I think one of the biggest challenges for un- or under-published authors is trying to figure out what genre to write in. What will be hot when we're ready to publish? Remember jumping rope during recess back in your school days?Maybe I'm dating myself here! But there'd be a long rope and a girl in pigtails at each end, turning it. Sometimes they'd even have two ropes going in opposite directions. Cool kids could jump both at once! You're poised there like a runner with feet on the starting blocks, rocking, one foot in front of the other, pulsing with the revolving rope to get the timing, and then you leap in and start jumping. Successfully. Or else you trip and get tangled up and have to try again or, even worse, stumble away in humiliation.That's like a writer trying to jump into writing a hot genre. Someone else is swinging the rope. You have no idea whether they'll speed up or slow down or drop the handles and walk away altogether. You have no idea if you'll be able to hop in and stay in sync, or trip and fall smack on your face. For a long time, I felt like I was doing the latter. I started out writing speculative fiction twelve years ago, but as I got better at the writing craft, I began to realize that my stories wouldn't likely ever find a publishing home. Very few fantasy novels were appearing from CBA houses. Odds have changed. . . slightly. . but not for the stories I was writing back then.I wasn't into paranormal speculative. I wasn't into dystopian. I still don't get the whole werewolf/vampire/zombie thing. But I'd begun to check out the other skipping ropes around the schoolyard. Historical romance? Contemporary romance? Historical sounded like too much work to get right. Mary Connealy makes it look easy, but I'm pretty sure it's not. So that left contemporary, only I wasn't into high heels, designer purses, and the height of fashion. I'll pause for a moment while you envision Ruthy jumping rope in her stilettos. While swinging a Prada handbag. In skinny jeans. You're welcome for the visual. (Ruthy note: she's pretty sure she could do this AND write seventeen books/year while working full time, so she likes this Prada-swinging visual!!!)What could I write on that playground—which rope could I jump—that stayed true to me? I began writing Farm Lit three years ago, long before I'd heard the term. The skipping rope for that was way over in a weed-infested corner of the playground—or maybe it was my vegetable garden, but I digress—with one handle tied to a picket fence and the other lying in the oregano. Oregano wants to take over the world, by the way. A more invasive herb you'll never find. Oh, am I getting sidetracked again? Nobody was turning the rope. That made jumping it easy. I could hop from one side to the other without missing a beat. Nobody was watching. But still, you know, I wanted a viable rope. I wanted to be one of the cool kids, with expert handle-turners and others queued up, wanting a turn.I wrote about what I know. I've lived on a farm for most of my adult life. I'm into the whole gardening, bread-making, beekeeping, and canning thing. We're dedicated local-food lovers at our place. It seemed eventually other kids would wander over. After all, local food was (is) a hot topic in the media. Farmers' markets are springing up all over North America like dandelions after a spring rain. Heirloom tomatoes are as popular as Lululemon. Everyone loves to hate Monsanto and genetically-modified "foods." Eventually the rope began to twitch. Barbara Kingsolver picked up the handle that had been buried in the oregano when she wrote her memoir Animals Vegetables Miracles. A while later, Ree Drummond untied the handle from the fence and gave The Pioneer Woman a rotation.A few people began to notice. "Hey, we can READ about farm life, not just buy eggplant at the farmers' market!" And the Farm Lit genre skipping rope began to revolve. Was I the first kid to jump in from the inspirational side and (hopefully) not trip? I have no idea. I do know that three years of practicing—of honing my craft, of writing several local-food-based romances—is paying off.
In unrelated timing, The Atlantic posted Chick Lit is Dead; Long Live Farm Lit only a few days before I signed a contract with Choose NOW Publishing for a 3-book series we're calling A Farm Fresh Romance. It leads off with Raspberries and Vinegar, which finds Josephine Shaw and her friends renovating a dilapidated farm with their sights set on more than just their own property. Transforming the town with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods is met with more resistance than they expected, especially by temporary neighbor, Zachary Nemesek. Jo needs to learn that a little sweet makes the tart more tasty. The other two books, featuring Jo's roommates, release in 2014. What about you? Where on the playground are you hanging out? Are you standing in line watching Mary Connealy line dance while jumping three ropes at once and wondering how you could ever compete? Are you standing over at the contemporary line, where Ruthy juggles adorable toddlers and chases chickens and never misses a beat? Are you in the line where Julie smooches while doing the jitterbug and keeps right on jumping? Or where Debby can skip rope while shooting at a target—and get a bulls-eye every time? Maybe you're trying to hop the Amish rope or the mystery rope or the spec fic rope. Are you in the right line for you?You might well be, but think about it. Pray about it. Maybe God wants you to go find a different rope, even if one end is tied to a fencepost in the back forty. Maybe He plans to put the right people on the handles at the right time and give that rope a good workout. And if you've been practicing hopping over it while it lies lifeless on the ground, you'll be ready to skip like a pro when the rope starts turning. No jump rope is dead if God holds the hands of those who hold the handles. What part of the playground are you going to check out today?To celebrate the release of Raspberries and Vinegar, I'd like to give a copy to one Seekerville commenter (or a digital version in your choice of format if the winner lives outside the USA as I do). But all of you are winners! My publisher and I have put together a Book Blast package for anyone who orders a paperback copy of Raspberries and Vinegar from August 6-9. Order a paperback and email your receipt, and you'll receive not only the digital formats of the novel but a whole bunch of other fun downloads as well. Check out the graphic for details.
