Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Guest Post -- Gregory Allen

Hello All,

 Today I have Gregory Allen the author of Patch Work Of Me from Orange Berry Book Tours.  Here is a guest post from the author
  --x--

Can You Control Accomplishments?
By Gregory Allen

As a writer, my brain is always going and coming up with ideas. Some should never see the light of day and others turn into stories. One of the interesting things to me is when I ‘think’ I know exactly where a story is going to go – sometimes even completely outline it – and then I get into the story and the characters begin to drive the car. I thought I was in control, but it was all a ruse.

Control has always been a huge issue for me in my life. I hate being out of control. I don’t enjoy rides where I feel I have no control (including water slides) and when going on a road trip: I prefer to be behind the wheel.

I’ve often wondered where it all came from. Recently on a trip to Sedona I really tried to get to the root of the issue as I used those spiritual surroundings to guide me. But even knowing it and allowing myself to stop it are two completely different things.

It’s sort of like when asked that old question “what do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment?”
It stops me cold. I don’t want to think I’ve achieved it yet. I’m only in my early 40s. There is still much life to lead. Should I have seen my largest accomplishment? I left home at 18 and moved to NYC to be an actor. I had a fairly decent career before switching gears into that of corporate America where I climbed the management ladder. And then I completely shifted again and went back into the creative arts. This time managing an arts center and concentrating on my writing.

Friends and family are quick to point out all I’ve accomplished, but like a character in my books – each of those moments did not grow out of the previous – it was a twist or a turn that took me to a completely different place. If one were to analyze that for a moment, they would probably deduct that I was not in control for any of it. Control allows us to believe we are viewing the options and making a decision. Though sometimes, it’s the decisions we make that cause the most agita. Actually doing it isn’t so hard, it’s convincing ourselves that we’re making the best possible choice for that particular moment in our lives.
Maybe I can keep convincing myself I’m in the driver seat and making choices. I love trying something new; the research involved, the initial fear following by glow of achievement. But I still don’t want to answer what has been my ‘biggest’ accomplishment. I want to believe it’s still waiting.

And as long as I don’t answer…I can still control that situation.

--x--

Wishing him luck with his book
Abhishek Boinapalli

Author Interview -- Gregory Allen

Hello All,

 Today I have Gregory Allen the author of Patch Work Of Me from Orange Berry Book Tours. Here are a few rapid fire questions to him and his honest answers:
  --x--
If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
I love time travel books and movies so I would have to go back in time. Check out those periods before technology over took our worlds (he says writing on a computer).

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?
Augusten Burroughs
Hilary Clinton
Barbra Streisand
Anderson Cooper
Anne Rice

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
Potatoes - my favorite food
iPad - with a loaded kindle app
A bar a soap - I like to be clean, what can I say?

What is one book everyone should read?
Such a loaded question because we all have different taste. I love the book Bid Time Return…but most know it as the movie Somewhere in Time

If you were a superhero what would your name be?
Over-Achiever Man

If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?
Abraham Lincoln

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Cereal. And I'm not picky about the kind: just love the stuff!

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.
I write about real people, the way they really speak, and allow readers to discover things about themselves in the process.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects? 
I have a few other adult novels I'm working on, but also marketing my children's book right now.

What inspired you to want to become a writer?
I first wrote for the stage. But after reading Running With Scissors - I knew I wanted to tackle stories off the stage.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
The fact that readers can reach you directly and let you know how your work made them feel or touched them. Nothing gets better than that.

What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
There are rules…and there are times to bend them. Stay true to who you are.

What is your favorite Quote?
"In the end, it's not the years in your life that counts. It's the life in your years." - Abe Lincoln

How did you know you should become an author?
I was a story teller as an actor, director, producer, stage writer … I knew I needed to get these stories out of my head and share them.

Who are your favorite authors of all time?
At the risk of offending many female writers that I love - John Irving, Augusten Burroughs, Richard Matheson, Armistead Maupin, Tennessee Williams 

--x--

Wishing him luck with his book
Abhishek Boinapalli

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Book Review: Murder In Amaravati by Sharath Komarraju

Hello All,

This is a review of the book, Murder In Amaravati by Sharath Komarraju. The book's pitch-line says something like this

Padmavati, the village hostess's body is found in the sacred chamber of the Kali temple. Men wanted her; women hated her; while some men wanted to keep their liaisons hidden. 

