In a supposed ever changing world is there such a thing as a good, reliable role model? I believe so. But by what measure do you go by? Should the basis be on looks, health, wealth, public opinion? All of these will lead to arguments and inevitably a shallow measure. By what then should we judge a good model?

We would have to look for system that could stand the test of time by being outside of time or timeless. Would any one person from history make a good role model when all we have to go on are a few scant details left by their footprints in time? Religious people, those of the Christian faith, would immediately put forward Jesus as an exemplary model, even many Muslims would agree to this a Jesus is regarded as prophet in their faith too. So why not Mahatma Ghandi, was he not a good man too? My knowledge of Ghandi is scant, but at least he sought peace.

So it would seem that no person can be used as a model. So maybe, just maybe, we could take a look at the religious texts upon which these notably good people based their lives. What kind of traits would we look for? Kindness? I certainly would. Who would want to set a murderer or an abuser as the basis for a good, moral citizen? We all have in-built standards; things we know to be wrong and right. No one likes a thief, though some of us may steal for plausibly right reasons, but in the end they simply become abusers of another’s possessions. Who then can be our model?

All we seem to have are questions without answers. The Bible says that “everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial” so here’s an idea. We base our model only on that which is beneficial to others. If we focus not on ourselves or on those like us: in our class, culture, clan, tribe, or whatever but on the all others regardless of their sexuality, creed, faith nationality, colour or ethnicity. Then perhaps we will all become good role models. Perhaps in this way we will discover what is truly good in all people and what needs adjusting in ourselves.

If we were to turn ourselves into examples of goodness in the eyes of those who look upon and experience us; as people, then perhaps society can be one single model of goodness that each individual person has contributed to. This would generate a sense of open well-being that everyone has and is proactive in creating and developing. We would become our good role-model removing the need other, single examples.

The post What makes a good role model? appeared first on The One Saga.

Formats Available In: All eBook formats
Word Count: 5,259

Blurb: Twelve star signs, four friends, one extraordinary year. With Foreplay, enjoy a free taste of Izzy on her journey of sexual discovery through the Zodiac.

Twelve star signs, four friends, one extraordinary year. Izzy Morgan is a girl on a mission. When her friend Jessica reveals a remarkable talent for identifying men’s star signs purely from their sexual performance, an intrigued Izzy takes up an exhilarating challenge. With Foreplay, you can enjoy a free taste of Izzy as she begins her journey of sexual discovery through the Zodiac.

 Book Links: CURRENTLY FREE FROM THE FOLLOWING PLACES:

Breathless Press:  Bookstrand

Teaser:

As she lay in the tub that evening, relishing the golden candlelight and warm vanilla scent from the bubbles, Izzy turned over the newfound information in her mind. She was fascinated by the notion that she could enjoy a man so much more by knowing which buttons to push—predetermined buttons based on his star sign. She had never had much luck with men, but equipped with Jessica’s astrological handbook for seduction, might she not learn to discover the real pleasures of romance?

About The Author:

When Tammy Valentine settles down to write one of her stories, she likes to get herself in the mood. She begins with a stroll in the garden, cutting some fresh roses for her writing desk, then lights some beautiful scented candles, pours a nice chilled glass of chardonnay, and lets her imagination run wild. She loves allowing readers into her secret world, and you can find out more about her at www.tammyvalentine.com.

Introducing Breathless Press’s Friends… With Benefits

Have you ever wanted a Friend with Benefits? How about becoming a Friend with Breathless Press?!

Breathless Press is pleased to introduce our Friends with Benefits program. It’s real simple. All you have to do is create an account on our website. Every time you purchase a book, you will earn points. For every $1.00 you spend, you will earn 1 point. Collect the points and redeem them for a percentage off your next purchase! It couldn’t get any more easier than that. The benefits don’t stop there though!

If you write a review on our website, you can earn an additional 5 points. Earn 10 points just for signing up! If you purchase a book and earn 5 points, write a review on our site for that book, and are already signed up, then that means you already have 20 points!

