#Pages journal countdown—- February posts

[kentnaturaltribrid]

Speaking of holidays & well next week for sure, here’s a Countdown page present for the February Season, which happens to be ending on the Winter ❄️, so for now Goodbye winter ; Hello, Fall 2025 when it makes its way through to the top especially in about 15 weeks time that is! Well also as well as the Rest of the season making it’s way through with more than enough to make up for the rest of the Winters and that means lots more time for the Fall season dropping into many more weeks of Pumpkins 🎃 & Other events as well! That being said, Good afternoon & Have fun for the rest of the Sunday!

[lovemesomesurveys]

Is your nose stuffed up at the moment? Nope.

Do you like apples? Not especially. I couldn’t even tell you the last time I had one.

Do you ever read the newspaper? No. I read my news online for the most part and catch some on TV.

Is anyone in your house sick? No.

Someday do you ever want to go and see the Egyptian pyramids? Damn, it’s almost a 16 hour flight to Egypt from California.

Have you ever seen the Statue of Liberty? No. I’ve never even been to New York.

When’s the last time you got your hair cut? Back in February.

When’s the last time you rode a bike? Never.

Spring or summer? Spring out of the two, but meh. It means summer is next and that I don’t like.

Do you like to go sledding in the winter? I’ve never done it.

Do any of your friends’ boyfriend/girlfriends annoy you? I don’t have friends.

What time is it? 5:24AM.

Will you be calling someone tomorrow? No.

Have you smiled today? Yeah.

Do you wish you could start over with anyone? Sometimes.

Do you like Kid Cudi? I liked Day ‘n’ Nite. Whatever happened to him?

Or, who is your favorite rapper? Some that I listen to are Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj,  Drake, Post Malone, Travis Scott, DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, Bryson Tiller, Tory Lanez...

Have you ever created a survey? Once, a longggg time ago. Like, during the Xanga days sometime. 

Where were you today? I’m at home and that’s where I’ll stay. 

When was the last time you had to give bad news? I’m usually the one receiving the bad news.

Were you sad today? Sad is one of my personality traits.

Do you take any foreign language classes? I’m not in school anymore, but I did in high school and one semester in college.

When’s the last time you received bad news? My doctor wanting me to do ridiculous xrays that aren’t necessary and then throwing in the possibility of doing a spinal cord stimulator and I’m like yeah, absolutely not.

Are your parents together or divorced? They’re still together.

Is there one person you look at and automatically smile? My doggo.

Who are you texting? No one.

What are you doing later on? My Bible study.

Do you wish anyone in particular was still in your life? Yeah, a few people.

Who was the last person you were on the phone with? My mom.

What makes you happy? My doggo, trips to the beach, Disneyland, binging a show with my mom, that first sip of coffee, when it rains, fall, the holidays.

Ever liked someone older than you? Only by a couple years.

Which did you discover first, myspace or Facebook? Myspace. I’m old.

Have you kissed a: A, B, C, D, E, G, K, U, Q, V, T ? D and G. 

What was the last thing you ate and why? Ramen. I like having my nightly bowl of ramen, it’s my thing.

What was the last thing you drank and why? Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink cause I like ‘em.

How many tabs do you have open and what are they? 10: 2 are Tumblr related (1 is my dash and the other is my likes), YouTube, Pinterest, 2 LiveJournal survey blogs, Facebook, a Christian radio website page relating to something my church is doing, a website with different prayers and scriptures related to them, and Spotify. 

What browser do you prefer to use? I only use Chrome.

What’re five random things on your desk besides any computer-related items? I don’t have a desk.

What room are you in right now? Mine.

What color are the walls and floor in that room? White walls, tan carpet.

What’re the items closest to you that’re red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, gray, brown, black, silver and gold? Red: Red and black plaid throw pillow. Orange: Orange highlighter.  Yellow: Yellow highlighter. Green: Baby Yoda plushie. Blue: Mist fan. Purple: There’s some purple on one of my pillows. Pink: Bottle of Pepto Bismol. White: There’s white on my Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink can. Grey: My remote.  Brown: My Baby Yoda plushie is wearing brown. Black: Laptop keyboard. Silver: My laptop. Gold: A gold garland strand across my dresser from last Christmas. :X

Out of all the things you listed above, which is your favorite? Baby Yoda plushie! 

What kind of chair are you sitting in? I’m sitting on my bed.

Where would you prefer to be right now? I want to be right here.

Do you have any plans this weekend? No.

Are you excited for anything this month? This month is just about over, so I’m hoping it starts to cool down soon.

What’s the date today? It’s September 28th.

Is there anything special about today? No.

How’re you physically feeling right now? Tired and my stomach is messing with me.

How’re you emotionally feeling right now? Blah.

Have you ever traveled outside of your home country? I’ve been to Mexico once.

Can you speak, read and/or write in another language besides English? Some Spanish.

What language course did you take in school, if any? Four years of Spanish in high school and one semester in college.

What language would you most like to learn? I’d like to be fluent in Spanish.

What grade are you in right now? I’m done with school.

What would you like to get a degree in? I have my BA in psych.

What was you dream job when you were a little kid? I wanted to be a teacher.

What happened to that dream? I decided it wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore when I got older. I didn’t feel cut out to teach.

Speaking of dreams, when was the last time you had a sleeping dream and what was it about? I always have the most random, weirdest dreams.

Do you have more nightmares or good dreams? Mostly just random and weird.

Do you wake up a lot in the middle of the night? I’m always up all night, so no.

Can you sleep comfortably in another bed besides your own? I can sleep fine in hotel beds. Those are the only other beds I sleep in.

What book are you reading, what genre is it and do you like it so far? “Say You Love Me” by Willow Rose. It’s a murder-mystery and thriller. It’s the 4th book in a series and I’ve really enjoyed them all so far. They’ve all had a really crazy twist I didn’t see coming.

Are you a shorts wearing kind of person? Nope. I never wear shorts.

Is your grandparents’ house obsessively tidy? Yeah.

About how much can you bench press? I can’t at all.

Do you get embarrassed easily? Yes.

Is dinner done yet? It’s 7 in the morning.

Have you ever had your phone die on you in the middle of a conversation? I’m sure it’s happened before.

Is anybody in your family a carpenter? No.

Are you avoiding someone? You could say that.

How social are you? I don’t have a social life at all anymore. 

What’s your favorite primary color? Yellow. 

What were you for Halloween? I stopped dressing up a few years ago.

Do you like hot chocolate? Yeah.

What do you have pierced? Just my earlobes.

What’s your favorite type of tea? Mint or chamomile. 

Do you have any clothes from Walmart? I have a couple shirts.

