Magic Monday: The Posting Conundrum

Amber here, with a little organizational "magic" for my blogging buddies!

Productive Poster Pills

Description of Illness: It's another week, and you're running out of post ideas. Call it "writer's block" or whatever you will, but no brilliant ideas are coming to you, and you're worried. Or perhaps you do have plenty of ideas, but you're running short on time or reader interest. Either way, a little organization can be a big help!

Treatment: Here are some ways you as a blogger can be organized and productive -

• Themed Weeks: For those who have run out of ideas, themed weeks can be your ticket to creativity! What is it you and your readers are interested in? Mysteries? Vampires? Food? Pick a topic and center your posts around that. You can do book or movie reviews based on the topic (which can help you choose your next book from your TBR stack!), giveaways (readers love 'em!), author interviews, themed devotionals, fun polls... With a certain theme/topic in mind, you have a foundation for the coming week. And of course, you can always plan them ahead of time, invite your friends, and make it an event to look forward to! (By the same token, weekly memes can help you keep on track!)
  

• Scheduled Posts: For those who have a hard time keeping up with blogging, it can be helpful to schedule posts in advance. When you're creating a new post in Blogger, click on "Post Options" in the lower left-hand corner of the template. Now in the lower right-hand corner you should see "Post date and time." Just enter in the date and time you want your post to be posted, and you're good to go! So whenever you have a free weekend or some extra time on your hands, you can save some posts for a rainy (or busy) day. ;)

• Research: When you're getting ready to put together an author interview post, it can sometimes help to do a little bit of research. Make sure you're asking questions that make sense...ones that pertain to the genre the author writes in, and maybe some questions that specifically center around their latest book. And be sure to ask fun/unique questions - the kind that you and your readers would really like to know the author's response to!
  

Recommended For: Bloggers of all ages.

Dosage: If you're a blogger in need of some new ideas, take the first pill/option. If you're a blogger always on the go, take that second pill/option. If you're a book blogger, the third pill/option could be helpful!

A Spoonful of Sugar: Post with passion. "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," as Mary Poppins says. So make your posts fun and encouraging for both you and your readers. Don't let blogging become a drudgery. If it comes to that, maybe you need a break from blogging for a while. Or maybe you need to remind yourself why you blog. Because if you're blogging about what you love, then I think you'll love blogging!

It's just like . . . magic.

Disclaimer:

*I don't claim to fix all areas of your life - or any, for that matter. I'm just giving you some food for thought on how you might keep from pulling your hair out as deadlines and such loom over you. Side effects may include dizziness and fainting spells due to intense relief, and uncontrollable shouts of joy. Not recommended for those who strongly dislike organized people and label them "neat freaks" and other cruel names.*

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Winners!!

It's always so much fun to give away great books!! Congratulations to this week's lucky winner:

Marjorie – Plain Fear: Forsaken by Leanna Ellis

Marjorie, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the author. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book and thank you, Leanna Ellis (via publicist) for your generosity in providing a book!

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Weekly Drawing

Entering our weekly drawing is easy:

1. Leave a comment on Fridays or...

2. Sign up to follow The Borrowed Book. Followers will automatically be entered for a chance to win that week's drawing!

This week, The Borrowed Book is giving away a SPECIAL UNCORRECTED ADVANCE COPY OF:

Plain Fear: Forsaken by Leanna Ellis ~ "Not Death, But Love."

Pain choked off anymore words. She grabbed the cold stone marker for support, splayed her hands across its front as a sob wrenched free from her chest.
Although she knows that the Amish way is to move on from grief, on to a new season, Hannah cannot move on from Jacob, who was taken too soon.

Jacob's brother Levi also cannot move on-his love for Hannah burns just as strong as ever. But he knows how much Hannah loved his brother, and the event that took Jacob from them.

And it's a secret he must take to his grave.

