About Writing

In this free email course, I'll tell you everything I know about improving your writing, publishing it electronically and in print, and promoting it after the sale.

Two questions you should ask:

(1) What will it cost me?

(2) What does this Michael LaRocca guy know about it?

Answer #1 -- It won't cost you a thing. The single most important bit of advice I can give you, and I say it often, is don't pay for publication.

My successes have come from investing time. Some of it was well spent, but most of it was wasted. It costs me nothing to share what I've learned. It costs you nothing to read it except some of your time.

Answer #2 -- "Michael LaRocca has been researching the publishing field for over ten years."

This quote, from an ezine (electronic newsletter) called Authors Wordsmith, was a kind way of saying I've received a lot of rejections. Also, my "research" required 20 years.

But in my "breakout" year (2000), I finished writing four books and scheduled them all for publication in 2001. Then I spent almost a year as an editor and Author Development Specialist for one of my publishers.

After my first book was published, both my publishers closed. Two weeks and three publishers later, I was back on track. All four books were republished, and a fifth will be released in 2004. Written in 2003, no rejections.

See how much faster it was the second time around? That's because I learned a lot.

2004 EPPIE Award finalist. 2002 EPPIE Award finalist. Listed by Writers Digest as one of The Best 101 Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. Sime-Gen Readers Choice Awards for Favorite Author (Nonfiction & Writing) and Favorite Book (Nonfiction & Writing). 1982 Who's Who In American Writing.

Excuse me for bragging, but it beats having you think I'm unqualified.

Also, I found more editing jobs. That's what I do when I'm not writing, doing legal transcription, or teaching English in China (my new home). But the thing is, if I'd become an editor before learning how to write, I'd have stunk.

I'll tell you what's missing from this course. What to write about, where I get my ideas from, stuff like that. Maybe I don't answer this question because I think you should do it your way, not mine. Or maybe because I don't know how I do it. Or maybe both.

Once you've done your writing bit, this course will help you with all the other stuff involved in being a writer. Writing involves wearing at least four different hats. Writer, editor, publication seeker, post-sale self-promoter.

Here's what I can tell you about my writing.

Sometimes a story idea just comes to me out of nowhere and refuses to leave me alone until I write it. So, I do.

And, whenever I read a book that really fires me up, I find myself thinking, "I wish I could write like that." So, I just keep trying. I'll never write the best, but I'll always write my best. And get better every time. That's the "secret" of the writing "business," same as any other business. Always deliver the goods.

I read voraciously, a habit I recommend to any author who doesn't already have it. You'll subconsciously pick up on what does and doesn't work. Characterization, dialogue, pacing, plot, story, setting, description, etc. But more importantly, someone who doesn't enjoy reading will never write something that someone else will enjoy reading.

I don't write "for the market." I know I can't, so I just write for me and then try to find readers who like what I like. I'm not trying to whip up the next bestseller and get rich. Not that I'd complain. Nope, I have to write what's in my heart, then go find a market later. It makes marketing a challenge at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

When you write, be a dreamer. Go nuts. Know that you're writing pure gold. That fire is why we write.

An author who I truly admire, Kurt Vonnegut, sweats out each individual sentence. He writes it, rewrites it, and doesn't leave it alone until it's perfect. Then when he's done, he's done.

I doubt most of write like that. I don't. I let it fly as fast as my fingers can move across the paper or keyboard, rushing to capture my ideas before they get away. Later, I change and shuffle and slice.

James Michener claims that he writes the last sentence first, then has his goal before him as he writes his way to it.

Then there's me. No outline whatsoever. I create characters and conflict, spending days and weeks on that task, until the first chapter really leaves me wondering "How will this end?" Then my characters take over, and I'm as surprised as the reader when I finish my story.

Some authors set aside a certain number of hours every day for writing, or a certain number of words. In short, a writing schedule.

Then there's me. No writing for three or six months, then a flurry of activity where I forget to eat, sleep, bathe, change the cat's litter... I'm a walking stereotype. To assuage the guilt, I tell myself that my unconscious is hard at work. As Hemingway would say, long periods of thinking and short periods of writing.

I've shown you the extremes in writing styles. I think most authors fall in the middle somewhere. But my point is, find out what works for you. You can read about how other writers do it, and if that works for you, great. But in the end, find your own way. That's what writers do.

Just don't do it halfway.

If you're doing what I do, writing a story that entertains and moves you, then you will find readers who share your tastes. For some of us that means a niche market and for others it means regular appearances on the bestseller list.

Writing is a calling, but publishing is a business. Remember that AFTER you've written your manuscript. Not during.

I've told you how I write. For me.

The next step is self-editing. Fixing all the mistakes I made, that I can identify, in my rush to write it before my Muse took a holiday. Several rewrites. Running through it repeatedly with a fine-toothed comb.

Then what?

There are stories that get rejected because the potential publisher hates them, but far more are shot down for other reasons. Stilted dialogue. Boring descriptions. Weak characters. Underdeveloped story. Unbelievable or inconsistent plot. Sloppy writing.

That's what you have to fix.

After my fifteen-year hiatus from writing, I started by using Free Online Creative Writing Workshops. What I needed most was input from strangers. After all, once you're published, your readers will be strangers. Every publisher you submit to will be a stranger. What will they think? I was far too close to my writing to answer that.

Whenever I got some advice, I considered it. Some I just threw out as wrong, or because I couldn't make the changes without abandoning part of what made the story special to me. Some I embraced. But the point is, I decided. It was my writing.

After a time, I didn't feel the need for the workshops anymore. I'm fortunate enough to have a wife whose advice I will always treasure, and after a while that was all I needed. But early on, it would've been unfair to ask her to read my drivel. (Not that I didn't anyway.)

I don't know how far along you are in your writing, but if you've never used a workshop, I keep a list of them at http://freereads.topcities.com/creativewritingonline.html.

Your goal when you self-edit is to get your book as close to "ready to read" as you possibly can. You want your editor to find what you overlooked, not what you didn't know about.

To that end, I offer two resources.

http://freereads.topcities.com/usefullinksforauthors.html contains links to online quotations, grammar and style guides, dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses, scam warnings, writer groups, copyright stuff, etc.

http://freereads.topcities.com/commonwritingmistakes.html contains a list of the most common mistakes I've seen in my years as an editor. I still reread it from time to time just so I don't forget.

Your story is your story. You write it from your heart, and when it looks like something you'd enjoy reading, you set out to find a publisher who shares your tastes. What you don't want is for that first reader to lose sight of what makes your story special because you've bogged it down with silly mistakes.

Authors don't pay to be published. They are paid for publication. Always. It's just that simple. And later, I'll tell you where to get some free editing.

But there's a limit to how much editing you can get without paying for it. Do you need more than that? I don't know because I've never seen your writing. But if you evaluate it honestly, I Think you'll know the answer.

As an editor, I've worked with some authors who simply couldn't self-edit. A non-native English speaker, a guy who slept through English class, whatever. To them, maybe paying for editing was an option. This isn't paying for publication. This is paying for a service, training. Just like paying to take a Creative Writing class at the local community college.

By the way, I don't believe creativity can be taught. Writing, certainly. I took my Creative Writing class in high school, free, and treasure it. But I already had the creativity, or else it would've been a waste of the teacher's time and mine.

If you hire an editor worthy of the name, you should learn from that editor how to self-edit in the future. In my case it took two tries, because the first editor was a rip-off artist charging over ten times market value for incomplete advice.

That editor, incidentally, is named Edit Ink, and they're listed on many of the "scam warning" sites mentioned at Useful Links For Authors. They took kickbacks from every fake agent who sent them a client. (I'll talk about fake agents later.)

If you choose to hire an editor, check price and reputation. And consider that you might never make enough selling your books to get back what you pay that editor. Do you care? That's your decision.

The first, most important step on the road to publication is to make your writing the best it can be.

** PUBLICATION **

My goal is to be published in both mediums, ebook and print. There are some readers who prefer ebooks, and some who prefer print books. The latter group is much larger, but those publishers are harder to sell your writing to. I want both, because I want all the readers I can get.

Thus, I advocate something of a stepping-stone approach. Publish electronically with a quality place, enjoy the benefits of free editing and almost instant gratification regarding publishing time.

Later, if you think you can sell your book to a traditional print publisher, you have a professionally edited manuscript to submit.

Before you epublish, check the contract to be sure you can publish the edited work in print later.

If you know your book just plain won't ever make it into traditional print, print-on-demand (POD) is an option. Some of my books fall into this category. The best epublishers will simultaneously publish your work electronically and in POD format, at no cost to you.

A lot of authors swear by self-publication, but the prospect just plain scares me. All that promo, all that self-editing, maybe driving around the countryside with a back seat full of books. I'm a writer, not a salesman. But, maybe you're different.

