

My parents always tell me that when I was a small child, before I learned to read, I always wanted to know what any signs or anything with writing on it said. Later on, once I learned to read, I became an avid reader. My school was a pretty small neighbourhood school (it no longer exists) and it did not have a library, but the readers amongst us used to exchange books and read anything we could get our hands on, from ‘The Famous Five’ and the Adventure Series (I always preferred them to the Famous Five, but that’s me) to ‘Jaws’, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Gustavo Adolfo Becquer o Mercé Rodoreda.

I’ve always been happier with books than with any other presents (or nearly) and I still am.

When it comes to books I’m like a moth to light, if I see books anywhere I’ll go and have a look, it doesn’t matter if it’s a supermarket, a charity shop, a car-boot sale. And of course, I love bookshops although they’re having a bit of a hard time and have changed beyond recognition. And yes, now we have big bookstore chains, somewhat anonymous but usually reasonably supplied and full of other things, the small specialised bookshop, the independent bookstore, second-hand bookshops that are true time-travelling machines.

Because of my job there have been periods of my life where I’ve travelled a fair bit and one of the things I remember more clearly of the places where I’ve stayed (or visited)  is where the bookshops are (or where). I must admit to feeling really disappointed when I revisit a place where I’ve been before and a bookshop I liked has disappeared. It’s like losing an old friend. When it comes to bookshops, like most important things in life, they are not all created equal

Reflecting on all that, I wanted to ask you, readers, if you could have the bookshop of your dreams, what would it be like? Would it be enormous with everything on it? Or small but quirky with lots of character? Would it only sell books or sell related items (DVDs, e-readers, magazines and writing materials, audiobooks, other equipment…)? Would it sell other kinds of stuff (postcards, craft items, toys…)? Would it have a tea/coffee shop attached? Would it organise events (book readings and signings, host book clubs, run competitions, have other guests…)? Would it have only new books, second-hand books, have a section for exchanging books…? Books in several languages? Best-sellers and less well-known books, local interest books? Would it offer other services like Wi-Fi and e-store? Would it be located in a remote place, around the corner, in a shopping mall, in a hidden nook in a magical place?

Dream on! It’s free (for the time being!)

And thinking about this and after a fellow author and good friend sent me some pictures of one of her favourite bookshops, I decided to start a board on Pinterest dedicated to bookshops, and once I started checking I was amazed at the fabulous building and beautiful pictures people had pinned. Have a look, and if you’d like to pin your own pictures or others you find, let me know and I’ll invite you to pin with pleasure.

http://www.pinterest.com/olganm7/bookstores-booshops-and-interesting-shops/

Thanks for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed it remember to like, comment, and share!

books (Photo credit: brody4)

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If life came with an instruction manual (or a manual of use) what would you expect to see there? Which section would consult first? Please, discuss.

English: Instruction manual of the Nirvana Sutra (大般涅槃経集解, daihatsunehankyōshūge) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hi dear readers. I’ve been talking to one of my friends (and fellow author) about this and that and the other, and we got to talking about SELF-HELP books. As many of you know, understanding Amazon algorithms is beyond mere-mortals powers. Their categories are also puzzlement to me. I guess it might work out OK if you start writing with them in mind, but trying to fit in something already in existence to these categories, other than the more general ones, is interesting to say the least. You could always try with one of your favourite books and see how far you get.

I digress, as usual. My friend and I got looking at categories in self-help world and it’s as full of the weird and the wonderful as anywhere else there.

It made me think about one of my “issues”. Yes, I have many of them. You buy a camera; it comes with an instruction manual. Your phone, the same. Even pretty basic things. Life, that’s quite complicated by most people’s standards…nothing. No manual, no video, CD, DVD, no book of instructions. Not even a leaflet. Swim or sink approach.

In one of my short stories, ‘The Novel’ one of the characters, Denver, decides that life would be much easier if we lived it as a genre novel, because we’d know where we stood, understand conventions, characters, etc, and she has a good go at it. As you might suspect things don’t go according to plan. But it was worth a try, I think.

