The silent farewell – #buddhism #relationships

December 5, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Right where I am today. Thanks.

from B*TCH MEDIA, “#Feminism and #Science-Fiction” #Podcasts

December 5, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

from B*TCH MEDIA, “#Feminism and #Science-Fiction” #Podcasts

If you are a feminist, interested in feminism, a science-fiction writer or reader, or all four, you MUST listen to these 4 podcasts from Popaganda of B*TCH MEDIA.

You can listen to them all in a row (first window) or listen to each one separately. Here are the titles of the four podcasts in this Episode of Popaganda:

“The beautiful ‘feminism and sci-fi’ illustration is from Voyage by Molly Mendoza. Voyage is a visual essay on the Voyager Interstellar Mission and is embedded with the themes of wonder, distance, and exploring places far away from home.”

DEEP THOUGHTS ON ELLEN RIPLEY: Ellen Ripley and Gender in “Alien”
INTERVIEW WITH WALIDAH IMARISHA: Peace, Justice, and Octavia Butler
INTERVIEW WITH ADRIENNE MAREE BROWN: What Can Social Justice Activists Learn from Science Fiction?
AN ESSAY ON FAMILY, SCIENCE, AND POP CULTURE: The Laws of Familial Thermodynamics

If you don’t subscribe, yet, to BiTCH MEDIA, an unavoidable pop-up comes with this link, below, asking for you to subscribe. Sorry. I don’t know how to disable it, but honestly, you SHOULD subscribe and, if you can afford it, donate. BiTCH MEDIA is a great source of info, critique and news.

LINK TO ALL PODCASTS:
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/popaganda-episode-feminism-and-science-fiction

from **B*TCH MEDIA**, “#Feminism and #Science-Fiction” #Podcasts

December 5, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

from B*TCH MEDIA, “#Feminism and #Science-Fiction” #Podcasts

If you are a feminist, interested in feminism, a science-fiction writer or reader, or all four, you MUST listen to these 4 podcasts from Popaganda of B*TCH MEDIA.

You can listen to them all in a row (first window) or listen to each one separately. Here are the titles of the four podcasts in this Episode of Popaganda:

DEEP THOUGHTS ON ELLEN RIPLEY: Ellen Ripley and Gender in “Alien”
INTERVIEW WITH WALIDAH IMARISHA: Peace, Justice, and Octavia Butler
INTERVIEW WITH ADRIENNE MAREE BROWN: What Can Social Justice Activists Learn from Science Fiction?
AN ESSAY ON FAMILY, SCIENCE, AND POP CULTURE: The Laws of Familial Thermodynamics

LINK TO ALL PODCASTS:
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/popaganda-episode-feminism-and-science-fiction

Cynthia Sue Larson Interviews Yasunori Nomura

December 4, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Very exciting #physics #mutiverse #quantum stuff in this interview. Thanks, Cynthia!

RealityShifters Blog

Yasunori Nomura with Cynthia Sue Larson

I’ve been following Professor Yasunori Nomura‘s work this past year with tremendous interest, since he was one of the first theoretical physicists to publish a paper on the topic of the many worlds of quantum mechanics being one and the same as the eternally inflating multiverse. This perspective is one I consider to be extremely promising, both for its elegance and also for its ability to explain much that other theories cannot so easily address.

I was thrilled when attending a screening of the recent documentary film, “Particle Fever,” about the hunt for the Higgs boson to see Yasunori’s name up on the podium. I’d received an invitation to attend this UC Berkeley event through the Physics Department where I’d studied and received my degree many years ago. Dr. Yasunori Nomura was one of the panelists who talked about what we’re learning from the…

View original post 1,991 more words

America’s First UFO Sighting was at Boston in 1639

December 2, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

“They” have always been around here. #Aliensamongus

Interview with Sally Ember Ed.D and Me – Changes

December 2, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Be there to interact with us LIVE 10 – 11 AM EST USA http://goo.gl/A3qPZP or watch another time on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZRG5j5fHuo

Fiction Favorites

Just a reminder that the Google Plus live interview with Sally Ember Ed.D will be tomorrow from 10:00 to 11:00 AM EST. Here are all the details:

Welcome to Episode 14 of *CHANGES* G+ HOA with author, John W. Howell, who writes thrillers. Join host, Sally Ember, Ed.D., LIVE, conversing with John on Wednesday, December 3, 10 – 11 AM Eastern Time USA, https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c73le14imljt9q0vn1do99re6fg or catch our conversation any time on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZRG5j5fHuo

It should be a good exchange since this is the first time Sally has interviewed a thriller author. I think that’s okay because this will be the first time I’ve been interviewed by a doctor who hasn’t billed Medicare. Should be a good time for all who attend. If you can’t make it you can visit YouTube anytime after.