Are you hungry? Kind of, but my stomach is feeling a little meh.

When did you get a Facebook? Back in 2008.

What color are your eyes? Brown.

How’re you feeling? Tired and blah.

What motivates you? I haven’t felt motivated in a long time...

Can you walk in heels? No.

When was the last time someone asked you your age? I get asked often in surveys.

Why are you taking this survey? I want to.

Do you ever sing in the shower? Yeah.

Do you keep a journal? This is my journal. I share a lot in these surveys.

When is your favorite time of day? When I have my first cup of coffee and the late and early hours when I do my usual routine of surveys and ASMR videos.

How often do you get headaches? Often. 

Have you ever tried a weird flavor of vodka? I had caramel vodka before. I don’t think that’s weird, though.

Do you wear a ring on your finger? Nope.

What are you doing? Besides the obvious, I’m listening to an ASMR video.

What’s the last kind of soup you ate? Ramen.

Do you currently have a sunburn? No. I wasn’t able to have my beach trips this year, which is the only time I spend a significant amount of time outdoors. I’ve hardly been out of the house at all since March.

Could you eat nothing but grilled cheese for a week straight? No.

Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced? Nah.

Who did you last text? My mom.

Who’d you last call? About what? My mom to ask her something.

Are you currently frustrated with someone? No one but myself.

Have you graduated from high school? Yeah, back in 2008...

Did you receive a good morning text today? I don’t receive those.

Will you be having sex tonight? No.

Do you drink hard liquor? No, I don’t drink anymore.

Have you met anyone new yet today? No. I highly doubt I will.

Do you drink water or soda more often? Water.

Do you straighten your hair? No.

When did you last talk to your brother or sister? Last night.

If you have younger siblings, how old were you when your siblings were born? I was 9 when my brother was born.

Do you watch the Big Bang Theory? No, I never could get into it.

Would you ever pick up gum from the ground and eat it? What in the actual.... NO. Ew, who the hell would do that???

Have you ever gotten stitches? Yeah, several times.

Do you pluck your eyebrows? Yeah.

Think back to the last thing you drank. Did you drink it using a straw? Yeah, I always use a straw.

Do you ever listen to country music? Sometimes.

This time last year were you happier then or now? Neither then or now.

Does your bathroom have a theme to it? No.

From inside of your house, how many doors lead outside? Two.

Do you sometimes use your music player to help you fall asleep? No.

What’s your favorite music video at the moment? I don’t watch music videos anymore. I miss the TRL days, I always looked forward to the top countdown and new video releases.

Can you play the violin? No. I took violin in 4th grade, but I just didn’t enjoy it. Me and the violin didn’t vibe like the piano and I did. I stuck it out for the year and then I was done.

Is the sun shining? Yeah.

Where did you go today? Nowhere.

Have you ever taken a survey while under the influence of drugs or alcohol? Yeah.

Where will you be in an hour? Right here in bed.

Is anyone irritating you? No.

Did you wake up in the middle of the night last night? I haven’t gone to bed, yet. 

The last time you burned your tongue or mouth, what were you eating? Probably ramen.

Have your parents ever threatened to throw your things away because your room was messy? No.

Is there any one food you constantly find yourself craving? Boneless wings from Wingstop.

What’s the longest time you’ve ever spent in front of the computer doing surveys? Well, my nightly routine consists of doing surveys. It’s usually between the hours of like 3AM to 7AM. Some of that time is also spent scrolling through my dash, but for the most part it’s doing surveys.

Name someone with big eyes. *shrug*

Do you like the humidity? Nooo.

Who will you hang out with next? My family.

Is your shirt pink? No.

What’s something fuzzy near you? Giraffe stuffed animal.

Are you going to do more surveys? Maybe. I should be going to bed, though...

Who is the most complicated person in your life right now? Me.

Are there a lot of trees in your yard? No, just one.

Did the last type of shoes you wore have laces? Yeah. 

How much money do you have on you right now? Some.

Are you CPR certified? No.

What genre is your favorite movie? I have several favorite movies that fall under the horror, psychological thriller, drama, romantic comedy, comedy, fantasy, and sci-fi genres. 

Are you texting anybody right now? No.

Who was the last person you were in a car with? My mom.

Do you like the picture on your license/I.D. card? No.

What’s your favorite thing to snack on while watching a movie? If I go to the theater then I gotta have popcorn.

When was the last time somebody hit on you? It’s been years.

Was the last person you met a male or female? Female.

Which one of your friends do you feel most comfortable around?

Do you own a map of the world? No.

What brand is your underwear? They’re from JCP.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? Mashed potatoes and gravy and the stuffing.

Is the light on in the room you’re in? Nope.

Who did you last spoon with? I haven’t spooned with anyone.

Are you currently watching TV? It’s on, but I’m not watching it at the moment cause I’m watching/listening to an ASMR video.

Have you ever had surgery ? I’ve had several.

Do you own any clothing that has animal print? No.

Does your family eat dinner together? Sometimes.

Where do you work? I don’t.

Are you in high school? No. I’ve been out of high school for well over a decade now.

Do you have a TV in your room? Yep.

Are any of your electronics charging right now? My phone, laptop, and Nintendo Switch.

What was the last video game you played? Animal Crossings: New Horizons.

[digital-strategy]

On March 26, 2018, millions of people celebrated an ad. HQ trivia, the viral app, had partnered with Nike to give away $100,000 along with 100 pairs of special edition Air Max sneakers to the game’s winners. That deal was HQ’s first sponsorship, proving to players and brands that it could run ads and still attract an audience. In fact, at its peak, 1.7 million people watched that game concurrently.

It’s been just over a year since HQ’s first big splash into advertising, and the company has been able to secure more sponsors and larger ad deals, but the process hasn’t been easy. HQ, best known for its game HQ trivia, has struggled from a myriad of issues: The app has faced declining viewership and downloads; co-founder Colin Kroll died from a drug overdose in December; the face of the brand, Scott Rogowsky, departed under bad terms this month; and employees have revolted over co-founder and interim CEO Rus Yusupov’s leadership.

Amid all of that turmoil, HQ continues to build a multimillion-dollar ad business. HQ has pulled in $15 million in revenue since the company’s inception, The Wall Street Journal reported in February. Though, HQ Trivia makes money from in-app purchases and merchandise — HQ, quite aggressively, markets buying extra lives in-app ($3.99 for one, $9.99 for three and $15.99 for five) and sells mugs online for $18.95 each — the vast majority of HQ’s revenue comes from advertising, sources familiar with the figures told Digiday.

