JUDITH STARKSTON, PRIESTESS OF ISHANA: THE QUEEN BEHIND THE CHARACTER

October 2-6 Priestess of Ishana, Book 1 of the Tesha Series is available 

FREE on Amazon 

Sorcery in Alpara, Book 2 of the Tesha Series launches October 14, 2019 

and is available now as preorder

WHY SHOULD STUDENTS STUDY LITERATURE?

(by Melisa Marzett) 

One who reads a lot knows a lot, a Russian proverb says. Does it apply to books in English? Is it worth reading? Previously, literature and newspapers were almost the only sources of information. In the modern world, you can watch movies, videos, listen to podcasts to practice English, and receive new information. We offer to figure out why to read books in English.

1.Increasing vocabulary and improvement literacy skills

Everyone has their preferences in the literature. But, regardless of the genre of the book, you will run over the eyes of a hundred different words in the text. It is an incredibly effective way to enrich your vocabulary because the vocabulary is always used in context. Instead of mechanical searching and memorizing words from a dictionary, you can easily “absorb” them from a book. The more attractive the work, the more quickly you learn the new vocabulary.

2. Activation of passive vocabulary

You understand the meaning of many words and use them efficiently in speech. This vocabulary refers to the active vocabulary. But there are such words and grammatical structures that become passive. You can guess the meaning of the latter in the context, but do not use it in speech. Why? Because it is always easier to use a standard set of phrases, one that you know well. However, it is reading in English that helps activate passive vocabulary. Your speech becomes richer; you will not notice how you will begin to speak with the words of your favorite book characters.

WHAT KIND OF PRINT BOOK READER ARE YOU? - THE WISDOM OF LISTENING BLOG TOUR (AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY)

I have come to realize there are at least three kinds of print book readers I see on a regular basis. First is the tidy reader, second is the messy reader, and third is the hybrid reader. Do you know which you are?

 To the tidy reader, reading a book is like eating a gourmet meal in a five star restaurant. All of their books are purchased brand new, although exceptions might made for signed first editions. They want to be the first to crack that stiff spine open and love that new book smell. In a bookstore these readers never take the front book from a shelf or the top book in a stack. They reach behind and under to find the most pristine copy they can. 

 New books are brought home with as little jostling as possible and stored carefully on a bookshelf or stacked neatly on a table next to their reading chair. When they read, they sit upright and always turn a good reading light on. No drinking or eating is allowed to avoid staining the pages. No notations are ever made or corners turned down to mark their place. Only a proper book mark will do. When finished, the books are still in pristine condition. Only another tidy reader would know that its spine had already been cracked. 

At the other end of the spectrum is the messy reader. Reading for them is more like eating while camping with no table, chairs or utensils. Books come from every source – new and used book stores, thrift stores, library sales, garage sales and friends. It doesn't matter whether the book is in fabulous condition or a little raggedy; is clean or a little marked up; and dog eared pages aren't even noticed. As long as all the pages are intact and it's a good read they're happy. 

ROBIN DANIELS, FROM THE HARD TASK OF BEING A TEENAGER TO THE HARD TASK OF WRITING GOOD YA FICTION

I have an admission. This is the first time someone has asked me to write a guest post for a blog. Honestly, I have no idea if this is how it works, but this is how I’m writing it, LOL. Our host suggested I tell you about what writing for today’s young adult readers means to me. But, to do that, I need to tell you a few things about myself first.

 I was raised in a religious home and still hold those values. It’s tough to be a teenager with a moral compass. It’s not considered very cool. I was able to stand up for what I believed in without too much grief because I was cute and a little popular. Even then, my friends teased me in good nature when I used goofy replacements for swear words. Some thought it was flat out weird that I didn’t drink or watch rated R movies. Many thought I was nuts for saving sex until marriage.

But, for the most part, people respected my values and choices. Often, kids chose less vulgar language in my presence or apologized when the f-word slipped out. If I went to a party and was offered a drink by someone who didn’t know me, others would get offended on my behalf. I had a boyfriend for two years who respected me so much, that he went off to college a virgin (though it was definitely not his

ALICE CHANDLER, MADELON AND CAMERON AND THE DOMINIONS OF TIME

I’ve spent a lifetime with stories—listening to my father’s wonderful stories when I was a child, teaching about stories as an English professor, and finally writing stories for my grandchildren and loving to watch their faces as I read the stories aloud to them.