I know Seekerville is all about the food. I knew that even before the Virtual Retreat in June, but wow! That brought it home. In honor of Raspberries and Vinegar I've brought Raspberry Vinegar which just happens to be a punch-like summer drink featured in the book, and one that's a regular summertime staple at our place. I've also brought a virtual pan of Raspberry Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. What do you have for the sideboard that's made from raspberries? Feel free to add something tart as well! Let's share some recipes.And while we're visiting over the buffet, I'd like to invite you to a Facebook party at 9:00 p.m. EST tonight, hosted by my publisher, Nicole O'Dell. You'll need to like my author page then stop by for a visit, bringing a (virtual) item of food that is local to you. Everyone who joins the food fest will receive a custom menu by email tomorrow with all the ingredients in use. Should be fun! Bring something unique and make it a challenge for me. You know you want to, for poking fun at Ruthy. Half an hour in we'll be switching to a webcast, where you can ask questions about local food, about books and genres, about beekeeping—whatever you want to know—and put me on the spot. I really hope you can join us. We'll be giving away copies of the novel there, too.
Wow. So much information! Hope to see you at that other party tonight but, for now, let's talk skipping into genres while we sip Raspberry Vinegar out on the veranda. The ceiling fan is lazily rotating and there are plenty of porch swings, wicker rockers, and Adirondack chairs for everyone. Sweetpeas and morning glories climb the trellis, wafting a gentle floral scent. Flies and mosquitoes have been banished. Let's talk. Which jump rope line are you in? How is it working out for you?Source:http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-writing-new-genre-is-like-jumping.html
How Writing a New Genre is Like Jumping Rope, Guest Blogger Valerie Comer, Take It Away!!!! Images
Denny Hamlin the lone favorite at 6/1 oddsCAMPING WORLD RV 301NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAYSUNDAY, JULY 14, 2013 JIMMIE JOHNSON 7 KYLE BUSCH 7MATT KENSETH 10 DENNY HAMLIN 6BRAD KESELOWSKI 10CARL EDWARDS 15GREG BIFFLE 50JEFF GORDON 7KASEY KAHNE 10DALE EARNHARDT JR 10CLINT BOWYER 10KEVIN HARVICK 20 TONY STEWART 20 JOEY LOGANO 40BRIAN VICKERS 50 KURT BUSCH 10RYAN NEWMAN 40MARTIN TRUEX JR 40RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100 PAUL MENARD 100JAMIE McMURRAY 40JEFF BURTON 75MARCOS AMBROSE 300JUAN MONTOYA 40ARIC ALMIROLA 200 AJ ALLMENDINGER 500 BOBBY LABONTE 1000 DANICA PATRICK 1000 DAVID RAGAN 1000 FIELD 500
A schoolgirl ran up a £3,800 mobile phone bill on holiday in America by posting Facebook updates.Casey Snook, 14, used the website to post updates about her dream holiday to New York with her mum.She eagerly told friends about her trip to the Empire State Building, Central Park and Times Square and uploaded a series of pictures with her iPhone.But she was unaware of the massive bill until her father's bank account - which funded the phone - suddenly went overdrawn after the holiday.Phone company Orange said she ran up the charges by using Facebook with data roaming - a service which enables internet access abroad.Mrs Snook, 43, a catering assistant, accused the company of 'extortion'.She said: 'When I heard about it I felt physically sick. Casey was very upset and embarrassed and I was in tears.'I can't believe that a company would let a bill which is usually £50 get up to that level. Did they not worry the phone had been stolen?'She was only using it for the normal teenage stuff, updating her friends with what she was up to and this and that.'It was an experience - we visited the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square, Grand Central Station and the Whispering Wall. She was just using Facebook like a normal teenager to tell her friends.'Casey, of Hengrove, Bristol, jetted off to the Big Apple with her mum on May 27.Four days into the trip the teenager received a text from Orange warning she had gone over her internet data limit - and her bill had gone from its usual £50 to £320.The company barred the teen from sending any more text messages or making calls - but did not block her data roaming.Mrs Snook told Casey to stop using her phone until they returned to the UK in two days time.But once the family returned home Mrs Snook received a phone call from Casey's dad Victor, who pays the bill, to say his bank had told him he was overdrawn.Orange insists it sent a number of warning texts to Casey to say she had exceeded her data usage.The firm also says it sent a message to Casey asking if she wanted to continue to use data after she had gone over her limit - and she clicked 'yes'.But her parents are calling for an explanation as to why no further warnings were sent after the text message explaining the bill would be £320.Mrs Snook said her daughter does not remember this, and believes many people would not understand the implications of continuing to use their phone.'To be