First, let me apoligize for not keeping up with the blog challenge. No excuse other than I've been doing other things and really haven't had anything interesting to say.

Next, let me apologize for any toes I might step on or feelings I might hurt. First, this is just my opinion, and second...it's my blog. If you don't like it, don't read it. Sorry if that hurts but that's the way it is.

Now on to my post for today. 

Remember back years ago when John Locke got caught paying for book reviews? The whole publishing world went bezerk. And so did all the readers. They were totally crazed. It was the worst thing that had ever happened in the book world.  I don't know all the details, I try to avoid drama most of the time, but apparently he paid for "fake" reviews and even paid some people to buy his book and review it.  Shame on him.

Now, however, it's okay. An author can pay Kirkus  $425 for a 250 word review or $575 for a 500 word review.

Or, pay $225 to IndieReview for a 300 word review. 

BlueInk Review charges $395 - $695 for their review depending on how soon you want it. 

Self-Publishing Review is a bargain at $149 for a 500 word review. And you can pay $299 and get your review posted as a "Lead Story" on their site.

Now, all these say they can't guarantee a positive but here's the thing. If I'm paying for a review, especially several hundred dollars, I want one I can use. I want a review that will help me sell my book. If I know I'm going to get a negative review, or a not so great one, then I'm not gonna pay.  I think as shoppers you'd have to agree. Why buy something you might not be able to use. These reviewers know this too. Too many negative reviews will hurt their income. And that's not a good thing for them. Especially when most of their income is made from the selling of reviews.

So, what's the difference in paying for one of these reviews and what John Locke did? Well, obviously, his reviews were fakes. But...if  you get a glowing review from Kirkus, for example, and your book sucks - is that not a fake review also?  

And yes, it does happen. I personally know someone who received a wonderful review from Kirkus and his book is full of typos, errors, grammar issues, and just plain unreadable.  Which makes me seriously question any review from a paid site. I'm not sure what the answer is though.

I mean, Amazon won't let anyone I'm connected with on social media review my books because it might not be an honest review.  But is a review that's been paid for honest? 

I understand it takes time to read a book and review it. I totally get the time involved. And I get that reviewers should be compensated in some form or fashion for that time.  Again, I don't have any answers. I'm just tossing this out for discussion.

So, when is it okay to pay for a book review? How do you feel about the subject? 

And, just why is it so hard to get readers to review a book? I mean, Amazon makes it real simple when you finish a book on Kindle. How long does it take to comment that "I loved this book." or "Couldn't put it down, had to read all night until I finished it."?  And yeah, that punctuation is probably wrong. 

Do you review books you've read? All of them or just the ones you love?  Honestly, I don't review every book. I'm trying to be more diligent about it though. 

Let me know what you think...I really do want to know. :-)

Yep, that's right. There is no "day 3" post. And I'm cool with that. I might make it up later, I might not. We'll see.

So, today is the 4th of July. Later, Mom will come over, we'll do burgers on the grill, and maybe play some mahjong.

Speaking of mahjong...I can't figure out how to pick which pattern to go for. I always manage to pick the wrong one. My daughter says just to see what tiles you have in your hand and pick the pattern that you have the most of. HA! Like that really works.  Maybe one of these days I'll figure it out. I'm not holding my breath though.

Now, Spoons...I excell at Spoons. I'm a master of sneaky spoon aquisition.  I just slip that spoon from the center of the table while passing cards like crazy. I love it when someone happens to notice a spoon is missing and freaks.

I'm pretty good at Dominoes too.  In fact, hubby won't play Dominoes with me.  He did teach me to play Backgammon when we were first married. I got pretty good at that too.  Thing is, when you teach someone how to play a game, especially one of strategy, you teach them your strategy most times. It's been a long time since we played Backgammon...maybe I'll challenge him to a game. :-)

So, what's your "game" plan for the day? Whatever you do, enjoy your day with family and friends. 

My youngest daughter has finally found her "thing." I knew she would sooner or later and yep, she did.  Art. More specifically digital art. She is doing all sorts of art stuff and tries to tell me about it but I just nod and tell her not to art at me. I love that she's doing what she loves and even getting paid.  So far, she's illustrated four books for kids and is working on another. She'd also done covers for them. In fact, she's even done a cover for one of my projects. Here's a preview...

The doghouse and owl will be the  front cover and the fence/trees will be the back.  And yes, the dog is translucent...he's a ghost, afterall. 

Here are a couple more examples of her work. 

If you need an illustrator, I know she'd love to work with you. You can see more of her work on her facebook page, just search for Rebekah Lauzier.  You can connect with her there if you have a project you'd like to discuss.

Welcome to another "ultimate blog challenge. I'm off to a not so stellar start since there are only 2 1/2 hours left of the first day and I'm just now getting a post up. 

