Gayle Trent

Hey, there! Gayle is really coming along with her angel tree-topper. You’ll really be surprised when you see it next. Gayle is waffling between letting you take a peek and waiting until she gets it finished. She’s leaning toward making you wait.

In the meantime, check out Sharon Boggon’s online Dictionary of Stitches for Hand Embroidery and Needlework. Sharon has all kinds of stitches listed, complete with how-to links. She even has tips for left-handers. (That means you, Retta. Retta is Gayle’s mom!)

Here are some brownies all dressed up for Halloween. Start with an 11 x 13 pan of brownies. Cut them into triangular shapes using a cookie cutter. 

Frost the brownie. As you can see, I used white frosting.

After frosting the brownie, cover it with buttercream or white chocolate fondant.

Use orange spray icing to color the middle of the brownie.

Apply a strip of yellow spray icing to the top of the brownie. Leave the bottom tip white to make the brownie look more like candy corn.

Marcy here. Not much progress to report on Gayle’s tree-topper this week, so I went in search of something else to talk about.

I found it here at Sublime Stitching. Their tagline is “This ain’t your gramma’s embroidery!” Check out the Roaring Twenties’ patterns. My other faves are the Bon Voyage, Dress Up and Sexy Librarians.

The genius behind the site is Jenny Hart. Jenny introduced embroidery patterns with pinups, tattoos and robots on her self-made website in 2001, and Sublime Stitching sparked a new revolution in embroidery design. Since then, she has won awards for her internationally published books on embroidery.

Hmmm….maybe I should write a book someday. You think?

What’s Halloween without Frankenstein’s monster? Here’s a cute version you can have fun with.

Start with a cupcake iced with green-tinted frosting.

I gave my “Frankie” white hair, but feel free to give yours chocolate hair, red hair or even licorice hair.

I painted Frankie’s hair with black spray frosting. This allowed me to add more of a dark tint to his face as well.

Since the monster is supposed to be made up of excess “parts,” I used two different color candies (Skittles or M&Ms are good) for eyes with a dot of purple frosting for the pupil. I built him up a nose with additional green frosting, gave him a terrible looking mouth and used mini pretzel rods as either bolts or his own special version of the arrow through the head prank.

Have fun!

Hi, Marcy here. I’m sorry I’ve neglected to post for a couple weeks. Things have been hectic. Anyway, I want to update you on Gayle’s Christmas tree topper angel. Here is what the finished project is supposed to look like:

Pretty, right?

Here is what Gayle has so far:

So, she’s getting there. She only started the project this past week, and she has three needles going.

Stay tuned….

Welcome!

In this month’s issue, we’ll discuss teleseminars and how they might be useful to you in your writing career. I’m thinking it might be an excellent way to connect with readers. Maybe you could do an informal chat with subscribers to your newsletter or people who have read your book and would like to discuss it with you. Would that be considered a tele-book club? To give us more information on the process is Matthew Bredel of TheWebReviewer.com.

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE:

Question of the Month: How can teleseminars help my writing career?
Link of the Month
Market Spotlight
SHAMELESS Self-Promotion

Thanks again for joining me. I hope you have a wonderful month.

Question of the Month: How can teleseminars help my writing career? – Teleseminar Services – A Cheap, Money-Making Internet Business Tool by Guest Columnist Matthew Bredel

When it comes to Internet marketing, one of the most effective strategies will always be to offer the best services to customers and potential customers. Teleseminars provide an inexpensive way to provide a quality service, reach customers, pull in new ones and give your business image the boost it needs to stay competitive in a tight Internet market.

One of the primary objectives of a good business will always be to build loyalty with customers, and that’s why offering quality services and products is so necessary. With a teleseminar you are going above and beyond the “here’s the product and buy it” mentality. Rather, a teleseminar gives you an opportunity to connect with customers and associates through training, education, product information and customer service messages. What’s even better is that you don’t have to worry about getting in front of a video camera or traveling to some event location. You can do it all from the comfort of your office, home, or really anywhere that has a telephone connect.