Last September, Kroll told Digiday the company had made $10 million since it launched its first sponsored games in March 2018. The game sponsors, at the time, included Warner Bros., Nike and Target. Some of those partners, like Nike, were one-time deals. Others, like Warner Bros., have been longer partnerships. In 2019, HQ added more advertisers including Amazon’s Audible, CBS All Access and Wendy’s.

HQ’s sponsorships have varied in size and scope. GM, for example, was HQ trivia’s exclusive auto sponsor in the first quarter of 2019 under their deal, which was worth at least $1 million, Variety reported. GM, as is the case for other HQ advertisers Digiday has spoken with, said they were satisfied with the ad spot.

“HQ Trivia was one of several media partners Chevrolet engaged in the initial launch of our all-new 2019 Silverado. Our Q1 auto-exclusive partnership included an in-game promotion, social extensions, contextual mobile creative and culminated in a giveaway of a Silverado. While we don’t share specific business performance metrics, we’re very pleased with our partnership with HQ Trivia,” a Chevrolet spokesperson emailed.

HQ did not respond to a request for comment.

To sell sponsorships, HQ’s team touts the game’s concurrent viewership. HQ hasn’t been able to reach the same heights it had in 2018 — the game peaked with 2.4 million concurrent viewers last March during a game with a $250,000 jackpot — but it still attracts hundreds of thousands per game. For example, HQ’s “The Twilight Zone” game had about 478,000 viewers at question one, according to a recording of the game. HQ’s team compares that to current viewership on Facebook’s knockoff trivia games and Twitter’s live shows, which have concurrent viewers in the tens of thousands compared to hundreds of thousands on HQ, sources familiar with the discussions told Digiday.

Yet it’s questionable how much more HQ can grow. HQ dropped out of the top 1,500 iOS app last month, TechCrunch reported, citing App Annie data. Sensor Tower data, obtained by TechCrunch, showed that HQ had 8% as many downloads in March 2019 compared to March 2018. The company has been testing more themed shows and a “season” concept, where players earn levels for correct questions to save them if they get a question wrong, to inspire more gameplay. HQ also is testing new game formats, a fan page recently leaked.

HQ’s ad business has been fairly narrow and catered. Unlike with traditional TV, HQ trivia doesn’t run ads before, during or after every show. The ad formats range from short interstitials to full show sponsorships. For example, Warner Bros. advertised its new movie “Shazam!” in March with 10-second vertical video ads during the live countdown to the game. CBS All Access advertised “The Twilight Zone” with a 10-second vertical video ad during the countdown, along with a themed episode around the new TV series.

When it comes to pricing, the deals have varied. In March 2018, Warner Bros. invested $3 million to promote three movies, Ad Age reported. Those movies were “Ready Player One,” “Rampage” and “Ocean’s 8.” But the studio has advertised more than the scope of that initial deal. In February, HQ’s team traveled to Sydney for a sponsored game around “Lego Movie 2,” Variety reported. Over the last month, HQ has advertised “Shazam!”

Some of HQ’s brand integrations are not paid but rather done as marketing opportunities. HQ integrated Google Assistant into the game last year during the holidays. But a source familiar with the matter said it was “co-marketing” and no money changed hands.

Not all past advertisers have returned to HQ. Last May, NBC paid for an HQ takeover of “The Voice,” which included partially funding the $50,000 jackpot and paying for a trip for one of the game’s winners to the show’s finale. But NBC hasn’t worked on a campaign in the app since. The company did, however, let HQ use its house during this year’s South by Southwest to host a live game. An NBC spokesperson said NBC did not pay for the $10,000 prize.

The post Inside HQ’s attempt to grow its ad business appeared first on Digiday.

via Digiday

[heidiwong323-blog]

Personal reflection on the workshop 

  My essay topic in last assignment of event Management was ‘Are Olympics Venues and the infrastructure wise investment’. At the very first beginning, I did not choose Olympics as my essay topic. I was about to write the contemporary issues in ‘Peak to Fong’ such as dog fighting, crowd control or dogs mess up the public area. This event was held annually and it was a charity walk from the Peak in Hong Kong to Lan Kwai Fong, Central for dog owners who can bring along their dogs. The aim for this event was about fund raising for the Hong Kong Dogs Rescue to support its administration fee and medical cost for the stray dogs in Hong Kong. As a 200% dog lover like me, this topic was definitely making me feel interested to write. However, I could not find much information about the contemporary issues in this event from the academic journals nor the newspapers for supporting my essay after two weeks of research. Therefore, I switched to another topic ‘The risk management of the countdown in Lan Kwai Fong’. My initial thinking was how to implement the crowd control during the countdown. On January 1, 1993, a tragedy was happened there and caused 20 people were killed due to the stampede. However, not much information I could find about this once again, only the information from the newspaper was not enough to support my essay. Besides, one of my classmates also wrote about the crowd management in the religious event. In order not to duplicate and avoid the conflict, I switched to a new topic again. Finally, I found my essay topic ‘Olympics’ which made me feel interested when I had a discussion with my colleagues.

  I started to have research in the website ‘Google Scholar’ by typing ‘Olympics’. Thousands of articles showed up and be honest it was totally a disaster to read each by each within a tough schedule. So I narrowed down the searching area by typing some keywords such as ‘cost, Olympics, white elephant stadium’. Then the searching area was much more centralized and concentrated. However, another issue raised up again, we did not have much authority to get access to the academic journal unless you have membership of the designated website. Most of the academic journals need us to pay in order to read. Therefore I needed to search my interested journal in ‘Google’ and hopefully there were some PDF file were uploaded there and free of charge to read. Luckily I found some free journals for my research. As I mentioned, I kept changing my topics for a few times and actually I had already wasted few weeks to do the research. I was almost hitting the deadline but I could not even write a few words about my essay. I was completely stressed out at the time due to my anxiety. Fortunately, my course lecturer gave me a lot of valuable opinions and guidelines to help me for brainstorming to write this essay. Otherwise it was a tough task for me to complete the last assignment. 

  As a part time student, it is hard for us to go to work in the morning and go to class for hours after work twice a week. We need to accomplish two assignments per module plus examinations within limited of time due to the condensed course. Besides, English is not our first language, we were having lots of difficulties to read the academic journal. However, I admit that the academic journals are really good piece of work to give us an in-depth thinking of each issue. I had really learnt a lot from it for how to write a good essay. Although the process of last assignment was really exhausted, I felt satisfactory from this experience after finished it.

    How to implement the risk management in the Hong Kong Pet Show?

  After hearing from Asker, his presentation about the theft in Hong Kong Jewellery Show inspired me to write about the risk management in Hong Kong Pet Show as well. Should we apply risk management and how to implement in Hong Kong Pet Show?

