ALMOST TIME...

It's almost time for the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity conference.

Have you registered yet? 

You need to make sure that if you are in the Maryland area that you check out this great, local, small conference.

They feature local as well as best selling authors.

This event showcases products from suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal. 

It's happening on Oct. 5-7, 2018 in Columbia, Maryland at the Sheraton Hotel.

This is where you can meet your favorite author, have lunch with them, have dinner and a few drinks. 

You can purchase novels and also make sure to get those selfies.

Are there other conferences that you attend that I should know about? Let me know and make sure to include the link. 

So will you be there? It's not to late to register.

Click this link and register today. Creatures, Crimes and Creativity 2018

CYBER BULLYING

I have always heard about it but had never experienced it.

Until last week.

I was on FB and commented on a post. Suddenly, Christina began commenting about what I had said. She even went as far as to go to my other FB page, copy and paste a picture I had taken and post it in the group we were having a discussion in. She was rude, name calling and mean. She was, what you would call a Cyber Bully. 

When I asked why she went to my other FB page and copied/pasted a picture from my page, her words, "I posted it in another one of my groups to show people that you are a SPAMMER."

Wait, what?

How did I spam my own page. I didn't post it anywhere else and I was in my own home. I posted it to MY followers; which I said to her. So unlike so many people on that post that privately messaged me and told me to ignore her. I was NOT going to let this bully get away with 1. accusing me of something I didn't do and 2. take my photo and post to other groups, that I am not in, without my permission or consent.

I responded to one young lady who told me that Christina "does this in a lot of groups and people just block her or ignore her." Uh, no..that is why she thinks its OK. Not today and not me!

She kept on with her barrage of comments and name calling and I responded by telling her that it was "raining in DC all week and I was sorry she was having a bad day but to take a breath and it would be OK." That got a barrage of more aggressive and mean spirited replies including, "OMG, ARE YOU SERIOUS. YOU TAKE A BREATH. YOU ARE SO AGGRESSIVE."
My response came much later and I said, "I'm sorry that you think that is aggressive but sharing my photo is not something that you should be doing." To which she said, "I WILL SHARE WHAT I WANT AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME." (and yes, it was in all capital letters)and then she wrote this, "I see you commenting back but I'm not going to say anything else." I looked and she had deleted all but her last comment. So, I went back and deleted every comment I made. (although I had been pleasant and didn't call names) I wanted her to see that I was in this 'game' to win it. 

Then it happened, someone spoke up and said, "Wow, Christina is there a problem? Why are you attacking Sandra?" 

Boo-yah!

She was caught! and just like that...dead air!

She then had the nerve to private message me and say, "you don't deserve to be on FB." My response, "Yes, I do..it's bullies like YOU who don't deserve it."

She posted one last time and I quote. "You can block me if you don't like me but I am not the aggressive one. You all are." To which a lot of people took exception to it and called her out. 

Many of them are in different groups with her, asked my permission to screen shot her comments and share them. 

Bullies can't handle when you stand up for yourself and for this woman; cyber bullying seems to be the way she makes herself feel good. But she met her match when she said one to many rude comments to me. 

So if you are on FB and know Christina W. (who is a travel agent as well) just know, she is aggressive, a cyber bully and will post your pictures without your knowledge or consent. 

I am breaking her reign on FB of cyber bullying people 

SUMMER TIME AND THE READING IS EASY

We all like when summer comes. 

Especially if you are an author.

We get to read some of our favorite authors but it is also a chance for us to make some new fans. 


We bring out our books, past and present. Dust them off, sometimes get a new cover and hope to attract those readers that are willing to give a new author a chance. And some older authors a chance as well.


So here are a few covers of books that you should give a try.

 There is something for everyone; so make sure to pick up one, two or all of them.

DREAMING OF A....

What are you dreaming of?

Is it to write full time? Is it to vacation all the time? Is it to stop your 9-5 and do what you really want to do with your career?

Well, what are you waiting for?

It's true. Time waits for no one and time never stands still.

I know all to well that waiting does nothing but make you lose time.

