Top ten quotes on fashion. It’s an art and a personal statement. And so is writing.

I have never put forth a post about fashion but I realize some of the greatest authors were really snappy dressers. Like Langston Hugh and a few others. I did a little modeling during my college years to pay my tuition. (This major fashion show had come to the town I was attending college and were hiring extras to walk behind the career model to show various ways the attire could be worn.)

So, I know the modeling and fashion world is a lot like the writing world. It is very competitive. It take a lot of courage to walk down that runway with hundreds of pairs of eyes on you, judging you, scrutinizing you but you gotta walk like you just don’t care.

 

via Top ten quotes on fashion.

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There’s Something About A Leo

My best friend’s birthday was yesterday. We gave her a small party with nothing but close friends and family attending.  She’s sweet and kind as honeyed gold but she’s also a true lioness and does not mind roaring if she have to. Although, I don’t believe in astrology explanations for traits of the signs of the zodiac but I can’t deny there’s something charismatic and commanding about those born under the sign of Leo. At least, there is with the Leo I know.

August maybe the Sunday of the months of the year but there’s easy going about a Leo or Leona. They are domineering and can be a little bossy. But they are loyal to a fault and will always champion for you if you treat them right.

It’s said Leo’s born on August 13th are under the influence of Sun, the ruler of the zodiac signs. Due to this, the personality traits and characteristic features of these individuals are varied and very unique. While the Sun brings about independence, confidence and warmth in their personality, they’re also adaptability, steadfastness and generosity. People with this birthdate usually work hard to achieve their goals and are very proud and self-sufficient. They do not need the opinion or help of others to know their worth. They seems to have been born knowing it. But one thing about them, are always there when you need them. Never mistaken that trait as a weakness. They seek for perfection in everything they do. This can be a cause them a lot of worry as it can sometime work against them but in most cases it doesn’t. Because they becomes the best at what they do. August 13th individuals can be very mean and moody if you get their bad side and very temperamental if you get it up, but when happy they are kind, loving, sensitive and secure. This is explains why they are universal mates.

According to those who don’t know one personally, they aren’t good at managing money. Oh yes, they are. These people have the freaking Midas Touch.

They are usual the take-charge types. The ones to act or lead when no one else will do or say anything. This often lands them in hot waters but they don’t care. If there’s injustice they are going to call it out and as my friend would say, “Anyone who don’t like it can just bite me. But I bites back harder.”

Another thing I have learned about these lionesses. Men can’t stay away from them but women hate them. I don’t think they can fully relate to what most women go through because they don’t tolerate it. They come out the gate asserting what they want. Just like Co Co Chanel,  there’s no middle ground with these women in a man getting and keeping his act together. Most men who pursue them have pretty much the same type of attitude but she lay him under her domination in a New York minute. How she does it? I don’t know. I don’t mean in a abusing manner, disrespectful, or even mistreating him. She simply let him what she’s going to tolerate and what’s not.

But they are really kind people people but just not stupid people. They aren’t the ones to play heart games nor floundering a narcissist attitude with or they will show you how it’s done.  Don’t take their love for granted. Remember she’s the queen of the animal kingdom.

Famous Leos

Sex or love making scenes in novels.

Sex or love making scenes in novels are a big part of making it interesting for a lot of readers. While on the other hand, some readers prefer the sex or love scene not to be described. They prefer them as the scenes in the old movies where the scene fades away with the couple kissing and reopens with the couple sitting talking or at breakfast. We all have seen these old movies. They say they prefer not to read the sex scenes that they know the mechanic works. I say to each their own.

How the scene is described depends upon the relationship between the characters. Romance plays a big role in the scene also. Again, this depends on the type of stories you are writing.  For example, if you are writing a novel about a couple’s attraction to each other in the middle of a war or other violent dysfunction then there isn’t going to be much time for romance when no one knows if they will survive through the next attack by their enemy.

But if you aren’t. There are different ways to describe and even distinguish the strictly sex scenes from the making love scenes in a novel without the scene reading like porn. Emotions are the key. If a couple is in love and there are going to be making love scenes. Describe the couple expressing their love tenderly for each other more deeply than the actual act of sex itself. Too much sex description can land your book into the erotica section even if it wasn’t intended for that genre. The strictly sex scenes, well there isn’t much anyone can do with those except leave out the biological and psychical descriptions. I haven’t found a way to write these yet without they being exactly what they are.

Why do I say these things? Because the puritanical influence in America is still alive and well. It’s here, there, and everywhere and still influencing our daily lives as well as our writings and arts.