I self-published once, in the pre-POD days. Mom handled the sales. I had fun and broke even. With POD, at least it's cheaper to self-publish than it was in 1989.

If you're flying solo, POD can range anywhere from US$99 to over $1000. Don't pay the higher price! Price shop. Also, remember that POD places publish any author who pays, and do no marketing.

Print Publishing vs Electronic Publishing

http://freereads.topcities.com/printpublishing_electronicpublishing.html

This site provides a comparison of the two mediums. Each has plusses and minuses. Even if you already know what epublishing is, take a look.

Electronic Publishers

http://freereads.topcities.com/onlinefictionbooks.html

A list of the ones I believe are reputable and my criteria for selecting them. Plus, a link to award-winning author Piers Anthony's totally excellent in-depth analysis of many more epublishers than I'll ever list.

How To Break Into Print Publishing

http://freereads.topcities.com/printpublishing.html

If you're at the beginning of my stepping-stone approach, seeking an epublisher, you'll probably just want to bookmark this one for a year or two. That's fine, because it's not going anywhere. I plan to use it myself in a year or two. If, on the other hand, you're ready for traditional print, use it now and I wish you success!

Print-On-Demand Publishing

http://freereads.topcities.com/printondemand.html

What is it? Should you use it? If so, how? What to beware of if you do.

** PROMOTING YOUR PUBLISHED WRITING **

It doesn't matter how you publish your book. Self-published, epublished, POD, or traditional print publishing from an absolute powerhouse. Marketing falls largely on you, and the same things always work. Book signings, interviews in the local newspapers and on radio.

Start with http://www.kidon.com/media-link/index.shtml. It will allow you to look up all the local media outlets in your area that have websites.

If you write to them all, you're a spammer. Plus, it'll take ages. Look for the ones with a legitimate interest and fire away.

If you find a stale URL, and I think you will, look for the name of that media outlet at some place like Google. Spend some time looking for the right press contacts, spend some time writing your press release, and do what you can.

Most of these sites list email, snail mail, and phone calls. Since I live in China, I've only used email.

Book reviews, author interviews, book listing sites, and book contests are something we can all do, regardless of where we live. Again, I'm going to give you some web pages to visit. Pages where I keep my resources, so I don't lose them. Some of the sites I mention do ebooks, and some do not. The POD option can help e-authors here, but balance cost vs. likelihood of gaining enough readers to offset that.

Some are ezines and some are websites. Some are printed newsletters, some are printed magazines, and some are newspapers. This is just a starting point. If you visit them all, and you have time for more promotion, you can find many more.

Book Reviewers, Author Interviews, Book Listing Sites http://freereads.topcities.com/bookreview.html

Book Contests http://freereads.topcities.com/bookcontests.html

Okay, let's get back to my overseas angle. Aside from two radio interviews and a seminar in Hong Kong, and some emailed press releases to the LOCAL media back in the US which may or may not have succeeded in anything, my marketing has come from the Internet.

I have a website. I have a newsletter. I'm giving away a free ebook, the essence of which you're reading now. You found me somehow, right?

Here's the type of message I receive often in email. To be more precise, in spam.

If a million people see your ad, and you get 1% of them, that's 10,000 readers and therefore $15,000 profit and you only paid $1000 for those million addresses.

NO!! It doesn't work that way. Need I use the words dot-com bust?

My website is free. My newsletter is free. I don't buy mailing lists, I don't harvest email addresses, and I don't spam. I want interested traffic, not just sheer numbers.

Do you think the Phoenicians tried to sell sails to people a thousand miles from the water?

Internet marketing isn't a replacement for the methods mentioned above, but a complement to them. And by using it, I got you here.

Your goal in marketing is this. There are certainly people in the world who like what you like. And since you like your book, they probably will too.

But you have to find those readers and make them interested, without spamming them and without just "playing the numbers game."

If you're an e-author, let me state the obvious. Nobody buys ebooks who doesn't have Internet access. Do they? So you definitely need a website.

Traditional print authors need websites too. Even blockbuster authors like J.R. Rowling and Stephen King, who I doubt could garner any more name recognition, have websites. So does every long-established inescapable monstro-business like McDonalds and Coke.

Okay, those folks pay web designers. I'm not doing that. I can't generate those kinds of sales figures. And yes, I've formerly been employed as an HTML programmer. But you can write your own website without even learning HTML if you want. It's no harder than writing a manuscript with a word processor.

It won't be super-flashy like the big boys, but it'll communicate the information. Remember, you can communicate. You're an author! And that's what keeps people coming back to a website after the thrill of the flash wears off. Information. Content. Your specialty.

I consider my website and my newsletter to be successful, and I've created a free email course to analyze how they got that way. Yes, there are legitimate ways to bring traffic to your website and your newsletter. Not massive numbers overnight, but slow steady growth over the long term.

** CLOSING THOUGHTS **

We've been talking about soft sell.

Now, at the end of my free workshop, I'll tell you about 2 URLs that I think will help you and one that won't. You can decide if any are worth a visit.

After that, I'll get back to the lesson.

Books OnLine Directory

http://freereads.topcities.com/

You've been to parts of it already and seen that it delivers something you're looking for. (I hope.) Don't forget to go back from time to time.

Mad About Books

http://freereads.topcities.com/archive.html

My free weekly email newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest info as I find it. Plus, it has a certain goofy charm that the website lacks.

Both URLs mention my books, but in the background. I hope you'll look one day out of curiosity or because you really like my generous nature, but it's not mandatory. Soft sell.

From Watha, NC, USA to Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China

http://michaeljan.topcities.com

This site doesn't mention writing at all. I wrote it for my students. I teach English in China, and this is where I tell all about it. Along with a hefty helping of personal history and photos. How I got here, how I quit a job via email to marry a lovely Australian, dog and cat photos, stuff like that. Just for fun. It won't help you a bit.

Now let's get back to your writing. That's why you're here.

Here's something you've heard before. When your manuscript is rejected -- and it will be -- remember that you aren't being rejected. Your manuscript is.

One reader took me to task for that statement, claiming he'd never been rejected in his life. I'm very happy for him. But why, if I may be so bold as to ask, would he need advice on How To Get Published? I'd rather he write some advice so I can hang up my "helper guy" hat and learn from a master.

But I digress. You aren't being rejected, I was saying. Your manuscript is.

Did you ever hang up the phone on a telemarketer, delete spam, or close the door in the face of a salesman? Of course, and yet that salesman just moves on to the next potential customer. He knows you're rejecting his product, not him.

Okay, in my case I'm rejecting both, but I'd never do that to an author. Neither will a publisher or an agent. All authors tell other authors not to take rejection personally, and yet we all do. Consider it a target to shoot for, then. Just keep submitting, and just keep writing.

The best way to cope with waiting times is to "submit and forget," writing or editing other stuff while the time passes.

And finally, feel free to send an e-mail to me anytime. michaellarocca@yawweb.org. I'll gladly share what I know with you, and it won't cost you a cent.

I would wish you luck in your publishing endeavors, but I know there's no luck involved. It's all skill and diligence.

Congratulations on completing the course! No ceremonies, no degrees, and no diplomas. But on the bright side, no student loan to repay.

Best regards,

A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Cookie

As a busy working mother, I’m short on time, especially during the holidays, but baking Christmas cookies is a family tradition I’m unwilling to give up.

Over the years, I’ve come up with many ways to make the process of baking a large variety of cookies go much smoother and take less time out of my busy life.

You may want to start by checking out my 6-day program for hassle-free Christmas cookie baking ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/hassle-free.php ). In addition to the 6-step method, I’ve found an efficient way to prepare a large variety of cookie dough with minimum fuss by setting up a cookie assembly line. The best part about this process is that you can make 12 different batches of cookies and only have to wash the dishes once! This process assumes that you have already chosen your recipes and gone grocery shopping. You will want to use your longest available expanse of countertop for this. My assembly line turns two corners as it winds around my small kitchen, but that is fine.

You may need to make some adjustments depending on your individual recipes, but for most recipes, you can set up your assembly line like so:

Flour Line:

• Large mixing bowl
  

• Measuring cups and spoons
  

• Fork for stirring
  

• Flour
  

• Baking powder and baking soda
  

• Salt
  

• Cocoa powder
  

• Spices
  

• Any other dry ingredients that are added to the flour in your recipes
  

Butter Line

• Another large mixing bowl (or the bowl from your stand mixer)
  

• A second set of measuring cups and spoons
  

• Electric mixer
  

• Wooden spoon
  

• Rubber spatula
  

• Butter, shortening, margarine and/or cream cheese
  

• Sugar (white and brown)
  

• Eggs
  

• Vanilla and other extracts
  

• Chunks such as raisins, nuts, chocolate chips
  

• Rolled oats
  

• Any other ingredients that are added to the butter and eggs in your recipes
  

• Plastic wrap
  

• Felt-tip marker
  

To avoid transferring flavors from one recipe to another, you will start with basic recipes that have no spices, chocolate, or other strongly flavored ingredients. Starting with your first recipe, go down the line measuring out the amount of flour, baking powder/soda and salt into one bowl. Then, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla in your larger bowl as directed. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. After that, stir in any chunks.