honest, I wouldn't understand what a data cap was, and I don't think a lot of teenagers would,' she said.'This is about the extortion of a 14-year-old, and Orange is completely refusing to budge on the bill.'The rates that are charged are ridiculous and I just don't understand why another message wasn't sent after the one that said the bill had reached £320. Why wasn't one sent at £500 or £1,000?'We are just going to have to pay it. I'm going to give her dad half of the money, but neither of us can afford it.'A spokeswoman for Orange said: 'All Orange customers have a number of protections in place - customers are even automatically opted-in to a roaming data cap, which limits their charges to £49 for a set amount of data.'Customers receive warning texts to alert them of their data usage and we have an app that helps them monitor data usage, and opt-in to a data bundle if needed.'In this instance the customer received numerous text alerts which updated them on the roaming costs for the USA, and also updated them on their data usage.'Once they had reached the limit of their data bundle, the customer actively opted out of our roaming data cap so that they could continue to use data, effectively removing the in-built protection from large data roaming bills.' 
Het is een tijdje geleden dat R. Kelly a.k.a. 'The Remix Killa' een nieuwe remix dropte, maar vandaag kregen we er gelukkig weer een. Deze keer heeft de legendarische R&B-zanger z'n eigen versie van Kelly Rowland's single "Dirty Laundry" gemaakt. Ook bevat het nummer nieuwe vocals van Kelly Rowland, dus het zou zo maar de officiële remix kunnen zijn. Het is mogelijk dat de track op R. Kelly's aankomende mixtape, een opwarmertje voor z'n nieuwe album Black Panties, komt te staan. Beluister hieronder een radio-rip van de remix: You wanted the remix? Let's do this!UPDATE 20 JUNI: De CDQ-versie is toegevoegd.
Introduction to the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court. The (Draft) Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court is one of the longest book-titles to have emerged in the field of IP law this year. The title in question is highly topical, and the authors -- Pieter Callens and Sam Granata -- can be congratulated on the speed with which they have put it together. As the publishers explain:"The long-awaited European Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court will soon become a reality. Companies, research institutions, and individuals will be able to obtain not only a patent title with immediate effect in 25 EU Member States, but also a court decision on (for example) infringement or validity of a European or Unitary patent with effect in the participating Member States. Everybody involved in European patenting will find enormously welcome guidance in this extraordinary book. Written by two outstanding intellectual property experts – one being a lawyer who had a hand in the development of the unitary patent and the other being a reputed Belgian intellectual property judge – it describes in detail all the provisions regarding the new patent and the new court, explaining their rationales and the processes that led to them. Although the Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court still need to be finalized and adopted by the Court, the authors already unravel the proposed Draft Rules of Procedure. The book uses flowcharts [these being contained in a 40-page supplement] as well as plain words to represent each procedural stage of the Draft Rules of Procedure. In this way, a practitioner can focus on each distinct stage as required, while also gaining a comprehensive overview of the proceedings. The complex language issues arising throughout the proceedings are analysed in detail in a supplementary part. For its deeply informed insights into the expected practical functioning of this revolutionary new patent and litigation system, this work is a peerless contribution that will ensure the most effective practice as this new regime begins. For legal scholars, the book offers the opportunity to analyse, criticize, elaborate, and where necessary improve the current Draft Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court before they are finalized, and advise the governments of the participating Member States on how to implement the new court system in their country".The book opens with an historical introduction and a little bit about how Belgium broke the deadlock -- something for which the tiny Kingdom will either be blessed or execrated in years to come -- and then goes on to provide an extensive analysis of the new scheme. The bit that covers the draft Rules owes much to the contribution to Willem Hoyng, as the authors acknowledge.I have no doubt that a second edition is already under preparation, subject to anything that the Court of Justice of the European Union might have to say about the legal basis for the EU's new patent regime, that is.Bibliographic data: hardback with paperback supplement. ISBN 9041147578; ISBN 13: 9789041147578 xxi and 298 pages. US$ $169. Web pages here and here.
