Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2013

Bravo Writing Community - Thank you! For your Enthusiasm & Guidance

Yes the end of the road is near...

Soon the eBook version of BREAKING CURSED BONDS will be released, and...

I would love to take a breather, but where one road ends - another begins!

Once the eBook is available September 1st, then promotion will be needed, as well as finishing up on the paperback formatting which will be released in November 2013.  I am a new author and self-publisher, and all this work to get the story finished has been a new experience with a wide learning curve.  Anyone who has a story to share can do it, and if your tool belt is rusty just ask for help.
 
My previous lines of work did not involve the same tools needed to write and publish.  I had a lot to learn.

I turned to fellow authors in the writing community, many who were happy to share their experiences and knowledge.

While every journey is unique, I was thankful for all the marvelous people who call themselves writers and authors.
 
In many business formats, competition rules, often cut throat competition.  One thing I have noticed in the modern world of independent publishing is that while there is still competition - it is more of a community of sharing, and collaborating.  We sponsor each other with blog hops, we promote each other's books, platforms, blogs, websites, and anything else we create.  It is a wonderful thing to be involved in a community so sharing and open.
 
There are now groups that help self-publishers like AiA (Assoc. of Independent Authors) and ALLi (the Alliance of Independent Authors).  Of course not everything is always rosy, there have been a few who chose to write bad reviews to stack the deck, but it is at a minimum.  They get called out by the community protests with their Facebook posts, tweets and blog posts.  As a writing community they will not let abuse go on without the outcry for moral and civilized actions.  The individual is still respected as an individual with a unique right to freedom of speech, we are all encouraged to act responsibly and with care.

This profession of writing is evolving to face the new challenges in the free world.

Since the wide world web has given access to so much, we are experiencing new trends.  So if anyone can give real sound advice to a newbie like me it has to be something like this -
 "Keep your eyes open, watch and learn, because it changes fast, and we need to swim with the tide." 
The bottom line is to keep writing, tell your story, share with the community and be true to yourself.

Keep reading! - Keep writing!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Connectivity - A Relative Concept - Is Speed the Most Important Aspect? or Freedom

 

Are We Really All Connected?

Another Friday - another week gone by, and still we are all probably working on our same projects.  Sometimes it feels like we are not moving fast enough, especially in this culture of quick impulses and fast connections.  I was astounded when I read a report that the US has very slow internet connectivity speeds. Check it out here at govtech.com .   Hong Kong was the leader for speed.  It's so funny, because not matter how fast the speed gets I still want it faster - how about you?
There are of course other factors to consider.  We may not have the fasted connectivity but we are the biggest users.  Find out more if your interested - Global Internet Users has been changing.
 
I personally hope as we think about our connectivity to others, our access and speed, that we also think about our freedoms and responsibilities.  We cannot take things for granted anymore.  Everyday we are reminded about the shadow of 'Big Brother' watching (and listening & gathering data)  I don't want to live my life monitoring every word out of my mouth afraid of censorship or worse - but at the same time I do realize I need to be responsible and send out inoffensive content because I don't want to be a negative influencer, but a positive part of the society as a hole.  So we all need to KEEP our FREEDOM in mind, and make sure we never lose our most precise asset of the internet connectivity.
 
 
I will be going on a short vacation next week, to see some of my family, and I will not be as active online.  My travels will lead me into the rolling Berkshire Hills where there is often a spot without any connectivity to be had :(  but the scenery is worth it!  Some may not check FB or tweet at all when on vacation, but I am not so sure I can manage that for ten days.  Still there will be days my hand is forced because there will be no internet access, so it will be an experiment as I walk along and say 'Can YOU hear me now' - here is a short clip about someone's plan to leave - although he intends to never come back!  I will return :)
 
Keep reading - Keep writing!
 