But who had the motive, means and opportunity to kill her?

Padmavati charged by the hour her - laughs, her understanding, her empathy, her advice - everything was available only in return for payment, which made her, in the sarpanch Seetaraamaiah's eyes, little more than a trader.

Look, the priest Krishna Shastri said, pointing to the letters around him. Satyam, Shekhar, Seetaraamaiah  how many men did she have in her grasp? How many?

The onus of solving the case put head constable Venkat Reddy in a quandary. He has never even solved petty crimes and here he is faced with a murder!

If this were a novel, the constable Venkat Reddy thought vacantly, would the reader think of him as a worthy detective? Would anyone bother reading about a bungling, confused constable pretending to be a detective? The equation before him is simple: seven suspects, seven motives, one murder.


About the Author:
Sharath Komarraju is a Bangalore-based IT specialist. On a typical day he spends eight hours testing software and two writing fiction. (He hopes to some day flip that balance.) His short fiction appears in Reading Hour, a print bi-monthly based in India, and also in Pratilipi, an online quarterly. Murder in Amaravati is his first novel. You can read more about the author @ sharathkomarraju.com.

What have I got to say about the book?

   Book for sure introduces you to the life of people in typical Indian Village. Tells us how secrets can't be hidden in villages, how everyone knows everything in a village and how people interact, treat each other and live. The book shows how disturbed the people were about the murder and the hatred of the village folk towards the village hostess. The book tells how the folk would like to stick to their own, old traditions and neither think beyond nor accept those who think beyond. But the characters are too few to get complete picture about lifestyle.  

  The description of the village is good but incomplete. You get to know a few glimpses of history of the village, its glorious past, its geography, the great banyan tree and such. It would have been better had a few legends / myths of the area been included.

   Sharath has done a good job in hatching the plot and getting the book published for sure. But I somehow felt the plot came out all too fast. For most part of the book, you are a clueless reader and in the next moment village priest and the constable keep singing, proposing various plots, accusing many a people with each accusal more ridiculous than the other. 

     The plot, though tries to convince you that everyone is guilty, isn't very strong in itself. The suspects are all normal people with their day to day life, with their own thoughts, own failures and own ways. The constable himself rising to challenge of investigating a murder is quite cool. The book might become a little more interesting if the constable is good at investigating and uses a few tricks here, a few traps there and there by adding color to the book, enticing the information hungry reader.

   The book didn't actually show much about the characters / murder / village but tells a lot. It tells a story doesn't show. You know a little about how they dress, how they look or how they eat. I am no great a literary genius but I would love to be showed, I would be happy when I can see the characters, when I can co-relate to them, when I imagine them moving by my side and see the plot hatching in front of me. Alas I am disappointed by this book for sure.

   The epilogue for sure has some surprises to everyone around. Don't forget to read the same. The twist about who killed the village hostess for sure is cool. But again, the plot came out too soon to add a punch to the twist.

Recommendation;
    4/10 would be good. Yeah, starters can read the book for sure. People who love light reading can read it. I don't believe that the book would capture the imagination of book-worms.

Note:
I have received a free copy of the book for this review. This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!


with warm regards
Abhishek Boinapalli

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Guest Post -- Deidre Havrelock

Hello Everyone,

Today I have Deidre Havrelock, the author of Saving Mary from OrnageBerryBookTours who would like to her share opinion on Marketing. 
--x-- 
Many authors see marketing as a bind. What are your thoughts?

By Deidre Havrelock

Saving Mary
I’m finding out just how tough marketing is. It’s a big world, and finding your particular audience is an art that I have yet to master. It is a bind. I have to do it, but I’m not sure exactly how to do it. But the good thing is, I’m willing to try new things and I love this whole idea of ‘virtual tours.’ They make so much sense and are fun! As far as marketing goes, I have three blogs. My first blog is ‘theagentchallenge.blogspot.com.’ I created this blog to journal my experience towards becoming published and also to help out other writers who are sharing in that same rather difficult journey. I started out with the simple plan of following the advice of agents themselves in order to bag me my own wonderful agent. Along that journey, I met many bloggers who had positive experiences publishing ebooks and so the idea of publishing an ebook became glaringly obvious, and I dived in. I’m still looking for an agent, however. Ebooks may be great for fiction and narrative non-fiction, but I’m not totally convinced it’s the right avenue for straight non-fiction (which is what my other book is). I guess, I’ll see.