If suddenly you were given the task of creating an instruction manual for life (it would have to be pretty general, just the basics), what would you include? What would be in your table of contents?

And if you were sent one, what would you check first? Keeping healthy? Family relationships? Love? Income and finances? Gaining perspective? Surviving?

I’m curious. Let me know what you think, please.

Thanks for reading and if you enjoy or it makes you think, please, please, please, comment and share!

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The Oxygen Mask. (Pearls of Wisdom 2)

Passenger oxygen mask deployment (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Oxygen Mask

You might (or might not, I don’t believe my posts are amongst the most memorable things in everybody’s lives) remember I posted a few ideas, or rather, some advice, under the title ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ weeks (probably months) ago.

Of course, as it tends to happen with these things, shortly after publishing it I thought of something else I should have mentioned. Humour. I do think that trying to take things on your stride and being able to laugh at yourself and see the humorous side of things helps immensely when dealing with life. It is related to one of the ideas I suggested, trying to see things from a distance, and gain perspective. Humour is one of the strategies we have in our hands to achieve that. The small tragedies of life, seen through a humorous prism, can indeed be very funny. I remember I fell downstairs at home (I can’t blame it on anything in particular) and landed at the bottom of the stairs. There was nobody else in the house, but for unknown reasons the first thought that came to my head was that it would have been quite funny if anybody had been there to see it. And there I was, at the bottom of the stairs, by myself, laughing my head off. I twisted my ankle in the process and later discovered my radiator had sprung a leak (I suspect because I must have hit it during the fall) but it was a good laugh.

I was chatting (or rather exchanging e-mails) with a fellow author and good friend today. And we were talking about how sometimes, in the process of caring for others and supporting them, we can completely exhaust ourselves, both physically and mentally, and end up ill and unable to function. But if we don’t go all out in our care and support we feel guilty. I told her that I always tell my patients we can’t look after others if we don’t have a minimum of health ourselves and don’t look after our own needs. And I advised her to think about the training they forever repeat (and we hardly ever listen to) in planes, about what to do in emergencies. When they talk about an incident where the cabin gets depressurised and the Oxygen masks drop from the compartment above our heads they always, always, remind us that we must put our own mask on before we try and help others, because if we don’t, we won’t be in a fit state to help anybody else. Running ourselves to the ground will not help those we care for or ourselves in the long run. Don’t feel guilty for not being superwoman or superman. Never forget to look after yourself. That’s the only way you can carry on looking after others.

Thank you for reading and if you’ve liked it or found it useful, please share!

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Launch of ‘Click Me Happy!’ A romantic novella where you get to choose the ending

You’ll remember I’ve written about my new romance ‘Click Me Happy!’ a few times. I hope you aren’t already bored of it, because now it’s finally out! I don’t normally write romantic novels but the idea for this one came to me and kept bothering me so I had to give it a go.

Some readers had left me comment about the ending of ‘The Man Who Never Was’ telling me they’d much rather a conventional happy ending (I don’t think it’s unhappy, but rather neutral), and therefore I decided to try and leave it to the reader’s opinion. I’d write several endings and the reader could choose. To being with I was going with only a happy and an unhappy ending but then I realised I would most likely have gone for something more neutral, so now there are three endings to choose from. You can choose an ending or read all three and choose, or make up your own. At the end of the novel I leave a series of links so you can tell me what you think. And of course if you like it, I’d be grateful if you share and leave a review! The novel is on special promotion this first week at $0.99. Don’t miss the chance to choose your favourite ending!

I leave you the beginning of the first chapter…

http://viewBook.at/B00DK02JT2

Chapter 1. We meet the “heroine”

“No. Not another bleeming romantic novel! I’m going to puke! Come on, come on, look at it! Pink cover with a hunk showing off his chest and a gorgeous girl looking impressed. And somebody’s idea of a Scottish castle on the background. I can’t stand it any longer!”