Next, scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl so that it’s fairly clean, shape the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Identify the recipe by writing its name on the plastic wrap with a felt-tip marker, and refrigerate it. If it is a slice-and-bake refrigerator cookie, form it into a log instead of a ball, according to the directions in your recipe. If you plan to bake much later, you can even freeze the dough. Most cookie doughs freeze very well. Defrost at room temperature while still wrapped in plastic wrap, and unwrap only when dough is thoroughly defrosted. Otherwise condensation could add too much moisture to your dough.

When your first batch of dough is prepared, wrapped, and stored in the refrigerator or freezer, return to the beginning of your assembly line, without washing your dishes, and begin preparing the next batch of dough. When you have prepared all the recipes that contain no spices or cocoa, move on to the recipes that contain cocoa, and finally those that contain spices. This way, you will only have to do dishes once at the end of the process, and you will have several different kinds of dough waiting to be baked.

When all your dough is prepared, then you can finally put away all your ingredients, clean up the kitchen, and do your dishes. Now if you plan to finish your baking today, you’ll have lots of space for rolling out your dough or setting out your cooling racks. If you plan to bake another day, you’re done!

The dynamics of competitive mentality

Life is not a competition.
Not at all. Life itself is abundant and rich and overflowing. Take a look at a tree full of ripe fruits or a field full of grain. Just by looking at it, it makes you feel rich and abundant. And you feel that there is more than enough for everybody. But usually the abundant mentality stops there.

Many of us are born and raised in a strong belief system that says that there is never enough of what we need or want. For many this is also more then a belief, it is a fact of life. There is not enough food, not enough money, not enough love, etc. You learn to think that if you don't make sure to take your part, someone else will take it.

That is where you start to believe that life is a competition. You have to be better, stronger, faster, prettier, taller, and skinnier or whatever else you can be more than others.

But fact is that there is more than enough of everything we need and want. There is more then enough food, so nobody would have to starve. There is enough medicine to save millions of lives, and there is enough money. If all the money in the world would be balanced more equally, everybody would be very rich!

I know this may sound simple and easy, and that there are many reasons why I am wrong, but please put aside judgements and opinions for a moment.

Start to think like you care for people instead of compete with them. Would it not be fair if all human beings had equal rights? That everyone would have the right to get food, shelter, medicine and basic education. I am not talking about equality here, like the communistic idea that everybody should be earning the same, regardless of what they are doing. I am talking about getting basic needs covered. If basic needs are covered, people can choose how to live their life, instead of having to fight to survive.

With competitive mentalities like Survival of the fittest and Dog eat Dog, we justify that people are starving to death. We think that if someone wins, someone has to loose. It is now time to change this into a win-win mentality. That means we think, talk and act in a way that we want everybody to benefit. It is a way of thinking that includes all human beings. This way of thinking comes from the understanding that we are one.

We are one human race on one planet.

When I see myself as a part of this world I feel that the world is my responsibility. I understand that what I am thinking, saying and doing will affect the world. What I think, say and do to the world, I do to myself since I am a part of the world. That makes it more difficult not to care about what is happening, because I know that it directly affects me.

With competitive mentality, I do not mean the drive you have to do your best. That you want to do your best is a fantastic asset and a driving force in your life. Wanting to do your best is a great motivation! If you do your best you are the best. That means everybody is unique and exceptional, just by being who they are.
Do your absolute best; strive to do what you love with the highest quality ever seen. But do it from a place inside where you want to come out with who you are, and not to overrun others. If you do what you love doing, you are competing in a natural way; you are on top because you are giving your very best.

You hear athletes talking about "The Flow", that means the space where their performance comes easy and seem effortless. You can also reach that space with your work, and that is actually what life is meant to be. Not a struggle, not a competition, but a flow. This flow is an energy that comes out of you because you want to create.
So remember to make your competition a heart-full one and not a horror-full one.

When you do your best, you are the best!

The Day after the Memorial Day

"We are, meanwhile, going to erect befitting memorial tombs with beautiful flowers on them for our fallen soldiers. And inscribe their names on their tombstones in letters of gold, with our national flag flying overhead. For they did not die in vain. They fought and died for the empire. And we hope that many more will volunteer to fight and die for our Great Fatherland. May God bless the Empire!"

That was not the voice of the president of the United States, addressing fellow Americans on Memorial Day. Rather, it was the speech of Sunrise and Sunset, two kings who had led expeditionary forces throughout the earth in a vain search for Inferno, the terrorist. They had returned home without their soldiers, and had to explain to their countrymen and women why it was necessary for the soldiers to die. The book's title from which the quotation was taken is my controversial work, CHASING SHADOWS! : A Dream.

According to Jonathan Glover in his book, Humanity—A Moral History of the Twentieth Century, "Death in twentieth-century war has been on a scale which is hard to grasp. . . . But, if these deaths had been spread evenly over a period, war would have killed around 2,500 people every day. That is over 100 people an hour, around the clock, for ninety years." Hardly something to cheer about. People are either being slaughtered in political, racial, or religious wars. And members of the armed forces are dying in large numbers.

It is for this reason that nations all over the word have set aside a date to remember its fallen soldiers. Americans have two—the Memorial Day, which is marked on the last Monday of May, and Remembrance Sunday or Veterans Day celebrated on November 11. On these occasions, seasoned speech writers ensconced in the serenity of well guarded offices, craft Demosthenian and Ciceronian speeches and hand them over to draft dodging heads of states, who intone the virtues of sacrifice and the reward of patriotism in the mellifluous voice of angels.

There will be somber religious services in churches on Memorial Day in the United States. The pastors will specifically petition God to accept the ‘souls' of the departed soldiers and give them special seats in heaven; wives would weep over their dead husbands; tombs of the ‘gallant' heroes would be whitewashed and beautiful flowers would be laid on them; war veterans who had been forgotten would instantly be remembered; there would be reports of sighted soldiers in far away lands who had been missing in action; and most important—there would be a one minute silence in memory of the dead.

This year's Memorial Day promises to be interesting. Because one presidential candidate is a decorated war veteran while the other is said to have played safe. But they are both honorable men. One thing which men of honor do on Memorial days is to recount their daring escapades in war. One presidential candidate may script the appearance of the man he saved from drowning in a river during the war in Vietnam. I don't know what the other would do. However, he too, is an honorable man. But what happens after the Memorial Day?

The high point of presidents' speeches on Memorial days is usually a determination to make America and the world safer as a tribute to the fallen soldiers. But that statement has been made over and over again. It was made four months before 9/11. Yet peace continues to elude America and the world.

As regards this, French playwright Moliere said: "Of all follies there is none greater than wanting to make the world a better place." Was he right? Let UN scribe Kofi Annan answer. "I think the most frustrating part is that we all know what's wrong and what needs to be done, but we often can't act upon it," he says. That is an admission of failure supreme. The secretary-general and Bill Clinton for example, saw the impending genocide in Rwanda. (80,000 slaughtered in 100 days—worse than what Adolph Hitler did to the Jews.) Yet they refused to act. (I have said elsewhere that that world body should be scrapped.)

But is the past any guide? According to William Shakespeare, "What is past is prologue." The cause of past world pogrom should have provided an insight to our leaders not to repeat history. However, it is not so. Kofi Annan again agrees: "At times, when incredible things are happening and we want to awaken the conscience of the world, no one wants to move because of bad experiences in the past." See what's happening in Iraq now. See what Israel is doing to Hamas' leaders in Palestine—murder in broad daylight. Yet the hands of the members of the world body are tied. One authority said that history is a tale of unfulfilled expectations and failed dreams. This is because we are searching for peace with the wrong tools.

When the two kings quoted earlier in CHASING SHADOWS! did not see Inferno, the terrorist, they decided to shoot and bomb his spirit parents: Hatred, Oppression, Frustration, Injustice, Mistrust, Fear, and Enmity. But these spirits are immune to the guns and bombs of these men. The assault fails and Inferno is free to set the world on fire. The book is therefore a pure allegory alluding to the ineffectual results of violence to thwart violence.

