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I Broke My Site

broke my site

Folks, I’ve been a little quiet because I’ve been hard at work revamping my website. Like the skilled coder I am (ha ha ha), I managed to create a critical error on my website and broke my site. Normally, if something like this happens, it’s an easy fix. Remember, I design and manage websites as a side gig. I rarely encounter such a huge issue.

Unfortunately, the theme I loved that someone else built hasn’t been updated in four years. What does that mean? The old theme ran perfectly on an outdated PHP version. However, some of the plugins and other elements I’m using require an update to a more current version of PHP.

When I upgraded the PHP, it caused a critical error because the theme hadn’t been upgraded to be compatible with the new version. I had a choice after I broke my site. Lose all my plugins and extra features or change my theme. I supposed I could have rewritten the code for the theme, but if I’m doing all that work anyway, I might as well upgrade and freshen up my site for 2023.

The result is a softer, more minimalistic look. I love the lack of clutter and the way everything flows more smoothly. I also went with an Open Source framework that gets upgraded nearly weekly. This should prevent me running into the same issue again.

While I was at it, I added a carousel of all my books to the homepage. I also added a book grid to my Books page. I may change these around some as new releases hit. For example, I might feature a particular series, new releases or seasonal favorites.

I hope you like the changes and find the site easy to navigate. While I have your ear, have you signed up for my newsletter? In the coming months, I’ll be adding some details about Cupid’s Crossing and my books you won’t find anywhere else. This is the insider information my subscribers get that no one else does. You’ll also gain access to A BRIDE FOR BEN, a short novella set in Cupid’s Crossing.

Thanks for bearing with me as I revamped my pages. I’ll have more news this week in my newsletter and choose a winner from the last newsletter’s drawing. Love you all!

Lori Soard
XOXO

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Writing and the Pandemic

writing and the pandemic

Dearest readers,

It has been a long and grueling year for most of us. I keep starting my next book, stopping, starting something else, stopping. I just can’t seem to get in the groove of pre-pandemic.

For one thing, how do I handle the whole pandemic thing? Is life going back to normal? Do I put masks on my characters or not? Do I just ignore COVID-19 like it never happened or do my characters mention it? It’s so hard to know what to do.

Reading Is an Escape

People typically read fiction to escape their everyday lives. Many of us are sick of the way the world has been closed and we’ve been shut off from family and friends for so long. If reading is an escape, should there be a pandemic in my fictional world?

At the same time, I don’t want my readers to pick up my book and think it seems unrealistic. I know I’m overthinking things and I promise I will have something new for you soon.

Not a Romance

While romance will always be my first love when writing, this newest series is not a romance. It’s about a group of women, similar to my Lipstick Diaries book. I hope you’ll come to love them as much as I have. They are dealing with some pretty big issues, which I’ll share more about pre-release. I think you’re going to enjoy the series.

I know they say to know your genre before you write. That would be smart, but this book was screaming at me to be written, so I just went for it and I’ll figure out the genre later. Let’s just say any woman over the age of 40 will likely relate to something in this series.

Until then, I’ll keep plugging away at my latest books and keep you posted on how it’s going.

Love you!

Lori

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A Day in Mobile with My Writing Sidekick – My Dog Maya

Most of you probably remember that I had a mini writing retreat last month. I had my dog Maya along. This can create a bit of a challenge, because you can’t take a dog just anywhere with you, but her companionship was well worth the extra effort.

After visiting with my aunt and uncle, I headed back toward New Orleans for a short writing retreat. My plan was to finish up my current book, but I didn’t quite make it. That’s okay. I still got quite a bit done. On my way between Daphne and Metairie, I decided to stop in Mobile for a quick lunch. I had Maya with me, so I knew I’d need a dog-friendly place to stop.

I pulled up Bring Fido. If you haven’t checked out this website for traveling with your four-legged companions, you should. They will tell you restaurants in the area that are dog-friendly, as well as hotels and attractions. Surprisingly, there are a number of places that welcome dogs in this area, so you can have your pick.

Maya and I chose to stop in at Heroes Sports Bar & Grille. Bring Fido stated that it was friendly to dogs if you sat on the patio. They had a nice little covered patio area with large fans overhead stirring the air. I went ahead and poked my head in the door and asked if it was okay to sit out there with Maya, because you never know.

