Reblog

CHALLENGES AND BEING BLIND: ANY BLIND PEOPLE OUT THERE OR ANYONE WHO CAN HELP?

~ beetleypete ~ 24 Comments

Can anyone offer help or advice to Lorraine? She is a blind blogger experiencing great difficulties in managing her blog to her satisfaction.

Every morning my emails from WP come through from blogs that I am following. There are all the usual challenges in there and also other bloggers’ responses to challenges. I so much would like to join in these challenges but as a newly blind person I find I do not know how to get to them from my emails. Are there any blind people out ther who can help? Or anyone else for that matter. My activities on WP are so limited now and it irks me. I can make my posts and with help reply to comments but I cannot go to other peoples’ blogs and read and comment although when I have help I can get my cursor into the reply boxes and type out my own response. Is there anyone who can help please?

I am using an iPad and voiceover by the way.

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A good time to be alive….

~ beetleypete ~ 21 Comments

To accompany my post about 1960s fashion today, I am happy to reblog this marvellous memoir from Janet, with photos of her own life in the same period.

My Life as an Artist (2)

With my two friends Patrick and Maureen in front of the then newly constructed Commonwealth Institute in Kensington London…….now The Design Museum.

I posted this image on FB and Twitter this week with the added text saying ‘whata good time this was to be alive’. In this post I want to examine why so many feel this way.

I will be 77 years old tomorrow….which is a good time to re-examine life…

On my Lambretta scooter with Maureen on the back – Kensington London.

These pictures were taken in 1964 – when I was studying at Rochester Art College…..and only two years before I sailed for the United States…something I had no idea about at the time these pictures was taken.

Although I had not a clue where life would take me, at that time America was not in the cards!

It was to be the start…

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How to Market Your First Book: The Ultimate Guide

~ beetleypete ~ 13 Comments

Great tips for authors from Nicholas. And also good many reasons why I have never published a book! 🙂

Nicholas C. Rossis

Market your first book | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

So, you’ve completed your first book. After pouring your heart and soul into your first masterpiece, the rest of the world surely needs to appreciate your accomplishment as much as you do. This landmark moment in your life needs to be shared with the world. But how? You might have no idea how to market a book.

Fortunately, technology has developed to the point where there are now many avenues for sharing information if you’re a new book writer. The trick, of course, is finding the RIGHT channels to reach your desired audience. You can post things on Facebook Ad Nauseum, for example—but if your target group isn’t part of your following, you’ll get nowhere.

Here are some tips to follow for effective marketing of your work!

Follow the experts

Before you get started on your own marketing efforts, it would be wise to take a look at successful writers…

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unicorn license.

~ beetleypete ~ 26 Comments

I know I often come across as moany and grumpy, and my wife thinks I am a Christmas Bah Humbug. But this post found my soft side, and I dare you not to smile when you read it!

I didn't have my glasses on....

These images released by the Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control and posted via Instagram, shows a created a unicorn license tag, right, and a plush toy unicorn, after a young girl requested permission to have a unicorn in her backyard, if she could find one. Animal Care and Control Department officials said this week that they granted the unusual permit to Madeline, whose last name was redacted. (Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control via AP)

A girl named Madeline, with a vivid imagination and remarkable awareness of how bureaucracy can dash dreams, got her wish when she asked Los Angeles animal control authorities for a license to own a unicorn — if she’s able to find one.

The first-of-its-kind permit came with strings attached, however: The mythical creature must be provided ample exposure to sunlight, moonbeams and rainbows and have its horn polished at least once a month with a soft cloth.

Director Marcia Mayeda of the county Department of Animal Care and Control sent the girl a heart-shaped, rose-colored metal tag with “Permanent Unicorn License” emblazoned on it, along with a white fuzzy unicorn doll with pink ears, purple hooves and a silver horn.

The department’s response came after the girl wrote it a brief letter last month: “Dear LA County, I would like your approval if I can have a unicorn in my…

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Mourning becomes her

~ beetleypete ~ 8 Comments

A seasonal audiobook. Narrated by the superb actress, Pippa Rathborne.

Pippa Rathborne

 Regency Fashion Plate of woman and child in Mourning Metropolitan Museum of Art

‘What was one more opinion about the future of European politics
compared to the fate of two little boys?’