  Hong Kong Pet Show is held every year in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It usually takes 3-4 days every year. This Pet show welcomes the pet owners to bring along their pets, the pets attend this show are mainly dogs. This show is the best venue for the pet lovers to join together to have news update, social around and share the experience. In last show in February 2017, the attendees were nearly 440k, around 400 booths in Hall 3 (approximate 140k square fee). The pet show provides variety of different brands of pet food and pet appliances to choose, a competition of Dog Olympic and the pet adoption corner. As this event is getting bigger per year, it raises the safety issues when participating into this event. From Facebook, we can often see the comments about this event such as dog fighting and caused injuries. According to Reid and Ritchie, large event can draw big portion of people to gather in a defined venue and potential impact may be arisen. Therefore, the event organizers need to be cautious and responsible to ensure the safety of all the attendees and be capable to deal with the risk during the event. Risk management planning is definitely can help the event organizers to conduct the events in the most safety way and minimize the risk. Silvers also mentioned that ‘risk management is the purposeful recognition of and reaction to uncertainties with the explicit objective to minimize liabilities and maximize opportunities.’

  The risk management process can be divided into 5 core steps. First step is the identification of risk, second is analysis of risk, third is evaluation and ranking the risk, fourth is your respond to the risk, the last but not the least is keep tracking and review of the risk.

  First step, the event organizer must identify the potential risk maybe occur during the event and list down.

  1.         Animals are out of control

2.         Dogs are easily to get loose

3.         Animals easily to get sick as too centralized in one concentrated area

4.         Human easily to get hurt because of animals’ bite

5.         Animals mess up the area as pee and poo around

6.         Crowd control

7.         Dogs fighting

8.         Accessibility and convenience for animals to the venue

  Second step, we start to analyse the consequence of the above identified risk which may affect the objectives of hosting this event.

  Third step, we need to evaluate and set priority of the risks which may possible occur.

  Fourth step, we need to know how to respond to the risks, it means we need to minimize the risks to the lowest level. Take for example, we can ask the pet owner to show a vaccination card of his pet which is valid within 3 months to prove the pet do not carry any spreading disease. Ask the owner to wear a mask for its dogs to avoid biting humans or other dogs. Request the dog owner to have a leash on his dog in order to avoid get lost and easier to control when accident happen. The owner has to responsible to clean up the dogs when it fouls.

  Last but not the least is to review the risk and keep monitoring according to the list. This list helps to remind you how to minimize unexpected risk and immediate correspondence can be taken. It also can helps you to have a better planning for next dogs show. The end result for that can be a happy, successful and smooth event if the organizer can follow the above steps.

    Cheung Chau local residents should have privilege to the ferry during the Bun festival

  After reading a journal about the motivations that make a visitor to go to the tourist destination, it inspires me to write about the impact to the local residents due to Bun Festival, also known as Tai Ping Ching Chiu Festival in Cheung Chau. 

  Cheung Chau is one of the outlying island at the southwest side of Hong Kong. This island is around 2.45 square kilometers and it has the highest number of population among other islands such as Lantau Island. According to last year data from the newspaper, the population of Cheung Chau is around 23, 000. The only transportation between Cheung Chau and the city is travelling by ferry from Central Pier. People choose here as living place because they obsess with the peaceful environment where can give them a relief from the rigid and routine schedule in city. However, Cheung Chau is a very busy island as many Hong Kong people come to visit during weekends and holidays. Recently, it is also crowded even on normal weekdays as foreigners would come forward to visit too. According to the board of Hong King Tourism, it is ranked as the most popular outlying island to be visited.

  So what makes Cheung Chau to be the most busy and most attractive island? It is a well-developed island with hotels, seafood restaurant and some signature local shop which sells the dried seafood. Besides, the Bun festival is a traditional festival which is held in May annually.  It usually takes 4 days and it attracts lots of visitor come forward. The Bun festival has parade of floats, lion and dragon dances, ceremony to pray to Chinese god, the Tin Hau for the safety for fisherman to get rid of pirates. Children would dress up in legendary and famous Chinese character to perform. This event definitely helps to boost Cheung Chau as a tourism destination, the shops manager report that these tourists boost the income at 40 percentile during the weekend according to South China Morning Post.

    Apparently, this event is an advantage for Cheung Chau local business but it is not the same thinking for the local residents. Anger from the residents is spreading over the social media. As we mentioned, ferry is the only transportation to connect the island and the city. The ferries are always packed with the visitors and it causes inconvenience for the local residents to queue for hours to be on board. One of the page ‘Give me back Cheung Chau’ from Facebook commented that ‘Guess I can only back home on May 30 due to the crowd’. Some local residents even have to escape to Lantau Island due to this event.

Although the First ferry already provides 16 extra lines to take the people back and forth during this peak season, it still cannot solve the high demand of capacity. A queue of 100 meters long is still lining up outside the pier including the local residents who want to go home. Therefore, I suggest that the ferry line should give privilege to the local residents by setting a priority queue or provide priority seats. The local residents can show a pass to prove they are living in Cheung Chau and then go straight to the priority queue so they can go home or go to work efficiently. In my opinion, this arrangement will be fair and ease the anger for the local residents who live there.

    Hong Kong is well prepared to against the terrorism

  After hearing Pamela’s presentation of the human injuries happened during Marathon, the terrorist attack in Boston Marathon happened on April 15, 2013 crossed my mind and inspired me to write the caption topic.

  In recent decades, the mega events are always the target for terrorists to attack. Take for example, from Munich massacre in 1972, 11 members of Israeli Olympic team were hostage and 1 police officer both got killed by the terrorist of Palestinian during the Summer Olympics. Boston Marathon in 2013, 2 bombs were detonated by Islamic terrorists near the finish line during the Marathon; it caused 6 people were dead and 280 people were in injuries. Celebration of Bastille Day in Nice in 2016, the Islamic terrorists drove a 19 tons of cargo truck to the crowd, this attack caused 86 people got killed and 434 in injuries. The cases I just mentioned were just a few from the whole list of terrorist attack. It is a truth that the Islamic terrorist is spreading its attack all over the world, indeed it is going ‘globally’. They are not only aim at the Europe countries, they are also looking for new target in Asia and actually they did it in Xinjiang in 2016.