You may be wondering, exactly what is a teleseminar? Also known as a teleconference, these seminars take place over a phone line called bridgeline, which carries multiple callers at one time. A teleseminar may have 5 participants or 1000, depending on the purposes and audience for the call. Using a teleseminar service makes the set-up and event production much easier than an actual seminar. Furthermore, the cost of travel and expensive material costs are eliminated.

The host of a teleseminar schedules a date and time for the conference and then allows people to sign up for the conference. A teleseminar can be free of charge or cost a participation fee. Prior to the scheduled call, the host will make sure the participants have the phone number and pass code they need to join the teleseminar from their home, office, or anywhere else they have a phone connection.

If you conduct trainings, advertise products or have need to communicate the same message to a large group of people, teleseminars can get the job done cheaply and with little effort. While it may seem overwhelming get started setting up these calls for your business, teleseminar services like InstantTeleseminar.com can take off the pressure and help you every step of the way.

Plus a teleseminar service can help you to ensure your phone conferences are organized, professional and come off without a hitch. Making sure you do it well can payoff big time down the road, as you can begin to sell the recorded teleseminars to customers seeking information.

While it may be tempting to jump on the latest Internet marketing bandwagon, in this case simple is better. A teleseminar allows you to improve your service to customers in a real way that is comfortable and familiar to both them and you, yet it is still a way to make your business more profitable and professional.

To learn more about how to use teleseminars and InstantTeleseminar.com check out TheWebReviewer.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Bredel

Link of the Month: Great Teleseminars

http://www.greatteleseminars.com/

This site offers both premium and free teleseminar services. The site also features articles and other teleseminar resources.

Market Spotlight: You&Me America’s Medical Magazine

According to the magazine’s guidelines, “You&Me America’s Medical Magazine seeks non-fiction articles, preferably from a first-person perspective, about the human aspects of dealing with all medical issues, from the life threatening to the chronic to the so-called “trivial.” We do not want all happy endings or all sad endings- and we invite articles dealing with end-of-life issues from a first person or close family perspective. We can use some health-care provider prospective, poetry and expressionistic pieces, and cartoons. We do not want or use informational articles.” Also pays on acceptance. For more information, please visit their site at http://www.youandmemagazine.com/pages/submissions

S H A M E L E S S Self-Promotion

Carolynn Carey’s third sweet romance set in Barbourville, Tennessee, is now available. You’ll find Dealing with Denver on Amazon.com. For more information, visit Carolynn’s web site at www.CarolynnCarey.com.

Congratulations, Carolynn!

Everyone else, send in your shameless self-promotions.

Take care,

Gayle

I know it’s early yet, but I’m thinking some of you might be planning parties. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be giving you pictorial instructions detailing how to make some cute cupcakes for Halloween.

Here are some pictures that will explain step-by-step how to make a ghost. This is super easy!

Frost a cupcake with white icing.

Place a jumbo marshmallow in the center of the frosted cupcake.

Roll out a circle of white chocolate or buttercream fondant. Use your cupcake pan or a flattened cupcake liner as a guide.

Drape the circle of fondant over the marshmallow and cupcake.

Add chocolate drop eyes, and you’ve got a ghost your kids will love!

Happy baking!

My Labor Day gift to you is a smile . . . of, if you’re like me, a laugh until you cry! Enjoy.

Yesterday Karen gave us advice on online career opportunities. Today, we’re taking a look at her book, Day’s End Lullaby.  The book, written with Robyn Feltman, provides a lyrical bedtime story to remind children their beloved toys will be waiting for them when they awake the next morning.