Deidre Havrelock


My other blog ‘deidrehavrelock.wordpress.com’ is attached to my website. It’s there just so I can connect with readers. I have a third blog in the making; this one is attached to my conference website (which isn’t quite ready yet). I created this blog to explore the topic of “the femininity of the Holy Spirit.” I once read (in an agent’s book or blog somewhere) that you should market a book at least three years before it comes out, so since one of my books that I’m working to edit is called The MotherHeart of God: Biblical Evidence for the Femininity of the Holy Spirit, I thought it would be a good idea to have a conference and start a blog. You can check out (and ‘like’) the conference on Facebook, if you so desire…Wm. Paul Young (author of The Shack) has agreed to host the conference. No one said marketing has to be boring!


Next, I’m looking at getting an audio book done.


--x--

What do you say about this? Is marketing good? To what extent? What is your opinion on Virtual Book Tours?

Hoping her all success

Friday, May 18, 2012

Publishing Help -- Pandora Poikilos

Hello Everyone,

 This is a guest post by Pandara Poikilos, the renowned author, speaking from here heart about publishing, publishing success and giving out a useful tip / two. 

--x--
Let's Set the World on Fire
What and who are the true measures of Indie publishing success?

By Pandora Poikilos 

Deep within each of us, there is a burning desire to leave an immortal mark of ourselves for future generations. Writers are no different. Most of us look forward to the day when our books will outlive us and 1000 or 1 million, if someone in 2055 is reading our books, then our work is done. 

So, writing isn't all about the money. But let's be honest, we all want to be paid writers. We don't want to slog at one job when our heart and soul is set on writing. But can it be as successful as some people say it is? Newsflash - you're the only person who can answer that question. 

First, how badly do you want it? 
As a teenager, I knew I wanted to write, all my life. I got a scholarship for my degree, worked part time all through university and then applied for the journalism internship of a lifetime. But I got sidetracked. Life stepped in. I was diagnosed with IIH (Intracrannial Hypertension). Medical bills piled up, writing took a backseat. Then in 2010, I had my VP shunt surgery. I felt alone, and caved in so I picked up a pen. The words came and so did the books.

Bottomline - don't wait for things to go your way so you can write. Write now, and keep writing. One hour a day, 30 minutes a day. Something is better than nothing. If you want something badly enough, you will find a way. Yes, I've sold close 120,000 books but I've also worked as a cashier, a typist, a proofreader and sold handmade jewellery at a flea market among other things to get to where I am. Frequent Traveller was finished with me dictating and Peas writing for me. He was my eyes when I couldn’t see. If I can do it, so can you. Success is the destination you reach when you know where you're going. But it's your journey so guess who has the answer about your success? 

Build bridges, don't burn them
A few weeks ago, fellow author Paul Rega was doing a promo for his book, he asked if I could help him send out some tweets. I did. Last week when Peas and I launched our recipe book, he returned the favour. He is one of the many authors I know who has helped me on my journey. 

Bottomline - Don't harass people into buying or reading your book. Don't expect your book to sell because you purchased one advertising campaign. A fruit tree doesn't grow and yield fruit overnight. Plan, work, tweak, adjust, talk to other writers, connect, build relationships ... books are forever. Learn what works for you. It'll take time and patience but again how badly do you want this to work? 



Stay away from negativity
As readers or writers, it is extremely easy to be negative about someone else's work. "This is how it should be" and "that is how it shouldn't be" Yes, for spelling, grammar and punctuation, there are only so many acceptable variations but ideas ... these are the very essence that signifies who a person is. In all my more than 30 years, I have slept through every Star Wars movie I have ever seen. I cannot name ten differences between Star Trek and Star Wars because it almost feels the same to me. How I can hear the gasps of shock. But yes, neither appealed to me. I had an elder brother who tried to educate me, and many friends and at least one ex-boyfriend who failed miserably. It just never sank in. Imagine me telling George Lucas or George Roddenberry that their shows were the worst thing ever. 

