Tag: wordpress

What Really Grinds My Gears

You wanna know what really grinds my gears?

  1. When you see someone doing something you perceive to be wrong, or maybe it is wrong, and instead of pulling them to the side (a personal message or email) you create a whole blog post about it or social media post, that you know the person will see in the next 3 minutes. A lot of confusion and assumption would be eliminated if people just talked to each other. If you see someone doing something wrong, don’t talk about them. Help them. Pull them aside privately, “Hey sista”, or “Hey brother, you’re doing this wrong.” Wars are built on a misunderstanding. (And, for the record people, everyone’s not hating on you. Sometimes you’re just wrong.)

 

  1. Goodreads Reviews. Goodreads reviews really grinds my gears. Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone but I’ve noticed that reviews left on Goodreads are a lot less tactful and professional. An honest review does not mean you have to humiliate people. If an author is going to be on Goodreads then they should have thick skin because people are mean there, sometimes bringing up valid points but with no filter. And yes, I did grow up in the projects so I am used to this behavior (laughing but serious), but not everyone is. We seem to forget that people (even adults) have feelings.

 

  1. Non-Creative Author Interview Questions. Seriously people, stop asking the same questions over and over again. Be creative. The more wild and crazy the questions, the more wild and crazy the answers! “So, who is that cross-eyed guy I saw on your Facebook? Is that your man? Are you into cockeyed guys? You can tell us, we won’t judge you.” Readers eat this stuff up.

 

  1. People who keep their air conditioning at 65 degrees or lower.

 

  1. When people think everything is supposed to be free. Everything you have to pay for is not a scam. If you buy into the notion that you are somehow taking advantage of or scamming people just because you are charging for your hard work and time, then you will not make it as an entrepreneur (because you won’t make enough money for it to work. Rent/Mortgage and bills are not imaginary.) As long as you are building trust and adding value (know what you’re talking about), there’s nothing wrong with charging for your service and your time.  Some of you can afford to do everything free. Maybe you got a little change stored away or you just have the time but that’s not everyone’s life. Everybody ain’t got it like that.

 

  1. When people use “Freedom” as an excuse not to believe the truth or justify their wrong. Everyone wants the truth, but no one wants to be honest. There is no freedom without responsibility.

 

  1. When Bloggers create private blogs and really think they’re private.

  1. When people like all your social media posts but don’t reach out to you in real life.

 

  1. Potato chip bags with a handful of chips in them.

 

  1. When relatives spend 364 days not supporting your writing and on the day, you release a book ask, “Where can I buy yo book?” and you never hear from them again.

 

  1. Religious debates from people who hate to hear the truth about their God/Gods. Here’s the thing: Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behavior does.

 

  1. Photo-shopped pictures of fast food that looks nothing like the picture in real life.

 

  1. People who walk all over you and then get mad at you for establishing boundaries. Order is not abuse.

 

  1. Racists whites who don’t know that they’re racists and get mad at you for pointing it out.

  1. Telling fast food places not to put mayonnaise on your burger (I hate mayonnaise) and they do it anyway.

 

  1. When people think saying, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual” makes them deep. Saying, “I’m spiritual” doesn’t make you better than anyone else. What’s better is to just explain exactly what it is you believe in and why (because demons are spiritual too.)

 

  1. People asking, “So what you eat then?” because you said you didn’t eat pork as if no other food exist. (Though I don’t consider pork food)

 

  1. People who compare you to others. Stop saying, “so and so is doing it like this.” I don’t care what so and so is doing. That has nothing to do with me or how I do things.

 

  1. Religious people who act like they never lied, stole, cheated, or whored before. The more relatable you are, the easier it is to reach people. Just saying.

 

  1. and Indie/Trad. Publishing debates about which is better. Seriously people, just pick one that best suits you and move on. (Hint: Both require work)

Yecheilyah is an Independent Author, Blogger, and Poet. Her latest release

Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One) is available now on Amazon. 