If we do not eradicate these monsters that breed war and terror, the killings would continue, and the veterans would have fought and died in vain. And Memorial days would continue to come and go. Presidents would give Demosthenian and Ciceronian speeches and exit. But death and gravedom—the ultimate winners—would forever dog our heels, the heels of our wives, and that of our children.

Little-known Tips for Easy Holiday Baking

Are you wondering if you have the time to bake homemade Christmas cookies this year? Every year at about this time we all start to get a little panicked that the holidays are coming up fast and we're not really ready yet. Here are a few little-known tips and tricks, for almost every type of cookie, to help you get the most out of the time you spend baking.

Cutout Cookies

Don't struggle with dough sticking to your rolling pin. Instead, roll out your dough between two sheets of waxed paper. This will eliminate the sticking problem.

Do your cutout cookies always seem to turn out dry, tough, and tasteless? The trick with the waxed paper will help with this. Assuming that you started with a good recipe, the problem is that you are overworking your dough and working too much flour into it. Using the waxed paper will help you to manipulate the dough less, and the dough won't pick up any extra flour.

Refrigerator (Icebox) Cookies and Pinwheels

Ever notice how your roll of icebox or pinwheel cookies gets flat on one side from sitting on the refrigerator shelf? Keep them nice and round by standing them upright in a tall drinking glass while they're chilling.

Do your cookies flatten further when you try to slice them? Try rotating the log 1/4 turn after each slice.

Having trouble with the cookies crumbling as you try to slice them? Start with a log that has been frozen for several hours. Then use a very a very sharp to slice through.

Cookie Press Cookies (Spritz)

Having trouble getting your cookies to form properly? When your dough doesn't seem to stick properly, put your baking sheet in the freezer for an hour or two, while keeping the dough at room temperature. Then when you press out your cookies onto the frozen sheet, the dough will stick to it just like your tongue sticks to a frozen metal pole when you lick it (assuming you've ever been silly enough to try this).

Don't forget you can pick up your mistakes and put them back into the press.

Bar Cookies

When making bar cookies, create a liner for your baking pan by turning the pan upside-down and covering it with aluminum foil, making sure to form the corners and leaving an overhang of an inch or two. Then, remove the foil, turn the pan right side up, turn the foil over and place it inside the pan. It will make a perfect liner for your pan. If required by your recipe, grease the liner. Then continue baking your bar cookies as directed. Once baked, you can lift out the entire batch of bars and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely. You can then immediately re-use your baking pan for another batch without having to wait for the previous batch to cool, and you won't have to wash the pan.

All Cookies

Eliminate the need to grease your baking sheets and wash them later by lining them with parchment paper. Parchment paper can be re-used several times and gives excellent results.

Do your cookies seem to brown too much, or cook too fast? Buy a dependable oven thermometer and check your oven temperature. Your oven's internal thermometer may not be accurate. Or, perhaps you are using a non-stick baking sheet or pan. The dark color of the non-stick coating can make your baked goods brown too fast. Try a shiny metal pan instead or lower your oven temperature by 25 degrees.

Are your cookies not browned enough, or take too long to cook? Again, verify the oven temperature. Or, perhaps you're using an insulated baking sheet or pan.

Insulated bakeware can prevent your cookies from reaching the desired temperature in the right amount of time. Try using a non-insulated pan, or raise your oven temperature by 25 degrees.

For more information on minimizing the work involved in holiday baking, consult these articles:

Hassle-Free Holiday Baking: 6 Easy Days to Perfect Christmas Cookies ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/hassle-free.php )

A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Cooks ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/assembly.php )

A pinch of know-how combined with a dash of preparation can make for successful, easy, and stress-free cookie baking every Christmas!

Copyright 2004 Mimi Cummins. All Rights Reserved.

How Would You Move Mount Fuji? - A Book Summary

Nowadays, job applicants are no longer surprised when they are asked the question: “Why are manhole covers round instead of square?” during a job interview. Puzzle-interviews have been emulated by numerous fortune 500 companies from Microsoft. Questions such as the above seek to separate the most creative thinkers from the
merely talented.

Logic puzzles, riddles, hypothetical questions and trick questions have long been used in computer-industry interviews. These are known as
“impossible questions” and are believed to measure the intelligence,
resourcefulness or “outside-the-box thinking” needed to survive in
today’s very competitive business environment.

Today, these impossible questions are also being used, not just in
computer-industry interviews, but in almost every line of business such as law firms, banks, consulting firms, insurance companies, the media and the armed forces.

The strangest thing about these impossible questions is that no one
knows the answer – not even the person who is asking. Still, people are being hired or not hired based on how well they answer the questions.

With the use of puzzles in the hiring process, companies try to weed out those who think on their feet and those who do not. All that matters is logic, imagination and problem-solving ability.

Puzzle interviews does more than test an individual’s I.Q. It is said to measure bandwidth, inventiveness, creative problem-solving ability
and outside-the-box thinking. Companies who use logic puzzles believe that they area better indicator of workplace success than other intelligence tests.

What happens when you are faced with a puzzle interview? You can use some of the below tips and techniques to outsmart the interviewer:

1. First decide what kind of answer is expected (monologue or dialogue).
Logic puzzles usually calls for a monologue. Design answers have single answers. Good answers show awareness that trade-offs exist.

2. Whatever you think of first is wrong. With puzzles and riddles, the first obvious answer that pops into mind is not usually the right answer.

3. Forget you ever learned calculus.

4. Big complicated questions usually have simple answers.

5. Simple questions often demand complicated answers.

6. “Perfectly logical beings” are not like you and me.

7. When you hit a brick wall, try to list the assumptions you are making.
See what happens when you reject each of these assumptions in succession.

8. When crucial information is missing in a logic puzzle, lay out the possible scenarios. You’ll almost always find that you don’t need the
missing information to solve the problem.

9. Where possible, give a good answer that the interviewer has never heard before.

About the Author:

William Poundstone is the author of nine books, including Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, Prisoner's Dilemma, Labyrinths of Reason, and the
popular Big Secrets series, which inspired two television network specials. He has written for Esquire, Harper's, The Economist, and the New York Times Book Review, and his science writing has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Los Angeles

First Prayers for Children

First Prayers for Children
Book Review – My First Book of Prayers by Claire Freedman
Reviewed by Lisa M. Hendey

If you’re looking for a great gift for a young child in your life, take a look at My First Book of Prayers (Kregel Kidzone, November 2004, hardcover, 32 pages) by author Claire Freedman. This book, aimed at children ages four through eight, features prayers for just about every occasion a child could encounter at home or school. The prayers are written in contemporary language, underscoring the fact that prayer is indeed a true conversation with God.

Each page of this book features one to three prayers, interspersed with adorable illustrations by Alison Atkins, showing children and their families in a variety of situations. Atkins bright artwork is a lovely compliment to the upbeat and positive tone of this book. Prayers for people in need, for pets, for saying thanks or sorry, and much more are included.

The book’s inside cover features a lovely dedication page where the giver of the book can inscribe the name of the recipient and the date of the occasion. However, waiting for a special occasion to give this book to a beloved child would be a mistake – any day is a great day to give the gift of prayer!

Easy summer salads, lighter foods for a brighter summer

Easy summer salads, lighter foods for a brighter summer

Easy summer salads do not need dozens of hard to get ingredients or heavy bottled sauces. Go light and use a few good quality vegetables, well combined with a little well-chosen meat, fish, or dairy, (quality over quantity) and a simple but delicious homemade dressing. For quick tasty summer salad, make it quick, make it light but make it taste sublime!

Easy summer salads are the way to go, now that the winter blues are fading into the distance and salad days are here. The best salads are light, bright and easy to prepare.

After all who wants to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen when friends are round for lunch, the garden is in bloom and the wine is chilled and ready to pour. But before you start to cook you save a lot of energy by buying the right ingredients for a simple salad. That way you don’t need the heavy bottled sauces and dressings to make a great flavor

Do you really want to take a beautiful crisp summer salad and soak it in a mixture of fat, sugar, salt and chemicals? If you start off with great food and don’t do too much to it you don’t need all these strong tastes as you still have great food.

All you need is to combine it well so that the flavors work together, have a nice crunchy texture and add a little light dressing to set it all off, and let the taste buds do the rest Freshness is, as in all cooking, the way to a good salad. Don’t take what the supermarkets give you. Although it’s easier to pick up the ready packed tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers etc.

To make sure you get the best, take a minute or two and pick over the vegetables, choose what is firm ripe and ready to use. The same of course applies with meat and fish. There is a reason why supermarkets prepackage, and it’s not always convenience. So choose well, cook quickly and simply and your friends won’t have finished the wine by the time you get there! Enjoy a little bit of summer now with this easy poached chicken salad.

