CONTEST: "Your Chance To Win A FREE, Autographed Copy Of: "CYNTHIA'S ATTIC: THE MAGICIAN'S CASTLE" By Mary Cunningham!"

~CONTEST~

For your chance to win a FREE, AUTOGRAPHED Copy of:




"Cynthia's Attic: The Magician's Castle"
Written By:
Mary Cunningham





To win your chance
for the FREE, AUTOGRAPHED
Copy,
all you need to do
is answer the following
question CORRECTLY:



"What particular
item have
Cynthia & Gus
gone on a
frantic search
to find?"

HINT: Visit Mary Cunningham's site here




Please submit your entries here

(Contest limited to U.S. participants only. Thank you.)



IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

CONTEST ENDS:
midnight, 11 April 2010.
The WINNING NAME (U.S. participants only!) will be selected from all the correct entries received. (Please be sure to include your email address or the url for your blog with your entry, so that we can get in contact with you in the event that you are the winner.) Best Wishes to you all!



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde


Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Prolific Blogger Award!"

My dear friend Angie Lofthouse from the wonderful blog, Notes From the Writing Chair, has done me the honor of bestowing the prestigious "Prolific Blogger Award" upon me:







RULES FOR THE "PROLIFIC BLOGGER AWARD":

1. Each Prolific Blogger must link to the blog from which he/she has received the award. (see above).

2. Every Prolific Blogger must link back to this post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award.

3. Every Prolific Blogger must visit this post and add his/her name in the Mr. Linky, so that we can get to know the other winners.

4. Every winner of the "Prolific Blogger Award" has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers. Let's spread some ♥love♥!



I'd like to pass this award on to the following "Prolific Bloggers":

1. Leona Shankle from At The Starting Gate

2. Pamela Mac Lean from Two to Write

3. Laura Schaefer from The Teashop Girl's Blog

4. Lisa Holdren from The Truth To Some Extent

5. Lesa Holstine from Lesa's Book Critiques

6. Lillie Ammann, Writer & Editor from A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye

and last, but not least...

7. Victoria Strauss from Writer Beware Blogs!



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde


Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Tag, You're It!"

Angie over at "Notes From the Writing Chair" posted this little game and I thought it looked like fun, so I thought I'd try it. I've never done one of these before and it looks like a lot of fun. All you have to do is fill in your likes/loves/hates after the bolded words. Have fun!

Here goes:

• I like everything to do with "writing". I like the writing itself, brand new pens, new notebooks, and everything new.


• I like having "Date Night with my husband, every Friday night. It makes me feel special and even though we usually stay home and watch a movie, it still feels just like it did when we were dating before we got married. (He still gives me goosebumps!)


• I like Orville Redenbacher's kettlecorn popcorn. It has a sweet and natural taste that doesn't make me feel all thirsty when I'm done eating it.


• I like the smell and sound of rain, especially when it builds up and causes a torrent to flow through the gully behind our house. When it rains really hard, it sounds like a train is in the gully, and believe it or not, my husband and I both think it is a very soothing sound.


• I like the Holly Lisle's "How To Think Sideways Career Survival Course For Writers" that I'm taking right now. I'm learning a lot and it's so interesting.


• I like to rest my cheek on the cool side of my pillow; it is such a refreshing feeling, no matter what time of year it is.


• I like watching kittens and puppies sleep. Sometimes they run in their sleep or whimper like babies and it's the cutest thing to observe.


• I like blogging, even though I really don't have enough time to keep up with it like I should.


• I like riding on the back of my husband's 1973 Honda CB750 motorcycle, with my arms wrapped around him, watching the scenery whip by us, feeling young, free and very much in ♥love♥.








• I ♥love♥ the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and Saviour, in Him shall I trust.


• Today was the day that the Lord hath made; "I will rejoice and be glad in it, for this is the day that the Lord hath made." (Psalm 118:24)








• I hate satan and all of his minions.


• I hate it when people are mean to one another.


• I hate it when people suffer needlessly.


• I hate being disabled; it makes me feel useless!


• I hate it when people display "road rage"; they act like they just got out of kindergarten.


• I hate it when politicians think they know what we need for ourselves more than we do, and they refuse to even listen to us!


• I hate it when I get behind on anything, such as reading/answering emails, etc.








• I (secretly) like paying the bills every month. It's not that I like having bills...no, of course not!...it's just that I like making sure that all the bills are paid on time.


• I ♥love♥ my husband, Dion, with all my heart. He's my soul-mate and I praise the Lord every day for sending him to me. Before he came into my life, I was miserable and lonely. Now I am so happy and have so much joy! (Can you tell I'm very much in love?)

At this point, I'm supposed to "tag" three of my friends and list them below, but I'm not going to do that. I'll just let you all decide yourself (like I did) if you want to participate. If you leave a comment and want to play the game, just let me know and I'll post your link below, OK?






Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde


Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Check Out These "Fantabulous Followers Giveaway" Contests!"

I came across some "Fantabulous Followers Giveaway" contests this week, so I thought I'd pass along the information to you so you won't miss out on them.

First, there's the one at "Elana Johnson's" blog where Elana Johnson is giving away seven amazing books, all but one are personalized! Go here for more contest details.



Next, there is one at "Shooting Stars", where sisters Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins are giving away five fantastic prizes.

They are as follows:

• Suzie Townsend, literary agent extraordinaire with FinePrintLit, has consented to give to the grand prize winner a 40-page partial submission plus a critique of those pages!


