Just For Kicks: Hair

Just For Kicks is a weekly meme held by me, The Authoress, that lets us share whatever random thing we want--whether it's book related or not is up to you.

In My Mailbox (66)

Blue Fire by Janice Hardy

Part fugitive, part hero, fifteen-year-old Nya is barely staying ahead of the Duke of Baseer’s trackers. Wanted for a crime she didn’t mean to commit, she risks capture to protect every Taker she can find, determined to prevent the Duke from using them in his fiendish experiments. But resolve isn’t enough to protect any of them, and Nya soon realizes that the only way to keep them all out of the Duke’s clutches is to flee Geveg. Unfortunately, the Duke’s best tracker has other ideas.  

Nya finds herself trapped in the last place she ever wanted to be, forced to trust the last people she ever thought she could. More is at stake than just the people of Geveg, and the closer she gets to uncovering the Duke’s plan, the more she discovers how critical she is to his victory. To save Geveg, she just might have to save Baseer—if she doesn’t destroy it first.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa tol him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth.

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem - when the Voice took over he mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for and evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery - although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely - enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

What should you cover in a review?

I briefly touched on this in my last article, How Do Review Styles Affect Site Traffic?  We all know that your review style is important, but what should actually go into a review?  Should you just provide a link to Amazon and let readers find out for themselves how many pages there are, who published it, when it was published, and other books the author wrote?

What about storyline?  What about summary?  Should you write your own, or copy and paste the one given by the publisher?  What about spoilers?  What about grading systems?

When I first started blogging almost two years ago, figuring out how to frame my review was tough--figuring out what went in the frame was tougher.

Just For Kicks: Graphic-ing

Just For Kicks is a weekly meme held by me, The Authoress, that lets us share whatever random thing we want--whether it's book related or not is up to you.

In My Mailbox (65)

Blog Coding 101: Intro to Template Designer

Template Designer is a great way to easily customize the colors, fonts, and layout of your blog.

Blog Coding 101: Backgrounds

Backgrounds might be a bit trickier than just grabbing a code and sticking it in your gadgets.

But say you're new to the Blogger system and want to get yourself a nifty background that Blogger may not offer.  First, find a site that provides free backgrounds for blogger.  Here are a few I use:

• Hot Bliggity Blog
• The Cutest Blog on the Block
• Shabby Blogs
• Dotty Dot Dot
• Blogaholic Designs

All of these sites provides a free code that will put that particular background on your blog.

Blog Coding 101: Blockquotes

Now here's something fun.  "Blockquotes" is a short code that automatically formats what you put in quotations by using that quote (") button in the editing bar when you're creating a post.  You can get really creative with blockquotes, even getting them to match your blog theme.

Graphic Requests

In need of something new?  Or are you just starting out and need some spiffy graphics?  Then send me an email: amelia.theauthoress(at)gmail(dot)com.

Note:  I do not charge for my graphics.  My services are free.