Wow! Red City Five Star Review of Sampler

My Writer’s Sampler: Exercises in Learning to Write Fiction by Marie Brack

How can I make my characters “relatable” to readers? Is there a certain type of structure my story should follow? What are the advantages/disadvantages of writing in the first person versus writing in the third person? How can I get my book published, and, when I do, how can I market it to my target audience? If you’re an aspiring fiction writer, you probably have many questions about how to write a compelling piece that others will want, and be able, to read. These questions can be overwhelming, and, sometimes, they can make a wannabe-writer abandon his or her story before it’s been told. But, don’t fret. Don’t throw in the towel or throw your hands up in frustration. Instead, grab your favorite electronic device, and read this book. My Writer’s Sampler, Exercises in Learning to Write Fiction by Marie Brack is an approachable, highly organized text that aspiring fiction writers can use to navigate most, if not all, of the questions and other obstacles that have heretofore stood in their way. Presented in a reader-friendly format that cycles through the alphabet twice, My Writer’s Sampler comprehensively addresses scores of writing-related topics in a very understandable, edifying manner. The first section carries readers from arc to zeugma, providing explanations of 26+ different elements of writing, each of which are bolstered by recommended readings from well-known authors, as well as by Brack’s own yarns. The second cycle carries readers from abbreviation to zombies, discussing dozens of other stylistic and practical issues a writer may face in the writing process; and, the appendices provide insight and instruction on what the writer can do once that process is done (namely, self-publishing and marketing strategy).

My Writer’s Sampler, Exercises in Learning to Write Fiction by Marie Brack is an invaluable tool for beginner and intermediate fiction writers. The format, table of contents, and index make specific subjects very easy to find, giving readers a quick, reliable way to get around their writing roadblocks—and, as a whole, the text makes fiction writing more accessible, thereby making the reader’s journey from wannabe-writer to writer a much easier, more fulfilling one.

To purchase a copy of the book, click here to find it on Amazon.

Another Semi-Finalist: Further Investigation

My mystery novella, Further Investigation, is also a semi-finalist in the Florida Writers Association’s Royal Palm Literary Awards competition! The book grew out of the research I did for My Writer’s Sampler: Exercises in Learning to Write Fiction, and apparently is strong enough to stand on its own.

Those Predictable But Irregular Bills

Things like property tax, car registration, the half-yearly car insurance bill, holiday spending, vacations, big car repairs, replacing appliances are all things we know will happen. Because they don’t happen every month like rent/mortgage and utilities, it’s harder to plan for them.

Years ago I had a system for that. I added up all of those expenses for the year, divided by twelve, and put that much in a savings account each month. It worked very well. I never had to use credit to pay anything, and felt a certain financial serenity that was very nice.

An article in the Dollar Stretcher today informed me that that method is called a “sinking fund.” According to Dave Ramsey, this is different than an emergency fund. The items in the sinking fund aren’t unexpected emergencies, they are expected but irregular expenses. https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/stop-the-panic-sinking-fund

 

 

Marie Brack is the author of Frugal Living for the 21^st Century: Adventures in Using Your Money Wisely. It’s available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback versions.

amazon.com/author/mariebrack

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Dislike avocado? Or just want a new idea?

Avocados are a great source of potassium, fiber, essential fatty acids, and a bunch of other great stuff. But what if you don’t like the texture, or the color? What if you’d rather eat chocolate pudding? On the other hand, what if lactose intolerance bars you from enjoying pudding?

Not to worry, there’s an alternative: avocado chocolate pudding. At first, I was skeptical. So skeptical in fact that I almost let the avocado go bad before trying it. I tried it just in time.

The recipes on the internet call for things I don’t have, like coconut milk, so I just left those out. I mixed up the good part of the avocado (must be soft), 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, and a bunch of sugar, maybe 2-3 tablespoons. If you have less of a sweet tooth than I do, start with less, you can always add more. Smush it all together and add enough water to get a pudding texture.

It looked like pudding. Summoning my courage, I tasted a little. Tastes like sweet chocolate. The texture is exactly the texture of chocolate pudding. Yay!

Refrigerate for best effect.

HDMI Switcher Saves the Day

Only one of the HDMI ports on my TV works. I want to connect both cable and Roku. I thought I’d have to buy a different TV. Luckily I entered “HDMI port” in my TV search on Amazon and the first thing that came up was a “switcher.” I had never heard of this, so I Googled it and learned that it can convey input from several different sources to the TV, and it automatically displays the one that’s turned on. So for $30 I can seamlessly switch from cable to Netflix.

 

 

amazon.com/author/mariebrack

https://adventures99.wordpress.com/feed/

Marie Brack is the author of Frugal Living for the 21^st Century: Adventures in Using Your Money Wisely. It’s available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback versions.

Semi-finalist!

My book, My Writer’s Sampler: Exercises in Learning to Write Fiction, is a semi-finalist in the Florida Writers Association’s Royal Palm Literary Award contest! Now it’s in the second round of judging. I don’t know how long it’ll be before I hear whether it will be a finalist.