We hope you're staying warm this weekend!
Grab your calendar to jot down these upcoming events in Seekerville:
- January 5-11 The Seekerville semi-annual virtual retreat. This one to Australia.
- January 6-31 Amazon Publishing for Beginners - Rogenna Brewer
- February 3-8 The Arc Outside the Story Arc- Ruth Logan Herne
- March 1-31 Speedbo:Seekerville's Annual Book-in-a-Month
- April 1-25 Self Editing for Writers - Tina Radcliffe
- May 5-30 Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View - Jill Elizabeth Nelson
- June 2-23 Getting Rid of the Junk That Holds Us Back - Cheryl St. John
We Have Winners
If you are a winner, email us asap at seekers@seekerville.net. Please read our legal page here. If you haven't received your prize in 8 weeks, drop us a line (we get busy writing books and forget). You must contact us every single time you win.
**PLEASE NOTE** While it is not our policy to contact winners, when time permits, we actually do. If you have recently changed your Blogger profile to Google + , please make sure there is a contact email in the 'ABOUT' section of your profile or we cannot contact you.
Monday, Harlequin Super Romance and indie author Rogenna Brewer was our guest with her post, "The Secret to Writing a Novella." The winner of One Night in Reno and One Star-Spangled Night is Lizzie Star.
Tuesday-Wednesday was the Seekerville 27 hour New Year's Eve Party with a whopping 2883 comments! Please check here to see if you were a winner.
So, you want to write historical fiction? Understanding history can be a
daunting challenge; incorporating in our writing can be just as
confusing. Thursday we joined multi-published, award-winning author, Amanda Cabot, to help untangle the mysteries of writing historical fiction. The winner of the January 14 release of With Autumn's Return is Clari Dees.
Friday:Join award-winning novelist and Acquisitions/Content Editor Dina Sleiman for “The Psychology of Romance,” where she explores the unforced rhythms of grace in romance from a personal and spiritual perspective. The winner of Dina's latest novel, Dance from Deep Within is CatMom.
of Dina's latest novel, Dance from Deep Within.
Sunday: The Virtual Retreat to Australia Begins today and goes through January 11. You can sign up with an email to this address: seekersvirtualwritersretreat-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Monday: Mary Connealy continues series on Creating Characters with "Creating Characters One Layer at a Time-Layer Three- Is it American Idol? Nope, it's The Voice."
Tuesday: Today, Barbara White Daille will be here "Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals for You AND Your Characters." Most of us set resolutions around the new year, and Barbara would love to hear some of yours. She's also going to ask you to fine-tune goals for a couple of characters. One lucky commenter will win an autographed copy of her new release, Rancher at Risk.
Wednesday: With your eye on publication, get a leg up in the new year with sound writing advice from award-winning author Sharlene MacLaren when she divulges her “Ten Steps on Your Journey to Publishing.” With more than a dozen award-winning books to her credit, Sharlene will also feature a giveaway of her latest book, Heart of Mercy, a tender love story loved and heartily endorsed by Julie Lessman.
Thursday: Ruth Logan Herne and Ben Franklin ring in the new year with some chat about money wisdom!!! Stop by and chat it up with the Ruth-ster and her ol' buddy Ben and she'll toss your name in the clean cat dish for a chat-with-the-author phone call, or a free download of any two Ruthy books.
Friday: Be sure to join us today when Love Inspired Historical author Naomi Rawlings shows us how to go from "Boring to Riveting" as she teaches us to fuse Action/Reaction scenes that capture the reader's attention! Come by and chat to have your name entered for a chance to win Naomi's new Love Inspired Historical The Wyoming Heir.
Seeker Sightings
January 11th, Tina Russo Radcliffe will be sharing about her characters from The Christmas Angel at The Writers Alley Blog.
Mary Connealy is on Lena Nelson Dooley's Christian Writer's World along with Carol Cox, Regina Jennings and Karen Witemeyer, her collaborators?...co-conspirators?...co-authors! That's the word! Stop in at Lena's blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of A Match Made in Texas.Mary is on the Writer's Alley today with Pepper Basham talking about characters she loves.
Mary is on the Nebraska Writer's Guild blog all week acting, as always, as if she's got a clue.