Bottomline - Just because you don't like an idea, that doesn't make it the worst book written. If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all. Strangely enough, negativity has a way of coming back to you one way or another. If you must point out flaws then be constructive, not negative. On the other end, when you have received a negative review, don't get your knickers in a twist. Some people think it is essential to throw pebbles in your shoes. Ask yourself three questions - Did you give it your all? Did you give it your best? How could you have done it differently? Not all of us write to be loved, sometimes a story needs to be and told it shall be. 

But my publisher said ... 
As the process of self-publishing becomes more accessible, numerous people are seen to take advantage of this situation and not in a good way. Take for example Publisher X. A few weeks ago this publisher swapped Author A's book on Amazon. Publisher X used the same cover and author’s name but changed the synopsis to erotic content. Overnight, reviewers found themselves linked to a book they had never reviewed and wouldn’t want to review. The author was bad-mouthed and all promotional work for her book seemed to be flushed down the toilet. Drama nobody needed. This was the same publisher that publicly shamed one of his authors over the Thanksgiving holiday to the point she filed a restraining order against him. There are also numerous 'independent' publishers who use this status to sidetrack royalty issues and treat an author's book like it's the least important thing in the world. Their excuses are endless - not enough funds, not enough manpower, they know the industry better. But again, it’s your book and it’s your story. How do you want it to be remembered?

Bottomline - Yes, it isn't easy to do book cover design, editing, formatting and marketing on your own. Most times, it is impossible. But publishers aren't the only people who can help you. There are numerous freelancers who are good at what they do. Do a bit of research. Join some writing groups. Ask around. Yes, it'll take time and yes, it'll cost you money. But put some cash aside, do it step by step. A little hardship in the beginning saves you from a lot of unnecessary drama later on. 

Be creative
When I was a freelance reporter, my interview request for one particular personality was repeatedly rejected. I was distraught. A quote from him was crucial to add credibility to the article. My editor wasn’t at all sympathetic and only told me that there's more than one way to skin a cat. So I kept trying, and he finally agreed to meet me at the airport before a flight to South Africa. I had 30 minutes to ask him at least 10 questions.

Bottomline - things aren't going to fall from the sky and into your lap. Sales will slow down. Things can and will go wrong. Be creative. There's always one more road to take. Writing is a journey, no one said it'll be an easy, straight road. Sales are low? Organise a book tour, put together a twitter campaign, work on book store appearances, look at sites like eReader News and Kindle Nation. Possibilities are endless and there are people who can help you. So, again how badly do you want this to work?

I wish you success and perseverance. You and I separately are just one different book but together and in the words of the band Fun, "Let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun. 
--x--

    Hope all this rings bells. What do you feel about the same? Do let me know!!
 
    In case you are interested in Guest posts, or in Sponsored Posts don't forget to drop me a mail on this ID

with warm regards
Abhishek Boinapalli

Author Interview -- Pandora Poikilos


Hi,
 

Today, I am hosting Pandora Poikilos, the author of  Frequent Traveller as a part of OrangeBerryBookTours. Here are a few random questions and some answers filled with humor, wit and Suzanne Anderson.



Please can you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.
My first article appeared in a local paper when I was 13 and I was over the moon. Right then and there, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life writing.


I did stop creative writing for a few years when I worked as a Communications Executive for a hotel chain. Between press releases and media kits, I didn’t have much time to think of writing much else.

Then in 2010, as we planned for my VP Shunt (brain) surgery, writing seemed to fit as my recovery plan and here I am.

I have thus far written two novels, a short story collection and a non-fiction series (Dora’s Essentials). My first novel was published in April 2011 and I have since become a paid writer after more than seven years of trying, pushing, prodding, pulling and breaking down, which makes me think I’m definitely on the right track.

I would like to write a full-length novel of about 100,000 words. Since my surgery, one of the significant changes I have noticed is my tendency to jumble up words when I write. For instance, handsome becomes husband and blogger becomes booger. This makes it extremely challenging when I write and it is a hurdle I would like to overcome.

What led you to set up Orangeberry Book Tours?
OBT was created in October 2010. A few writers and I were working on a three month long book launch festival, book tours were my contribution to the festival. The demand was increasingly high and I spent quite a bit of time adjusting the tours to meet the requirements of participating authors and bloggers to what it is today.

