Time To Be Chic

Are you familiar with a jacques lemans watch? Uh oh, make that a Jacques Lemans watch. I'm crushing on the Jacques Lemans Ladies Watch from the Rome Collection. It's stainless steel with Swarovski Crystals set in the bezel and a beautiful brown-patterned dial. That brown watch face is the reason I like it. It's different and eye-catching. You don't see a watch like it everyday.

Times Change

You see, my daughter just bought a new watch which is pretty funny. When she was in college, she never wore a watch. In fact, she told me, with a somewhat lofty air, that watches were old school. She could always find out the time by checking her cell phone.

Then she graduated and entered the REAL world. Guess what? She discovered watches were indispensable. Now she has a wardrobe of watches so I think I need to catch up with her. What better watch to buy than one of these pieces of perfection. In fact, Jacques Lemans watches are so accurate that they're used by airlines and race tracks.

Blue Dial

I guess Blue Dial is one of those hidden Internet secrets. They're a retailer that offers free 2nd Day Shipping to the lower 48 and Free Sizing. All their Brand Names are authentic, not knockoffs. They don't sell used watches or replicas or any kind of imitation of the genuine article. They accept major credit cards and can be contacted on their website or use the toll free number on the site. Their secure website means you're safe to shop.

Takeaway Truth

A quality timepiece is essential for a woman of distinction. At least that's what I'm going to tell my husband when he asks why I bought another watch.

Positive Effect of Kindle Editions

There's been a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of offering a book free on Kindle and the other eReader devices. I accidentally proved a theory that many Kindle authors espouse: offering a book free on Kindle sells other books. I'd heard this and have read much anecdotal evidence about this positive effect, but I proved it to myself this past week.

The Fever Series

This accidental experiment started when I downloaded, for free, Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever, Book 1 of the Fever series. I was hooked from the first sentence. Feverishly, pardon that adverb, I raced through Darkfever, finishing it beyond midnight.

I could not wait for morning, and I couldn't sleep so I turned on the wireless on my Kindle and purchased Book 2 of the series, Bloodfever. I read a few pages which turned into a few chapters. Only the thought of early morning appointments forced me to turn the Kindle off and lay it on the nightstand.

The next evening, I dived into Bloodfever, finishing it in the wee hours. Did I wait for morning? No, I did not. I went to the Kindle store and purchased each book of the rest of the series: Faefever and Dreamfever. Now I've finished those, and I have to wait until January for Shadowfever if I want it on Kindle. I haven't checked yet to see when the print edition comes out.

No! All those months to wait? How can I wait when I'm in a fever pitch (pardon the allusion) to find out how the series ends?

Free Books Sell Other Books

I don't think we can make a sweeping statement that offering a free book will make readers order your other books. However, I think we can safely say that if a reader downloads the free book and loves the story, the reader will seek the other books by that author. Since I don't read much paranormal, and I certainly don't read fantasy, I'd never have pulled any of these books off the shelf. I don't even shop in those sections of the bookstore.

A free book introduced me to a wonderful series of books. From free, I sought; I bought. I don't know how I'll manage to wait an entire 6 months for the last book.

Takeaway Truth

Free is a good way to try something you'd ordinarily not select. Like me, you just may find books that are keepers and authors you will follow to other books, and you'll gladly pay the cover price.

(Parts of this were previously published on my other blog Joan Slings Words.

Jane Austen's Fight Club

I saw this yesterday and just about fell out of my chair laughing. Subsequently, I started sending it around to family and friends who are Austen fans. Then I thought, why not just put it on the blog?


Isn't that just a riot?

Takeaway Truth

Enjoy and pass it on!

Mystery eBooks Resource

Let's have a fanfare of trumpets please to celebrate the grand opening of MysterEbooks, a blog dedicated to mysteries published as e-books.

Peg Herring, author of Go Home And Die, lives in northern Michigan and has published, both traditionally and electronically, novels, short stories, plays, and articles. Mysteries compose most of her body of work and are based on her theme: Strong Women, Great Stories.

Because of her interest in e-publishing and her love of the mystery genre, Peg is one of the guiding forces behind the MysterEbooks website. Peg said: "For some time it has bothered me that there seems to be no site online where a person can read about ONLY mysteries published as e-books. With some trepidation and a lot of help, I've decided to attempt to change that."

Opens Monday

Peg, with the help of a friend who established a blog dedicated solely to e-published mysteries, plans to begin posting books on Monday, July 26. They're experimenting with the submission process so be patient if there are a few problems at first. They hope that authors will learn of the website and tell them about their books by following the template found on the new site.

Follow Instructions

Be among the first to be listed. If you have a book that's an e-published mystery, exactly follow the instructions on the site so that your book can be listed. Be warned: if you fail to follow the template, your book will not appear.

Their Criteria

In order to list books that provide a quality reading experience, they've made the difficult decision to respectfully refuse listing books that have been self-published since very few self-published books are professionally edited. Career writers like Peg just don't have the time to vet every submission for quality so, to me, it's reasonable to limit the listings to credible publisher produced e-books.

MysterEbooks describes mystery as a book where the solution of a crime must be the dominant theme. So if you'd like to submit a book for consideration, go to MysterEbooks. Study their sample submission, and use the template.

Then send the completed submission form to mysterebooks@yahoo.com. They'll let you know the date your listing will appear on MysterEbooks. Of course, they plan site promotion so readers will learn where they can go to find e-mysteries. If you like reading on electronic devices, visit them to find more about new options for e-reading.