Easy poached chicken salad

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (skinless)

1 finely sliced red onion

1 whole half onion

4 good ripe tomatoes sliced thickly

250 grams/4ozs salad leaves mixed

4ozs raisins soaked in hot water for ten minutes

1 half lemon

2 fresh or dry bay leaves

1-teaspoon peppercorns black

1 small French, stick loaf or similar sliced into 1/2 slices

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1clove garlic crushed

1/2 dessert spoon Dijon or other mild mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar and mustard together with the garlic, slowly add the olive oil while whisking and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a pan of water to the boil with the bay leaves, 1/2 white onion, lemon and peppercorns.
Carefully add the chicken and simmer gently until cooked, if you unsure it is worth investing a few dollars in a meat thermometer. The temperature should be at least 75 celcius/167 Fahrenheit, put the sliced bread on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt.

Bake in a medium oven until crisp but soft in the middle. Mix the leaves together with the onions and raisins. Turn in the salad dressing and put into 4 good-sized bowls. Place slices of tomato and bread around the edge. Slice the warm chicken at an angle and put attractively on top off the salad. Sit back, enjoy and get someone else to do the washing up.

Boost Your Networking Opportunities

 

A short and memorable web address will ensure that your new contacts can also locate you and be updated with your company’s developments.

Always use your corporate email address when corresponding with your networks.

Incorporate a blog (an online diary) in your corporate website and invite your networks to contribute to your comments.

Profile your networks and provide free links back to their own websites.

Join Networking online forums like OpenBC, LinkedIn and Ecademy etc.

Join Trade Associations.

Ensure that your namecard has relevant contact information and keywords about what you do.

Provide free content for global portals will also ensure that your website will appear high on search engines’ ranking. However, this may not be sustainable in the long run as your content may be “open-source” and you will find it difficult to incorporate it in your own intellectual capital.

Provide fresh ideas for media companies like television and broadcasting stations.

Share your research and white-papers with public.

Write book reviews and interview business authors to complement your books reviews.

Book Review of "Articles That Sell"

"Articles that Sell" by Bonnie Jo Davis

Published by: Davis Virtual Assistance

Genre: Business/Marketing

Description: Ingenious

How can you effectively and inexpensively promote your business on the Internet? But, all you have is a one page website and your site can't possibly attract a lot of traffic. Plus, you don't know how to find the people interested in what you have to sell. Never fear...help is here.

"Articles that Sell" eliminates of all of the self doubt of advertising your small business on the Internet. "There are thousands of e-zines, newsletters, and web sites that need your articles." Most of the ground work has already been done. The combination of active links for books on writing, tips for a sizzling title, and sites which want your articles prove that big things do come in small packages. Your article doesn't even have to be related to your business. The by-line includes a link to your site, as a reference. All you have to do is write it well and the readers will come!

Ms. Davis' creative entrepreneurial spirit is motivating. With so much competition on the Internet, any different technique improves the one-man operation or the corporate giants. Best of all, you don't need to dish out any extra money. You're already paying your Internet service provider, now let them indirectly pay you back. I highly recommend "Articles that Sell."

Book Review: "Frugal Living for Dummies"

Publishing Guidelines: Feel free to publish the following
article in its entirety in your ezine, website, or print
newsletter. The resource box must be included with an
active link. Please send a courtesy copy of the publication
in which the article appears to:
deborah@fiveminuteparent.com Word wrap to 60, (220 words)

Book Review: "Frugal Living for Dummies"
Reviewed by Deborah Shelton

"Frugal Living for Dummies"
by Deborah Taylor-Hough
Publisher: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 0-7645-5403-4
Price: $16.99 US

Whatever your reason for wanting to save money (job loss,
suddenly single-income, another child on the way, rising
college tuition costs), arm yourself with Frugal Living for
Dummies for super saving success.

This book details so much more than coupon-clipping. Some
of the chapter topics include ideas for frugal family fun,
thrifty cooking tips, ways to cut utility bills, setting a
budget and lots of inexpensive gift ideas. And that's just
the beginning! Frugal Living also provides icons in the
margins that alert readers to important reminders, tips,
super savers, special warnings, great ideas and handy
checklists.

Each section is jam-packed with cost-cutting ideas for baby
showers, back-to-school needs, dinner parties, gift giving,
auto maintenance, home cleaning, dining out, laundry,
family trips.... Basically, Deborah Taylor-Hough offers
money-saving solutions for every aspect of your life.

Frugal Living for Dummies is an essential reference for
your family collection. This book will make a practical and
thoughtful gift for young couples just starting their lives
together, college students on their own for the first time,
single-income families, new parents, and anyone who needs
proven ways for cutting costs while keeping their sanity.

A must-have guidebook for the novice penny pincher as well
as the seasoned dollar stretcher.

Before you spend that money, let's talk about history

Have you noticed all of the advertisements on the Internet from
"gurus" and people who have "made it" with their Internet business?
You know the ones, they tell you how in demand they are. They tell you
how they get several thousand dollars for each seminar they give. They
tell you how they've made hundreds of thousands of dollars online. And
they tell you they'll give you their secrets and formulas for the
"ridiculously low price of $99.95"!

These characters are all really slick. Their one page web site is
designed to draw you in, convince you, and take your hard earned
money. Some of them are written really well and the product is very
tempting to buy. But does a little doubt linger somewhere at the back
of your mind? Is there something holding you back but you just can't
quite put your finger on it? There might be a valid reason for that.

Let's travel through history a bit and see if we can figure out why
you get those tiny doubts....

Orson Wells. Heard of him? War of the Worlds. Heard of that? I think
almost anyone in the U.S. knows both names, but for amusement I'll
summarize the story. The War of the Worlds was a fiction radio story.
I think it was broadcast in the 1940's or 1950's era but I don't
remember the exact date. This story happened to be science fiction,
and happened to involve aliens landing on Earth and starting a war.
Now the story was put on in full production mode -- just like the
fiction movies you see on TV today with professional actors. The only
problem is, many people tuned into the radio show while it was in
progress, and they had no idea it was a fictional story! Panic and
chaos ensued.

Jump to the 1960's era. Did you know there was a book that was put on
to best seller lists, even though the book didn't actually exist? Yep.
A radio DJ cooked up a plot to "fool" some people. He arranged to have
listeners go to bookstores and request a specific book. The book
didn't actually exist, and this was part of the prank. To his and his
listener's surprise: Their requests for this book stirred up interest
across the world. People were talking about the book everywhere --
reviews were even written about it! And soon enough it showed up on a
bestseller list. But the book did not even exist. The non-existent
book was called "I' Libertine", and due to the furor created from the
prank, the radio DJ went on to write a real book by that name later in
life.

Now let's jump ahead about 30 years. In the 1990's, some of you may
remember computer communities called a "BBS". BBS stands for bulletin
board system, and back then this was a computer that you dialed in to.
Once connected, you could download files, chat with other members and
play games. The public Internet was not available back then, so this
was as close as you could get. One BBS was having a difficult time
getting itself off the ground. They had one major competitor, and they
couldn't seem to win customers away from that competitor. So the
owners decided to entice the customers. The customers were almost 100%
male back then, and one thing they were all looking for was a friendly
female. So one of the owners of the new BBS -- a man -- took on a BBS
personality of a female. They set up a charade basically, with all the
trimmings. This man would pretend to be female and chat with all the
guys on the competitor's BBS. During the chats, "she" would make sure
they all understood that she could be found more often on this other,
newer BBS. So, if they wanted to talk to her more, they would have to
go over there. And they did.

Jump ahead to the later 90's and the Internet is just coming into play
as a business medium. I'm personally aware of several companies which
made themselves appear much larger than they were. How? Primarily by
putting up pictures of their "office" building on their company
website. The pictures they put up however, weren't actually their
offices. They were in an apartment, or basement in reality. But the
pictures showed gorgeous, upscale office buildings. They made
themselves look much bigger and successful than they actually were.

And today we have thousands of one page websites which tout the
accomplishments of their owners. These websites make many claims and
sometimes those claims are hard to believe.

You see, there really are consultants in this world who make several
thousands of dollars for seminar presentations. But those consultants
usually have a corporate style, polished website. You can tell as soon
as you get there that they've spared no expense in getting the site
professionally done. You'll find links on the site too -- links to
corporate and/or consultant information, links to additional
resources, links to recent and upcoming seminars. There are links to
their books too of course, and sometimes these links lead to Amazon or
the publisher's site. If the book is electronically published, you can
even buy it right on site. The point is though: there is detailed
information there, not just sales hype. In short, there is supporting
evidence that they are who they say they are.