The audiobook version of Barbara Metzger’s celebration of adoption and stepfamily love,
a precious gift wrapped inside a Regency Romance, narrated by Pippa Rathborne

FATHER CHRISTMAS

Now available on Audible UK, Audible US, Amazon and iTunes,

“That’s the best present of all! It’s one of my Christmas wishes come true!”

LISTEN TO PIPPA RATHBORNE ON AUDIBLE

‘Even the longest journey comes to an end except, perhaps, the journey to self-awareness.’ Barbara Metzger

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BookFunnel Book Blast Just for Today

~ beetleypete ~ 7 Comments

Your chance to get some great reads at bargain prices, including one of Stevie’s books. TODAY ONLY!

Stevie Turner

Genres: Mystery & Suspense / Paranormal, Romance / Paranormal, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy

There’s a $0.99/£0.99 book fair that will be running on BookFunnel for today only. You can find it on the link below:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/decfantasticbookfairfree99centsale/58ccfrwsa0

Thankfully there are no book covers in the promotion featuring tattooed and muscle-bound men with bare, hairless chests. I therefore decided to add my novella ‘Finding David’ to the promotion:

When Karen and Mick Curtis attend a demonstration of clairvoyance for the first time, Karen is singled out by the medium, Rae Cordelle. Rae has a message from Karen’s son David, who passed over to the spirit world many years before. The message shocks Karen and sends her on a journey of discovery, rocking her previously happy relationship with second husband Mick, David’s stepfather.

Review:

Turner always has rich characters who draw us into her stories. I also enjoyed how the story carried through…

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Bookbird: an Amazing Resource for Writers

~ beetleypete ~ 14 Comments

Great tips and links from Nicholas for authors and writers. .

Nicholas C. Rossis

Bookbird Amazon KDP guides | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

I came across Bookbird when I was hired by Yves Lummer to work on the website’s content. Bookbird is rapidly becoming a top resource for authors looking for help with writing and self-publishing, with tons of excellent advice covering everything from name generators to calculating your KDP royalty.

So far, I have written 4 guides for him, with at least as many scheduled for December.

Bookbird | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

Yves has also published a large number of amazing guides that all Indies should check out, such as Amazon KDP: The Definitive Beginner Guide For Authors (2022), How to Price Your Book, and Amazon Book Categories: The Secret Visibility Booster.

Its main offering, though, is its Amazon KDP Book Interior Templates. Perfect for low-content books such as activity, coloring, and even no-content books (think journals, notebooks…

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Day Brightener – “Who Is Shaking The Jar”

~ beetleypete ~ 31 Comments

This tends to sum up the ‘human situation’. Thanks, Loren.

Loren Berg's Blog

I first recieved the following quote as a video featuring Mark Twain, while Twain may have penned this comment, it appears that it is more likely from Shera Starr. It also appeared in something from Sir David Attenborough. Regardless of the origin and regardless of your political leanings, this should resonate.

“If you catch 100 red fire ants as well as 100 large black ants, and put them in a jar, at first, nothing will happen. However, if you violently shake the jar and dump them back on the ground the ants will fight until they eventually kill each other. The thing is, the red ants think the black ants are the enemy and vice versa, when in reality, the real enemy is the person who shook the jar. This is exactly what’s happening in society today. Liberal vs. Conservative. Black vs. White. Pro Mask vs. Anti-Mask. Vax vs. Anti-vax…

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Significant Songs (120)

~ beetleypete ~ 6 Comments

This lovely song needs a reblog. Only 8 comments in 2016!

beetleypete

Dear Love

As well as qualifying as one of my significant songs, this post is also something of a film review in miniature too. As well as the music, I can recommend the film ‘Big Driver’ that includes this song on the soundtrack.

Earlier this year, I watched this film on TV, knowing little or nothing about it. I was attracted by the cast, which includes Maria Bello, Joan Jett (of rock and roll fame) and the menacing Will Harris. It is a tough film to watch, involving sexual abuse, and a woman’s revenge. The story is about how a female novelist tracks down the man responsible for the attack on her. In doing so, she uses as her inspiration the heroine of her mystery stories, an elderly female detective played by Olympia Dukakis. Of course this is a fictional character, so only visible to our heroine. I later discovered…

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