Please visit Sally’s The Spanners Series at https://sallyember.com/spanners/ for a complete listing of all the links and her blog at https://sallyember.com/

View original post

#Meditation Rebuilds #Brains: #Harvard’s Research Offers Proof!

December 2, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

#Meditation Rebuilds #Brains: #Harvard’s Research Offers Proof!

The methodology and research conclusions from this recently published study are astonishing for several reasons that matter a lot to me. Some of you know that I fell last April, breaking my nose and causing a concussion which has impaired my cognitive processes AND affected my ability to meditate enormously. I am all for finding out more about what helps brains heal and work better in us all.

My descriptions and opinions are in this post, linking this research to another recently revealed study on brain functionality. Links to original articles, below.

Test subjects taking part in an 8-week program of mindfulness meditation showed results that astonished even the most experienced neuroscientists at Harvard University.

Researchers found that remarkable positive outcomes can occur after only 8 weeks of being in this meditation course, even though, for about half the time, the learners barely knew how to meditate at all. Individuals meditated for an average of “about 27 minutes per day.”

What were they learning? How could such a brief experience and small lifestyle change have such tremendous impacts?

Simple mindfulness sharpens one’s ability to focus. Increasing the skills related to paying attention, following one’s thoughts or one’s breath are the easiest types of meditation to learn. These are also the most basic and accessible forms of meditation for Westerners because the current version contains nothing religious, almost nothing that feels “cultural,” native to the Eastern countries from which these techniques originated.

image from http://www.theguardian.com

In most mindfulness classes (which are not the same as many meditation classes), participants and leaders do NOT bring Eastern “forms” into the experience.

Most mindfulness groups do NOT:

light candles
burn incense
prostrate or bow
chant syllables (mantras) in Sanskrit or other foreign languages
pray
wear special clothing or colors
call the teacher by an unusual title (“Lama,” “Rinpoche,” “Guru”)
treat the instructor as a spiritual guide or leader
use photos or statues of Eastern figures or past teachers
discuss “lineage”
set up a shrine or altar.

If mindfulness groups use music or musical instruments (drums, bells, horns,”ambient” recorded music), they use them as part of the meditation experience, to set a mood, mark the time or start/stop a session.

Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and many others from the Vipassana/Insight Meditation centers have distilled the essence of these beginners’ meditation practices into palatable, sanitized chunks able to be digested in fewer than two months by even the most resistant Western learner. There are now hundreds of books and thousands of resources and settings that you can find that include or teach mindfulness, from the family to corporations, schools, businesses, government and hospitals.

Pain clinics, anxiety/panic and addiction rehabilitation programs, trauma recovery centers and many more segments of the medical and therapy community have been teaching mindfulness without even using the word “meditation” for decades, bringing these techniques to the populations most needing to learn how to deal with strong pain (physical or emotional or both. These participants have been shown (in previous research) to have benefited enormously from mindfulness meditation classes.

What they discovered is brand-new evidentiary proof of the positive effects of mindfulness on the meditator’s brain! Prior to this study, meditation researchers had “found structural differences between the brains of experienced meditation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration” but couldn’t prove these resulted directly from meditation, until this project.

image from http://meditation-research.org.uk

The MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imager) scans showed “before” and “after” films of these meditators who used “mindfulness exercises” for less than half-an-hour daily. Just utilizing this small amount of beginning meditative techniques achieved: “a major increase in gray matter density in the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection.”

If such results can be seen in merely 8 weeks, with beginners, doing the minimum amount of basic mindfulness, imagine what experienced meditators who use more advanced techniques and who meditate for an hour or more per day can accomplish in effecting changes to our brains and therefore, our self-awareness, compassion and introspection?

A related and recent study conducted by Dr. Abigail Marsh of Georgetown University, http://college.georgetown.edu/collegenews/why-do-strangers-help.html , used fMRI scans (functional MRI), which involved asking research participants questions while the scan is operating. She then looked at the differences in the amygdalas in the brains of diagnosed psychopaths (those who have little or no reaction to others’ pain and no moral inhibition against causing others pain) compared to social/community altruists (in this case, those who had volunteered to donate a kidney).

image from http://www.vox.com

Marsh’s fMRI scans showed that there were marked differences in the size and functionality of each group’s amygdalas, the part of the brain associated with processing emotion, inhibiting aggression and encouraging “helpfulness.” Altruists have larger, better formed and functioning amygdalas.