  Hong Kong is the host of Hong Kong Sevens, the rugby game. It is held in April every year and attracts many spectators all over the world. This event raise my concern that if Hong Kong also be one of the terrorist target because of the ‘global trend’. Is there any preparation for us to prevent this happen? Hong Kong is always claimed as a safety city to live. Our government has been doing a lot to keep us safe from time to time. According to the website from our government, the achievements by our government are shown as below:

  Upgrading the capacity in police force

  Arrange special trainings for the police and extra polices to patrol in landmark and sensitive areas

Keeping review and conduct the responsive plans to terrorist due to changing environment

Keeping good communication with overseas and China law enforcement agencies

  Improving security in air travel

  Intensive x ray screening for the luggage and passengers

Arrange more police to patrol in the airport

Belonging items from passengers are checked strictly

  Improving border controls

  Provide extra marine to patrol

Use advance technology to screen fake passport

  Upgrading emergency services

  Importing new equipment and introducing intensive specialist training to get well prepared of the attack from chemical, radiological or nuclear

Ensure our hospitals have enough stock of medicine

  For some of my own opinions, I also suggest that our government can also encourage the citizens to be cautious and keep alert all the time by providing some seminars for anti-terrorism. The Hospital Authority should also provide free training of first aid service for citizens so we can help injuries people immediately when accident happen. If our government can keep the stability of the above or even keep improving then HK is definitely well-equipped for anti-terrorism.

Implication for my future career  

Event management is applicable for project management to create and develop for festivals and events. Event management involves the planning, identify the target audience, sales and marketing, logistics and risk management before officially launch the event. The planning stage involves the calculation of budget, selection of venue, coordination of transport, decorations in venue and security. Sales and marketing is the key stage to promote the products or services to the potential customers during the event. Implement the risk management can help the organizer to run the event smoothly. Imagine when the organizer already have a list of correspondence when he has already reviewed all the potential risk may occur, the event must be definitely successful.

  Whether you are going to step into event management or other occupation, we always have to remember the core principles of a good employee are totally no change regardless of which job industry. The principles are being flexible, organized, passionate, good time management, good communication skills.  Being flexible can help you to have immediate response when there are changes during the event, good communication skills can help you to understand what your client look for so easier and directly to achieve the target; being organized can help the things smooth because an event manager have to take care different tasks and teams; good time management is an ability to handle multi task but accomplish on time; having passion in your job can bring creativity and excitement.

[cubaverdad]

Countdown begins for Raúl Castro’s retirement next year

Countdown begins for Raúl Castro's retirement next year BY MIMI WHITEFIELD AND NORA GÁMEZ TORRES mwhitefield@miamiherald.com A year from now — on February 24 — something is expected to occur in Cuba that hasn't happened in more than 40 years: a non-Castro will occupy the presidency. The coming year will be one of definitions in Cuba. But right now there is only uncertainty — not only about how the transition will proceed but also about the future of Cuba's relationship with the United States with President Donald Trump at the helm. In 2013, Raúl Castro told Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power, the parliament, that he planned to retire from the presidency of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers on Feb. 24, 2018. His heir apparent became Miguel Díaz-Canel, a party stalwart who at the time was promoted to first vice president of both councils. When Castro retires as president, the Cuban Constitution also calls for him to relinquish his post of commander in chief of Cuba's armed forces. A Cuba without a khaki-clad Castro commanding the Revolutionary Armed Forces is something many younger Cubans have never experienced. Díaz-Canel's ascension next Feb. 24 — a date that has long had resonance in Cuba history — is not assured, but most observers believe that a new National Assembly that will be seated then will rubber stamp him as Cuba's next president and he will replace the 85-year-old Castro. Even with a successor, Castro is still expected to retain consider clout. He has said nothing about stepping down as chief of Cuba's powerful Communist Party and Cuba's military leaders are solid Raúlistas. The power-behind-the-throne is not an unknown formula in Cuba. From 1959 to 1976, Osvaldo Dorticós formally served as president of the republic, even though the true power was wielded by the late Fidel Castro, who was then prime minister. From 1976, the posts associated with the presidency have been occupied first by Fidel and then by Raúl Castro, who took over on a provisional basis in 2006 when Fidel fell ill and then officially in 2008. Díaz-Canel represents a break from the revolutionary old guard and the passing of the torch to a new generation of leaders. At age 56, he wasn't even born when the revolution triumphed. But there is also a school of thought that if Cuba's relationship with the Trump administration goes badly, or if Trump yanks back most or all of the changes under the Obama administration, it will provide a reason for Castro to extend his tenure as president or at least to hang on to his post as head of Cuba's Communist Party indefinitely. "A lot of people in Havana are saying that if Mr. Trump and company return to confrontational policies, backtracking on everything that was done by Obama or most of it, the situation in Cuba would be to say, 'Let's circle the wagons,'" said Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence analyst who now lives in Miami. "In the middle and older generations there was the feeling that Raúl should not step down until the new administration comes to terms with the normalization process or that if he steps down, he should stay as first secretary of the party," said Amuchastegui, who spent the month of December in Cuba. "What I found every day I was there were conversations about what the new president [Trump] is going to do, will he be moving back or going forward on normalization." Cuba's Communist Party generally convenes a Congress every five years, meaning it could be 2021 before a new party chieftain is named — although a change could occur at any time if Castro decides to retire from his party post. At last year's party congress, Díaz-Canel wasn't promoted to second secretary as some had anticipated. Instead, Castro's second in command remained octogenarian, José Ramón Machado Ventura. If he succeeds Castro as party chieftain, it wouldn't do much to promote the idea that space is opening for new Cuban leaders or that, in Castro's words, a "rejuvenation" is taking place. The 86-year-old Machado Ventura. joined the revolutionary movement in 1952 when he was still a medical student and fought alongside the Castros in the Sierra Maestra. "If Cubans believe that [Castro] and his aging cohort of 1960s revolutionaries remain the real power behind the throne, that would suffocate and delegitimize the emerging, younger generation of leaders," said Richard Feinberg, a professor of international political economy at the University of California, San Diego. But Antonio Rodiles, a member of the opposition movement, fears that is exactly what will happen. "Power is going to continue as it is now in the hands of the military and the heir clearly is Alejandro Castro Espín (son of Raúl Castro, a colonel in the Interior Ministry, and a national security adviser)," Rodiles said, "No doubt about it, Díaz-Canel would fulfill a function similar to that carried out by Osvaldo Dorticós." Feinberg said that managing U.S.-Cuba relations, once the White House sets its course, will be less important in the next year "than managing the historic transition to a post-Castro era on the island." Rodiles, on the other hand, thinks the Trump presidency could significantly alter succession plans on the island, especially if the intention is to have Castro Espín as "the person behind the scenes who is at the controls." At this point, Díaz-Canel is still in the shadow of Raúl Castro. "Cuba is a country that has been governed by a strong-man system," said Arturo López-Levy, a lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, former analyst with Cuban intelligence and cousin of a Castro son-in-law in charge of military-owned companies on the island. "At least I would have expected Raúl to give him more authority by now." A review of Díaz-Canel's recent appearances on the front page of Granma, the official newspaper of Cuba's Communist Party, shows him taking part in local education, literacy and journalism events while Castro has received a delegation from Iran and the president of Ireland. And it was Machado Ventura who recently welcomed a communist leader from Vietnam. Still, López-Levy said Díaz-Canel appears to be "the right candidate for the job. He's well-traveled, experienced in leadership in the party, has been a provincial leader, has good connections with the military. He sounds good on paper, but at this point he looks too weak to be taking on such an important role." It is still Castro who makes the major pronouncements, including recently extending an olive branch to the Trump administration, saying he wants to pursue a "respectful dialogue." The official media also is treading lightly when it comes to Trump. "You have to notice how cautious and how much discretion the Cuban media is taking when dealing with the new administration," said Amuchastegui. Key to watch in the coming year is whether Díaz-Canel begins to play more of a role in the relationship with Cuba's benefactor Venezuela and in U.S.-Cuba relations once Trump policy toward the island is defined. Some observers say in his last year in the presidency, they expect Castro to concentrate on two things: taking further steps to unify Cuba's unwieldy dual currency system and managing the relationship with the U.S. The other pending reforms he will leave to Díaz-Canel. "Raúl will have to concentrate on managing an economic recession at a delicate moment of rising expectations, and most importantly, preparing the terrain for the post-Castro era and a new generation of younger leaders," said Feinberg. He "will struggle to maintain some degree of systemic unity within the increasingly fractious ruling Communist Party while allowing the new leadership sufficient room for maneuver, to set a clearer vision for Cuba's future — a new more defined economic model, a new social contract that preserves" revolutionary gains but allows "new, more decentralized political arrangements." There are several important economic challenges beyond uniting the currency: trying to raise salaries, stimulating growth, managing the relationship with Venezuela, which is in a financial free fall, and trying to boost foreign investment. Most are inter-related and may be difficult for Castro to take on over the next year because of the complexity of Cuba's current economic problems, said Carmelo Mesa-Lago, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Pittsburgh. While Castro has more political clout to undertake tough economic reforms than a successor, "the timing is not good," he said. "This is a very complicated moment in Cuba," said Enrique López Oliva, a retired University of Havana professor. "People are disoriented. They aren't sure what they should do. There's lack of clarity on what the transition will bring as well as what the ongoing relationship with the United States will be. "If Trump tries to bring change in Cuba by pressure or by forcing it," said López Oliva, "all it does is reinforce the intransigent sectors that don't want change." Mimi Whitefield on Twitter: @HeraldMimi CUBA PRESIDENTS SINCE 1955 2008-present: Raúl Castro (acting president 2006-2008) 1976-2008: Fidel Castro 1959-1976: Osvaldo Dorticós 1959-1959: Manuel Urrutia 1955-1959: Fulgencio Batista FEBRUARY 24 IN CUBAN HISTORY ▪ Feb. 24, 2013: Cuba's National Assembly elected Raúl Castro to his second term as president of Cuba. ▪ Feb. 24, 2008: Fidel Castro officially retired as president, although illness prompted him to cede power to his brother Raúl in 2006. ▪ Feb. 24, 1996: Two U.S. civilian aircraft were shot down by aircraft operated by the Cuban armed forces. Four South Florida men were killed. ▪ Feb. 24, 1976: The Republic of Cuba adopted its constitution. ▪ Feb. 24, 1895: The beginning of Cuba's War of Independence. SOURCE: U.S.-CUBA TRADE AND ECONOMIC COUNCIL Source: Countdown begins a year out from Raúl Castro's retirement | Miami Herald - http://ift.tt/2kZ1EQQ via Blogger http://ift.tt/2lGiRTp