Buy it if you are NOT TOO SCARED!
Now - JAN. 17: DARE TO LOVE AGAIN “SPIRIT OF SAN FRANCISCO” GIVEAWAY!
Yes, it’s true! Julie Lessman's publisher Revell is kicking off a fun new contest in honor of Julie's brand-new release Dare to Love Again where you can win a $100 gift card, Ghiradelli chocolate tower, a Fisherman’s Wharf gift bread basket, a Chinatown tea set, copies of Love at Any Cost and Dare to Love Again, and more! It’s easy and it’s fun, so check out the details by clicking the link below:
Congratulations to Villager Sara Ella who won first place in the YA category of the ACFW First Impressions Contest and gave a Seekerville shout out on her blog-here.
The 2014 New Year's Eve Recipes are still available here, in a free pdf download.
Genre versus Author Platform? Which Matters More? (The Book Designer)
Konrath's Publishing Predictions 2014 (A Newbies Guide to Publishing)
Why Creative People Sometimes Make No Sense (Matthew Schuler)
The Fussy Librarian (Collette Cameron via Nancy C)
Writing on the Ether: Self-Publishing’s Parallel Disruptions (Jane Friedman)
Smashwords Year in Review 2013 - Indie Authors the Stewards of Publishing's Future (Smashwords)
Nine places to look in 2014 to predict the future of publishing (The Shatzkin Files)
If You Don’t Enjoy Marketing, You’re Doing It Wrong (David Gaughran)
Kensington Publishing Has Acquired eBook Publisher Lyrical Press (GalleyCat)
Henry Miller’s 11 Rules For Writing (GalleyCat)
Facebook Pages: Is Your Facebook Organic Reach Down? (Steam Feed)
Today we're ending with a Kindle Tutorial:
How To Activate the Update Option on Your Kindle
1. Go to Your Amazon Account
2. Click on Manage Your Kindle
3. See this banner:
Or you can find it in this column to the left.
4. Turn Whispersync Automatic Book Update ON
5. Go Back to the Mange Your Kindle/Your Kindle Library Screen and click on the drop down menu.
6. Click on Available for Update
7. You Will See Your Available Updates
9. OR go to the drop down menu and Update this Tile
That's it! Have a great week!
Oh, dear, I have to manage my Kindle? I'm just getting used to reading it. It manages me.
ReplyDeleteMy word for the year needs to kick in fast. LEARN
Coffee's brewing.
LOL. Helen. I would do this about once a month. Will that help?
ReplyDeleteIt's worth a try.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was most looking forward to Thursday because I am so on the fence about published contests, but then I saw Friday is Naomi. YAY!
ReplyDeleteManaging the Kindle seems daunting... it is clearly smarter than its upstate owner!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy kids have loaded videos onto Ms. Kindle and keep their children happy in flight with Jake and the Neverland Pirates....
Gotta love a good pirate!!!!
Awesome WE!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!! And Melissa, being a good money steward for professional businesswomen is tough, right? And with all the changes in publishing, we do some head scratching!!!!
Or it's lice, I have kids around 24/7, it could be that simple!!!!
:)
We'll have fun examining ways to spend money while I'm LOUNGING on retreat Down Under with Seeker buds!!!!
I'm bringing my snorkel equipment for the Great Ocean Road Adventure!!!!
Jenny Blake bring the Tim Tams!!!!
Good WE, TINA. :-) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYep, HELEN, I agree with you, my Kindle manages me.
I don't know if I can take on one more thing that I have to 'manage'. :-)
Congratulations to all WE winners! And everyone have a great weekend
Thanks for mentioning me, Tina!
ReplyDeleteAgain, lots of great information. Thanks TINA.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners, especially our new years party winners.
Thank you all for joining us. It was so much fun.
IF any of you have a new Kindle Fire I highly recommend the book My Kindle Fire HD
You will be amazed at what your kindle can do and this author explains it so clear and organized. I sat down with this book and did a chapter every morning. It is a wonderful tool.
I never knew I had to manage a Kindle, oh, except I do! I manage to read novels ( only ones I've been able to download for free, mind you) and even managed to read some! Does that count? Great Weekend, and yes, I plan to stay warm.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners!
