The Liebster Blog Award

Posted by Robynn Gabel on May 17, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 4 comments
liebster-blog-award1A big thank you to Julian Froment, http://julianfroment.wordpress.com/,  who surprised me by nominating me for the Liebster Award.  I’m pleased to accept this award and pass on the honor and fun to others.
The Rules for The Liebster Blog Award are as follows:
List 11 random facts about you.
Answer the questions that were asked of you.
Nominate 11 other blogs for the Liebster Blog Award and link to their blogs.Notify the bloggers of their award.

Ask the award winners 11 questions to answer once they accept the award.

So, Eleven Random Facts About Me.

  1. When I first learned to read I drove my parents nuts reading outloud every sign we passed while traveling in the car.
  2. My first love was reading. My second love was horses. I married my third love!
  3. I was twenty-one before I learned how to drive a car.
  4. I’m not a dog person, but a cat person. Unfortunately dogs don’t seem to pick up  on this and like to mob me.
  5. I dream in color and sometimes have dreams that come true.
  6. Climbing trees is still something I like to do.
  7. I love frozen Junior Mints.
  8. I write my stories to classical music.
  9. Autocrossing my Corvette is what I do for fun!
  10. Accomplishing goals helps me focus my Adult ADD.
  11. I can’t stand to have my hands messy or dirty.

My Answers to the Questions I was Asked

  1. What is your favourite book?    Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R. Tolkien
  2. Do you play an instrument? If so, which one?   Piano. Only have torturous hours of practice.
  3. What is your ideal holiday?   One with all of my five children and sixteen grandchildren present.
  4. Which author would you most like to meet (they do not need to be currently alive)?  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  5. What is your favourite genre to write in?  Hmm, thought I like Romance and have written in that genre, I’m not sure I have a favorite yet. I want to sample several.
  6. What is your least favourite book?  War and Peace. Very slow, very long.
  7. Do you have siblings, if so which?  Two sisters and one brother.
  8. PC or Mac?   Vaio Laptop! LOL
  9. Do you eat meat?  Yes, and my favorite is buffalo.
  10. What is your favourite sport?  Anything that has horses in it. LOL
  11. Do you have a day job?   Gratefully retired.

Eleven Questions for my Nominees

  1. Would you rather read or write?
  2. Where is your favorite place to write?
  3. What are you currently reading?
  4. What is a favorite character name?
  5. Dog person or cat person?
  6. What is the piece of writing that is the best you’ve ever done?
  7. Your middle name is?
  8. How do you reward yourself after reaching a goal?
  9. To break writer’s block, what do you do?
  10. If you had to decide on pie or ice cream, which would you choose?
  11. What is your favorite time of day?

The Nominees

M.O.K. Author - http://mokauthor.wordpress.com/

Carmen DeSousa - http://www.carmendesousa.com/

Doug Simpson - http://dousimp.mnsi.net/

Danny Kemp - http://www-thedesolategarden-com.co.uk/

Charles Edward Yallowitz - http://legendsofwindemere.com/

Shauny - http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com/

Shane - http://shanesbookblog.com/

Sheri Degrom - http://sheridegrom.wordpress.com/

Jalal Michael Sabbagh -  http://mysuccessisyoursuccess.wordpress.com/

Briana - http://whenibecameanauthor.wordpress.com/

Glynis Rankin - http://glynisrankin.wordpress.com/

Congratulations to all of You! I hope you will join in the fun and make someone’s day by passing on this fun and entertaining award. 

Addicted to Writing?

Posted by Robynn Gabel on May 15, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 16 comments

writing2I once worked  in a psych and chemical dependency treatment center. The first thing I learned was the definition of addiction and how we can be addicted to anything. There was checklist to measure the depth of the addiction

For instance – has it interfered with personal relationships? Has it affected your finances such as lost jobs, or impulse buying, or missing payments? Have you had problems with the law? Is your health affected by it? Your spirituality? Has it affected your lifestyle? Or have you been displaced such as a loss of residency? Do you have problems concentrating or are you obsessing about attaining your next encounter with it?

