I was looking at Google maps the other day and I noticed a green area near my home. Upon closer examination I
discovered there was an Illinois Nature Preserve only 5 miles from my house. The name of the Nature Preserve is
Bluff Spring Fen. I did a little research and found out it was something Mary and I would
enjoy. So, a week later on a nice Saturday morning we drove over to see it.
Information sign tells you what to expect when walking through the park. No dogs and no swimming.
Read more here ...
Bluff Spring Fen Illinois Nature Preserve.
An Interview with Author, Joan H Young, on the Release of Her New Book, Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp.
I had the opportunity this weekend to ask some questions of author, Joan H Young. She has just published book 3
in the Anastasia Raven Mystery series, Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp. I believe Joan can do anything, but one of the things she does well is mystery writing.
Joan is the first (and so far, only) woman to walk the 4,000 miles of trails of the North Country Trail. She spends time each week doing what she really loves, writing. The years spent hiking allow Joan the ability to describe the world around her helping you to feel what her characters see, hear, feel and smell. The setting for the mystery series is the Northern part of Michigan. A place of swamps, trails, lakes, small towns, interesting people and mysteries.
The Anastasia Raven Mysteries are fast paced cozy mysteries that can be enjoyed curling up by a fire with a cup of coffee and spending the afternoon reading. I recommend Joan's stories to mystery lovers everywhere. The books are well paced, with moments to relax and take a breath before things get exciting again. I would liken it to just sitting and listening to a friend tell you about an exciting adventure they had.
How long have you been writing?
My first attempt at an entire book was at the age of seven, when I wrote three installments in the
story "The Adventures of Skippy the Field Mouse." I left fiction behind for a long, long time but in the past few years
have again been writing short stories, and now the Anastasia Raven mysteries.
The cover photo for Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp. Get the book
at Amazon
or Smashwords.
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How closely do your characters match people you have known in real life?
So far, no character is a copy of any one particular person. Of course, there are little bits of many people I know in all
of the fictional people. The physical description of one person in a story came from a chance meeting at a gas station,
but the personality of that person was completely manufactured. Some of the things that characters do are drawn from real life.
That makes their actions easy to describe. The recurring characters in the books are definitely mixtures of myself and people
I know, although I may not have specific models in mind.
What kind of advance work do you do before you write a mystery? Do you have a story arc, an outline, or a structure for the story before beginning? Do you know who the killer is before you start the story?
Read more here ...
An Interview with Mystery Writer, Hiker and Author, Joan H Young.
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A description of the book, Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp, from the author and publisher.
When Anastasia Raven agrees to keep Paddy, her cousin's Irish Setter, for the summer, she didn't understand the mischievous
nature of a large puppy. Ana has become a volunteer with Family Friends, and she meets Corliss Leonard and his
granddaughters, Star and Sunny, whose mother disappeared seven years ago. Ana, however, has no interest in trying to
solve cold cases, but just wants to help the girls. Star and Sunny fall in love with Paddy, but can the dog solve their problems?
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New Book by My Brother, Dave - Why America's Public Schools are the Best Place for Kids
My Brother, Doctor Dave Brown has recently published his third book. This newest book contains his thoughts
and research on why our American public schools are the best places for your children. The title of the
book is Why America's Public Schools are the Best Place for Kids.
Dave does an excellent job of discussing the advantages of a public school education. You can find out more
about the book at America's Public Schools.
Read the book to get the facts instead of listening to government talking points. Find out what a teacher who
has been in the classroom can tell you about our public schools.
The Reality of Public Schools
After reading this book you will be a salesperson for your local schools and you will have information to
back up your talking points. How do the USA schools stack up against Japan, Finland, Canada or Singapore. Do
standardized test scores tell the whole story? When you send your children to school what do you want for
their education? The most important question, "What is a good school?" Can you answer that right now if someone
were to put a microphone to your mouth?
Read more here ...
New Book by My Brother, Dave - Why America's Public Schools are the Best Place for Kids
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How to Succeed in Life
Okay, there is a title that over promises. "How to succeed in life." Wow. How can anyone promise that? Well, I was listening to some old cassette tapes (yes cassette tapes) and I was listening to E. James Rohn. I think he has some great ideas on living a balanced life. He talks about working hard but also remembering why you are working so hard.
But, the reason for this post is that he said something that really hit home.
Failing in life is failing to "ACT" today!
We are so busy in life. We have work commitments. We have family to spend time with. We have to keep up with our favorite TV shows. We have to update our Facebook accounts and Google +1 pages. We need to Tweet our latest activities. How can we concentrate on the really important tasks that will insure success?
What Are Your Goals?
Acting today. If your goal is to have the prettiest flower garden in the neighborhood then act today to remove weeds and to water your flowers. If your goal is to earn a million dollars then now is the time to act on reaching that goal. When you sit down to watch TV again tonight, think, should I be doing something else to reach success? Should I be studying now? Should I be writing letters now? Should I be practicing my instrument now?