ReplyDeleteYeah! I won Amanda Cabot's pretty new book! :D Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHope everyone stays safe and warm during this cold blast. We're expecting more snow and brutally cold temps. National Weather Service says our temps will be the coldest we've seen in over twenty years. (-15° one night with stiff winds.)
Our little portion of the rural world raises cattle, horses, alpacas, hunting dogs, and rabbits. Keeping those animals fed and watered over the next few days is going to be a miserable chore for us and our neighbors. I'm praying no one gets a sick animal or loses any to this cold.
Oh, Clari! You and yours are in my prayers. Alpaca's too.
ReplyDeleteHi, Sara Ella and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
ReplyDeleteYep, I got that message about updating my Kindle books a few weeks ago. It wanted to update MY ONE WORD. Perfect timing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great WE, Tina!
CLARI, I always feel so sorry for outdoor animals when the weather turns brutal. Still can't believe our little Poppy-dog with her short-short hair just loves running around exploring the backyard even when temps dip below freezing. I will admit she isn't asking to stay out quite as long these days. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat WE, as always, Miss T!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners (I'm THRILLED to win a copy of Dina's book--woohoo!!).
Looking forward to the upcoming week in Seekerville (super excited about my sweet friend Sharlene MacLaren posting on Wednesday--YIPPY SKIPPY--to use Shar's phrase, LOL).
AND....Ruthy and Ben Franklin?!?! Cannot wait!
Everyone stay warm - - and Clari Dees, praying for you and all those precious animals. I always worry about animals in extreme weather conditions.
Setting out a warm peach cobbler (last summer I froze a lot of fresh peaches, so I can keep baking goodies through the winter, LOL)---so if you need a snack, ENJOY!
Hugs, Patti Jo :)
Well, congratulations to Sara Ella -- how exciting is that????
ReplyDeleteGreat weekend edition, Tina. I love browsing through the links with my morning cuppa hot cocoa...way better than reading the paper.
I braved the cold and ventured out to the grocery store on the bus (brrrr) and came home stocked with Tim Tams so I'm all set for the Aussie retreat!
Will someone please tell me what it means, the whole "Automatic Update" thing on the Kindle? I don't know what that means.
ReplyDeleteMelanie, I think it means when a new version of a book you have purchased is available, it will automatically update it for you.
ReplyDeleteI made an attempt to fix this on mine but couldn't figure it out.
Thank you, Tina!
Good Saturday everyone. After two days back at work, I'm ready for a weekend! LOL.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Sara on her contest win! So exciting! Aren't these Seekerville angels amazing with their help?
Melanie, I too, am baffled by the Kindle. I cannot seem to manage it no matter how I try. I tried to remove the books I've read - I get tired of scrolling through so many titles and trying to remember if I've read it or not, but the books WON'T GO AWAY! How hard can this be?
Some of them I want to delete permanently because I won't read them again. Some I want to put on my virtual keeper shelf (which I believe should be the Archive, but which I also believe I shouldn't have to see unless I choose to).
Any suggestions greatly appreciated! (PS. I have the really basic version of Kindle).
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Sue (who is trying to stay warm in this frigid weather)
Exactly right, Donna. When a new or updated version of a Kindle book you own is available you can download it free of charge, which will update your copy.
ReplyDeleteAuthor adds an epilogue or has a new cover or maybe version 2 of a non fiction book is available and the author is not charging for those updates.
Except that the update is NOT automatic. You still have to go in and check the available updates and click on update.
ReplyDeleteSusan, look at step number nine. All you have to do is go Your Account.
ReplyDeleteManage My Kindle
You will see Your Kindle Library.
To the far right of each title is a drop down menu that says ACTION
Open it and click on delete.
That's all.
You can do it directly on your Kindle too, but I think this is faster.
Great New Years Eve Party! Thanks to everyone for stopping in and making it the best party yet.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the winners this weeks. We had a lot of them. Enjoy!
LOL, thanks for including the tutorial on updating Kindle books, Tina...You're wonderful, anyone ever tell you that??
Looking forward to reading the money post, Ruthy. Don't we all need to stay on a budget while making money, LOL?