They welcomed us and a few minutes later a young girl brought a menu and said hello to Maya. She told me she owned a doxie as well. They brought Maya some water with crushed ice in it. Since it was at least a million degrees in Mobile that day, Maya truly appreciated the thought.
lori-and-mayaWhen I’m at a new restaurant, I always ask the server what she or he likes on the menu. It’s hard to know what to order and this at least gives me some insight from someone who has had a chance to frequently try things on the menu. She recommended the Solo Nachos, which I went ahead and ordered even though they weren’t low carb. These wer a smaller portion of the Culo Grande Naches and included a mound of chips, chili with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and a couple different types of cheeses including some Monterey Jack, which is one of my favorites. Next time, I would have them leave the jalepenos off, but that is personal preference. Even this small version was far more than I could eat alone, but it was truly delicious and satisfying.

I ordered Maya a rookie burger without the bun off the kids menu along with a side of fries because she loves them so much. Don’t worry, I only fed her a couple of the fries.

As we sat and ate our lunch, I could hear the bells from the nearby Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. It is a parish established in the early 1700s. I didn’t get a chance to go inside, but the outside was beautiful and it seemed to be rather busy with people going in and out. The bells certainly were beautiful, playing classical tunes and ringing on the hour.

old-building
One of the older buildings in the area. Most have already been renovated, but this one hasn’t yet. Don’t you just love the character and uniqueness of this building?

The entire area has a downtown vibe with refurbished buildings. Drive around the block and you’ll find old buildings like the one pictured here in the middle of being renovated. The look is very reminiscent of New Orleans with wrought iron balconies and brick buildings throughout.

My overall thoughts on this restaurant are that it is a great place to have lunch with your dog on a weekday, but on a weekend it is likely a little too busy as everyone enters and exits from that patio. I think the dog would have gotten underfoot had it been busier as the tables are close together. The staff was great and loved on my dog. The service was a little slow, but it is hard on the servers to go in and out and wait on the outside tables. So, since they were so nice and welcoming to Maya, I really can’t complain about the time it took. It wasn’t horrendous, just allow a little extra time.

The outside patio only has four tables that are four tops but there is an overflow patio to the side with umbrellas with some two and some four tops. I doubt it was as cool to sit out there, though, as it was getting more direct sunlight and I didn’t see any fans to stir the air.

Heroes is located right next to Bienville Square park, which is a historic park. It was just a lovely little break in a busy city.

If you are ever in the Mobile, Alabama area, with or without your pooch, I recommend you try Heroes Sports Bar & Grille. Good food, friendly staff, reasonable prices, and great atmosphere.

I leave you with this adorable picture of Maya to brighten your day.

 

Maya-adorable

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If You See a Typo in One of My Books…

kindle

Many of you have probably heard about Amazon’s new policy to warn readers about errors in books. You might be surprised to hear that I think this is a move in the right direction. While I love that anyone can write and publish a book these days, because it gives readers choices and variety and it gives authors control, some people really need to brush up on their grammar and spelling or hire a good editor.

That said, it is impossible to catch every error in a book. I routinely see typos in books published by big publishing houses. I had a book go through a critique group, a private editor, my edits, my editor at a publishing house, a copy editor, a proofreader, and back to me with galley proofs and a couple of typos STILL got through. It happens.

So, if you see a typo in one of my books, please do me a favor and drop me an email. I really do want to know and the beauty of online publishing is that I can change my books at any time. I do my best to produce a quality book for my readers, but sometimes something slips through the cracks.

If you catch a typo and I fix it, then I’ll name a future character in one of my stories after you, too.

I do think the new Amazon policy will help the quality books do better and that is a good thing for all writers.

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Yes, I AM an Introvert, and Here Is Why

iintrovert

I often refer to myself as an introvert. Some of my family and friends always say, “Pish, Posh. You’re so outgoing and good at talking to people you don’t know.”

That doesn’t mean that I like it, though. In fact, I would much rather communicate with you behind a keyboard than face-to-face. In conversations with people I don’t know well, I often feel awkward.

The Hands

I don’t know what to do with my hands! Do I put them on my hips? Cross them? Use them to express myself? Fold them in front? When I’m at parties and gatherings, I often find myself wondering what I should do with my hands. I will watch other people, but what they are doing doesn’t always seem correct either. Why are these things that we use for so many daily tasks suddenly so awkward when talking to other people?

The Small Talk

Just for the record, I loathe small talk. People who love the written word crave deep, meaningful conversations. Even though I’ve taken the Dale Carnegie course and I know all the questions to ask to keep the conversation going, that doesn’t mean that I LIKE that conversation.

