Friday 27 June 2014

Is Amazon killing the publishing industry?

Just a quick thought.

I've been reading a lot lately about publishers saying that Amazon is killing the publishing industry.

For whom – I ask?

I have had two novels published by a USA publisher. I have also indie published, (for the uninitiated, read independently, for indie), apologies to my friends and readers who already know this.

So, back to the indie bit. I have earned more money as an indie published writer, for selling less books than I have through my publisher.

My royalty take is higher, for the same effort that I have put in, in marketing my other books.

One of my novels Half Blood, a vampire story with an original idea. My vamps are completely different to the usual sort of blood thirsty un-deads. Thanks to this originality the book recently won 2 awards, Paranormal Book of the year 2013 and Adventure Book of the year 2013 with Turning the Pages magazine.

I'm not saying this just to plug the book, though any opportunity is a good one. I'm saying it because I did all the hard work in putting my book forward for the awards, publicizing, and getting my wonderful readers to vote for me, without any help from my publisher.

When I wrote my first book, The Warlock's Woman, it was impossible for me to send the book to the big main-stream publishers. There are no submission guidelines on the 'big boys' websites.

In fact it is made quite plain by them that unsolicited manuscripts are unwelcome. You have to be invited or have an agent who can get you through the door.

I appreciate that a large publishing house needs some streaming of manuscripts but if a new writer can't get through the door, and does not want to risk going with the small press, there are a lot of really bad small publishers in this industry for the unwary to get snared with, then what is the alternative?

Hello - Amazon.

And of course – Smashwords.

I am using Amazon as my main example, as it is Amazon that the publishing houses are saying is going to destroy the industry.

Who's industry?

Not us the unknown, hungry for recognition, and sadly overlooked by the large publishing houses, industry.

Amazon has given us the chance to showcase our work to the world. They pay a fair rate for our efforts. Pay on time, and don't make us wait months between payments.

If the publishing establishment wants to fight back against Amazon, then it needs to get off it's high horse, and start actively seeking, and helping new writing talent.

My next novel is about to be finished. I am indie publishing and proud of it.

Good luck to all my fellow authors with your writing. I wish all of you -success.




thanks for reading this post
Josephine Sanchez Vanner



Half Blood – Turning the Pages Magazine, 2013 Adventure Book of the Year & 2013 Paranormal Book of the year.

Award winning novel about alien vampires from a distant galaxy, who are the good guys.


The Warlock's Woman. A beautiful psychic, an evil warlock and a sexy ghost. A love triangle with an unexpected twist at the end.








Get Slim Stay Slim – Permanently - shows you in an easy to follow way, the secret to reducing unwanted weight permanently and ending the misery of yo-yo dieting.



The blog, for the book, with on going help and ideas on how to maintain continuous weight reduction.















Sunday 22 June 2014

The Hunger Games -- blurrr....

The Hunger Games.

I watched, for the first time last night - The Hunger Games.....okay, I'm a bit late in the viewing of this disaster of a movie -

So what's all the hype about?

It's about a fairly – no – a very mediocre film, with a lose, see-through flimsy story-line.

Donald Sutherland, gave a good performance of a character with little or no depth to it. His part as the evil, and I'm assuming he was supposed to be evil, President, was at the very least unconvincing. He came across at most times, as simply - bored.

I'm sure I have seen similar films with the same dragged out trite rubbish as this film. Thankfully I have managed to forget most of them.

The relatively unknown actors did their best with a script that was uninspiring.

I won't bother you, dear reader, with the in-fill of the film, as there's no point....in wasting your time or mine.

Let's cut to the end.

?

What end? There wasn't one.

We were left hanging, no doubt because the producers of this over hyped costly excuse of a film are looking to capitalize on subsequent uninspiring sequels.

District...0 to 12, haven't we seen, and heard this one before? Only that film had bugs, and I might add was a whole lot better than this one.

The girl – boy – boy love triangle was predictable. Her stay at home love, was handsome but obviously a total no hoper. The other love angle, a better bet or was he? We are being forced to wait and see.

God give me strength.....

Would I watch the next film in the series? No thanks.

There are films that deserve many remakes, sequels and re-watches – but this one is not one of them.

I am sure, there are many of you out there in cyber world, who disagree with me.

I've no problem with this...but I shan't be wasting my money watching the next Hunger Games..


thanks for reading this post
Josephine Sanchez Vanner



Half Blood – Turning the Pages Magazine, 2013 Adventure Book of the Year & 2013 Paranormal Book of the year.