 
See you in the Shire :)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

What I Live For - Freedom


Friday May 10th  I'm taking part in 'What I Live For', an online event organised by author Satya Robyn

People like me all over the world will be sharing what gives their lives meaning

In Satya Robyn's novel 'Thaw', Ruth gives herself three months to decide whether she can find a reason to carry on living. There's 75% off the kindle version today (99p / $1.49) - read more here: http://www.satyarobyn.com/?page_id=56

Please join in with your own art describing 'What I Live For' - visit the event  and post a thought, a picture, or a blog post  https://www.facebook.com/events/530335293684273/


Here are my thoughts....
What I Live For
 
For years I have been living for my family, my four children and husband.  The day began with making meals, breakfasts and bagged lunches, preparing dinners, washing clothes, cleaning the house, yard work, gardening, fixing scratched knees and broken hearts, and then hours of guilt when I was away, working at an hourly job.

So many hours were spent with thoughts of them in my head - their faces always in my vision, even when they were off living their lives and growing, they were close to me in my heart.  I cherished every flower painting given as a gift, each story bound into a homemade book, every award and contest, the fun filled Halloween costumes, and I enjoyed the soccer games and the chorus concerts.

Now my children are all grown - wonderful young men and woman.  I am proud of them all.  My children have become wonderful stewards of the world, keeping in their heart love of the land, simplicity in life and cherishing friendships.  I am proud of each, for their own persona and soul.  They will always be what I live for, even though I know the best for them now, is for us, my husband and myself, to let them go - so they can be free to find their own path and become who they were meant to be.

Now I turn a page and begin another career with writing.  I use  the love of my family as my muse.  I try to breath life into my words, with the underlying message - everyone deserves to be free.  We all struggle, and that journey is the only way to happiness.

Through the years I have had many blessings, and happy moments I will forever cherish.  I have known troubles too, and have made mistakes.  Lessons in humility, and understanding of others, have replaced the once boldness of my youth.  Now I hope to pass along a message, to everyone that I connect with, that they too can become who they want to be - grow into themselves, and be free.  This is what I still live for - freedom.





Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

I would like to give a BIG THANK YOU to Daron Henson for nominating me for Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  Please find his blog post at http://newkidintown1995.blogspot.com/
 
Daron was the first person to read and send me a response to my first blog post.  He has been very supportive and he is an active member in the Aspiring Writer's Blogs group on LinkedIn, among other groups.  Daron also writes great short stories, breathing depth into characters, with feelings instead of names.  My favorite so far is  "Not A Tear To Shed" http://newkidintown1995.blogspot.com/2012/05/not-tear-to-shed.html
 

Here are the Rules of the Award Blog:

Display the award logo on your blog post. 
  1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
  2. State 7 things about yourself.
  3. Nominate 15 bloggers to the award.
  4. Notify those bloggers of the nomination by linking to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back.

Seven things about me:

  1. Favorite classical composer is Tchaikovsky.http://www.tchaikovsky-research.net/en/index.html
  2. Favorite world music composer is Yanni, went to two of his concerts.http://www.yanni.com/
  3. Favorite Finnish goth artist is H.I.M. .http://www.youtube.com/user/him
  4. I love all types of Mediterranean foods, and I make a great lental soup.  http://www.mediterranean-food.net/
  5. When I was younger I rode a motorcycle.
  6. My favorite coffee is hazelnut, no sugar.
  7. I love architecture.  http://archrecord.construction.com/
  8.  
     

Fifteen bloggers I nominated  and you should check out:

