Happy spring, authors! What are your current writing goals?

I've been away for a while, finalizing and publishing my new romance novel "Staying Afloat". While editing, I was faced with the decision of how I wanted the story to end. I remembered a seminar I attended about the importance of endings and I've written a blog post about what I learned. Hope it helps. https://judithmarshall.net/the-purpose-of-the-last-line/

Author Hazel Edwards makes up new fusion food in her latest book. Ever tried Gozleme Vietnamese style? #foodfic https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2021/03/foodfic-please-welcome-hazel-edwards.html

Hello to all my friends and fans.

Now affiliated with NET GALLEY, I am reviewing books by women writers. THE KINDEST LIE by Nancy Johnson; WAITING FOR THE NIGHT SONG, by Julie Carrick Dalton.

Excited that our fellow member and my friend, Jane Rosenthal, has published her novel with SHE WRITES. DEL RIO is now available through SHE WRITES PRESS.

#FoodFic Author H. Gibson serves bacon "in every meal, in whatever form": https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2021/03/foodfic-please-welcome-h-gibson-author.html

Are You Ready to Become an ‘Authorpreneur’in the New Year? A new year, new projects to complete and just maybe one of your new projects is publishing your own books. You know, becoming an ‘authorpreneur’, an author who also has her own publishing imprint. With many authors eschewing the convoluted “chain-of-command” of agent and acquisition editor, plus the interminable wait of traditional publishing, the decision to be an independent publisher is a simple one. The options are certainly available. Perhaps you’d like to become part of a Boutique Publishing Press, a small press that has two or more authors on board publishing several authors a year. A portion of all royalties go for the services of editors, formatting, etc. I started out as traditionally published and began my own boutique press, Skylight-NYC Publishers. It was a good choice for me. If you’d rather go it alone, remember that you need to wear the hat of the publisher. You’re prepared. With that in mind, and with serious thought, you need a good, solid editor to edit your manuscript, someone to design your cover, (or you’ve designed your own using one of the myriad services such as Canva and iStock), and you need to hire a top-notch formatter. First steps, and they are the beginning of many you need to take in this journey. You want a professional product put on display. Your name, your brand, your reputation as an author is at stake. Get it done, get it out there, and get it done right. Now comes the crucial question—where do you go to publish the book. The two big names that come to mind are Create Space and Ingram Spark. The top publishing houses go through Lightening Source, which is connected to Ingram Spark, but which one will best suit your own needs? If you intend to do it yourself, you need to make a choice. Let’s take a look and do the rundown on both of these publishing platforms. Publishing and set-up charge: Create Space-free Ingram Spark-$49.00 Publisher User-friendly: If you’re looking for easy-step-by-step help, your best bet is Create Space. It is first-time-user-friendly and beyond. Once you master the easy techniques, you will find that it is one of the easiest ways to publish. They do have specifications, the same as Ingram Spark, but their customer service is more helpful. While Ingram Spark can, and will help you, their specifications are more demanding and difficult to achieve. You will basically need to read their online manual several times to make the manuscript fit their requirements. ISBNs for your book, both print and ebook: Ingram Spark requires you to have your ISBN before you begin the publishing process. Create Space will provide you with a no-charge ISBN, but, as tempting as that may be for your budget, you may be better off purchasing your own. This will give you the benefits of your own publishing company’s brand on all book databases. Branding your books is crucial for any author. To market, to market—how fast? Create Space is faster. After you’ve gone through the process of uploads and tweaks and approve your proof copy from them, Create Space is faster to publish. You’ll see your book listed in 48 hours. Your book will get to market sooner. As for Ingram Spark, they require 3-5 days to produce a book, and then after the proof copy is approved, you must allow 6-8 weeks to get the book into their distribution channels, thus slowing the time it takes to get the book to market. It pays to remember that both Create Space and Ingram Spark use the same ‘back ends and services’ for printing. Remember Lightening Source? Interestingly enough, the extended distribution offered by Create Space actually comes through Ingram Spark. Yes, Create Space uses Ingram Spark for their distribution services! Distribution in brick and mortar store: Create Space books are generally not accepted in bookstores simply because of economics. The owners do not make the same profit selling books from Create Space as they do from Ingram Spark. Create Space uses Ingram for distribution, and Ingram is the world’s biggest distributor of books. To that end, Ingram gets its cut of the book sale as well. Approximately 15% of the sale goes to Ingram Spark, 20% to Create Space which leaves only 25% for the bookstores. One small word of advice here—if it is important to you to have your book sent to bookstores, libraries, and Baker and Taylor, you should have the print version set up on Ingram Spark as well as on Create Space. For the Ingram Spark set-up fee of $49.00 (plus an account charge of $12.00), it is well-worth it. Quality: The same for both— I’ve had my books done by both Ingram Spark and Create Space and believe me, if there is a difference, I don’t see it. The quality for both is excellent. As with any other business, decisions have to be made rationally and in the best interest of the bottom line. No emotions allowed here in spite of the fact that the book is ‘your baby’. You’re wearing your publisher’s hat for this part. Authorpreneurship can be nerve-wracking and frustrating but it can also be an exciting adventure. Decide what’s right for your book, tackle it in a professional manner, and don’t look back. Your book deserves to get published in 2018. Happy writing!

Why settle for illusions when I can have the truth. https://thespiritualperspective.com/2021/03/09/freedom-5/ Make this life great! Timika

Making great progress in reclaiming my lost book! Laptop malfunction completely corrupted the file of my second novel (just as I was about to finish it!), and I've had to start again.

