Newbie Contest: 13 Days Left!!!
That’s right, you’re just shy of two weeks to reach the final stage of the contest dedicated to all the fresh BookRix meat out there. If you became a member of our super duper awesome BX community between January 2012 and now, you need to stop what you’re doing immediately and partake in this contest. Shut off the cute kitten videos and put down that bag of kettle corn. We’ve got Amazon gift cards and we’re not afraid to give ‘em away.
You’ve brainstormed plot ideas and developed characters in your sleep. You know what you want to write about. You’ve just been looking for an excuse to put all the pieces together. What better reason to follow through on your ideas than an awesome contest targeted specifically towards you?
So get crackin’. You’ve got 13 days left to enter your eBook into our Newbie contest so don’t waste any more time.
Tick tock.
First place prize: $100 Amazon gift card and 1 free Professional eBook publication
Second place prize: $75 Amazon gift card and 1 free Professional eBook publication
Third place prize: $50 Amazon gift card and 1 free Professional eBook publication
Here’s an opportunity for the newcomers of BookRix to enter their very own contest and show the veterans around here what you can do. This is the writer’s choice so you are free to let your mind capture whatever ideas that come to you. However, please read the guidelines and the complete Conditions of Entry for eligibility requirements.
Good luck to all participants!
Guidelines/Voting:
* You can enter as many stories as you like, but they cannot be stories you have entered in previous contests.
* You are eligible to enter this contest only if you have been a BookRix member from Jan. 2012 through now. Any other member that submits an entry into the contest will have their story deleted.
* There are no page/word limits in this contest, but the book must have a cover.
* Submit your story between August 1 – September 13, 2012, 11 a.m. EDT, 4 p.m. London Time/GMT.
* The top 15 stories, voted by the community on September 13 – October 15, 2012, 11 a.m. EST, will move on to the BookRix Team to choose the top 3 winners.
How to Enter the Contest:
Click the “Join as an Author” button that will appear at the bottom of this page when the contest begins on August 1, 2012. Follow the instructions on how to submit your story.
Click HERE for more information about our contests.
If you have any questions please post them here: BookRix.com Support
Come and Gather Around the Campire Everyone: Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day!
Image from www.amyhollingsworthhomes.files.wordpress.com
Happy Toasting!
August 30th is the perfect time to celebrate marshmallows – the summer is coming to a close, the kids are heading back to school and soon the sweaters will be coming out of storage. There is just enough time left to enjoy the warm nights, and celebrate by toasting a few fluffy marshmallows over the nearest campfire. And what better excuse to have a campfire, than to celebrate the deliciousness of marshmallows.
Today, marshmallows are available to everyone, but it wasn’t always so. In Ancient Egypt, where the mallow plant was first harvested to make candy, it was a special treat only served to gods and royalty. Lucky for us, the 19th Century, in all its wisdom, started using the extracts of the plant as a remedy for sore throats. A local confectioner must have had a moment of inspiration during his illness, deciding the mallow was much better off in candy form – and the marshmallow was born.
For those of you that didn’t spend the summer evenings of your childhood around a campire – here is a recipe you desperately need to try. You may have had this in one form or another, but unless you’ve used freshly toasted marshmallows, you haven’t really lived.
S’mores
Ingredients:
1 large marshmallow
2 graham crackers (or one large cracker broken in half)
1 (1.5 ounce) chocolate bar
Directions:
1. Find a really great pointed stick and clean any extra bark off the end (or if you’re feeling fancy, unbend a wire coat hanger and use that). Stick the marshmallow onto the end of the stick/wire.
2. Roast the marshmallow over an open flame, (preferably a campfire surrounded by loved ones) until it begins to turn brown and melty.
3. Take one graham cracker and place a square of chocolate on it. Remove the roasted marshmallow from the stick and place it on top of the chocolate. Use the other cracker to finish the sandwich and VOILA – S’mores!
*Personally, I like to stick the marshmallow into the hottest area of the fire, let it light up and then quickly blow out the flames before my hair catches fire. However, this is not the recommended method.
And now, for your enjoyment, a famous marshmallow scene from one of the greatest movies ever made:
“You’re killing me Smalls!”
Oh My! Book Related D.I.Y!
We’re always up for a Do It Yourself challenge and this week we’re focusing our efforts on eBook and bound book related crafts. You don’t have to have a lot of crafting skills under your belt for these ones either. They’re simple, easy and fun. And if you’re a hardcore reader like us, they’ll come in handy time and time again. Let’s get started!
Kindle and iPad cases
Sure you can buy these at a store for about $25 – $40. But where’s the fun in that? First off, they’re not unique. Second, don’t you want to bask in the glory one feels when they’ve made something themselves? C’mon, that feeling of accomplishment is wonderful! Not to mention, you’ll be the envy of all your friends. Reason enough!
