Patricia Sands

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October = Breast Cancer Awareness

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but really every day we need to keep our thoughts focused on battling this disease that affects so many of us, in so many different ways.

UnknownMeet my friend Erin Arbabha, a lively, lovely, energetic and engaging woman.

Her book, I Have Survived: One Woman’s Ten-Year Journey As A Breast Cancer Survivor,  is a powerful resource that contains helpful guidelines for cancer patients, caregivers, family, friends, and employers.

 

As Erin battled breast cancer she had the foresight to record the details of her journey, never thinking she would ever use the information for anything more than her own needs. As time passed, she became aware of how her story might benefit others.

Endorsed by The Komen Foundation, this book is part memoir and part helpful guide518yhqJY8OL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_ for family, friends, employers as well as patients and healthcare providers. With the help of meticulous notes kept throughout the hills and valleys of her battle, Erin has been able to provide readers with a comprehensive guide as well as a touching, inspiring story of resilience, strength and promise.

To connect with Erin, click below:

Website

ANOTHER SITE NOT TO BE MISSED IS THE FABULOUS BLOGGER/AUTHOR SUSIE LINDAU’S WILD RIDE WEBSITE ~ BOOB REPORTS ~ Her candid chronicles about her battle with breast cancer are laced with wit and humor as well as poignant moments and valuable information. Susie shared her journey online in real time and took all of her followers along for an experience none of us will ever forget. The good news is she also has a heartfelt story of survival.

Unknown-2 For answers to many questions you may have about breast cancer, please click on this link to the NationalBreastCancer.org. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Early detection is vital!

I’ll be sharing other breast cancer websites I believe will be of interest, as the month progresses. Stay tuned and be informed!

 

Get the message?

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Have you seen this? I received this message from a friend yesterday. canstockphoto10214310Please pass it on!

“After viewing, please forward it to all your loved ones.

They all need to see this because they are either drivers or innocent passengers.

Volkswagen made an eye-opening ad...

A Hong Kong movie theatre asks its patrons to leave their cell phones ON when they enter the movie theatre.

Using that, Volkswagen made an eye- opening ad…

More than 1.5 million views in 3 days!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JHixeIr_6BM?rel=0&autoplay=1&iv_load_policy=3

Canadians in Support of Afghan Women

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Here’s where I will be this evening (Tuesday, Sept.8). If you are in the Oakville area, please check to see if there are tickets left and come along for an inspiring evening and an opportunity to offer support where it is seriously needed.

 
Canadians in Support of Afghan Women CSAW is a volunteer Canadian solidarity group committed to making women’s rights and protection under the law a priority in Afghanistan.
A Chapter of Canadian Women For Women In Afghanistan

“Education is the Light, May it never be extinguished”,

Mellissa Fung has revisited Afghanistan
Come hear about her new experience.

Download the Flyer | Purchase Tickets Online | Contact us for Tickets

© CSAW 2014

 

 

Last year at this time I attended a talk, hosted by CSAW, given by the intrepid journalist, author and human rights activist, Canada’s own, Sally Armstrong. It’s hard not to be in awe of her.

For decades she has spent time in some of the most war-torn parts of the world working towards improving the rights of women and girls. She is a powerful and engaging speaker and has recently published Ascent of Women, with its hopeful message that the world is indeed changing thanks to women raising their voices.

Funds raised at these evenings go to support the Lantern Fund, a teacher training initiative, organized by the not-for-profit Canadian Women For Women In Afghanistan.   These women are a force to be reckoned with ! (It’s okay to end this sentence with a preposition … I checked.)

One message conveyed repeatedly is how young women in Afghanistan are taking hold of change in their country, against terrible odds and great danger. And they are making progress. One small way we can help to show these brave young women and men (… yes, they are actually being successful in having young men join their fight for change!), is by liking their Facebook page, Young Women For Change,  and helping to share their message.

Once again, social media is helping to strengthen a cause. Click here  for more information.

Be part of the change!

 

 

The Book Nook in Second Life

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One of the exciting aspects of the publishing world these days is the continuous opportunity to learn about something new. Today, author Sharon Clare AIbEiAIAAABDCIq9ierswNqzNyILdmNhcmRfcGhvdG8qKDJjMzg0ODE5NmE0NjJkNTFmODYxNGRkZTE3NzhhNzE0MWViNmQ3YTgwAX26kvaFoD5zZJbYlK2Cebd2wiLS is visiting to explain about a very virtual experience for readers and writers.

