Reading as a Job

What is your dream job? For me it would be a job that allowed me to read what I want and give my opinion of the book without being attacked for the audacity of having an opinion. I think we all know that job probably won’t jump out, wave its arms at me and scream  “Pick me. Pick me.” The closest I’ve come to that is having a book review blog.

I buy/borrow/am given interesting books, which I devour and regurgitate an opinion of. I temper my negative feelings before blurting them out (most of the time), but I’ve noticed lately that I’m not a very thick-skinned person. When people react negatively to my thoughts I begin to second guess myself and my desire to share. It’s an extremely personal reaction that I’m working on improving and it will take time.

While I work on me, I’d like to know how you feel about negative comments on your blog. Do they feel like personal attacks? How do you handle the comments which tell you how stupid you are? But most importantly….how to get my dream job?

Advertisement

If I wrote a

paranormal romance. I think I would use blend Christianity with my imagination to create the following mythology. (The picture is by selfmade1 and is for sale at Deviantart.com)

It is written that God created man and woman, and placed them in a beautiful garden.  This first couple was perfect in all ways.  They were also innocent, sin did not exist.  They wanted for nothing, until the day an angel took the body of a serpent in order to tempt the first couple to break the only commandment that God had given them.

He had told them not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and bad but at the serpents urging Eve did so anyway. Adam, unable to bear life without his woman followed his wife’s example and ate from the tree too.  Instantly God knew what was done and cast the couple from the only home they had ever known, exposing them to a brutal world.

Satan, the serpent, and his fellow fallen angels were cast out of heaven to the desolate world below: the same hard world where man was cast.  The fallen angels were transformed into carnivorous men who were dependent on blood to live: the original vampire.  God knew that without protection his greatest creations would become extinct. With that thought in mind he created creatures with the ability to transform into animal form but he also tempered the creatures with mans better qualities, compassion and love.

The were-creatures could be any of the animal predators, but more than that they could co-exist with the humans while protecting them.

Because God is loving he created a means of redemption for the fallen angels.  These vampires could become mortal or human if they found their true life partner and made amends for their traitorous actions.  The bond between Fallen and mortal would make the need for blood disappear.

In the meanwhile, were-creatures live amongst the humans, co-habitating with them and protecting them from the soulless vampires that walk the earth.  Sadly humans feared that which was different and killed any were-creature they found. Those left untouched, became fearful, pessimistic and indifferent to humanity. They did as they were commanded, but learned to hide their differences from those who would hunt them.

Working

I start working part-time today at our local newspaper. I’m pretty excited. It doesn’t pay much, but it is another style of writing for me to master and the people I met were laid back and willing to teach me. It’s not unheard of for women at new jobs to gift the newbie with the cold shoulder and I’m glad this job doesn’t seem like that. I’m still trying to do work from home; it’s just that now I’ll have some income entering my home. I’m loving the review work at Romance Designs. It’s amazing how doing something that you enjoy positively impacts your life. I feel like I’ve been infused with positive energy.

Chapter Book Submissions

Chapter Book Submissions Call

Freya’s Bower is starting a new line of chapter books. These are a series of three, or more, installments of an ongoing story. Each “chapter” must be 5000-6000 words in length. They will be released monthly. The story can be any heat rating, any genre, and can even incorporate any of our series (Goddess Freya, Valkyrie, T.R.O.U.B.L.E., Angels and Demons) Due to the length, they will not be given ISBN’s and will have one cover for all installments with the exception of a minor change to distinguish each installment from the others. (i.e. Title one: The Southern Sting: Chapter One, title two: The Southern Sting: Chapter Two, and so on.)

To submit, include the first chapter in the body of the email text with “CHAPTER BOOKS” in the subject line. Also include a one-paragraph synopsis of the following installments planned for the story. Send your submissions to: submitATfreyasbowerDOTcom .

If you have questions email Faith at editorfaithATsbcglobalDOTnet or Marci at mbaunATfreyasbowerDOTcom.

Please read our guidelines for formatting and any questions you might have before submitting.

Advertising

When you are self-promoting your books, where do you advertise? I was asked my opinion and had no answer to give. This lady has blogged about her book and been blogged about by others. Now she has a little cash and would like to know where the best (reasonably priced) places are to advertise. Leave a note and I’ll forward them to her. Thanks!

