Children's book reviewer, proofreader, editor and blogger
​
KidzTales
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
  • MEDIA
  • SELL SHEET
  • APPEARANCES
  • SERVICES
  • KIDLIT AND MORE!
  • HELPFUL BLOGS
  • RESOURCES
  • CONTACT ME

Modern Farms

6/27/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
This adorable picture book, written in rhyme, shows just where your food comes from.  You'll be surprised when you find out that it doesn't come from your grocery store! It also shows, in colorful oil paintings, where French fries, ice cream, berries and more different foods come from.

Your child will enjoy this book quite a bit as he enters the world of a farm and discovers where his food comes from!
0 Comments

Interview With Lillian Brummett

5/2/2022

3 Comments

 
Q: I see you have several books out. Can you tell us about them?
 A: Yes Deb, there are quite a few out and 4 more coming out over the next year or two. Currently we have 6 books available on Amazon: 2 poetry books, 2 green living books, a cookbook and a writer's guidebook.
 
Towards Understanding is a collection of 120 non-fiction poems taking the reader through the inner strife and recovery process during my youth. The theme is finding my way toward purpose and understanding my life had value. 

Rhythm & Rhyme is another collection of poetry - it's a collaborative effort sharing both Dave and my poetry. We discuss our passions for living a life of purpose, for the environment and music. We also share our journey with grief and overcoming obstacles. 

Trash Talk - It's Easy To Be Green, is a 2-book series covering green living at home and in the office. The first book lists items commonly found in the bin at work or at home in alphabetical order. From there it explains what happens to the item in the trash or recycling system. It focuses on reducing waste heading to the landfill, so its main aim is to encourage reduction through rethinking, reconsidering, renting-bartering-trading, repair, reuse, repurpose, rot and recycle. The second book delves farther into green living in regard to saving money and reducing use of water, gas, electricity and composting. 

Purple Snowflake Marketing - How To Make Your Book Stand Out In A Crowd was revised last year (May '21) and this shows writers how to run their office efficiently, operate their business endeavors efficiently, market frugally and stand out among their peers like a purple snowflake in a snowstorm. 

From One Small Garden - Over 300 Delicious Nutritious Recipes encourages readers to shop from local suppliers, buy in season when prices are lowest and markets are overflowing with fresh produce, and build healthy, nutritious meals from home. Saving money, increasing nutritional content, reducing packaging waste, reducing food waste, and loving cooking again. It shares nutritional information, agricultural facts, folklore and offers ways to make home-made hairspray, cleaning supplies, taco seasoning, chicken coating and more - no more bottles and packaging to toss out. 
 
 
Q: Do you write any children's books, or write just for adults?
A: Currently we do not have any children's writings or short stories out in book format, nor have many of them been published in magazines simply due to schedule constraints. We are working on Dave's father's trilogy (he passed five years ago), sharing his lifetime collection of short stories, children's tales, family memoirs and poetry. So we'll will be publishing some children's stories that way - written by Dad. His trilogy is in the final draft manuscript stage, ready for proof-format-cover design stages. In the meantime I am working on the next book in our project agenda - a backyard and market garden guide book, based heavily on my late master gardener/composter parents but also our 25 years of gardening in a variety of situations. We've run market gardens (five acres for a spa), gardened high in the mountains, down in valley, in the city, on balconies and near lakes... gaining certification with numerous wildlife, habitat and organic organizations over the years.
 
Q: Does your husband, Dave, write too or does he branch off into another field in your business? If so, what does he do?
A: Yes, Dave is the co-writer and sometimes mastermind behind what we do. He comes up with amazing ideas, creative solutions and helpful directives. I might gather the information and put the draft manuscript together, but we are discussing the project the entire time and Dave is constantly giving feedback. Once it is in the final draft stage, from my end of things - it goes to Dave who then tweaks and rewrites and edits and proofs. He then does the layout, formatting, images and graphics and cover design. He deals with the publishers and face-to-face business activities such as managing our books stocked in local stores or attending business events. While I am often the face you see in the media, Dave is there too - providing the audio, images and graphics; all the book trailers and book reading videos are his creation, even though you might hear my voice doing the readings. Out side of marketing and writing, my job is also to run the office, manage communications and keep the studio, house, offices and entry areas clean. While we split off and do different activities, everything we do is done together. For instance I might manage our budget, pay the bills and gather, sort and store various receipts and records for tax time, but Dave is the one who fills out the tax book and deals with the accountant.
 