Read on, please, and I think you will be as surprised and interested as I am!

Take it away, Sharon … 

HIT AN UNTAPPED READERSHIP – PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS

WITH THE BOOK NOOK IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD!

The Book Nook Store Sign 512 x 512

Five years ago, I was intrigued by a documentary about an online virtual world called Second Life. SL is a virtual world where people meet as avatars from all over the globe to engage in socialization, education, business, music, hobbies, role-play, leisure and all sorts of stuff.

After downloading the viewer, I spent a hilarious day trying to navigate my avatar in this world. I quickly saw why people get addicted to these things—it’s not only fun, but I also learned that chatting to my new Malaysian friend while listening to virtual waves roll against the shore was as relaxing as if I’d spent the day on the beach. No wonder Second Life has millions of residents.

I now belong to many writing groups, have met SL friends in real life and have learned to build, teach and run a business. Two years ago, I started a virtual book store where authors can promote and sell their books in world.

According to a state of the industry report by Spil Games, more than 1.2 billion people of all ages and genders play online games worldwide.

If you have a book to sell, why not tap into this market and advertise your books in The Book Nook stores.

Why use The Book Nook in Second Life?

Visibility—Unlike a magazine ad, your book cover is always on display, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a high traffic area. Unlike a real world book store, books are never shelved side-by-side, book covers always face out. Stuart Applebaum, head of Corporate Communications at Penguin Random House said: ‘We don’t know if getting the word out about the book will sell it, but we know they won’t buy it if they’ve never heard of it.’

Reach—Second Life has on average 60,000 people online at all times. These people log in from all over the world. This is a global audience, and in this age of electronic books, sales are viable and easy. Second Life has been around since 2003, long enough to catch Jeopardy’s notice. It was the answer to a question on the game show recently.

In World Promotion—The London City sim where one branch of The Book Nook is located runs a circulating promotional ad for The Book Nook on their group chat. There are 46,102 members in this group. The London City sim has daily traffic on average of 2,470.The stores participate in grid-wide scavenger hunts. Every ‘hunter’ searches the store for a gift. The gifts are reading related and include a romance sampler (the first 2 chapters) from one of our authors. This looks like a real book with pages that turn and can be read in Second Life. To read more of the story, buy links are a click away. This is a great way to get your book in the hands of readers.

Low Competition—There are very few book stores in Second Life. I’ve not seen anything like The Book Nook.

Play Time—Creative people use Second Life. Most are in world for leisure, so book reading is in keeping with the overall nature of this world.

Affordability—Just $10 for 6 months or $20 for 1 year puts your book in Book Nook stores.

What’s Included?

1. The Book Nook has two stores on different sims, London City Victoria and Art Gallery Route 7. Your book will be displayed in both locations.

Art Gallery Route 7_007

 

2. Every new book gets at least 2 weeks featured as new to the store.

New This Week

3. Each book is linked to your buy link so readers are immediately connected to your chosen web page when they touch your book.

Web Page Link

4. An excerpt or blurb from your book will be displayed on a cycling slideshow that plays in the London store.

Excerpt

5. Your book video added to the Youtube TV that plays in the art gallery store.

Book Trailer_009

6. Your excerpt or blurb posted on the Book Nook Facebook page here and Google Plus page here.

7. Tweets will be posted with your buy link to announce and then promote your book.

8. The option to have the first 2 chapters (around a dozen pages) made into a virtual book sampler that will be given away with your buy links to store visitors. (This is similar to what Amazon offers, but it’s more fun to read in SL.)

The Bridge Club and The Promise of Provence are both sitting on their own virtual bookshelf  in The Book Nook and I’ll be sending Promises To Keep very shortly. Try it! To have your book included in The Book Nook stores, just send an email to sclare@sharonclare.com.

Thanks for visiting today, Sharon. This is an intriguing concept!

If you’d like to visit Second Life, you can find more about it here. Either download their viewer or use the one Sharon uses, Firestorm viewer. The downloads are here: http://www.firestormviewer.org/downloads/

Find The Book Nook stores here:
Art Gallery: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Phasic%20Foo/188/31/25

London City Victoria: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City3/213/147/24