My New Book: Beyond The Fence

I recently wrote a middle grade fantasy. It's about goblins and magic and stuff and was written for my son. Written with him, actually. He brainstormed with me and did my proofreading. He was a great assistant.

Synopsis:

Eleven year old Avery and his 7 year old brother move into a new house. Avery finds himself feeling strange and unable to explain it. After he has several encounters with a goblin, he learns that the forest beyond the fence houses a doorway to magic. Avery’s feelings of unease are caused by his sensitivity to it. He can wield magic, if he learns how.

During an encounter with the mysterious Dream King, his pet becomes a person, his brother becomes a barbarian and one friend can fly. The people in Avery’s life, from family to friends, start acting strange and are getting sick. He has to do something before things get worse. Who do you get advice from when you need advice about magic?

It’s up to Avery and his faithful husky to stop the Dream King, and Avery is not sure it’s a battle he can win.

You can buy the book at amazon or read the first few scenes at First750.com.

This was a fun project. My son and I decided that we are going to make this a trilogy and add two more parts. I already have the basic plots outlined and I'll start on it soon.

If you would like to give me a review, you can get a review copy from librarything. Scroll down until you get to Beyond The Fence. The review copies will be available until 2/16/13.

LewisC

Sign Up For Cheap Hosting

I have been using HostMonster for years now. I've used several over the years and HostMonster consistently has, at least for me, the most reasonable rates and the best uptime.

I know choosing your host provider is impacted by man things. Many of those are subjective, some are objective. I can only tell you about my experience.

I'm running a dozen or so web sites from a single account. You get unlimited space and bandwidth with no extra fees. Now there are rules about this. You can't try to compete with youtube or dropbox and not expect to have to pay for it. However for most web sites, the storage and bandwidth is way more than enough.

The price is pretty awesome too. I think the standard price for a good package is $4.95 per month. That's what I originally signed up for. Once I was in, I found they often offer extremely good deals. I ended up paying for several years at once for, if I remember correctly, around $3 per month. That's pretty sweet.

You also get cPanel and SimpleScripts. That's kind of expected I know but I want to verify that for you.

Language-wise you get PHP, Perl, Ruby, and Python. You also get both MySQL and PostgreSQL. You don't get Java but almost none of the providers I know support Java. It's just too resource intensive.

You get multi-media support like shockwave, realmedia, flash and other video streaming support. Unlimited email and ftp accounts and a lot more. You really should check it out.

If you use my affiliate link, I'll get a few bucks so please think about doing that,.

Thanks.

How to Use SimpleScripts on your Blog

 Simplescripts is a one click installer for web software. Of all the hosting providers that I have used over the years, simple scripts has been on all of them. I have used others too. Fantastico is a nice installer also. Several hosts that I have used had the option to choose between Simple Scripts and Fantastico De Luxe.

Just an FYI - I use blogger for a quite a few blogs but I also host my own sites. Currently, I am using <a href="http://www.hostmonster.com/track/dbwiz">HOSTMONSTER.COM</a>. You can click that link and sign up if you would like to. That's my affiliate link so you would be helping me out to do so.

SimpleScripts sits behind CPanel. I plan to talk about CPanel in the near future but for now, I'll just say that it is a the main interface for any decent web host. I always make sure the hosting provider provides CPanel. At this point, I think they all do.

Anyway, simple scripts is the way you install your blog, cms or any other software.

To use it, log into CPanel and choose SimpleScripts from the options (at the bottom of the image below).

When SimpleScripts launches, you'll get a list of your installs and the option to install more. I cut my installs out of the picture but it looks like the below image.

Below that is the list of softwar that you can install. The below image is just a portion of the stuff I have on hostmonster to install.

When you choose Wordpress (or any other software), you get a simplified install screen like the image below.

Choose install and you get a screen to fill out some basic info (like where do you want to install it). Choose your URL and then just take the defaults for your first time. It's easier that way. SimpleScripts will email you the URL for the site, an admin URL, your admin user name and password.

After that, you just log in and start blogging. My first one probably took an hour. After several years of doing this, I can literally, find a URL, buy it and be finished setting up Wordpress in 20 minutes.

Of course, with all the themes, plug-ins, widgets, etc that are available with Wordpress, you can spend a life time customizing.

Seriously though, if a web site is important to you, I would suggest buying the domain and hosting it yourself. It's not that expensive and you have total control.

LewisC

WordPress Theme Framework: Why A Framework Is Used & What Types Are Available

Today's post is a guest post by Elliot McInnis  Please check out his website which is linked below.

There is very little information on the web that describes what exactly a WordPress theme framework is. Most of the results we found in Google were websites listing the best free WP theme frameworks. After that there were a handful of theme framework web sites ranking near of the top. In this post, we'll do our best to respond to questions like what exactly is a WordPress theme framework, which kind of theme frameworks can be found, why do folks use WP theme frameworks, pros and cons for using a theme framework, in case you use a theme framework, and finally what's our favorite WordPress theme framework.

What is a WordPress Theme Framework?

A WordPress theme framework is a library of source code which is used to assist in development of a theme. Previously with WordPress, there have been some crucial issues with the way how themes were built and maintained. There was not any right way to upgrading any theme without losing any custom design settings that might have been present. There is no way to avoid copying and pasting the exact same functionality and code in all themes. While those two problems probably won't be seen as an issue to an average user, these have the potential to be gigantic headaches. Let's say you realized that exactly the same code you had been using in all of the themes had a security exploit. Much more crucial, let's say this theme was something you publicly released for others to download and modify. Yes, that’s a major headache waiting to occur. The team of WordPress developers made a decision to fix the problems mentioned previously by presenting the idea of Parent Theme and Child Theme.

