Pinterest, Sweet Pinterest

I don’t know about you, but Pinterest can be a dangerous place to go at times. Why? Because it pulls me in and leads me down fabulously inspiring trails for hours at a time!

I love pictures, and Pinterest delivers on those in spades. Add to that the information that can be found connected to some of those pictures and it’s a recipe for procrastination for me. 🙂

However, while addictive, Pinterest is also an incredibly powerful tool in my author toolbox. And that is what Rose, Zoe, and I are discussing this week in our LLS Society Papers* broadcast — Pinterest and how we use it as writers for inspiration and research.

The live broadcast begins at 3 PM Eastern, but you can always watch the replay.

AND… something went a bit wrong, so here is part two of our live.

Books and links mentioned in the show:

Rose’s Links

The Maid of Inverness 

Mr. Darcy’s Bluestocking Bride 

Rose’s Books Pinterest Board 

Find Rose on Pinterest

Leenie’s Links

Leenie B Books Board

Nature’s Fury and Delights Board 

Zoe’s Links

Find Zoe on Pinterest

I Promise To … 

Promises Kept 

Promises 

Darcy’s Wife Search 

Lady Catherine Impedes 

Caroline’s Censure 

The Darcy Marriage Series, Books 1-3 

Coming Together Series Compilation

Shop for signed print copies

Have a great weekend! Thanks for joining us!

*Longbourn Literary Society (LLS) is a Facebook group founded by three friends, who share a love of writing and Jane Austen for the purpose of promoting those loves and our work.  

~*~*~

You can find Rose and Zoe’s websites at these links:

ROSE FAIRBANKS          ZOE BURTON


The Audio/Visual Connection to Writing

In this quote, Voltaire linked writing and painting.

I tend to not only think of writing as painting word pictures but also as something possessing musical qualities. I listen to the rhythm and tone of what I write as much as I do the images I paint. I want my words to flow smoothly where they should and have a staccato rhythm where it is needed.

Both visual and audio arts can stir the emotions and resonate deeply with the person experiencing the art. I hope that my writing can do that — if not now, then, maybe one day as I continue to improve.

But how do the visual and audio arts inspire my writing? If you follow my Music Monday posts or my Wordless Wednesday ones, you probably have a good idea that both music and art spark my creativity.

Tomorrow, in our LLS Society Papers video, Rose Fairbanks and I will be discussing this very topic and likely sharing a few examples of the link between the inspiration and final product.

The live stream will begin at 3 PM Eastern, but the video of the discussion can be viewed after that as well.

Books and links mentioned in the show:

Rose’s Links

Once Upon a December 

Mr. Darcy’s Miracle at Longbourn 

How Darcy Saved Christmas 

The Maid of Inverness 

Mr. Darcy’s Bluestocking Bride 

A Sense of Obligation 

Leenie’s Links

My news-related links:

A Scandal in Springtime 

Mailing List Sign Up Form 

Darcy and… 

Books Currently in KU

And my discussion-related links: 

Finally Mrs. Darcy 

Music Monday: Five Long Years (Colin James) 

Music Mondays 

Wordless Wednesday

Fogo Island Sunset 

And Then Love 

Pinterest Book Boards 

Mary: To Protect Her Heart 

Have a great weekend! Thanks for joining us!

*Longbourn Literary Society (LLS) is a Facebook group founded by three friends, who share a love of writing and Jane Austen for the purpose of promoting those loves and our work.  

~*~*~

You can find Rose and Zoe’s websites at these links:

ROSE FAIRBANKS          ZOE BURTON


Strange Writing Locations

When author life collides with the need to feed the family.

Sometimes the work just has to get done, and the location is of secondary importance. 🙂

I know when I was teaching I marked paper when at a concert, after a seminar in my hotel room to the wee hours of the morning, in the car when waiting to pick someone up, and during a business meeting at church. That habit of doing work whenever has transferred over to my writing life.

Feet up and comfy on the couch

In fact, I began writing seriously while I was still teaching in a traditional classroom, which meant squeezing writing in between the planning and marking.

So, where have Zoe and I written other than at our desks? Find out in this week’s episode of the *LLS Society Papers.

The live stream will begin at 3 PM Eastern (4 PM Atlantic).

Leenie’s Links

A Scandal in Springtime http://bit.ly/ASIS_Tab

Mailing List Sign Up Form http://bit.ly/LBBookNews

A Dash of Darcy and Companions Cottage Collection 2 Box Set http://bit.ly/CottageBoxSet2

Books Currently in KU http://bit.ly/KUreads

Apple Blossoms http://bit.ly/SweetTuesdays

Thursday’s Three Hundred http://bit.ly/Thurs300

Zoe’s Links

Austen Authors post: https://austenauthors.net/boating-and-fishing-in-the-regency/

Have a great weekend! Thanks for joining us!