[infinitehouseofbooks]

5 YEARS OF INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS COUNTDOWN – JULY TO DECEMBER 2013 RECAP

INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS turns 5 years old in April of 2017. Due to a massive failure with the blog’s previous hosting provider, all blogs prior to February 2015 were lost. However, the administrator has the original assets on file and a calendar of  featured content. As a lead-up to the anniversary, features will be released on the fifth of each month that chronicle a period in the blog’s past and some of the highlights still worth noting today. This post is the fourth in the series. Enjoy!

INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS (focused on interviews and guest posts) and sister site DISCOVER WORDS (now closed; focused on excerpts) both continued to grow steadily over this period.

Here are samples of some of the books showcased between July and December of 2013 at INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS.

July: THE FAMILY THAT STAYS TOGETHER by Deborah Plummer Bussey

This is still available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Below is a reprint of the original interview with the author.

What initially got you interested in writing?

One of my fondest childhood memories was going to the county library that was located at the end of my street.  In those days, absent video games, Xboxes, and iPads and when television only had three channels, I spent a lot of time at the library checking out book after book.  My parents encouraged my reading and challenged me to read more than the ten books for the library’s summer reading club.  That was always such an easy contest.

My sisters and I spent lots of time outdoors making up stories about each other, entertaining ourselves and showcasing the tales to a neighborhood audience.  While a Girl Scout, my Scout Leader, Mrs. Ford surprised me with a blank journal as gift.  “I noticed you liked to write,” she said when she handed it to me.  I wondered how she knew that and at the same time wondered if it was true.  Did I really like to write?  I knew I liked to read, but was I a writer?  I ended up majoring in English along with psychology and learned that I really did like to write and was encouraged to write professionally.

  How did you decide to make the move into becoming a published author?

Because I was in academia it was publish or perish if I wanted to succeed.  I was first published as a psychology researcher.  I then decided to write a non-fiction book on friendship patterns for a wider audience than the professional academic community. After that process, I wanted to keep writing because I loved the process but wanted to have more fun doing it.  A friend, an attorney who writes fiction in her spare time, encouraged me to write fiction.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

I hope that is sparks the kitchen table kind of conversations about contemporary diversity issues—the tension between sexual orientation and religion, cross racial friendships and interracial marriages, stereotypes about age-appropriate behavior, the susceptibility of  materialism as a way to achieve happiness. I also hope that they really like the characters and want to have Kathy and Tina as friends.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

I write fiction because it is cathartic to make something up and not have to have citations for every thought that you put on paper as you do in academic writing.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

It takes a long, long time to write even a really good paragraph.  The editing process is also grueling.

What advice do you give people wanting to enter the field?

The more you write the better writer you become. Also have a lot of diverse friends and experiences that will broaden your way of knowing and being and enhance your writing.

Is there anything else besides writing that people would find interesting about you?