  • What’s your name?
  • What do you do?
  • Where are you from?
  • Do you have kids? Tell me about them…

Sigh. This kind of conversation makes a writer want to bang her head against a wall. It is so painful to me. Oh, how I love the people who jump naturally into conversation and you feel as though you’ve known them half your life. One of my favorite people of all time started a conversation with me by saying, “Don’t you hate the way men are so filled with road rage?” Thus began a conversation about road rage and shared stories of one another’s lives.  These people are rare. I also like those who are chatterboxes because it saves me from having to draw information out of them, which I also hate.

I Like My Own Company

I can honestly say that while I love my friends and family and I enjoy them when I am around them, they are a small circle. I really and truly feel most comfortable when I am alone. I was raised an only child (I do have a half-sister, but she was older and only around occasionally). I think that probably has a lot to do with why I am so fond of my own company. I learned at an early age to entertain myself with books, Barbies, music. I learned to embrace being in my own space and my own skin.

Although I sometimes get lonely working from home alone and will venture out to lunch with a friend or to visit one of my closest friends at her workplace, I can honestly say that there are also times that there is a feeling of giddy relief when everyone leaves and it is me, my animals and my keyboard alone at last.

I Dread Going Out

I dread going out places. I think about everything else I need to do. I make excuses. Oh, it’s raining, so I’m not going.  I often force myself to go anyway, because I know I sometimes need some human companionship and I enjoy my small circle of friends. I truly like them as people. They are smart, kind, caring, strong women. However, it is hard to get myself going to go out to dinner with the group of women I sometimes meet up with or even just to go out with a friend.

Pajamas or Clothes?

PJs win every time. I’d much rather be at home in my PJs. I don’t care if you think I’m boring. There’s another season of whatever show on Netflix.

New People? For the Love of God, WHY?

Your group of friends just told you they invited someone new to the gathering. Your husband wants you to meet his new friend and the man’s wife. Your editor tells you she just has to introduce you to some people. I am comfortable with my group of friends and I do make new friends from time to time but it has to have a natural flow to it. I find that when people try to make me be friends with one of their friends that I rarely have the same things in common with that person. In fact, I will admit that I find some people pretty annoying. It’s okay, though. I’m sure I annoy them, too.

I’m a Planner

Extroverts tend to be seat of the pantsers. They will make plans on the fly. On the other hand, I have my life planned out for the next several months. In fact, my vacation for 2017 is already planned. Introverts are often detailed planners. We have to-do lists as well. I have kept to-do lists since I could write. I don’t know what I’d do without one for everything from my daily tasks to packing for a trip. However, I notice that I also tend to get a lot more done than those pantser types. I’m sure there is an argument for not using to-do lists. I just can’t figure out what it might be.

I Am Content

I know what I like and don’t like. I know who I like and don’t like. I know what things I’ll be doing next week and next year and ten years from now. And, I am very content and happy with those things. I like books, animals more than people, and a good romantic comedy. I don’t mind going to the movies alone. In fact, I rather enjoy it.

What do you think? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Why?

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When You Attract Critics over Second Life, Ignore Them and Keep Climbing

Rejection Second Life Article

I recently came across an online post that ripped apart an article I wrote about Second Life as a promotional tool and some Second Life news I included. As with any criticism, it stings at first. I’ve been writing many years and this only happens occasionally. However, I learned early in my writing career that you should take a deep breath and then go back and read the criticism, rejection letter, bad review, or whatever it is with fresh eyes. There is almost always something you can learn from the criticism. My goal is to try to continue to grow and improve constantly as a writer and as a human being, so feedback of any type is priceless to me.

Second Life News

In this case, I realized that while I was being misquoted and things taken out of context quite a bit about my Second Life  article and the points I was making, I could make some of my sentences just a bit clearer to make sure I clarified to the reader exactly what I was saying. I was taken to task for quoting a number of users on Second Life. This person’s argument was that there weren’t that many “active” users. Of course, I’d never said that there were, but the criticism allowed me to realize that perhaps readers would be a bit confused (or at least one reader) between registered users and active users and I was able to go back and add a line about how many “active” users there are and also that of course not every active user is going to participate in something. I assumed this would be common sense and understood, but when you assume that as a writer, you sometimes miss the mark.

This actually improved my article (which you can read here), and I love to grow and improve as I go along. I still believe that Second Life can be a valuable tool when you’re looking for unique ways to promote yourself and I stand by that and the recent Second Life news I’ve read. Is it perfect? Will people flock to your event? Is anything perfect? Does anyone flock anymore?

