A graphic I created to enter a CBTL gift card contest a couple of years ago. Yep, those are my family’s hands. @2010 ANVidean
My favorite tea organization, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, held a live tea chat with their international tea expert David DeCandia today (Jan. 30, 2013). The convo took place in honor of National Hot Tea Month. [Who knew that was going on?]
Even though you didn’t catch it live, the questions and answers are still worth checking out.
Authors and e-book readers, do you use Kindle Select (KS) and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL)?
“Why would I,” you ask?
Two compelling reasons.
Here’s how it works:
Readers, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow from a collection of more than 180,000 books in the KOLL. Besides my own novel, Rhythms & Muse [big cheesy grin], the library includes 100-plus current and former New York Times best sellers — to read for free — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.
Watch this price drop to zero this weekend for Amazon Prime members who want to borrow my book.
Authors, simply give exclusive rights to Kindle for 90 days, enroll your titles, and promote free downloads to gain visibility. The best part, though, is you actually earn a share of the multimillion-dollar KDP Select Global Fund every time your book is borrowed from the KOLL on Amazon.
I’ve had several authors tell me their books get borrowed thousands of times over a couple of days through this program, and they can sell one book for every three borrowed. In the first Valentine’s Day 2012 promo I did the last weekend of January 2013, 994 readers downloaded Rhythms & Muse. [I’ll report later what happens, sales-wise.] Looks like we have everything to gain here, especially happy readers.
Authors… Readers… What are you waiting for?
If you have had an exceptional experience using KS or KOLL, the rest of us would like to hear about it in the comments below.
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P.S. Readers, in the spirit of letting you take advantage of this truly cool offering right away, I’ve scheduled my own KS promos. [Put this in the realm of “well-how-the-heck-will-you-know-about-it-if-I-don’t-tell-you” shameless promotion.] Yep, you can borrow my women’s fiction e-book this weekend — Fri., Feb. 1 through Sun., Feb. 3, 2013 — by searching for Rhythms & Muse at the KOLL.
Rhythms & Muse synopsis:
Alex, a Grammy-winning vocalist, lives the glamorous lifestyle, but hates it. Her dreams guide her life, but she doesn’t listen until one actually manifests. Will intuition, flashbacks to her 1970s high-school days in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and an ambitious current-day plan to reconnect with her former music partner and muse, help her find fulfillment?
Amazon review:
“Ann…has a gift for setting the scene and characters so that you feel like you have visited these places, and know these people in her book. I particularly liked the shift back and forth in time during the book — it reminds us that whichever paths we take in our lives, we are still the same person within. This book brought back memories of high school.”
Actual writers look like this. Kris Tualla, Tisha Pelletier and Laurie Fagen at the Virginia G. Piper Writer’s House at Arizona State University. ©2010 ANVidean
Picture a writer.
Do you imagine a frazzle-haired, pajama-clad recluse sitting at odd hours and brooding over a computer screen, fiendishly snacking or imbibing caffeine? Perhaps she paces the floor, or maybe bangs her forehead on the desk, until inspiration hits. She might spend long hours taking guidance from characters who “tell her what to write.” She may even pour through defunct manuals explaining all the nitpicky grammatical rules no one pays attention to any more in this day of abbreviating and texting?
Yeah, that’s how the movies depict us. But, in real life, writing isn’t effective in solitary. Great writers get out and explore life, listen to conversations, try out experiences, and share their craft.
Sure we sit in the quiet when we’re actually putting words together, but most of the writing takes place mentally and experientially before we sit down at our computer or notebook. At least it should.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, or business memos…input from external sources encouraging emotional phrasing and storytelling gets your words read. Here are some ideas:
• Sit in a coffee shop to listen to conversations and watch mannerisms.
• Try doing something new, perhaps even something your book character or employees do, and note your emotional and mental reactions to include in your writing.
• Join a writing association. It can help you, even if you’re not writing books.
• Meet with a critique partner or group.
• Form your own writing group like my Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) tribe.
What do you do to garner input and experiences for your writing?
When you live on a landfill in Cateura, Paraguay, and in such poverty even your children must work in it, what do you do to bring them joy?
