Thursday Travels

Dementor wasps sound like fun, don't they?

They are part of the 139 new species that were discovered in the Greater Mekong Region in 2014. That's a lot of new species, especially when a mammal is among them.

Another species is a Crocodile newt, which sounds adorable.

Here's an article about the new species:

'Dementor' wasp, giant stick insect among new Mekong finds.

The bat picture they use as the main image is cute as well. It smiles with it's pointy teeth and says "I'm ready for my close up."

I love hearing about new animals being discovered. Some are extremely cute, others are so poisonous you get sick reading about it.

What's even better is that these aren't from someone's imagination, they're real, and they're here.

I've been trying to create some creatures for my fantasy adventure novels, and there are some, in the heat of a scene, that come out as the most ridiculous things I've ever thought of. I need to plan better sometimes. Or maybe I should take a trip to Mekong and discover a new species for myself. (Only joking. Though it would be fun to discover a new species).

Tuesday Tech

Goodness! I almost titled today "Monday Musings." As you can see, the weekend swallowed me alive, only to spit me out at work, wondering what day it is.

Here are two articles for today:

Something fun: "Iron Man" Phone by Samsung

Something professional: 15 Body Language Secrets of Successful People


I just got a new phone, but it's no where near as snazzy as the Iron Man phone (the one in the movies or the one Samsung is releasing). I did try to find some cool cases that cover part of the front, making the shell and the empty space on the front look seamless, but alas, I'm just not that cool.

The second article is pretty interesting. I know I have a slouching problem (something that is considered disrespectful), a lot of people my age do. For me, I don't mind when people slouch because I do and it never means I'm not interested or engaged, that's just how I sit. It's when people lean back in their chair and put their feet on the table do I cringe (in a meeting that is).

The second article would be good for writers, and artists, since body language is a good way to tell the characters attitude or interest in a situation without having to spell it out for people.

Tuesday Tech

One of the big stories of the day, according to the numerous articles I saw about it, is that Verizon is acquiring AOL.

But, that's not what I'm talking about. Yesterday, I kind of switched things up, posting about younger people working on their dreams and how they inspire others.

I should re-label today as "Muesday" and yesterday as "Tonday" so I can keep my alliterations.

Anyway, today it's all about being productive. Writers, like anyone else who is working on anything, have moments (you know days, weeks, years) where it's hard to be productive. It could be a marvelous Spring day outside, but you're wired to your desk, or you could be excited about an upcoming trip and all you can think about is what to pack. It could even just be a "I don't feel like doing this" kind of day. Thing is, you've gotta do the work. It's needed if you want to succeed.

In comes the article: Naturally successful people do these 5 things at work every day.

The one I want to bring to your attention is item three, "They focus for 45, then break for 15."

I've never tried taking breaks this frequently as I've always been the kind of person who "takes a break when I need it." And I know when I need it. Otherwise, frequent breaks cause me to lose focus because my mind thinks we were done with task A.

However, this is worth a shot. As the article talks about, a teacher moved to Finland to teach and discovered the 45 minutes of instruction followed by 15 minutes of freedom kept the students energized. Energy is definitely something I could use.

Yesterday I was successful in moving towards a second completed MS, so, I'm going to try the frequent breaks today. Perhaps I'll be able to figure out some of the issues with the MS as I move forward.

Who knows, maybe this will help a lot of people succeed in their work.

Monday Muses

Going through my normal weekday morning ritual, I read some articles while eating my granola bar breakfast, and I found a very interesting pattern in the articles I was drawn to, they were all about young 20-somethings who jump-started their career or found their passion.

24 was the repeated age in most of the articles I was reading. 24 when I realized I was comparing myself to everyone else who had amazing careers or were earning their degrees. 24 when I found my passion to start my business. Even a recommendation to live cheaply in your 20s.

But the article I really enjoyed was: Meet the 13-year-old CEO who built a $200,000 business and is mentored by Daymond John.

I do enjoy Shark Tank (both the show and the blog) and remember when the boy came in to get a deal for his business. It was a wonderful sight to see that Daymond John offered to be his mentor - something extremely invaluable.

Many of the articles I read this morning, and people who enter "the tank," seem to touch on the fact that many people are still looking for guidance. We spend out entire childhood having people tell us what to do and when it's our turn to do what we want, we freeze.

So, take some inspiration from this young CEO (in the article, not me) and do something towards reaching your dream (or at least one of them) today. Even if it's only fifteen minutes, you'll be that much closer to realizing a dream, and you'll be better for it.

