Hello Dee Gentle!

This week we take a look at Dee Gentle. I asked her some quirky questions back in January and got plenty of interesting answers!
Welcome Dee!
Dee Gentle says, “I attempt to multi-task, I’m the ParaNormal Romance (PNR) Reviews & Features Editor, the Paraphernalia Ezine Columnist, and editor for Red Rose Publishing.”
Dee’s favorite colors are purple and green and her favorite ice cream flavor is definitely vanilla. When asked if she’s a cat, dog or both kind of person and if she’d ever own(ed) a snake or some other exotic pet her answers were ~ “Hmm, cat, they are low maintenance. & Yes, I own a gray rat snake now, and have owned various types of lizards, tortoises, and an array of snakes in the past.” Concerning her preference for warm weather or cold she states, “Sunny and cool, I dislike being hot.” As for where she’d live if she could live anywhere in the universe, “Off world, I would want to live on Saturn, I have always been fascinated by those rings. If I have to stay on Earth, New MexicoJ” In regard to what time of day she prefers, Dee says, “I do my best thinking at night, definitely a night owl.” Her favorite day of the week is Friday (night) and her favorite number is 3. When asked if athletic shoes are sneakers or tennies and if a soft drink is called soda or pop, she responded: “Sneakahs” & “Sodah”

Thank you for the information Dee!

~ Feel free to share if you have something in common with her ~

Dee's MoonBow Musings: Fun Time Wasters

Ok, even with everything I have on my plate I tend to be a bit of a procrastinator. And what better way to avoid work and deadlines than to spend hours mindlessly surfing the web. Well to make matters worse my sister-in-law gave me a Page-a-Day desktop calendar, Wacky Websites, for Christmas. The back cover description invites you to "Waste tons of time in 2009 at the kookiest, silliest, strangest, geekiest, and most entertaining sites on the Web. Learn a new dance move every week. Find out how to survive a zombie attack. Plan every detail of your Las Vegas wedding (should you dress your party as "Star Trek" characters? Or go with an Elvis package?)." I thought it would be fun to share a few of these fun time wasters occasionally, so here goes:

Have you ever wondered how your birthday or other important dates translate into different calendar systems; Julian, Hebrew, Muslim or Mayan? Actually quite interesting and you never know when you might need to know this:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/

Popping balloons is the perfect stress reliever; warning, Bloons can be addictive:

http://www.ninjakiwi.com/Games/Bloons-Games/Bloons.html

My motto: You can never have too many holidays, especially if you get the day off from work. Check out this site to find out which holiday you should be celebrating today. Darn, I just missed International Polar Bear Day!

http://www.tulane.edu/~wc/months/


Ever feel just a little jealous of the Hollywood elite, well even they can't fight the effects of time. Check out this site to see what your favorite stars will look like in 2034.

http://www.eatnineghost.com/how-hollywood-celebrities-looks-like-in-2034/


I'm a bit of a history geek so I found this site particularly fascinating.

http://www.new7wonders.com/classic/en/n7w/results/


Now go forth and waste time!


Take care,
Dee:)

Dee's MoonBow Musings: Getting a Review

Let’s face it, competition is stiff in the publishing world. With hundreds of new electronic and print releases each month, how do you make your book stand out amongst the crowd? Well a review is one way that may capture the attention of a reader who has a smorgasbord of choices for new reading material. But as mentioned, there are hundreds of releases each month vying for a review, so getting a review for your book is sometimes easier said than done.

Here are some tips:

• Research: Are your review inquiries targeting review sites or venues that except or focus on the genre or theme of your book? This is important to consider, sending your book to the right place can increase the odds of getting a review. For instance, although PNR Reviews will review books in all genres, our focus is paranormal romance and speculative fiction; so review requests in that genre receive priority over mainstream requests. An internet search will help you find review outlets that fit your needs. Another good source of information is your colleagues. Ask other authors where they are getting reviews for their work, take names.

• Making Contact: After you’ve done your research it’s time to make contact with the review site. Most sites have review request contact information on their site or general contact info at least. If you have the name of the reviews editor or coordinator, use it. Speaking from experience, it’s helpful to provide your book information (title, author, publisher, ISBN, release date) and an interesting blurb when inquiring. Your blurb may be the key to capturing the attention of a reviewer who has countless review books to choose from. Keep in mind that the majority of review sites are staffed by volunteer (=unpaid) reviewers. Although you’re understandably anxious for a review, please be considerate and polite when making inquiries about the status of your review. Many print and electronic publishers regularly offer review sites their new releases for review. Don’t be afraid to request a review even if this is the case with your publisher. An individual request may help your book stand out from the crowd.

• Name Recognition: If a reviewer has heard your name, even if you are a new author, it increases the chance that your book will capture their attention when the request comes in. Most review sites have social groups, such as Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Additionally, reviewers are readers as well and many join promotional groups and author groups. Join these groups to get your name out there. Many offer the opportunity to participate in author chats or to be interviewed. Make yourself visible, but be mindful of the promo rules for each group you join. Investing a little time in this area will yield huge pay offs.

• A Word About Professionalism: Be aware that when you are requesting a review, you are asking someone for their opinion on your writing. In doing so, you need to realize you may not agree with their opinion. What a reader brings to and expects from a book is very individual, and a review is simply their perspective. In my experience, there are few reviewers that give a negative review out of spite, and there may be some constructive criticism that can be taken away from this experience; or you can chalk it up to a difference of opinion. In any case, short of out right bashing or major plot spoilers, if you do not receive a positive review it is not in your best interest as a professional author to contact the review site to complain or otherwise react.
  

If you need any additional information or would like to request a review from ParaNormal Romance (PNR Reviews), feel free to contact me at pnr4staff (at) yahoo.com

Take care,
Dee:)

Dee's MoonBow Musings: Hello

Hello Everyone,
Welcome to my MoonBow Musings. I’m excited to have the opportunity to contribute to The Many Shades blog.

A little about me:

• I’m an avid reader (avid=addicted, but we won’t get into that)

• I’m the reviews & features editor for ParaNormal Romance, PNR Reviews.

• I publish a monthly eZine feature, Paraphernalia, that spotlights sub-genres of paranormal romance and speculative fiction with author interviews and book spotlights.

• I’m an editor for Red Rose Publishing.

Though I’m not a published author, in the coming weeks I hope to provide a perspective from a different side of the publishing business; as a reader, reviewer and editor. I’ll be providing tips for authors on getting reviews for their work, discussing the pro & cons of reviews, looking at current genre and publishing trends, the paranormal and just about anything that captures my interest.

Take care,
Dee:)