 
Q: I see you are a blogger, can you tell us about your blogs?
A: I'd love to, Deb, thank you for asking. Brummet's Conscious Blog is the main one, where we have daily posts sharing interviews with publishers, entrepreneurs, podcast and radio hosts, agents, green business's and authors. We have numerous regular posts going out on that blog from Kudo's  (celebrating positive projects), Just For Writers (tips and resources), Quote of the Day, and a few others. The overall theme is to inspire others, motivating them into proactive and positive action, empowering them with resources, and helping them become the hero we all know they can be. :) There are several pages there for people to browse (via the tabs under the header image) and dozens of links in the sidebars too. 
 
Our second blog - Drum It With Brummet - is for musicians, with a heavy slant toward drummers and percussionists. We interview musicians, stage managers, roadies, studio people, and others there. We share touring, stage and recording tips. We look at the history of drumming, celebrate green music industry initiatives and more. Dave has plans to share videos and articles about the instruments crowding out the lower half of our home where his studio resides. 
 
 
Q: You've expanded into a media group. Please tell us about that and how it can benefit authors of all genres.
A: Ok the Brummet Media Group title of our business acts like an umbrella for all the services and products we currently offer and all those we plan to offer in the future. Under that name, reside the two blogs and six books that we discussed already. Also, Dave's drum studio (Angle Hill Studio) finds shelter under that umbrella name. Dave offers lessons, services and repairs drums and percussion, and is a member of two bands. The business also includes our new Brummet Media Youtube Channel, our upcoming book trilogy (Frank's Wanderings, Frank's Ponderings, Frank's Tales) and the upcoming backyard garden book. We have lots of plans for the future, but the heavy schedule keeps us pacing our activities out.
 
How I go about helping authors is through the Brummet's Conscious Blog where we are open to queries re: poetry or article submissions and interviews. The blog serves to help authors through the content it offers as well. If they use the "search" box on the blog, they will be able to find decades of material published on the keyword they chose. The Purple Snowflake Marketing guidebook for writers is another way I have reached out to help other authors, it contains two and a half decades of knowledge: from courses we have taken, hands on experience as an author, freelance writer, former professional book and product reviewer, staff writer, columnist and assignment writer. It also calls on our experience as bloggers, former radio hosts and former podcast hosts.  All of that knowledge and experience is in the thick book, written in a highly organized, step-by-step format.
 
Q: I see you also have a YouTube channel that offers all kinds of things. What kind of advice do you offer there?
 
A: The Brummet Media YouTube Channel is a casual place where we offer entrepreneur and writer tips, answer questions and share information about our books too. It is a very new channel, we just started it up a few months ago, but there are about three dozen videos up there so far. There are a few different playlists there (genres of videos). Making A Difference - This series helps entrepreneurs, authors, members of the media and small business discover ways of making a difference while creating a solid image and increasing networks. Answering Your Questions - is just that, answering submitted questions. Brummet's Books - shares a little about our published books. Entrepreneur Tips & Advice is another playlist to find there. 
 
We have a long list of videos to produce, a couple more playlists to create, a dozen submitted questions to answer... lots for us to work on for some time yet.
 
 
Q: Tell us about your former radio show and podcast.
A: Oh thank you for asking.... I ran the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show for about ten years (2004-2015), featuring amazing people across the planet who shared their experiences in creating positive change, having a positive impact. It aired live three times per week, and was a great love of my life. I still miss it. I closed it down in 2014 because of schedule constraints - I just couldn't keep taking on new projects without letting something go. I loved the experience... sadly the archives were recently taken off line. The station kept them up from 2014 to 2021, which was a real blessing. When it was running the radio show reached 30-35,000 per month.
 
The Author's Read (2006-2008) podcast featured weekly broadcasts featuring one author reading from their book. It was about 1/2 hour long, we started by discussing the author's life a little and then let them read for 8-15 minutes... then closed out the show. It was fun, but involved too much of my time and I had to let this project go too. 
 
