Of W.E.I.R.D. - Of Friendships - Of Love

           Just before I turned 16, I joined a Christian online writers' forum. There, I ended up meeting some of my closest friends. Some of them I've been able to meet face to face - some of them only through Skype or phone calls - and others only through type-chatting... And they've become to mean the world to me.

(From the wedding I went to this November - 2 online friends getting married to each other -
and a couple days spent with laughter with them... )

            They are truly there for me - some people may say online friendships can't be true ones - but I've lived enough years with them to know that's not true. They've helped me with projects, and writing - and allowed me to do the same in turn for them. They make me laugh - until I can't breathe, and I'm squeaking, and our teasing is rampant.  And they've made me cry - cry for their hurts and sorrows - and they've cried with me; listening when I just need to talk. They are there when I need prayer - big or small, life-shattering, or little worries - they pray for me.They share in my life - some have been there since the beginning - some are newer - and some have faded in time... They've been friendships that have changed my life.

      Ya know what some of them did for me as a Christmas gift? They took my friendship poetry book, and recorded themselves reading different poems. I've been  crying - and laughing - and crying some more. There's more love than I'm able to fully process...

         This poem I wrote to them - about them - back in 2012... and it has become even more true over the years. 

To My Internet Friends

(Read by Camilla Uphaven)

              Almost every week a few of us get together on Skype - sometimes for upwards of four or five hours - and it's something I always look forward to. We are W.E.I.R.D - Weirdos Encouraging and Inspiring Real Dialog.

           Certain online friendships - you get to the point where you can just enjoy each other's company on Skype without needing to always be saying things. When ya can go into listening to music together, and sending links to things back and forth, and just hanging out - drifting between laughing and talking, and then mostly quiet.

       We do that with my WEIRD group sometimes - when people ask, "How do you talk for that many hours?" Sometimes we don't. Sometimes people go about doing their own thing - and we are simply together. We make food, and do chores, and fold laundry, make crafts, and throw links at each other - and yes - we do talk too. We laugh, and are strange, and update each-other on our week, and talk about projects and ideas, and stuff...

      There's a certain comfortableness in friendship where you can simply hang out and do life - even when you're far, far away.

       Last night - this is the one that especially made me cry hard. Like, start shaking a little... It's the overwhelming of memories, and love, and the continued realization of all that went into recording 73 poems...

                           

A Time Ago 

(Read by Jordan Miller.)

  l'm still listening to poetry today - poems of friendship, in a project put together by my friends... I needed to express the joy I'm feeling, and how loved I feel this morning - again - so I've wandered to my blog. ;)

The People In My Life

(Read by Susie Buckley.)

           I have some amazing friends. I really, really do.

                                                      ~Ophelia - Marie

3 Things Most Authors Don’t Know About Ebooks

 

This is a guest post from Aubrey Hansen, who most recently formatted my latest book, into an ebook. She is here today to talk about - well - ebooks. ;)

3 Things Most Authors Don’t Know About Ebooks

The ebook revolution has come and gone, and the media industry will never be the same.  Bookstores and major publishers are still struggling to recover while thousands of indie authors are still fighting to capitalize on the potential wealth.  Half the time, experts can’t agree whether ebooks will completely replace hard copies, or whether ebooks are a passing fad that will soon lose their sensation and earning potential.  But one thing's for certain: Releasing an e-edition of every book has become an industry standard, and no author can afford to ignore it.

But despite the onslaught of ebooks, ereaders, and related information into our society, many authors still don’t understand this electronic being that has invaded their bookshelves. Many of them don’t own ereaders; of those that do, a better portion still prefers their soft, warm paperbacks.  Many authors simply regard ebooks as a necessary evil.

The result is that very few authors truly understand the medium in which their books are now being published.  And whenever indie authors try to do business in a medium they don’t understand, more tears of frustration will be made than money.

As an author who helps other authors publish their books in eformat, I have firsthand experience with the unnecessary sweat and blood--as well as missed earning potential--this misunderstanding produces.  In an effort to reduce the amount of frustrated authors (and readers) in the world, I offer 5 facts about ebooks that you may or may not have known:

1. There is no such thing as “pages” in an ebook.

Page count is irrelevant with ebooks.  While paperbacks have a set number of pages, ebooks have no “pages” at all.  Ebooks are a fluid medium; they flex to fit the size of the screen on which they are being read.  The text flows from screen to screen seamlessly as the user is reading.  You can force the text to start on a new screen, such as at the start of the chapter, but you cannot dictate how much text will appear on a given screen, or how many “screens” your book is long.  (So don’t try.)

Pro Tip: When publishing your book in eformat, be sure to edit the text for any references to specific pages, i.e., “as discussed on page 12.”  Instead, you’ll need to reference the specific chapter/section title, or create a hyperlink that jumps directly to the text being referenced.

2. What you see is not what you get.

In a paperback, what you see on your computer screen is (usually) what you will get when the book is printed.  If you put a text box in the middle of your page, it will print in the middle of your page.  With ebooks, however, what you see on your computer is largely irrelevant.  Not only do ebooks not have pages (so it’s effectively impossible to dictate where elements are spaced on the user’s screen), but most ereaders give their user the power to override a number of settings.  Most ereaders allow users to set their own font style and size, among other viewing options.  This means that while you might be viewing your book in Word on 8.5x11” paper with 12pt Times New Roman, the user might end up reading it on a 2x4” phone screen at 18pt sans serif.  Consequently, this also means that most of the fancy style work you do to your document will be wasted on the reader, so don’t bother putting it in the document.