My first published book for middle schoolers is Madelon and Cameron and the Dominions of Time. It starts out almost as a fairy tale, with a magic ring that can conquer time and space and a boy uncertain of his parentage. As the story unfolds, the two worlds of time become evident. One is the real world of science and rationality—the rocket ships on their launching pads at Cape Canaveral, a New York City brownstone house, the dinosaur hall in the Museum of Natural History. The other world is the magic world. It shades from real places like Stonehenge and a Neolithic Irish burial site to the spectacular imagery of the Bridge of Swords and the brooding terror of the Castle of Bron.

Twelve-year-old Madelon and Cameron are the main characters in my story—or as they soon call themselves Mad and Cam. “Let’s just be Mad and Cam against the world,” Mad says--and rightly so, as they do battle against the evil wizard Daimastron and his gnome-like Gorbuc warriors. Mad is the one who does the right thing impetuously, not always thinking of the consequences she may face. Cam often holds back, but does the right thing in the end.

CHASING THE SUN BLOG TOUR - KATY COLINS: TRAVEL PACKING HACKS

Who’s Katy Colins?

A successful travel blogger and published writer, of course. But she is especially a very brave woman who has  succeeded in turning a devastating experience into a wake-up call. We all have much to learn from her. This is why I’m very happy to have the chance to introduce her to you all on occasion of the publishing of her fourth book, Chasing the Sun.

What’s her story?

After Katy’s wedding was called off in 2010, she made the life-changing decision to travel solo around South East Asia, leaving behind her successful career and selling everything that wouldn’t fit into a backpack. As she travelled, Katy finally put her adventures and thoughts into words and secured a six book deal with Harper Collins.

Chasing the Sun is Katy’s fourth novel featuring the inimitable Georgia Green and the perfect beach read for this summer! 

                                         Read Katy’s personal story on her website 

STEVEN A. McKAY - 10 THINGS WILL SCARLET & ROBIN HOOD WOULD LOVE OR HATE ABOUT MODERN TIMES

For this guest blog post we thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the things we take for granted in the 21^st century and think about how our medieval heroes might see them.

Obviously my The Forest Lord series focuses mainly on Robin Hood but the final novella The Abbey of Death is all about Will Scaflock (Scarlet),  so let’s start with him.

1 – Internet searches– Will Scarlet – LOVE

This might surprise readers of my novels. Will is notoriously tetchy and rather set in his ways so why do I think he’d appreciate a massive invention like the rise of the internet? Well, as you’ll find out in the new novella, Will is trying his best to adapt to the changes in his own life and he’s even taken up gardening. Anyone that’s ever tried growing an unfamiliar tree or plant knows the internet is a huge help with things like that so Scarlet would, I’m sure, love the ability to find out about ericaceous compost and the like!

UNCONVENTIONAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WRITING THAT YOU CAN'T LEARN FROM BOOKS

(from guest blogger Mia Stokes)  Experience is best when it’s gained on your own. When you go through all the troubles and make your way through a certain problem, there is no better way to gain experience. Still, some knowledge we gain from other people. It’s not a bad practice to learn from other people, it gives us a better perspective occasionally. My writing career started out small and I had to learn from conventional sources in order to see where I want to go. But this road led me through some rather unconventional knowledge, some of which I’m going to share with you today.

12 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU ARE 30

There are many timeless books you should read, but even books are best read at a specific age. If you are in your twenties, you have already exited your teens happily and started entering adult life, which introduces an inevitable change in obligations. Life is your best teacher, but it is always helpful to get some guidance from good writers along your way.

'The things you learn and how you understand the book depend on the phase in your life' – says Jack Matheson, a content manager at Essayontime. For this reason, we have selected some of the best books that may not have read before, but can certainly shape your identity and your worldview.

1.     Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

At some point in your life, you will need to make an important choice. Reading Dostoyevsky's novel is a great way to learn about the difference between choosing the good and the bad, and the consequences that come from both.

A gripping story and an argument against nihilism, 'Crime and Punishment' speaks of a 23-year-old man, Raskolnikov who murders two women and suffers from the consequences. The story speaks of humanity and how we are responsible over our actions and the death of others.

AUTHOR GUEST POST - SIDDHI PALANDE, THIS HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA

India is a country of age-old traditions and customs. We have an auspicious day every day of every week, 365 days. We have set limits for everything. No brochures are issued but we know how a man ought to behave and how a woman ought to react. There are one too many curfews imposed. Our social setup is as much stifling as it is welcoming.  However, when it comes to marriages we are tad too strict.