Funnily enough - that is the way of being an entrepreneur. You keep trying new things, work the heck out of them for a while and if they are successful keep them going. Eventually that project burns out and a new one comes along. One has to be willing to try new things and also let things go when they no longer serve your situation. For instance I ran an e-newsletter, (Brummet's Muse) based on marketing advice at the time, after our first book was published. I ran that for almost 4 years, it was a bi-weekly newsletter with an opt-in audience of about 2000. Again, I ended up letting it go when I realized the return on investment was not worth continuing the work.
 
Q: Well it is time to close the discussion, before we go would you like to share your links with us?
 
A: I'd love to, thank you Deb - this has been a fun experience :)
Amazon Author Page      
Brummet's Website                 
Find us elsewhere on line here https://linktr.ee/LillianBrummet
 
 
 
 
 
 

3 Comments

WHAT WOULD YOU GET?

11/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
 
Well, it's that time of year again, folks. It's time to think about what to get the people on your Christmas list. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, it's a great time to get a gift for friends or family. But what do you get an author? I was wondering just that and I could just list things that I would want like an idea starter, a journal, or something along those lines.
 
I wondered if Amazon has any ideas. Where would I find them? So, me being me I decided to do a regular search on Amazon. I've been told that it is a search engine. So, I searched 'gifts for authors and writers.' It seems that Amazon has a lot of ideas and this is just some of what I found.
 
Character Development Journal: Everything you need to create characters your readers will love!  In this, you'll find places to develop your character's characteristics, his or her family background, personal history, character arc, and more. I found this here.
 
Here's another gift idea I got a kick out of. It's a t-shirt and on the front of it is says, "I Am A Writer, Anything you say may be used in one of my stories." I think that's cute! This picture is a short-sleeved shirt. I don't know if it comes in long-sleeved or not, but you can check it out here.
 
I thought this was cute, too. It's a retro-looking typewriter/pencil holder for your desk. You can see this here.

I just loved this one! Well, I like my mugs. Here's one for the writer at a hefty 15 ounces. It holds both hot and cold drinks. 
 
Here's one to help the writer on your list to conquer writer's block. It's a book called, "The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination." You'll find it here.
 
Here's another that might help with writer's block. "The Writer's Toolbox: Games and exercises for inspiring the 'write' side of your brain." You'll find it here.
 
We can't forget that special pen for book signings! You'll find several different kinds on this page. From classy to humorous ones! 
 
These are just a few ideas I've found. Do you have suggestions? Let me know in the comments!
Picture
0 Comments

VAMPIRES AMONG US

10/25/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
We all know about the movie vampires that suck your blood only to have you join the undead. We also know that there are such things as vampire bats that use blood for food. These live primarily in South America. But guess what? VAMPIRES DO EXIST AND THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE BELA LUGOSI!
 
Yes, they are real and they live in every aspect of our society. Now bear with me here. This article does have to do with writing.
These vampires are known by a few different names: The psychic, the emotional, and the energy vampire.
 
How can you tell if you’ve been around them? It’s easy. Every one of us has been around that friend or coworker who makes us feel drained or suddenly tired. He or she is a psychic/emotional/energy vampire. In some cases, the person might not even know that they’re a vampire. Heck, you might be one and not know it! This does happen.
 
There are signs though. The psychic/emotional/energy vampire has the attitude that his/her needs are more important than anyone else’s. They feel that society’s rules (or any rules) don’t apply to them and nothing is ever his/her fault. No way! Oh, the vampire also has the attitude of, “I want it now and if I don’t get it I’ll throw a tantrum!”
 
How do you get rid of them? This might be trickier. Attend writing conferences. Do you like crafts or fishing? Attend these types of events. The thing here is to be around upbeat people with the same interests as you. Control your emotions. Don’t let your anger or frustration at the vampire show. He/she feeds off these emotions thus leaving you feel drained. Exercise daily. This makes you physically feel good making it hard for the vampire to feed off you.
These people remind me of the Dementors in the Harry Potter books. Remember how they made you feel as if there were no happiness left in the world when they were around?
 
As I said before, these vampires invade every part of our society. They're even in our writing physical and online critique groups.
 
