11 September 2011

Reading, Writing, and Pondering...

Remember September 11...    
Before I start into my week's adventures, I'd like to take the time to remember.  9/11 is a date that will live in our minds for many years to come.  On that day, our nation came under attack.  Before that day, I did not fully comprehend the impact an ideology could have on my world, my reality, my countrymen.  Quite certain, various ideologies battle for our attention, our faith, our loyalty.  We sort through them, study them, and develop our 'world-view'.  But in America, we then allow others to do likewise, sorting, studying, developing, until they come to their own conclusions.  We don't have to agree with them.  We can debate with them.  We can still be friendly with them.  We can go home and practice the lifestyle we want to, whether popular or unpopular. 


On September 11, a group of individuals, speaking for a multitude, announced their hate for our way of life.  As Americans, let us remember that day.  Let's not forget that in spite of our differences, we are a nation united.  We must stay united to break the promulgation of hate.  But let us also ponder our actions.  When we divide ourselves, when we cheat one another, when our representatives spew insults at one another in the eyes of the world, we offer fodder for those who malign our way of life. 

Let us live, giving respect to our fellow countrymen, doing kindness to both neighbors and strangers, and offering our best.  It is the greatest honor we can bestow on those who lost their lives or loved ones on that terrible day. 

What would happen if we each decided to commit two random acts of kindness this week?  How would it affect our streets, our communities, our nation? 

This will be a theme in our household as we approach the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  (What boys don't need to be reminded of the power of kindness?) 

Goal Updates...

On Wednesday, I began writing again.  I've written almost a chapter in Her Dark Baron, putting me well within reach of my weekly goal of one full chapter.  I'm in the thick of the mysterious happenings/accidents...which is a fun part of the story to see unfold. 

I have been reading at least one hour each night!  But old habits are hard to break.  I had decided that I would limit myself to one book at a time until I get my TBR pile under control.  No such luck.  I'm currently reading four novels.  Sigh. 

Visiting around?  You betcha!  I've visited well over twenty blogs this week!  It's a new record for me.  The flash-fiction challenge entries have provided some fun reading - I've still over one hundred-fifty entries to read.  I don't know if I'll manage them all, but I'll keep plugging away.  It's been great seeing so many fellow ROW80 writers in the Campaign entries! 

Speaking of the Campaign, I'll be listing fellow Campaigners' blog pages for anyone interested in checking out other writers!  It is about Platform-Building, right?  Visit around here...but only after checking in with fellow ROW80 friends!

This time I'll list a few from my Contemporary Fiction Group.  Enjoy. 
Jon Yang
Zan Marie
Raelyn Barclay
Katie Gates
Meika

Trial And Error On The Publishing Front...

Here are the issues I've come across or had pointed out to me since my novel went 'live'.  If you've encountered either of these, please let me know if you've also figured out a way to correct them. 

1.  In the e-readers, there is a 'Go-To' tab that allows readers to click to see the cover page.  This feature is working just fine.  But on the first page of the novel's 'body' there is a very, very tiny image of the cover.  I'm not sure why it's there...  or why it's so 'eensy'...

2.  I used a few phrases of Slovakian within the story as my hero, Drago Zadrovec, is from Bratislava, Slovakia.  There are three instances where the special character that I inserted (via the tool bar) did not translate into the uploaded text correctly.  This is particularly puzzling as there any number of other instances where the inserted characters show just fine.  I'm hesitant to change anything - unless it's to change those characters to the closest match to an English character - and then I would only do so reluctantly as the Slovakian word would be incorrect.

Claiming The Prize Updates...

I'm happy to say that I've seen a few reviews posted for my novel.  I've had great success with Smashwords and the ability to offer a coupon!  For a first time author with no 'name' in the world of authors, this has been a nice tool to get my book into reader's hands.  Amazon, though, offers better 'searchability'. 
Brazen Broad - Mina Naveen posted a review last night, sending me over the moon!
Gloria Benway & Lena Corazon also added their ratings at Goodreads!  If you could see me, you'd find that I'm deepening those laugh/smile lines...thank goodness for Oil Of Olay!  Ha!

Aha!  At last, I seem to be out of words... Have a great Sunday and a fantastic week ~ Nadja

22 comments:

  1. Great post regarding remembrance of 9/11. I'll be posting something myself, including my little girl's understanding of what happened that day. As a post 9/11 kid, her interpretation was simple.

    And I love the comic strip. Too funny and cute.

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  2. Thanks Angela! I'm so glad you've stopped by again. I've been enjoying your posts a great deal. It's so difficult to convey to kids the reality of 9/11. It's almost as if their little minds cannot grasp something so evil - Cannot understand that things like that exist in real life, not just on television...which is a good thing. I suppose that's because we don't teach them to think/behave that way. Glad you liked the comic. My goal is to make someone laugh...at least once...every week! ~ Nadja

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  3. Great post on September 11. Though I live in Australia and was not as directly affected by it as Americans, I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when those horrifying images and news reports showed up on TV, radio and in newspaper, and struggling to comprehend how something like that could ever happen.