Takeaway Truth

Reading a good mystery is like giving yourself a little vacation - complete with excitement, thrills, and chills - without leaving the comfort - and safety - of your home.

(Previously published on Joan Slings Words.)

Flying

Quote for the Week

We had a great time yesterday. Around noon, six planes flew in and landed on the airstrip behind our Hill Country home. Every time my husband and I see planes using the runway here, we get nostalgic for the good old days - before children - when we owned a plane.

The pilots all climbed out and walked across the street to the restaurant. We grabbed the camera, jumped in our golf cart, which we'd recently dubbed Little Jack, and drove around to the tie-down ramps. Wow! The planes were just gorgeous from the sleek solid red plane to the white Piper with retractable gear.

A couple of hours later, the pilots walked back, climbed in their planes and lined up to take off. The Piper with the retractable gear was like a bullet. Up, up, and away. As I watched, I thought about how much we'd loved flying.

Friedrich Oblessor, a pilot with 127 victories in World War II, said: "The fascination of flight can't be expressed with words. But it really lies beyond the capabilities of human endeavor. Once you've experienced it, you'll never be able to forget it."

Takeaway Truth

Indeed, once you've piloted your own plane, you never forget the thrill of flying.

Hill Country Heaven

Since my daughter has had several doctors' appointments since surgery, she and I have stayed close to home.

This has been a really wet summer, and we are completely tired of it. While I was doing errands today, I got caught in 3 rain showers and soaked. When I got home, I said, "Let's get out of town. "

I loaded up everything and drove up to our place in the Hill Country. What a treat to see sunny skies and feel low humidity. We haven't been here since July 4 weekend which is a really big deal in this small community.

Annual Celebration

The Freedom Festival, as I dubbed it, kicked off with a parade of golf carts. There were rides for kids, a petting zoo, craft and food booths everywhere - the cupcakes with blue frosting were fabulous - and a fly-in.

You see, this resort community has it's own airfield which is set down the hill from us so we get to see planes taking off and landing on a regular basis. Since we once owned a plane and flew, this is a delight for us.

That day, the pilots did a "bombing run" and tried to hit targets set up on the runway with bags of flour. Great fun. This picture is of a stunt plane that was particularly beautiful. It reminded me of a plane one of our friends had back when we flew.

Out Of Town

Since I finally got high speed wireless Internet connection, I'll be hanging my hat here until the next doctor's appointment requires my daughter and me to go home. Poor hubby has to go to work Monday morning though.

Takeaway Truth

The life of a writer can be really wonderful because you can work anywhere. I'll be keeping office hours on my back porch. Now that's priceless.

Foster Creative Energy

What happens if you find yourself wallowing in the creative doldrums? Suddenly, you realize it's been a year or two since you wrote anything new. Perhaps you're in between contracts. Maybe you know you need to write something different because the kinds of books you've written in the past just aren't being published any more. Unfortunately, I know a lot of authors who have found themselves in this situation in the last few years.

How do you find the creative energy to write something new - or anything for that matter - when what you're writing just isn't selling and you feel as if you've faded into the wallpaper? Here are some ideas to help you overcome the inertia of doing nothing.

Climb Out of Your Comfort Zone

1. Whatever your "home" genre, climb out of that comfort zone and read something different. You write mystery and hate romance. Read romance and be surprised by these relationship books. You may find it enriches the way you characterize and create inter-relationships. You write romance and hate sci fi? Read sci fi, the genre of ideas and possibilities created by science. It may kickstart your brain.

Every genre offers something unique. Mystery is a puzzle. Romance is relationships. Horror is good winning over evil. Science fiction is ideas. Fantasy is the "what if" of our imaginations.

2. Eschew your favorite TV programs and record a variety of different things to watch. Again, you may be surprised at the ideas that pop into your head. Try SyFy's Eureka or Warehouse 13; USA's Burn Notice or In Plain Sight; TNT's Leverage; FX's Justified; or Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva. All of these are solidly written, expertly acted, and were different when they debuted. The networks are not creating knock-offs of these which is usually the best sign of success for a TV show.

3. Listen to a different genre of music. This is usually the hardest for someone because we are all set in our ways of what we like. Every now and then though I make it a point to listen to something I'd never choose like Techno, the occasional hip hop, a bit of country. It's surprising how music affects our thoughts. I'm not much for country or hip hop or rap, but I find the Justified Theme by Gangstagrass, "Long Hard Times to Come," an oddly compelling blend of rap and bluegrass. Weird, huh?

4. Talk to a different bunch of writers than your normal support group. Maybe you'll find someone writing something that sparks a leap of imagination in you. Talk to aspiring writers, published writers, authors at book signings, and people who don't write but who read and have an opinion about books. Listen to what they all have to say and let it filter through your conscious and subconscious.

5. Start a journal if you don't already do that. Don't think about making notes for a book or anything like that. Fill it with anything that flits into your brain. If you already journal, and it's not helping, then try a photo journal. Take your camera out for a walk. Snap pictures in your neighborhood, when you go shopping, whatever strikes your fancy. Later, look at the pictures and pay attention to any thoughts that pop up.

Takeaway Truth

Creativity is a well, and an artist draws from the well and creates. The well must be refilled, but sometimes we forget that step until the well is almost dry. Take time to refill the well.