3 Reasons to Love BookBrush

Hey! It's Thursday3Some, and I'm pleased to bring you 3 Reasons to Love BookBrush.

In case you don't know, BookBrush is the online web app that helps you create graphics like a professional graphic designer!

For authors, this is HUGE! Before I give you the 3 Reasons, let me tell you...

A Little About BookBrush

You can sign up for free on BookBrush and try them for free. After your free trial, you can upgrade. Before 30 days is up, if you decide their service is not for you, contact them and they will hellp you get a pro-rated refund.

4 Levels of Service

Annual payment is made, but the monthly breakdown of the fee is shown next to each level.

• Free
• Plus – $8.25/month (12 X 8.25 = $99.00 per year)
• Gold – $12.25/month ($146.00 per year)
• Platinum – $20.50/month ($246.00 per year)

BookBrush is totally, completely worth it. No question. I learned about BookBrush when Josh Wiley, the CEO, contacted me when they first started business as CoversSellBooks. He asked me to try the app and review it. I did and fell in love with it.

Since then, they've added countless new tools including making print book covers, video trailers, hundreds of ready-made templates, and so much more.

Kathleen Sweeney, Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead, is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. She conducts online workshops to help users make the most of BookBrush.

3 Reasons to Love BookBrush 

(1) Video Background Effects 101 

This YouTube video explains how to use video background effects that enable one to make the coolest graphics for use on social media. 

When coupled with animation, filters and/or  overlay, and text, you can actually end up with a short video that can be used as a book trailer which is sheer genius. Kathleen Sweeney explains it so clearly and concisely that anyone can do this.

(2) How to Easily Create Amazon A+ Stacked Images

Forget trying to guess the sizes of each image as well as how to clip them and paste them into each image section so they look natural. BookBrush has templates that shortcut the whole process. In this video Kathleen takes you through how to do it step by step in less than 5 minutes!

(3) Cover Creator 101

This tool alone is worth the subscription plan fee. A graphic artist charges about $100.00 for an ebook cover. A print cover? More than double. This video teaches you how to make an ebook cover, a Kindle Vella cover, or a print wraparound cover. Kathleen teaches this in about 33 minutes. Unbelievable, I know, but it's true.

Takeaway Truth

I could probably give you 300 reasons to love BookBrush, but I'll let you discover that for yourself. Visit BookBrush YouTube Channel and discover all the ways they can help you. You'll become a true believer.

Alexa Privacy Reminder

If you have an Alexa-enabled device, do you periodically check the voice recordings the device makes? You should. 

We have an Echo, and we've noticed that Alexa will sometimes speak up when someone—either in person or on TV—says something that prompts Alexa to listen in for a command.

You may be surprised at what you find in your device's recordings for your digital account.

I don't know if it's possible, but you wouldn't want a privileged conversation or information to be recorded through some fluke.

I do know there have been court cases where the voice recordings from an device were subpoenaed for evidence. 

It's easy to check the privacy settings for your Alexa-enabled devices, simply go to Manage Your Alexa Data.

On that page, you can check the settings and delete en masse if you wish: 

• Voice Recordings
• Smart Home Device History
• Detected Sounds History
• Help Improve Alexa (the items here can be turned off if you don't wish your communications with your device used to improve performance)

If you want to hear what has been recorded, that's easy too.

• Open the Alexa app
• Tap More > Settings > Alexa Privacy > Review Voice History. This will open a menu of everything you've asked Alexa.
• Simply tap the down arrow next to an item, and you'll hear the recording.

Takeaway Truth

It's always a good thing to check the Detected Sounds History and Voice Recordings.  Be safe, not sorry.

Review: Better Call Saul

Darling Hubby and I were late to make the acquaintance of Better Call Saul, an AMC original series.

It's free on Netflix and can also be found for sale on Amazon Prime.

There are 5 seasons on Netflix, and Season 6 can currently be seen on AMC.

About Better Call Saul

The series is set in 2002 and is a  prequel to the groundbreaking series, Breaking Bad. 

It introduces Jimmy McGill, a lawyer trying to win his brother's respect, admiration, and love. Jimmy, an oddball who can't seem to make the right choices, endears himself to the viewer despite his propensity for making a bad situation worse.

What Jimmy doesn't know is that his brother loathes him and camouflages that scorn with a  righteous stance that screams hypocrisy.

If Jimmy had a moral compass, he might well have surpassed his famous lawyer brother because he has wit and personality. Instead, all roads lead to his eventual downfall. By the time Jimmy embraces his criminal tendencies, the viewer—well, this viewer—begins to dislike him and his scamming ways.

Eventually, Jimmy remakes himself into attorney Saul Goodman who represents Walter White (Bryan Cranston), the notorious chemist-turned-meth dealer of Breaking Bad.

Why Watch Better Call Saul

It's like watching a train wreck. You can't look away. Bob Odenkirk who is Jimmy McGill makes you like him, sympathize with him, and despair of his calamities. For 4 seasons, your heart goes out to Jimmy.

By the time you dislike the man Jimmy has become, you're already invested in the characters and their various storylines like retired cop Mike Ehrmantraut who has a specialized skill set. Ehrmantraut is brilliantly played by veteran actor Jonathan Banks. 

Then there's the drug dealer Nacho Varga portrayed by Michael Mando who makes you sincerely believe he wishes he'd never got involved with the cartel. 

Takeaway Truth

Excellent scripts that give the actors believable characterizations, compelling stories, superb acting, twists and turns, intelligent plots—all of that and more are the reasons you should watch Better Call Saul.

Let Freedom Ring

"America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens." —George W. Bush

"For everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom." —Albert Einstein

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom." —Malcolm X

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." —John F. Kennedy

"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it." —Willaim Faulkner

"Can't we all just get along?" —Rodney King

People make jokes about Rodney King's famous words, but those were wise words. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—I truly believe that's what this country is all about. Let's make that a reality. 