    As for reading, trying to limit yourself is fighting a losing battle, I think lol Whenever I start reading a book, I always say I'll only read a chapter or two, and then I'll go "I'll just read one more... Just another one, then bedtime..." and before I know it, I've read the whole book and wasted hours I was meant to be using to work on assignments. I have nothing to read at the moment (and it's driving me bonkers), but I'm expecting a few books to arrive in the mail soon, so I'm guessing at that point my productivity will drop rapidly XD

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  4. Congrats on all your goals, luckily I can stick to one novel at a time but even my tbr keeps growing. I still remember the sombre atmosphere when I visited ground zero on my first trip to New York. Hope your day goes well.

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  5. Wonderful post on 911. That day is always very emotional to me. We live in Seattle, far from where the tragedy struck but I felt like I was right there, in the middle of the chaos, when it happened. I was just a few weeks pregnant with my first child and it dawned on me, that I'm bringing him into this world of uncertainty and pain.

    Nadja, I tried to contact you via Twitter but couldn't find your Twitter ID :-( Please stop by my blog - you are in my mash-up at http://cheeriosandpearlsstories.blogspot.com/2011/09/friday-inspiration-and-mash-uphow-do.html

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  6. Brilliant post about 9/11...this day always puts things into perspective for me.

    Glad things are going so well for you on the goal front and thank you for stopping by to check out my check-in before I had even checked in the other day.

    I have passed the Kreativ blogger award on to you! You can read abuot it here http://lovestoreadwantstowrite.blogspot.com/2011/09/row-80-check-in-11th-september.html

    Have a great week!

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  7. Love your 9/11 comment. We all will remember them and the pain al-Qaeda left behind. Its just plain sickening cruelty.
    Reading gives me a rush. It taps me back into my writing mojo. Good luck on your goals this week. I'm getting ready to jump into mine :)

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  8. Hi Nadja, Thanks so much for the link. I agree with you that the best way to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11 is to act kindly. In fact, that's the way to honor life everyday.

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  9. Wonderful post. I love your theme :)

    "What boys don't need to be reminded of the power of kindness?" The boys in this house certainly can use the reminder!

    Thanks for the shout out. Have a wonderful week.

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  10. Sounds like you are moving right along. Good progress on each goal. Thank you for such an encouraging post. Keep up the good work!

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  11. For our remembrance of 9-11, my family and I spent the day at the Air Show. It was at the 911th Tactical Refueling Wing air base. And it was awesome!
    I'm happy your first is really turning out for you. As for problems, they'll happen. Just not as often if you're keen-eyed, like I've noticed in your posts.
    Julius

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  12. What a great post. My hubby and I spent the day watching all the rememberance features on 9/11 and talking about that day (we live in the DC area).

    You accomplished some great goals this week and good luck this week!

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  13. Very nice tribute, Nadja. Thanks for sharing it with us.

    You are doing wonderful in ROW80. I don't think that our TBR piles are allowed (by act of law) to be "under control". Similar issue, growing stacks (although I've noticed digital books stack higher) and multiple ones started to varying degrees.

    All the best for the coming week and the campaign :)

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  14. Thank you for all the support of the 9/11 post. I wanted to honor those who gave everything that day. I wanted to acknowledge the impact that day had in all our lives.
    Hope to see all my ROW80 friends are hitting their goals as I hop around this week...
    ~ Nadja

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  15. well done on writing again - My pile of books never seems to diminish in size at all - and now i have a sony reader I have two piles!

    all the best for this week

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  16. Yikes! I'm not alone in my book pile. I have a hard copy pile, a computer epub file, and a kindle pile...But just think! I'll never be bored on a rainy day...ha! I've missed you Alberta! ~ Nadja

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  17. Your comments on 9/11 are beautiful, Nadja. Wonderful reminders for living day-to-day. Thanks so much for your inspirational words!

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  18. Thanks for the link and the other fine websites you showcased. I'm following them now too! And welcome back to writing and reading!

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  19. Such a lovely post on the effect of 9/11, ten years on, and I love your random acts of kindness idea. It's so true. If people focused on the good, instead of what is bad and ugly, the world may be a better place.

    I used to be okay with piling up a load of TBR paperbacks, but since I have my Kindle, I've downloaded way too many, and I have difficulty keeping up with them all. I would need to devote days of reading time, which I don't have! Glad to know I'm not the only one doing this. :)

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  20. Katy ~ Thank you so much! I'll be watching for your 'random-report'...lol

    Jon ~ Glad you liked the other links. I'm still laughing about your post...really great!

    Allie ~ I've decided to smile at everyone I see when I pick my boys up at the end of school as one of my random acts of kindness this week. I started today. The responses were varied...some smiled back, some looked away, and some just gave me a weird, questioning stare! Ha! I'm thinking you have to have scads of confidence and a thick hide to get into this 'kindness' business. ~ Nadja

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  21. What a great tribute for 9/11. I'll never forget where I was that day...

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  22. That's for sure, Meika. I think we all will remember. BTW...I'll be sending you some more tomorrow...Today was so busy, I did not accomplish all I had set out to. Oy! ~ Nadja

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