So you may be asking, how much can you redeem the points for?

For 10 points you earn 5% off; 15 points gets 10% off, 20 points earns you 15% off, 25 points allows you to take off 20%, 30 points receives 30% off, 45 points will remove 40% of the price, 60 points decreases the price by 50%, and 130 points will let you get 90% off!

So why delay? Why not sign up today and get either 5% off your first purchase, or save up your points and get 90% off!

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So, what now? Well I’m going to change the name of the book and self-publish on Kindle and smashwords, while I look for a traditional publisher. That is where I meet my nemesis, the dreaded ‘synopsis and covering letter’ never having been any good at promoting myself. If anyone could lend an experienced hand it would be much appreciated.

I will keep anyone who is interested posted with the release date of ‘Young Warlock’. Now I feel ready and much more confident to get stuck into Fire and Thorn.

The post A strange feeling of satisfaction appeared first on The One Saga.

For our purposes editing is the preparation of written materials for publication or presentation by correcting, revising or adapting. When you do this yourself, it’s self-editing. Whether you can ever self-edit adequately is a matter for debate. Generally you can’t. You are too familiar with your own work and the human eye is a devious thing. It will swear blind to your brain that you’ve written what you were trying to say and not notice a missing word or a spelling mistake.

How much editing should you do before you either hand your project over to a professional editor for a final polish or launch it directly into the market yourself? You should read your work through at least twice and tidy up as you do so. But not much more than that. I cringe when I come across authors saying they are on their sixth or seventh revision. That’s way too many. By that stage you’re only tinkering and obsessing. Stop. Let your baby go.

 It can be hard to let your baby go!

So, to help with the editing process and make it as efficient as possible, here are a few tips on self-editing.

1. Spot your overused words and weed them out: we all have some that become our default words and we shove them in without really thinking. The usual culprits I’ve found over the years are these: just, a bit, however, though, a little, of course, in fact, said, stood, walked, nevertheless, nonetheless, seeing as, almost, really, surely, certainly, some, could only, suddenly, nice, lovely, immediately, rather, well, very, decided.

But how can you discover your own foibles? Select a passage of a current piece of your writing, say at least 1,000 words. Copy it and paste it to create a new document. Starting with the list of words above, now do a ‘find’ for each one of them, and note down how often it appears. Add other words that you know you’re prone to employing. Any of these words or phrases that are cropping up more than 5 times definitely need your attention, and any with 3 or 4 appearances could do with thinking about too. Replace them with a synonym or get rid of them altogether. Now critically read the new version and I’m sure you’ll see an improvement.

2. Names: keep a list of character names. And keep them as varied as you can. There are thousands upon thousands of names to choose from but it’s astonishing how many authors duplicate names or end up with a selection that are all very similar to each other – for example Jane, Joan, Jean, Joanne, Janet all appearing in one book. (There’s a definite bias towards names beginning with J I’ve noticed too!) There’s a very handy character name generator on my website here http://edit-my-book.com/name-generator.html to help you come up with a name if you’re stuck. Hugely successful indie author Kristen Ashley has quite a line in making up unusual names for her characters. If it works for her, then why not give it a shot too. Be inventive.

3. Style sheet: as with the list of names, you should keep one of these. A style sheet is where you jot down how you present your work. Will you use double quotation marks around speech (recommended) or single ones? Where will you use hyphenation? Will you capitalise certain nouns that aren’t proper nouns to give them extra emphasis in your story? And so on. The idea of the style sheet is to ensure consistency in your work. It’s not too late to compile one during your last read through.

4. Back to front and a different format: on your final proofread, work from the back, a page at a time. This gives you a whole new perspective on your story from seeing it in a very different way. This will make it easier to spot typos. You should also read your story through either printed out or on an ereader. Again, the different appearance of your MS from how you’ve usually seen it on the computer screen will help you spot mistakes more easily.

