Test Your Knowledge of Regency Slang

Happy Friday, everyone. Once again, I'd like to thank Donna for having me on, and today I'd like to do something different. Below, I have created a short quiz to test your knowledge of Regency slang! Please take a minute to give it your best shot and submit the form for a chance to win a bag of swag! Answers do not have to be right to be entered to win, just give it a go!

• Regency Cant

• A "Beautiful Stepper" is:*
  A. A good horse with a fine and easy gait/ B. An attractive young lady? A distinguished entertainer
• "Beneath my touch" refers to:*
  The inability to grab something Someone or something not being good enough Someone who has deceased
• Which is not another word for a woman of ill repute?*
  Demirep A bit of muslin A dun
• Which word is not like the others:*
  Blunt The Rhino Bosky
• If you "swallow a spider" you:*
  Have no funds Become ill or look faint Are in desperate need of a hospital post haste
• When one would "hunt the squirrel" they would:*
  Go on a hunt with men of a higher status Visit the watercloset Pass a carriage so close as to touch the wheels together
• A person who becomes known as an "ape leader" is also known as:*
  A drunken fool An old maid One who boxes well
• What are "Barnacles"*
  Pendants Illegitimate Children Eyeglasses
• To be "cucumberish" is to:*
  Be taxing oneself too much Have no money Be melancholy
• Which does not mean to be intoxicated:*
  Too ripe and ready Top-heavy To be on the high ropes
• Comments, questions, anything you need to get off your chest?
• Name*
• E-mail*
• Should be Empty:

Thanks for participating! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

*I'll be collecting entries for this international giveaway until Monday, March 11, 2013, then the winner will be notified via email.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling Author Rose Gordon has written ten unusually unusual historical romances that have been known to include scarred heroes, feisty heroines, marriage-producing scandals, far too much scheming, naughty literature and always a sweet happily-ever-after. When not escaping to another world via reading or writing a book, she spends her time chasing two young boys around the house, being hunted by wild animals, or sitting on the swing in the backyard where she has to use her arms as shields to deflect projectiles AKA: balls, water balloons, sticks, pinecones, and anything else one of her boys picks up to hurl at his brother who just happens to be hiding behind her. website

It's her wedding day and there is no groom in sight. But why should Amelia Brice be surprised? Hiram, Lord Friar is known for having no gentleman's honor to speak of and his jilting her on their wedding day makes it official.

Elijah Banks cannot allow his childhood friend to continue to be shamed this way. It's more than an hour past the time the wedding was to start, and that bounder still hasn't shown up. Unable to sit still a second longer, Elijah does the only thing that seems logical from where he stands: kidnap the bride and take her to Gretna Green in order to escape this scandal with one far more forgiving for a young lady's reputation.

So then why does his new bride seem angry with him and rebuff his advances?

Elijah is the gentleman she'd always hoped to marry, but though he was merely the third son of a baron and she the daughter of an earl, she'd never felt worthy of someone like him. Especially now. Try as she might, she cannot find the words to tell him of her situation and ruin the good fortune that has befallen her, but neither can she keep the truth from him.

But when Lord Friar threatens to reveal her secret, it's up to Elijah to save her from public humiliation once more by revealing a few of his own...

Buy the book at Amazon!

Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links. The views, beliefs, and opinions expressed by contributing authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Girl Who Reads.

What to Title Your Posts

One of the most important parts of a blog post is probably one that gets very little of our attention - the title. How much thought do you give to what you call your post? If all you are doing is titling it Review #560, then you are missing a great opportunity to catch readers and increase your visibility in searches.

What about my Tips on Thursday, Meet the Author, Writer Wednesday... those are pretty generic titles? Yes and no. Alone they are generic, but they are always paired with the featured author or what the tip is about. You may also have noticed the last few weeks, I'm moving away from those titles. Why? First, I used the titles Tips on Thursday, etc to help brand the theme of that day. I have been using the same schedule for a few months now and I think my readers know what to expect each day. So I don't need those monikers. You will notice I continue to use the graphic to continue my branding of those themes.