The other day I went looking for a box of my high school writings. I had read a blog by Ionia Martin where she asked if we thought our first writing was any good. I was curious about mine. I found several boxes filled with notes written on every conceivable form of paper. Post-it notes, napkins, scraps of wallpaper, receipts, postcards, envelopes, kid’s school projects, even toilet paper. I promise it was clean!

Suddenly I thought about that checklist. Had my writing interfered with personal relationships? Well, my husband had complained on more than one occasion about my vacant stares and his repeated questions that fell on my deaf ears. The kids got to know that look and knew not bother me when I was scribbling frantically. Impulse buying of notebooks, notepads and bushels of pens and pencils did affect the finances I guess. I can’t look at an empty piece of paper without the urgent desire to write something on that white expanse.

I suppose the electric company may have wondered about me when I asked for the bill back that I had sent in with the check because I had written a line of poetry on it. Then there were those occasional speeding tickets on trips. This is when I get most of my books written in  my head. I love a long drive so I can busily construct. Unfortunately I’m not always paying attention to speed limit signs when I’m doing this.

Of course there is the eye-strain from copious amounts of reading and bright computer screens. I stay up late into the night researching and writing so there has been many a Sunday I’ve been to tired to get up and go to church. Concentration on daily chores is interrupted by my mad dashes to the nearest piece of paper to capture an idea. Let’s not forget about obsessing over getting that opening chapter just right or the editing rewrite done.

So, I don’t know. Do you think I may have a writing addiction?

Raising Books

Posted by Robynn Gabel on April 30, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 comments

 

 

 

SWindswept Hearts Book Covero we all know, as authors, the euphoric feeling you get the first time you hold the actual printed copy of the first book you have ever written. It’s a high like no other. That awesome, overwhelming feeling that you did it and you hold in your hands proof of that.

 

It is a precious memory, but it wears off. Then the test of whether you truly are a writer occurs. You must write again because more stories beg for your attention.

 

Having children is a similar experience. You are ecstatic when you hold your first born child. You know you are going to be the best parent ever. As the daily care sets in with diaper changes and the first sleepless night, the excitement departs leaving behind exhaustion. But for some reason a few years later nostalgia sets in and you want another one. In the meantime you continue with the business of raising your darling.

 

How does one raise a book? After its birth what is the process to build and grow it into something that people want to read? Well first, like a pregnancy, it should have had good prenatal care. Without the building blocks of a fine editor, research and solid story, it will not go far. So let’s just say you’ve already done your prenatal care.

 

After the long labor of editing,  you hold in your hands your precious child. How do you introduce it to the world? Just like you prepared for a new baby, you must think ahead and get ready. You will need to spend time on social networking, promoting and advertising. You work at developing a good author website. Create and keep a current blog. Through the exhaustion you will have to find the time to Tweet, Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, Author  Guest Blog, do book signings and find any other outlet you can push your darling to the fulfillment of its potential.

 

Of course in the meantime you need to be working on bringing its sibling into the world. You must learn to multi-task and find time to write while graciously answering blog comments and promote its older brother or sister.

 

Yes, raising a book, in my humble opinion, is like raising children. You may have to wait for years to see its full potential. Some will look back on the process with tenderness and longing, while others may be glad it’s over. Either way, in the end, you have something you will be proud of and forever love.

 

So I wonder where your book raising is taking you?

WordPress Family Award

Posted by Robynn Gabel on April 24, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 7 comments

Award

I was blessed to be nominated into this wonderful ongoing Award by Ionia Martin @ http://readfulthingsblog.com/. It amazes me how quickly you form  friendships here with other bloggers. Their support and encouragement have given me confidence to be a writer and blogger.

Award Description:
“This is an award for everyone who is part of the “Word Press Family” I start this award on the basis that the WordPress family has taken me in, and showed me love and a caring side only WordPress can. The way people take a second to be nice, to answer a question and not make things a competition amazes me here. I know I have been given many awards, but I wanted to leave my own legacy on here by creating my own award, as many have done before. This represents “Family” we never meet, but are there for us as family. It is my honour to start this award.” from Shaun @http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com/

Rules:
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your wordpress experience and family
4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them
5. That is it. Just please pick 10 people that have taken you as a friend, and spread the love.