“The characters all sound real. I really really liked all the dialogues, it seems like hearing true people speaking. Even the crowd scenes (and there are a few in the ‘southern’ thread) are involving and easy to follow.” – Amazon Customer Review

Part 2: My Author Interview/Convo. w/ Nadine Tomlinson

I haven’t the chance to inform you that part two of my 2-Part interview with Nadine is now available. Check out the transcript to our convo at the link below.

Nadine says: “The second and final part of my conversation with @yecheilyah. I learned so much from this amazing writer. And she’s hella funny, too. Thanks, EC, for sharing your wisdom and experiences with insight and humour. You’ve inspired me to tell the undiluted truth through my stories.”

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR CONVO. Or click on the link below.

https://www.nadinetomlinson.com/yecheilyah-storytellers-interview-part-2/

Yecheilyah is an Independent Author, poet, and blogger. Her latest Historical Fiction novel, Renaissance: The Nora White Story, is available now on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes. Learn more at yecheilyahysrayl. com

The PBS Blog on Amazon

PBS

Next month will mark three years that I’ve been blogging. I am also dangerously close to the 2,000-subscription mark (8/18…I keep track of it because WordPress won’t remind me since I signed up with a different blog. It therefore only alerts me to that anniversary, not when I started  PBS but I digress, you didn’t need to know all that….).

To celebrate, I am trying out Amazon Kindle for blogs. This means that if you really enjoy this blog and would like to see it grow, even more, you can now support The PBS Blog with a paid subscription. (It’s only 99cents a month and your first 14 days are free). You can also rate this blog and review it.

The advantage is that my blog posts will be delivered to your Kindle device instead of you having to click through to the email. Additionally, you can access my content even when you are not online. You can now take The PBS Blog with you.

(Plus, I finally wrote the third Chapter of The Men with Blue Eyes which I’ll be sharing soon. I am thinking of turning it into a novella. Nothing big, just something fun to put out there. Showcase my Sci-Fi side. Who knows. I’ll let you know).

For those of you who have been subscribed and active with this blog for the past three years, you can help by leaving a review on Amazon. This is a unique and exciting experience as your reviews are specifically as it pertains to this blog and my writing on it. What do you love the most about The PBS Blog? Why do you stick around? Why do you share/reblog my posts on your social media? Why do you comment and stay engaged? There must be a reason and if there’s a reason, there’s a review in you!

Here’s the link.  Again, go ahead and drop a review for me!

https://www.amazon.com/The-PBS-Blog/dp/B0746P8SJL

(I am unusually excited about this…lol)

P.S. Hold your stones. This is something new I am trying for myself. It may work or it may not. In either event, I won’t recommend it until I’ve tried it. What you choose to do is your business. I’ll let you know if I have to unenroll. The program is still in Beta so I’ll leave it at that for now.

Yecheilyah is an Independent Author, poet, and blogger. Her latest Historical Fiction novel, Renaissance: The Nora White Story, is available now on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes. Learn more at yecheilyahysrayl. com

“Yecheilyah Ysrayl is a gifted story teller. I love the way she weaves history into the story line of Nora’s life as she finally escapes home and searches for her dreams. I also enjoyed the way her parent’s past interjected throughout, giving you hints of what has made Nora the young woman she is.”

– Deborah Ann

Poetry Contest – Closed

Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash

First, I want to thank everyone who supported this contest. Whether you re-blogged or shared this across social media or participated, thank you.

I want to give a special thanks to Colleen Chesebro for allowing me space on her blog to host this and for promoting it in her weekly poetry features.

As you all know I have just released a new book and am just getting in from travel. It has therefore been a challenge to promote this contest and the book simultaneously. While I did not time the contest well, I am excited to have had the opportunity to do it and look forward to reviewing the entries and announcing our grand prize winner.

The contest is now officially over. I would extend it but honestly, it is not a good time. There are some family things to take care of and more travel in the near future. However, this is the first of many. My hope is to do this at least once a year, introducing to you more and more talented artists.