That altruists would have more compassion, less aggression and more helpfulness can’t be surprising. That their/our brains are physically different is now proven but still kind of awe-inspiring, to me.

image from http://journal.frontiersin.org

The logical next steps from a social change standpoint are to find out if engaging in regular meditation of any type could result in psychopaths’ being deterred/cured, AND if we can foster/enhance the development of altruists as well. What part could mindfulness play?

Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, if you already know how to meditate in any way, DO IT! Even 5 minutes per day or more short sessions sprinkled throughout a day matter a lot to our well-being, especially to the gray matter of our brains.

If you do not yet know how to meditate, there are hundreds of ways to learn mindfulness and other forms of meditation: online courses, in-person classes (some are offered for credit at secondary schools, community colleges and universities; some are free), workshops, audiobooks, CDs, online forums or chat rooms abound with opportunities.

If you suffer from a medical or psychological condition that could be improved or managed better by the application of meditation techniques, such as mindfulness, many medical facilities now offer classes such as the one mentioned in this study AND many types of insurance now pay for these classes! Ask your doctor or counselor.

image from http://www.mindfulnesscds.com

Also, many religious groups already have been providing and now offer more types of group learning and individual counseling that include meditation instruction even when the religion is “traditional.” So, if you’re a practicing Christian, Jew, Catholic, Muslim or other mainstream religious adherent, ask your religious community where you can learn to meditate.

BREATHE

image from http://iup.collegiatelink.net

Link to full article about Harvard research quoted in this post: http://www.feelguide.com/2014/11/19/harvard-unveils-mri-study-proving-meditation-literally-rebuilds-the-brains-gray-matter-in-8-weeks/

Link to original article first seen by me on Wildmind‘s site: http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/news/harvard-unveils-mri-study-proving-meditation-literally-rebuilds-the-brains-gray-matter-in-8-weeks

“10 Underestimated Blogs Worth a Writer’s Attention” from Where Writers Win

December 1, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

“10 Underestimated Blogs Worth a Writer’s Attention” from Where Writers Win

and, add http://www.sallyember.com/blog – http://go.shr.lc/1wdm3Wa via @WhereWritersWin

“10 Underestimated Blogs Worth a Writer’s Attention” from Where Writers Win

December 1, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

“10 Underestimated Blogs Worth a Writer’s Attention” from Where Writers Win

and, add http://www.sallyember.com/blog – http://go.shr.lc/1wdm3Wa via @WhereWritersWin

An Open Letter to my Earlier Self about #Book #Reviews and #Reviewers Guest Post on The Book Cove goes LIVE today

December 1, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

An Open Letter to my Earlier Self about #Book #Reviews and #Reviewers Guest Post on The Book Cove goes LIVE today, 12/1/14, and is part of a series.

http://www.thebookcove.com/2014/12/author-sally-ember-edd-open-letter-to.html

Check on Mondays, 11/24/14 and 12/8 and 12/15/14 for the rest of the series! http://www.thebookcove.com

An Open Letter to my Earlier Self about #Book #Reviews and #Reviewers Guest Post on The Book Cove goes LIVE today

December 1, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

An Open Letter to my Earlier Self about #Book #Reviews and #Reviewers Guest Post on The Book Cove goes LIVE today, 12/1/14, and is part of a series.

http://www.thebookcove.com/2014/12/author-sally-ember-edd-open-letter-to.html

Check on Mondays, 11/24/14 and 12/8 and 12/15/14 for the rest of the series! http://www.thebookcove.com

Behold The Gates Of Mercy

November 30, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

This is painfully beautiful.. Another memorable contribution from the unique voice and mind of Leonard Cohen. Brilliant of him to have the “angelic chorus” so we could hear the sweetness of the melody his voice can’t convey. Thanks for posting!

What Comes from Silence

Come Healing

O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance of those promises
You never dared to vow

The splinters that you carry
The cross you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace

O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

O see the darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing of the reason
Come healing of the heart

O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The Heart beneath is teaching
To the broken Heart above

O let the heavens falter
And let the earth proclaim:
Come healing of the…

View original post 66 more words

The Works of 10 Contemporary Native American Poets

November 30, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

#poets #poetry #poems #NativeAmerican I’ve already enjoyed Sherman Alexie, Joy Harjo and Leslie Marmon Silko. Will soon learn more about their poetry and meet the other poets and their work.
http://goo.gl/grH984

Clean Indie Reads Holiday Sale! 12/1 – 7/14 #CR4U

November 30, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Clean Indie Reads Holiday Sale! 12/1-7/14 #CR4U

“Flinch-Free” Fiction in EVERY genre available in Children’s, Middle-Grade, YA, Adult, New Adult and mixed-age audiences, both ebook and print format for most authors (ebooks only for some, including me) for this great sale! Ends right before #READTUESDAY, 12/9/14, so you can purchase your books/ebooks early and be all set for all the winter holidays’ gift-giving!

