Life in progress


30 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – A favour?

Hi, my friends!

I’m using today’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt to see if we can get pingbacks working again.

I received a reply from the Happiness Engineers to say they tried a pingback and it worked, so they can’t see a problem. Here’s the email:

Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out.

My message to WP: Is there any chance pingbacks will be working again soon?

I checked and can see that the pingback is working on your website. You can see a screenshot of a test of the pingback on your site here: https://d.pr/i/5Q8N1o

You can explain if there is a specific site that you are not receiving the pingbacks from and we can help check this for you.

(NOTE) The Pingbacks may not work if the site from which you are getting a pingback is set to Private. If their site is set to Private, it may not push any notification for the links you add to your blog as Pingbacks.

You need to let the site you getting the pingback be set to public.

So what I figured we can do (or you can do, rather, as a favour) is post your prompt post as usual with your regular (attempt to) ping back to this post.

IF YOUR PINGBACK DOESN’T SHOW UP IN THE COMMENTS, comment with your link and add to your comment “I tried a pingback on this post and it doesn’t work.”

If they’re still not working, I can send the Happiness Engineers a link to this post and they can see whose “specific site” it’s not working from.

If they’re working now, this was all for nothing and you can carry on.

Thanks in advance for your help!


If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com

The Magician’s Curse (2.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else (Amazon worldwide, Kobo, etc.)
The Magician’s Blood (3.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else
The Magician’s Soul (3.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else
“The Great Dagmaru” Complete Series (6.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else
The Magician’s Sire (free with sign-up) here.


42 Comments

I have some exciting news!

Both The Magician’s Soul and my series “The Great Dagmaru” are up for awards!

The reviewers at the Paranormal Romance Guild have nominated my book and my series for the 2021 Reviewers Choice Awards.

Here’s their review for The Magician’s Soul:

This is the third and final book in this series and should definitely be read in order. Magic, succubus, incubus, sex, suspense, surprises, secrets and much more so all I can say is WOW

If you have already read book one and two then you know most of the characters, like I said if you haven’t begun this series then stop reading this review and pick up book one The Magician’s Curse and begin the journey into the life of Stephen Dagmaru and all the people that affect his life for good or bad.

Stephen and Herman have returned home to plan for their wedding but her nightmares and her introduction to her father’s alter ego, Mona Lisa may put a damper on the happy occasion. Add in the fact that Herman’s cousin Rudy has arrived with the intention of teaching Herman everything she needs to know about…

https://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/release-day-review-the-magicians-soul-linda-g-hill/

I can’t give you the rest of the review without giving you spoilers for Book 2, The Magician’s Blood. If you have read it, check out the rest of the review by Linda Tonis at the link above!

Please vote!

But before you do that, I’d really appreciate it if you’d vote for my books. All you have to do is be logged in to your Google account and click on the buttons below the covers of my books. There are two–one for the book, and one for the series (same cover). You don’t need to choose in every category. The submit button is at the bottom of the form. Here’s the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvn1eQbB2t-8PftIfh8ej9CXppQfDq5t0kIhvdLT82B7VAxA/viewform

Thank you so much!!! 😀

P.S. If you haven’t started reading the series or if you’ve started it and you’re enjoying it, you can get the free prequel, The Magician’s Sire, by signing up here. If you don’t want to receive emails from me, just unsubscribe as soon as you’ve got your book. No harm, no foul. 🙂


28 Comments

Just Jot It January a new way

I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out how I can make Just Jot It January work in 2021, because I know I’ll be busy with my novel. Like, extremely busy.

If you’re familiar with the prompt, you know for the last few years I’ve requested prompts from other bloggers and I’ve posted the prompt itself separately from my own JusJoJan entry. I really enjoy doing it that way, but it’s simply not realistic this next year. It’s way too time consuming, plus, I feel like I need to write my own post on the actual day of the prompt so I can provide content that’s relevant.

So here’s what I propose to do this year: fiction.

Every day in January except for Wednesdays, when you’ll still get your One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday (SoCS) I’ll post either a stand-alone short story or an episode of a serialized one. The story will have a one-word title that you can use for your prompt, and it will be posted at 2am EST, so unless you’re on the other side of the world, you’ll have all day to write your own JusJoJan post. Yours does NOT have to be fiction–it can be anything, and you can use the prompt word or not.

However, I’m not going to leave you out of this completely.