Reviewer Wayne Walker had this to day about Day’s End Lullaby:

“Reading aloud before bedtime serves several purposes. First, it is an opportunity for personal interaction between parent and child. Second, it is helpful in getting settled down for children who have been playing for a while to have a period of transition between the activities of the day and the need to rest at night. This picture book is perfect for that purpose. It has the additional benefit that the text has been set to music, and the lullaby is included. Author Karen Cioffi says that she wrote the lullaby to the story over 30 years ago for her firstborn who didn’t like sleeping. This is one of those books that wee ones will probably want read over and over to them.”

Amazon customer G. Trivelli says, “This is an adorable story that I read this to my son every night. The illustrations are soothing, and it is a great way to end a child’s day.”

Check out Day’s End Lullaby at Amazon, especially if you have a little someone who hates bedtime.

Today our special guest is Karen Cioffi, of the Virtual Book Tour. Karen, take it away!

Online Career Opportunities and Opportunity Costs

By Karen Cioffi

http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

The list of online marketing gurus is growing every day. Every time I turn around I find another site full of valuable marketing resources and the site owner is willing to email additional information, and I get a how-to ebook, free. How do you say no to that? The only catch is that you have to subscribe to their site. Well, okay, that’s not so horrible. The information certainly has to be worth a subscription, so you’d think.

The deal with this is that each of those subscriptions (site owners), along with some useful informational emails, will offer products or services of their own and from affiliates they promote. According to each of these emails, every product or service offered will be a must have…a real deal. Which do you choose, if any?

In cost accounting there is a term:  Opportunity Costs. What this term means is that if you choose one path or alternative, it is at the sake of other options and benefits. Another way of putting this is: I have $147 and can buy either 10 books about writing and marketing in an effort to teach myself, or purchase an e-course with instructor guidance and bonus cds. The option I don’t choose is an opportunity cost. So, the bottom line is to choose the option that will give you the most benefit for the money and time involved. You want your opportunity costs to be low and of little consequence.

After I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time gathering information form various sites and marketing gurus, and spent a fair amount of money (fair amount for me anyway) on strategies, programs, ebooks, cds and so on, I’ve come to a couple of realizations that you should consider before you venture into this bottomless pit of opportunities.

Four Tips on Choosing an Online Product or Service:

1.    You need to research any strategy, program, or service you are thinking of investing in. Though, you need to be careful here because once you Google the company or site name, you will undoubtedly come upon some of their affiliates who are eager to proclaim the value of the product or service. The affiliates are partnered with the company. They get a pre-arranged percentage for every visitor they send over or visitor who makes a purchase, or some other call-to-action.

2.    Ask friends, writers and marketers you know and trust about the company or entrepreneur you’re thinking of investing time or money or both in. If no one you know can provide some input, be certain to use tip number ONE.

3.    Once you’ve made your decision and purchase that product or service, STOP looking for others until you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of your first investment. Or, at least stop until you’ve reviewed and worked on the first purchase. What I mean here is: Early on, I fell into the trap of buying one program and before I even looked at it, I bought another one. This is a huge mistake and waste of time and money. If I involved myself with the first project, I may have realized I didn’t need the second or third purchase.

4.    Always evaluate your opportunity cost when thinking of spending time or money.

Incorporating these tips into your writing and/or marketing journey should help you reap the benefits of your investments and save you time and money.

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About Karen:

Karen is married and has two grown daughters and two grandsons. She devotes most of her time now freelance writing, writing children’s picture books and MG chapter books. She is the creator and manager of VBT – Writers on the Move, a Yahoo group of authors and writers who help promote one another through various marketing strategies. She also co-moderates a children’s books critique group. In addition to writing, she has composed two songs. She’s a member of the SCBWI and Children’s Writer’s Coaching Club. In addition, she offers a number of writing services under DKV Writing 4 U.

My children’s bedtime book, Day’s End Lullaby is available through Amazon. I am currently working on two chapter books and one picture book.

Karen Cioffi

http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

http://vbt-writersonthemove.blogspot.com

http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

www.karenandrobynschildrensbooks.com