Link to Holiday Sale Books/Authors List: http://www.cleanindiereadsale.com/

My sale book is under “Paranormal/Fantasy” and my FREE book is on the “CIR Books” page, same category.

Thanks to Peggy McAloon for this banner.

ALSO: Special Facebook Party with extra give-aways and other fun, Dec. 2, 3, and 4th. I’m hosting 12/4/14, noon – 1 PM EST USA! Please join if you can and invite your friends! https://www.facebook.com/events/736327333128065/

My ebooks are on sale specially for this promotion!

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever of The Spanners Series

Promotional price: $2.79 (usually $3.99; 30% discount coupon below)
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969
Coupon Code: ER73G
Expires: December 8, 2014

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever of The Spanners Series. Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II. How would YOU do with the changes?

Cover art and logo by Aidana Willowraven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Volume I, This Changes Everything, The Spanners Series, by Sally Ember, Ed.D., is PERMAFREE everywhere! Start with this and keep going!

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are. Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth? This Changes Everything begins the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series. Are YOU ready for the changes?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HFELTG8
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197

Clean Indie Reads Holiday Sale! 12/1 – 7/14 #CR4U

November 30, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Clean Indie Reads Holiday Sale! 12/1-7/14 #CR4U

Link to Holiday Sale Books/Authors List: http://www.cleanindiereadsale.com/

My sale book is under “Paranormal/Fantasy” and my FREE book is on the “CIR Books” page, same category.

Thanks to Peggy McAloon for this banner.

My ebooks are on sale specially for this promotion!

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever of The Spanners Series

Promotional price: $2.79 (usually $3.99; 30% discount coupon below)
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969
Coupon Code: ER73G
Expires: December 8, 2014

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever of The Spanners Series. Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II. How would YOU do with the changes?

Cover art and logo by Aidana Willowraven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Volume I, This Changes Everything, The Spanners Series, by Sally Ember, Ed.D., is PERMAFREE everywhere! Start with this and keep going!

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are. Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth? This Changes Everything begins the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series. Are YOU ready for the changes?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HFELTG8
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197

19 Short Story Competitions

November 29, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

#ShortStory #Writers: Take note!
http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2014/11/27/19-short-story-competitions-2015/

J. Giambrone

19 Short Story Competitions in 2015

View original post

The teachings of Alan Watts animated by the makers of South Park

November 29, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

I LOVE this. Please watch and share! Alan Watts via the creators of “South Park.” Priceless. One gem: “[if you lived just for the end, success or whatever], you missed the entire point. …[Life] was a musical thing. You were supposed to sing or dance while the thing was being played.” http://damiengwalter.com/2014/11/29/the-teachings-of-alan-watts-animated-by-the-makers-of-south-park/

Damien Walter

Yes, the creators of South Park have given many gifts to the world. Now they’ve turned their attention to Buddhism and Zen philosopher Alan Watts by animating a selection of his teachings, in their usually hilarious and irreverent style. It’s wonderful. Press play and enjoy.

And match Watt’s spoken word with his written thoughts in The Way of Zen and This Is It.

View original post

Developing Natural Audience – A Correspondence with Rachel Thompson

November 28, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Great info and advice for #writers about #bookmarketing (I know; our favorite thing to do!).

#Book #Marketing Buzz Blog’s post: Happy Thanksgiving Day, Books!

November 28, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

BookMarketingBuzzBlog‘s post: Happy Thanksgiving Day, Books!
Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:45 AM PST

Brian Feinblum posted this on his site, Book Marketing Buzz Blog, which I highly recommend that you subscribe to if you are an #author.

Brian’s blog is “A unique blog dedicated to covering the worlds of book publishing and the news media, revealing creative ideas, practical strategies, interesting stories, and provocative opinions. Along the way, discover savvy but entertaining insights on book marketing, public relations, branding, and advertising from a veteran of two decades in the industry of book publishing publicity and marketing.”

image from http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com

I link to the full post here and quote a bit of it. Thanks, Brian!

Brian offered his own intro, then asked: “How can we spread the word about the power of books?”

Here are some of his answers. Read his post for the entire, excellent list.

· Start by gifting [books] this holiday season.

· Read more books

· Serve as a literacy tutor to young kids or ESL adults

· Keep buying books – don’t settle for free ebooks

· Form a book group or join one

· Attend author signing and speaking events

· Donate more books to schools, libraries, and chairties.

· Discuss books with others. Don’t ask your friends if they saw the latest movie. Ask what they’re reading.