History shows us that people can be fooled into thinking the world is
coming to an end just from a radio show. History shows us that people
will believe a book is wonderful even when they've never actually seen
it themselves. History has shown us that what you think you see or
hear is not actually what you've seen or heard.

So, when you land on one of those slick, one page sales hype Web
sites. Before you spend your hard earned money, stop and think a bit.
Is the person behind the site more likely telling the whole truth --
or skewing it in a way that will make you believe what they want you
to believe?

Book Review: Deadly Dance: A Modern Tragicomedy

Do nothing secretly; for Time sees and hears all things, and discloses all. -Hipponous. Frag. 280. Sophocles

Deadly Dance, a sprawling debut novel by Dr. Darville Knowles, spins a satisfying tale of suspense, ruthless ambition, and lives gone awry. You will experience such a tsunami of emotions -- that is, you will laugh, you will cry, and you will be held so spellbound in its grip -- that you'll feel like you stepped off the big Kahuna when you read the last page.

Although there are many moments of comic relief, Deadly Dance reminds one of the Greek Tragedy, Oedipus, wherein the audience used to sit on the edge of its seat, awash in a wave of terror/pity/relief as they watched Oedipus gouge out his eyes. (Oedipus, unknowingly, killed his father, King Laius of Thebes, and married his mother, Jocasta. When he learns the truth, he blinds himself in despair.) More than likely, as the king fell from the heights, the audience experienced a delicious thrill as they watched Oedipus's life crumble around him, knowing that, as the old saying goes, the gods have clay feet.

The truth is, we have not changed much since that time. We secretly LOVE to hear how politicians/celebrities/movie stars are caught having affairs or driving drunk. Deadly Dance speaks to the need of human beings to rejoice in the "gods'" downfall.

The novel opens with Dr. Evander Parker, a noted psychiatrist in Florida, on what starts out as an ordinary day. By the end of Chapter One, you are caught up in a virtual blood bath, a medical life or death drama, which foreshadows that Dr. Parker's perfect little life is about to unravel. (As part of this well-crafted novel, the climax also mirrors a similar blood bath in a confrontation between good and evil.)

What is interesting about all the characters are their different miscommunications and missed cues. Each character holds secrets that the other characters are unaware of, and which are centrifugal to the plot. In the end, though, the truth does come out.

At the same time, Deadly Dance is a sneak preview of a modern day calamity. It depicts what it is to fall from economic grace to social pillory, a plight which we've seen plenty of in the media lately. Deadly Dance also shows how the media can destroy a person before proven guilty. In addition, this story revisits the premise that ruthless ambition destroys, which can't be visited enough in literature.

The title, "Deadly Dance," implies the symbiotic pas de deux between the doctor/patient relationship and the manipulation of that relationship.

For want of a better word, many of the main characters are wonderfully flawed. Whether they are on the psychiatrist's couch, or on the other side of the desk, they are all on the edge, which makes for good story telling. There is an underlying thread of desperation running throughout Deadly Dance, which speaks to the human yearning to be loved. This, and its quirky cast of characters, are what really appealed to me.

Meet the wife, Cassie. Although she can be painted as a villainess, several underlying themes suggest that she is both victim and heroine.

Sal Roselli, the impact character, is a complex mobster, who will do anything to manipulate others to his greedy ends.

Midge, a diminutive person, Sal's henchman, has a propensity for violence. His favorite weapon of choice is a tire rod.

Enter Taylor Nash. A streetwise, hardboiled private eye detective. He remains somewhat of a mystery until he does his "deadly dance."

The coming together of these disparate characters, and many more colorful minor ones, are representative of the microcosm, which reflects the macrocosm. The truth is, we no longer live in a monoethnic world, and it is echoed in literature such as Deadly Dance. Yet, at the same time, this is a universal tale, wherein Dr. Knowles looks at the human meaning of our foibles and our triumphs.

What is unique about this novel is that it travels across a multi-cultural cross section of society and exotic places. Unlike many novels, it does not just address one ethnic group, but its major characters are from different racial backgrounds. Parker, the lead character, is Caucasian. His guardian angel, Nash, is African American. Nash's and Parker's relationship can be viewed as symbolic of the mutually interdependent relationship between the races.

The same way Walter Mosley's mysteries make social commentaries, Darville Knowles's suspense novel addresses many concerns in today's society. Racketeering, drugs, murder, infidelity, and medical malpractice, just to name a few.

Underlying the theme of fate, there also lies the theme of integration, one of the largest themes in American Literature since the twentieth century. This integration involves two seemingly different things that cross the lines of sex, class, race and region.

With a novel that covers such a wide range of humanity, I eagerly look forward to Dr. Knowles next book. If it's anything like Deadly Dance, it will be another provocative read.

THE INTERNET ADVENTURES OF STUPIDMAN

Stupidman Brands the Book, Sends Email Attachment

This is the 4th issue of The Internet Adventures of
Stupidman. If you can't find the previous issues and you
really want them......you need a hobby. Just kidding,
email stupidmansfz@yahoo.com(remember the "junk" email
address assignment in the 3rd issue?}. I only check this
account a couple times a week but I will respond.

If you are reading this, then the idea I took from
Internet Profit Pearls in Chapters 4&11 really works. Can
you believe what's happening? My family (The Boss,Greased
Lightning,Fashion Girl) say stuff to me (or at me) all the
time. I get to turn it against them in publication(at
least that's the feedback they're giving me).
Unbelievable, I can potentially make money by writing about
how I'm abused by my family. I've already got the next 3
issues outlined in my mind. To think I can capitalize on
my ignorance, America truly is the Land of Opportunity.

My hero, me, er....Stupidman is still trying to enter this
millenium by doing the exercises contained in the free
chapters of Internet Profit Pearls (IPP).

I have read the free chapters and have signed up for most
of the affiliate programs that promised me small fortunes.
(Including one that cost $50, I'm an affiliate of 14 or 15
programs). Some of the programs would only accept me if I
had a website (which I don't) so I signed off on a
website/hosting agreement with the publisher of IPP,
startingfromzero.com (describes my situation perfectly) for
$6 a month. (Read Chapter 3, last screen first, and you'll
understand).

As I intend to resell the book I have to brand my copy.
The publisher will brand the free chapters for $27 and the
entire book for $47 but I'm on a budget. (I actually read
the free chapters,bought the book,got the book review idea
in the non-free chapters and then started on these
exercises. Under normal circumstances I would have paid
$47 and have been done with it. The punishment I have
inflicted upon myself at least results in another
"Adventure".)

I made a list of my special urls that I received from the
affiliate programs. (Techies call it u-r-l, they go crazy
if you pronounce it earl. Try it!) There's a file in the
book called Read Me First which has the instructions for
branding. It's pretty easy to follow until you get to item
6 which says click the "Edit Field" button. I must have
spent 5 minutes staring at the console looking for the
nonexistent button. Press the "Edit Brand" button, the
computer won't blow up, I promise.

Item 8 does not assume Stupidman would read this book so
with the reluctant assistance of Greased Lightning I will
expand on this instruction. Put cursor on the "with value"
field and click, then, use the right arrow on the keyboard
to move text. Delete what you don't want then type in your
stuff. If you spot a screwup before you hit ok press
cancel and try again. If you press ok before you notice a
screwup I don't know what to tell you. (This is not to say
Stupidman didn't screwup, merely that it was not noticed.
Ignorance can be bliss.)

Some companies have several affiliate programs (like
roibot). If you signed up for one you're probably in all
of them, so brand all versions of the same company.

I spent a lot of time,unsuccessfully, trying to check my
branded links. Finally gave up but I'm sure I did it right.

I emailed the author to inquire how to upload to the IPP
hosted site but was told (I thought his tone was kind of
snippy) there was NO WAY he would allow Stupidman to upload
and that I needed to email the branded book as an
attachment.

A new challenge, but this turned out to be surprisingly
easy. Our email uses Outlook Express and Help is at the
top of the screen. Help leads to Contents which is where I
found Attachments. Using the selective printing function
described in an earlier issue, I copy the "insert a file in
a message" instructions. Hard copy in hand I attach the
branded book and send it off into cyberspace (hopefully in
the general direction of the author).

Coming Soon: Stupidman Creates SIG File,Opens Lock
Can Stupidman Use IPP and Be a Bazillionaire
Stupidman Explores Alt key,Printing W/O Paper

P.S. My son, Greased Lightning, has critiqued the first
three (already published) issues and (agrees with my name)
says there is no Pkzip, should have said PKWARE. Sorry.

Beating Brain Fog - 3 Key Tips for Mental Clarity

When the fog of overwhelming stress clouds our thoughts there’s a danger we could soon be drifting into non-productivity land. Here are three quick and easy ways to sail through the day with a clear and focused head.