Landfill workers Favio Chavez, a musician, and Nicolas Gomez, a luthier, decided to build instruments from trash and create a children’s orchestra. The “Recycled Orchestra” movement even inspired a movie: Landfill Harmonic.
Since no release date is specified on the Web page, I assume they’re in need of financial support to complete the project. If you care to find out more you will certainly be inspired to help.
Human ingenuity never ceases to amaze.
What incredible musical activities can you share?
The Recycled Orchestra story is humbling and inspires profound gratitude, especially when your own children get to participate in music far on the opposite spectrum, like my son Cutter’s digital performance at ASU.
@2011 ANVidean
Can you tell where I conducted this signing for my first, published fictional story? First one to comment below, gets a $10 gift card from this hot spot.
How can you truly captivate the readers of your blog, presentation, or book? With so many rampant messages vying for everyone’s attention at every turn, you need proven techniques to blast your message through—like storytelling.
One of the best ways involves content rife with storytelling. Content must tell something interesting, real and relatable. Even in business, stories serve to attach a customer to you emotionally. Simply, they hit home.
As a novelist, and avid movie fan, I adore stories. They’ve been a part of my life since I was a small child, starting when my Mom read the magical book The Secret Garden and chilling North To Freedom to my brothers and me. I became a constant reader in high school, especially of historical romances like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and…well…anything written by Jane Austin. As I grew older and started appreciating movies with amazing special effects like Star Wars, sci-fi and fantasy became my favorite genre(s). Those continue as my favorites today. Yes, I am a total LOTR and Harry Potter fan girl, and I stand proud.
I self-published my first novel in 2011 and, although it wasn’t written to fit my favorite genre, Rhythms & Muse culminated a life dream for me—along with its soundtrack of five original songs I wrote and performed. Today, I am full-force into writing a young-adult fantasy adventure: the Delfaerune Rhapsody trilogy. This focus on stories and writing led me to my current career in which I help authors and visionary entrepreneurs share their messages through relatable stories, available technology, and creative word of mouth marketing.
So, see what I did there? You’ll note my own tale included the six basic elements in a story:
I bet you found that:
That’s what you want your content to do. Engage!
So, what other ideas can you share about making content captivating? What techniques to you use?
P.S. If you want training to help create your stories, consider contacting my friend and associate Andrea Beaulieu, who specializes in performance coaching with a big emphasis on storytelling.
Before you can write anything—a book, a Web page, an article, a post—you must create a concept to intrigue readers, emotionally grips them, and keep them reading. “The idea” serves as the foundation for your content.
Suffering from a lack of inspiration or imagination? Here are my tips for getting started:
Picture your audience
Brainstorm
Participate in blogs/listservs
You don’t have to come up with the idea yourself, you know. We build networks for a reason. Use them! A couple of my favorite places to find writing inspiration and ask questions of other authors include:
Other ways to inspire ideas
Tell us your favorite ways to generate ideas.
Today’s Cup o’ Tea
Pegasus Coffee House
A favorite of Jackie Nagel, owner of
business coaching/consulting firm Synnovatia, San Pedro, CA,
who recommended this choice spot.
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Perks (what I really like!)
“The beautiful, nurturing environment and the incredibly good-tasting coffee.”
Photo complements of the Pegasus Coffee House Web site.
Share a cuppa (the stories)
“My first experience with Pegasus Coffee House was when I was still living in Washington State. I arrived early for the ferry to take me to downtown Seattle. With the little bit of extra time I had, I discovered this incredible coffee house shrouded in [Virginia Creeper, which looks a whole lot like] English Ivy.”
History: The Pegasus opened its doors on May 1, 1980. It’s Web site description says it’s “friendly, lively, casual and a bit funky and bohemian.
“The building was formerly home to Anderson Hardware store and its trademark bricks were salvaged from the Port Blakely Mill incinerator.
“Some use it as an office, some as a living room, but it’s always been a hub for information and the arts. The walls play host to local artists works and there’s live coffee house music every week.”