I just finished reading a book set in the early Middle Ages where this guy ( a king) is so noble and so in love with this woman he doesn’t even kiss her. The closest he comes to physically showing his affection is taking her hand and kneeling before her and profoundly confessing his love. He marries her but stay away from her in that aspect. I was like…really? What village is this king hailed from??? The story said but I’m not going to tell for you will be able to find the book. But that’s an unrealistic element to place in a story when you know there’s a very slim possibility that’s what happened. I know why it was put in there to make the couple seems asexual because that was all the rave in the Middle Ages and that their love was enough to satisfy them both. I have heard of such couples but they were religious figures and that wasn’t the case in this book.

I turned idea over in my head, trying to imagine how could I work out a scene of where Azazel is going ballistic and Ana is trying to stop him. Blinding him with glory would works for a little while. But once he regains his sight he’s back up swinging again. I tried to see how would it work with Ana stopping Azazel from killing someone by offering him her hand to kiss. Sure, he would kiss it with great affection and then still turn around kill whomever he’s after. That’s why she grabs him and kissed him on the mouth to make him shut up, stop yelling, and fighting because I just can’t see how kissing her hand would control him. He kisses her hand a lot anyway on his own merit.

Excessive anything can drag a story down. If you are going to add excessive scenes then the book will need to be no less than 600 pages so you can space out the incidents. Even if it’s actions. If the characters can’t take two steps without getting in a fight or brawl with someone and it isn’t a war story then you need to tone down the fighting. Even if it’s a war story there needs to be time he or she takes a break from fighting to plans for battle unless there’s only one battle scene which is the  pinnacle of the novel or they will seems like they are running out battlefield without a plan or clue as to what they are doing. In short, there has to be some form of communication. Well, sex and love scenes are the same. It’s best to romantically describe what leads up to the sex or love scene to avoid your books being labeled erotica when that wasn’t the genre you were aiming for.

Just remember in writing just as in life. Do all things with moderation. 😉

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”~Co Co Chanel

My favorite fashion quote is by Co Co Chanel~

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

That’s so true. That’s why I tell writers or aspiring writers to always be different. Create your own style, flow, and rhythm. If you write the exact things in same way, using the exact same sentence structure as thousands of others you aren’t irreplaceable.

Whether anyone agree with her lifestyle or not. No one can deny the impact she made on women’ lives in the 20th century. How many can say they were raised in an orphanage from age 12 and grew up to date kings, princes, dukes and lords? Not many. 

I know many things she allegedly did doesn’t fit in today’s way of thinking but the woman single-handedly got women out the long-trip-you-down-dresses.

All who loves to sunbath have her to thank for making it acceptable.

She didn’t care what others said about her smoking or anything else she did. 

Co Co Chanel

The Age of the Child by Kristen Tsetsi

This is a recommended book. I haven’t read it yet mainly because I don’t have a lot of free time on hand.  But it sounds very interesting. Perhaps one of you all can read it and tell me what it’s about.  From the reviews I have read it sound much like “The Handmaid Tales” and my own book.

The Wife Camp

 

 

Millennials Are Underestimated.

I see the public has gravely underestimated the Millennials. As a parent of Millennials, I understand them a lot better than those who don’t have children in this age group. They are not as lost and naive as the nation precieve and believe them to be. They are very intelligent, savvy and very persistent. These people out there with their brawny gears protesting really don’t know who they are up against.

They’re very determined when they want something. They have the ability to wear you down and make you give in to their demands. They keep coming at you, again and again to get their way. So no, I wasn’t surprised at all when they showed up this weekend to confront those who killed one of them. To them, that’s a grave offense.

Most are rather easy to get along with if you approach to them in a sensible manner.Nor I wasn’t surprised to read in a recent Quinnipiac Poll they are actual the least racist group of adults. They aren’t so easily blinded to the past as their elders are.

https://poll.qu.edu/

They aren’t as critical and judgemental as previous generations. They don’t care what someone is doing, saying or wearing just so long they aren’t hurting anyone. They aren’t going to get out the bed to attend their own business let alone yours. They foster the mentality they got out of bed to go to college or work, take care of their family, visit us parents, grandparents. Mom, dad, grandparents,and  little sibling are all fine so their job is done. They’re going back to bed. You worry about your own life and business.

One common thread in this generation. They all like for everything to run smoothly and in their eyes if someone is causing things not to run smoothly then that person have got to go. They don’t care what gender, enthic or race you are. You have got to go because you are busting up their happy dancing.

Believe me when I say they can stop smiling and dancing and get real serious. They only do all the smiling and dancing when happy but seriously, people don’t want to see them when they unhappy.