What should my titles be?

Short
According to a marketing analysis I did with HubSpot's Market Grader, titles should be 75 characters long. And you thought Twitter was limiting! But it actually makes great sense. with 75 characters the full title should show up in the url and when your RSS feed shoots the post to Twitter and adds in hashtags and other info (your Twitter handle, the url, etc) it takes up all 140 characters.

Contain Keywords
For those using Blogger as their blogging platform, the title is your number 1 SEO opportunity. Use words in your titles that people will likely use to search for the topic you are writing on. For a book review, that would be the title of the book, author's name, and possibly review. There are a number of tools to help you determine popular keywords. The keywords you use in the title should also appear in your text, so it is a good idea to write your post first and then see what words you use most often.

Due to a Google update you DO NOT want to use "guest post, guest blogger, guest writer" etc. in your title. Google is basically forcing everyone who publishes on the internet to create a Google+ account (it has to do with Google Authorship/Author Rank, if you want to search for more information). Using the above terms or similar variations can negatively impact your ranking in search.

Catchy
You want titles that catch the reader's eye. We are bombarded with information and after a while we don't really see new information anymore. Your title should be the hook that brings readers to your blog. While the book title may be popular for the search engine, it doesn't set you apart from 50 other bloggers who are reviewing the same title, which leads me to the final tip...

Interchangeable
For those who already create unique titles for their posts, you know that it can be difficult to come up with one. And I hate to tell you this, but you really need 3 - 5 titles for each post.

What?!

Yes, you read that right. One title doesn't fit all - all your readers that is. When advertising your post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. you need to have different titles that would reach different audiences. So while the official title of your post should be optimized for the search engines, your advertising titles should be tailored to the readers.

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$25 Amazon Gift Card & More than Magic Swag Giveaway

More than Magic Swag Giveaway

Chat live with Urban Fantasy author Elizabeth Kirke  

Twitter TODAY at 11 AM EST

use hashtag: #SnowBound

 

After learning how to use magic and fighting vampires, anyone would be bored going back to normal college life. Worst of all, Jen misses the friends she made over the summer. Naturally, Jen is all too happy to accept an invitation to go skiing with the gang during winter break.

She gears up for two weeks of snow, magic, and fun. Just when everything seems to be going great, an uninvited guest turns up. Soon the skiers aren’t the only things going downhill. Jen thought that vampires were just about the most dangerous thing the magical world could throw at her. Unfortunately, she’s about to learn that people with no magic at all can be just as deadly...

Buy the Book at Amazon

Enter to win a More than Magic Swag Pack:

Signed paperback of Semester Abroad (More than Magic #1)

Limited Edition More than Magic Calendar (filled with exclusive trivia)

2 signed bookmarks

$25 Amazon Gift Card

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A GWR Publicity promotional event paid for by Anchor Group Publishing

Free Blogger Sign Up: Pulse Book Blast

Do your readers like amazing prizes?

Tell your readers about the new Young Adult Fantasy novel Pulse by HJ Daly

with a Book Blast March 21

Invite your readers to the Twitter Party with HJ Daly

on March 21

AND

Offer your readers a chance to win a Pulse Prize Pack

Pack Includes ($50 value):

signed copy (paperpack or ebook) of Pulse

Book Swag

$35 Amazon Gift Card

 Giveaway: March 21 - April 4

A GWR Publicity promotional event sponsored by Anchor Group Publishing and HJ Daly.

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Coral Russell: I'm a Scrawler

I'm a scrawler. I scrawl my way through a story because life is boring. Most of the things that happen to you are boring and thank goodness! Trust me you wouldn't want to live the life according to that Chinese curse - May you live in interesting times.

