blogging authors

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It’s war on the Finnish front for Porta, Tiny, Barcelona and The Legionnaire - and it’s hellish, with ice, blood, cold and wolves (in addition to the enemy)! At this point in the war, it hardly matters who wins - as long as you survive.

But even survival can be dangerous in this army where Hitler’s fanatics are running wild. To endure the Russian tanks, the machine guns and flame throwers could mean getting shipped to the infamous and brutal Torgau Prison where conditions are even more savage than the battlefield.

To stay alive now means arrest, court martial, and in the end - - a cold grey day facing the execution squad!

The winter of 1944 was the most dangerous time to be a combant airman in the RAF Bomber Command.  The chances of surviving a tour were as low as one in five. Morale was rock bottom.

The daily heroism of those fighters come to life in this comprehensive and compelling history of that year, encompassing the most dangerous periods of the Battle of Berlin and the unparalleled losses over Magdeburg, Leipzig, and Nuremberg.

Men of Air includes personal accounts of how ordinary men coped with the constant pressure of flying, the loss of their buddies, and the constant threat of death or capture. By exploring famous events such as the Great Escape and D-Day, the reader finally learns how the Men of Air turned the tide against the Germans.

Highly recommended.

The seasoned killers of Hitler’s 27th Panzer Regiment fight their most savage battles yet, in bestselling author Sven Hassell’s continuation of his wartime saga, The Bloody Road to Death (Cassell Military Paperbacks)

Hassell’s novels have already sold 52 million copies worldwide . . . and his fans are eager to discover what happens with this band of misfit soldiers.

Now veterans of the trenches and seasoned front liners, the soldiers of the regimen find themselves in a deadly cactus forest crawling with snakes, scorpions and giant ants! This place definitely reeks of danger and death, and when their water rations run out, they come close to madness and murder!

NY Times best-selling author, Steve Alten, famous for his thrillers that include MEG and The LOCH, wrote his latest novel, The Shell Game as a cautionary tale because he felt compelled to warn the American people to start getting the facts regarding oil, specifically what lies ahead when world reserves finally run out.

Have you ever really thought about what would happen if we do run out of oil? According to Alten, through his extensive contacts and research, the end will begin with higher gasoline prices, fuel shortages at the pump, power failures… but things will get worse… a lot worse.

Alten warns, “Without oil, we simply can’t feed the six billion of us that inh abit this planet and there presently is no substitute for oil. Oil is used in pesticides, fertilizers, industrial farming equipment…transporting goods to market. Without oil, vast numbers of our population will starve. We’re looking at martial law…anarchy…a massive die-off. Continue reading »

Jane Mersky Leder hit one out of the ballpark with her well-researched, fascinating look at how World War II changed the way Americans viewed sex. You’ll find Thanks for the Memories: Love, Sex, and World War II an eye-opening read.

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, young Americans knew instinctively that their lives would never be the same. The “normal” sequence of events – education or work, marriage, children – had been blown to bits and, as they would soon discover, so had long held attitudes toward love and sex. Continue reading »

Instantpublisher just announced a new division with Familymemories.com designed to allow you to create professional quality coffee table books and calendars using your digital photos one book at a time.

Their free Family Memories software is designed to be easy to use without limiting your creativity. The books and calendars created with our software can be used as family gifts, marketing and promotional books for companies, art books for artists, photographers and people seeking to publish their own book.

Family Memories enables you to create beautiful and professional 12″X9″ linen hard cover photo books with either a die cut window on the front or a custom full color dust jacket. Our software also allows for the creation of 9″X9″ photo books and 12″X9″ calendars.

Features at a glance:
•           Unlimited photos per page.
•           Usage of system fonts. Our software allows for the embedding of any fonts on your computer.
•           Unlimited Text Boxes per page.
•           Rotation of text and photos in any direction.
•           Photos and text can be placed on top of each other.
•           Integrated photo editor to give you more control over your final product
•           Photo borders available in any color
•           Special effects such as sepia, negative, and b/w conversion.
•           Our software utilizes layers to allow precise placement and layout of images and text.
•           Pages can easily be rearranged in any order
•           Hundreds of page elements available to accentuate your design of your book.
•           Photo frames are available to give your photos a unique look.
•           Over 100 layout templates available.
•           You can create a 2 page layout that completely fills the open page.
•           Online updates to provide free access to the latest templates, themes, and software updates.

I love the idea of creating my own coffee table book - - this is something I’m going to check out myself.