In my next life, I am coming back as a Beyonce. If not as Beyonce then I will come back as a celebrity chef.  However, a good friend of mine called dibs on Beyonce awhile back, so I have to have a second option. Since I love to cook it would be good to be a celebrity chef.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

Please visit my website www.dlplummer.com or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DeborahPlummerBussey and follow me on twitter@ SisterNun

Thank you!

  August: INHERITANCE RISING by Honey A. Hutson

This is still available on Amazon.

Here is a reprint of the interview with the author.

What initially got you interested in writing?

I’ve actually been creating and writing stories since I was old enough to start talking to myself! It was just something that has been deeply embedded in who and what I was to become.

How did you decide to make the move into becoming a published author?

I think I always knew I’d publish my work someday. I spent the first part of my life honing my skill and it was just a natural progression to spend the other part sharing that hard work with others who would enjoy it. I get no greater joy than to have others enjoy reading the stories I’ve created. All the money in the world cannot replace that feeling, which makes it all worth it no matter where I eventually end up in that career.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works? I want them to take a sense of breaking stereotypes, of self-responsibility and building strong characters within ones self. Everyone has an important role to play in their own lives and others and no one should be afraid of embracing that role actively. My characters are active participants in their lives and those around them. I particularly emphasize strong female characters, no damsels in distress here!

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

Being able to create strong characters with a purpose all their own and bringing those characters to readers who love them. To have someone I don’t know walk up to me out of the blue and tell me how much they enjoyed a book or story I wrote is everything I ever wanted from my work and I’ve achieved that goal over and over again. It’s all about the readers and it is very rewarding to see your work enjoyed so much.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Marketing and getting people to review the book is the most difficult thing. The work doesn’t end when you write “The End” or when it goes off to the publisher for publication. It has just begun.

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

I would say know what you’re getting into. Do your homework, understand that writing itself is hard work and knowing when to “kill your darlings” and being able to take criticism is critical. It is a lot of work and if you break it into actually pay by the hour you really are a starving artist for a long time before, and if, you ever make it. This is one of those things you do because you love it, the rest comes if it comes and if it doesn’t all you have is your love for the writing!

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

I love photography, the outdoors and traveling to new and spooky places! I live for autumn and Halloween, which naturally shows up quite a bit in my writing.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

I have an author page on Facebook where I share give-a-ways of my books both hard copy and EBook and news of releases, interviews and snippets about my work and myself. This fall I have a new release coming and the third book in my series will be out around the end of the year and I might have a surprise coming for my readers in October!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Honey-Hutson-Author-Page/253292154720706

Twitter: @hhutson

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Honey%20Hutson

Goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=honey+hutson

Web Page: http://www.honeyhutson.com/inheritance-rising.html

  September: SKY’S END by Lesley Young

This book is still available in paperback via Amazon and Kindle.

What follows is a reprint of the author’s original interview.

What initially got you interested in writing?

I’m a journalist so I actually write for a living, but nonfiction. I always thought if I wrote a book it would be something informational and deadly serious. But then I branched out as a reader a few years ago, and fell in love with genre, specifically, romance, sci-fi and urban fantasy. It was an awakening. At some point, I thought, ‘I could write this.’ I don’t know what actually triggered the doing part.

How did you decide o make the move into becoming a published author?

It was never so deliberate. Sky’s End was my very first crack at any kind of fiction writing ever. And it was very much an experiment. I would write a chapter, and read it to my husband, who bless him, appeared astounded and amazed, encouraging me to keep at it.

The next big hurdle came long after it was finished and I couldn’t land an agent. I took a pause from all the rejections. And one day it occurred to me that if I didn’t keep trying to sell my book, the story would never actually be shared. And that’s all that really mattered to me. So I started pitching all over again and I found someone who loved it — Deborah Gilbert, founder of Soul Mate Publishing and my editor.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

Two things. I want them to experience powerful emotions. Whether they’re on the edge of their seat. Or angry, even, at my heroine Cassiel Winters. Second, I want them to feel a connection to Cassiel, like they went on an incredible trip together, one they won’t soon forget.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

How I experience my characters’ journeys. There’s nothing quite like it.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Finding enough time. Since I am just getting started, I still work full-time, as a journalist. I am headed straight for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (but it’s worth it!).

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

If what you write makes you laugh out loud, or burst into tears, if it inspires you, or gives you goose bumps, then don’t give up. Writing fiction should be an extraordinarily emotional experience — not necessarily always happy either. Bottom line: If it’s shattering your world, it will shatter someone else’s.

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting
about you?

Ha! What a hard question to answer. I’m melodramatic, a recovering control freak, clumsy, addicted to dill pickle potato chips, formula bodice-rippers and test level rugby, and sometimes funny. Uh, so no, not really.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

I’m posting blogs with extra stuff from the book about Or’ic for example at lesleyyoungbooks.com/blog and on facebook.com/cassielwintersseries. I also tweet fun stuff @lesleyyoungbks.

  October: STAINED by Cheryl Rainfield

The book is still available in hardback and paperback on Amazon, Kindle, audio CD on Amazon, and also on Audible.

The author’s original interview follows.

What initially got you interested in writing?

  I love books. I used to read almost constantly—even while walking to school or getting dressed in the morning. It helped me escape the abuse I was living, and gave me hope, comfort, and validation. So I had a deep love of books. And writing,  for me, came more naturally than speaking—it was my safe way of communicating. My abusers told me they’d kill me if I talked—but they didn’t mention writing. (smiling) In my head, writing wasn’t talking. I loved writing—it felt safe to me—and I was also good at it; I got a lot of praise from my teachers. And I had a deep need to break silence about the abuse and torture, to try to make a healing difference. So my love of fiction and writing, and my need to have a voice and be heard, drove me to write and later to try to get published.

  How did you decide to make the move into becoming a published author?

  I’ve always had a strong desire to be heard (after being silenced for so long by my abusers) and to try to make a positive, healing difference in the world. Books are my way to do that. But I didn’t get serious about getting published, about studying writing technique and getting feedback from other authors and persistently resubmitting my work rejection after rejection, until I took a course on children’s writing that turned into a writing critique group. I stuck with that group for almost ten years, and kept honing my craft and submitting and resubmitting my work, until finally an editor picked my book out of the slush pile. That book was SCARS. And with that, I got my dream. STAINED is my third book published through a US publisher (I’ve also had two books published through a small Canadian press, and one self-published book) and it’s a delight to me every time. I’m so excited about STAINED coming out!

  What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

  I want readers to know that no matter how deep their pain or what trauma they’ve suffered, they are not alone, there are other people who’ve been there and understand, and they are strong—usually stronger than they know. I want them to know that healing is possible, that things can and do get better, and that they can save themselves if they need to. Sometimes we have to be the ones to save ourselves—just as Sarah did in STAINED, and just as I had to over and over again until I was truly safe.