It isn't just one thing that sets off a story. At least for me it's a culmination of things. First, someone wanted me to contribute a short story to an anthology. I decided I wanted to write something with a detective in it but I didn't want a straight up detective story. Nothing more came to me so I had to turn that gig down. I also knew nothing about being a detective so I bought a book recommended for writers on how you can put enough spin on the details to make readers think you know something about detectives and police work. The book complained about television shows and how far off they are from the real thing so I tried to incorporate that in the story that eventually surfaced.

Second, something happened. I had a friend pass away and I realized that I knew something that no one else knew (that is if she hadn't told anyone else), and I would be taking a secret to the

grave with me. That was a big if and the secret was boring, ho-hum stuff. But what if it wasn't? What if it was a big secret that could have lasting consequences for a family and what if the person decided she didn't want to take the secret to the grave but seek revenge instead. See what I did there? Pretty nifty, huh!

Third, I do ongoing research. This story was a bit easier because the situation was on the news so there were a lot of stories floating around the newspapers and even in film through documentaries but also fictionalized movies based on gang violence and the drug cartels. It feels serendipitous when I'm stuck in a part of the story line and take a break and surf the Internet only to find the exact information I need to continue. I always trust when I have to walk away from the story knowing something will lead me back.

Fourth, I worked heavily on outlining my story this time. The others were shorter so I could pants it but this time I knew the story would be longer and I had several story lines to deal with so a plan would be a great idea. Developing a working outline is hard but worth the effort. Mine took the form of outlining in sentence form the major scenes and then bit by bit expanding on those until the story emerged. Now that doesn't mean there weren't significant changes! One minor male character became a major female character. That forced a rewrite in several parts but in the end it was the best thing for the story.

About the Author:

Coral Russell runs the blog Alchemy of Scrawl where she reviews Indie books/authors. "By the end of 2013, I will have read close to 300 Indie titles. I can vouch that the quality and diversity of Indie authors is worth investing in." On the blog you can find links to her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Google+ and email.

The Indie Exchange is a group of authors, readers, and book bloggers who post reviews, articles, and giveaways. Listen in Fridays to our radio show at http://blogtalkradio.com/alchemyofscrawl

Ms. Russell won the 2003 McCaleb Peace Initiative which produced the non-fiction articles Peace on the Peninsula. All profit from the sale of that eBook goes to rebuilding Joplin, MO.

Titles available: Amador Lockdown, Playing with Fire (Devil of a Ghost Tour and Key to a Haunting), Peace on the Peninsula, The DIY Guide to Social Media Marketing and eBook Publishing, and Twelve Worlds (profit goes to Reading is Fundamental).

 Twitter  *  Blog  *  Facebook  *  Goodreads

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Bloggers Wanted: Middle Grades Tour

Join the Tour for the much asked for second book in the Templar Chronicles

Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy by Jeff Gunhus

April 4 - 18

After barely surviving the onslaught of monsters that tried to kill him the day before his fourteenth birthday, Jack Templar leaves his hometown on a quest to discover the truth about his past. Joined by his friends Will and T-Rex, and led by Eva, the mysterious one-handed monster hunter, Jack sets out for the Monster Hunter Academy where he hopes to find answers to his questions. Little does he suspect that the Academy is filled with dangers of its own, many of them more terrifying than anything he’s faced so far. 

​

Jack Templar's adventure continues on April 1st, 2013

Learn more at http://www.jacktemplar.com/

Bloggers who post their review during the month of April will be entered into a $100 paypal cash drawing.

A GWR Publicity promotional event paid for by the author.

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Coming Soon: The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards

The Unchangeable Spot of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma

March 21 from Viking Adult

Preorder: Amazon

Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon. A small fee is earned when purchases are made through the above link.

Bloggers Wanted: YA Fantasy Tour

Celebrate the release of Book #3 of Stacey Rourke's young adult Gryphon Series: Sacrifice.