The main goal of OBT is to raise awareness for the author and his/her book via social media. This means OBT offers more than blog stops. Hence, the name - BOOK tours not blog tours. I run Twitter Blasts, blog stops and other types of smaller social awareness campaigns which focus on both author and the book.

I understand that a big budget is not something we all have when starting our writing careers, hence, there is a free book tour package (Orangeberry Basic) which allows authors to have a free book tour but they have to host other authors in return.

For those who pay for book tours, the money is then used to finance the Orangeberry Goodie Bag which distributes gifts to blog hosts and the site’s visitors.

Results wise, most authors have experienced increased sales although the exact quantities vary. Some have experienced sales as low as 20 books a day and others have had more than 200 total sales during an Orangeberry Phoenix book tour which lasts for 30 days.

I do want to stress that results differ for each book, and I do point out glaring formatting errors or content issues to authors.

How do you balance supporting so many other authors with promoting your own work?

I’m not going to lie, IT IS hectic most of the time but I do my best to work on a schedule and this keeps me going.

On a daily basis, I work on my other blogging projects for an hour, and spend at least two hours each on editing and writing. I try not to work on weekends unless I have a deadline.

For my blog (Peace from Pieces), outside my own posts, I invite other authors to write guest posts and Orangeberry book features are posted on Tuesdays & Fridays.

I do my best to reply to all comments but more often than not, I’m pretty far behind and I’m grateful my readers understand this. They do know that if they need an urgent response from me, they can send me an email.

I’m a big fan of social media which enables me to get so much more done. For authors looking for ways they can expand their target markets and connect with readers, I would recommend sites like Triberr, Hoot Suite and of course, Twitter.

How do you respond to people who are dismissive of indie publishing?
Indulge me for a bit? There is a scene from Charlie Wilson’s War which best describes this. The Americans have powered the Afghanistan people with weapons, they have beat the Russians and Congressman Charlie Wilson (played by Tom Hanks) is the man of the hour. As he celebrates and gloats, Afghan Task Force chief, Gust Avrakotos who assisted him with the cause tells him this story.

There's a little boy and on his 14th birthday he gets a horse... and everybody in the village says, "how wonderful. The boy got a horse" The Zen master says, "we'll see." Two years later, the boy falls off the horse, breaks his leg, and everyone in the village says, "How terrible."

The Zen master says, "We'll see." Then, a war breaks out and all the young men have to go off and fight... except the boy can't cause his legs all messed up. and everybody in the village says, "How wonderful." And the Zen master says, "We'll see." 

Obviously, indie publishing is no war of any kind. But the game is changing. New players are being added, rules are being changed faster than they are being enforced.

I would say don’t dismiss something when you can’t see the end of it. Yes, some writers are in it for the money and couldn’t give a rat’s ass about language, formatting or appearance. But for some of us, indie publishing isn’t how we earn our living, it’s how we live and guess what, we’re here to stay.

What do you think lies ahead for indie authors over the next few years?
Change, a bit more change and then some more change.

You will have those who have given up because indie publishing failed to make them a few quick bucks and then you will have those who have persevered. Irrelevant of which party you belong to, I doubt the route will get any easier.

But then again, anything worth having isn’t always easy.

To any writer wondering if indie publishing is the way to go, here’s the best advice I can give you from my personal experience - don’t expect overnight success. Rome wasn’t built in a day and people who tell you overnight success is achievable are lying because it just doesn’t exist.

Set your own trail. Be consistent. Keep away from negativity. And then work even harder.


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Lenovo M0620 -- The ultimate portable speaker

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lenovo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hello Everyone,

  No love of music is complete without the right music system. The heart of music system is of-course its speakers, sound effects, clarity and ease of operation. To make your music experience a little more lively Lenovo presents the Lenovo speaker M0620 the Ultimate Portable Speaker. _38_0_57Y6361_V1.jpg (JPEG Image, 1000 × 1000 pixels).jpg

 What do these speakers offer?

The Lenovo speaker M0620 is a 2.0 speaker system which includes a main speaker with built-in amplifiers and a sub-speaker. They can be attached to your laptop or desktop computer or you can use it with your smartphone or MP3/MP4 player. Although the speakers are small in size, the sound they produce is big and bold.