Pro Tip: Because most ereaders override most styling, the simpler you keep your document’s formatting, the better.  A cleaner document will convert into a cleaner, more professional ebook.  Less is truly more!  Use a basic font (and only use one), use the default page size and margin width, and keep your headers and titles basic--center them and use a slightly larger font size, but don’t try to do any fancy word art.

3. Ebooks are meant to be boring.

After those last two depressing points, you might be thinking that ebooks sound really boring.  Frankly, they are.  You can’t use fancy fonts, you can’t have headers or footers, and you basically can’t do any interesting design work at all.  Trust me, it’s okay; that’s how they were designed, and the masses of ebook consumers don’t seem to mind.  So don’t worry about it.  And don’t ask your interior formatter to do anything fancy.  And don’t ask them why the ebook doesn’t look the same paperback.  Because now you know why!

Pro Tip: If you have a design element that’s important to you, such as a particular fancy title or a graphic you want in between your scene breaks, put it in the ebook as an image.  Of all things, images actually show up great in ebooks.  So if you can put it in an image, go for it!

***

Aubrey Hansen is one of the indie authors behind Penoaks Publishing, a company committed to helping self-published authors succeed in their careers by making their books the best they can be.  Penoaks offers indie-budget-friendly services such as interior formatting and editing, all done by two newlywed geeks.  They are currently located in Chicago.

A Giveaway And Book Release!

*** WINNERS ARE LISTED ON THE RAFFLECOPTER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!***

              I am pleased to announce that I have recently published my forth poetry book, Colored Highlights and Drifting Shadows ~ Friendship's Moments, with a gorgeous cover design by BushMaid Design.

            Friendship is full of highlights and shadows. Sometimes it is bright and joyful as we learn, build trust, grow, and laugh together. Other times it is dark and confusing as we get hurt, question, change and sometimes even break apart. 
          In many ways, friendship changes who we are - the way we view the world, how we live, what we reach for, and who we trust. It is a reminder of our fallen nature - It is an even greater reminder that we are not meant to walk alone. 
           This book of poetry, quotes, and scripture explores both the joys and pains bound in friendship, and seeks to share many of the lessons we learn from each other.

Prize Package #1:

1 signed copy of Colored Highlights and Drifting Shadows ~ Friendship's Moments + 1 signed copy of  Writers' Colors and Dreams + a Notebook  and a wooden pencil + A  two dragon necklace

Prize Package #2: 

1 signed copy of Colored Highlights and Drifting Shadows ~ Friendship's Moments + 1 signed copy of  Writers' Colors and Dreams +  a Scaled-pattern notebook  + a Turquoise coffee mug 

  

I also am giving away prizes on my Clay Page - ZA's Clay Critters on Facebook, if you'd like to head over there and take a look around.

What others are saying about this book:

"This collection of poetry on friendship took some time for me to finish. It was not because it was difficult to understand, but because there was so much of it that brought back memories for me. Friendship is one of those things that is deep enough on an emotional level that it can leave you full at its peak or empty at its transition. Ophelia seems to have captured much of what is experienced in friendship with the words written here. Rightly named, 'Colored Highlights and Drifting Shadows - Friendship's Moments' uses rhyme and other literary tools to express what many of us may feel but don't know exactly how to say. Ophelia takes us on a journey through the many terrains that friendships take, including the valleys of indifference and betrayal, the mountain peaks of comradery and the climb in between. I have enjoyed her ability to weave words in such a way that conveys a strong message with simplicity, but I believe that this book will most likely sit on my desk where I can read from it often."

~Joshua Sandefur

"This collection of intimate poetry explores the ups and downs of friendship in a way that made me think back through my own life, my own friendships, to see and feel the value and lessons in each one. Ophelia does a wonderful job of painting pictures with her words, bringing to life the emotions she is feeling, and walking the reader through them with her. Her foundation in her faith makes her poems even more endearing and life-like. She clearly and effectively illustrates how our friendships on earth reflect the friend we have in Jesus, and how our broken selves and broken friends complicate our relationships. Her words are moving and lovely, and able to make this non-poetry reader interested in the power of verse."

~Kim P. 

For further reviews, please click here.

You can find my books on Goodreads and  Amazon .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for visiting my blog and checking out my books!

This giveaway closes on May 19th at midnight - winners will be announced shortly thereafter.

~Ophelia - Marie Flowers

Dragons, Books, And Giveaways

Well, finally today's the day! A giveaway day!  I have officially published my third poetry book, and have decided to celebrate!  ^_^

Writers' Colors and Dreams is a small collection of abstract and colorful poetry with themes of nature, dreaming, dragons, and writing. 

From today, until the  23rd, the book will be listed at whole-sale price for $2.75 at the CreateSpace E-store.  Afterwards, the book will go up on Amazon, and it will no longer be "on sale".

To celebrate, I am hosting two giveaways with two prizes.

The first prize is this little dragon, and a signed copy of Writers' Colors and Dreams.

The other prize is another dragon and book pair, over at ZA's Clay Critters on Facebook. Go check it out!

Feel free to enter both! The giveaways end March 23 at midnight, EST timezone.

Side note - My second book, Zeal Aspiring, is free on ebook from now until the 20th : Free ebook

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by!

You can find me on: Pinterest
Goodreads
Twitter
And Facebook: ZA's Clay Critters

~Ophelia - Marie