Me? I'm hitting the books - both the ones I've written and the ones that help writers improve.

Tuesday Tech

Despite there being loads of things happening in the world - which is usually the case - I actually struggled with finding an article for today.

So, in honor of the people who will be graduating college this weekend and next I thought I would share Business Insider's story: 13 Qualities Google looks for in job candidates.

The best one of the attributes, based on the name given, is "Google wants Googleyness." The article goes into what exactly "Googleyness" is, a summation of a bunch of different qualities, and I love that they made up their own word.

One of the qualities I appreciate, as I believe not many companies do (from my experience), is "role-related knowledge." Role-related knowledge is that you have the background and the aptitude to do your job, even if it means you need to teach yourself a few things. A lot of the jobs I have interviewed for seem to expect you to come in knowing everything. But studies show, people don't stay in those jobs long. People like challenge, be it small or overwhelming. Yet, it almost seems companies expect you not only to have the qualifications, but be able to come in knowing how to do most, if not everything, listed in the job duties.

One key thing from this article is that Google wants people to have the willingness to learn. They want you to be smart enough to know that you don't know everything, you could be wrong, and have the willingness to learn (because it's ok to make mistakes!)

That's the short and sweet of it. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Tuesday Tech

Rejoice authors, writers, and readers!

HarperCollins and Amazon have finally reached a deal. (Link goes out to Business Insider).

That means HarperCollins books will still be available on Amazon. Great news for readers who love their Kindle (or Kindle App in my case), and for writers/authors because any additional channel to reach readers is a good one, especially when they are big like Amazon.

I guess this could be good news for investors, but the financial people can talk about that.

Besides Barnes & Noble, and the occasional book from my local grocery store, I buy most of my books from Amazon. It is also one of the top places I learn about new books, besides the lovely agents and authors I follow over on Twitter.

I can't imagine how many amazing books might not reach people if this deal didn't go through. One of my good friends reads only on her Kindle (and books from the library), so imagine all the others who would miss out.

Yes, if I knew of a book I really wanted to read, I would go to other stores/libraries to get it, but I also wonder how many books I would pass on because I just don't have the time for other stores (so sad, but true).

Anyway, cheers! Anything that benefits writers and readers, the better.

Tuesday Tech

For the video game lovers, both hardcore and casual, I saw a big announcement that broke today in Japan:

Nintendo is going to be making smartphone games!

This means characters like Mario, Bowser, Link, Zelda, and Samus could be coming to smartphones (like I didn't already have a problem with my battery).

Nintendo is partnering with DeNA, a mobile gaming company, to make this possible. What I really liked is that DeNA uses a "freenium" model. That means it's free to play, but to get enhancements like extra lives or power-ups, you have to pay.

This article (I've seen two so far) mentions a fear that Nintendo might steer into the "pay for power-ups" model for their console games. I personally don't see why they would bother. Their model works now (especially with this amiibo craze).

Now someone is going to need to invent an indestructible phone or padding for people. Have you seen photos of what happened to people's handheld consoles when Super Smash Bros came out? Phones won't be able to handle the fury.

Monday Musings

When the going gets tough, the tough get Mad Men.

Now, I have never actually watched Mad Men, but I know it's popular. Many places I turn talk about or reference the show, proving just how big it is in pop culture.

Why the post though?

Well, this morning I read an article on Business Insider saying "Every studio passed on 'Mad Men' at first; here's the epic story of how it finally got on air." It's a long article, but it details not just the process of getting a network to pick up the series, but how agents and actors/writers parted ways because of negative opinions.

In an industry full of form rejections, it's nice not to just read about best sellers that had stacks of rejections, but hearing that novel writers are not alone in the mine field of rejections is refreshing.

I am in the midst of rejections, and I am sure that I will be seeing many more in my future. But, if I give up now, not only will I disappoint myself and my characters, but (yes, you need to be a little cocky to say this) I'll disappoint the world.

A key take away from the article? Persistence. It's important to not to give up on something, but sometimes that something needs a break. The timing may not be right. As many novelists have hears, Dystopian and Paranormal Romances are tough sells right now. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't write that Dystopian Paranormal Romance. Who knows, you might be the exception to the saturated market.

For those who are not familiar with the publishing industry, Dystopian and Paranormal Romances may be hot now (or dying down in my opinion), but publishers are looking about two years into the future. Two years from now, we may read one or two dystopians, but not many. We'll be crazy over Sci-fi cozies or something.

Well, that's my shiny penny on the topic.

Remember, shoulders square, chin up, and get your work done!