What I’d love from you is something to prompt me on what to write. In the comments, give me any or all of the following:

1. A name (It can be your own, but all I can promise is that I won’t kill you in my story. You may end up being any kind of character, possibly not even human.);

2. A setting;

3. A situation or a “what if.”

I may not use all of the suggestions I’m given, but if I do use your suggestion, I’ll try to link back to you in some way.

I’ll start writing my stories over the Christmas holidays and schedule them to show up in January.

Keep an eye out for the official Just Jot it January rules post for this year.

Aaaand, prompt me!


9 Comments

It’s the final day to vote!

As you may have heard, my novel, The Magician’s Blood, is up for the Reviewer’s Choice Award this year, a contest held by The Paranormal Romance Guild.

I’m extra excited to be able to say the whole series, “The Great Dagmaru,” has also been nominated for an award!

This is a quick reminder that if you haven’t already voted, today is the day to do it. The winners will be announced on Thursday.

All you need to do is be signed in to your Google account and click the following link to vote. And please don’t forget to vote for the book and the series.

https://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/2018-prg-reviewers-choice-awards-ballot/

Thank you so much!!

 


54 Comments

The Magician’s Blood is up for an award!!

I’m so excited! Not only has The Magician’s Blood been nominated for the Reviewer’s Choice Award by the Paranormal Romance Guild, my entire series is up for an award too!

The PNR Guild is arguably the place to go to find excellence in paranormal romance. I was so happy last year when The Magician’s Curse won in the category of Gothic romance. This year, they have me in Fantasy-Demons, Devils and Angels, which actually fits better with the sub-genre of the second book.

But in order to win, I need your help. All you have to do is be signed in to your Google account and then go to the following link and vote:

https://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/2018-prg-reviewers-choice-awards-ballot/

My categories are about a third of the way down the page. Make sure you vote in both categories: once for the book and once for the series. You only get one chance to vote per Google account you own, so make it count! Voting ends on January 29th.

I’m thrilled to be nominated! So much so, that to celebrate, I’m going to drop the price of The Magician’s Blood to 99 cents for one day only–tomorrow, which is my birthday!!

Your support is appreciated immensely!


49 Comments

Prompt Me Part 2 – #JusJoJan 2019

Hello there! It’s time once again to ask you for prompt words to help us finish off Just Jot it January. This is your chance to inspire other people and have your blog linked back on the day of your prompt.

This is the second of two parts. I’m only asking for 8 prompt words today–if you had your prompt word used in the last two weeks, you don’t qualify for this round. First timers only please!

I need 8 single words to use in the Just Jot It January challenge, for January 20th through to the 29th. I’ll post the prompt for the final day. Read the rules carefully! This is how you can be included:

  • The first 8 comments on this post that include a single word will be the prompts for the last two weeks in January that I won’t be writing my own prompts (aka One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday).  If you write more than one word in your comment, for example, “My word is antidisestablishmentarianism,” I’ll ignore it. Same thing if you try to slip in two, even in two different comments–I’ll only accept the first. If I get the same word twice, I’ll only accept the first person who got to it. If you’re the second, feel free to try again. And please, remember this is a relatively G-rated blog, so nothing too risque.
  • I’ll link back to the blog of whomever gives me a prompt on the day I use it.
  • Make sure you get your comment in early. You don’t want to miss out!
  • Please don’t bother entering a prompt if your blog is inactive or if it exists only to sell things. If you haven’t posted in over a month and you’re only looking for clicks, your prompt word will be rejected. If, on the other hand, you’re planning to use JusJoJan to inspire you to get back into the swing of things, let me know immediately in a second comment — NOT the one you give your prompt word in. Remember, that’s ONE word only. If I can’t find a reasonable number of posts written in the last month that aren’t trying to sell a product, your prompt word will be rejected.
  • I observed a couple of years ago that many of our prompt words were negative in nature. I found they didn’t do as well as the more positive words. I don’t want to limit you, but please keep in mind that if your word is on the sadder or angrier side, your prompt may not get as much participation.
  • If you provide a prompt, I encourage you to join in as much as possible throughout the rest of the month.

Please see the “Rules” post for a complete list of the prompt words. I’ll populate it as the words come in, if I’m home. Here’s the link in case you missed it: https://lindaghill.com/2018/12/31/what-is-just-jot-it-january-2019-rules/

Okay. Are you ready? Aaaaand… prompt! One word!