Lilith Darville was far more attractive than she ever gave herself credit for. She was not a ravishing beauty (whatever that means) but she had nice brown hair, that she always wore short (no talent for creating hairdos), big almond shaped brown eyes, a beauty spot on her left cheek, a small nose and a well-defined mouth. A very pleasant combination whatever her opinion.

She only wore makeup under extreme duress (and on very special occasions), and although she used to be big as a child, between healthy eating and plenty of exercising she was now slim and reasonably fit. Not a supermodel but, who wants to be that skinny anyway?

“What’s it called?” Asked the Head librarian and good friend of Lilith, Debbie.

“What does it matter? It should be called: Just look at the six pack in this guy, get horny and buy my book. Does anybody believe all this rubbish?”

“It’s not about believing, Lilith. It’s fantasising. Who wouldn’t want to go out with a gorgeous guy and be the centre of his world, and have other women envy you and…?”

Thank you for reading. Remember to share if you’d like it and don’t forget to CLICK!

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Guest author Diane Major. Fantasy adventure, children and young adult writer.

I met Diane through ASMSG one of the writers groups I belong to. She’s written a number of Young Adult novels and she kindly agreed to come and talk to us about her writing.

My Books:  Enmitus – The Transformation, Enmitus – The Children,  I am Nine, Children of Fury, Like Hell Itself, and Children’s Book – Mason and Bess, The Adventure Begins

Author: Diane Major

Genre: Fantasy

 

 

Author Bio:

I grew up in Horden, a mining village in the North East of England.  I gained my professional qualification in Youth & Community Work, BSc Open Degree (Hons) as a mature student. During my career I worked both in the voluntary sector and then for local government which offered her the opportunity to develop many skills.   I worked with people of all ages and from a wide variety of backgrounds.  I enjoyed watching both staff and service users gain skills and become confident people.

I worked on my first book in the genre of fantasy adventure named “Children of Fury” for almost 2 years and at the same time completed my second novel “I am Nine.”   To date I have published 5 fantasy adventure books, a Children’s Book and am almost ready to publish a young adults story.

Now retired, I enjoy spending time with my family, writing, walking and fundraising for a local voluntary organization.

A little about some of my books:

Children of Fury : Within a period of turmoil for the immortals Heron is born.  A Fury like no other, Heron has a legacy for vengeance which spans thousands of years.  In England during the 1400’s he meets a young woman named Aimee who has already met her soul mate.  As their paths collide with catastrophic results a story of retribution lasting centuries and continents unfolds.

I am Nine:  Is about Naomi’s journey.  Something strikes and almost wipes out the Earth’s population.  Naomi is taken from her parents and grows up with strangers on a ship.  On reaching America Naomi and two other boys are sent on a scouting mission to find out if the land is safe enough for the community to build a new home.  Naomi is separated from her companions and faces danger, until something saves her.  On her journey Naomi faces great wild dogs and cannibals.

Enmitus – The Transformation: People leave a dying Earth and travel for centuries until they find their new home.  As they travel the people on board the individual ships become tribes.  One of the tribes settle on Serenitus and the adventure begins.  Corinna’s hand in marriage is promised to Omar who is already besotted with an evil woman.  Once this arrangement is made Corinna has to leave her home planet for Enmitus where she finds, hatred, deceit, cruelty, lies and love.  I am currently writing the sequel.

found where we expect it least……

How long did it take to write the books?

It took almost two years to write my first book and after that I found it took less time for each book.

What inspired you to write ? 

My interest in writing really started when I read C S Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia as a child.

When I did start writing I wanted to develop stories that would take people away from everyday life for as long as it would take them to read one of my books.

Talk about the writing process. Did you have a writing routine? Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?

I write every day but not at any set time.

What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

Having enjoyed an escape from reality.

Where can we go to buy your books?

Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones

Amazon USA

http://www.amazon.com/Diane-Major/e/B008R5S3KO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363795100&sr=8-1

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diane-Major/e/B008R5S3KO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363795057&sr=1-1

Any other links or info you’d like to share?
www.dianemajorauthor.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/DianeMajorBooks

http://dimajor.blogspot.co.uk/

 Thank you for reading and don’t forget to CLICK!