· Read to your kids and then discuss what was read. Learning becomes fun this way.

· Reproduce your favorite book covers, frame them – and hang them on your walls

Link to full post: http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/happy-thanksgiving-day-books.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Bookmarketingbuzzblog+%28BookMarketingBuzzBlog%29

Brian Feinblum can be found:
on Twitter @theprexpert
via email brianfeinblum@gmail.com.

#Book #Marketing Buzz Blog‘s post: Happy Thanksgiving Day, Books!

November 28, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

BookMarketingBuzzBlog‘s post: Happy Thanksgiving Day, Books!
Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:45 AM PST

Brian Feinblum posted this on his site, Book Marketing Buzz Blog, which I highly recommend that you subscribe to if you are an #author.

image from http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com

I link to the full post here and quote a bit of it. Thanks, Brian!

Brian offered his own intro, then asked: “How can we spread the word about the power of books?”

Here are some of his answers. Read his post for the entire, excellent list.

· Start by gifting [books] this holiday season.

· Read more books

· Serve as a literacy tutor to young kids or ESL adults

· Keep buying books – don’t settle for free ebooks

· Form a book group or join one

· Attend author signing and speaking events

· Donate more books to schools, libraries, and chairties.

· Discuss books with others. Don’t ask your friends if they saw the latest movie. Ask what they’re reading.

· Read to your kids and then discuss what was read. Learning becomes fun this way.

· Reproduce your favorite book covers, frame them – and hang them on your walls

Brian Feinblum can be found:
on Twitter @theprexpert
via email brianfeinblum@gmail.com.

Give Thanks for Reading

November 27, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Look on 12/8/14 for MY sales and a discount coupon to commemorate #READTUESDAY http://www.sallyember.com/blog Happy Holidays and READ this season!

‘Birdman’ leads Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

November 26, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

#FilmsImightactuallylike #independentspiritawards I want to see #Boyhood Mazel Tov to all winners! http://goo.gl/MoY9Rp

What Time Of The Year Should You Publish Your Novel?

November 26, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Thanks for gathering data and posting. #booksales #season

Tara Sparling writes

I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately from search terms such as “when do I self-publish my novel?” and “when does a book need to be published for the Christmas market?”

I already pontificated on the issue of self-publishing for Christmas in this post, but that only dealt with one time of year. Now I’d like to talk in more general terms about seasonal trends in book sales. I have inhaled oodles of data on the subject. And so, in this post, and more to follow*, I’m going to take a look at questions like these:

Which month of the year sees the most sales?
Which month sees the least sales?
How many sales do you need to make it into the Top Ten Bestseller list? Are there times of the year when the target is lower and this might be easier?
Are there particular weeks in the year…

View original post 767 more words

50 Reasons Why The Human Race Is Too Stupid To Survive

November 26, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Chilling. Pun intended. My misanthropic nature is in high alert this time of year, anyway. Sigh

Auxiliary Memory

By James Wallace Harris, Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Do not read this if you are depressed or are easily depressed. I’m not kidding. I hope I’m proven wrong. I really do.

I write this on the day I turn 63, while thinking about the future. Usually I’m extremely positive about the future, probably because I love science fiction. However, if I wrote a science fiction novel today I’m afraid it would be a pessimistic apocalyptic novel. Normally I hate being cynical, but I thought for this essay I’d let it all hang out. I’ve spent my whole life assuming we were getting smarter and we’d become a rational species before we made ourselves extinct. I now think I’m wrong. We’re going to cross the finish line before we can get our shit together. Up until a century ago, the world was safe because there wasn’t enough of us, and the…

View original post 2,468 more words

And none could say they were surprised: on #Ferguson

November 26, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Very well researched and compiled. Thanks for sharing and posting. I live in St. Louis and I’m horrified by this miscarriage of “justice.”

Welcome to infinitefreetime dot com

I keep needing to remind myself of something: I have liked every cop I’ve ever known. The number’s not large, mind you; four, perhaps five people, one of whom’s faces I can remember clearly but whose name has escaped me. At least one is a Facebook friend who may read this. Alternate universe me actually is a police officer; if you Google search my real name most of the results you’ll get are for the other guy since I’m as diligent as I can be about keeping my name off the Web.

But as much as I want to generalize, I keep having to remind myself: I know cops. I am friends, or at least cordial acquaintances, with two of them. They aren’t all bad people, as much as it frequently seems like they are. They’re just embedded in a system that encourages them to be bad people, and if…

View original post 1,197 more words

Publisher Call For Submissions

November 25, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

For my #CR4U peeps!