Features and Benefits Mentioned by Manufacturer:

• 4 watts of power for high-quality full sound
• Convenient USB-powered connection with energy saving function
• Speaker wire spools for easy storage
• Elegant yet substantial presentation

Other Specifications:

  • Approximate length: 102 mm
  • Approximate width: 102 mm
  • Approximate height: 67 mm
  • Approximate weight: 0.678 kg

  Now ain't that cool?  What do you think??

  Now Now, why am I gonna use them? Why are they any different from the lot of speakers on the yard sale? Simple: They are from Lenova and are available from 5/15 to 5/21 for just $11.99. Can you believe it? $11.99 only!! My goodness, I have been waiting for oppurtunities like this from ages past!! Now my music system is gonna be as good as ever and the best part is, I can connect them to my player, to my laptop and even to my smart-phone!! Wow!!

I am actually quite eager to check out this product myself and enjoy some cool music. Have you checked out this product? Liked it? Your opinion please. Which color would you choose? Bold / Stylish? What would you like to listen to on it? In front of whom you are gonna gloat about it? Do let me know!!

_38_0_57Y6361_V2.jpg (JPEG Image, 1000 × 1000 pixels).jpg

with warm regars

Abhishek Boinapalli

 

Visit Sponsor's Site

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Guest Post -- Suzanne Anderson

Hello All,

 Hope you enjoyed the interview of Suzanne Anderson the author of Mrs. Tuesday's Departure. Here is a guest post by her about her book. 

--x--
If you could change your current story in any one way, what would you do and why?
By Suzanne Anderson

MRS. TUESDAY’S DEPARTURE, my first novel, is set during the tragic, turbulent years of World War Two. Worse still, it’s set in Budapest, Hungary, one of the countries directly affected by Nazi Occupation and the Holocaust. For that reason, it was difficult to write a traditional happy ending that is so satisfying to most readers, myself included.


How many times have I finished a book and felt disappointed that the loose story ends weren’t neatly tied up? How could any author allow their main character to suffer and not receive the happiness she so clearly earned through her many trials? As an avid reader, one who seeks out happy endings, rather than the tragic Oprah-style dark novel, I understood completely when readers of MRS. TUESDAY, gave mixed reviews to the story’s ending.

Since the book is self-published, it would be completely within my powers to change the ending. I’ve even considered it! How nice it would be to kill off certain characters or perhaps provided a convenient escape hatch that would have allowed the good guys to live happily ever after and the bad guys to meet their just reward post haste. For good measure, I could have thrown in a romance so we might even enjoy a wedding.


I’ve even composed the changes in my mind. In part because one of the more consistent comments I’ve received about MRS. TUESDAY, is that readers felt the book was too short. They wanted to see the story go on, the characters to live the story more fully. And if there were anything I would change, lengthening the story would be the greatest temptation. But the ending?


As I did my research for the novel and read about those war-ravaged years, I found that difficult decisions were made every day, and while they demonstrated great love and loyalty, they didn’t always save the hero. Sometimes, terrible sacrifices were made in the name of love. And sometimes those sacrifices led to unhappy endings. What about the argument that since this is fiction, I had the choice to create the ending I wanted, even a happy ending? True. Though as the author, I also had to create the ending that came about as my characters moved through the story. And which answered the questions that first inspired the story.

Which is not to say that I dislike the ending of MRS. TUESDAY. Ultimately, I believe the ending is very satisfying because it provides a message of hope. And most importantly, it conveys the message of God’s love and the ultimate sacrifice that He made through his Son, Jesus Christ. I hope readers will come away from the novel receiving that message and understanding that even when we go through difficult times, God is always with us.

--x--

Are you interested in posting on my blog? Want to write a guest post? Simply fire an email to me on allmyonlineearnings at gmail dot com.

Wishing Suzanne Anderson All Success
Abhishek Boinapalli

Author Interview – Suzanne Anderson

Hello All,

Suzanne Anderson
Today, I am hosting Suzanne Anderson, the author of Mrs. Tuesday's Departure as a part of OrangeBerryBookTours. Here are a few random questions and some answers filled with humor, wit and Suzanne Anderson.

--x--

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
France: 1850 – 1950. Just think of what was accomplished in art and literature during that period. Amazing!