Paid Posts

Last year I asked how people felt about paid reviews. Everybody seemed okay with the idea so I attempted to join ReviewMe.com. I was denied. Last night I got an e-mail saying I was accepted. The idea is that you pick what you want to review, accept an offer, and post a review. I’ve decided that I’m going to do it, sparingly, starting today. My next post will be a paid review. All posts that are paid reviews will be marked at the top of the post so that you know up front what I’m being paid to review. All reviews will still be my opinion, good or bad.

I have an idea!

Damn, I’m pretty smart. Well, I feel like I am right about now. This is better than my choose your own romance book idea. Remember those murder mystery dinners? (You have dinner while solving a muder case.) What about dinner and a romance novel? There are two ways off the top of my head that these can be hosted.

What a start (filled with whining)

I just got a speeding ticket. What a crappy start to a new day. I was turning on to my street after taking the oldest to school, when the stupid blue and red lights turned on behind me. The kid comes to the car and tells me that I was doing 48 in a 30. Now, I had seen him and of course my eyes dropped to the odometer. It said 40 so I slowed to 35, thinking that was the speed limit. I didn’t argue with the guy, I took my ticket and went home. I called the court to find out how much it’d be and they say they can’t tell me for another week, but after I ask for a price range they say $109-136.

It took two cops to pull me over. That is one thing I hate about living here. There is so little for the cops to do that one cop is never enough. When I drive through town, I get passed in the school zones every day. Do you think there is ever a cop near? I’m just a little bit irritated. I’m trying to rationalize it. You were speeding, regardless of how much. But damn that cop. There are certain times of the year when they set out to trap you and today is one of those days. Now, I’m freaking about how I’m going to pay for it. I really don’t want to go back into a factory and it makes me want to cry.

After all the years in college to get out of the factory, I’m finding myself being sucked back in. Starting a business was a major goal is a major goal. To achieve it I need money. The only jobs around here are in factories. It is a sickening circle that sucks the soul out of a person, namely me. I’ve now got the added expense of a ticket and possibly higher insurance to pay for and it’s looking more and more like I’ll have to return to the factory scene. Well, enough whining for today. I’m going to go cry and feel sorry for myself for a little bit before trying to start the day again.

Give a Helping Hand

I don’t know how many of you have heard of Kiva. I was channel surfing last night and stumbled across a show on PBS about giving back to the community. I only caught two not for profit agencies that are making a difference. I want to share about the first one today, Kiva.

Kiva gives loans to people in third world countries. The loans aren’t from the bank; they are from regular people like you and me. For as little as $25, you can help a person begin a business or expand a business. The people normally would need to borrow at a high interest rate making it impossible for them to succeed. Here’s a condensed version of how it works. A person applies for a loan. They are investigated to ensure that they have a need and are asked about collateral. After passing inspection, they are entered into a database along with their story and plans for the money. People read through the applications and select who they want to give money to and when the requested amount of money is acquired the loan officers take the money to the applicant.

Right now the loans are repaid at 100%. Most of the loan amounts requested are modest. Some of the people requesting $100-$250. The documentary showcased a man requesting a large amount to expand his furniture making business; he requested $1150. This all takes place from the comfort of your home. It’s online. You read applications, select one, donate a certain amount of dollars, read updates/journals, get repaid and decide whether to withdraw the money or reinvest in a different business.

Another thing that makes this so cool, is that Paypal allows Kiva to use its payment processing for free. Giving a helping hand has never been easier.

A Budding Storyteller

My four year old came into my room the other day and wanted me to type her story. What I thought would be a ten second dictation, seemed to never end. Eventually it did, when her uncle arrived and she wanted him to read it. For today’s post, I’m sharing my talented child’s giant run-on story. Enjoy!

Once upon a time there was a bunny rabbit and there was a friend named Piggot and he wanted to play with her so he writed on her shirt and then she was mad and then she said she would make him a special shirt but after she was done she saw another fiend and her name was a little girl she said she would take her to her house. She said close your eyes and she would make her a present and then a flying star came down from the sky and then after the flying star came down from the sky and then she saw another friend it was a mom and then after the mom there was another friend who was a kid. The little kid was a baby and it was another friend and after the baby it was another friend. After she saw another friend she was in the house and she asked her mom if she could play over there where her house was and she said yes you can and then there was another friend who wanted to come over and play. She asked her mom if she could sleep over and she said “yes” and then there was another friend and her mom said if she can sleep over there you can be nice to her and share your baby and then there was a different friend and it was a little girl she saw her name was Alesia.