A Christmas Thought For All!

There is a list of folk I know
All written in a book,
And every year at Christmas time,
I go and take a look.
And that is when I realise
That these names are a part
Not of the book they're written in,
But of my very heart.

For each name stands for someone,
Who has touched my life sometime
And in that meeting the've become
The "Rhythm and the Rhyme".
I really feel I am composed
Of each remembered name,
And while you may not be aware
Of feeling quite the same.

For once that you have known someone
The years cannot erase
The memory of a pleasant word
Or of a friendly face.
So never think of Christmas cards
Are just a mere routine
Of names upon a list, forgotten inbetween
For when I send a Christmas card
That is addressed to you,
It is because you're on that list
Of folks I'm indebted to

And whether I've known you
For many years or few,
In some way you have had a part

In shaping things I do.
So every year when Christmas comes
I just realize anew
The biggest gift that God can give
is knowing folks like you!


Author: Unknown!

INDIE AUTHORS BE CAREFUL!

My Publisher "Smashwords" has just sent an email to alert their published authors to implications of publishing with Amazon on the KDP platform.

Follow the Link below to read the Smashword Blog which was released yesterday on their site!

Smashwords

Amazon Shows Predatory Spots with KDP Select

1 day ago

A Special Thanks to Saba who organised the New Author Blog Hop!

The Blog Hop is now finished and I would like to thank everyone who visited my Blog and participated in the Hop.  I did try to visit all the Blogs of the authors who participated and leave a comment, but some could only be contacted by facebook or twitter and as I am not a participant of those types of media I was unable to do so, I make this apology to those participants.

As this was my first Blog Hop, I was very impressed by the number of people who took the time to actually visit the many Blog sites, become members and leave comments, purchase copies of books / or download the various versions!

I would certainly recommend that new authors join this type of internet connection and be generous with what they offer to other participants. It is an excellent way to make connections and get your work out there in the big wide world, using the world wide web!

BLOG HOP

NEW AUTHOR BLOG HOP
http://worddiaries.blogspot.com/

23rd to 30th November

Hi and welcome to my blog!  This week I am participating in a New Author Blog Hop!

I am happy to give away free copies of my first novel published as an eBook for participants in the Blog Hop.

If you enjoy a love story involving vampires and other dimensions, then you will most likely enjoy my book! Simply follow the link below to: "He Came For Me!" Book One, in The Protector Series, I have a link below where for the week the Blog Hop runs you can purchase my book free using the coupon number below!
For now heres the blurb:
 Jazz, lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, in Queensland, Australia. She leads a normal teenage life busy with friends, TAFE College, a part time job as a waitress, surfing and searching for a boyfriend!
Until one day driving on her way to TAFE she is passed by a red Mazda Rx7. The driver holds her attention and as they both wait at a set of traffic lights to change to green, a sexual tension passes between them.
In the days that follow she finds that this guy moves into her life as she befriends him, his friends and family! But are Seb and his friends what they seem to be?
Attacks by groups of boys targeting girls Jazz's age are becoming noticed by the media. Eyewitnesses to the attacks state that these youths seem to possess abilities no normal human would be capable of. Is it drugs or is it something else?
Jazz finds that Seb, seems to be stalking her. What is his purpose? Is he really a friend or is he actually a foe?

   He Came For Me! Book One in

         'The Protector Series'

        http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82996#longdescr






To receive a free copy of "He Came For Me" follow the link to the website above and enter the code below before November 30

                               Promotional price: $0.00
                         Coupon Code: KG58R
                         Expires: November 30, 2011

JOIN THE BLOG HOP - SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

http://worddiaries.blogspot.com/

I would like to thank Kimberly Krey for leading me to this website and inviting me to participate in the Blog Hop.  I believe this will be a wonderful opportunity for new authors out there, like myself, to advertise their work (eBook or traditional)!

So if you are a new author who would like the opportunity to participate in this Blog Hop and build your contact network sign up now!!!  Just follow the link, and join in and be ready to post an article about your book with links, during the week of November 23 to 30.

Carolyn

The Gratifying Feeling of Holding my First Book in Paperback

I was very pleased with the print version from Lulu, which arrived this week.  Just need to fix a few things before I resubmit to create the permanent version.  Once this is completed I will add the link on my Smashwords account for people to purchase a paperback version of my book.

The cover was beautiful and the colour was deep and impressive.  The image fitted perfectly on the cover.  The only issue I have found is that my first Chapter heading was placed a little lower on the page than all the other Chapter headings.

Over the last couple of weeks in between working on my next book, I have come across "The Immortals after Dark Series" by Kresley Cole and have immersed myself in her sensual, fascinating world of Vampires, Werewolves, Valkyrie and other creatures. Her first book in the series "A Hunger Like No Other", is also available as an eBook.  I am having trouble putting these books down, they are so entertaining.

But I need to get back into my writing, look out for the link in Smashwords to follow to the Paperback Version of 'He Came For Me".

Carolyn

Publishing 'He Came For Me' as a Paperback

Over the last few weeks I have been busy organizing my book for publishing in a paperback form.

I eventually decided to publish with Lulu.com.  It was simple!

Lulu offers free publishing in a variety of formats - Paperback, Spiral Bound, Hard Cover with or without dust jacket or eBook.  They also offer packages for purchase if you wish to use their editors, distributors or marketing personnel. I am not ready to invest money to distribute or market my book so I chose the free publishing choice.

Lulu distributes your published work to Amazon.com for free!

The first step in the process is deciding what format you wish to publish your work. I decided upon a US trade size 6x9 Paperback, perfect bound but there are a variety of other choices. Lulu publishes your book in the format you decide upon without making any claims to ownership and publishing rights, except for that particular version of print you decide upon. You are still able to publish in a different format of print in the future as you hold ownership of your work.

Lulu uses a PDF file for publishing, but you can upload your book as a doc. or dox. file.  The important part to the process here is to include a Title Page at the front followed by a Copyright Page. At the back of the book it is also necessary to include one blank page. Lulu formats the file into a PDF document and you are able to download and review the file before continuing the Step by Step process.

The next step in the process is selecting whether you wish to use a Lulu ISBN number. Lulu issues a free ISBN number for your publication if you  desire this. Each publication of your book in a different format needs a different ISBN number, so Lulu's offer of a free ISBN is practical. This also makes your book available for distribution and sale through Lulu and their distributors.

Your next decision is your book cover.  Lulu.com has a 'Cover Wizard' which you can use to create your cover design or you can upload your own full cover design using the exact measurements required for the size of your publication. 

As I have a wonderful illustrator who designed my cover, I chose to use the full cover upload.  This process was the only difficult part of the publication process as you need to be logged into Lulu.com and have uploaded your manuscript to be given the measurements required for your cover.  So it was necessary to communicate with my illustrator what was required.  The measurements are linked to the number of pages in your book.   

For the 6x9 US Trade size I chose with 161 printed pages the measurements were 3184 pixels x 2775 pixels. It is important to save the cover file as a JPEG with a resolution of 300 dpi.  Once we overcame this hurdle the cover uploaded easily.

Continue the Step by Step process selecting the price you wish to sell your book for and whether to include a discount at Lulu.com.

I was lucky and was able to purchase one copy to proof read and approve for free as Lulu were having a special offer for the month of September.  I am now waiting for my very first copy of my book in Paperback to arrive in the post.