So when a mysterious stranger comes to their community, he too carries a secret; one that will force Hannah to choose between light and dark, between the one she wants to love and a new yearning she fears to embrace.

Winner will be announced on Saturday, 08/06/11.

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America's Most Inspirational Author

I watched a rerun on TV of the movie A Man Called Peter the other day, and the words of his sermons touched my heart as much as they did the first time I saw the movie. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s the story of a young immigrant who came to America and became one of the greatest preachers of his time. Not only did he become pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, he also became the Chaplain of the Senate. Although the movie was about his life and death, I also was interested in his wife Catherine’s life.

Catherine Marshall (1914-1983) distinguished herself during her lifetime as a multi-published author of inspirational fiction. The New York Times described her as America’s Most Inspirational Author. In her lifetime she wrote or edited over 30 books which have sold over 16 million copies.

When her husband died in 1949, Catherine was the mother of a nine-year-old boy, and she needed a means of support. She started writing and penned A Man Called Peter, the story of her husband’s life, and also published a book of his sermons. Her most famous book, however, was Christy which she wrote in 1967. This book was based on her mother’s experiences when she traveled to Appalachia to teach impoverished children. The book is reported to have sold over 10 million copies and to have been read by over 30 million people.

In the spring of 1999, a dozen publishers saw the need for an annual award to recognize authors and genres of Christian fiction. Catherine Marshall’s contributions to inspirational fiction came to mind, and by the summer The Christy Award had been born. The award was designed to nurture and encourage creativity, bring a new awareness to the choices in fiction available, and to provide recognition to authors who may not have reached best seller status.

This year’s awards ceremony was held in Atlanta on July 11. Celebrated screenwriter and director Randall Wallace was the keynote speaker, and Christy Award winner author Liz Curtis Higgs was the emcee for the event that gave awards in nine categories.

Check out the list of winners and nominees here. You’ll see some of your favorite authors on the list.

Which of the nominated books was your favorite read this year? Let us know which ones you enjoyed.

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Book Review ~ Plain Fear: Forsaken by Leanna Ellis

Title: Plain Fear: Forsaken

By: Leanna Ellis
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN: 978-1402255403

Back Cover:

Hannan cannot move on. She pines for Jacob, the boy who saved her life when she drowned, bringing her back from the brink of death by breathing life into her. But Jacob is gone now, buried.

Levi’s love for Hannah burns just as strong. But he knows how much Hannah loved his brother Jacob. He also knows the troubling event that took Jacob out of their lives. And he lives with that lie every day.

So when a stranger named Akiva comes to their community, he carries with him two secrets that will change their lives forever: he is in fact Jacob, whom Hannah had lost. And he is now a vampire.

When passions stir and secrets are revealed, Hannah must choose between light and dark, between the one she has always loved and the new possibility of love. But it’s more than a choice of passion, it’s a decision that will determine the fate of her soul.

Review:

Amish and buggies and…vampires? Oh, my!

I admit it, when it came to an Amish book about vampires, I was as skeptical as they come…more…because as a writer myself, I’d heard the jokes, even invented a few. Still, I wanted to read this book with an open mind, and I’m rather glad I did.

In Plain Fear: Forsaken, Ms. Ellis has created an interesting tale of choices and angst. She touched on the popularity of vampire fiction while staying true to the standards which make Amish fiction so attractive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this book will appeal to all readers. In fact, I’m sure there are many lovers of pure Amish fiction who will literally get up in arms upon reading this book. Still, the novel was well written, the characters skillfully spun, the plot well-developed, and I enjoyed spending time in its pages.

What about you? Do you believe Amish fiction and vampires mix? Would you pick up this book or recommend it to a friend? We’d like to know what you think!

About the Author:

Leanna Ellis is an author whose books are infused with humor and heartfelt emotion. Growing up in Texas, her mother taught her a love of books that grew into a passion for storytelling. She has written almost twenty books, ranging from contemporary romance to women’s inspirational fiction.

