I’ve seen hundreds of book lists: Books you should read before you die; Books that should be on your book shelves (hopefully you’re still allowed to take them out and read them); The best books of the 20^th century; Books that your children should read … you can see where this is going.

I have to admit that in terms of lists, I am not doing that well.  In the “how many of the books you should have read by now. Yes, you!” quizzes popping daily on the Internet, I probably reach a score around 50%.  I always imagine my highschool librarian scowling at me, as I’ve read a lot, but apparently not the ‘must-read’ types of books.  And I have to confess, I have forgotten quite a lot from my earlier reading.

To be fair, school can do that to you: you read so much…

The passing of my pet rat Mouse led me to think about a Buddhist poem about death, from the Buddhist viewpoint.

Though we may relinquish our body in this lifetime, we are not gone, nor will we ever be. Animals are no exception to this, they are simply closer to the start of their path than are humans.

We are all animals after all …

This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born, and I have never died.
Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations from my wondrous true mind.
Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey.
Birth and death are a game of hide-and seek.
So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say good-bye…

My first meeting with Oscar Wilde was an astonishment. I never before heard a man talking with perfect sentences, as if he had written them all over night with labour and yet all spontaneous. There was present that night at Henley’s, by right of propinquity or of accident, a man full of the secret spite of dulness, who interrupted from time to time, and always to check or disorder thought; and I noticed with what mastery he was foiled and thrown. I noticed, too, that the impression of artificiality that I think all Wilde’s listeners have recorded came from the perfect rounding of the sentences and from the deliberation that made it possible. That very impression helped him, as the effect of metre, or of the antithetical prose of the seventeenth century, which is itself a true metre, helped its writers, for he could pass without incongruity from some unforeseen…

To read the article go to
http://www.sott.net/article/280878-Japan-unveils-worlds-first-android-newscaster

Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly seeks short stories for publication in online magazine focused on Science Fiction Romance.

Length

1,000 to 7,500 words. For Issue #4, we are accepting SFR stories of a Cyborg theme; that is, they must include cyborgs and SF and Romance elements with an upbeat ending. We also prefer stronger heroines to passive ones.

Payment

US$30 paid upon publication, promotional biography with two links, and a complimentary quarter-page advertisement. (We’re working on increasing the rate, but it all depends on how much ad revenue we get in.)

Deadline for Issue #4

August 15, 2014.

Rights sought

Six-month exclusive world digital rights from date of publication; non-exclusive thereafter.

Other info

One short story will be published per quarterly issue, so please send only edited and polished work, with the understanding that the majority will be rejected. Due to the constraints, we are unable to give personalized feedback on…

Hope & Love, a Charity Anthology Charity Anthology
Submission Call

THEME: LGBTQ Youth and Adults / Community
Short story submissions must be centered on LGBTQ youth and adults. The goal is to make a place where they can fully identify & express themselves without fear of ridicule & harassment. Stories should feature happy or promising endings.
*All proceeds from this charity anthology will be donated to MKE LGBT Community Center*
Short Stories: 3k – 10k words. Manuscripts shorter or longer will be considered but will have to be extraordinary.
Deadline: August 1st, 2014.
Heat Level: YA, NA, Adult (must have plot, no explicit content).
Genres: Any
Pairings: GLBTQ (couples & poly) No previously published work, from new and established authors. Send all submissions to Áine at apmassie@gmail.com. List the anthology title in the subject line of your e-mail. Ex: LGBT Anthology submission. While there is no guarantee that your work…

For those unfamiliar with Hugh Howey, he’s a very successful hybrid author who’s been behind the Author Earnings revolution – the publication of estimates on the financial side of Indie publishing.  His main contribution was to help find reliable data on the self-publishing side of things.  This has made him a darling of the Indie scene, as his data supports the feeling that self-publishing is here to stay, since it’s much more successful and profitable than usually realized. It has also made him a hate figure for many supporters of the traditional publishing model.

