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A guest post from Sarah Price

A couple things have happened in the last month or so. They have me thinking about changes.

I really dislike change, even though I know sometimes, even most times, the new situation will be better. I’m resistant to jumping into the water without a net…or something to that effect.

The first thing was that my goofball landlord, who hasn’t deigned to take…

A husband and wife visit my store stating, “We hated the service across the street!” (I’ll refrain from mentioning the name of the big-box retailer they referred to out of respect). “The people there didn’t know anything about the products we want and behaved as though they weren’t interested in helping us.”

I introduced myself and asked if this was their first visit to my store. They said, “Yes.” After introducing myself I explained how we provided everything…

Sarah Price, popular author of Amish fiction, is also a contributor to the One series, which is regularly posted about on this blog. Her story, The Power of Faith, is currently available for ONLY 99 Cents with author proceeds going to a great cause. You can get it here:http://goo.gl/xhE9w

Hi Everyone.  Wow this is a fantastic site, and I've learned so much already!  I just had my first novel published, mystery& suspense,  and I wish I would have known about authors.com before I self published.  Although the agency I'm with seems to deliver what they promise, I still wonder if I should have tried traditional publishing.  Would value any insights from anyone who has had success in self publishing!  Thanks Vicki 

(« Two portraits of Ryogen » - Author Unknown [Copyright Holder is Kiemon Tsuruya])

« Creeper » is an allegory wherein destructive mental processes are compared to creeping plants. It depicts a confrontation between creeper and host in four stages : introduction, growth, conquest,…

Anyone with half a brain can see that the U.S. economy is in a malaise.  It’s just muddling along.  Unemployment is still high.  Economic growth is low.  Prices are rising for goods and services (just think gas prices and food prices).  Job creation is low (people you know that have been unemployed are still unemployed).  Small businesses are still struggling to survive given decreased demand and tight credit.  The real estate market is in the tank; house prices are still falling…

About ‘Who’s Minding the Store?’

Derrick Payton thinks he’s going to be the new operations manager at The Design, Your Choice for Home Improvement. Upon arrival his first day the district manager, Judy, tells him, “Derrick, I’ve fired the manager and decided to give you the store. You’ve got 1 week to improve sales or else….”

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Derrick must learn how to motivate people who can’t come to work on time and watch his…

 I hear a lot of writers say to be a good writer you have to write, read, write some more, and read some more, and then write a lot more, and read a lot more. This keeps the juices flowing, so to speak. Yes, I agree (in theory) with this, but in my lifelong ambition of becoming a published author I’ve learned a thing a two I want to share.

Writing is a writer’s joy. It’s our obsession (I know, I say this a lot!). It’s that other lover in our life we…

     Really? What makes a writer a writer? This is a question I ask myself all the time. Anyone can be a writer, right? You’ve got pen and paper to place words on them but it’s more than that.  A college student can put an essay together but they aren’t necessarily writers. I believe my past experiences have made me into a writer.  I come from a Hispanic family that came to the United States for the dream America is so famous for.  This makes me the first-born generation in the United States…

In 1968, film maker and pop art legend Andy Warhol memorably stated: ‘In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes’.

Find out if George got his on my blog - http://empyricaltales.blogspot.com/2012/09/guest-post-george-stratford-took-long.html

Author Lyra McKen discusses the origins of her novel,Zombified.

Please visit my official blog for her post - http://empyricaltales.blogspot.com/2012/09/blog-tour-lyra-mcken-zombified.html

(« Aurora Borealis » by Frederic Edwin Church)

« Child Of The Sky » is a lullaby for grown-ups, sung from the point of view of Mother Nature.

The song is arranged for…

About a year ago, I put out a little story called A Vampire's Guide to Sex. It was my little poke at genre writing. I had my fill of those books/movies whose title references the setting sun. When I learned that the pop phenomena had glittering vampires, I could feel the heat of Bram Stoker spinning in his grave half way around the world.…

I've been nearly completely inactive in my social networks since mid-July or so. Not that I wouldn't have liked to participate, but I have been engrossed in the redaction of the above essay.

When I tackled the project, I thought it would take a few weeks at most, and that I would be able…

In trying to promote sales for my book series I've offered the first book in the series as a TOTALLY FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time only. I hoped if they liked the first book they'd be willing to buy the next one. Well i got 6 more download reviews and my first sale within 8 hours of doing it this way. Now I know one sale really doesn't mean anything but I see it as a positive start to say the least. At the same time I'm blogging to everyone everywhere about it being a free download to…

          JT: Hello! This is JT Lewis coming to you from beautiful Southeast Indiana!

Amanda Ward is hoping you'll notice her. She's over here at my blog - http://empyricaltales.blogspot.com/2012/08/tp-authors-amanda-j-ward.html

(« Climbing Plant » by Popperipopp)

« Creeper » is directly inspired by the following aphorism from the Dhammapada :…