Review Gal

Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

2009-12-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

Have you ever used Cliff Notes to review for a test? Well, Twitterature, by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin, is the Cliff Notes of the Tweeting world, though I do not advise you to use the book to help you study for a test. It is an irreverent look at great works of literature from the point of view of the protagonists. The twist is that the protagonists have a Twitter account.

That’s right. The protagonist tweets the whole book in 140-character tweets using no more than twenty tweets total. Don’t worry. A glossary is included in the back of the book for the Twitter uninitiated members among us. This is very useful for those who are still wondering about the value of tweeting in the first place.

Twitterature brings to light the classics in a unique manner. With wit a heavy dose of satire, Aciman and Rensin lay out the classics – one 140-character tweet at a time. It is a brilliant idea which leaves many writers wondering, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”

Tweet from (me) @writerobrien:

Twitterature lays out the classics one tweet at a time answering the question, “What was Hamlet trying to say?” in a manner filled with wit and humor.

Twitterature goes on sale December 29, 2009.
ISBN 978-0-14-311732-2

I need your votes!

2009-10-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

I am applying for a six-month contract as Sam-E’s Good Mood Blogger. Please go to the button in the side column and vote for me before October 23rd. Tell all your friends!

This contract would allow me six months of time to work on my next novel as well as a chance to blog for a company I have patronized for several years now. So tell everyone you know, through email, social networks, standing on the street corner with a sandwich board … any way you want! I need your votes to become the next Good Mood Blogger.

Thank you in advance for spreading the word.

Rosemary

Do you have a business plan?

2009-09-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

Business Plan Pro Premier

Business Plan Pro Premier Edition creates expert business plans. Respected by banks, lenders, and the Small Business Administration, this software includes more detailed financials, advanced cash flow management tools for "what-if" scenarios, and is completely customizable for a powerful planning solution. Learn more about Business Plan Pro Premier.

Even if you are a one-person operation, business experts urge you to have a business plan. When I first decided to “get serious” and not just freelance here and there, I attended a few SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) seminars and individual meetings. One of the main points of several of their workshops was that business plans are important for every type of business, even if you are on your own. A business plan gives you, and anyone who looks at it, a clear picture of what you do and how you plan to do it. It shows a bank you are serious if you apply for a loan, you can use it for applying for grnats, and it helps you in the planning of your business and day-to-day activities. It can be as simple as one or two pages, or as involved as you prefer.

Business has been slow for everyone, so I figured I needed a little clarification if I was going to make some money. I needed to see if I was on the right track, so I started creating my plan. Because I am a writer, I thought it silly to reinvent the wheel by scouring other plans and instructions on how to write them. When I heard about the software, BusinessPlan Pro, I requested a copy of their Premiere version for review purposes. I finally sat down with it a few weeks ago and was amazed at how easy it was! I now have a business plan that tells me where I want to go and how I am going to get there.

One of the things I really liked was the examples of other business plans. I am a visual person. I need to see an example of something before I can truly understand it. With BusinessPlan Pro, users can choose a business similar to their own and use it as an example while writing their own plan. It also has buttons you can click on for an explanation as you answer each of the questions.

It is helpful to those just starting out and creating their business, or for those who have been running it a while without any plan at all. I have been doing well for years as a freelancer, but now that my little one is in school, I want to start making some serious money again. With my business plan in hand, I am ready to face the world.

“Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family in a Time of War,” by Alison Buckholtz

2009-04-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

“Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family in a Time of War,”
Alison Buckholtz
(Tarcher/Penguin, April 16, 2009; $23.95)

Alison Buckholtz used her graduate degree working for a non-profit, lived less than an hour from most of her family, and what she knew of the military and its culture came from tv or the newspaper. Then she met her Navy pilot and everything changed.

“Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family in a Time of War,” is the story of what she learned about the strength of the military family, especially the strength of the military spouse. Her journey through so many of the experiences we all go through as military spouses is a rich account of the military sub-culture that flies under the radar of many civilians.

I found myself gripped by the story of a spouse who was pregnant and had just had a car accident. When Alison called the woman’s friend at the hospital to see if she could help, she was asked to go to her house and retrieve some necessary legal papers. What she found with the papers was a woman in crisis. Her house was beyond a mess, evidence that she was having a tough time caring for herself and her children, and coping with the deployment of her husband. In short, she needed lots of help to deal with her situation. The wives did what most military spouses do without thinking twice: they banded together to provide whatever she needed. By cleaning the house, stocking the fridge, and being there to help her, they helped her get strong for her family.

This book tells of the unique challenges military families face every day. We handle these challenges to the best of our ability, sometimes with grace and sometimes with graceless effort and determination, but always with love for our active duty spouse. We do our best to raise our families in a healthy environment while providing the support our military member needs and deserves.

All military spouses will enjoy this book. The portrayal of our “normal” will make us appreciate ourselves and our strength just a little bit more. Give it to your friends who are facing yet another deployment with small children and an impending birth all alone, or to the ones who are making a move to a place and a home they rented sight unseen in an unfamiliar place. It will help them realize we are not alone, we are part of a large family that is always there for us when we need them.

Personal Trainer in a Box!

2009-03-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

Working out has never been fun for me. I see it as a necessary chore that I do not often do, quite frankly. That is about to change, though. I just discovered Beverley Caen’s SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck program. It is an ingenious way to work out for those of us with busy lives, even if you travel frequently.

Beverley Caen along with fitness expert, John Cruz, has come up with a product that will help you make staying in shape a seamless addition to your daily routine. Their deck of 36 cards gives you simple, quick exercises that when combined add up to a complete workout. Each card contains detailed, simple instructions for each exercise. The best part is the photos of each exercise. Caen or Cruz appear on each card with a visual as to what your exercise should look like.

There are three sections in the Sane Fitness QuickStart Deck and they are broken down into A, B and C. Each section addresses a different type of exercise. A is for full-body weightlifting exercises, B is for abdominals, and C contains the stretches. All of the cards are easy-to-follow and make your workout different each time.

The ability to fit in a workout with a home business and kids is a big plus for me, especially with my sedentary writing job and the fact that I really hate to work out. I sit in a chair all day, but have actually been looking forward to choosing my cards and getting to my workout. It’s fun, simple, and you can take it on the road easily if you have to travel, so there is no excuse not to work out. The additional instruction card even suggests ideas for weight substitutions such as filled water bottles or resistance bands.

Get up, pick some cards and get fit! Sane Fitness QuickStart Deck will give you the workout you need to boost energy and get the results you are looking for. All of this with minimal effort and ease.