Award winning novel about alien vampires from a distant galaxy, who are the good guys.


The Warlock's Woman. A beautiful psychic, an evil warlock and a sexy ghost. A love triangle with an unexpected twist at the end.








Get Slim Stay Slim – Permanently - shows you in an easy to follow way, the secret to reducing unwanted weight permanently and ending the misery of yo-yo dieting.


The blog, for the book, with on going help and ideas on how to maintain continuous weight reduction.





Wednesday 18 June 2014

The Mysterious Tarot

The Beautiful and Mysterious Tarot

I am a writer of paranormal novels, and as a trained Spiritualist medium, I have worked as a 'platform' medium in Spiritualist churches in the UK and Europe.

Awhile ago I wrote about my first experience of spirit as a young child in my article for this blog, The Hanging Ghost, 4th December 2013.

Not every medium can or wants to divine using Tarot. Like clairvoyance the ability to read, and understand the messages given by the cards – is a gift from spirit.

There are many people who believe that Tarot cards are a creation of the devil. How sad because in truth, we don't know where they did come from but we do know they are very far from being evil. The cards give hope, and up-lift to many people who are deeply unhappy, and in need of spiritual help and guidance.

Tarot is ancient, so much so that nobody really knows where it did come from. It is certain that the ancient Egyptians were aware of Tarot. Images of Tarot were found depicted in the pyramids. The moors were said to have brought them to Europe, around a thousand years after the birth of Christ.

It is also thought that before the 14th century the art of Tarot was known, and kept hidden by secret schools of occult studies.

Although we do not know how old Tarot really is, or where it originally came from, we do know that it is not evil. Unfortunately, there have been practitioners that have misused the cards, and caused harm and suffering to the very people they were supposed to be helping.

These people always have to pay a high price for their sins.

Whatever your reasons are for wanting to learn the art of Tarot divination, you can be sure of one thing – you will gain a greater awareness of yourself, and a deeper knowledge of the metaphysical world around you.

There is such a lot to learn and understand went it comes to Tarot that you never stop learning about it. I have been a Tarot Master for several years now, and I am still finding out new things about this wonderful gift from spirit.


The Tarot Deck

There are 78 cards in a deck, broken down as follows -

22 Major Arcana

40 Minor Arcana

16 Court Cards

The Arcana, means hidden or secret. Therefore, Major Arcana means big secret, and Minor Arcana means little secret.

The deck has 4 suits.

Wands - Work and social activities.

Cups – Love and emotions.

Pentacles (coins) - Material wealth.

Swords - Problems.

As you become more adept at using your deck the above basic principles will become intertwined with each other. Something that would normally be associated with a problem, might be seen by the card as a problem coming to an end. This is the reason it is important that you tune in, and become connected with your Tarot cards, so that you can 'read' what the cards are telling you, and not just simply give a message on the face value of the card.

The Major Arcana Cards start with The Fool, his number is 0 and end with The World, number 21.

The Court Cards, are the Kings, the Queens, the knights and the pages.

The Minor Arcana cards are the 4 suits.


Choosing a Tarot Deck

There are many different Tarot decks on the market and it is most likely that as you become more familiar with your readings, you will want to have more than one deck to work from.

One of the most well known decks is The Rider-Waite deck. It was the first deck I owned, and I still use it today.

I would warn you against choosing a deck that is, materialistic or of a base nature.

I'll explain. I once saw a deck that had explicit erotic positions as it's picture symbols, in other words using sex to sell the deck for material gain and not spiritual understanding. Such a deck will have attached to it the 'base' side of human beings, and not the higher spiritual side of Tarot. Any reader using such a deck, will in my opinion, not have the best interests of the person they are reading for, and the reading will not be accurate because of the materialistic, and unwholesome ideology the Tarot reader starts with.

This sort of deck, is to be avoided, it brings nothing good with it.

The famous artist Salvador Dali, painted a Tarot deck in his own image. He so missed the point of Tarot. Tarot is not an ego trip. Famous artist or not, this deck is definitely another one to be avoided.

Tarot is a gift from spirit to be used wisely, with a true and honest mind, and a pure heart.

The best sort of decks to choose are those depicting, Angels or native American Indians or animals of a spiritual nature, such as wolves.

Once you have chosen your deck, you will need to 'connect' with it to create a bond between you, the reader, and your spiritual guide who will help you with your readings.