5. Don’t rush: take some time over your self-editing. Take plenty of breaks and even put the work aside for a few days before a final proofread. Mark Coker of Smashwords has said that one of the main mistakes indie authors make is being too impatient to publish. This will mean grumpy reviews that stick if there are silly grammatical or spelling mistakes, or a plot that was too hastily cobbled together and not thought through.

Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar. Fools rush in. More haste, less speed. There are plenty of age-old sayings advising against impetuosity and they hold true in this era of epublishing where the temptation is to throw ourselves into the digital stream as quickly as possible. You’ve put a lot of time and effort into your writing, so don’t let yourself down by skimping on the last stages of production. Spend time on self-editing and editing and produce something that’s as professional as you can make it. Your writing is worth it.

Stepanie Jane Dagg

The post Self Edit Tips appeared first on The One Saga.

Our guest speaker that day was a young indie author called Penelope Fletcher, who was there to talk to us about self-publishing. She spoke clearly and simply about the process and how much she loved it. I remember thinking with absolute clarity, ‘I can do that’. So I did. As simple as that. Self-publishing has, quite literally, been a huge turning point in my life and I’d like to tell you just how I went from feeling bruised and battered by the whole publishing process to feeling confident and in control.

Prior to hearing Penelope speak I had no idea what was going on in the publishing world, I was completely unaware of the revolution that was taking place and was still sending off manuscripts to agents and publishers and then sitting and waiting patiently, knowing my place, for their replies. Nowadays, the immense power that agents and publishers once held over the fate of writers no longer exists and indie authors are a force to be reckoned with. Frankly, I count myself extremely lucky to have been a very small part of this revolution and for me the transformation has opened doors I didn’t even know existed.

Since March 2011 I’ve published the YA novel Unlucky Dip, 3 books in the children’s series The Burly & Grum Tales, 2 short stories in the same series, and I’m also working on making them into audio books.

If you’re hesitating about whether or not to self-publish, let me highlight some of the very positive aspects:

1. Self-publishing doesn’t actually have to cost you a penny – you can publish your book for free so you literally have nothing to lose by putting your book out there.
2. There are no rejection slips! Yay! I’ll say that again – there are no rejection slips!
3. You learn so much, it’s brilliant, exciting, wonderful! 2 years ago I didn’t even know what a kindle was. Now? I have books published in both e-reader and print format, I run a website, a Facebook page, write a blog and I tweet. I’ve learnt about marketing, how to edit and present a book, I’ve even made trailers and I’ve created an audio books (with more on the way).
4. You get to meet and talk to people who are on the same wavelength as you. I used to think I was a little odd and, indeed, it could be that perhaps the jury is still out on that one, but it is wonderful to talk to other people about storylines involving groblins, time travel, fairies, talking bears, etc. as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.
5. The whole process gives you hope – there is always that chance your book will take off. I was told I’d never be published. Can I just say a quick hello to Kitty Bullard from Great Minds Think Aloud Independent Publishing? Hi Kitty – thanks for signing me up!
6. It gives you confidence. I had so many doubts about my writing ability but over the last 2 years I’ve had some great reviews and over 150,000 of my books have been downloaded. My writing can’t be that bad!
7. It restores your faith in human nature. There are avid readers out there who love new authors, who want to encourage you. Let them see what you can do, don’t hide away!

I work full time and have a long commute into London, I help support my son who is now at University, I look after my father who lives locally and has Alzheimers. I’m not Superwoman, I’m an ordinary mum who has found something that gives me passion, and I’ll let you in on a secret – there is no Big Secret about how you go from feeling unsure and lacking in confidence to feeling great about your writing, it’s really very simple – just go ahead and self-publish. Dig out that book that’s lurking hidden in your computer, go on sites like Amazon, Smashwords, Lulu etc., read their instructions on how to upload your book and then do it. Yes, it takes concentration and effort, but when you read your own words on your Kindle or hold the printed version in your hand for the first time you will feel incredibly proud of your achievement. So to those of you who are hesitating – don’t – just take the plunge, be brave, hold your head high and be part of the indie revolution!