WordPress theme frameworks usually are meant to also become a parent wordpress theme template which is where you can find most of the core functions. Web developers are able to build a wordpress child theme to include custom design while leaving the basic elements of it to the framework. This allows for a central location where all the functions are hosted. If the core team of developers chooses to denounce a WordPress function, or there's a bug located in a particular theme framework, then it's really simple to push out an update without having to revise anything in the child theme. This process helps you keep your wordpress framework updated without editing anything the WordPress child theme has. This process allows you to keep the framework of your website solid without editing the appearance.

What type of Theme Frameworks exist?

You can find free WordPress frameworks and paid ones. There are actually complete drag and drop wordpress theme frameworks like Headway Themes that allow users to build anything visually with no familiarity with source code. There are pseudo drag drop wordpress theme frameworks like Thesis and Pagelines. These frameworks make it possible for users to drag and drop predefines sections much like how widgets work. Of course you could define custom sections while using available hooks and filters provided by the WordPress theme frameworks too. There are WordPress theme frameworks which are full of layout and function choices. Themify and many others fall within this category. Finally, you will find some WordPress theme frameworks which are designed for web developers to obtain a jump start without the mess and bloat like Genesis by StudioPress.

This article was written by Elliot McInnis and provided exclusively to the website which you are viewing it on. Elliot is a full time web developer and writes on a variety of topics related to developing and using WordPress themes.

First 750 Preview

I'm putting together a blog for published authors. The author can be self-published or published through traditional means. My only real requirement is that the work has to be complete (I don't want readers to start something and then find it isn't available) and it can't be porn. Nothing against porn, just don't want it on my site.

It is rough right now. I have two posts up. The first is just a place holder as it is not published yet (but will be soon, I hope). The second is a memoir published by Xlibris.

If you want to get a preview, check out First 750.  Hopefully I will be getting more  stories posted soon.

At this point, I am thinking I will allow a synopsis of the story, a photo to go along with the story, and a bio. In the bio, I would allow one link to the author's landing page (facebook, blog, whatever). I would also have a link to the store of the authors choice (amazon, xlibris, smashwords, etc). Of course, an author's landing page should have all of the available sources linked anyway.

Right now I am looking for feedback before I roll it out further. If you are a published author (any content really but specifically create fiction or non-fiction), or if you are an avid reader, I would love to hear anything you might suggest.

What do you think?

LewisC

Five Things Great Photography Will Do For Your Blog

Today's post is a guest post by Caroline Jones. Please check out her website which is linked below.

Five Things Great Photography Will Do For Your Blog

A blog is important for almost any business with a heavy online presence. You know that photographs are an important element of any blog, but do you know how important? Here are five things that great photography can do for your blog.

Make Your Blog Look Professional
The worst thing you can do to your blog is make it look amateurish. Of course, oftentimes people are amateurs when it comes to website and blog design. That is why it’s a good idea to hire a professional, so that your blog will look professional, too. The quality of your photography will affect the appearance of your blog significantly. Your blog won’t look professional if the photography is low quality, which is why it’s so important to make sure all the elements of your blog are of the same caliber.

Impress Your Readers
In reality, the content of your blog is more important than anything else. A good-looking blog with poor content won’t be highly regarded, and a poor-looking blog with superb content can still get a lot of credit. In order to impress your readers, you need great content, but it’s not only the written word that counts. Your photography also has to be great. With your photos, you have the chance to impress your readers through your visual insight and endeavors, and they’ll enjoy your blog even more because of it.

Attract New Readers
Great photography can make your readers stay, and it can also bring new readers to your blog. The aesthetics of something give us the first impression of whether we like it or not. With great photography, new visitors will be more apt to stay and check out the rest of your blog, by taking the time to read your great content. If your photography is poor, you might scare off new visitors immediately by giving a bad first impression. Great photography can help increase your readership.

Clearly Illustrate Your Points
When you write about something in your blog, your intention is, of course, to get your message across to your readers as clearly as possible. Your words can do a good job of that, but sometimes they’re not enough. Great photography can help illustrate your points and really drive home the message of your posts. If your post is a how-to, for example, or talking about a specific item or place, photographs can help your readers learn and imagine what you’re saying in a visual way. They improve every post.

Enhance the Image of Your Business
Finally, great photographs don’t just enhance the look of your blog. They can enhance the entire image of your business or brand. Visual branding is strong and significant, and you don’t want your brand to be associated with low-quality anything, and the photographs on your blog are part of the things you need to consider. When building your brand, remember that high-quality photographs on your blog will portray an image that your website is professional, and as a result your business will benefit, too.


Caroline Jones runs a successful restaurant business and provides tips on effective internet marketing that she says includes great photographs, and great photographs deserve a great photography WP theme.

Does Blogging Help You as a Writer?

I believe blogging can do amazing things for your writing. I started blogging in 2004. I didn't really get a blog that I stuck with until 2005 (my Oracle blog). A lot has changed since then.

First, I have become a much faster writer. I don't mean typing speed (although that has probably improved also). I mean the speed that I can create content. In 2005, a 1000 word article would take me several hours, usually spread over several days. Now I can knock out 2000 or 3000 words in a single sitting. On some days, I will write two blog posts (for different blogs) and do a couple thousand words of fiction writing.

Second, because I tried so hard in the beginning to keep consistent with my posting schedule (which I am awful at now), I would find spare moments to write. I had a new baby and a full-time job as well as all the other "things" that tend to crop up on a daily basis. You learn to write when you can or you don't write.

Finally, my skill as a writer has vastly improved. When was the last time you worried about conjunctions and participles? Yeah, me too. But, as you write, you use grammar checkers (I highly recommend Grammarly Lite for online editing), read writing books, visit writing web sites, etc. From those, you just kind of absorb the rules.

So, does blogging help your writing? I certainly think so. What do you think?

LewisC