Month: August 2017

The Writer’s Discomfort Zone: How to Survive—and Thrive…
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The Writer’s Discomfort Zone: How to Survive—and Thrive…


Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

by Ruth Harris on the Anne R. Allen site:

“It’s a cut-throat industry,” said English author Sean Thomas (his real name) quoted recently in the Wall Street Journal.

The international bestselling author of The Ice Twins, S.K. Tremayne aka Tom Knox, (both pen names of Mr. Thomas), was not talking about violent drug cartels or even cable companies’ billing practices.

No, he was talking about the supposedly genteel world of publishing.

Anne’s recent post about Publishing Industry Cults, Weaponized Amazon Reviews, and Organized Cyberbullying laid out details about the toxic atmosphere in which we work.

David Gaughran’s recent post, Scammers Break The Kindle Store, is hair-raising . He details how fake books are clogging Amazon bestseller lists, taking valuable slots away from honest authors.

Continue reading at:

Living in the Discomfort Zone

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Hummingbirds~



I can’t believe I finally got a photo of a hummingbird’s forked tongue! I have never captured the fork at the end of the tongue because it typically springs open once a hummer inserts her tongue in a flower. But here it is, for us to see!

We have somewhere around 70 or more hummers at The Holler now, so we are getting lots of very bright color. Hummers flash their colors at will, sometimes as warnings when sparring. This guy was caught at dusk, flashing away to keep intruders at bay.


Once a year, at peak swarm, I feed the hummers by hand. I only do it once, for about an hour because I don’t want the hummers to become tame, thinking all humans can be trusted, because unfortunately, as we all know, some humans should not be trusted.
By the way, the white dust you see on this…

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Nine Lives and a poem – Guest Post by, Felicity Sidnell Reid…
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Nine Lives and a poem – Guest Post by, Felicity Sidnell Reid…


Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

My cat, Lucy, probably on life number 7

Cats have nine lives so it’s said. Lying awake last night, reflecting on my own life, I came to the conclusion that it is humans who may live several lives and on leaving one, they shut the door on it as they turn to another.

If you Google the question of cats’ nine lives, you’ll see many people have commented on it. Most quote the old proverb which goes further than the statement with which I began. It runs, “A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays and for three he stays.” Interpretations of this are various; most regard it as a comment on the hardiness of cats and their ability to survive against the odds but also that old age makes cats more loving. Some point out the saying was well-known in Shakespeare’s time and that…

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Diana Cosby drops by Booktalk with Eileen for a chat


BOOKTALK WITH EILEEN

Diana CosbyDiana Cosby joins us today.  I’ve known this writer coming on four years.  My first blog post about Diana’s work was November 5, 2014. She’s been on Booktalk with Eileen many times.  I’m intrigued with how Diana got started writing.  I admire her charity work. I’m dazzled by her wild life photography.

I love all her series: The MacGruders, The Oath Trilogy, The Forbidden Legacy. Her stories are unique and carry the reader to times long past.  She’s very popular with me! Welcome Diana.  It’s great having you back.

Eileen, thank you so much for inviting me back on Booktalk with Eileen, and my sincere thanks for your kind words about my writing, charity work, and wildlife photography.

After a career in the Navy, as a life-long romance reader, I followed my dream to try and write a novel, and I discovered that I loved crafting…

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7 Steps to a User-Friendly Blog


Important advice!

Myths of the Mirror

This isn’t a new topic, but it seems worth a mention every now and then within the WordPress blog community. I love connecting with other bloggers and occasionally a website makes that hard if not impossible to do. Here are a few tips. 🙂

Definitely take a look at these if:

  • You are leaving likes and comments on other blogs and not getting return visits.
  • Everyone likes your old posts and seems to ignore your recent posts.
  • You’ve changed your blog address at any time (WP may still be directing your readers to the old deleted site!)

1. Make sure your links to your site are working. Unfortunately, this isn’t handled in just one place:

  • In your blog profile: Go to WP Admin – Users – My Profile. At the bottom of the page, make sure your website address is correct.
  • In your gravatar: Go to WP Admin – Users…

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