Part 4: Women Are Not Rehabilitation Centers for Broken Men I’ve heard many Black Men profess, “I want a ride or die.” What exactly does this mean? Well, the original phrase was a biker’s term, which meant, if you couldn’t ride, you’d rather die. Now, it has evolved to mean, anyone you date or have a relationship with that will “ride” any problems out with you or “die” trying. Let that marinate. On the surface it sounds so innocent, so sweet, so endearing sort of like wedding vows, “…for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, through sickness and in health.…” And I truly believe that if you’re going to enter a covenant “an agreement” or “a contract” with a person then you should be willing to “ride” with them during trying times. In all honesty, a relationship with anyone has ups and downs. However, I find too often some men are looking for women to be “ride or die,” meanwhile they are consistently raining a shit storm on a woman’s parade. I posted a quote last week on Facebook, “You are not required to be anyone’s peace if all they bring you is chaos.” Don’t you feel you deserve better? And this goes for anyone in your life not just dating relationships, but any relationship. However, let’s focus on this topic for now. Dudes be like, I want a woman to go half on all the bills, have my kids, take care of them, do all the cooking, cleaning. I wanna still be able to sleep with other women or you know have a few indiscretions here and there. She better not ask no questions or I’ll cuss her out, leave. Then I’ll just come back when I realize how good I had it and she needs to take me back because…she’s said she was ride or die. Oh yeah, she better not be messing with no other dudes because…that’s some bull ish. Huh??? Confused face, deep sigh. This is exactly what some men’s definition of ride or die is. Again, “You are not required to be anyone’s peace if all they have to offer is chaos.” So when guys present you with ye ole hook and bait phase, make sure you ask questions as to what that entails. About four years ago, I stumbled across Derrick Jaxn’s Facebook page. I listened to this brother speak on the topic, “Women are not rehabilitation centers for broken men.” I was like wow! A guy speaking on this and with such sincerity and a high level of emotional intelligence. And, honestly, I’m happily married, so his message really wasn’t for me. However, whenever I hear a good word, I make sure to listen carefully because every message you receive isn’t always for you…sometimes it’s for you to pass along to someone else. What this topic means to me is, the whole proverbial “ride or die” mentality, is only as good as the two parties entering the agreement. For instance, my husband and I have been married for 12 years. Not everyday has been a walk in a park…I laughed this morning because I literally said to myself, “There are days when I just want to cuddle and love on him like crazy and there are moments when I can crack him upside the head with a skillet.” Of course, I wouldn’t do that. I said all that to say, if every day, he had women calling his cellphone, he wasn’t coming home some nights until the next morning smelling like another woman, making babies outside of our marriage, which means unprotected sex and endangering my life and his…how could I be expected to ride through that while being the dutiful wife? I’m sorry, I’m not about to do all that. I went through that in my first marriage and I said to myself, “NEVER WILL I EVER PUT UP WITH NO ISH LIKE THAT AGAIN!” Ride or die for what son? It’s the sheer hypocrisy and audacity for me… I mean, how can you vocalize the scenario I described to yourself out loud and be like, “Yeah, so we doing this or nah?” Rolls eyes, tosses hair, “That’s a negative. But thank you though, take care now, bye-bye then.” If you are not ready to be in a monogamous relationship, present those facts up front. You should not expect loyalty if that’s not what you’re offering. If your father wasn’t around and you never really learned how to be in a healthy functional relationship, then invest funds in talking to qualified professionals that can help you work through your issues so you can be ready for a “ride or die” when she comes along. It’s not the 1950s. No woman should have to meet you halfway on all the bills and still do ALL the cooking, cleaning, rearing of the children and administering of home affairs. Meanwhile, all you’re doing is going half on the bills. If you want her to meet you halfway, then you also have to find a way to meet her halfway on the household duties. If you say you want a woman to walk in her feminine energy. Then allow her space to do that. Stop requiring so much…always asking what are you bringing to the table meanwhile, some of these dudes don’t even have a damn table. I said. What I said. When you enter into a relationship with someone. It’s like entering an agreement and all agreements have terms and conditions. Does this mean you have to be perfect? No. No one is perfect. Yet, at the same time, you should not be engaging in activities that violate the contract on the regular. Everyday, I go to work and my intentions are to do the best job I can. Yet, there are times when I miss things…it’s not often, but hey, I do. But I’m never just going to work looking to make mistakes all the time. If I do, I would imagine my supervisor would have a talk with me and eventually send me on my way. Ride or die doesn’t mean: doormat, slave, pushover. What it means is, two people coming together and weathering storms and coming up where the other falls short. Such as a partner getting sick and the other having to step up to do more until the other gets better Dealing with the loss of a loved one, being an emotional support system Financial woes…overcoming debt and building wealth Dealing with familial issues such as children or parents that have mental or substance abuse problems. Basically, it can encompass a myriad of things, but it doesn’t involve one person shouldering the entire responsibility of keeping a relationship afloat while having their heart broken time and time again. That does not sound appealing. That’s why I say, “Ride or die for what son?” Remember, if you need time to work on yourself before stepping into someone’s life, take time to work on you.

It sounds intriguing. Wish I was in the market for a house. I love the water scenes but not the winters. Ariel Rosettie

Guest Kathryn Gauci uses #FoodFic to "portray the difference between the glittering dinner parties of the German elite and the French people who were barely able to sustain themselves": https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2021/03/foodfic-please-welcome-kathryn-gauci.html

The 10th Anniversary of A Life of Death: The Redemption READ MORE: https://donnakshir.wordpress.com/2021/03/02/the-10th-anniversary-of-a-life-of-death-the-redemption/

A Life of DEath: The Redemption by Laurie Ann Smith. Buy NOW: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/laurie-ann-smith/a-life-of-death/paperback/product-5wppr2.html?page=1&pageSize=4