Writing and Illustrating

ANNOUNCING NEW INSPIRATIONAL/FAMILY LINE!

HIGHLAND PRESS PUBLISHING
Actively seeking Inspirational and/or Sweet themed manuscripts. Think Hallmark Hall of Fame, Janette Oke, Little House on the Prairie, etc. Accepting full manuscripts for adults or young adult lines.

Submission Guidelines

If you are interested in submitting your manuscript to Highland Press Publishing, please take a few minutes to review the following and acquaint yourself with our guidelines:

Highland Press is at the present particularly interested in expanding our Christian/Inspirational/family line—both historical and contemporary stories.

We’re looking for outstanding manuscripts of all genres and timeframes—with the exception of erotica. (Absolutely no graphic sex scenes, please!) We want love and romance. A HEA. Emotion. Not just sex.

While some swearing is understood, it is preferable that you use swear words as little as possible. One thing we are firm on is not using the Lord’s name in vain.

We want historicals similar to what…

View original post 566 more words

Homage to @ SoVeryBritish

November 25, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

For all my UK peeps and relations: What do you think? Funny or derogatory or both?

Barb Taub

Friends and I were talking about the new book, Very British Problems: Making Life Awkward for Ourselves, One Rainy Day at a Time and its related BuzzFeed and @SoVeryBritish twitter posts.

I’ve been in the UK for several years now, but I’m only starting to get the hang of the language. Still, for those who are struggling with some of the differences between American and British English, I’ve developed an all-purpose conversation.

Your’re welcome. [@soverybritish translation: Punishing people who don’t say thank you by saying “you’re welcome” as quietly as possible.]

HOW TO SAY IT IN BRITISH	HOW TO SAY IT IN AMERICAN
I’m sorry.	You just bumped my arm and spilled my overpriced beverage down my favorite cashmere sweater. I’m going to sue you.
I’m sorry.	Then you tried to wipe it up and ended up groping my private bits. I may file charges.
I’m sorry.	And now, you…

View original post 142 more words

Author Interview – Sally Ember – The Spanners Series

November 25, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Thanks, Ch’Kara Silverwolf, for featuring me, “The Spanners Series” ebooks and my *CHANGES* G+ HOA talk show on your blog today!
I hope to hear from your followers Down Under and everywhere else! http://sheerak.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/author-interview-sally-ember-the-spanners-series/ goes to the interview.

SciFi4Me 3.0 Has Launched!

November 24, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Mazel Tov to SciFi4Me, which has launched its new-ish online news and entertainment journal covering the science fiction and fantasy genres. http://scifi4me.com/2014/11/23/scifi4me-3-0-has-launched/

To The PTA Moms at My Son’s School

November 24, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Dear Ms. Duron: I AM SO IMPRESSED! Your articulate, sensitive, persistent, accurate, clear, honest, emotionally authentic, relevant and informative post makes me want to go read your book even though I don’t work in this field anymore and my “child” is 34!
Mazel Tov to you! Your community and the online world are lucky to have you. I hope they/we realize that soon, @RaisingRainbow!
Best to you and your family and all of your activism.
WE NEED MORE LIKE YOU!

Raising My Rainbow

Last week I published a blog post about things said during a PTA meeting I attended at my youngest son’s school. I wanted to shine a light on the homophobic, transphobic, insensitive, hateful and hurtful things that some moms said during the meeting and show that as far as we have come in LGBTQ acceptance and equality, there is still much work to be done. And sometimes that work needs to be done in heavy doses at places much closer to home than we’d like.

Almost immediately, PTA moms from our school started commenting, messaging and reacting viscerally on social media.

As they did, I stared at the PTA tagline: Every child, One voice. I’m not convinced that our PTA as a whole cares about every child and some of the voices I heard that night are not voices I want speaking on behalf of my child. That being said…

View original post 1,491 more words

What I Wish I had Known for #Indiepub #Ebooks 1 and 2: An Open Letter to my Earlier Self Guest Post on The Book Cove

November 24, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

What I Wish I had Known for #Indiepub #Ebooks 1 and 2: An Open Letter to my Earlier Self Guest Post on The Book Cove goes LIVE today and is part of a series.

http://www.thebookcove.com/2014/11/author-sally-ember-edd-what-i-wish-i.html

Check on Mondays in December for the rest of the series! http://www.thebookcove.com

What I Wish I had Known for #Indiepub #Ebooks 1 and 2: An Open Letter to my Earlier Self Guest Post on The Book Cove

November 24, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

What I Wish I had Known for #Indiepub #Ebooks 1 and 2: An Open Letter to my Earlier Self Guest Post on The Book Cove goes LIVE today and is part of a series.

http://www.thebookcove.com/2014/11/author-sally-ember-edd-what-i-wish-i.html

Check on Mondays in December for the rest of the series! http://www.thebookcove.com

Clean Indie Reads – New Address #CR4U

November 23, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

I am also a member of “Clean Indie Reads” and am excited about our growth. Thanks for posting, Natalie!

