I'm kidding. Another blog award by +A Long, a poet who has lovely poems you wouldn't wanna miss. His page can be viewed at this link. He has been a wonderful support to me and fellow authors on Google Plus and I would like to extend my gratitude at this point to him. I hope he would continue to be a support for us.
THE RULES FOR ACCEPTING THE "SHINE ON" AWARD ARE: 1. Display the award logo on your blog. 2. Link back to the person who nominated you. 3. State 7 things about yourself 4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them. 5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award requirements.
7 Things About Me:
1) I'm unemployed at the moment and I'm loving it. (Okay I don't want it to look so bad on me, guys!! I just graduated and lazing at home for the time being)
2) I have a date with my girlfriend tomorrow and I just remembered!!
I have been enjoying making video book trailers for authors who are have published their books and about to publish their books. The one thing I'm happy about doing these trailers is the fact that the books are remarkably amazing and the ones I have made so far mostly come from the self-help category. The previous trailer was about a man who survived drug abuse and harsh environments where he was brought up. He chooses to make a book out of his life in the hope that it could someday save a life or change a person into a new leaf.
This week, I had a great opportunity to work with Ronda Rockwell, a soulful person who wrote the book ''Marybeth's Final Journey". This book is about Ronda's mother who was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer and it tells you how the family handled the difficult situation and embracing the final few weeks left with Marybeth. It was Marybeth's desire to have this book shared with everyone so help families facing similar situations cope with the loss of parents or loved-ones due to cancer and any other illness.
Ronda Rockwell shares with us some of the interesting stuffs about her.
Describe
yourself in five words – Passionate, Compassionate, Loving, Artistic, Sunshine
What
fact about yourself would really surprise people? That
I have 3 grandsons already
How do you work through self-doubts and fear? With “I can do or overcome
anything” attitude
What scares you the most? heights
What makes you happiest? My
husband and family
Why do you write?To share experiences and because I love writing
Have you always enjoyed writing? yes
What motivates you to write? Feelings
of experiences, to help others and to share
What writing are you most proud of?.Marybeth’s Final Journey- for my Mama
What are you most proud of in
your personal life?Choosing to change my life at 39. I
needed happiness for myself, my kids and my mom (she lived with me). I chose to
divorce after 17 years and now I am married to my soul mate Ron.
What books did you love growing up? All
types. Non-fiction, fiction, suspenseful, self help
What do you hope your obituary will say about
you? Ronda was a wonderful wife,
mom, Nana and philanthropist. She changed lives for the better.
Location and life experiences can really
influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live? I
grew up in San Diego, Ca. As a teen I lived in Pacific Beach, moved to Ocean
Beach as an adult. I moved away from San
Diego a couple times and returned to my home city. There is no place so
beautiful and full of different cultures and people.
How did you develop your writing? I wrote since I was
in school. I wrote in journals. I have always wrote poetry as well.
What
is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing? Hmmm,
I became an indie publisher, writing comes with ease, I will say marketing.
It’s not just writing the book and getting published. It’s how you market
yourself to get the book out there.
What marketing works for you?Word of mouth, internet, and soon a book tour
Do you find it hard to share your work? No.
Is your family supportive? Do your friends
support you? Oh yes they are!
What else do you do, other than write? Photography,
a variety of art mediums, I currently work as a Contract Administrator for a
large firm.
What other jobs have you had in your life? Cashier,
Store window decorator, Property Manager, Project Coordinator, Relationship
Consultant and Project Administrator
If you could study any subject at university
what would you pick? Nuclear Medicine
If you could live anywhere in the world where
would it be?San Diego
Tell us about your family? I
have a wonderful family, three children, three grandchildren, my husband Ron,
brothers, sisters, Auntie M, Uncle J and many nieces and nephews
How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in
bed, at a desk? Laptop, sometimes anywhere
and on anything if I have an idea.
How much sleep do you need to be your best? 5
hours.
Is
there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support? Heather
Hudson for the encouragement to share my mom’s story
Every writer has their own idea of what a
successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to
you? The best selling author…
Tell us about your new book? Why did you write
it?It is a heart-touching final journey of one family,
mine, as my sweet mom Marybeth was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The story
will walk you through what we experienced in our love, laughter, acceptance,
spiritual awakening.