I have a cousin in South Carolina. Ray is one of the best banjo players in the country. How did he get so good? He practices. Constantly. Consistently. Persistently. He practiced to the point where he can play with others. Then he makes the time to play with them. Did Ray pick up a banjo and all of a sudden he was world class? No, it was daily practice over many years.
We don't become overnight successes. It happens because of all the work we did 1 year ago. 2 years ago. 5 Years ago. Yes, even 10 years ago. Writing consistently makes you a better blogger. Your first blog article was probably awful. But, 2 years into it and you are writing daily and all of a sudden you have 500 plus articles written. That is a lot of practice. That will increase your chances to be noticed as a respected writer. Read books on writing today. Practice what you read. Take a writing class. Read writing articles from successful writers. What about their style makes them successful?
How to Predict Your Future Success
Success doesn't come in some fairyland in the future. Future success can be predicted by what you are doing today. Are you going to write a blog article, today? Are you going to research your article, today? Will you set goals, today?
Will you act TODAY and increase your chances for a successful life?
Read more here ...
How to Succeed in Life
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On a recent trip to Arizona, my wife and I had the pleasure of spending a
day in Tucson, Arizona. We planned out a day that would be fun for us, but wouldn't beat us up by
trying to do too much in one day. I think we found the perfect mix of culture, hiking and
historical fun things to do in one day in Tucson.
We started the day late by not even leaving the hotel until after 10 AM. (Normally, we are up
by 6AM and already hiking or something by 8AM. But, this trip was leisurely. We weren't in a
hurry. We could do one, two, three, four or five of the side trips on our itinerary and we
would be happy.
First Stop is San Xavier Mission
Our first destination was San Xavier Mission on the Southwest side of Tucson.
It is a beautiful church originally built in the 1700s long before Arizona became a state of
the United States. The paintings inside the church are unique but beautiful. Statues of angels,
St Francis, Saint Xavier and Mary the mother of Jesus are must see. The color palette used in the
church is unusual in the Midwest, but felt right at home in the Arizona desert.
You can take as long as you want in the church and the surrounding buildings. We spent a couple
of hours taking photos and studying the art and architecture. Then we climbed the little hill
next door and spent time with the Grotto which depicts the visitation of Mary in Fatima.
Read more here ...
Are You Looking for 5 Fun and Easy Things to Do in One Day in Tucson, AZ?
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Get Involved in Social Media
Social Media sites are proving to be effective free methods to get new traffic to your blog. You have heard of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more. Well, take a look and find out more about them. You can build a fan base on Facebook. You can have others follow you on Twitter. LinkedIn is very effective in creating relationships in business. There are tons of books at your local library that will tell you how to get started in these markets. Plus, a growing number of articles on line that will help.
Comment on Forums
Did you know that commenting on forums can prove to be a traffic source? Many times as forum members develop relationships in a forum, other members take a look to find out more about you. With a free link to your blog the more you post in a forum the more clicks back to your blog you get.
Comment on Other Blogs
I am a firm believer in the power of commenting on other blogs. I have seen personally the power this has in driving traffic to a blog. It is easy to do. Visit blogs you are interested in. See what they are writing about. Then go to the bottom of the article and add your comment. To be successful, you should pick a few blogs and comment regularly on each of them. You will get traffic back and the fun part is you get new friends. Make sure when you place your comments that they are topic relevant and more than a single sentence. You can't make new friends by only saying "yo dude" everyday.
Really respond to the article on the blog. How did it make you feel? Have you ever had a similar experience? Were you surprised at what the atuthor said? Can you offer advice to help the blogger? Being sincere and open is the way to build new friendships and with a little serendipity you will receive traffic to your blog.
Make Your Blog Visitor Friendly
If you want more traffic to your blog then make your blog easy to navigate. Get rid of widgets that don't add value. Make your blog fast loading. Plus, make your content rich in value and easy to read. Add an appropriate image to each article, if you can make it fast loading.
These are 5 proven Ways to Advertise Your Blog. Some of the ways are free. Some require time with rich rewards. But, all have been successful in driving traffic to a blog. Try it for yourself.
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It's time to get back in the gym. Maybe you gained a couple of pounds or maybe a lot of pounds during December. It is easy to do. You start at Thanksgiving and then the early office Christmas Party. But, it isn't just one. There is your company party, the spouse's party, the church or civic group party, the neighborhood party, the close friends at work party, the office department party, the party with the in-laws, the party with your family and finally the New Year's Eve party.
20 Pounds of Fat
Kaboom, you now have 5, 10 , 15 or even an extra 20 pounds around your waist and you aren't sure what did it. Plus, you have a whole tin of Christmas cookies still left. What can you do?