MOVIE REVIEW - A CURE FOR WELLNESS

        

A cure for wellness sounds rather contradictory. Nevertheless, it does exist. At least in a movie by Gore Verbinski,  which this article is going to be about.

It is the story of a young and ambitious worker of a New York company who is given an important mission to visit a forsaken health center in Swiss Alps in order to get his boss back out of the prolonged vacation. He warned everyone that he is not going to be back by means of a strange letter. It makes it to where everyone worries in the company and which is why a man was sent there to solve this problem. There are rich and powerful people having a rest, stressed due to hectic life for a treatment with a water with curative powers.

On arriving and spending some time within its walls, he realizes that miracle-working procedures of spa-saloon are not what they seem to be. While the main character begins to unwrap scary secrets of the place, his sound mind undergoes a checkout for stiffness. Despite all the attempts, Lockhart is not allowed to meet his boss due to some reasons.

Failed to accomplish the mission, he is going to go back to New York but it looks like now he suffers from the same weird illness, which is the reason why all the rest guests of the center are there wishing to get their dose of the cure. With each new day, hopes of Lockhart to be cured and returned home are fading away. Instead, he has thrilling hallucinations and borderland between fact and fiction disappears.

10 BOOKS EVERY YOUNG ADULT SHOULD READ WITH FUTURE PROSPECTS IN MIND

We’re living in an era where books written for young adults are adored by readers of every generation. Reading books can make you cleverer and open-minded in grasping new ideas. Perhaps you have heard of the famous quote:

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” ― Margaret Fuller

Every leader will tell you that they read a lot. Reading is fun to mental. With the likes of Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen, there is a wide selection of books for any young adult who fancies reading. So, if you have got goals for your own successful future and you are wondering which books could give the knowledge you need to achieve your success, here is a quick list to choose from.

MOVIE REVIEW - ARRIVAL

"There are days that define the story beyond your life. Like the day they arrived."

(from guest blogger Amber Armstrong)  Arrival is an American sci-fi movie of Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, which came out in the year 2016. American writer Ted Chiang published in 1998 bases the scenario on Story of Your Life. The play opened September 1, 2016. It was released on November 10, 2016. The movie paid off, have been receiving great reviews.

The movie is about huge objects, which appear on Earth all of a sudden. They are called coquilles and allegedly have extraterrestrial origin. Trying to figure out reasons and aims of their appearance, American security services contacted socialists involving a linguist Louise Banks and an astrophysicist. Louise is followed by memories about her daughter who died from a rare disease at a young age.

She does not speak their language but she is trying to and gradually she manages to understand what they are trying to say. She gets acquainted with them through communication however she can and she is amazed with new and unknown for her and others but how communication goes and how it gets easy.

NEW YEAR, NEW THINGS TO LEARN! DARE YOURSELF!

(by guest blogger Vera Marie Reed)  Now that a new year is upon us, it is time for a new beginning.  There are plenty of ways to wipe the slate clean.  One of those ways is to organize your life.  Sure, you may think that you have everything organized.  But, do you?

If you don’t, then we have you covered.  The information below will keep you organized.  As a result, you can help make 2017 go more smoothly.  Get ready to reorganize your life.

Different Locations - Different Plans

If you are like most people, you probably have some sort of organization process for every location.  Regardless of where you are, you probably have some sort of way to organize things.  But, you need to ask yourself if it is working.

If you are still feeling unorganized, then chances are that your process needs to change.  So how do we fix it?  It depends on where you are.

HOW TO LEARN SPEED READING

Today the Internet provides people with tons of useful and interesting information. There is no need to go to the library or pay enormous sums of money in order to read desired book or article. It is possible to find great amounts of information in the vastness of the Internet. Thus, it is extremely important for modern people to read more information and apply useful reading techniques that can improve person’s reading skills. Here are some tips that can be beneficial for readers:

BOOKS & MORE BOOKS! A GREAT MUST - READ LIST FROM GUEST BLOGGER STACEY

 Our guest blogger today is young and lovely Stacey Marone. Get to know more about her reading the bio note below this post and following her on twitter. Stacey has prepared a 30 must- read list full of interesting titles and reading tips. What title would you absolute add to her list? How many of these books have you read? Contribute your titles in the comment section,  it would be great to hear from you.  Happy reading, everyone!

     The 30 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lives

Books are a luxury that can be enjoyed at every stage of your life, and nothing is more enjoyable nor enlightening than  to sit down with a book that gets you thinking, pulls the heartstrings and takes you to a new place. Below is an overview of 30 books that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime - in no particular order.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

It is not enough to simply see the movie. The book is a mixture of humanity and humour and there is a reason why it is one of the most loved and discussed books of our time.