If you could have a dinner party and invite
anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?Leonardo
da Vinci, he was not just an artist, he was brilliant.
When you are not writing, how do you like to
relax? Go to the beach
What
do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make
them feel? I hope with this book, Marybeth’s Final Journey, that the readers
feel transported into the story and that some of our experiences will be
helpful insights into their own lives or with their own loved ones’ illness.
It was a pleasure working with Ronda and learning about her book that is very soon to be available in online bookstores. I am looking forward to reading this and it was an honour to interview Ronda. I have encouraged her to be a part of the Support-a-Writer community and hopefully, we could see her around soon.
Maybe I am sweet but no, it's not actually me but my blog!
It's time for SUPER SWEET BLOGGING AWARD!
+Vashti Q-Vega , you are so sweet to pass on the sweet blogging award to me. Thank you very much. Vashti is a fiction writer who wrote The Basement and I'm so thrilled to have her as a good friend over here on Google +. Her support for all writers never wanes off and she definitely deserves this award for that quality together with her writing skills. Congratulations love!
Super Sweet Blogging Award
The Rules:
Thank the Super Sweet Blogger that awarded you.
Answer five Super Sweet questions.
Include the Super Sweet Blogging Award image in your blog post.
Nominate a baker’s dozen (13) other bloggers.
Notify your nominees on their blog.
The Five Super Sweet Questions:
1. Cookies or Cake? Sorry I'm a little indecisive here. I love both. :P
2. Favorite Sweet Treat? Chocolates. Dark chocolates !!!
3. Sweet Nick Name? Mol (This is how Malayalee families call their daughters anyway. So, it is quite common for us)
4. What is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for you? Okay, I love everything someone does out of their heart. But one thing I love most is the handmade stuffs/cards I used to receive from my schoolmates in Convent. I love receiving stuffs by post and collecting them from the postman.
5. What is your sweetest memory? Making my parents proud
Do you know the Google Reader is closing down very soon? What impact does it have on you? If you are using Blogger and you have saved your favourite blog lists or followed blogs you love reading on Blogger via Friend Connect, you will not be able to get those updates on your blog home page anymore. That is from 15th July, about ten days from now.
I have just saved imported all my reading lists from Blogger to two other RSS readers, The Old Reader and the widely used top Google Reader alternative, Feedly.
I will show you how to import your lists within ten minutes and never worry about losing your reading lists anymore.
1. Download Data From Google Reader
Click on the Google Takeout
When you have arrived to the homepage, you will see a clickable link on Google Takeout. This will allow you to download all data on your blog and save it into your computer.
Once you click on the link, it will bring you to this page where you can choose what to save on your computer. The reader is already on the list to download from the picture on the left, to add another service, click on the 'add another service' below and click on the 'create archive' red link.
As you can see, I have downloaded my blog posts and reader lists. You can select as many services you want to download. Once you have chosen your download lists, click on 'download' and instantly your file will be downloaded. Mine was downloaded via Winzip file.
2. Importing Data
When you open the downloaded file, you will see different folders in it containing respective services' documents. Open Reader's folder and you will see an XML document right at the end of the list. You may want to copy paste this document into your desktop to ease the uploading process next.
All you have to do now is to go to Feedly Reader's webpage and signup. I signed up using Google + and it's so easy. You will see an option to import your own reading lists and all you have to do is to choose the XML document and import. You can see all your lists appearing very soon.
Mine looks like this from the new RSS feed. Good luck in trying and don't be late. You have ten days from now.
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
Hello readers, so I have been nominated again for this exciting award by author friend +Alana Munro. Thank you so much +Alana Munro for having me on mind while making the selection and I'm truly honoured to be receiving this from you. Thank you once again.
Alana is an author of Women Behaving Badly. She is also having a page on Google +, Support-a-writer. So be sure to check it out and read her website to get to know her more, the author who loves to interview and support all authors.
This award actually reminds me of another award on Glipho that I'm yet to respond to. Gosh. So in order to keep this award going to all other awesome writers, I would nominate some of the very exciting and inspiring young writers out there.
Bikini or Burka?What really defines Modesty?