Bookmarks
We love eBooks more than anything, but sometimes you just want to curl up in bed with a paperback!. Don’t ruin those precious pages by dog earing them! Save that paper and create these super easy bookmarks. They easy to make, they look great and they make awesome gifts.
Book Ends
We adore our virtual books (they’re so handy and they don’t take up any space!), but for those of us with tons of books lying around our house or apartment, they really should be on display and not left in a box or shoved in the closet. Showcase them nicely on a shelf or mantle for everyone to see and enjoy. Try these cool book end ideas on for size.
Publishing Tips & Tricks: Choose A Good Title
Choosing a title for your book can be crucial. You want to select an appealing title that makes the reader curious and attracts attention, yet you also want it to hint as to what the book is about. A book title can also register subliminal messages in the mind of the reader which has to do with word association.
A book title should have something to do with the book itself. But there are other factors that should be considered. For example, there are readers who find your book intentionally (someone recommended it, they heard about it somewhere, etc) and there are those who stumble upon it by chance (surfing the web, reading a blog, etc). With that in mind, there is always a possibility that a reader will stumble across a book inadvertently. When this happens, it is up to the author to actively influence them to read it. This can be done by using appropriate keywords in the title of the book.
When searching for an unknown book titles, whether online or at a book store, users will often times plug in keywords or tags to locate it. Some keywords produce more results than others, which is why we strongly recommend adding all relatable keywords to your book tags. Here’s an example: If a user was searching for the book “My Vampire Love” by BookRix user Jemma1011, but they didn’t know the correct book title or author, chances are they’d search for keywords like “Vampire” or “Love”. This can work to your advantage, as the populated search results will display all books containing the aforementioned keywords. By doing this, the reader can then view alternate book titles and potentially select your book in addition to what they were originally searching for.
As a writer, you want as many reader to read your book as possible. To do this, you’ll want to utilize keyword tags to ensure your book is rendered in search results. If a reader is interested in romance novels, yet a romance book isn’t tagged as such, the book will never be found.
So remember….. Select a good (and descriptive) book title and include relatable keywords and tags. This will ensure its seen by more people and will increase the chances of your book being read.
Book Review: The Sacred Loop by Anja Uhren
It’s rare that I read books containing illustrations, but when I came across The Sacred Hoop by Anja Uhren, I was glad I did. Anja’s illustrations completely blew me away. Her artwork is intricate and unique and her writing is fantastic.
Young Amelia is terrified of the dark and scary monsters hiding under her bed. They only come out at night when everyone is asleep, but no one believes her. Not her parents or even her sister. Amelia is having difficulty sleeping because these scary beasts are keeping her up all night long.
One day, Amelia attends a fair where she meets an old wrinkly faced woman who senses her strife. Not only does the old woman believe her, but she offers a solution to end Amelia’s night time terror once and for all.
This is a wonderful children’s book that many can relate to. After all, how many of us had monsters hiding under our beds when we were kids? I’m far removed from those days, but I remember them, fondly now, and this book would have been an excellent addition to my nightly reading.
No matter how old you are, you’ll love The Sacred Hoop. Come check it out for free on BookRix! And be sure to leave a comment for Anja Uhren. We’re sure she’d love to hear from you!
Rupert Grint (A.K.A Ron Weasley) turns 24 today!
Image from www.ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com
*****
“Bloody hell!” Today we celebrate yet another Hogwart’s related birthday. August 24th, 1988 is the birth date of Rupert Lloyd Alexander Grint. Rupert, as we all know, is most famous for his role in the Harry Potter films as the ever popular, jokester sidekick of Harry Potter himself.
Here are some of the opinions I found online regarding Ron Weasley:
“Well, Ron. Now here’s a character that has often been on the short end of the stick.”
“Ron is loyal, funny and brave.”
“I’ve always found Ron to be a study in the greatness of friendship.”
“Ron’s biggest problem has always been his own insecurity and lack of self confidence.”
“I think Ron actually “gets” Harry a lot better than people realise. He’s been pretty perceptive when it comes to how Harry’s feeling.”
So as you can see, there are a lot of people out there that think Ron is actually superior to Harry, and I’m one of them. Apparently, so is Rupert:
“The truth is that Ron is my hero. He’s always there for his friends – sometimes belligerently, but there nevertheless. He’s also the comic relief in stressful situations; the funny guy with a great one-liner. And no matter how scared he may be, he will put aside his fears to support and protect the people he loves. To me, that represents true courage.”
Although Rupert will forever be known as “Ron Weasley,” he is doing his best to forge ahead with his acting career. Next year he’s set to star in several upcoming films, including The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman (alongside Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood). Not only is he a talented actor, he can also play the didgeridoo and ride a unicycle, proving just how multi-talented he really is. Also, he apparently owns a fully operational icecream truck – what more could a girl ask for? So happy birthday Ron – Oops…I mean Rupert.
Do you want to share your love with Rupert on his special day? Come sign his Birthday Card!