2. A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

So much more than a science book, Bill Bryson attempts to make sense of the universe and the meaning of the planet. A must read for anyone even remotely interested in what is out there.

3. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale - Art Spiegelman

A clever take on the usual holocaust novels, Maus is a graphic novel (comic) that tells a story of survival in the war by using cats and mice to represent Nazi's and Jews.

ARE YOU A WRITER? HERE'S TOP BOOKS TO AMP UP YOUR WRITING SKILLS

(by guest blogger Rachel Bartee) If you want to be a successful writer, there’s no room for stagnation. You must continuously learn new stuff and improve your writing skills. Your style and the quality of your content is greatly influenced by how much time you put into your personal development. Every successful writer, no matter the writing genre, got to where he is now by consistently crafting his writing skills through various methods.

As a writer for Edugeeksclub, constantly having to improve myself in order to keep up with the requirements, I’ve figured out many techniques on how to improve myself and my writing.

One of the most efficient ways writers use in order to improve their quality of writing is quite simple. They read. There are so many helpful books that are written with one purpose in mind: educating and training novice writers. They’re extremely specific and they’re offering a lot of useful and on-topic information concerning writing styles, grammar, writing tricks, and so on. In today’s article, we’ll take a look at the top eight books that can take your writing to the next level:

#1 On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser                  

This book is dedicated to everyone who wants to improve their writing. It’s a collection of well-written essays, along with in-depth analytics and explanations. It is not a technical book which offers step-by-step processes!

It offers a lot of great tips and insights, shows you many mistakes that you’re currently doing, and gives you the necessary tools to correct and improve your writing. It’s more about non-fiction writing rather than other genres. If you’re looking for those small details that can do a lot, this is the book for you.

NANETTE LITTLESTONE, IF WISHES WERE HORSES

What’s your wish?

When I was a girl I wished for a pony. My wish was impractical as I lived in the city, had nowhere to keep a horse, and no means of caring for it. But that didn’t stop me from wishing. I loved palominos, so I imagined a beautiful, small palomino that would be mine, all mine. And every birthday I was disappointed. After 10 years of wishing I gave up.

What I didn’t know then was that wishing is only part of the equation. A wish is a dream that your heart has. But to make that dream a reality requires effort. The first step is to visualize what you want. Then you put your dream into action. You take the appropriate steps to reach your goal. If I’d really wanted a pony, I would have visited a horse farm or two. Talked to the owner about caring for a horse. Understood the requirements for feeding, veterinary care, the needs of the horse. Researched places for boarding a horse. Spent time mucking out stalls and oiling saddles and hefting hay bales to see if that was really something I wanted to do.

So what’s your wish? Do you want to write a book? Get your book published? Be part of a collaboration? Create a book launch on Amazon?

It’s time to dust off your wish box. You can see your dream come true if you follow these steps: 

SUMMER READING LIST: 5 GREAT BOOKS TO READ THIS SUMMER

  

(by guest blogger Cassie) 

Summertime is a beautiful season and what better way to spend it than sitting back in the sunshine with a good book. There are hundreds of summer reading lists out there, but for fans of Jane Austen and classic literature, we’ve compiled five incredible stories that are bound to tickle your fancy. 

They are all easily purchasable for Amazon's Kindle, making them perfect to take away with you. However, particularly if you're buying while abroad, it's wise to make sure you're using the right tools to keep your details. Check out this post by Secure Thoughts on Kindle security for more information.

Ready for some recommendations?

BEST CAREERS FOR TECH LOVERS

(by guest blogger Vera Reed)  It’s a good time to be a tech lover because trends show that the demand far outpaces the supply when it comes to well-paying job positions in the information technology space.

In fact, the Robert Half Technology Salary Guide 2016 notes that employers on the North American continent often have to wait several months after they post ads for IT-related jobs. The reason? There is a lack of candidates, and the reason for  this is that skilled IT workers often end up on the receiving end of multiple job offers -- complete with higher-than-usual pay, flexible work schedules, and other perks -- which leaves some companies with vacant positions.

These jobs have loads of growth potential, and they definitely pay well, for the most part. While money isn’t everything, it does count for a lot, and you might as well be compensated well for your hard work.

So if you’d like to get into the promising tech sector after completing business school, then read up on the best careers for tech lovers.