Their whining and crying is merely a tactic to wear you down. They only does that with the people they loves. But people they couldn’t care less about doesn’t see the whining and crying side of them. They go after them as ruthless as Al Capone but do it with logic and intelligent. They don’t blindly rush into anything.

They don’t always respond immediately when hurt or injustice. I think the delayed respond is they are shocked. They have been taught one thing all their lives and are seeing that all they were taught is nothing but a lie. They go in their emotional cocoon at first and mourn for a while. Asking why people are so mean? Why are they so cruel? Why can’t we all get along? Then they slowly start emerging out of it and eventually not caring what’s your problem as to why you’re acting like a nut. For they intend to end it.

Actually, they maybe the generation able to pull this nation out of the muck it’s been stuck in for nearly three centuries because they don’t view things solely by race, ethnic, nor gender. I mean of course, they have cluster of numbskulls among their age group just as the rest of us and sometimes these are the loudest but aren’t necessarily the most influential. I foresee them waking up and realizing their elders are seriously warped, damaged by the previous generations ideological and taking matters in their own hands and operating a more liberal society. That’s my assessment from rearing and observing them. Maybe I’m wrong. But I do pray I’m not.

The Last Faoii by Tahani Nelson

I read this one. It’s very good. The author did a great job at world building and bringing the characters to life. I liked the positive role women were cast into.

 

Reading an interesting autobiography this week.

The elderly woman was French. I met her at a literature lecture. She asked to see me after the setting.  I thought, “Oh no, she’s going to get on me about something horrible I wrote about in one of my books.” The group was small. It wasn’t a large sitting. So after the setting I stayed because she told me to. After the setting and only she and I was left she told me the name “BuFaye” was French. I thanked her for clarifying it but of course I already knew that.

She handed me a book saying, “Vous pouvez peut-être l’utiliser pour créer des scènes dans certains de vos travaux.” meaning “Perhaps you can use it to create some scenes in some of your work.”

It was written in English, but I didn’t recognize the name.

“That’s my maiden name.” She replied when I asked who wrote it.

The publishing date was 1947. She explained she was in Paris during the Nazi occupation Paris in 1940-1944. She met an American GI, fell in love with him and married him. But she recorded the years of occupation in a personal book her husband had published for her. And this was the book. The book recorded her life from age 16 in 1940 to age 20 in 1944.

I couldn’t help but ask her why she picked me out of the nine of us in public lecture setting?

“I have read one of your books and sometime I read your book blog. I’m 94 years old and nothing much impresses me anymore. Everything is a copy of the previous person. No one has any originality anymore. You have a long way to go but your fearless gut will take you that long way you have to go. You will get there. Mark my word. You reminds me of Gabrielle Chanel, I didn’t know her personally but my mother and grandmother did. I had seen her a few times when she was trying to get food and rations in to those in her neighborhood but I didn’t know her for she was older than myself.  You write with gusto from the heart and that’s what it’s going to take to make it in the literary world. I’m quoting Gabrielle, “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”. You march to your own drumbeat. I like that in life and in a writer. That’s the only way to survive. Nowadays everyone is so busy copying each other idea until no one knows what literature truly is. The reason I don’t like the copycat mentality so popular today is because during German occupation they did their damnest best to snuff out all creativity. Everyone had be just alike or you were rounded up and shot.”

(I swear she doesn’t look 93 and I told her so. If I live that long I hope to be able to get around that well.)

I had to think back on what was Co Co Chanel’s read name. When I realized that who she was talking about I was uttermost flattered.

I am humbled she entrusted me with her book. As far as I know, this is the only copy in the world. I have been reading it since Monday and have to return it to her this coming Tuesday. But it’s a fascinating story. My life has been a leisure in comparison to hers. It’s not for the timid at heart. I feel like I am reading the “real” Casablanca with the night life, clubs, singers I’ve never heard of and the meretricious  patrolling of the streets, suicide bombing, public street hangings, home searches, and invasions. People being shot and killed because they don’t look ‘right’. It’s sounds a lot like what’s going on now in America.

Oh! She had a bunch of choicey words for our generation. She called us a bunch of chattes, (I have no idea what that is) crybabies, wimps, dollie heads (I have no idea what that is) who think freedom we enjoy was won by what you didn’t want to do. That life is some pretty package with a shiny bow on top.

I accepted the project to convert what I read into a fictional novel because I am honored she selected me.

What’s the best time to publish your book?

As we draw nearer to the holidays,  I thought I would share this with you all. It have lots of useful information.

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The Best Time to Publish

What’s the best time to publish your book?

Written by Steven Spatz

 

June 29, 2017
The Best time to publish

Here’s a little-known fact for aspiring self-published authors: The holiday season is not the best time to publish for new, self-published authors.

