#ThursdayswithTaryn The 4 R's of Helping a #Writer

In this techno age, most readers across the cyberworld have authors who inspire them, who write the kind of novels they love to read and who they follow on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, their blogs and websites; the list could go on and on.

Some readers don't realize that THEY can help get their favorite authors get noticed and there are truly some very easy things they can do if they'd like to help out these authors, all by the simple click of the mouse.

So, you wanna help writers?

If a writer inspires you- makes you laugh, cry, scream, love

then use these 4 R's-

~Retweet, Repeat, Repost, Review~

~Share their blogs & statuses~

Show 'em

♥Love♥

Retweet~ Are you following your favorite author on Twitter? Retweet their statuses and help promote them into the Twitterverse and you never know- someone else might RT you. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire.

Repeat~ Share their posts on Twitter or Facebook or Google+ and many others. You might know other people who haven't heard of these writers. If you enjoy their books and think others you know might enjoy them as well, be sure to pass that along. It never hurts to pay it forward if a book has touched your heart.

Repost~ Did they post a blog today? Share that- repost it for others who might not have seen it otherwise. Did they say something funny or share a joke that made you LOL? Did they talk about hobbies, family, food. If it interested you, it might interest others, too.

Review~ Did you enjoy their book? Or maybe you didn't, but a review doesn't have to be all sunshine and lollipops. An honest review doesn't just help other customers, but it also give the author constructive views from readers about what works and what doesn't. I know I'd rather have a handful of honest reviews that helps me grow as a writer, than 100 that are just full of BS wrapped up in shiny foil paper with a ribbon slapped on it that feeds my ego but not my mind or my heart.

(That doesn't mean I would want a reviewer to slam me- reviews that do nothing but cut the author and their writing down, that childishly flame or blatantly bully have no place in the writing/reading world as it does nothing but enrage the readers and hurt the writers on a personal level that isn't necessary- it is not the way to help. Behind every book there is an author, a real person, who truly loved the story they wrote, but not every reader will enjoy and that's okay.)

Besides the 4 R's there's also a few other things you can do. "Like" the author's Amazon Author Page, or their Facebook Page, if they have one. "Like" their book on Amazon. Follow them on Twitter, read their blog. Write and tell them how their story touched you.

Most of these things are tiny considerations that authors appreciate, more than you can EVER know. We work at a very lonely, albeit, self-inflicted lonely job and when we touch others lives or hearts with our stories, we are grateful for even one little note letting us know these things. It fills us with gratitude that we've done our job- to write the best story we can and share it with others who will enjoy it as well. And it's also a wonderful reminder that doing what we love pays off more handsomely than just in a financial way. If we touch just one heart, then we are encouraged to continue to tell more stories. If we tell a story you want to share with others, it washes our spirit in joy.

I know it's easy to get discouraged in this business. Sometimes it's like spinning wheels in mud- trying to get somewhere and yet getting no where fast- Just throwing mud out behind us and not blazing our trail. Those 4 R's and those other helpful things readers can do to help out mean the world.

If you get a chance today, take a moment to click on something to retweet, repeat, repost or review it. Like a page, follow someone new, share an author with a friend (don't be stingy) :)

An author will thank you for it.

Have a wonderful Thursday- the weekend is almost here again.

Ain't This Lovely? #Lovely #Blog #Award from @kenra_daniels TY!!!

This morning I was greeted by a comment on yesterday's #Writerly Wednesday- Shattered #poetry #writing post from Kenra Daniels nominating me for a Lovely Blog Award. She posted about it on her Blogs Are Lovely Things, Aren't They? post for today where you can learn 7 things about her and then go around and find out about 11 other authors (me included.) 

Thank you so much, Kenra! I'm honored!

So—What is the Lovely Blog Award, you might be wondering?

Rules for the Lovely Blog award are to thank the blogger who nominated you, give seven facts about yourself, post the blog award badge on your site, and nominate 11 noteworthy blogs, notifying them you did so.  So, here we go:

1. I met my husband online through one of those early dating sites. We talked for about 2 months before we met in person. A lot of my friends and family were concerned for my well-being meeting a stranger, but two months later I moved to be with him and his 2 1/2 year old son. Building a strong marriage from a relationship with a practical stranger is hard work and it's not always been easy, but the fact that we've been together nearly 11 years means something in my book.
2. I can pick things up with my toes- pencils, pens, paper. I've been teased that I have "lobster claws" for feet, but I don't care. I claim to have inherited that ability from my father, who can pinch a plug out of you with his toes, while my mom can't.
3. I once lost a thumbnail. When I was a child, somewhere around 4-5, maybe 6, I wanted to help my grandpa with the room he was building onto the house. I hit my thumbnail with a hammer and smashed it. Over several days, wearing a bandage to hold it, my thumbnail loosened and fell off. Luckily a new one grew back in it's place.
4. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love all the seasons, but once we hit that shift between summer as we ease into fall I find myself at my most creative. I feel inspired. I wax poetic (as I did yesterday). I get wistful and emotional as the world seems to slow down, readying for the cold days of winter and nights snuggled up inside where it's warm and cozy. I feel connected to this time of year and Mother Earth in a way I don't throughout the rest of the year. The colors and smells and atmosphere envelopes me.
5. I love to bake homemade pizza. This love started when I was around 19 and got my first job working at Little Caesar's. From making the dough and rolling and kneading it, to dressing the pizza with sauce and toppings and cheese, it's cathartic for me.
6. Lilacs are probably my all-time favorite flower. Mostly because when I was growing up, my mom had lilacs along the side of the house outside my window and when they bloomed in the spring, I could lay on my bed and smell them through the open window. I'd love to have my lilac tree outside my bedroom window in my own house. Might have to think on that and see about planting some out there. ;)
7. Last but not least, I love to paint. Not like Bob Ross-let's-put-a-happy-little-cloud-or-shurb-in-this-corner, but like shove-all-the-furniture-to-the-center-of-the-room-and-give-the-walls-a-facelift kind of painting. When I was around 18 my parents let me choose wall colors for my birthday since I was still living at home with them. I chose a pastel lavender- a really soft pale lavender and then I picked what to me looked like sea-foam green but was called porcelain green for the trim. My colors were still in keeping with my love of lilacs and I also had one of those "travel trunks" that was a green with purple metal trim. (which I still have). I've slowly started getting the rooms in my house painted, but so far only the living room got a nice new coat of a pale sage green. Time and money, money and time- got to have a little of both for painting cause that's an all day job.

Okay, so now that I've shared a little about me that you might not have known before, let’s see whose turn it is to reveal 7 things about themselves…

1. C.C. Marks- Dark and Dreamy with C.C. Marks
2. J.M. Madden- Contemporary, Everyday Romance
3. Kallypso Masters- Ahh, Kallypso...the stories you tell
4. Devon Matthews- Romance in the Wild West
5. Donna McDonald- Never Too Late For Romance
6. Amy Durham- Imagination & Escape~ for the young... and the young at heart
7. Diane Strong- The Running Commentary~ Running, biking and...book reviews?
8. Hallee Bridgeman, Novelist- Author of Edgy Christian Romance Novels
9. Renee Vincent- Past the Print
10. Teresa Reasor- My Muse's Musings
11. Pam Turner- Darkling Delights~ Dark genre with bite-sized tidbits. Enjoy!