Natalie D Wilson

I have been a proud member of Clean Indie Reads since almost the beginning of that site. I’m happy to announce that the site has grown so much that it has outgrown its original home. The Clean Indie Reads site is now a ‘dot com’ address. You can find my page there at: http://cleanindiereads.com/immortal-reborn-trilogy/

But don’t stop there, browse around and take a look at ALL the wonderful books written by all of the Clean Indie Reads members. Several of them have also appeared on Will’s Indie Books show. If you’re not familiar with the show, check out the archives at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indiebooks

View original post

Novel Reference Journal

November 22, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

AND, if you’d like to get to know author, Wendy Van Camp, even better, watch our LIVE conversation, coming up LIVE, 10 – 11 AM EST USA, Wed., the 7th of January, Episode 18 of *CHANGES*! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq to watch all archived Episodes.

Adventures of Alexis Davenport Series: Available for Pre-order

November 22, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

AND, if you’d like to get to know author, Shay West, even better, watch our LIVE conversation, archived on YouTube! Episode 1 of *CHANGES*: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq and stay to watch a few more authors’ Episodes!

FILM REVIEW: THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1

November 22, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

Thank you for your review, which was specific enough for me to save my money and not go see this.
I intensely dislike the direction sci-fi filmmaking has gone: too many minutes and dollars spent in flashy and unnecessary effects, massive air, outer space, land and sea CGI battles and not-credible, one-on-one combat tricks and not enough on character and plot.

Star Wars, Star Trek, Superman, Spiderman, Ironman and many more, and now, Hunger Games all gone that way. When you add up the time each movie devotes to telling the story and developing the relationships among the characters compared to blowing stuff up and destroying each other, the ratio is horribly disappointing.

I guess I am not the target demographic for most movies any more (if I ever was). Sigh.

Why I LOVE the #Smashwords Blog and you should, too!

November 21, 2014 by Sally Ember, EdD

I started with #Smashwords after months of research, watching every one of the owner/founder, Mark Coker’s, informative videos, visiting many other forum and chat room sites and investigating other options thoroughly, in early 2013. I have not been sorry in the least.

In addition to their excellent customer support, easy-to-navigate website and ongoing info for #indie #authors, Smashwords publishes an excellent blog with researched, important, up-to-the minute updates.

Excerpts and the link to the full article from their most recent posting are here. READ and SHARE!

Smashwords Blog: Ebook Publishing Gets More Difficult from Here –
Here’s How to Succeed
Posted: 19 Nov 2014 03:59 PM PST

The article starts with “good news,” which I won’t rehash, here, but it is worth reading.

It’s the “bad news” we’re all needing to know about, for sure. Here are some highlights, but please go read the details.

“…most major ebook retailers have suffered anemic or declining sales over the last 12-18 months.”

“… after a decade of exponential growth in ebooks with indies partying like it was 1999, growth was slowing.”

“It’s easy to succeed when everything’s growing like gangbusters. It’s when things slow down that your mettle is tested.”

The article goes into depth about “What’s causing the slowdown,” which I also encourage you to read fully. Headlines, here.

“1. There’s a glut of high-quality #ebooks.”

“2. The rate of growth in the supply of ebooks is outstripping the growth in demand for ebooks.”

“3. The rate of transition from print books to ebooks is slowing.”

What can an indie author do, especially one like me, who still ONLY has ebooks?

I love Mark’s optimistic overview, including: “…tremendous opportunities still lie ahead.”
and “…there’s never been a better time to be an indie author. Millions of readers are hungry to discover, purchase and read their next great book.”

He then provides tips and tricks for our use, immediately and in the future, for “how to succeed” right now. Read about and incorporate them!

“1. Take the long view.”

“2. Good isn’t good enough.”

“3. Write more, publish more and get better.”

“4. Diversify your distribution.”

“5. Network with fellow indies.”
Mark Coker also penned the Indie Author Manifesto, well worth reading!

“6. Publish multi-author box set collaborations.”

“7. Leverage professional publishing tools.”

“8. Best practices bring incremental advantage.”

Mark offers his free ebook, The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success, and reminds us of the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide and to “review [his] prior blogs posts here, or watch [his] ebook publishing tutorial videos at YouTube.”

As I said, I watched all Coker’s videos. If you are an indie author, regardless of how many ebooks/print books you’re self-published or published with a small press, these videos are well worth your time.