Edit: We have all our prompt words! I’ll turn off the commenting on this post now. Please check the above link for the prompt list. I’ll finish filling it in in a bit. Thanks to all our contributors this year!!


18 Comments

Note to me – Just Jot it January 2019

This year’s Just Jot it January marks the fifth anniversary of the event. Five years! So hard to believe. Every year it’s been more of a success than the last, but I can’t help but wonder if it can be improved.

At the very least, I’d like to do something about my lack of organization at the start of every new year. Which is why I’m writing myself a note here to remind myself of the plans I inevitably skip over because of time constraints. You see, every December I go back to the Just Jot it January from the year before and just do what I did then. Because it’s easier.

Here’s what I propose to do differently in January 2019 (should I be granted another year of blogging):

1. Collect prompts from other bloggers once a week instead of once at the beginning of the month. This will reduce the number of people who have good intentions (much like New Year’s resolutions) to carry on with the challenge but drop out before it’s time for their own word to come up. Or suggest a word and then forget why they suggested it.

2. Run a contest for a new badge. My mad Paint skillz were fun to look at, but five years of a stick figure sitting in front of a flaming screen is enough, methinks. Suggestions on when I should run the contest are welcome (which is why I’m doing this publicly rather than privately). December makes the most sense, but it’s less than ideal given that so many people are so very busy.

3. Suspend the Friday Reminder for SoCS for the month and post it as a daily prompt, the same as the rest of the JusJoJan prompts, including adding it to the list ahead of time, along with all the other prompt words for the week. This will, I hope, cut down on the confusion of having two prompts show up on my blog on one day.

If you have any suggestions on other ways to improve the entire process, I’m all ears. Or, well, eyes since I’ll be reading your comment, not listening to it. You know what I mean.


19 Comments

Prompts

Aside from starting Just Jot It January 2018 in a couple of weeks, I’m thinking about creating a new prompt. Yes, I know what you’re thinking–but, Linda, you can barely keep up with the ones you have! But this one’s a bit different.

The new prompt will be simple: a picture with a small explanation. I’m going to call it the The Escapist Coloring Club Prompt, and I’ll only host it on the first Monday of every month. My hope is to find volunteers to host it on their own blog every other Monday of the month.

The Escapist Coloring Club will prompt people to take pictures of the things they are coloring and share them. Whether it’s your own adult coloring project or something that your kids have done that you’re particularly proud of, it will be a chance both to showcase your work and to connect with other bloggers who share your passion for creating beautiful works of art.

So why am I looking to add to my workload? I’m not, really. In fact, I’m attempting to do the exact opposite. I need to escape from all the work I do on a daily basis, and this prompt will, I hope, encourage me to take time for myself. Even if I don’t finish what I’ve started, I will take a picture of my current project and share it, as I have a few times with my coloring calendar over the past year.

So, what do you say? Will you participate? And even better, do you think you’d like to host? I do believe we can create a lovely, nurturing community out of this: adults and parents of all descriptions.

If you’re interested in hosting, I can teach you everything you need to know about the process, and I will reblog every prompt post to help get as much exposure for you, your artwork, and your blog as is possible. Just email me at linda@lindaghill.com and we’ll get the ball rolling in the coming weeks. Let me know if you’re in it just to try it out, or if you’d like to host on a monthly basis.

I look forward to hearing from you!

My colouring project from May, 2017


25 Comments

The War is On!

It’s official! For one week only, I’m in competition for the best book cover on Author Shout’s Cover Wars. Please head over and vote for my amazing cover, designed with love by the equally amazing and lovely Belinda Borradaile of https://idiotwriting.wordpress.com/

Here’s the link to vote: http://authorshout.com/cover-wars/ Even better, you can vote once a day for the next week. Do it now! 😀 Thank you!

img_1918


33 Comments

Okay, I need your help

This has the potential to be fun. I just had a nice man call me from Microsoft. He introduced himself as “James,” a lovely East Indian name to be sure, to let me know my computer is sometimes “not responsive” because of a serious problem with Windows. James can fix it for me, but I have to be in front of my computer.

I explained to him that, unfortunately, I don’t have any electricity right now (a blatant lie) but he said that’s no problem, he can call me back later and we can fix this thing! He confirmed his name, “Justin,” and said he’d call tonight.

SO! How can I have the most fun with “James Justin” tonight? Suggestions, please!!