Before I started writing fulltime, I used to read books and articles about writing spaces - - the houses, rooms, and offices that famous authors used to write their great novels. I remember a favorite author talking about her country home–and particularly the view out of the large office windows that looked out onto an open field bordered by a forest. Just imagining that house made me want to have something similar when I was a “real author”.

During one of my dream trips around the Internet, I discovered a site called Home Plans and more. There, I found plans for Log home plans –just like the famous author homes I had envisioned. I couldn’t believe the varying styles of log homes, from the ski chalet (think Switzerland) to the Rustic Mountain Cabin (my favorite)–and the nearly 4,000 square feet family abode.

Although that Rustic Cabin plan was for a house only 1,275 square feet, it had four bedrooms, a fireplace–all packed into two stories of “mystical Maine-like” charm. Plans are affordable . . . and in this economy, even an author like me can afford that acre of land. Stay tuned - - this cabin might just spark the great American novel!

I used to think “radio was just radio” until I heard about the iTunes Tagging-enabled HD Radio™ receiver. Once used, I doubt you’ll ever go back to regular radio again. Why? Because I get really tired to hearing great songs on the radio and not knowing the name of the song or the artist.

Usually it’s my luck to tune in 3 seconds AFTER the DJ gives all the song info. But with the iTunes tagging HD receiver, my “lost tunes” days are gone.

Using these receivers, I can tag any song I hear on my local FM HD radio station by pushing a tag button; magically, all of the song’s info is saved to my iPod® so the next time I synch, the tagged songs are automatically loaded into iTunes, allowing me to buy and download any of them I want. I think the only thing I’m going to need after this is an iPOD with more memory!

Of course the music is crystal clear digital, so listening is almost like a being-there-in-person experience. Plus, bunches of HD stations are adding HD2 and HD3 channels–all subscription-free. I predict more and more iTunes tagging HD Radios will hit the scene soon.

In case you’re having problems finding HD stations, whether rock or new country music stations you can find stations by clicking the link and searching by state.

3GB Communities is one of the latest (and easiest to use) social networking communities on the Internet.

Using 3GB, you can set up an account in about 20 seconds, and then begin uploading your own photos, joining groups, join group chats of interest, and listen to the lateset mp3 hits. Did I mention you can also start your own group - - so why not use 3GB Communities as a fan site for books or ezines you’ve authored? Or maybe even a new group for writers in your genre.

As soon as I logged into my new account, I instantly joined a group of fellow bloggers, then listened to amazing music by Elisa–a singer I’d never heard of, but after tuning into a few tracks, I popped over to Amazon and ordered one of her CDs. In fact, I realized 3GB Communities also gives me a free blog - so I used that to let everyone in my group know about the music - - sometimes I get so hung up in listening to the same artists time and again that I don’t think about exploring - - and 3GB is a great place to experience (for free) new tunes and artists.

Give it a try. Pop over and join 3gb community www.3gb.biz to start your fan site or invite other authors - and start building your own little author empire

Not long ago, I stopped by my local Borders to attend a booksigning done by a famous mystery author. I LOVED it because she dressed exactly the way you would expect a sleuth-writer to dress: flamboyant cap with a long feather, floor length cape, and for company she carried a stuffed toy cat. Mrs. Fletcher she wasn’t, but Agatha Christie-like she was!

That signing got me thinking about what the best dressed authors should wear to book signings. Would western writers wear spurs, romance writers a sexy teddy? How about chicklit authors? As one of the most rapidly rising genres, chicklit has really blossomed in the literary scene - but what would the bestdressed chicklit author wear? I went searching.

First, I considered a Rebecca Taylor mini dress (don’t you just love the raspberry one!), but on second thought, this screamed romance writer. Hey Jackie Collins! Get over her and get yourself into one of these minis!

Next, I spun by the one-shoulder dresses; they were spectacular, but I’d save these for my nighttime signings - they definitely say “party girl”. Not that chicklit writers don’t love a good party - - but we’re going for the book signing crowd right now.

Finally, I found the perfect dress for the chicklit author: Sundresses to die for. Polka dot, prints, and island-wear - - THE match for authors like Jill Smolinski, Kate Hart, and Nadine Dajani. Better yet, I discovered these women’s strappy sandals, which, when pared with the sundress, create an ensemble fit for a New York Times bestselling author (well, unless the author is a guy!). By the way, my favorite is the Nina brand in metallic gold.

Next time YOU go to a book signing and the author’s wearing a little so-so nothing  - send her over to this blog and let’s educate her on a little style.