If you’re new and you’re trying to decide where to start, I highly recommend starting with your own word processing program and then using Smashwords as your first “publisher,” because that means you MUST put your ebook into the format that succeeds going through their “meatgrinder” and having it come out fine. If you follow Smashwords’ free formatting manual EXACTLY (and I recommend you start to do it NOW, prior to your final draft) that experience then forces your ebook into the format the Smashwords’ meatgrinder accepts.

Once you fulfill that, you’ll have EVERY ebook version you need for your manuscript, correctly formatted already. With a few tweaks (literally, taking fewer than 10 minutes), your Kindle format (.mobi) is ready to upload to #Amazon directly from your having downloaded it to your own computer from Smashwords.

Smashwords also provides a PDF, an RTF, an epub (needed for #nook, #iBooks, #Kobo and other ebook retailers) and excerpt-size versions (your choice of how large an excerpt) of all these formats for you to download as well.

That means you can email ARCs of your ebook in any format to potential beta readers, reviewers, family, as soon as it’s in the pre-order phase at Smashwords (which I highly recommend you utilize).

Then, about ten days prior to its actual release, you can fix any last-minute errors readers/ reviewers/ you found, add any review excerpts to the front matter and update your links before submitting the final revision. You need that 10-day lead for the revision to get sent in its new version to all Smashwords’ retailer partners.

THIS IS ALL FREE! Smashwords takes a very small percentage of every sale, but that is it.

NOTE: Using Smashwords first means you can’t use Kindle Select Publication (KSP), only Kindle Direct Publication (KDP), but it’s worth it.

“9. You’re running a business.”
I print these in their entirety, to entice you to follow the link, below, and read this entire article. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!

Mark’s Unconventional (but proven effective) Rules for Business:
1. Be a nice person. Treat partners, fellow authors and readers with kindness, respect and integrity. You’ll find as you develop your career, the publishing industry will feel smaller and smaller as you get to know everyone, and as everyone gets to know you. It takes a village to reach readers. All these people – fellow authors, critique partners, beta readers, editors, publishers, cover designers, publicists, retailers, and distributors – have the potential to open doors for you.
2. Be honest. Business relationships are built on trust and honesty. The fastest way to destroy a relationship is to be dishonest.
3. Be Ethical. Don’t cheat. Do unto others as you’d want done unto you.
4. Be Humble. Yeah, I’ve told you have superawesome potential within you. But know that you can always be better. Celebrate those who help you succeed. Always know that none of us can achieve anything without the support, encouragement and love of those around us. It takes a village.

“10. Pinch your pennies (an American saying that means, ‘be frugal with your money’).”

“11. Time Management.”

“12. Take risks, experiment, and fail often.”

“13. Dream big dreams.”

“14. Be delusional.”
I love this story, so I also print it here. Mark Coker is the real deal. An indie author himself (and that is one of the main reasons he founded Smashwords), he is also funny, smart, and insightful.

At the Pikes Peak writers conference three years ago, I had a fun conversation with uber-agent Donald Maas. Don had just told a room full of writers that self-publishing was a fine option if they didn’t want to sell any books. Later that night, we crossed paths at dinner. I told him I thought he was underestimating the impact self-published authors would have on the publishing industry. He told me he thought I was delusional. When someone doubts me, I feel energized. To have vision – to see what doesn’t yet exist – that’s delusional. Be delusional. What’s your vision? Know that every NY Times bestseller was absolutely nuts to write a book. Most books fail. Three months ago, three years after my conversation with Mr. Maas, Inc. Magazine named Smashwords to its INC 500 list of America’s fastest-growing companies in recognition of indie authors at Smashwords who sold over $30 million worth of books at retail last year. Who’s delusional now?

“15. Embrace your doubters.”

“16. Celebrate your fellow authors’ success.”

“17. Past success is no guarantee of future success.”

“18. Never Quit.”

“19. Dream big dreams.”

“20. Know that your writing is important.”
Mark supports and exhorts us authors so well, here, that I quote most of it:

“You are the creator of books. That makes you special, and it also burdens you with a special responsibility. No one else can create what you have within you. Your writing represents the manifestation of your life, your dreams, your soul and your talent. You’re special. Others might think you’re suffering from delusions of grandiosity but so what? What do they know? If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?”

“If you publish for the right reasons and you adopt best practices that make your books more available and more desirable to readers, your future is as bright as your imagination.”

“Thank you for everything you do.”

No, #MarkCoker: THANK YOU!

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE:
http://blog.smashwords.com/2014/11/ebook-publishing-gets-more-difficult.html