Good luck!

Links:

http://www.penelopefletcher.co.uk/

http://www.burlyandgrum.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Unlucky-Dip-ebook/dp/B009JUVQZ0/ref=la_B0052FRB8W_1_4_title_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1361101261&sr=1-4

http://www.gmtapublishing.com/

The post Come on, join the Revolution! – Kate Tenbeth’s appeared first on The One Saga.

The lead character, Roskin, though of noble descent sets out on a gap year to find a fabled statue, so it’s a quest. There are only so many basic story types and this is one of the simplest – so get used to the idea. Too many people are quick to tear new authors apart for their lack of originality, well it was once written ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ and that was over 3000 years ago. With that settled I’ll get back to the story, or will I. You see, I’m not one for giving the story away, after all I’ll see it differently to you as much as you will the next person. So instead, I’ll just say that I found it to be a commendable first novel. The story moves along at a good pace, is filled with background history that adds richness and depth to story, and gives something to set future stories against. It was long enough to enjoy without ever becoming a hard slog. More words do not make a better story.

I’ll round things off by simply saying that I will go on to read the others in the series in the simple hope that they are at least as enjoyable as this one. Most writers improve with practice, I can only hope that D.A Adams does, that way I will have even better stories to look forward to.

Link to Amazon.co.uk

The post The Brotherhood of Dwarves – Book 1 by D.A. Adams appeared first on The One Saga.

The post Writer’s Apathy appeared first on The One Saga.

The story begins with someone waking from a dream, or so you think. It follows the investigation by Derrick Thomas, a cop in search of his missing family. The plot is a simple enough one, which winds itself up from a slightly sputtering start through a nicely paced centre and exiting in a bit of a rush (I did the same thing in my first novel). I’m not going to give away any of the plot or storyline as it short enough without someone trashing it.

I liked the story very much but I would have liked a more protracted ending, perhaps detailing the final assault on… oops nearly gave it away. The main character is quite well-formed coming across much like a New York cop from an American TV show, making him easy to visualise, the could be said for several others. Some might consider that to clichéd but then pretty much everything is, there is nothing new to tell just new ways of expressing it. Ahmad does a commendable job of building to a climax while hoping that he has not been too obvious at the final outcome too soon. It’s a hard thing to do, story telling is an art that takes a few goes to get good at. Dark Side of the Moon is a commendable first novel, plenty of things to build on. The art of showing a story is a tough one, but one that I believe Ahmad Taylor will crack wide open. Personally I am looking forward to reading more from Ahmad, which according to his blog is not long.

3.5/5 stars. Recommended.

I am giving away a free copy of Ahmad’s book just use the contact page to tell me why it should be you, I’ll even give you a free ebook of Emun of Mor.

The post Review: Dark Side of The Moon – Ahmad Taylor appeared first on The One Saga.

I muddled through the job until Christmas eve when we broke up for the holiday season. Christmas day I stumbled out of bed at 2 pm, shuffled around the house and went back to bed, I felt crap. Boxing Day came and went, I did however get some time out in A&E at East Surrey Hospital due to strange ECG trace. I was diagnosed with a bad chest infection and told to rest.

Finally started to turn a corner on 2nd January 2013 when I got call to tell me that a good friend from the Horsham Writers Circle had died of a heart attack at only 63. Phil Hollis, was a good friend and a fine writer, his talent a error spotting will be greatly missed as will his dry wit.

I can only hope that the rest of the gets better and that soon I can actually be allowed back to work and get started properly.

All the best.

The post Not the greatest start to a new year… appeared first on The One Saga.

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I’ll be brief. I was asked to review the book for a blog tour on my own site. I struggled to read this book because it is terribly incoherent. There are a number of continuity issues which when added to the poor writing make it a very difficult read. I cannot recommend this book at all.

View all my reviews

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