Keeping a clear head is essential if you want to:

• avoid the pitfalls of stress

• keep calm and focused on what you need to get done

• be at your intelligent best

• and retain use of your creative problem solving abilities

Keeping mentally clear and sharp means you can easily cope with any challenges in your journey through the day. We all know that stress accumulates, and the last thing any of us needs when trying to get things done is for a metaphorical speck in our eye to feel like a boulder.

Keeping clear means keeping things real; in proportion and, therefore, manageable.

Cultivating the three Cs of calm, clarity and certainty puts us in a strong and resourceful position from where we can enter a flow state of maximum productivity and accomplishment; in this place obstacles become challenges that we can rise to and learn from, and here we can easily shrug of stress and remain mentally fit.

Here are three things you can try to cultivate the three Cs and sail through a fog free day:

1. Get up & Move
As soon as stress, mental fatigue, frustration or irritation strike - get up and move.
Really, and no matter how busy you are! This well spent time breaks un-resourceful states, stops unwanted emotional responses from building up and boiling over, and clears your head.

If you can, go for a short brisk walk. If not, at least take a few moments to have a good stretch.

Your brain will thank you for it, and when you return to the task at hand, you will be looking at it with fresh eyes and stand a much better chance of making progress than if you let the stress fog settle around your head and shoulders and try and valiantly squint through it!

2. Reset & Reboot
There’s more to the human body than meets the eye, traditional Chinese Medicine provides details of vital energy (or meridian) points that we can use for a huge variety of issues. Here’s one that can act like a reset switch. It’s found just under your collarbone where it joins the breastbone.

Find the point and tap on it with your fingertips, tap the left side with your right hand and vice versa. This point is called Kidney 27 in acupuncture and is known for it’s benefits in reducing stress, tension and anxiety, it can also help reduce physical pain.

3. Use your Pressure Relief Valve
Massaging and gently pulling down on your earlobes reduces pressure in the head, it works even better if you induce yourself to yawn as you do it - though there’s a good chance it will happen naturally.

This is a great way to let off steam and keep mentally clear, it also helps to prevent tension headaches from developing. If you get in the habit of using it regularly you will soon feel the benefits.

Because the Girls are Naked!

When I go to the beach
to feed my eyes
with the wonders of creation,
I cannot look closely
because the girls are naked.

When I sit in a dance concert
to watch the dancers and lift my soul
from the sorrows of life,
I cannot look closely
because the girls are naked.

When I attend an award night
to watch the megastars
and chart my course to stardom,
I cannot look closely
because the girls are naked.

And when I walk home desiring to gaze
at the beautiful faces of the damsels,
and bless the God of creation,
I cannot look closely
because the girls are naked.

What then is this life
if a man cannot visit the beach,
watch a dance,
attend a party,
or walk the streets,
because the girls are naked!

The Waves Come and Go!

The waves come and go
like the feet of an unsteady woman
in the house of an unfair lover.

The waves roar and clap their hands
like the protestations of a woman
in the hands of a Don Juan.

The waves wear down the shores
like a woman dissipating over unrequited love.

Yet, the woman is bound to the man
as the oceans are in covenant with the moon,
for a woman needs a man.

And the waves come and go
because the celestial body would not leave the seas.

That is why the oceans are full of tempests
as love is replete with broken hearts!

The Happy Jar -- How Little Things Can Mean a Lot

I just delivered a free speech. I am a great believer in free speech, but an even greater believer in paid speech. However, there are good reasons why someone like me would deliver free speeches. For instance, to support a charity or a cause I believe in. Or if the audience is full of people who hire speakers.

If you’ve ever spoken at a dinner or ran a workshop at a conference, you’ll wince when I mention the dreaded “token of appreciation” presented to the speaker. In your head you think, “Oh no, not another T-shirt.” I have my share of T-shirts, golf shirts, letter openers, books that do not interest me, sweets, ball caps, and pens. I don’t need any more.

Sigh. I suppose that’s the price of free speech.

Which brings me to my recent free speech, at the end of which I braced myself to face Dreaded Token. I was presented with a lovely gift bag brimming with colorful paper -- the perfect camouflage to conceal Dreaded Token until he was ready to pounce. Mercifully, Madam Group President did not make me open the bag in front of everyone.

As I was preparing to leave, I sneaked a peak inside the bag. To my surprise, there was a candy jar with dozens of tiny plastic smiley faces glued to the lid. Around the lid were foam-rubber multi-colored letters that read “Happy Guy”. Wow! It was hand-made. Madam Group President took the time to craft a personal gift. How thoughtful. Dreaded Token, you have met your match. Meet Happy Jar.

If you have ever been a parent, valuing more the hand-made card your little daughter scribbles for you than any present she could buy, you know how I felt when I met Happy Jar. I can’t wait for my daughter to be old enough to draw so I can feel that way more often.

In life, little things really do count. You might be tempted to dismiss them, but they are the seeds that grow up into the garden of your life. Not all little things are good, but yours can be … if you are willing to make a small effort. Madam Group President could have handed me a T-shirt or a ball cap or leftover fruit cake from last Christmas. (Yes, I was once presented with left-over fruitcake.) But she invested her effort instead and I have something wonderful to write about today.

You can make someone’s day just by making that same little effort. I sent an encouraging e-mail to lift a friend’s spirits today. It worked. Those carefully chosen words brought her mood right back up. I’m sure you can guess how great that made me feel, too.

When Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the epic This Is The Place raved to me about the writing in my book, I felt on top of the world. (It’s not the huge $75 royalty checks every three months that inspire authors to write.) She then raved to Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com and a dozen other book review web sites. Do I have to tell you how her little extra effort made me feel?

I know I am blessed to be surrounded by so many thoughtful people, but I also know that we reap what we sow. What are you sowing? Are you making the time to give a little extra to people around you? Are you sowing seeds of happiness in your garden of life?

With the right seeds and a little extra effort, you may find more Happy Jars in your life than Dreaded Tokens. And of course, let us not forget the magic words to keep those Happy Jars coming: “Thank you Madam Group President.”

4 Questions to Answer Before Contacting a Book Agent

Obtaining agency representation is your first step toward getting profitably published. Most publishers won’t even look at unsolicited manuscripts.

But, before approaching an agent to represent you, you should finalize the presentation of your book.

Agents don’t have time to waste dealing with publishing ‘wannabees’ who don’t have, and may never have, a concrete project to represent. To busy agents, dreams don’t make it.

If you approach an agent before you’re prepared, you may never be able to contact them again. They’ll consider you a ‘dreamer’ and disregard you emails and phone calls.

Elevator Speech

Before approaching an agent, prepare an ‘elevator speech’ describing your project in the less than thirty-seconds it takes for an average elevator ride. If you can’t, your project probably isn’t ready for prime time.

Your elevator speech must answer four major questions:

- What is your book about?

- Who is going to buy it?

- How does it differ from existing books on the subject?

- How are you going to promote it?

1. What is your book about?

Finalize your book’s title and contents before contacting an agent.

The title is crucial to your book’s success. It must attract the attention of acquisition editors, book reviewers, bookstore managers, web surfers and readers. The title is often your one – and only – chance to make a sale.

Finalize your book’s table of contents and prepare a brief description of the contents of each chapter. You should also know how long your book is going to be and the number of illustrations, graphics or worksheet

Prepare two – three, if you’re a first-time author – sample chapters and hire a professional editor to fine-tune them. It’s better to show three perfect chapters than a finished manuscript filled with spelling errors.

You don’t have to write your whole book before approaching agents. And your sample chapters don’t have to begin with the first chapter, nor do they have to be in sequence. But, they must represent your writing at its best.

2. Who’s going to buy your book?

Next, show that there is a reachable market for your book.

Strive for urgency. Describe the market intrigued by, or frustrated by, your book’s topic. What symptoms does your book help solve? How many people share the problem? What are the consequences of the problem your book addresses?

Quantify your book’s market in terms of buying power, willingness to buy books and ability to be reached through associations or publications.

3. How will your book be different?

Next, position your book relative to existing books on the topic. Existing books on the same topic are a plus, not a minus. They prove there is a market for books on the subject.

-What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing books?
-Why will readers choose your book over existing books?

This section offers you an opportunity to describe your background and how it contributes to your book.

4. How will you promote your book?

Promotion is your responsibility, not the publisher’s. Your ability to promote your book is as important as your ability to write your book.

Start by identifying book reviewers and editorial contacts who can help promote your book. List publications that might run an extract from your book. Research producers who book guests for radio and TV interviews.

Discuss your speaking experience and willingness to travel to support your book. Describe how you will promote your book on your web site.

List authorities in your field who have offered to write a foreword or provide you with cover testimonials.