Why are you afraid to do what you want in life?

Do you think that the inventor of Facebook decided he wanted to wait and start a new social media site?

Do you think that millionaires waited until they had enough money in the bank to begin investing in what they really wanted to do?

Everyone starts from zero. Everyone has the same opportunity to begin something from scratch. However, it is what you do with opportunity when it comes knocking.

Sometimes, it will never knock. Sometimes you have to be willing to tap "opportunity" on the shoulder and meet it where it is.

That's right. Go after what you want. Go after what you feel passionate about.

Don't wait for it to come to you, go after it.

Remember, dreaming of something doesn't make it happen.

Making it happen takes not only guts but it will make that dream a reality in no time.

MAKING THE BEST OF LIFE

Well here it is March 23rd (at the time of me writing this) and I am making the best of life.

I survived a snow storm on the second day of spring. 

I survived major surgery on Feb. 26th and I survived a severely broken ankle, foot and leg on Feb. 18th.

I'd say I have no choice but to make the best out of the life I am living.

It seems as if I have been living a nightmare for the past year. Things have gone steadily downhill, in terms of my health.

But you know what?

I'm still here; making the best out of my life.

See I could have given up, thrown in the towel and just gotten so down on life that I could have been miserable.

Now, this is not to say that I didn't.

I had my bouts with depression. 

I was on total bed rest for four (4) weeks. I had some really dedicated people in my life that shopped for me, brought me lunch and dinner and even bought my wine! They made me laugh and see how much they loved me.

I will never forgot them for making me see the sunshine when all I wanted to do was see clouds

So I started making the best of my situation.

I finished a novel! Yippee

I finished up my travel agent certification! Yippee

I even finished up my AA degree! Yippee.

It's amazing what you can do when you have time. 

I made the best out of my life and now that I am able to get out of the house. (I'm still in a cast for another four weeks) I am living life to the best of my ability.

Are you?

TINY HOUSE UPDATE

I know that you have been thinking...whatever happened with the tiny house?

Tiny House Builder and us

My tiny house builder

Well, nothing.

Plain and simple.

I am still raising money for it and my hope is that by the end of this year I will have the TINY HOUSE of my dreams!

sample lay out

I started a GoFund me page Tiny Bowman House and people are contributing. I thank all of you that have done so and I hope that more of you will help me realize my dream of owning my tiny house.

See the thing is; banks don't finance tiny homes. They say there "is no collateral" that you can offer for us to finance it.

Well, excuse me. The tiny house is on WHEELS, so if I don't pay, you can simple, hire a towing company and come and take the house. You know, like banks do when you miss a car payment.

So, why is it that banks won't offer this kind of loan?

If they want people to own their own homes; why not let the people choose the type of home they want to own.

My actual tiny house plans

My tiny house is my dream house! Plain and simple.

I used to want a 3,500 sq foot house. I wanted a basement, a pool and at least 5 bedrooms. Now; my needs have changed. I no longer need something so large that it would take me a day to clean. I want something that fits me.

Just Me!

So my tiny house would be the perfect fit...for me.

So, my tiny house update is:

My living room/kitchen

I haven't given up on owning my tiny dream house. It's just taking a little longer to actually get the money to do it.

So, instead of asking for house warming gifts; I'm asking for house donating gifts.

Remember, when I get my tiny house; all of you will get a chance to name it. In case you want a jump on naming it. Here are a few pictures; that can give you a sense of what it will look like.

STRESS RELIEVER

My health depends on me not being stressed.

It's getting harder and harder to do that. 

Life is a stress. Driving is a stress. Relationships are stressful. Hell, going into a store is stress nowadays.

You never know what you will encounter when you leave the safety of your home.

What I do know is this. My stress becomes almost non existent when I begin writing. 

My stress is poured into the pages of my writing and actually makes me happy.

Stress writing is what I call it and some of the words that come out during those times are simply, amazing!

I don't look at what I have written during my 'stress writing' but when I do, I am truly in awe of myself.

Yes, I even pat myself on the back because it's like, where did THAT come from. 

