The Writing Room

This Christmas will be one unlike any other for many people. With COVID-19 restrictions in place in many parts of the world, the traditional Christmas gatherings of friends and loved ones to affirm their love for each other, will be postponed until a time when such gatherings may not be harbingers of severe illness and death for vulnerable family members. But all is not lost. Instead of ruing the good old days of Christmases past, why not create a new Christmas tradition? How do you do this? Reach out to your community. Remember that Christmas is many acts of love rolled into one big celebration, so share one of these small acts of love with your neighbours and yourself. Go carolling this Christmas. If you are not in full lock-down and restricted to staying on your property, revive that age old Christmas tradition of carolling. As a family, whether you have the best singing voices or not, get up really early in the morning, don those face coverings, get the dog and spend at l...

  Have you been wracking your brain to come up with ways to promote your book? You have written your masterpiece, if only in your eyes, and you’ll be happy if a few hundred readers get access to your story, taking into account the fact that while  over 2 million books  are published in the world each year, only a small percent go on to impact the majority of the reading public.  As an indie author, you will have realised that it is challenging at best to get readers to pick up your book – at least the paying ones. However, to build a readership is a process and the strategies that I'll share with you will help you to further this process, while not necessarily bringing in the dollars right away. But don’t lose hope. You have embarked on a marathon, not a sprint when you go solo in this business. Here are three strategies to promote your book and I guarantee that you will get some positive feedback and, no doubt, some negative ones too.. Use them and see what happ...

It is the season of giving and what better gift to give than the gift of reading, whether to yourself or to friends and relatives! In this post, I explain the two genres of books and showcase the types of books under these genres. I also suggest books from each genre that have had international or national acclaim and would make great holiday gifts. Book Genres Books are divided into two genres - fiction and non-fiction.  The Encyclopedia Britannica defines fiction as follows: ... literature created from the imagination , not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, short story and novella. The word is from the Latin  fictiō,  “the act of making, fashioning, or molding. While “ [n]onfictional prose , is any literary work that is based mainly on fact, even though it may contain fictional elements. Examples are the essay and biography.” So you have a choice of books from w...

The benefits of reading books are many and varied and may surprise you. It turns out that you get more than the content of a book when you read.  According to  research  done by brilliant minds, reading provides the reader with many benefits which  Healthline  shares with us.  According to Healthline, reading: improves brain connectivity increases your vocabulary and comprehension empowers you to empathize with other people aids in sleep readiness reduces stress lowers blood pressure and heart rate fights depression symptoms prevents cognitive decline as you age contributes to a longer life And according to Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), the writer whose name is synonymous with children's literature, [t] he more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. There are many such insightful and fun quotes from ...

  Politics by JBF I didn’t do anything remotely wrong Politicians before me did the same. We help some people and we help ourselves. That is the name of the game that you blame. If you want to play, you play by the rules These special rules you will not learn in school They come from initiative and cunning. To ignore these rules you play the fool. Life in this place is a roller coaster A hard grind, just to eat a decent food Chances to thrive are few and far between Grabbing the ones that come improves our mood. So do not begrudge us our good fortune! We choose to put our lives out on the line. We’re courageous leaders on a mission To support those who toe the party line. I didn’t do anything remotely wrong. I’m just here carrying on the tradition. I give with one hand, I take with the other Win-win, a necessary condition. Before you go, spend a few minutes to browse the blog, subscribe to get the latest posts as soon as they are published and do ...