ReplyDeleteYou and ol' Ben Franklin...who'da thunk it??
Thank you for the prayers, ladies! They are greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMy sis and I have spent the last several hours moving hay and getting things as ship-shape as possible before the weather breaks. Now it's time to sit down and take a breather.
Happy Weekend!
Great WE, Tina!
ReplyDeleteReaching for my Kindle...will follow your prompts. Thanks for the how to!
Congrats to the winners!!!
It's been below freezing in GA and snow is expected on Monday. Must run to the store and pick up a few items, just in case!!!
Although GA snow is nothing like northern snow. How many inches did you get, Ruthy?
Actually, I don't think I care about getting updated books. Ha!
ReplyDeleteSue, I too have been baffled about how to delete books, but I did finally figure out how to go to the Amazon website and delete them as Tina described. I believe that way works. A problem I'm having now is that I bought my daughter a kindle, and all the books I have downloaded to my old kindle are showing up on her new kindle. Then, to make matters worse, her new kindle stopped functioning a couple of days ago and they're sending her a new one. What will the new one have on it? Only time will tell.
congrats all winners.
ReplyDeletegoing to study the manage your kindle tutorial.
looking forward to sharing Aus with you when I am up to it. (must watch what I eat who know processed chicken would cause an issue!)
I have plenty of timtams bought out the shop here! (too bad I cant eat them) and I have plenty of jelly beans but please dont bring them near me. lots of Aussie Chocolates oh and you have to try both vegemite and musk sticks. (I promise they are nice ;) )
The weather looks good for most of you cool for me. around 70ish bit high 80's by the end of the week (oh I cant wait).
ReplyDeleteBy Wednesday swimming will be good but I hear there is a heated pool at the guest home.
Hi Melanie
ReplyDeleteI think I may know what is happening with your Kindles. Amazon allows you to have up to six Kindles or devices in your name. This lets you download the same book to six different devices. This is very handy because a single ‘book’ can be in more than one place at a time. A physical book cannot do that. If you want a book both at work and at home, at the same time, you just have to buy two books. This is a big advantage with an ebook.
If your daughter’s Kindle is listed as one of yours, then all the books you buy and all the books that she buys may well end up on both of your kindles.
I don’t allow this to happen. I never download a book using wi-fi. I use my USB connection to download all the books I actually want on my Kindle. (Like you, I sure don’t want auto-update. No way.)
This way I can control which books get on my Kindle while still ‘buying’ many books that are stored in my “Manage Your Kindle” inventory. This way I can ‘buy’ hundreds of the free Kindle books, the short time they are free, but I only allow them on my Kindle when I really want to read them.
For example, on Wednesday, I was reading a craft book which gave an example of great descriptions from a book called “Red Light”. The examples were so good I wanted to read the whole book. Sure enough, when I checked my “Manage Your Kindle” inventory of books, I saw that I had downloaded “Red Light” months ago when it was free. I’ve done this many times. “Red Light” is now on my Kindle because I used my USB connection to put it there. By the way, it is very easy to erase books from your Kindle but still keep them in your Amazon Kindle inventory. This way you can get them back in the future if you find you need them.
If you use only the USB connection, from your computer to your Kindle, Amazon does not get into your Kindle. (They can’t disable your expired library books, for example, but don’t let anyone know that.)
I think your daughter may need her own account in her own name. At least, that may be a solution.
Why wouldn't you want to allow updates.
ReplyDeleteSay for example you wrote a non fiction how to book. A year later, there were technological changes and you wanted to provide them to your reader.
Would you sell them an entirely new book or offer them the opportunity to update their copy at no charge as loyal buyers.
Thus keeping them happy when your next how to book comes out.
Tried Tina's suggestion on Amazon. Seemed to work. But then when I went onto my Kindles, the books I deleted were still there. :(
ReplyDeleteKindles for Dummies may be next!
Sue :)
Sue, I love the Kindle for Dummies idea!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a hoot to try and gain ground on technology these days? But look how far we've come in a decade....
Oh, we can do this!!!!
SARA!!!!! congrats on your contest win and hugs.... and thank you!.... for the shout out.
Keep it up, don't quit, never say die! (or something like that, I suppose you have to say "die" in certain instances, but maybe those don't count????)