What’s Brewing (coffee, tea, food)
“Love, Love, Love their coffee! Although we moved from the area in 2001, we still order their coffee online. There’s no bitter aftertaste like some of the better-known coffee brews/beans.”
They also offer tasty treats like:
The Grind (what I would change)
“Wish they were local!”
Percolation Factor (the activity/environment/energy/service)
“The people always remember my name when I call in to place my order. It’s nice to be remembered.”
Per the Web site, Pegasus also offers:
The Grounds (location)
131 Parfitt Way S.W.
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206-842-6725
Tea Times (hours)
M–Th., Su.: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
F.–Sa.: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Yelp rating: 3.5 stars (49 reviews)
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I love connecting people and ideas, so I’ve been creating small villages my entire life. Really, what better places can writers and musicians find to create “village” than independent coffee/tea shops? I wrote most of my Rhythms & Muse novel and Delfaerune Rhapsody series-in-progress in coffee/tea venues, so it seemed natural to create this blog. Whether you came here to find a new favorite hangout, or suggest a spot not yet not posted, may you find Coffee CommuniTea exactly to your taste!
Yeah, this happened within a few months of posting the blog entry below. Thank you, Joanne! ©2013 ANVidean
The certificate says:
“It has been proclaimed by the fairy power vested in Twig the Fairy
by the state of discombobulation and fitting out, that your official fairy name
is hereby declared
Rula Ghillie Gardenia Mossyroot.”
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Today, I was thinking about character naming. Honestly, I’m not that good at names. So, in dealing with this challenge of mine, I discovered a fascinating and fun site. It’s a name-generating Web page substituting your name for a fairy’s.
Here’s mine … “Gossamer Moonglow. She is a messenger of the moon goddess. She lives in spiderwebbed wonderlands and insect grottoes. She is only seen in the light of a full moon. She wears dresses made of cobwebs and gossamer and has bright blue butterfly wings.”
Ah-h-h, I like that.
Most people envision fairies like this: tiny, cute and winged. [As expertly illustrated by Mark Pate. (www.markpate.com)]
So, in the first book of my series, “The Song of the Ocarina,” I’ve given my Dark Fae monikers which emulate bad-boy rockers like Mikk, Axyl and Janys. My Noble Fae have natural names like Fern, Glenn and Whillo. Key characters also use Maori surnames, as my setting is Queenstown, New Zealand.
I’m looking for more inspiration. So, might you visit the fairy name site and come back here to share your name and description? Pretty please?
Music and word lovers, join me in the journey where music enhances fiction! If you have a favorite artist/song and would like to see it potentially worked into my novel-in-progress, comment here with the artist name, song title and a bit about its style/genre/lyrics.
I’m mentioning inspiring artist’s songs in The Song of the Ocarina. It’s one of the elements readers liked most about my first novel Rhythms & Muse. (“Look Inside”–even just its first and second pages–on Amazon and you’ll see how songs play into and enhance the plot.)
Allow me to share a few songs mentioned in Ocarina, the first book in my Delfaerune Rhapsody young-adult series. (It’s a trilogy about 7′-tall, wingless, Celtic Fae saving the world in New Zealand.)
• Linkin Park’s “Papercut” relates to a moment when Lark, the heroine, feels a loss of identity.
• Lark, also the faerie realm’s musical prodigy, plays Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” on the piano in her bedroom after returning to the faerie realm from the human world.
• When Noel, the hero, sides with his estranged Dark Fae family, Breaking Benjamin’s “Crawl” will inspire the mood.
• Uncle D’s “True Kiwi Way”is a little New Zealand ditty mentioned when Lark meets her kiwi “familiar.”
• Lark’s Noble Fae sister sings 10 Years’s “Through The Iris” with her Dark Fae boyfriend.
• Brahms’s “Lullaby” is the first song Lark plays on the ancient magical zither when she holds it again for the first time in three years.
Steam Powered Giraffe logo.
Creativity with goggles,
from Steam Powered Giraffe.
How can you not love these San Diego creatives?!
The robot band members:
Their human assistants/band members:
Learn more. (I promise weirdness and inspiration.)
So, what do you think of them?
Ann Narcisian Videan: Book Shepherd/Editor/Author 