How to connect with your chosen deck

I am assuming that if you are interested in the metaphysics of Tarot that you are aware of how to meditate.

If you have not meditated before, not to worry, it's very easy and very therapeutic. Meditation is a wonderful way to find a sense of calm and peace, that can help us cope with the fluctuations is our modern lives.

Find and quiet time and a place where you will not be interrupted.
The major arcana, the minor arcana cards and the court cards of your new pack of cards will be in sequence. It is easier to take each section first before shuffling the deck into a random pattern.

Start with the major cards, look at each card memorizing it completely. Do this with the minor cards and the court cards. Once you have done this, then shuffle your deck until all the cards are in a random sequence.

Now for the meditation part.

Before I start any spiritual meditation I say a prayer for help and guidance from my spiritual helpers.

Usually when meditating you close your eyes but this is not the case when familiarizing, and getting comfortable with your chosen deck.

Firstly, let all your negative energies flow out of you. Then, tell yourself that you are calm, relaxed, and are at one with spirit. As you say this, either out loud or quietly to yourself, sense your growing affinity with your cards as you look at each card in turn.

Repeat this process several times on different days. I think it best to do this one day straight after the other. Another good idea is to keep your cards with you as you go about your daily life. Once you have got to know your cards, and you can remember the symbolic pictures of each one, and the numbers relating to the Major Arcana cards, you are ready to learn how to read them.

It is rare but possible to buy a deck that does not respond to you or you to it – don't give up – chose another deck and repeat the process of tuning in to the other deck.


The Major Arcana - Elements and Astrological signs.

There are 4 elements that rule the major arcana. Fire, air, earth and water. Each card is listed in numerical order, together with it's element and along with the planetary/astrological sign they are ruled by.


0 The Fool – Air - ruled by Uranus

1 The Magician – Air – ruled by Mercury

11 The High Priestess – Water – ruled by the Moon

111 The Empress – Earth & Air – ruled by Venus

1V The Emperor – Fire – ruled by Aries

V The Hierophant – Earth – ruled by Taurus

V1 The Lovers - Air – ruled by Gemini

V11 The Chariot – Water – ruled by Cancer

V111 Strength – Fire – ruled by Leo

1X The Hermit – Earth – ruled by Virgo

X The Wheel of Fortune – Fire – ruled by Jupiter

X1 Justice – Air – ruled by Libra

X11 The Hanged Man – Water – ruled by Neptune

X111 Death - Water – ruled by Scorpio

X1V Temperance – Fire – ruled by Sagittarius

XV The Devil – Earth – ruled by Capricorn

XV1 The Tower – Fire – ruled by Mars

XV11 The Star – Air – ruled by Aquarius

XV111 The Moon – Water – ruled by Pisces

X1X The Sun – Fire – ruled by the Sun

XX Judgement – Water – ruled by Pluto

XX1 The World – Earth – ruled by Saturn

The significance of the elements will become clearer as you delve into the deeper meaning of each card.

I have also given the astrological signs for the cards, not because you have to believe in astrology to use them but because each sign is significant at the time of a reading.

Over the next few articles I shall explain how to understand and read the pictorial symbols of each suit of cards, starting with the Major Arcana cards. 

However, there are many books and lots of information on the internet relating to Tarot that you might want to check out whilst, at the same time, learning from my articles.

Next time – the meanings of the Major Arcana cards.




thanks for reading this post
Josephine Sanchez Vanner



Half Blood – Turning the Pages Magazine, 2013 Adventure Book of the Year & 2013 Paranormal Book of the year.

Award winning novel about alien vampires from a distant galaxy, who are the good guys.


The Warlock's Woman. A beautiful psychic, an evil warlock and a sexy ghost. A love triangle with an unexpected twist at the end.








Get Slim Stay Slim – Permanently - shows you in an easy to follow way, the secret to reducing unwanted weight permanently and ending the misery of yo-yo dieting.


The blog, for the book, with on going help and ideas on how to maintain continuous weight reduction.




















Saturday 14 June 2014

Spotlight on author Ellen Cummins





Ellen Cummins grew up in the heart of California chasing adventures in the sun. One of her obsessions has always been movies that take on an unexpected twist, leaving her with her heart in her throat. She wears many hats---a mother and wife, retail sales girl and manicurist of over 26 years, and unexpectedly a writer.



Suddenly at the age of 40, an idea popped into her head and she began feverishly pecking away at the computer creating characters and worlds that she soon became obsessed with. From that point on she fought for them to have their own day in the sun inside the minds of others.

