Kay Elizabeth's Blog (10)

We're a fantastic community. Sometimes we need to and do address issues that are brought to our attention to keep it that way.

Please be aware that constantly linking to your own work or copy/pasting it here is irritating to many other members. To those who do: you're not making yourself look good in the eyes of the community. No one likes a taker who doesn't give back to Authors.com and only makes self-serving posts. And it REALLY hurts us on Google when it's duplicate content. Read…

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Having a book published under the publishing giant Harlequin's umbrella must be almost universally irresistible to writers. Think it's a pipe dream? Think again, because Harlequin offers an excellent online resource to help you and your novel reach those heights. It's called Write For Us and is within eHarlequin. The publishing company has created a section purely for writers sharing advice, submission guidelines and…

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I hope you all enjoyed Diving into the Guest Blogging Pool, Part I and I've whetted your appetite for Part II!



Last time I talked about two of four common reasons some haven't attempted guest blogging: "I don't have the time" and "I don't know what to write about."



Now let's look at the remaining two.





"I'm scared I'll be rejected."



Aren't we all! While there are no guaranteed 100% foolproof ways to prevent rejection, you…

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Guest posting on blogs is a wonderful way to draw attention to yourself, your writing and your book(s).

Strangely, I find some authors are quite reticent about guest blogging. What? Lovers of the craft not wanting to write? I was intrigued. When I dug deeper to find out why, again and again I heard the same reasons:

 

• I don't have the time.
• I don't know what to write about.
• I'm scared I'll be rejected.
• I don't know how to approach a blog…

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Is it really possible to rediscover the joy, that carefree attitude that most of us remember from our childhood? Nothing in adult life is fashioned to encourage us to take pleasure in the simple things in life anymore. Should we? More importantly, could we even if we wanted to? Continue

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The silver needle finally acquiesced to the probing black thread.

Do all parents go through this, I ask myself.

The object of today’s battleground lies crumpled upon my lap;

A day old winter jacket already looking shabby,

Scarred through carelessness. Squinting at black fabric,

I concentrate on repairing the gaping, saw toothed pocket.

What had been a pleasant enough day was now marred

By the blazing argument between mother and…

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Hannah was a special little girl. There was only one small problem. She herself didn't think she was. Hannah wasn't really sure why she felt like that. It just seemed to be something that she had always known--that she was nothing special.



She was small for her age, so she couldn't run as fast as the others that won the races. She was shy, so she found it hard to make friends and only had one (and some days none when her 'friend' didn't feel like being her friend that day). She… Continue

Sitting alone, in a dimly lit room

Pondering life

She brushes her graying hair

From her face and sighs,

Scrutinizing her reflection

In the window as the rain beats.



Her dulled eyes fill as they do so easily these days.



Even she can see their sadness

That concerned friends comment on,

But only amongst themselves,

Too afraid of hurting her but unsure of why.

They feel her pain,

But she has distanced herself now

So it… Continue

Unseen tears fall as even now I truly can't show how I feel.

I wonder why that is, that I can't just shout

And scream and say what my heart & soul wants to...

But I choose instead to withdraw into myself and

Pull on my well worn mask of positivity.



We go way back, my mask and I.



More years than I care to admit, even to myself.

So weathered now from overuse,

Thinned to the point of transparency

Yet moulded perfectly to my… Continue