Well, take the tin of cookies to work and share them with your co-workers. Then plan on eating better for the next 4 weeks. I know if you eat well for 4 weeks you will eat well for longer. Oh yeah then there is that old bugaboo, exercise. You want to exercise, you know how to exercise. But, sometimes it is hard to actually get the workout clothes on and actually do anything. It's hard for me, too.
I think it's because most people are looking to do too much too soon. You don't have to walk 20 miles a day.
Read more here ...
Time To Get Back to the Gym.
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When we are young we act impulsively and are so excited to be in the game that
we sometimes make bad decisions. We spend money impulsively and don't save
enough for a rainy day. If we want to start a business or grow a business then
we need to keep our money. What would experienced business people tell us about
succeeding?
Who do you go to when you have a tough decision to make? Do you talk with your
grandfather or dad? Do you have a mentor that can help you noodle out the right
choice?
Read more here ...
Business Lessons Learned from Experience.
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Using Testimonials to Grow Your Business
Why do testimonials work so well? Find out what the great copywriters of all
time have to say about testimonials later in this article. You might ask, who
are the great copywriters? Read more as we take you on a journey into the most
powerful tool at a copywriters disposal.
Read more here ...
How to Harness the Power of Testimonials and Social Proof.
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How Robo Basho and Non-alcoholic Wine can help you succeed
How to Overcome Failure and Become a Success. Research that has been done on
successful individuals has shown a few points of interest. You might believe
that the successful person has no problems and once they decided to do
something - success just happened.
Read more here ...
How to Overcome Failure and Become a Success.
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There are 4 types of people
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People that create ideas
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People that are on the cutting edge and embrace these ideas first
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People that are a little behind the curve on embracing these ideas
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People that embrace the idea long after their ability to use it profitably has
passed.
Are You a Member of the Cutting Edge?
What type of person are you? Are you cutting edge? Do you strive to be the
first to see first run movies? Are you just waiting for the 2009 cars to come
out so you can trade in your 2008? Are you looking at fuel cell cars? Have you
already installed IE8 or FireFox 3?
Read more here ...
Your Personal Bell Curve Score.
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What's the purpose of your web site or blog? Is it to entertain, educate, vent,
practice your writing, or what?
There are times when you need to stand back from your blogging and re-evaluate
your goal for blogging. Whether you started blogging a week ago, two months ago
or 5 years ago, self assessment is important to your success. Did you start out
with the goal to educate visitors on a certain subject; but, now you are only
venting about things you don't like? Were you interested in practicing your
writing, but you fall back into the same old habits you started with 4 years
ago?
Read more here ...
Your Blogging Purpose or Why Did You Start Blogging?.
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I was listening to the radio yesterday as my favorite radio personalities
interviewed Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune. They were talking about
online publishing (ie blogging) and how the printed newspapers were drying up
and dying. Clarence Page said, "You know our business model hasn't changed much
since Gutenberg invented the printing press."
Even the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers are going online. But, they all
are finding they can't make the same amount of money online as they do printing
newspapers. It is very clear that they are continually losing market share for
the printed paper. People are finding the information they want and need on the
internet.
Now this is both good and bad for you. Read More here -
Printed Newspapers are Dying and How You Can Profit From It.
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Are you dissatisfied with the information available from Alexa as far as
viewing web traffic for blogs? I certainly know I am very dissatisfied with
Alexa. Well, there is a new sherrif in town and Alexa should be scared. The new
800 pound gorilla is none other than Google, which has just released their new
Google Trends for Websites.
Why should you care? It's backed by Google and it's free. Now you can compare
your web site or blog with your favorite competitor. How does your make money
blog compare to John Chow, John Cow or Problogger? Who has the most traffic?
Google has an answer.
The Google Trends for Websites is still in discovery mode. It is part of Google
Labs and as such will probably change over time. But, it has some cool features
including, a graph with your traffic or if you type in multiple domain names
you can graph you and your competitor's traffic side by side. Along with the
graph you will find a list of regions where your visitors come from, websites
your visitors also visited and some other search terms.
The data that is displayed comes from
Read More here -
Google Trends Web Measurement Tool.
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Have you ever bought a plant for your yard or garden over the internet or even
by mail order? Does it scare you to try? It is actually very easy and if you
follow these simple steps you will be very happy with the beautiful bouquet of
sweet smelling flowers each summer. Here are some things to watch for to make
sure your transaction is a happy and successful one.
Here are a few areas you should watch for as you plan your purchases. Will you
be home when the plants are shipped? Do the plants come to you as root stock,
seeds or potted plants? What is the company's guarantee for the flowers? Does
the company have a reputable customer service department? Do they protect your
private information and do they have a privacy policy? How much does it cost to
ship the plants and how are they shipped? Are there times of the year when the
company doesn't ship anything?
Read More here -
How to Buy a Perennial Over the Internet.
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