Image grabbed here
I have just watched a video from YouTube, a speech by Jessica Rey, an actress and a designer who has sparked a debate between the conservative and modernised world about swimwear. Jessica says that the bikini has dis-empowered women where they allow themselves to be objectified by men. Is itsy-bitsy really that bad? Here it is the video of Jessica with her speech
Now, before we really look into the issue, think of all the aspects that needed to be analysed.
Does showing your skin means being bitchy?
What modesty really is?
Where does women's choice lies and to what extent it is acceptable?
The society has this terrible idea ingrained on it's mind for a very long time. Back in the stone age, when people don't know what clothes are, they don't find it awkward to be naked. As time passes and when the world entered into the evolution era, clothes were invented to cover themselves from the harsh environment. Together with that reason, people started to cover themselves as they viewed the human body as a sacred asset. Here, at this point, comes in modesty. And this is completely fine. People covering themselves because they feel the urge to uphold their dignity.
But to cover yourself because you're afraid that men see you as an object? This is where the problem starts.
Like Jessica has said, the invention of bikini was with the intention to objectify women. The definition of women's skin has become SEXY. Who on earth really came up with this word? People have started to view women in a different manner and when they show some skin, it is called sexy. Women have been exploited as objects in various fields from modelling to advertisement ever since then. Have you ever felt that it is huge discrimination when men who employ models for their business calling another common woman on street sluts just because they wear low cut blouses? I say the length of the dress is not going to make a difference in addressing the real issue we have.
A lady who fully covers but treats her daughter-in-law like her slave versus a lady who wears a low-cut dress but does charity work during the weekend? Who is the woman with the bad behaviour? I'm not saying that reverting back to the old swimwear is a bad idea, but the intention in doing that causes more damage to the society as we seem to be seeking approval from people, mainly the gentlemen who may not be so 'gentle and nice'.
Change In Mentality Is What We Need Now
I feel the amount of skin you show shouldn't be used to judge a woman and the common notion of showing skin means sexy or bitchy has to be eradicated altogether. When you cover just because you don't want a man to look down upon you, you are merely seeking approval and dancing to his tune. Force that ignorance and arrogance out of them and let them know a woman is a woman and nothing else grants them the right to objectify her, whether or not they reveal skin.
What modesty really is? I personally don't reveal too much skin, because I don't think I would carry myself well and this is a personal opinion. Another lady or maybe even you reading this, if you are a lady, would feel comfortable walking down the street with a skirt above-knee length that looks fine and not obscene. Everyone has different a personality to carry and if we were to judge someone based on their appearance alone, I believe we are in the wrong track altogether. A well-mannered woman can only be identified through the way she behaves with another human being.
If showing skin is wrong, then every woman in the modelling industry has to resign to be labelled a 'good' lady. Even prostitutes would be slammed hard on this issue if it is wrong to show skin. Do we even grant women to make a choice? To me, it is very wrong for a woman to allow her body to be objectified and for a man to take advantage of any woman no matter how she dresses up. While I feel it is wrong to allow people to objectify us, ladies who are in the fashion line would feel that it is their profession and they would stand up for their choice. At the end of the day, it is about giving a woman the power to choose what they want and taking decisions based on their choice.
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
Hello everyone, my beloved readers, authors, and writers. I'm feeling very excited about this new blog hop I'm hosting for all of you to share your interesting post on my linky blog. I believe this is an excellent platform to share your thoughts with other readers and viewers outside your network. I hope all of you could expand your network circle and find writers and bloggers who have a common interest with you. This can be anything from books to photography and travel tips. Just about anything except adult content, alcohol, smoking, and advertisement related posts.
I'm hosting this for the next EIGHT days and I'm really looking forward to your participation. How do you get about this? It is pretty simple. I need you to go to the right sidebar of this blog where you could see widgets attached to the side-bar. At the top right-hand side corner, you can see a widget with saying 'this is a blog hop'. You will find 'click here to enter' at the end of the widget which will direct you to a page where you could fill in the relevant details to join in the fun.
Once you have submitted your details, I would get an e-mail for your request to join the blog and I would approve it as soon as I see it adhering to the requirements. Feel free to contact me via Google + to ask me any questions.
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
