Writing Workshops

On Friday night I had a treat – a treat, that is, if you’re struggling to finish your novel, as I am. I got the chance to talk to a published author about her writing process: research, character building, story arcs and more. The author was Dorice Nelson and the chat was hosted by Inspired Author. Inspired Author is holding a summer workshop series at 7pm EST every Friday night in August. There’ll be more chances to talk to successful writers in many genres, so visit the chatroom if you’re free.

Laptop Love From A Backup Queen

I’m in love. Not with a person, but with a beautiful inanimate object. As a writer, it’s important to have the right tools to do the job and so far I’d say my dual-core laptop is living up to the hype. It is fast – not blistering, but I can do several things at once without it chugging. As a 20-tabs-at-once Firefox user, that’s good news. The wireless manager is so quick that it’s usually got me connected long before bootup.

I’ve learned my lesson, too. I now back up every time I leave the computer to a USB key (thanks, Mitch) and once a day to my server (thanks, Haven). I’ve also opened an Omnidrive account, but haven’t managed to do anything with it except create two folders. The desktop client doesn’t work and the online one won’t allow me to upload more than one file at a time, or if it does, I haven’t found out how to do it. But I won’t lose that much work again. Of course, my old laptop came back (turned out the mainboard and one RAM unit had died) and I got the work back, but it was too late to salvage my Lifetips work. Oh well, at least I got back some of the ideas I’d written down.

This post is sponsored by a web release from RodeoDrivePlasticSurgery.com, a new centre on the world famous LA street. Run by Los Angeles plastic surgeon Lloyd Krieger, the modern plastic surgery centre specialises in cosmetic surgery for men. It also offers liposuction, face lifts and breast augmentation in a luxurious setting.

My New Laptop Is Here!

I’m back in business. As a writer, it has been hard to work on a 12 inch screen and be limited to Wordpad. Say what you will about Microsoft, but there are times when only Word will do – and I’ve managed without it for about a week.

I’m very impressed with my new Dell Latitude so far. I was able to use it straight away. It’s fast (dual core processor, wheee!) and it looks good too. It didn’t take long to reinstall my favourite programs – Firefox and Thunderbird, Google Talk, Smart FTP, AVG Free, TopStyle Pro and my MS Office faves: Word, Excel, Powerpoint.

What I’d really like to do now is play, but work beckons, alas. I’ve got a 3,000 word proposal to do today, as well as some other writing. See ya!

Do you know the name of the first city in the US to use electric streetlights? I didn’t, but thanks to a web release from Chicago Realtor searchillinoishomes.com, I do now. The city is Aurora, 45 minutes southwest of Chicago. It’s also known as the City Of Lights, for that reason. Aurora has grown a bit since it was founded in 1834 and now has more than 157,000 people. There’s real estate of all types in many price brackets. Why not check it out.

Here’s another fact to liven up those trivia quizzes. Which famous pop star likes flowers but no leaves? The answer is in a web release from BeyondBlossoms.com. It’s Elton John, according to an article on an Irish website. Flowers take a �10,000 bit out of Elton’s monthly spending (according to the web release) but there’s not a trace of greenery to be seen. I guess he can afford to be fussy.

SEO Tricks

That’s the title of my new book with TodayBooks. It’s a combination of some blog posts I did on SEO and a presentation on the same subject. It’s taken a few weeks, because they’re slow responding to email, but it’s out and it’s got an ISBN number. I’m very proud of this one, because it’s all stuff I’ve learned and applied recently. Now I just need to think of some good ways to promote it. Maybe there’s another book in that!

Great Site for Fireplace Mantels
If you are looking for a fireplace mantel, www.ageewoodworks.com is a great site. Not only are their mantels reasonably priced, all of them are handcrafted and their customer service is incredible. You choose which type of wood and design you want and they will build and ship your fireplace mantel to you.

Zoomr Test

I’m testing the Zoomr Photo service. Here’s my trial photo.

Bad Week

This is turning out to be a bad week. My laptop has died and I have three children’s parties to attend this weekend. Three different sets of screaming 3 and 4 year olds, three sets of party food, three party bags with unsuitable toys. Worst of all, two of them are back to back, so there’s no recovery time for me or my toddler. But I have an evil plan. Maybe I’ll talk her dad into handling one of the parties while I figure out how to recover from the ruin of my week’s work.

Is it better to give than to receive? You can get a lot of joy from the simple act of giving. A gift says �thank you� or �I was thinking about you� and sometimes that�s all people need to know that they matter to you. Gift Baskets are one way of showing people how much they mean to you. A web release from Gourmet Gift Baskets describes the range of occasions they create baskets for. The next time you want to send a get well, sympathy or wedding card, why not send one of their Italian gift baskets too.

Rhinoplastyrevisions.com has issued a web release about the work of Dr Andrew Frankel at the Lasky Clinic in Los Angeles. The clinic was established in 1980. This Beverly Hills Rhinoplasty clinic has three operating rooms. The clinic specializes in correcting bad rhinoplasty. If you have had a nose job but want better results this clinic could be the place for you.

What’s With All The Ads?

Regular readers will have noticed that some of my posts now have sponsored links. Why? Because I’m a freelance writer and this is one of the ways I earn money. I’ve written about it in How I Get Paid To Blog.

Some people think this is wrong, that it’s betraying the cause of blogging. My view is that as long as it’s clear which bits are the ads, it doesn’t matter. After all, you don’t stop watching television programs just because there are ads, do you?

Where do you stand on this issue?

Did you know that Orlando is the number one tourist destination in the world, with well over 40 million visitors a year? The information comes in a web release from Moremouse.com. The tourism industry is a big employer and many people are moving to the area to take advantage of the opportunities Orlando offers. And an Orlando vacation home may be worth a look. Great views, great weather, great beaches, great theme parks and rolling green countryside.

A web release from DrPistone.com guarantees to restore natural hair colour and hairline with a hair transplant. He’s so confident that this will work that he’ll do it again at no extra charge if you’re not happy. Dr Pistone is a hair restoration specialist. Visit Hair Loss Maryland or one of his other specialist clinics to try it out.