The only drawback of 'stress writing' is that I can't duplicate it. Once that stress has been alleviated, it's gone and I can't get back into that flow of 'writing'. I have to pick up the writing and make it work from that point on.

But lucky for me; every day brings new 'stress' and a new chance to 'stress write.' 

Did I mention wine is also a great stress reliever? Yep, that helps in my writing too but that's another blog later this week.

Do you stress write or what do you do as an author to relieve your stress?

GOING TINY....WANT TO SEE?

This weekend, I went back down to +Incredible Tiny Homes  and got to talk to some of the participants in the Build Your Own workshop.

If you aren't familiar with what this is; this is when you get to have a hand in building your tiny home. Actually you are building your tiny home with the help of build buddies. (Your friends that have come with you to help you)

Take a look at the video and see for yourself how you can build your own tiny home for almost 1/2 the cost of having one built for you.

Incredible Tiny Homes is owned by Randy Jones. Sit down, grab a drink and enjoy this Video Tour 

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment. 

REJECTION IS A GOOD THING

Rejection isn’t something that anyone likes to go through.

Being a published author, I worry about rejection.

Rejection from a publisher, an editor or from readers.

How do you overcome the fear?

By saying to yourself: I will be better for it.

Yes, rejection serves a purpose. 

It allows us to remember that we are humans and make mistakes. It reminds us that we are not perfect, no matter how hard we try to be. It also reminds us that we have to, correction, we MUST continue to get better in our writing.

Readers are not going to allow authors to sit back and push through mundane work. Publishers aren’t going to let authors think that don’t need improvement and if you have a good editor; they will make sure that they are pushing you to bring out the best words you have.

Yes, Rejection is hard but it is necessary.

So don’t just sit there crying because you have gotten another rejection (or your first rejection).

Dust yourself off, pick up that pen, paper, Notebook, computer or IPad and begin the rewriting process. 

Trust me, you will be glad that you did.

WRITING DURING THE SUMMER

During the summer I want to do many things and writing is not really one of them.

However, I'm an author and writing comes natural to me. Have you ever been somewhere and thought; wow that would make a great mystery? Or maybe you went on vacation and said, wow this would be a great place to put some characters and see what they can get into?

If you haven't done that; you are not a writer but most writers will know what I am talking about.

If you notice by the shirt, I wished I was in NYC right now and participating in +ThrillerFest Volunteer Coordinator  but I missed it this year due to being on tour for my own novel. But next year I will be back!

During the summer months, I sit in my office and I just stare off into space. There is not much to do when the students are on break but I get a lot of writing done.

Hopefully you are getting some writing done in between going to the pool, the beach, taking the boat out or fishing. If you are; snap a selfie and post it in my comments below.

I'd love to see what you are doing when you are 'supposed to be' writing.

Happy Summer!

SO...YOU THINK YOU WANT TO SELF PUBLISH

This is great news!

Many authors take this route and I am not one of them. I don't have the patience nor do I want to do it.

A lot of people do this because they don't want to
1. Wait for their book to come out
2. They want to keep all of the money. After all you do make a lot more if you do it yourself.


Now, I've already said why I don't want to self-publish. Don't get me wrong, I've done it before and it was WAY too much of my time. I didn't know how to format, I didn't know how to create a nice cover and I didn't want to spend time doing it.

Some of you don't mind all of that.

Now, point number two is real tricky. Yep, you do get to keep all of the money but let's just see how much money you get to keep. Since I did self publish a long time ago; I know what I paid.