Book Blast & Tour

April 10 - 30

Celeste Garrett has finally found a happy balance in her life as the Chosen One, thanks in large part to a certain hunky Irishman. But if there’s any lesson she should heed since receiving her calling it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Soon a terrible new threat, unlike anything she’s ever encountered, causes her to make a gut-wrenching choice that will strip her of someone she holds dear.

As much as she’d like to have a pity party for one, there’s no time for that now because wedding bells are ringing in Gainesboro! In between dress fittings and rehearsal dinners Celeste will have to fend off attacking demons and leering pirates. As if the Dark Army wasn’t scary enough our heroine is faced with the horrifying trauma of attending a bachelorette party with her mom and watching Grams do Jello shots. Is a walk down the aisle even possible for a member of the Garrett family when the Dark Army is out to destroy them? More importantly, will the Dark Army Glee Club sing at the reception?

Raise your glass to the happy couple, and get ready for a wedding…Conduit-style.

Sign up NOW

A GWR Publicity event paid for by the author.

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Interview: Bradlee Frazer

Bradlee, tell us about yourself.

Well, here is the blurb from my publisher Diversion Books’ author bio page. It says it all pretty well:

“Bradlee Frazer is an author, speaker, blogger and Boise, Idaho native who loves the blues, Ray Bradbury short stories and his wife, daughter and dogs. He is also the lawyer who successfully registered the color blue as a trademark for the iconic artificial turf in Boise State University’s football stadium.

“Bradlee’s nonfiction has been published in national legal treatises on matters of Internet and intellectual property law, and he is a frequent speaker on those topics. His works of fiction include the short story “Occam’s Razor,” which was published in an online literary journal, and he has co-authored two screenplays, Dangerous Imagination and Spirit of the Lake. He has written scripts for sketch comedy, radio productions and short films, and in college Bradlee was a film critic who wrote and hosted a weekly half-hour television program called Premiere!. The Cure is his first novel.”

What is your new novel The Cure about?

To quote my tagline: “What if we had the cure for a catastrophic illness, but it lay hidden inside the blood and bones of just one man? Interweaving the styles of John Grisham and Michael Crichton, The Cure is a thriller that fuses genres while retaining its own unique voice to tell the story of Jason Kramer as he struggles with the knowledge that he is mankind’s last hope against an impending viral apocalypse.”

In short, there is a new viral pandemic spreading across the globe and no one can find the vaccine because the virus mutates too quickly. The protagonist, Jason Kramer, possesses a natural immunity that kills all strains of the bug, and when pharmaceutical magnate Phillip Porter realizes that Jason is the only source of the cure, he strives to make sure that Jason’s serum is not disseminated since Porter profits from selling supposed vaccines and other treatments for the new illness. The story thus focuses on the conflict between Jason and Phillip Porter while everyone is getting sick and dying around them. Jason obviously does not possess the tools to get the stuff out of his blood and into a vaccine, so he is somewhat helpless—as he describes it, a “genie in a bottle—all the power in the world, but no way to use it.”

What inspired you to write it?

When I was reading Stephen King’s novel The Stand, there was a line of dialogue in there between an Army researcher and one of the survivors of the “Captain Trips” superflu. The researcher says, in essence, “You killed it. You just killed it,” meaning that the character’s body had somehow killed the virus. I remember thinking, “Wow, how cool would that be to be immune to a plague.” But then I realized I wanted to know more about that aspect of the story: so he’s immune—then what? I wanted to explore the story more from the perspective of the man with the immunity and what that would mean to him and the rest of the world, many of whom are sick and dying. I give a nod to that source of inspiration by calling my fictional disease “Trip’s Lite.”

What advice would you give a struggling writer?

It sounds trite, but it is true: “good books aren’t written--they are rewritten.” Always be on the lookout for good advice from agents, authors, publishers and others who can offer accurate industry criticism of your work, and then try to integrate that advice on every rewrite.

Where do you see book publishing heading?