Takeaway Truth

I think we should do that—respect each other, recognize that we all have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happines, and get along with each other. Happy Independence Day.

Sunday Thoughts On Salads

Have you noticed that summer is the season in which we joyfully embrace salads?

I guess it's the hot weather that makes salads sound cool and refreshing.

Here are some entertaining  quotations about salads.

"If you have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side, you might be a redneck. —Jeff Foxworthy

(JOAN: I'm happy to say I have NO Cool Whip containers. I don't like the stuff. To me, it tastes like plastic.)

"Salad can get a bad rap. People think of bland and watery iceberg lettuce, but in fact, salads are an art form, from the simplest rendition to a colorful kitchen-sink approach." —Marcus Samuelsson

(JOAN: My salads sport the kitchen sink method. I throw in vegetables, different kinds of greens, fruit, seeds, nuts, and a homemade dressing.)

"There are many things to admire about Japan but this is the one thing I love the most and probably the only time I eat breakfast. Fish, eggs, soup, salad, veggies; all in the tiniest bites. It's a full meal, but it's so refreshing." —David Chang 

(JOAN: When I lived in Japan is when I first saw salads made of finely shredded cabbage instead of lettuce. So I've always put some in my salads ever since then.)

I have some weird habits. For instance, I love beets. Show me a salad bar and I will clean them out of their beets. —Chris Pratt

(JOAN: My dad planted beets every year, and my mom canned them as pickled beets. They were absolutely delicious. Thankfully, Darling Hubby grew up eating beets too. I pickle them now and put them in salads.)

"As I see it, a green salad is an open invitation to carrots, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and the sprouts that grow in jars on my kitchen counter." —Victoria Moran

(JOAN: I too grow sprouts in jars on the wide window sill above my kitchen sink.)

"As a student of Alice Waters, the patron saint of salad, I'm no stranger to the art of lettuce washing." —Samin Nosrat

(JOAN: Even if a container of greens or vegetables says, 'Pre-washed,' wash them. Put the greens in a colander, dunk it in a large bowl of water, swish the greens around. Pull the colander up and observe the dirt or other residue remaining in the water.)

Takeaway Truth

Take that last quotation to heart. Wash the greens, vegetables, and fruit.

Saturday Share: Parmesan Potato Casserole

A couple of years ago, I gave a recipe for Cheesy Zucchini Caserole. 

The recipe was for those who love potatoes au gratin but never eat that delightful dish because they don't wish to consume potatoes.

A lot of people avoid "white" potatoes because they're high in starchy carbs. 

Others avoid them because they're trying to eliminate nightshade plants from their diet.

If you don't have a problem with white potatoes, this recipe is for you! It's easy to make and serves 6-8 portions.

Parmesan Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a 9X13 casserole dish by spraying with Pam or a small amount of ghee or melted butter.

2. Melt 1/3 cup of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced onions and garlic. Cook until onions are soft and translucent. Stir frequently so as not to brown the garlic and onions.

3. Whisk in the cream, milk, salt, pepper and parsley. Mix thoroughly and add the potatoes.

4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium or low so it will simmer gently, about 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

5. Spoon the potato mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the top with the Parmesan.

6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

7. Remove to a cooling rack. Let it stand for 10 minutes so the cheese will "settle" or thicken up.

Takeaway Truth

Let me know if you try this casserole. I think it'll be one of your new favorites.

Friday Facts About Women's Swimsuits

Is it hot enough for you? I think that must be a popular conversation starter in the summer.

Most of us take to the ocean or pools to cool off.

Did you ever wonder about the history of women's swimsuits? I did.

For Friday Facts, here are some things I learned about Women's Swimsuits or bathing suits as they were once called.

1. Women's swimsuits have come a long way since the 1600's when women in England wore bulky canvas garments at Bath. The garments were made to fill up with water to obscure the shape of their bodies.

2. Since women wore those costumes at Bath, they became known as bathing suits.

3. Those billowing bathing suits, not suitable for much except wading in the water, remained popular with women wearing high-necked, long-sleeved, ankle-length gowns into the 1800s.

4. Late in the 1800s, the bathing suits became a little more amenable to actually swimming, but they were still loose-fitting, ankle-length, with full sleeves, and were made of wool or flannel so as not to be transparent when wet.

Weights were sewn into the hems so that they would not rise up in the water. (By this time, men who previouslly swam nude, were required to wear drawers.)

5. Finally, in 1907, Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman arrived in the U.S. to perform as an underwater ballerina, a type of synchronised swimming. She wore a form-fitting one-piece tank bathing suit, a design she'd adopted from an English bathing suit for men. She was immediately arrested on Boston beach for indecent exposure because her tank suit showed her arms, legs and neck. 

6. Kellerman's suit inspired women's swimwear for the 1912 Olympics.

7. That was a turning point. After that, a practical one-piece maillot, a woman's one-piece tank-style swimsuit named after a fashion designer, became popular for women. 

From that "breakthrough," the swimsuit became sleeker and more feminine, showing a woman's curves.

8. Even though two-piece bathing suits existed in the 1930s, the bikini emerged after WWII. 

Designed by French engineer Louis Réard, the skimpier two-piece debuted July 5, 1946.

According to the designer, material rationing after the war prompted the smaller two-piece who named it bikini for the island where the first post-war tests of the atomic bomb were taking place.

9. Bikini's got skimpier and skimpier until Rudi Gernreich invented the thong bikini in the 1970s, a time when everyone wanted to be seen as sexy and sensual.

Takeaway Truth

Women, rejoice that you can now wear a suit actually made for swimming—or for showing off your body you worked hard to tone.