Until next time,

Peace and hair grease 🙂

My Nora Experience (and applying advice)

Book One in The Nora White Story drops in just three days (depending on when you’re reading this). What a journey it has been. I now know what I want to do and what I definitely do not want to do with Book Two. The feedback has been amazing so far and I mean both positive and constructive. This project, in particular, is different than anything I’ve ever written for sure. I feel like The Stella Trilogy helped me to find my voice and now that I have grabbed hold of the vision, I can now continue on in that direction. For me personally, every new book feels new. Every time I sit down to write a story I am a new writer. I am venturing into a world that has not been visited before and I learn something new with every experience. This has not been more true than when writing this book.

One of the ways in which this book is different than the others is that I learned so much last year that I consciously set out to apply new things I’ve learned about what to do and what not to do. This has had both positive and negative results for me. There are some things I won’t do again (not even with Book Two) and some things I will do again. In many ways, ignorance is bliss. I found myself thinking back on days I knew less than I do today and how freeing it was. But knowledge holds responsibility so I could not do the same things with this book as I’d done with the others in areas where I now know better. An example of good advice I sought to apply is my new understanding of dialogue tags. I had no idea how important they were and am now ashamed of my other books lol. But like I said, every new book is new for me so my new book will always seem far better than my previous ones. I hope to sharpen my writing skills and to make every book better than the last. It is my hope that Book Two of Nora’s Story is better than Book One for instance. Where Book One falters, I hope Book Two excels.

Another, probably the most important, thing I’ve learned (and I’ll elaborate more on this at a later time) is that once you put all the writing advice into practice, you actually get to see what works for real and what doesn’t because the experience is the best teacher. I can get so frenzied sometimes until a tiny voice says, “Shh. You’re learning. If you had not done it and failed, you would not have known that it doesn’t work or that it does. Now you can share what you’ve learned with others.” It’s a completely different world than just reading about it. Once you actually do it, your eyes open up to new perspectives and ways of thought. When you actually publish the book and apply all this advice, you are able to better discern, through trial and error, what is worth holding onto and what is not. You’ll find that it’s a lot deeper than it seems on the surface but at the same time so worth it. You’ll make mistakes but you will see the world of publishing with new eyes once you actually do it. So, what are you waiting for? Nike said it best, “Just Do It”.

Renaissance releases Saturday.

Check out the latest review

courtesy of  Nadine Tomlinson on her website HERE.

Introduce Yourself – Introducing Guest Author Sojourner McConnell

 

Welcome to Introduce Yourself, a new and exciting blog segment of The PBS Blog dedicated to introducing to you new and established authors and their books.

Today I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Sojourner McConnell. Welcome to The PBS Blog! Let’s get started.

What is your name and where are you from?

Sojourner McConnell is my pen name and I am from Alabama, Birmingham to be specific. I now live in Kentucky and visit Alabama every few months.

Cool. My family is originally from Alabama (though I’ve never been). I also love your pen name. Sojourner, what do you think of the world we live in?

All in all, I think it is a pretty wonderful place. It has problems, but as long as free thinking individuals are making decisions, there will be problems. I also see it as a changing and evolving place. A place where people can make a difference with love and peaceful intentions.

What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer? The most exciting thing?

The most difficult thing about writing to me is to focus on just one project at a time. I tend to always be writing or creating. So I have several complete and competing projects going on in my head. That is also what I find so exciting about writing. The stories that dwell in my head can be put on paper and other people can find them as fun or interesting as I do.

That is interesting. I think we writers always have a lot going on! Speaking of writers and writing, does blogging help you to write?

I find that blogging frees up the creative juices and gets them flowing in the mornings. I find that I have something to write about on each of my blogs and still plenty left over to add to my current WIP. Since I write in several different genres, I can focus on one genre on Monday and another different story on Tuesday. Sometimes I spend weeks on the same one before I move to a different manuscript while doing blogs on various subjects at the same time.

