The Library of Congress holds some 147 million items on 838 miles of bookshelves.

Amazon prime

I had to post this site.  It filters Amazon products more thoroughly. Find it at http://www.sortbyprime.com

"What makes the first sentence interesting?  

“What makes the first sentence interesting? Its exact shape and what it says and the possibility it creates for another sentence.” — Verlyn Klinkenborg, Several Short Sentences About Writing

What makes the first sentence interestin

Easy reading is damned hard writing.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne

Happy New Years Bloggers

May your new year be merry and bright. May you go into the next year with a lot of hope and ambition.  Ready to take life by it's reigns and ring it's neck until you squeeze every last drop of fun and progress out of it.  May you jump from roof tops and explore new worlds great and small, whether that's by plane or by imagination.  Smiling at little babies and kiddies alike.  Grinning until your half mad and kicking up the seasons, so they don't beat your behind.  That's all for now, till next year.

“Since I picked up your book, I couldn’t stop laughing. Some day I intend to read it.” — Groucho Marx

Turkey visits the Global Dig Blog

Here is another review of an expat blog, mytravelingjoys.com. A blog about Turkish food, traveling in Turkey, living as an expat in Istanbul, favorite restaurants, Turkish recipes and visiting the local markets.

The author of this blog Joy is an American expat currently living in London.  She has been to 30+ countries and is an avid photographer.  My favorite post from her blog had to be her hiking on phillip island .  Such beautiful pictures.  It sort of reminds me of my trip to San Diego and La Jolla two weeks ago.   During her travels in Istanbul, she mentions going through the Belgrade forest and hiking on a 6-1/2 kilometer trail which she says the trail is updated, meaning their are no potholes.  I can totally relate to potholes, Minnesota roads are filled with them thanks to the abundant snow and rain.  

Joy talks about her stay at Alaçatı Zeytin Konak Otel. The hotel looks like such a beautiful place to visit as a tourist.  The outdoor pool is one I could see myself jumping into.

Here is another Blog from Turkey called Turkish Life Cafe.  The Arslan family has been living in Turkey for ten years.  The mother is interested in teaching her son Turkish and currently uses Dinolingo.com.  Learning languages at a young age is so important.  I plan on teaching my own son, Zulfiqar: Arabic, Urdu, Amharic, and of course English.  Yum, there is even Turkish recipes including pogaca. and Chicken – Tavuk Yemekleri

"What makes a first sentence so interesting?  It's exact shape and what it says and the possibility to make another sentence."-Verlyn Klinkenborg

“There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one can agree what they are.” — W. Somerset Maugham

“Too many people want to have written.” — Sir Terry Pratchett

“Any healthy man can go without food for two days—but not without poetry.” — Charles Baudelaire

After 20 years of correspondence, the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary learned that his major contributor, W.C. Minor, was an inmate at a lunatic asylum.

Interview with Fanni Sütő

I'm excited to inform readers that I will be posting an author's interview once a month. This is a chance for readers to get to know up and coming writers in the world of Young Adult books.


Fanni Sütő is a writer, poet, dreamer who believes in fairy tales even if they are dark,disenchanted and deconstructed. She writes about everything which comes in her way or goes bump in the night. She has been published in Hungary, the US, the UK and Australia.

She is very happy to do collaborations, art exchanges, cross-art projects, so if you’re interested in such things, please get in touch.

Website:www.inkmapsandmacarons.com

And onto the interview

What tense do you prefer to write in? Is there a reason behind your choice?

I prefer the past tense. I think it’s pretty difficult to write well in the present and I sometimes find it annoying.

Are there themes you’re trying to bring out in your YA/NA that you feel are

underrepresented?

I like to work with characters coming from different cultural backgrounds. I feel it essential

to write about the difficulties of finding your place in a new environment, the obstacles you

might have to face and the importance of having an open mind. Being of Hungarian origin, I

like to bring in the folk tales and the legends of my country because I know they are not very

well known.

What do you think makes a good story?

Characters and if it has a momentum, a force that doesn’t let you stop. I also like humour and

beautiful language.

How do you feel about endings? Is there a type of ending you strive for?

I like bittersweet endings because I think happy ends are very often dishonest.

Do you have a favourite word? Why do you like it?

I used to be a great fan of “swirl” and I put it in almost every one of my stories. I think I have

got cured out of it since then. Nowadays my favourite word seems to be ‘pumpkin pie’ for no

apparent reason.

This concludes the Interview with Fanni Sütő, make sure to check out her blog at :www.inkmapsandmacarons.com and her Twitter feed and Pinterest.  Please stay posted for next month's interview questions with another fabulous author.

Isaac Asimov has published books in nine of the ten categories in the Dewey Decimal System.

Shakespeare invented over 1,000 words, many of which we use today.

Everyday may not be good but there is something good in everyday.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was once arrested as a spy while on a walking tour of Scotland.

“Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.” — Robert Heinlein

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was famous." Robert Benchley

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. William Shakespeare