I would need to pay at least $400 for editing. Anything less and well let's be honest, it will look like you paid less.
I will then need to pay for a cover. As I said, I'm not a graphic designer and can't do it. So that's  at least $400.
I will then need to pay for proofing. PROOFING and EDITING are NOT the same thing. That's gonna cost me at least $200.
I will then need to pay for formatting. I would spend at least $200 but if I learned it would be FREE
I will then need to order some books for myself. Let's say I want reviews. I need at least 20 copies at $5.00 a piece. That's another $100
Oh, but I forgot about mailing them. So that's another $60-70 because it depends on the distance. (who knew that?)
Now I need books for that book release party. Let's buy 100 because I know I will be able to sell those quickly. That is $500

In total I have spent about $1,660 and this is not counting formatting. But if I didn't learn than I would need to spend an additional $200

Now, if I sell my books at $15 a piece, I'll make a whooping $1,500 yippee...oh wait, no I won't. I'm still negative $160 because you can't count profit until after all of the money you spent is accounted for. Now I need to sell at least 10 more books to break even but to do that, I need to buy more books.

And the cycle begins again.

So for those of you that say, you are self publishing, I applaud you but let's be clear you aren't going to start off making a lot of money initially but if you keep at it, you will.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

Going to conferences is what I love to do!

Meeting someone who has the exact name is me is something that even I couldn't make up but that is what happened about two years ago.

I went to the #MDC3Con in Hunt Valley in September of 2014 and found out that my registration wasn't there. I had no bag, no name tag and no anthology (which you can ONLY get from the MDC3Con)

Now me and the other Sandra had tweeted to each other and been on FB chatting so when it came time for the conference I was ready to meet "Sandra Webster" (Honestly I didn't think it would happen but one can hope)

They said, "you already picked it up"

How could that happen? I hadn't been there.

When I checked my registration; I could see my name was there but they had my author name incorrect. No big deal since people always get it mixed up.

So I tried again, No; I registered under Sandra Webster and the confirmed that I registered and that I had already picked up all of the 'SWAG" earlier.

They wrote me out a badge because honestly, I think they thought I had been drinking a little to much.

I walked around for a bit and then saw my badge! On another person! OK, so we do writer mysteries and thrillers so it could be all in fun.

I walked up and said, "Oh, you are Sandra Webster too?" more as a joke and the response was, "YES"

TWO Sandra's are better than ONE!

Wait, what just happened! I wasn't ready! and I don't think she was ready for my response either.

How often do you find your Double! Well let me tell you this Sandra Webster is just as fun and sassy as I am!

We have become fast sisters and I can't wait to read her novels! Don't believe me, well we look just alike, don't we?

INDIE AUTHORS AND WHY I LOVE THEM

Indie published authors have come a long way from the horrible book size to the large print and the formatting that looked like a child did it.

Being an indie author now means you can produce a novel that looks just as good as any NY Times best seller on the shelves. Have you tried reading some good Indie Authors? You haven't, well let me give you five that you should start with.

1. +Cerece Rennie Murphy is an Indie Author with Lion Sky Publishing. She is an SciFi author and a children's book author and the most gracious woman you will ever meet. The Order of the Seers Trilogy will keep you entertained and guessing. She is an African American author doing big things in the Sci-Fi world mostly dominated by men. Take a look at her website if you don't believe me.

2. +Dee Lawrence proves that lawyers do have a sense of humor and that they can weave a good story OUT of the courtroom and her novel, Gotta Let It Go proves that. This novel takes you on a journey with a woman who; can't let go of her busy body ways or her stubborn attitude as she tries to find out who murdered her friend. Check out her website 

3. +Ayesha Shoulders is new to the indie world and she is making a big splash with her latest novel, When Loves Knot Enough. Sometimes women change their minds and that is just want happens in this love story. Can Mariah give love one more try before she throws in the towel? If you haven't read this novel, you need to pick it up today. Check out her website

4. Frances Frost is Just Piddlin and she does it while being a mom of 4! She wrote the novel; Life In Spades and it gives me hope that four women can be friends while being the voice of reason and the one you call on in your time of need. Check out her blog

5. +K. R. Raye is a friend and Diva that goes on tour with me and Dee Lawrence. Her novels takes you into the lives of four friends and shows you what it takes to screw up a friendship. This ride will force you to take a look at your own friendships and what you would do if one were in trouble. Check out her novels here: Amazon Page

So today I am giving you a glimpse of just five of my most favorite #IndieRoar #IndieAuthors and I hope you give them a try today.