If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?
Jesus
Picasso
Leonardo Di Vinci
Shakespeare
Jacques Cousteau

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
A big boat to get us off the island
A fully stocked kitchen and wine cabinet on the boat
An interesting companion to share the voyage


Mrs. Tuesday's Departure

What is one book everyone should read?
The Bible. Whether you are religious or not, reading it and embracing its basic principles will make you a more gentle, happier, peaceful person.


Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.
I hope that it will bring you pleasure and touch your heart.



Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?
Yes! I’m completing a children’s chapter book, God Loves You, -Chester Blue, which will be out in August. I can’t wait! And then I have another women’s novel that will be published in the fall.


If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world.. which would it be?
I’d love to try life in a Jane Austen novel, or a steamy historical romance.


What's the best advice anyone has ever given you?
When you fail, you are given a choice: If you quit, you lose. If you continue on, you win. So, never give up.

Telling Stories

How do you react to a bad review?
If the criticism is valid, I use it to improve my book or my work-in-progress. If someone takes the time to write a thoughtful review, even if it is negative, I believe it is valuable to an author.


If you were a bird, which one would you be?
An eagle. I admire their beauty and strength.


You have won one million dollars what is the first thing that you would buy?
A beachfront house on Friday Harbor, one of the most beautiful places in America. I currently live in the mountains, but I also love the ocean.


Which authors have influenced you most, how?
Hemingway’s descriptions are incredible. e.e. cummings is a wonderful romantic. Dr. Suess has a wonderfully joyful view of the world.

What do you do in your free time?
Get lost in a good book. Or take my dogs to the off-leash dog trails. Both are wonderful ways to unwind.


Who or what inspired you to become an author?
The desire to create stories for others, which hopefully bring them the same joy I feel when I read a wonderful book. Does that make sense?


--x--

Well Well, looks like I exhausted my questions. Hoping the stars would bestow all success on Suzanne Anderson and her book

Friday, May 11, 2012

Types of People On Facebook

Hello All,

    Facebook became an integral part of my life just like books, blogs and friends. What do I like about Facebook? Well, all my friends are online and I don't need to use the phone to shout something. What do I hate? The frequent game / app requests.

 
Anonymous, Anonymous Mask, Anonymous Face
Anonymous
Well, though I enjoy my time on Facebook I wonder how would someone be online? Does his/her character change? Does one act different? I am not sure. I act different when I am at home, when I am at office, when I am with a girl and when I am with my buddies. Then what about Facebook?

    Here is a simple attempt to classify people, though no hard/offense intended.

The Copycat:
Types of Facebookers, types of people on 
facebook
Types Of Facebookers
    All he/she does is ctrl+c and ctrl+v. Copy a status from here, copy a pic from there and when The copycat really needs to update his/her status, not to mention, the status would be a famous quotation by some author.

The Gloater:
    Every status is an achievement, a comparison between oneself and the famous, ..  No need of any more explanation.

The Ever-Online Potato:
  
Facebook, Facebook friends, Facebook People
Facebook
Online all the time, from office, from home and even from the loo via his smart phone. Never posts a thing, Never comments, Never likes something, Never joins a group yet knows it all.

The Take-Offline Guy:
    All that Take-Offline Guy does is, act like Ever-Online Potato and then talk to you about your status update / Photo instead of commenting / replying.

The Theater Guy:
    Everyone has at-least one such a friend. A dramatic quote about the weather, a tragic quote about loss of sleep, a bold picture of last night's party and comments with catch phrases including "Wow!! Can't believe it", "My goodness .. So wonderful", ..

The Struck Guy:
    Checks out every troll picture / meme online and shares them as a joke in the cafeteria just to become a little more popular. I guess gamers also can be added to this category. Playing "Farm Ville", "Mafia Wars", "World At War" and what not? Some people from this category are usually The first person to like / comment a picture.

Blue-Moon Guy:
    The guy who replies to your comment which was three weeks old. The guy who messages a thank-you for tagging him six months back.

    Other well understood characters include Mr/Ms Popular, Mr. Newsreader, Mr. Promoter (promoting his movie star / sport stars / every viral message frantically), ...

What category do you belong to? Did I miss some cool category?? Do let me know!!

with warm regards
Abhishek Boinapalli


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