I wish that Life-Changing Love by Theresa Linden were around when I was a teen. It has all the the tummy-tingling sparks of the does he/doesn’t he blush of teenage crushes along with a hefty dose of drama that delivers the truth. Even girls who slip through adolescence insulated by perpetual wallflower status (like me) will be heartened and encouraged by Caitlyn’s story, empowered to be a better friend, a more obedient daughter, and a more patient young woman. Continue reading
My Scribbler’s Heart
Announcing the Great Summer Guest Blogapalooza
At the unofficial start of summer, I’m happy to announce the schedule of all-star bloggers lined up to fill this space this summer. I’ll still be blogging at least once a week, mostly as part of regularly-scheduled link-ups as well as my Relevant Fiction Reviews and author interviews. But, the rest? The rest will be covered by the lovely women listed below. Meanwhile, I’ll be kicking back, poolside, with my children hard at work on my next novel!
June 13
June 27
July 4
July 11
July 25
August 1
August 8
August 22
August 29
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FROM MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!
Small Success Thursday
Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:
- Visited the township recycling center – Before you roll your eyes at this minuscule task, let me explain why this is an accomplishment of any sort. First, after weeks of tripping over the overflowing box of plastic caps and bag of used batteries along the basement stairs, I have to get said recyclable stuff – along with the old UV bulb encased in bubble wrap – to the car. Without spillage by little hands. Here’s the big challenge: Our township recycling center keeps arcane operating hours, changeable at any moment. It’s open something like the third Wednesday following the full moon and the hours between twilight and dusk on Fridays equidistant from the nearest solstices. Continue reading
Tips for Turning Your Novel into an Audiobook Using ACX
Updated 03/04/2021.
What’s it like using ACX in 2020?
- The Alliance of Independent Authors Downgrades Amazon ACX’s Rating as a Self-Publishing Service
- A Note from ACX
In May of 2016, I approved an audiobook adaption of my debut novel. Creating an audiobook edition appealed to me for two reasons.
First, audiobooks allow authors to reach an entirely different audience.
An audiobook is the only way some people consume books. Since my husband spends a lot of time in the car, he has become an audiobook listener. Same with my sister-in-law. Some people have vision problems that preclude reading ebooks or regular books.
Readers of traditional books and ebooks are listening more, too. The audiobook’s hands-free portability is appealing, and so is the timeless enjoyment of listening to a story.
In her newsletter, author Jody Hedlund wrote:
“No doubt about it. Audio books are growing in popularity. The Wall Street Journal calls the popularity an ‘explosion.’ An article in The Telegraph in 2015 said: “Sales of audio books have doubled in the last five years, thanks to the popularity of digital downloads.” In fact, according to the American Publishers Association, audio books saw a 19.5 percent rise in unit sales over just the past year alone (The National).”
And there’s this:
“What do runners, quilters, dog walkers, cooks and people unwinding at the end of the day all have in common? They are among the 24 percent of Americans who listened to an audiobook in the past year – that’s a 22 percent increase over the previous year. With this increase in listeners, more titles are being published: In 2012, just over 16,000 [audiobook] titles were published; by 2016, that number had surged to more than 50,000.” (Bookpage, June 2018)
Second, I’ll admit to a selfish satisfaction in hearing my book read aloud.
To be honest, I flitted between being thrilled and cringing, but I’ve done that when reading the paperback as well. (The neuroses of authors is a subject for another post.)
Not convinced? Bookbub enumerates the reasons indie authors should turn their books into audiobooks too. Continue reading
#5Faves: Bookends
While many of our books are sadly relegated to boxes at present, I dream of someday having a full wall of shelves on which to display our beloved books. When that happens, our sets of bookends will resume their rightful place holding up said books. These Roman pillars are the plainest of the bunch but they do the job. And what’s not to like about a classic? Following are my five favorites. Special thanks to my book model, The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, which arrived on time, never complained, and was, thankfully, not the least bit temperamental.
Continue reading Everyone Has a Story to Tell: Author Interview with Olivia Folmar Ard
The Bennett Series (The Partition of Africa and The Marshall Plan) wonderfully captures young adulthood and the sometimes difficult process of maturation, when we discern fully who we are and what principles will guide us. Often, our convictions are tested for the first time. What about this stage of transition compels you to write about it?
I’m so glad that you mentioned this, and so early in the interview! It’s one of my favorite topics.
Even though nothing truly extraordinary happened to me while I was there, my time in college felt so turbulent. I went in as a smug seventeen-year-old know-it-all, and I was spit out four and a half years later with an engagement ring and no ideas for what I wanted to do next. During that time, I wanted more than anything to find a fictional character who was going through these generation-specific ordeals—marrying young in the twenty-first century, trying to find a job in a dried-up economy, dealing with the fact that a bachelor’s degree isn’t as valuable as it was twenty years ago. Continue reading
Learning to Love with the Saints: Blog Tour and GIVEAWAY!
I’m happy to participate in Jean M. Heimann’s blog tour for her new book, Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir. I encourage you to follow along on her blog tour, which includes several opportunities to win a paperback copy of this faith-enriching book.
Learning to Love with the Saints
is the inspiring personal witness of how Jean M. Heimann was wooed by Jesus to return to the Church after being raised Catholic and then leaving her faith for fifteen years. In this riveting memoir, Jean tells the story of growing up in the Midwest in a French-Catholic family during the tumultuous times of the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War and mass misinterpretation of Vatican II in the Church in the ’60s.
Jean expertly weaves Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, Scripture passages, brief biographies of the saints, and poignant quotes from the saints into her story to illustrate how the saints served as spiritual guides who interceded for her, resulting in some astonishing miracles. Through all these trials, it was the saints who restored her faith, kept it alive and helped her discover the meaning of true love. Continue reading
Top 10 Tuesday: 10 Myths About Authors
Some people have fixed ideas about authors: how they do what they do, what they enjoy, all their quirks and idiosyncrasies. In truth, authors and writers are at least as varied as those in any other profession, maybe more so. They are as varied as the topics about which they write. So, here’s my Top 10 author myths. (My apologies to anyone else’s list exposing author myths that I may have internalized over the years.
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- The cozy writing nook. Creation requires the proper writer environment: a pen and ink at an antique roll top desk overlooking a flowering meadow or forest where woodland creatures peaceably come and go. Or maybe a modern in-home office in which the walls are bedecked with inspiration, awards, and a bulletin board for notes and plotting. While those sound lovely, a writer’s “office” may be a laptop on the couch or the dining room table. Maybe a closet/office. Maybe a bound journal and a sturdy pen. (I write on a laptop at the dining room table.)
My work station. Note toys surrounding the computer.
- The cozy writing nook. Creation requires the proper writer environment: a pen and ink at an antique roll top desk overlooking a flowering meadow or forest where woodland creatures peaceably come and go. Or maybe a modern in-home office in which the walls are bedecked with inspiration, awards, and a bulletin board for notes and plotting. While those sound lovely, a writer’s “office” may be a laptop on the couch or the dining room table. Maybe a closet/office. Maybe a bound journal and a sturdy pen. (I write on a laptop at the dining room table.)