Her love of pretty things, be it a pink sparkly purse or a giant and mysterious Cyclamen bloom, inspires her to write colorful characters and haunting love stories that might make your soul just a little sweeter knowing them.



Lizbeth is not your ordinary town and Addison Flynn has been chosen to know its secrets. Its magic keeps the town’s dead locked inside the waters of Lake Lizze; holding the reckless and careless souls deep beneath the darkened waters---and Addison holds the key to setting them free.

The stories of the lake told to her by her grandfather are more than true, but there is so much more than she knows. Everything shifts when her best friend Shay dies in a diving rock accident and something new emerges from the lake, but it’s not what you’d expect.

There are places unknown to the world that are so dark, only the strongest of hearts will survive. The real story of Lizbeth lies tucked inside this place, alongside the most colorful magic you will ever come to know








Lizbeth – what a delight to read. This charming book, although aimed at a Young Adult audience, would be a pleasure for any age group to read.

I loved the way Ellen, has brought to life the land of Lilamarese. In this enchanted place filled with mythical creatures, a beautiful human princess, an evil demon and a handsome hero, the reader is skilfully drawn into a wonderful world of vivid imagination.

If you are looking for a great read that takes you out of the humdrumness of everyday life into the realms of supernatural magic – then this is the book for you.

To sum up, a sweet romantic book that reminds me why I love reading. A bewitching story with a fairy-tale ending.

To give Lizbeth anything but 5 stars would be wrong.

Rating – 5 *****


thanks for reading this post
Josephine Sanchez Vanner



Half Blood – Turning the Pages Magazine, 2013 Adventure Book of the Year & 2013 Paranormal Book of the year.

Award winning novel about alien vampires from a distant galaxy, who are the good guys.


The Warlock's Woman. A beautiful psychic, an evil warlock and a sexy ghost. A love triangle with an unexpected twist at the end.


Get Slim Stay Slim – Permanently - shows you in an easy to follow way, the secret to reducing unwanted weight permanently and ending the misery of yo-yo dieting.





The blog, for the book, with on going help and ideas on how to maintain continuous weight reduction.


logos courtesy of freedidgitalphotos.net




















Monday 2 June 2014

Spotlight on Tricia Drammeh

 




Tricia Drammeh
                             

Tricia Drammeh is a wife, a mother of four wonderful children, and an author. She currently lives in New Hampshire with her family.

Her published works include The Claiming Words, The Fifth Circle, The Séance, and her newly published contemporary novel, Better than Perfect.

When she isn't writing, Tricia can be found devouring books, consuming vast amounts of coffee, wrangling cats, and interviewing up-and-coming authors on Authors to Watch.




Links to Tricia Drammeh







Amazon Page http://www.amazon.com/Tricia-Drammeh/e/B008UI2CE6/






Better than Perfect......





Twenty-three-year-old Karlie is in the type of rut some people never escape from. With few friends, no boyfriend, and no plans to graduate from college any time in the immediate future, Karlie is as stuck in her ways as the elderly neighbor she spends all her time with. 

When her world is invaded by two surly twins bound for criminal court, a too-good-to-be-true love interest, and a cute cop who keeps showing up at the most inopportune moments, Karlie can either fight against the changes in her life, or embrace them.











Better than Perfectis a perfect example of a well written and extremely readable book.

Karlie, is someone you would like to know, and have as a very good friend. The story-line shows the reader that in a bleak world, there are people who should be cherished, and applauded for the contributions they give to us all.

If you are looking for an engrossing 'feel good factor' novel, then Better than Perfect, is it. Tricia Drammeh, has created a once 'opened' hard to 'close' book.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this charmingly, romantic and very uplifting novel. 


A definite 5 *****



thanks for reading this post

Josephine Sanchez Vanner




Half Blood – Turning the Pages Magazine, 2013 Adventure Book of the Year & 2013 Paranormal Book of the year.


Award winning novel about alien vampires from a distant galaxy, who are the good guys.




The Warlock's Woman. A beautiful psychic, an evil warlock and a sexy ghost. A love triangle with an unexpected twist at the end.





Get Slim Stay Slim – Permanently - shows you in an easy to follow way, the secret to reducing unwanted weight permanently and ending the misery of yo-yo dieting.




My other blog, connected to my weight reduction book with helpful ideas on how to maintain continuous weight reduction.





logo courtesy of freedidgitalphotos.net