Discovery

On Smashwords dot coms Site Updates, one of them is about how Discovery is more important to the success of your book than marketing!  It provides a link to a blog post written by Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords, where he further states that, 'Word of mouth' is what most readers use to discover new books to read.  I may have said that before, posted it here, once or twice, either way I am pretty sure I have heard that before.I consider myself a prolific reader.  Even though I have read about half as much as I did in 2009, because I have unfairly been writing more than I have been reading, I'll wager I'm in the top percentage of readers in the country.  Because of my new found love and passion of writing, and building a group of loyal and demanding fans, I will continue...

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Posted in: Discovery Writing Following Books Author

Hospitals

I mentioned yesterday, that one of two places you will be hard pressed to find me at is a Hospital!Tomorrow, I have to go a Hospital!My father, born in Scotland, Ex Air Force Drill Instructor, Ex California Cop, Ex Construction Superintendent, original old school hard ass, asked me to take him to the Hospital.My old man doesn't ask for help.  So when he asked me, I arranged to take two days off work to help get him there and get him home again.He is going in for an operation.  Some time ago in the middle of the night he stubbed his toe on the microwave cabinet stand in his kitchen.  He broke the toe that is next to your big toe.  Then he just dealt with it.  It was never set, so it didn't mend itself properly and now consequently it needs to be re-broke along with...

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Posted in: Hospital Dad Drill Instructor Toes

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Two places you will be hard pressed to find me at is a hospital or a cemetery!This story starts on this date in 1832, November 29th, when Louisa May Alcott was born in Philadelphia.  She was probably best known for her book "Little Women."  During her life she encouraged a sculptor by the name of Daniel Chester French, whose best known work is a sculpture of President Lincoln seated at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  He was commissioned by Ralph Waldo Emerson to do a piece known as "The Minute Man."  Of course Ralph Waldo Emerson was considered to have led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century, and was a champion of individualism.Come to find out in Concord, MA, in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, along the northeast ridge, is what is called 'Author's...

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Posted in: Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Little Women Thoreau

Thought Fulfilling Prophesy

Ever heard the saying, "Fake until you make it."?There is something to that, it is becoming evident that what you think about things, situations, and other people has a huge impact on what happens or does not happen.  I don't intend to delve into the meta-physical science of this phenomenon any more than to say there is strong evidence to support it in many different experiments and fields of science.My personal experiences with this are really lame, border line superstitious, if not downright silly, but we each should do what makes us feel good and helps us have a better quality of life.  Let me preface this with there are many people who are stuck in negativity every day.  All they can focus on is the negative things they feel, see, experience, and think, and according to...

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Posted in: Happy Penny Shoes Blessings

Beaver Moon

Despite the name there is nothing pornographic about this post.Among new things I have run across recently is the names given to full moons in different months.  Let me preface the following chart with an explanation of the term Algonquian.  Algonquian is a sub-family of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic Language family.Month                     Old English                  AlgonquianJanuary                    Old Moon                  ...

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Posted in: Beaver Moon Blue Hunter Full

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Enjoy, try not to eat too much, and mostly be thankful. Be back Friday Oh, Today Only on Smashwords dot com use the CODE  CE76X and get my book for .99 Cents!  That's 80% Off the regular price for Thanksgiving Only! http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85...

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Day Dreaming

Day Dreaming, Brain Storming, or your Muse whispering to you, whatever you call it, it is a wonderful magical experience.  My father used to get on me all the time growing up to pay attention, quit day dreaming.  I was paying attention just not in the way he thought I should.  I am glad today that through all those years I never quit day dreaming.  My son has a more active imagination than I do, and I whole heartedly encourage it in every way.  I have actually even considered writing down the stories that my son tells me for posts for my blog.I enjoy the mental escape of day dreaming, thinking about the stories I am writing, that I want to write, twisting plots, pitting characters against each other in the most sinister of ways.  I relish in the total freedom...

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Posted in: Day Dreaming Brain Storming Muse

Let them see what they have done.

It was today in history that President John F. Kennedy was shot to death in Dallas, TX.  Jacqueline Kennedy refused to change out of her blood soaked clothes for the first press conference of the new President Lyndon B. Johnson.  She said, “No.  Let them see what they have done.” From 1992 until 1998, the Assassination Records Review Board gathered and unsealed about 60,000 documents, consisting of over 4 million pages.  All remaining documents are to be released by 2017.  Someday it would be nice to know if the U.S. Government was actually hi-jacked by LBJ and the power brokers of that time.  One of the things about studing history is sooner or later most of the skeletons come out of the closet.  Most of the time it doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what...