In his interviews and comments, he comes across as a very sweet and gentle guy, keeping his cool even when flamed to a crisp.  In a recent interview on Tech Crunch called “Making it Big in Self-Publishing”, he shares his views regarding book writing, book publishing and book promotion.  Since he is one of the most…

One of my most anticipated books of the year is NOW LIVE!
I just started it and am already in LOVE! I highly recommend that you hurry up and one-click so you’ll know the book that everyone will be talking about this week!
(it’s inevitable…everything Amy Harmon writes is pure genius <3)

Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Synopsis

When two unlikely allies become two unwitting outlaws, will two unforgettable lovers defy unbeatable odds?

Bonnie Rae Shelby is a superstar. She’s rich. She’s beautiful. She’s impossibly famous. And Bonnie Rae Shelby wants to die.

Finn Clyde is a nobody. He’s broken. He’s brilliant. He’s impossibly cynical. And all he wants is a chance at life.

One girl. One boy. An act of compassion. A bizarre set of circumstances. And a choice – turn your head and walk away, or reach out your hand and risk it all?

With that choice…

My dear friend MMJaye published this awesome blog post today, titled 13 Strategy-Altering Blogging Stats, that was based on a post by Mitt Ray of Social Marketing Writing.  Mitt has taken all blog-related statistics he could lay his hands on and created a superb infographic that is an excellent resource for all us bloggers.

Along with the blogging stats, Mitt has provided some tips on how they can be used to create a better blog.  He also lists his original sources, which is a great idea for anyone looking for some extra reading into this. I have converted these to easy-to-follow links, for your convenience. I suggest you take a look whenever you have some free time to spare; they make for a fascinating read. On the other hand, the most important lessons are already included in Mitt’s infographic, so even if you’re pressed for time (and who isn’t?), you can just look at…

I was recently in the remote Alaskan town of Barrow for an academic project.  Barrow is profoundly different from any place I have been: at 71.3 N latitude, it perches at the edge of the Arctic Ocean.  During April, when I visited, the ocean is frozen as far as you can see.  The tundra is white and flat, and there is no vegetation.  Most of the people who live there are Inupiat Eskimos.  It is as far removed as you can imagine from Delhi, where I grew up, or for that matter, Boston, near which city I now reside.

I was wandering through the bright hallways of Ilisagvik college in Barrow, looking for someone with whom I hoped to speak, when I found an efficient young administrative assistant.  She assured me she would find the person I was seeking, and took my name down.  As is usual in…

The tree just started shaking then fell. They said the roots don’t appear to be rotten. Weird!!
To read the article go to
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tree-falls-on-car-and-truck-trapping-2-men-in-vancouver-1.2656211

As you know, there is research being done about pretty much everything nowadays.  I recently came across an interesting research by Michelle Bertino on Klout, that studies the reactions on Twitter and Facebook according to different subjects.  Nice guy that I am, and since a large part of it has fascinating repercussions for our book marketing efforts, I thought I’d share. So, let the battle begin: Twitter vs. Facebook!

Photo: articlemarketingco.com

Top 10 Subjects

The research categorized the subjects that get a noteworthy reaction on Twitter or Facebook.  As you can see, music, television, holidays and celebrities have the greatest engagement.  Amazingly enough, religion is in the top 10 of engagement in Facebook – something I did not expect, since the contrast with the previous subjects is quite amazing.  Apparently Facebook attracts many different people!

Research by Michelle Bertino, Klout

I carefully glance through the list, expecting and hoping to see books…

To read the article go to
http://www.sott.net/article/279440-3-year-old-remembers-past-life-identifies-murderer-and-location-of-body

I happened across this brilliant map by Jamie Clark, and I had to share! It shows the different words one can use to make connections, whether to compare, contrast, emphasise etc.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to visit his blog for more awesome stuff!

Making Connections, map by Jamie Lee Clark

To read the article go to
http://www.sott.net/article/279347-Matter-will-be-created-from-light-within-a-year-claim-scientists