Excerpted from BookBaby’s latest guide, 5 Steps To Self Publishing, Part IV of our series addresses why NOW is the best time to publish.

Q: What’s the best time to publish your book?
A: Now!

Here’s a little-known fact for aspiring self-published authors: The holiday season is not the prime selling time for new, self-published authors.

Think about it: Established authors target holiday sales’ periods because it’s a safe, easy gift choice for a lot of folks. The same can’t be said for most self-published authors. These relatively unknown authors’ books need to stand out and attract the interest of potential readers. This kind of discovery and browsing usually doesn’t take place in the hectic holiday time frame. As a result, they’re often disappointed with holiday sales efforts.

So when is “prime time” for new authors to release their book? Just about any other time than the holidays, starting with the beginning of the year. People are going to have more time to spend reading during the cold winter months, and it’s a fact that book sales soar during January and February. Thousands of new eReaders and gift cards given during the holidays need content; there’s no reason why it can’t be your book!

Many authors think the entire first half of the year is a perfect time to launch and promote self-published books because of another major book-buying season that happens during that time. Do you know what the biggest selling season is for books? Fair warning: It’s probably not what you’re thinking.

Most people will say: Christmas. Sure, the holiday season is important for every retailer, including book merchants. But they would be wrong.

The summer time reading season is the top selling season for books. There are over $3.4 billion in sales over the long hot summer, according to industry sources, compared to about $2.9 billion spent for holiday gift giving.

But in reality, there’s really never a bad time to release a book. One idea may be for you to follow the patterns set by the book publishing trade. Traditional publishing houses have a rough calendar by genre for their release dates:

January–April

Romance
Self-help
Business
Cooking
Design

May–August

Adventure
Fantasy
Travel

September–November

Academic
Horror
Paranormal

December–January

Children
Cookery
Illustrated
Quiz and Novelty books

The bottom line is, don’t worry so much about “when” you publish. In fact, the worst thing self-published authors can do is not publish their book because of some perceived timing advantage. It is often said that self-publishing is a marathon and not a sprint, and authors shouldn’t worry so much about the placement of the starting line. Just publish it!
10 ways to make the most of your eCommerce book page

Selling direct to your readers will maximize your profits and readership.

Just like a realtor trying to attract house buyers, you need to consider the “curb appeal” of your direct-to-reader selling pages. Your efforts will be far easier than remodeling a bathroom or applying new paint. In fact, setting up a sales page can take just a few hours of work. It’s an investment in time that will surely pay off.

Here are many simple ways to boost your potential book sales.

1. Link to your sales page. Every time you mention your eBook or Print On Demand title online (in your email newsletter, on your website or blog, via social media), make sure you include your website address and a link to your sales page.

2. Tell your readers you’ll make more money. Be direct and tell your readers why it’s important to buy your books from your own pages. Don’t worry: your readers don’t mind learning this. In fact, when you share such details, readers will be even more engaged with your work. If people love your writing, they’ll want to help support you by purchasing your book from whatever outlet benefits you the most.

3. Same low prices! To support the above point, it’s also worth mentioning to your fans that they’ll pay the same price whether they buy your book from a store like Amazon or from your own page, so they might as well buy from the outlet that most benefits you.

4. Give your readers format options. If possible, you should offer your eBook in as many formats as you can. That includes print, eBook files (.mobi for Kindle, ePub for all other readers), or a simple PDF file.

5. Link to other retail sites. If someone already has an account with Amazon, they may prefer to just buy your book from there instead of going through a brand-new check-out process. If that’s the case, you don’t want your page to be a dead end.

6. Make sure your book cover is a sales magnet. Your site should feature an oversized image of your book cover. Of course, if your book cover is going to be big, it had better be great. Otherwise your visitors will assume that the writing matches the poor quality of the cover design.

7. Write a catchy book overview and description. Here’s your chance to grab a reader’s attention, but you only have a few sentences to win them over. Invest the time to make it persuasive so your readers are drawn in from the very first word! Feel free to pepper your book description with positive quotes from reviews if you have any.

8. Use your author biography to intrigue your readers. It’s time to tell the world about you! What is it about your own life experiences that will make your book worth reading?

9. Use accurate metadata to aid search. What’s metadata? It’s the basic information about your book that’s used in online searches. Your metadata will include things like genre, subgenre, ISBN, publication date, language, and page count. Make sure this data is accurate and you may just boost your traffic from people searching on Google.

10. Encourage your readers to use the social sharing function. Most selling pages will include simple social media icons for sharing. That makes it easy to show the page address on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and many more. Be sure to ask your fans to help you spread the word.