Here are my Nominees. To friends and bloggers who have helped me in my quest to become a better author. Thank you!

http://readfulthingsblog.com/

http://paulashene.wordpress.com/

http://rickcarufel.wordpress.com/

http://theauthordannykemp.com/

http://angelaura28.wordpress.com/

http://rebekahjennings.wordpress.com/

http://shanesbookblog.com

http://mokauthor.wordpress.com/

http://myseryniti.wordpress.com/

http://www.carmendesousa.com

The Heart of Elvis – New Release

Posted by Robynn Gabel on April 22, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 7 comments

Elvis_cover_3 I am excited to announce the release of “The Heart of Elvis”, a story about a Missouri Fox Trotter who taught his soulmate how to become a horsewoman.

This collection of humorous short stories gives you a glimpse into the world of a graceful creature called a horse and his uneducated human caretaker. Through first rides, grandchild encounters, cattle ride adventures, and the show ring, you will learn along with his rider, the difficulties and joys of horsemanship.

Whether you are a first time horse owner, just appreciate horses or are an experienced horseman, these stories will entertain you. This book will fill an empty afternoon with smiles and warm the heart.

Buy your copy today at the following:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-of-Elvis-ebook/dp/B00C9GUH3S

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heart-of-elvis-robynn-gabel/1115099572?ean=2940016750194

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303639

To Review or Not to Review

Posted by Robynn Gabel on April 21, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 comments

Cat watchingSo how do you review? I’ve always thought a critique was giving an opinion on both the good and bad of a book, where as a review concentrated more on how the story made you feel. After reading many reviews I’ve seen it can be all of the above.

That brings up the question, what if you don’t like it? How do you handle that? What if the Point of View is all over the place, the story is disjointed and doesn’t flow, or the grammar is so poor you struggle to read it? What do you say then? Do you publicly humiliate the author?

I can understand the frustration of readers of Indie Authors. Being an avid reader I’ve tried to be supportive of Indie’s, but I’ve been irritated a few times. So Amazon won’t kick out my reviews, I purchase all my reads. I’ve found that the book cover will look awesome as well as having an interesting synopsis, but after the purchase, I find myself  struggling with a hard-to-read product.

What I’m finding most of the time is there is a good story in there, but it’s hidden by lack of Point of View, or sentence structure that makes no sense. Then there is poor formatting, miss-spelled words or wandering story line. I always wonder, ‘how did the editor let that slide?’  So I will ask the author if they had it edited. I’ve received some interesting replies that I won’t repeat, but 99.9 percent of the time, there was no editor. Why am I not surprised? My favorite reply was “It’s my story and you either like it or you don’t.” Sigh…..

As an Author, I really get frustrated. If readers can’t trust they are getting a good product, this tarnishes all of our reputations as writers and drives them away from Indie’s. There is a reason publishers have editors. It’s because all authors need them. Just as we need beta readers, and re-writes. What makes sense to us, what we love about our little creations, may look totally different to others. We need unbiased opinions to help us create the best story we can.

But back to my original question. What do you do? Do you go ahead and do a review?

If it is that poor, I will do two things. I will contact the author and ask a few questions. Their tone of response will then temper what I do next. If they are interested in my inquires, if  they ask questions back and I can politely share my opinion, I will then go on and give a nice, but honest review. I have the author read it first and they can either approve or disapprove my posting of  it. This is important. As an author I have to remember how it would feel if someone reviewed me harshly.  But if they state it is what it is, I do not review.

I have a responsibility as a reader and author to create an honest review for the next interested reader. If I inflate it and don’t represent it honestly, the next reader is no longer going to trust my review or my own writing. It is a double-edged sword. I want to support my fellow Indie, but they have to want to produce the best product they can.

So what do you do? To review or not to review? What are your guidelines?