  1. Neil D. Ostroff  http://neilostroff.blogspot.com/2013/02/so-you-married-writer.html#comment-form
  2. Khanh Ha   http://authorkhanhha.blogspot.com/2013/01/oh-mr-perkins.html
  3. Beth Camp http://bethandwriting.blogspot.com/2013/02/row80-check-in-and-shades-of-gray.html
  4. Kathleen Kaska http://kathleenkaskawrites.blogspot.com/2013/01/mystery-trivia-tuesday-who-is-this-gal_29.html
  5. Jodie Renner http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com/2013/02/research-and-realism.html
  6. Sarah La Polia http://glasscasesblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-year-of-self-publishing.html
  7. L K Watts http://lkwattsconfessions.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-become-more-efficient-writer.html
  8. Leighton Gage  http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-triple-frontier.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FWoas+%28Murder+is+Everywhere%29
  9. Tara Tyler http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com/2013/02/winter-is-on-outs.html
  10. Samantha Stacia http://samantha-stacia.blogspot.com/2012/09/helping-ghosts.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBloomingLateJournal+%28The+Blooming+Late+Journal%29
  11. Christine Henderson http://thewritechris.blogspot.com/2013/02/longing-for-romancewriting-that-is.html
  12. John Austin  http://johnaustinblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/covers-for-books-and-magazines.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FGfBgDK+%28Writers+Welcome+Blog%21...A+John+Austin+blog%29
  13. Maureen  http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2013/02/wednesday-wonder-music-from-garbage.html
  14. Dana Sitar http://danasitar.com/2013/02/04/video-book-trailer/

 I truly enjoyed these posts listed above and hope to keep reading more of these fantastic people's wonderful insights and information.  They are all truly inspiring and helpful to the community of writers. 

Best Regards All  - Elisabeth

 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

CLASSIC READS - Some Things Never Change


Today more people can communicate their thoughts into words and those words can easily end up in books.  It is a liberating time, a cycle of change and freedom.  In many ways it is times like this, with so much change, that we need our classic reads.
 
 
The past few years have been dynamic for authors. There are more writers being published via eBooks and print on demand (POD).  Exposure of existing authors is heightened with the rampant growth of social media and marketing via author platforms. 

The classics help our society remember what we are gauging our future against. 

Classics are a reference to excellence that we can use as a measure of our own success today and in the future. 


The classics prevail over time and language, with truth exposed in the characters and story.  Some basic human truths make a story appeal over centuries.  No matter the date written, the human spirit is visible in a classic, and is readily identified. 

















There are obvious classics which we have probably all read from Homer’s Iliad to Stephen King’s The Stand.  Some classic writers that quickly come to mind are listed below, trying to find at least one author per letter.  There are many more: 



 
 
 
 Agatha Christie
H.P. Lovecraft
John Steinbeck
Sidney Sheldon
 Arthur Conan Doyle
Harper Lee
Jules Verne
Stephen King
 Bram Stoker
Henry David Thoreau
Kurt Vonnegut
Thomas Hardy
 C.S. Lewis
Herman Melville
Leo Tolstoy
Truman Capote
 Charles Dickens
Homer
Mark Twain
Udall, Brady
 Dan Brown
Ian McEwan
Mary Shelly
Ursula Markus
 Dante Alighieri
Isaac Asimov
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Uzma Sadaf
 Edgar Allan Poe
J.D. Salinger
Oscar Wilde
Victor Hugo
 Emily Bronte
J.K. Rowling
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Virginia Woolf
 Emily Dickinson
J.R.R. Tolkien
Philip Pullman
William Blake
 Ernest Hemingway
Jack London
Plato
William Faulkner
 F. Scott Fitzgerald
James Joyce
Quinn, Spencer
William Shakespeare
 Franz Kafka
Jane Austen
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Xavier, Francis
 George Eliot
John Grisham
Ray Bradbury
Yann Martel
 George Orwell
John Irving
Robert Louis Stevenson
 
 H. G. Wells
John Milton
Rudyard Kipling
 


I had difficulty finding a classic author for the letter Z.  I humbly hope someday my name may be used to fill in this gap, not presuming classic status on my part. 
Please in the coming year look for my book debut…  

BREAKING CURSED BONDS by Elisabeth Zguta

Happy reading and writing to us all! 
Best of luck in your 2013 endeavors.

 
Enjoy the clip from the 2009 Wuthering Heights - one of the best versions on screen.  The rest of the clips that follow can be found on YouTube - find listed in my channel.
 
 

View CR2013Banner.jpg in slide show

 

Visit the hoppers!

Participants in the Classic Reads blog hop (#NewClassicReads).