Neat. What’s your favorite Historical figure?

I would say, Helen Keller. She was a strong woman that could have spent her life being guided about and no one would have thought less of her for it, instead, she did everything that she put her mind to. She wrote, spoke, taught, and inspired everyone. Not just inspiring those with handicaps that were like hers, but inspired everyone that heard her, read her works, and saw her story. She was still alive when I was a child, and I was and still am so inspired by her.

Wow. Great figure! I love how unlimited her life was. Like you said, she could have lived within the boundaries of her disability but instead she didn’t. What kind of music do you like?

I love music, I love the bumping music heavy with percussion. I love Imagine Dragons and their many drums, I love North River Run with their delightful drummer and I love Indie music in general. I love the humor in songs like Middle Fingers, and sweet sounding love songs. I think I can safely say, I love most all music. I certainly will sing along with most.

Who’s That in the Cat Pajamas is AVAILABLE NOW on Amazon.

Why is writing important to you?

Writing is the one place where I can let me be me. If it comes off as a little bit wonky, it is considered a comedy, if it comes off a little bit mean, it is a thriller. I can be me and it is all okay. I am not just one dimensional and neither is my writing. Some days, I write a children’s story, other days I write on space and science fiction work. Some days, I just write a goofy song that makes me laugh. But with each word and each line, I get another little piece of myself out there. It is good for me to let some of all this busyness (yes busyness not business) in my head go. As my mother used to say, “there is a lot more room our there for your thoughts and stories than in your head, get it out!”

I love how you are thinking outside the box and not tying yourself down to any specific genre. In your own words, what is love?

To me, love is the giving and taking of time, enjoyment, and contentment with another person. Finding someone that you can spend your days sharing your most inane thoughts and dreams with. A feeling of belonging with another person. Love is that emotional connection with another person. Love is wanting the other person to be as fulfilled with you as you are them.

Let’s switch gears a little bit, what is your favorite color?

Usually, it is blue, that dark midnight blue. On some occasions it is pink. That sweet icing pink that goes so well with midnight blue.

Sweet icing pink…I like that. What’s your favorite drink?

This is one question that has a lot of answers.  I love coffee in the morning. It wakes me up and warms me up and it is perfect. Once noon arrives, I am all about the sweet tea. I am from the south and I have obtained quite a fondness for the sweet syrupy tea we are known for. A wonderful day was when I found Milo’s Tea in the grocery store.  Sometimes, I just want a glass of Diet Coke. Many hours, many drinks. Mimosa’s are fun when on vacation!

Thank you Sojourner for spending this time with us. We enjoyed you!

Bio.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Sojourner McConnell lives in Winchester, Kentucky with one of her daughters and three of her thirteen grandchildren. She has six grandchildren in Alabama and four that live in Michigan. Sojourner’s new book is a children’s chapter book, Who’s That in the Cat Pajamas  released June 2, 2017.

Her next book, Blip, is a sci-fi book with humor and intrigue and is due out by December 2017. The Path of the Child, The Power of Forgiveness, and 31 Days of October are available in paperback and in eBook format on Amazon and other retailers. Sojourner brings a taste of strong personalities with a healthy dose of southern charm to her characters.

As co-founder and part of the organizing team of Mystery Thriller Week, she has become fascinated with writing a mystery of her own. In fact, there might be a little mystery woven into one of the two books she is writing at present.

When not writing, she is busy entertaining her Australian Shepherd, Beau. Unfortunately, Beau tends to get jealous when she spends too much time working on the computer.

Be Sure to Follow Sojourner online:

Blog: The Path of the Writer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SojournerMcConnell/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8283786.Sojourner_McConnell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePageTurner1

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sojourner-McConnell/e/B008IQDX4S/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vicki_reads/

Are you a new (or not so new) author? Looking for more exposure? Learn more about my Introduce Yourself Feature HERE.