These critique group vampires are attention seekers whose egos constantly have to be stroked. They are very touchy about the feedback they get on a submission and they don’t actually want to learn the craft of writing. They want to turn in a load of junk and have the other members fix it for them. They don’t have ideas of their own. These people are arrogant. They believe that writing is automatically coded into their DNA.
 
Now, what do we do about the critique group vampire? My first suggestion is the same as the first one above. Attend a writing conference. You can check out our events page for some good physical conferences to attend. Attend any other gathering that has to do with what interests you. It might be genealogy, knitting, woodworking, fishing, sports…. Well, you get the idea. The critique group vampire does not want to further himself. He/she wants to ride the coat-tails of others so, no matter what you may try, don’t enable him/her.
 
How do we rid ourselves without hurting their feelings? I have to be perfectly honest here. I don’t know except to try out another group where all the members are open to a good critique.
 
Now you know vampires do exist. None of them wear tuxedoes or say, “Let me suck your blood!” 
 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
 

Sources: 
http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/do-you-have-a-psychic-vampire-critique-partner-2
http://www.fastcompany.com/3009076/slay-the-emotional-vampires-that-are-holding-you-back

 

 
0 Comments

The Monster We All Know

10/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
 On my bumpy road to writing for children, a monster got in my way. Actually, he got in my way several times! I really had trouble getting him off the bumpy road too. Face it, you’ve encountered this monster yourself. All writers have. It’s the monster we call writer’s block.
 
What causes writer’s block? It can be just about anything. Stress, not sleeping (or not getting enough sleep), a family crisis, or putting yourself on a schedule to get a particular amount of work done each day. The list goes on and on! Have you had a breakup with your latest boyfriend or girlfriend? Yep! That will attract the monster. He’ll stop our words from coming just as long as he can.
 
I’ve been going round after round with the writer’s block monster lately. I have to admit that. How can we rid ourselves of this block? Luckily, there are several ways to do this!
  1. Go for a walk. That’s what I said, go for a walk. Go out, walk around the block and talk to your neighbors.
  2. Go to the mall, Walmart, or a bookstore. It doesn’t matter if you shop or browse. Just get out there!
  3. Finish making your afghan, finish the painting you’ve been working on or work on whatever hobby you have.
  4. Cook. 
  5. Have lunch with a friend.
  6. Read that book you’ve wanted to read for so long.
 
I guess you’ve figured out by now that the thing that works best for me is getting away from the computer for a while. Sometimes this will work for me in a matter of hours, sometimes it will take a day or two, while sometimes it takes longer.
 
There are other ways to chase this monster away. Some people have found that starting another story or article works for them. I’m happy if this way works for you! It only works for me up to a point. Don’t get me wrong, try this way each time that monster hits. Sometimes it works for me, and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, I know that it’s time to step away from the computer. Besides, I think I’m giving my muse a break.
 
Since we’re on the topic of starting something new, I’ve found some great help. This isn’t a book at all. It’s a website by Scholastic for idea starters. It says it's for teachers, but it'll work for you too. It's also another good way to battle writer's block! The link to STORY STARTERS is below.
 
Here are other ideas that might help. It’s called Ten Websites to Cure our Writer’s Block. I think you’ll find this helpful.
 
What works for you in the battle to beat writer’s block? Leave a comment and let me know!
 
Here’s a YouTube video I found that, in my opinion, gives the best advice of all. I think you’ll enjoy this. 
########
 
Link:
10 MORE WEBSITES THAT HELP CURE WRITER’S BLOCK WITH WRITING PROMPTS: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-websites-cure-writers-block-writing-prompts
STORY STARTERS: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/index.html 
 

 

0 Comments

Where Do Snowmen Go?

10/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
TITLE: Where Do Snowmen Go?
PUBLISHER: Independently Published
PRICE: Paperback: $7.99, Kindle: $.99
ISBN-13: 979-8483818298
ASIN: BO9GZGWFTW
 
This cute and timely children's story by Jersey Jones is perfect for your youngest readers aged three to seven. It asks some very important questions like, "Where do snowmen go when they melt?" Or, "Where do snowmen live during the summer?"