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Posted in: JFK LBJ Jacqueline

Tin Pan Alley

Originally Tin Pan Alley was a section of New York City, NY.  It was West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Manhattan.  It started around 1885 and ended sometime between the Great Depression and the nineteen-fifties depending on who you talk to and how you define it.Tin Pan Alley was during its time the center for music publishers and song writers who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and the very early 20th century.  During its hay day it was the home to names like Harry Von Tilzer, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Hoagy Carmichael.  This is where you came to get music and lyrics!When phonographs, records and radio replaced sheet music as the driving force of popular American music, Tin Pan Alley began its...

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Posted in: Tin Pan Alley Music Publishing

Smoke Jumping

I had never heard of this, which I found surprising because as a child growing up in the great northwest forests of Idaho, forest fires were a big threat and I spent some time every year I lived there helping my Great Uncle Garth fighting forest fires.Smoke Jumpers are firefighters who parachute into burning forests and use axes, shovels, and other tools to contain, slow or stop forest fires.Again from the incredible book "The Power of Impossible Thinking" that I have been reading, Wagner Dodge, a smoke jumper in the disastrous Mann Gulch fire in Montana in 1949, found a brilliant way of saving himself from a fire bearing down on him.He lit a small circle of fire around himself and let it burn, and when the forest fire got there it just went right around him.  It was not a backfire, which...

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Posted in: Smoke Jumping Fire Fighting Impossible Thinking

Author Interview of ME

There is a wonderful Interview of your truly on this Blog, Please check it out. http://lindabarnett-johnson.blogspot.com/ As I have said word of mouth sells books, and this is one of the newest forms of that via social networking. Author Interviews and Book Reviews/Interviews help get the word out. In multiple E-book Formats https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85282 On Amazon for Kindle or a paperback http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Engagement-Alexander-Hawk-ebook/dp/B005KG60US/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1321889294&sr=1-1-spell http://www.amazon.com/No-Rules-Engagement-Alexander-Novel/dp/1466275375/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1321889475&sr=1-1-catcorr Last week I sold a copy of this book, paperback, and this week when my friend Phillip...

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Posted in: Author Interview Linda Barnett Johnson

Social Networking

I just don't fully understand it yet.  But in my defense I am slow on the uptake of some topics, understanding women, understanding the current political structure of our government, and social networking.Why does it matter how many follows you have?  Why does it matter if I follow you that you will follow me back?  I pick people for following, friend requests, and liking that I feel I would enjoy interacting with.  People who have similar interests as mine, as least as much as I can figure out from their profiles.On Goodreads I base it off of how many books a person has read, and what books they have read, and sometimes what country they are from.My assumptions are that the more books a person has read, probably that person is more knowledgeable and intelligent.The books...

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Posted in: Goodreads Social Networking Mindsets Thomas Jefferson

Tom's Politically Challenged Cat

Somebody tweeted yesterday about one of the Republican candidates and their ability to win the election from President Obama.I made a silly comment about my cat could beat Obama but I am not going to vote for him.Thus began a flood of comments, back from all over concerning my jest.I have a few points to bring up about this.  I don't feel those who are using social media outlets to get noticed by the public and to gain a following to further our interests should take hardnosed stances and potentially turn off entire segments of the population by our personal beliefs.  I also don't want and will not be a wishy washy politician and agree with everything.  It is just not in my nature.  I am not a politician.As far as the cat, I had to give my cat up earlier this year when...

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Posted in: Cat Politically Guest post Writers

Newest Member

Fellow Members of My Blog The newest member and follower to join this group, if you hold your cursor over the pictures, the one that comes up as Kristy Wilson.  That's my oldest child, the light of my life, awesome conversationalist, and the only person I know with as dark of a sense of humor as I have. Welcome Kristy, my daughter!  Hey check out the newest book review of No Rules of Engagement! Not too shabby for only my second bo...