Leanna says when she's not chasing vampires through darkened city streets, she's driving her children to all of their activities, figuring out what to make for dinner, chasing her crazy labradoodle around the house, and searching for the next idea.

Review by Elizabeth Ludwig

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POLL: What's Your Fav Snack While Writing/Reading?

We all do it. Some more than others. When that urge to nibble creeps up on you, what's your go-to snack?

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Magic Monday: Towering TBR Tablets

While brainstorming for a new post series here on the BB, I latched onto the question: What is it that I can contribute to this blog? I mean, this is a place where writers and readers alike hang out to get advice, find community, learn about Christian authors, and win free books. And the three main contributors are three lovely (and published) Christian authors. So what can I uniquely add to this equation?

Well, I thought, I'm a college student. And I like to stay organized - balancing my reading, writing, studies, and free time. So why not do a post series giving tips on how to be OCD? (Or something like that...)

The plan is to share my ideas on keeping organized with all the craziness going on in our lives (be it blogging, reading, working, studying, cleaning house, or anything else). The idea is that you'll be so amazed at the results that it will be just like (you guessed it!) magic.

I think this would be a good place to add a disclaimer, though.

*I don't claim to fix all areas of your life - or any, for that matter. I'm just giving you some food for thought on how you might keep from pulling your hair out as deadlines and such loom over you. Side effects may include dizziness and fainting spells due to intense relief, and uncontrollable shouts of joy. Not recommended for those who strongly dislike organized people and label them "neat freaks" and other cruel names.*

Hope you find this new feature helpful! And now for today's "medicine":

Towering TBR Tablets

Description of Illness: A common term among voracious readers, "TBR" stands for "To Be Read," which refers to a selection of books set aside for future reading. The more avid the reader, the bigger this stack (literally or figuratively) is. But what are readers to do when they can no longer keep track of what it is they wish to read?

Treatment: Following is a list of "tablets" you can take to help.

• Goodreads: Many of you already take advantage of this program, but for those of you who don't...what are you waiting for? Once you create a profile for free on Goodreads, you can keep track of what you've read, what you're reading, and what you are going to read. You can also create new shelves by clicking "Add a Shelf" on the left sidebar of your books page. From "Favorites" to "To Review" to shelves for specific challenges, you can easily organize your books in a way that makes sense to you. You can also rate all of your books once you've read them, add reviews, and then connect with other readers.
  

• Shelfari: Similar to Goodreads, Shelfari is a site where you can create a free profile and keep track of your books. So why do I recommend both sites? Goodreads is great for community, because from my experience more people seem to use the site. However, Shelfari is great because it's more visually appealing. You can actually "see" the bookshelves design and the cover images are larger. You can also easily look at your recent activity and make notes about the book itself (ie: purchase price, whether you own the book or not, etc.). Both Goodreads and Shelfari allow you to create widgets on your blog so others can see your reading record and your fabulous organizational skills.

• Word Document: Yep. You can create a table in Microsoft Word (I confess to being much more proficient in Word than in Excel) and keep track of your reading that way, as well. I mostly recommend this treatment for book reviewers, though. You can create columns for the title of the book, the publisher/company you're reviewing the book for, and the date (if applicable) that the book review is due. When you've finished reviewing a book, you can highlight that row in a color of your choice. That way you can avoid the feeling of absolute terror when you realize that you have no idea which of your books you're supposed to review, for whom, or when they're supposed to be reviewed...
  

Recommended For: Readers of all ages, and most especially book reviewers.

Dosage: If you're just someone who loves to read, I recommend taking at least one tablet of your choice. If you're a book reviewer, I recommend at least two tablets of your choice.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Remember that joining sites like Shelfari or Goodreads allows you to meet other readers. You can become friends with fellow bloggers or anyone who is interested in the same genres you enjoy reading. Now you can be an organized bookworm without having to be a loner!

It's just like . . . magic.

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