In this twenty-five-page book, Mr. Jersey answers these questions when the snowman takes Asen and his little sister Sofia on a journey.

'Where Do Snowmen Go?' also gets your child involved by letting them find the snowman on every page. Your child is also able to get free coloring pages to accompany the book!

I highly recommend this book for your child's home library since it answers these age old questions that have been asked by every kid and is also interactive.

0 Comments

Word By Beth

9/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
USED WITH PERMISSION

My friend, Beth Stillborn, has kindly given me permission to use a post from her blog. I know this will be as interesting to you as it is to me! Just follow the link to read it. 
 http://www.bethstilborn.com/mary-kole-is-for-writers/?fbclid=IwAR2XNcPtumdgBCiEa0NenoOxJy6Yj6HScTvHliUGYmRsikYwumbBTh81EoU

Keep on writing!
0 Comments

FREE Online Book Festival

8/23/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
To register for this free online conference, follow https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/middleway-words-book-festival-tickets-167061797333?ltclid=2eb7543c-efa5-440a-8382-6ff2ea2812d6&fbclid=IwAR2OPzAQsnB83VQgL9rjhkKEiqqoU8JzOHHFmUlNI2Y_Na60g8czdx4TOes
0 Comments

MARKETING YOUR BOOK

8/16/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Whoever said that writing your book is the easy part was so right. I still feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall when it comes to marketing.

I've taken The 5-Day Amazon Ad Challenge by Bryan Cohen. In fact, I've taken it twice! I knew that I'd gather more information the second time around, get it to stick in my brain, and I did. It's free and packed with information. This is well worth the time! He's having another challenge coming up in October, so watch for it. Like I said, it's well worth your time. Also, did I tell you it's FREE?

I've found out through Bryan's challenge that the more reviews the better, so I'm trying to find places that accept manuscripts to review that are in my genre. This is time consuming, but it'll be well worth it.

I've found a few places in my town that will accept my book on consignment. Now, I'm going to broaden my horizons and look at nationwide Indie Book Stores. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I've found a video for us all to watch. It's from the Self-Publishing With Dale series and it's on marketing. I do hope it helps you as well as myself. Please follow this link to view this informative video. For some reason, Dale won't let it be played on other websites.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKxznoMoVH4



0 Comments

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I WRITE?

7/26/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

Some people say that you should everyday until you get to a certain word count. Others also claim that writers should use a flexible schedule. Then again, even others say that you should only write when the muse inspires you. Do I do any of these? Yes. Should you? Yes. 


I’ve found that I do best when I use the flexible schedule. I may or may not get some writing done on Saturdays depending on what my health allows. By doing a process of elimination and listening to my body, I’ve found it pays off for me to take Sunday off. After all, it is a day of rest. I do have to admit that there are Sundays when I’m on the computer writing away. That’s when I’m under a deadline. 

It has been proven that like other muscles in your body, your brain needs a rest too. Science has found that you’ll be more creative and productive. The trick here is---again---to listen to your body. Your body will tell you when to give your brain a rest. Giving your brain a rest is taking time away from your writing and do anything that doesn’t concern writing. Don’t forget exercising and meditation. This helps immensely and even helps you with if you have writer’s block! But how do you know when to give your brain a rest?

Do you know that feeling you get when you’re so sleepy that you can hardly hold your eyes open? You’re getting a message here from the brain to take a break. When you keep right on writing and getting exhausted, tired, I-can’t-move-another-finger-on-the-keyboard feeling? Your body is screaming at you to stop! So, how do you rest your brain?

I know that the first thing that comes to mind is taking a nap. Believe it or not, that is a way! So are needlework, woodworking, going to the gym, watching movies, reading, or listening to an audiobook, cooking, or any other hobby. When the weather is nice, I like to take a walk and visit friends. The key here is to do what you like where it doesn’t involve your writing words. Don’t forget daily exercise and meditation.

Try the meditation video below called, Meditation for Writers: Meet Your Muse. Just sit in your desk chair, close your eyes, and focus on the music. I guarantee that you’ll feel 100% better!

In short, how much should you write per day? That’s completely up to you. Try the three different types of schedules above and your body will tell you which is right for you!



0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Copyright 2022
Proudly powered by Weebly