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Newest Review of No Rules Of Engagement!!

http://freebookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-review-no-rules-of-engagement-by.html ReviewOverall Feedback: Unbelievably well written story. This is a hold on to your seat, rampant ride into space military action. The action is non stop and Thomas has really done well to grab a hold of the reader and not let go until the last page. Point of View: You will be following young Hawk as he realizes was he is born to do.Voice: It seems to me this is more about realizing the truth of yourself rather than the truth people choose to see in you.Character Development: You will get a real feel for the main character. I do think that the supporting characters could have used a little more polish.Plot: Twisting turning action packed space military adventure. Need I say more.Dialogue: Believable...

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Posted in: Review No Rules Of Engagement

New Ideas 2

I hate to keep going to the same well but when the water is so cool, clean and refreshing you can't help it.  Plus, I haven't finished the book yet.Extreme Programming stresses customer satisfaction!  Novel Concept!It improves a software development project by focusing on communication, simplicity, and feedback.  Extreme programmers communicate with their customers constantly, keeping the program simple and clean, and start getting feedback from testing as soon as possible.  Their idea is to get the customer a working program to handle a specific need as soon as possible instead of trying to design a full all encompassing program with all the bells and whistles at some later date.  In this model they add components, bells and whistles as they go along.  Changes...

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Posted in: Extreme Programming Communication Strategy Tactics

New Ideas

I love when I can find new ideas, new technologies, and new information to clog my head with so my subconscious can chew on it.  God only knows, and those whose read my books, where I will regurgitate it in some new fashion.  If you don't feed your mind new stuff from time to time it has no product or fuel to piece together those insightful break through AHH HAA moments that we usually get in the shower with no way of writing them down so we don't forget them.  I am always astounded when I get those, because it is if this new idea just forms into existence from seemingly nowhere.  The truth of the matter is that our wonderful brains are processing stuff on many levels for days, weeks, and sometimes months or years before it relinquishes the results.I am still reading the...

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Posted in: Ideas Thinking Brain Mind Transform

Literary Stuff Today in History

Herman Melville's book "Moby Dick" was published on November 14, 1851.  It was met with mixed reviews and mediocre sales.  Melville (Aug 1, 1819 – Sept 28, 1891) was an American novelist who first became well known for the "Typee" which became a bestseller and the first of three well renowned books.  His popularity declined in the late 1840's and never fully recovered.  Published a month earlier in London as "The Whale", it wasn't until the 1920's, thirty years after Melville's death that "Moby Dick" became immensely popular and considered to be an addition to the American literary canon.On this date in history, November 14, 1889, Elizabeth Jane Cochran better known as Nellie Bly set about to beat Jules Verne's fictional record of circumnavigating the world in 80 days. ...

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Posted in: Jules Verne Herman Melville Nellie Bly

The Look

Men through time and experience develop a look.  We recognize it in others who have it.  We instinctively know when others don't have it, because we can't see it.  It's funny that generally those who have the look are not generally the people who cause problems without having a good reason.  They are generally pretty laid back, until somebody threatens them, their family, or somebody they care about.  Or unless someone else is just being completely moronic and stupid and public because they think they are going to get away with it, or in worst case scenarios because they think they are some kind of bad ass.  It is always unfortunate when someone who is dangerous has a run in with someone who thinks they are dangerous. As I started the post off with this look takes...

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Posted in: Experience Dangerous Martial Arts

The Bronco's Jersey

Saturday morning and we are at work at the tire warehouse.  I was having a discussion with one of my warehouseman about if I was the Head Coach for the Chiefs and knew we were playing the Bronco's this Sunday.  I would make sure I knew the names of the sisters and mothers of my players and have people send them fake E-mails about doing terrible things with their sisters or insulting their mothers.  How I would secretly put a bounty on their quarter back for the defense to win if they hurt him and knocked him out of the game.When low and behold my warehouse manager gets out of his car wearing a Bronco's Jersey.  Obviously, in this place of over flowing testosterone, and Kansas City people being almost fanatical, about our team, the Chiefs.  Alright we are fanatics! ...

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Posted in: Chiefs Broncos Jersey Kansas City

A Beautiful Rememberance

One of my friends, one of those new kinds of friends we make on this wonderful medium of the Internet where we meet people through test messages and social media, but never face to face.One of my friends of this sort, Jan O'Kane, did a beautiful blog post about her father, a lone survivor of an entire platoon during his time in World War II.Please go and read it.http://janokane.blogspot....

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