Things have been super busy the last couple months.  Bodhi is growning like crazy. He's still very much a heathen, but I totally love him. We've officially started training, and he's doing well.  In fact, my youngest daughter has taught him to bring the mail from the front door to me. Naturally, I've helped with the process by having treats ready to reward him for his work. :-) He's very pleased with himself.  He's a recent picture taken while working at Petco. 

Isn't he just the cutest thing! Today, he turned 7 months old.  Hubby originally wasn't thrilled about another dog, especially a Malinois, but yesterday he told me in a couple years he wants to get a female...and she is to be his dog. :-) 

I'm really excited about our training. It's going well. I'll share more pictures later.


My oldest daughter and I are getting serious about learning Spanish. I had two years of Spanish in high school and loved it but that was a LONG time ago. We are using a couple apps so if you want to join us, that would be awesome. Right now, we are using Drops, Memrise, and Duolingo.  We'd love to have some folks to chat with so join us. 

Summer is in full swing in Texas. Yesterday it make it up to 100 for the first time. It's gotten close a couple times though. Mom lives at an apartment that has a pool so we've been making use of it. I really enjoy "exercising" in the water.

Oh, and I've recently started eating Keto. I'm sure I'll be posting about that this month too. It's made a big difference already.

And, since Bodhi can tell time and is ready for his evening walk, I've got to get this posted and do the walk thing.

Hasta mañana.

And it's about time, I guess. I know it's been a while since I blogged...life gets in the way and I forget. Or, I'll think about it at 3 in the morning and I'm not going to get up and blog then. And sometimes, I just have nothing to say.  

That said, I've decided to take part in the July  "Ulitmate Blog Challenge" so, I figured I should start now and get the pump primed.  Which leads me to todays post...priming the pump.

When I was 9, we moved to the country. Soon after I got a pony and not much longer, we had two.  The barn and pasture were aways from the house, which was cool.  But there was no running water.

A well was dug, just a pipe in the ground with a hand pump attached at the top.  Every day we had to pump enough water into the metal tub to last all day and through the night.  Before we could though, we had to prime the pump.

To do so, we'd take a couple handfuls of water and pour it into the pump then pump hard and fast for a few seconds and then fresh water would come pouring out. Looking back on it now, kinda cool. Then it was another chore that had to be done. Not so cool. 

They say writers sometimes need to prime the pump in order to write. Some do "morning pages" or journal. Some folks read and edit what they wrote the day before thing to get started. 

Me, I'm a procrastinator. I clean my desk, play a game of cards or three or four, get something to drink, make a trip to the bathroom (whether I need it or not), pet a cat or dog or both, and finally get to work. 

So, now that the blog pump has been primed...look for more frequent posts. Especially in July.  I'll be blogging about my critters, my writing, life in general, and whatever else comes from the well. 

Oh...be sure to sign up for my newsletter. I'll only send the very few and far between email with I have a new release or something cool to share.  And I promise never to share your info with anyone...ever.

Ever stood in front of the open cabinet searching for anything sweet but the only thing there is a can of sweetened condensed milk and you decide you can just use a spoon and eat it from the can?  I have, and while I didn't resort to the spoon, sugar cravings are serious. 

Did you know that a yeast overgrowth can cause sugar cravings? Or, an out of balance gut?  Or stress?  Here's a few tips on how to kill them.

First, don't feed them. Look for hidden sources of sugar. It truly is in just about everything. High fructose corn syrup is a biggie for us.

Next, think about the sugar replacement you use. I can't do Splenda. That's what drove me to the cabinet and the sweetened condensed milk. Thankfully, I came to my senses and figured out the cause.  If possible try to use a more natural sweetener.

Start your day with a healthy, balanced breakfast.  I really don't like this since I'm not a morning person but this truly does help. Especially having protein which keeps you full longer.

Drink more water. Honestly, I seriously dislike plain water. But there are lots of things you can add that give it some flavor. Lemon wedges, mint leaves, and cucumber slices are great choices.

Consider adding a supplement to your daily routine. Often our body is craving one thing or another and we believe it's sugar. Not sure what supplement to add? I can help. I've beat the sugar cravings. I no longer stalk the cabinets, drink soda by the gallon, or gorge on sugary snacks.  Sure, I still eat sweets...but it's on my terms. Not because I"m out of control.

Want to know more? Want help killing those cravings? Leave a comment below or email me at jeanlauzier @ gmail.com.  Just remove the spaces. I'd love to share my craving killer with you. :-)
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Today I'm thinking about my comfort zone. Mostly because I've had to step out of it several times lately. I don't know about you, but I like my comfort zone...it's comfy. It's safe, secure, smooth sailing,...comfortable. But that's also the problem...

Yep. For there to be growth, there has to be change and change doesn't happen in a comfort zone. Change isn't comfortable. Change is scary, change is hard, and change is often painful. But...

The magic happens outside the comfort zone. In fact, a lot of great things happen outside the comfort zone.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in my comfort zone. It's not really even a nice place to visit when you think about it. I want all those things that happen outside the zone. Sure, it's going to be scary, and hard, and it might hurt. But I'm tired of settling for just surviving and mediocrity.