*Longbourn Literary Society (LLS) is a Facebook group founded by three friends, who share a love of writing and Jane Austen for the purpose of promoting those loves and our work.  

~*~*~

You can find Rose and Zoe’s websites at these links:

ROSE FAIRBANKS          ZOE BURTON


A Book’s First Impression

Do you judge a book by its cover? If you do, you’re likely not alone. 

A partial screenshot of one of my design folders on canva.com. I use Canva for many things, including cover design.

First impressions are important, and normally, when scrolling or strolling through a bookstore, the first thing that is going to draw your attention to a book is the cover. That means a cover is a pretty important part of a book.

In this week’s episode of LLS Society Papers* Rose, Zoe, and I are discussing what goes into covering our books. Please note that this is not a how-to. This is just a conversation about our preferences and practices when getting a book’s cover ready to make that all important first impression.

The live stream will begin at 3 PM Eastern (4 PM Atlantic).

Rose’s Links

The Gentleman’s Impertinent Daughter 

A Sense of Obligation 

Mr. Darcy’s Bluestocking Bride

The Loving Elizabeth Series 

Leenie’s Links

Tom: To Secure His Legacy

Enticing Miss Darcy 

His Darling Friend 

MASSIVE book sale ends Monday, May 27, 2019 

Canva

Zoe’s Links

To Save Elizabeth

Mr. Darcy’s Love

The Essence of Love

Darcy’s Secret Marriage

Darcy’s Secret Marriage Large Print Version

Mr. Darcy, My Hero

Have a great weekend! Thanks for joining us!

*Longbourn Literary Society (LLS) is a Facebook group founded by three friends, who share a love of writing and Jane Austen for the purpose of promoting those loves and our work.  

~*~*~

You can find Rose and Zoe’s websites at these links:

ROSE FAIRBANKS          ZOE BURTON


What’s There to Like about Book Reviews?

A snapshot of the star rating system which Amazon sent to me in an email asking me to rate a purchase.

When you purchase a book, do you read the reviews first?

As authors, Rose, Zoe, and I know that book reviews give “social proof” to our work. In other words, prospective readers can see the reviews and know that others have read and (hopefully) enjoyed that particular book.

Personally, I’m not a review reader very often for books. I read reviews before purchasing something like electronics but rarely do I read them for books. However, when I do read book reviews I will often scroll through looking for the “spoiler” reviews. I know some people hate those sorts of reviews but for me, their lovely little golden nuggets that give me what I need to know to make my decision about a book. I even do this with movies. I will Google search spoilers for movies I might be on the fence about seeing. Spoilers might ruin a book or movie for you, but they do not for me. (I also tend to read the end of a book first. 🙂 )

Another thing I tend to do when reading reviews is vetting the reviewer. This means I look at the reviewer’s other reviews. I’m looking for things such as: does this reviewer only post low star reviews or is there a wide range or have they read any books that I have read and if so, how does their opinion compare with mine?

But what about when it comes to reviews of my own books? Well, Zoe and I are going to talk about that, as well as share some reviews we have enjoyed, in today’s episode of the LLS Society Papers*.

The live stream will begin at 3 PM EST or 4 PM Atlantic. (But you can always watch it later, too. 🙂 )

Books and links mentioned in the show:

Leenie’s Links

NEW RELEASE: His Darling Friend https://mybook.to/HDF

MASSIVE book sale http://bit.ly/FridaysFeature

What’s in KU page http://bit.ly/KUreads

One Winter’s Eve http://bit.ly/OWE_link

Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy http://mybook.to/HTPHW

Master of Longbourn http://bit.ly/MOL_link

Sweet Tuesdays http://bit.ly/SweetTuesdays

Zoe’s Links

Lady Catherine Impedes: https://books2read.com/u/3L9rM7

Darcy’s Secret Marriage: https://books2read.com/u/47zwJq

Matches Made at Netherfield: https://books2read.com/u/3yPM2n

Have a great weekend! Thanks for joining us!

*Longbourn Literary Society (LLS) is a Facebook group founded by three friends, who share a love of writing and Jane Austen for the purpose of promoting those loves and our work.  

~*~*~

You can find Rose and Zoe’s websites at these links:

ROSE FAIRBANKS          ZOE BURTON