We're starting our retreat Down Under today and it's painless fun, I assure you! If you need to have some accountability... some fun... a reason to re-focus yourself on writing and not on dieting or holidays or past failures.... come on retreat. You can chat as little or as long as you want, there'll be folks popping in throughout the week, and it's just fun to hang with other authors and know your problems are usually universal!
And every problem has an answer.
The default answer is (of course!!!):
Write. Write. Write.
BIG RUTHY GRIN HERE, BECAUSE WHAT WERE YOUSE EXPECTIN' ME TO SAY?????
:)
E-mail us here to sign up for the Yahoo group:
seekersvirtualwritersretreat-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Debby, I saw your snow on the Weather Channel!
ReplyDeleteWe ended up with 18 inches on the ground by us.... and that might be different than our "airport" count.
Bigger drifts, so fun for the kids! And our driveway plow man made lovely BIG piles for my little urchins to play in, sled down, etc. It's such a Northern thing to do....
Yesteday Jon took three of the grandkids sledding down the hills in the village. They'd never been "real" sledding before, and they loved it. We're going again today after church to make more "memories"!
Best gift of all are those memories.
(Of course it was Jon tugging kids and sleds back up the hill... God bless my son-in-law!)
G'mornin', all, hope everyone is staying warm!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mary H.: "I don't know if I can take on one more thing that I have to 'manage'. :-)"
Clari ... saying one for all your sweet animals, AND for your sis, as well. Brutal weather, but the good thing is, it's not forever, thank God!!
Great articles, Tina, especially the one on FB. But I have to admit, I'm on overload just reading them much less doing them!! But I LOVE the promo one about if you hate promo, you're doing it wrong. I do and I was. Correction coming up soon ...
Hugs,
Julie
Good afternoon, Seekerville!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Weekend Edition, Tina, and your Kindle tutorial! Congrats to our winners! I'm excited about this week's lineup!
The world outside our windows is close to a white out. Oodles of snow predicted today. Church was canceled yesterday. So no visitors. No destinations. Just me and my computer. My sweet dh is taking down Christmas decorations. Am I the only one who hates to see them go?
Though the snow is beautiful, the frigid temps are scary. Prayers for you, Clari, and everyone struggling to keep lifestock safe and fed. Keep praying the homeless in cold climates find shelter.
Janet
Thanks for the WE, Tina. Kudos to Sara Ella. I got picked for a Tina critique at the New Year's Eve Party! I can always use one of those. Congrats to all other winners last week.
ReplyDeleteSorry I won't be joining the Down Under Retreat as I had hoped. Wishing all there lots of relaxation and fun with a tolerable amount of work.
Thanks for the snow update in your part of the world, Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteJanet, you must be getting hit big time too! We're dropping to 7 degrees tomorrow with snow expected. This is so NOT Georgia!
Must head to Australia with the rest of the Virtual Retreat group!!!
What's up, mates?
Church was cancelled this morning. White stuff coming down and temperature dropping.
ReplyDeleteGood time to hibernate and read, right?
The snow men seem amazingly appropriate this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe have had very little snow but ohhhhhh the cold!!!!!!!!!
Great WE! Kindle management? Eeek! But thanks, TINA. Good to know how to do that. Thanks, SANDRA, for the Kindle Fire book suggestion.
ReplyDeleteNext week looks like another week filled with good information. Looking forward to NAOMI's lesson on action/reaction to polish my WIP.
Congratulations, SARA, and all the winners! Thanks, PATTI JO, for the peach cobbler!
Smashword's predictions for 2014 are interesting.
Praying for those dealing with the winter weather. My son and his fiancée had a long, snowy drive yesterday after their visit with us. Thankfully they were safe, just tired.
Now to head to WARM Australia! Hope there are some jelly beans left. JENNY, thanks for getting some timtams for us.
I UPDATED TWO BOOKS ON MY KINDLE!!!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU TINA!!!!!!
Sara Ella! Wonderful achievement!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the winners.
Good reads in the links, Tina. The 'if you don't enjoy marketing' article is especially helpful. And aren't some of those predictions interesting.
Thoughts with those of you (and critters) facing such brutal cold.
Nancy C