• Kimberly Derting, author of "THE BODY FINDER" (release date 3-16) has donated an awesome "BODY FINDER" black totebag (perfect size for a whole stack of library books), a signed-in-silver poster, autographed bookmark, and sticker for one lucky winner!


• The book "THE HOST", by Stephenie Meyer.


• "WRITING THE GREAT AMERICAN ROMANCE" by Catherine Lanigan makes writing almost easy! This step-by-step guide can easily be applied to writing fiction of any genre.


• one- 4 ounce box of Enstrom's toffee

Go here for more contest details.



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde


Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Cynde's "New-Story-Idea" Folder!"

Last night, I was thinking about a couple of the little things that I do to organize myself and keep track of all the story ideas that I have floating around in my head, so I thought: "Hmmm...why not share the ideas with my friends? They might be able to use them!"

So...here goes:

1. First of all, I never go anywhere without a notebook! You never know when a great idea is going to "pop!" into your head...and as quickly as it came, it can disappear. If you have your handy-dandy notebook with you, all you have to do is "jot" a rough draft of your idea down, and then you won't forget it.





2. Secondly, I alway carry my digital camera with me. The reasoning behind this is pretty much the same as my first idea, but with some extra zip. You never know when you might come across the most amazing photo opportunity, which in turn could lead to a great publishable "story idea".
   
   (Tip: It is at this point that you would normally edit you work, but this is when you actually have some decisions to make:
   
   Do you want to work on coming up with a story that you might be able to publish? (That is entirely feasible. If the story is very good/great and the photo to go along with it is also great, then go for it!)
   ~OR~
   Should you file the picture along with the "free-written" story, and wait for an opportunity when you can write a tailor-made story that will fit the request? (I have two folders: one on my computer & one in my desk, for just those type of stories. If they're in there too long, I pluck them out & work on them. Hopefully someday, I'll get lucky!)





3. Next, when I get ready to go to sleep at night, I always make sure I have my notebook, a pen, and my mini-cassette recorder on the shelf next to my bed. That way, if I wake up from dreaming—because everybody knows that all the "great ideas" come to you in the middle of the night—I'll have a way to "record" them before they totally escape my mind.
   
   (Tip: At times like these, I have found that using the mini-cassette recorder saves a lot of time and aggravation because it takes a while for my eyes to focus properly after I've been asleep. So, if I whisper the idea into the recorder, I don't have to worry about turning the lights on and waking up my husband.)





4. I have always loved going through photos and pictures, whether they be from magazines, the Internet, antique stores or even someone's photo albums. After selecting the ones I think are the best, I save them for "writing prompts". I study the photos and get the story pretty much worked out the way I want it in my mind, then set my trusty little timer for ten minutes. Then I "free write", which means I keep writing, non-stop, not worrying about punctuation or anything. Just words, and the story—whatever comes to mind—simply easy, free-flowing words.
   
   (Tip: The same "tips" that were used for my second idea, above, would apply here.)





5. I have several other ideas, but I think I'll close with this last one, which I think is my favorite because it's fun (for me, anyway). Go to the mall, a restaurant, the library, or wherever there are people and it won't appear too strange if you're sitting around, watching and writing. I'm sure you've probably heard of this, or even done this before— my husband calls it "people watching" or "eye-balling". Pick out some people that you think are interesting or "catch your eye", then write a story about them. Write a whole background for each person, trying to pay particular attention to detail, as if you were a reporter. (It will help you in the future when you need to write decriptions.)
   
   (Tip: If I have found someone really interesting, I have gone up to them and asked them if I could take their photo and explained why. The only thing I have not done yet is found out where I can get one of those "release forms" that people are supposed to sign for that purpose.
   Does anyone know where I can get one of those "release forms"?

I hope you enjoyed my article today. If you have some ideas that you would like to share, please
"comment". Thank you so much for stopping by & please come back & visit again soon!






Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde


Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Cynde's Kindle!"

I am so excited! My husband, Dion, just bought me the newest generation of the "Kindle2", plus a bunch of the accessories that go with it.







Here's a list of some of the accessories that he got for me:

• the USB cable


• the leather cover


• the two-year extended warranty


• LCD screen protectors


• AC and auto chargers


• the "Kandle" (an led book light--cool name for it, isn't it?)


• a "SkinIt" that covers it with a beautiful "Tinker Bell" design.

♥Dion♥ is so good to me. I ♥lurve♥ him! He's the best husband in the entire world.






Now I can use the "Kindle2" (at night when my husband is asleep) for doing my lessons from the Holly Lisle's "How To Think Sideways Career Survival Course For Writers" that I'm taking, instead of using my computer. I can send the pdf version of the lessons from my computer to my "Kindle2". Then I won't have to worry about going blind from eyestrain (reading from my computer), and I also won't have to be concerned about waking Dion up from a sound sleep, because the "Kindle2" is as quiet as a mouse: <<<<(Ooops! Wrong kind of mouse!)





Here is the front view of the Kindle:










And here is the back view:




I don't know about you, but I think my "Kindle2" is absolutely adorable!







So far, I've only been able to read a few books that I bought from the Kindle Store, but it was great. In addition to that, I have some books that I was sent in pdf form that I need to review, so I'm going to transfer them to my "Kindle2", as well. I find it very difficult to read pdf books on my computer (as I mentioned earlier)--it strains my eyes--and the "Kindle2" is the perfect solution!

After I have had/used the "Kindle2" for around 30 days, I'll review it here on my blog so you'll know what I thought of it. By then I'll know a little bit more about it and maybe I'll have some tips I can share. (Maybe I'll even be able to add some video footage, too--wouldn't that be cool?)



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde


Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!