Agents are busy. To the extent you can sell your book idea as a realistic possibility in thirty seconds and can support your answers with research and strong sample chapters, you are well on your way to success.

After you’ve been successfully published, you may be able to sell a book on just the basis of an email. But for now, you must be fully prepared.

Use H-O-L-L-Y to Beat Christmas Cooking Stress

What does holly, that untidy traditional greenery you just have to festoon your house with every year, have to do with not tearing your hair out before it's even Thanksgiving? Plenty. You can use H-O-L-L-Y to help you get organized.

1. H: Help

How many times have you tried to do the perfect turkey all by yourself just so your mother-in-law would be impressed? Here's a reality check: (a) If your mother-in-law is any kind of a real woman, she remembers that her mother-in-law put the exact same pressure on her, and (b) if she's the kind of person who complains because the cranberries come from a can, she's the kind of person who complains anyway and would be unhappy if she couldn't try to make you look like an incompetent nitwit, and how a woman like that could raise your wonderful husband is beyond everyone.

If that husband is such a great guy, get him in the kitchen. Sit down and plan what the two of you really want---he might not want a six-course dinner, which is fine, because you don't either. Get the kids involved. By now some of them are at that stage where they want to show off what they can do "all by myself," and you know that even though you hate your daughter's taste in music, she did make killer stuffing last Thanksgiving. And your son makes a great omelet for Christmas morning. Then there's your sister who loves to chat, so put her to work while you listen to her endless monologue.

Electronic help is great too---use a PDA or the family computer to keep a list of recipes and ingredients. There are many great, sometimes free, computer programs available.

2. O: Oh-No

Let's face it. You'll make mistakes. The sugar cookies will burn. You can always "eat" your mistakes and try again---just don't try a new recipe for the first time Christmas Day. In fact, plan for your mistakes. That's right. Most of us spend so much time agonizing over avoiding mistakes we forget that they are going to happen anyway, and not necessarily at our hands. So your best girlfriend Susan brought over deviled ham instead of double chocolate cake...there's a reason we have bakeries, right? Just cheerfully accept the mistake and move on. People can get over a slightly too well-done roast, but they will be downright uncomfortable if you spend the entire dinner moaning about it.

3. L: Love

You know Christmas is the season of love, and you can have as much fun with take-out pizza as you can with an elegant dinner if the company is right. One sure way to recapture love is to bake cookies together. There's nothing like the sight of kids rolling dough and decorating their works of art.

4. L: Let It Be

Sorry for the Paul McCartney overtones, but once you have your plan in place, stick to it---that doesn't mean you can't compromise slightly. Agonizing over turkey versus tofu causes you to lose your appetite, and is as harmful to your cooking as disorganization. Sticking to a decision and keeping your plan, no matter what everyone else thinks, gives you peace of mind.

5. Y: You

Remember that there will be stress around the holidays, but that your mind can choose not to give in. You can choose to refuse another beer because "I'm frazzled" or avoid inviting people you really can't stand just because your mind thinks you have an obligation to be popular and kill yourself feeding 25 people. You can throw snowballs, or, if you live in California, go throw some water on the wildfires...just take your mind off your cooking. You'll rediscover just why it is you're cooking and what you love about Christmas.

So that's your H-O-L-L-Y for a happy holiday. And when all else fails, there's chocolate.

A NEW OUTLOOK ON LIFE

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be at the start of a new era? It’s a thrilling feeling of achievement, and a great confidence –booster as well.

As a mom of two, I’ve had to share my life between my family and my job in a school. I’ve spent long days and nights caring for the others, until, one day after years, I came upon my son’s newly purchased computer.

Since then I’ve been a computer addict -(mind you, I didn’t even know how to turn it on at first!)- and I finally got started in my new online career: Book Reviewing!

It had never occurred to me that I could get all that information from the web; after all, my son and daughter used it only for playing games for hours on end. But it proved to be a very useful tool to me, and to my kids in the long run.

At first , everyone in the family teased me watching me try to learn all the nuts and bolts of this device.

‘It’s for the kids,’ my husband would say. ‘You will only get frustrated and tired. It’s not for you, at your age!’

However, I was not discouraged!
‘What’s wrong with my age? Being in my forties is not a problem . I can still learn a
lot !’ I would reply.

And I was right. After a couple of months of perseverance , I started feeling confident enough to handle it , and now, my kids started asking me to explain to them a couple of tech things! Imagine that!

I still can’t believe it I’ve learned so many things all on my own. Of course , I was always trying to find some spare time –and that was the hardest part of it – but in the end I followed a specific timetable that proved to be a very good idea. I had also to buy a book about the Internet , a mini guide , but the rest of the information was available online. Apart from getting educated in this field, I’ve also made some great new friends all over the world.

Book reviewing was an unexpected activity I came across while reading a newsletter online. Since I’m an avid reader , I took to it at once. Now, I review print books, e-books, I maintain my own site online and I send articles to various sites all over the world. Freelancing online is a great way to reach people and places everywhere on the planet.

Coming back to book reviewing, I find it great as I get a lot of free copies from authors and companies from all over the world, and I add them to my bookshelf. Reviewing other people’s books has also helped me to learn how to write my own book . I have even learnt how to make a PDF book, an electronic book . I would like to share some information with you in case you are interested in becoming a book reviewer.

But you may wish to ask : Why become a reviewer?

There are several reasons for that choice. First, because you love books. If you are also an avid reader, you just can’t miss this chance !

Second, you love writing. This is imperative. If you don’t love writing, forget all about it.

Next, you want to get free copies and add them to your shelf. By all means , go ahead.

Moreover, you can have the latest releases. If this sounds exciting to you, then this activity it’s the ideal one for you.

If you take to all of the above, you just can’t afford to miss the opportunity to become a reviewer. Yet, there may be another problem: you doubt your abilities to write a good review. You feel you need some guidance on how to write a critique. There is an easy solution:

Read other people’s reviews.

I’ve done that and it worked! So, you can do it too.
I learnt all about reviewing online , all on my own. You only have to be patient and study as many different reviews as possible. Here comes another question:

But where can I find reviews to read?

Practically, everywhere. But if you would like to find some specific sites that display reviews online you can visit my site at http://lianametal.tripod.com
and click on the Reviews section. There you will find a lot of URLs of sites that I send my work to. Click on each one of them and read the reviews. You can read my reviews, and other people’s reviews. Watch the style and the language . See what comes first and what is next. The more you read , the more you learn.

If you visit my site , you will see an e books link on the home page. If you click on it, you will find another site dedicated to e books. There you will find my e book titled Writing Basics, which includes a lot of information on reviewing.

To sum up, if I’ve done it, you can do it too! And it’s never too late to learn something new and exciting that will help you change your outlook on life! I am always searching the net for something new that will add some spice to my life. After all, I have nothing to lose, only to gain!

What about you?

If you feel like I do, start now. Don’t miss the thrill and fun of it!

NEW BOOK DELIVERS DIVINE REVELATIONS FROM GOD

 

Shyam Buxani's new book SALAM - Divine Revelations From The Actual God is the result of almost 2 decades of ongoing spiritual visions experienced by the author. In this regard, both author and publisher certify that SALAM contains the word of God del
Public Service News Bureau (PSNB)— We may think we are worshipping God, but most of us are really worshipping the devil. That is the jarring assertion found in the new non-fiction book SALAM - Divine Revelations From The Actual God by Shyam D. Buxani (SAU-Salam Publishers, $34.95); which is certified by both author and publisher to contain the word of God delivered in modern times.

SALAM was written as the result of "divine" revelations that began occurring to the author, Shyam Buxani, in 1984 while he was fasting and praying. Encouraged by his family to record God's enlightenments as they occurred, Buxani spent 18 years writing them down as they were conveyed to him.

According to the author, readers of SALAM will find the answers to their deepest questions about good and evil and the purpose of existence. They will also find fulfillment for their spiritual needs and the means to instantly re-establish their direct relationship with the Creator. Within its 600 pages, SALAM-Divine Revelations From the Actual God delivers the author's best understandings of God's clarifications about most aspects of living including our religious beliefs and practices, the environment, capitalism, medicine, free trade, income taxes, rising crime, women's rights, homosexuality and family life.

Today, more people than ever are seeking spiritual enlightenment from books. In these turbulent times of uncertainty, religious books are selling better than ever before as readers seek answers to their questions about the nature of good and evil. In this respect, the book provides inspiring content, which may prove highly controversial to some, but certainly thought provoking to all. Written in a combination of verse and prose, SALAM details a comprehensive moral code encompassing most aspects of world affairs and daily life. For more information and to view excerpts from SALAM - Divine Revelations From The Actual God visit www.salamthebook.com.