When this issue comes up, I always think about Napster and wonder what would have happened if the music industry had embraced digital distribution models and gotten into bed with Napster instead of trying to sue them into oblivion. If the mainstream music industry had done that, there would be no iTunes today—Sony and the others would ~be~ iTunes. Similarly, I think publishing must embrace digital distribution models. If the Big Six had learned from the Napster model, there would be no Amazon Kindle today—the Big Six would ~be~ the Amazon e-book model and would have introduced the first e-reader. I do not yet see the death of print, certainly, but I do see continuing growth in e-books and digital distribution of content. This is one of the main reasons I signed with Diversion Books, because of the foresight they demonstrated in offering a traditional publishing model (no fees to publish) combined with digital distribution, which inherently means that everyone in the world with Internet access can immediately get a copy of your book. That is a very powerful truth, one that Diversion has, and all publishers should, embrace. 

Goodreads  *  Publisher  *  Email 

Buy the Book! Amazon  *  B&N  *  iTunes  *  Kobo

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Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links. The views, beliefs, and opinions expressed by contributing authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, beliefs, or opinions of Girl Who Reads.

Nate Rocks the School Twitter Party with Karen Pokras Toz

Nate Rocks is at it again...

The highly anticipated third installment of the Nate Rocks series is here! 

According to Nathan Rockledge, fifth grade has plenty of perks. Oh sure, there’s more work and that know-it-all, Lisa Crane, is still around – but, there’s a lot to look forward to as well: a laser tag birthday party, baseball at recess, and even a cool Halloween dance. Of course, all of that means nothing without the biggest perk of all . . . the class trip to New York City in the spring. If Nathan’s class can raise enough money to go, that is.

Give Nathan paper and a pencil and watch as his imagination turns him into Nate Rocks, hero and fifth grade super star. With adventures abound, Nate saves the day time and again. But will Nate be able to save the fifth grade trip?

Join Nathan, his hilarious family, and his friends, as he rocks the school in another fun Nate Rocks adventure.

Pick up your copy at Amazon and B&N!

Chat with Karen Pokras Toz today at 10:30 am  EST and then follow the Nate Rocks the School Tour for appearances by the author and characters, reviews, and swag pack giveaways!

  
Grand Prize Giveaway

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A GWR Publicity Event. Sponsored by Karen Pokras Toz.

Blog Tour: Nate Rocks the School

March 4 Blog Blitz & Twitter Party - 10:30 am #NateRocks

March 5 Publish Savvy The Marketing Game

March 6 Nate tells you why 5th grade ROCKS at Millie Says 

March 7 Alicia shares her and her daughter's love of Nate Rocks at Marietta Homeschooling Zoo

March 8 Fresh Pot of Tea Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway

March 9 Kid Lit Reviews Excerpt

March 10 KidsnBooks Review, Character Guest Post, & Giveaway

March 11 Dag-Lit Central - The Birth of a Character

March 12 Book Lovers Paradise Review and Character Guest Post

March 13 Karen talks about the 5th Grader in her head at Library Girl Reads & Reviews 

March 14 Living, Learning, and Loving Life Review

March 15 Yours and Mine ARE Ours Character Guest Post and Review & Giveaway 

March 16 Recent Reads Review & Character Guest Post

March 17 Mom Loves 2 Read Review, Character Guest Post, & Giveaway

March 18 Ali's Bookshelf Day in the Life of Karen Pokras Toz & Giveaway

March 19 Lisa Bilbrey A family's Review

March 20 Fairday's Blog! Review

March 21 Lissette E. Manning Review and Author Guest Post

March 22
The Children's and Teens' Book Connection  Review, Character Guest Post, & Giveaway


March 23  
My Devotional Thoughts Character Guest Post & Giveaway
Mom Does Reviews Review, Character Interview, & Giveaway

March 24
Diary of a Semi-Crazy Author Review
Lindsey & Jane Views & Reviews  Character Interview & Review

Grand Prize Giveaway!

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