    What do you find most rewarding about writing?

  I love the feeling of writing flowing onto a page, of emotional truths being mixed into fiction and becoming more powerful, of having a voice now instead of being silenced—and of making a positive difference in the world through my books. It’s incredibly rewarding to get reader letters telling me how much they loved my books or identified with my characters or how SCARS helped them not kill themselves, stop cutting, get help or talk to someone for the very first time about their pain, feel less alone, or understand someone they know—even their child—who’s cutting or queer or a sexual abuse survivor. It’s such a wonderful thing to get those letters.

  What do you find most challenging about writing?

  I love writing and editing—it gives me a voice and it feels so right for me—but sometimes, because I’m drawing on my own trauma to write, I find it painful or find myself reliving some of my trauma. But what’s harder for me are the challenges in the business of writing. Sometimes I can find it painful to read a negative review—though I have to step back and remind myself that my book is not me, even if so much of myself is in my book. It’s so much easier for me to take in negative than positive (I was taught that through abuse), and even though I have so many glowing reviews, the bits of negative ones stick with me.

  I also find it very painful when people try to challenge my books and remove them from libraries; I remember how much pain I was in and how horribly alone I felt as a child and teen, always looking for something in books that would tell me I wasn’t the only one and I wasn’t crazy. Books helped me survive, and I know from reader letters that I receive that my books are helping others survive and thrive now. So keeping my books out of the hands of teens who need it hurts. And all those years of rejections I received before I got published—those were hard and wore at my soul. Not the first few years as much, but after 7, 8, 9 years it really got to me and I started to feel despair. Thankfully I got published after about 10 years of rejections! It’s also hard when things happen like if you lose an editor you love or your publisher closes—my first publisher WestSide Books closed before HUNTED even got into the stores, and so I also lost my editor. BUT something wonderful came out of that—I’m now with a much bigger publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and am working with another amazing editor, both of who have treated me and STAINED wonderfully.

    What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

  If you want to get published, I think it helps to read as much as you can, especially in the genre you write. Learn writing technique and editing—through books, conferences, classes, critique groups, and listen to the feedback you receive, especially if more than one person says it; it will help you get published sooner. But always listen to and trust your gut; sift through the feedback and only use what works best for you.

  Research before you submit your book to either publishers or agents (or both); make sure you’re submitting your book to the appropriate people. Get a copy of Writer’s Market or subscribe to their website to find publishers and agents accepting submissions and their contact info. And if your dream is to get published, then don’t give up. Keep submitting, revising, and resubmitting your work. It took me 10 years and hundreds of rejections before I got published.

  You can see some of the writing technique books I really recommend here: http://astore.amazon.com/rainfield-writing-books-20

    Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting

about you?

  I put a lot of my life experiences—my trauma, healing, and passions—into my work. For instance, like Sarah in STAINED, I know what it’s like to be held captive, withheld food and water, repeatedly raped, and having my life threatened. Like Sarah, I’ve been bullied, have struggled with body image and low self esteem, and love comics and superheroes. And like Sarah, I am strong emotionally, and had to be the one to save myself.

  I always write strong girl characters and emotionally strong boy characters; I think we need to see more of them in books, TV, movies, etc. And I always have queer characters in my work, whether they’re the main character or secondary characters. I’m queer, and I think it’s important that the LGBT community is reflected in books in positive ways. I also try to incorporate other forms of diversity in my books.

  I love writing, creating art, reading books and comics, spending time with my friends, and playing with my little dog Petal, a sweet hairy-hairless Chinese Crested dog. If you’re curious about her, you can see some photos up on my blog: http://cherylrainfield.com/blog/index.php/2013/09/12/my-little-dog-petal-companion-comfort-and-joy-to-this-writer/ I also frequently tweet photos of Petal and put them up on Facebook. (smiling) She is part of my family, and I love her dearly.

    What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

  You can connect with me on:

  My website: http://www.CherylRainfield.com

My blog: http://www.CherylRainfield.com/blog

Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/CherylRainfield

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cherylrainfield/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.rainfield

my FaceBook author fan page: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.rainfield.fan.page

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/raindew001

    November: FRAGILE BRILLIANCE by Tammy Blackwell

This book can still be found in paperback on Amazon or on Kindle.

Here is a reprint of the author’s original interview about the book.

+ What initially got you interested in writing?

I think I was born interested in writing. When I was really young I wanted to grow up to be Dolly Parton. I would work hard on writing my country-western songs, even though I didn’t know how to do important writing-type things, like spell. Or hold a pencil. But I still remember some of the oh-so-insightful lyrics today.  

+ How did you decide to make the move into becoming a published author?

Several things led up to me writing and subsequently publishing my first novel, but the thing that most made me think, “I can do this” was meeting some actual published authors for the first time. I realized they were just people who worked really hard and made their dreams come true. I decided if they could do it, I could at least try.

+ What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

Blame it on growing up in the 1980s where all of our cartoons included a “one to grow on” or “knowing is half the battle” message, but I intend for my novels to be very didactic. I go into each of them with a message (or several messages) I want the reader to walk away with. (I know. I’m one of those adults. It’s horrible.) The biggest thing I hope my readers take away is the knowledge that we’re all strong in our own ways, and that our strength comes from staying true to our own thoughts and beliefs.

  + What do you find most rewarding about writing? Connecting with readers. The hardest days are worth it when someone tells me that one of my books has helped them through a hard time or made them smile.

+ What do you find most challenging about writing?

The writing part. Seriously, putting one word after the other is next to impossible.

+ What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

Don’t just want it. Do it. Get your butt in a chair and write. It’s the only way to become a writer.

+ Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

When I’m not writing books, I’m a YA librarian, which is pretty much the coolest job on earth.

+ What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

Website: misstammywrites.com

Twitter: @Miss_Tammy

Tumblr: misstammywrites.tumblr.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissTammyJean

  December: IN ALL PLACES by Misty Moncur

You can still get this book in paperback on Amazon and also on Kindle.

Join us again next month on the 5th to find out the highlights of January to June 2014 as the countdown continues to INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS and its 5th anniversary in April 2017!

5 YEARS OF INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS COUNTDOWN – JULY TO DECEMBER 2013 RECAP was originally published on the Wordpress version of SHANNON MUIR'S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS.

[kentnaturaltribrid]

The Fox’s 🦊 page (decided to add a little bit of a happy heart to it as well as a finishing part.) it’s got 9 tails and is red-tailed, but mostly quite busy week so couldn’t do much else with the page till the end of the weekend. Which means; Happy Dog days of Winter ❄️ & Hope these next 11 days are filled up with everything else in between!