Blog

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As a curious observer of life, I blog on writing, marketing, my prairie - anything that interests me in the moment. I like to have conversations with readers, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I'll respond.

Five strategies for getting book reviews

By Carol / 08 September 2014 /

Getting book reviews that would be posted on Amazon and Goodreads at launch was one of the marketing strategies I pursued prior to publishing my novel Go Away Home. In April, I blogged my intent. Now,…

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Are you aging like the prairie?

By Carol / 02 September 2014 /

As I walk my prairie this year, I’m struck by how it’s maturing. I was aware that flowers predominate in a newly established prairie while grasses take over in later years. This year, I’m seeing…

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How do you hold on to first-time awe?

By Carol / 25 August 2014 /

My granddaughter started kindergarten this past week. When she told her dad about her first day in school, she could barely contain herself. “Guess what? We played in the gym!” “Guess what? We had music…

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Peppers – vegetable or fruit?

By Carol / 13 August 2014 /

There are NO vegetables. Everything we call a vegetable is actually a fruit. So said the host of the TV show On The Spot this past weekend. What? I’m a farm kid. I grew up…

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A prairie reminder: Patience

By Carol / 05 August 2014 /

Six years ago, I prepared the soil and sowed the seeds for a native Iowa prairie. The seed mix I chose from Ion Exchange contained 37 different varieties of prairie wildflowers and grasses. I was…

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The value of a blog tour?

By Carol / 29 July 2014 /

While I was running fast on the ground to launch my historical novel Go Away Home in Iowa, I was also zipping through cyberspace on a virtual book tour that included 15 blog visits. In…

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Feeling the love – Making the most of local book launch events

By Carol / 24 July 2014 /

As I prepared for the launch of my historical novel Go Away Home, I wondered how much the world had changed. Since publishing my memoir as a paperback in 2008, ebooks have proliferated, social media connects…

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What is Go Away Home about? Readers weigh in.

By Carol / 16 July 2014 /

One of my college professors spent much of a semester dissecting T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” I must admit, I left the classroom on most days shaking my head in dismay.…

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Networking to promote online? Six tips

By Carol / 10 July 2014 /

My Go Away Home virtual tour continues with a stop at Closed The Cover where I’m sharing networking tips for online book promotion. Special thanks to Ashley LaMar for inviting me to share these thoughts. Since…

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What were your growing up lessons?

By Carol / 09 July 2014 /

“Tuck in your shirt or you look look like a bum.” That’s a lesson my husband learned from his mom. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” That’s something my mother…

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