What about you? Are you stuck in your comfort zone, stuck in a rut, running in place?

How about stepping out for a bit...I know you'll love it.

"Our own lives are the real big leagues."
Presley Swagerty

This is what I'm reading right now. And yes, it's a network marketing book, however it's got some great bits of wisdom in it. For example, the above quote.  So many times, we live our lives waiting for things to happen or waiting to do things until the "right" time that never comes. We don't realize just how important each day is and that we need to make it count. I mean, we have a limited number of them...we shouldn't waste a single one.

Here's another bit of wisdom.  "You can make excuses, or you can make money. But you can't do them both."  This applies to more than just making money.  You can make excuses or you can write that book.  You can make excuses or learn a second language. You can make excuses or live your life to the fullest.  You can make excuses or you can get that blog post written and posted. :-)

I'm only a couple chapters in, but I'm recommending this one. If you have any interest at all in personal growth books, you'll love this one.

That's right...I didn't get a post up every day.  But it was only 3, so I'm not going to complain. Not with the distraction of puppy. Yesterday, he made a trip to the vet...seems he has an "overgrowth" of bad bacteria and that has been causing his issues. He's got meds and is doing much better. He actually slept last night...which meant so did I.

Looking back on this month, I've figured out several things that were much needed. I'm working on a plan for some of them, waiting on others. I've set some goals and clarified a few things in my mind. It's been a good month.

And even though I didn't blog every day, I still have more posts up than when I started. Plus, I've made a couple "virtual" friends that I'll be keeping up with. I've found some good blogs I'll keep reading, ever so often.

I won't be blogging every day after today...I'm thinking maybe on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That shouldn't be too hard to keep up with.  I'll just have to write when puppy is napping. :-)

Will I be doing the next challenge? I think so. But, I'm thinking a theme of sorts. And I'll try to get some posts done early so they'll be ready.

I want to thank everyone who stopped by, left a comment, tweeted, shared, liked, etc. I'll be drawing for the prize winner in a couple days. I gotta get all the entries together and that may take a bit. There is still time to enter so...comment and/or signup for newsletter.

See y'all next challenge....and Friday. :-)

Yesterday, I forgot to blog. I'm blaming the puppy. :-) He's such a little heathen. And I have the teeth marks to prove it. At the moment, he's resting quietly so I'll be quick.

I'm going to relate puppy stuff to writing and publishing stuff.

Not so long ago, I was reminded of my love for dog training and all the doggy things involved with that. And I was introduced to a dog sport that I just fell in love with and knew I wanted to compete in.  Which meant I needed an appropriate dog. I needed a dog bred to do what I wanted to do.  So, I did some breed research and decided on which breed would be best suited to my sport. Then I researched breeders. I looked at a lot of breeders, at their dogs, and the things their dogs had accomplished. Then, I picked the breeder who was producing dogs who were competing and winning in the sports I want to compete in.  Then, I put a down payment on a puppy and began the long wait. In fact, it was an 8 month wait from deposit to puppy. But he's totally worth it.  

During that wait though, and before actually, I started learning. There's been a lot of strides made in dog training since I trained "professionally" last and since I was considering a new sport, I needed to learn that too.  I started  studying in January of last  year and am still learning.

Now, I'm applying what I've learned in hopes of one day competing and winning in the show ring. There's still a lot of work to be done but I've stacked the deck in my favor. I've acquired knowledge, and still am acquiring knowledge...I  have the best puppy ever that is totally capable to do what I want, and I'm willing to put in the time to train hard to get where I wanna go.
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Obviously,  I didn't get this finished and posted yesterday as planned. I'm still blaming the puppy. :-) Today, I think I might get it finished. At least, I'm hopeful.

Now, how does this relate to writing? First, we may have an idea, or maybe we might have the whole plot in our heads. But...we must learn our craft. We must study good writing...and bad.  The bad so you know what not to do. Reading good writing is a really good way to learn how good writing reads. Someone said we have to write a million words to really learn how to write. I'm not sure about that...because if you ever stop learning, you need to quit.  There is always something you can learn about writing.  How to write more descriptive exposition, how to tighten scenes, how to show character through actions, for example.

Then we must do the writing. This is our practice or training. It's so easy to not write. Procrastination is is horrid thing that often attacks writers. Once our manuscript is finished, we must show it to the world...or at least a small part of it.

This is like a practice trial or match for dog events. As writers, we use a critique group to see what aspects (scenes, dialogue) needs to be worked on. We send our manuscripts to beta readers to get their opinions and observations. We  get them back and work some more polishing or rewriting.

While all this is happening, we are looking for places to show our work.  Whether it's a dog trial or agent, there must be research.

Then comes the day we compete. We sent our manuscript or query letters out to the places we've researched.  If we've done our homework, put in the time and effort, then we are winners. No matter what the judges say!