The goal is to reach a new audience and while it will take some of your time, it is worth trying, especially for those wanting to reach specific demographics. Author Karen Kay held an event on Second Life where she interacted with others and she was quite happy with how it turned out. Is this something you can necessarily measure in cold, hard sales numbers? Of course not. Anyone who markets knows that you get 20% return on 80% of your effort (or so) and unless you are using landing pages and A/B testing for specific advertisers, you may never know what is working best. You try things. You reach new people. It builds over time. In the article, I am simply offering another idea you can try out at some point should you wish to.

Will I link to that other negative post or comment on that blog? I decided not and I ask you not to and here is why…

I don’t waste my time on negative energy and people who want to tear others down. Instead, I try to let it inspire me a bit and thus the inspiration for this topic. Had the writer of that article dug a bit deeper in the type of writing I do, he would have realized that I try to come up with unique ways to help people on a budget promote their businesses. I am not a gamer. Although I have played in virtual 3D worlds, including Second Life, that wasn’t the point of the article. I’ve never claimed to be a gamer. That wasn’t the point of my article at all.

Will every single idea work for every single person? Of course not. Does that mean I don’t have a clue? Of course not. I have done my research. I have interviewed others who’ve tried things, and I test things myself. I’m one of those millions (somewhere between 20-36 million) of registered users and have tried the platform. Have I learned something from the criticism? Yes, I did. I learned where I could better clarify what I was saying, so that is a positive spin on a negative post. So, thank you for the feedback and allowing me to improve my clarity on that point.

Finding Encouragement in Negative Second Life Posts and Other Rejections

I think Dave Willis said it best when he said:

“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.”

If you are holding a nasty rejection letter in your hand, keep going back to Amazon to read that negative review, have had someone tell you you’ll never succeed, I want you to know that you can and will succeed. Take a step back and look at what is being said with impartial eyes.

Is there any merit to the criticism? In my case, I did believe I could be clearer on number of active users, but I still stand behind the overall article. If you can learn anything from the criticism you have in your hand (or on the computer screen), study it, apply it and move on.

I have heard of writers papering their office walls with rejection letters, then framing their book covers and placing them on the walls on top of the rejection letters. If you put yourself out there, you’re going to experience rejection. Study it, learn from it, don’t take it to heart and move on.

If you are writing books that people take the time to comment on, writing articles that posts are written about, then you can be sure that you’re either getting a lot of traffic or selling a lot of product/service. That means you should rejoice in the critics. They mean you are succeeding. No one criticizes you if you aren’t putting yourself out there. Yes, you can always learn and grow. No, you aren’t a failure. It does not define you as a person or even as a writer or business owner.

Have you had to deal with a nasty rejection or negative comments? Share your thoughts below.

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Can One Watch THE WEDDING SINGER Too Many Times?

the wedding singer

Thanks to Netflix, I’ve now watched THE WEDDING SINGER about 10 times in a row. I’m not sure if it is my writer’s brain trying to deconstruct plots to movies, but if I like a movie, I will watch it over and over again. I can easily say I’ve watched movies like Dirty Dancing, Clueless, Return to Me, and The Wedding Singer hundreds of times.

Often, they are simply playing in the background as I write. However, they creep into my daily life and conversations. I actually told my daughter the other day that I was “audi” as I was leaving (from Clueless) and often use quotes from movies in everyday situations.

You Can Learn a Lot

You can learn a lot from movies. I’ve learned from the Wedding Singer that life is a song. Whether you’re sad, momentarily insane, or happy, there is a song for that. Adam Sandler is an okay singer, but not a great singer, so I also learned to just sing and quit worrying about how you sound.

I learned from Mean Girls that big hair means big secrets. That you really just have to lose three pounds. And, that Aaron Samuels is not very bright if he believes the swim team is practicing in the projection room above the gymnasium. However, there are some great quotes from this movie that my daughters and I use often like “on Wednesdays we wear pink,” “that’s the rules of feminism,” and “she doesn’t even go here!”

From Dirty Dancing, I learned that nobody sits Baby in the corner and that if you want to fit in just carry a watermelon into the party. However, I also learned that if you try really hard you can learn anything and to learn from the best teachers you can find.

Return to Me is a great movie. It is probably my favorite. I learned from it that we sometimes wonder what God is thinking and that Italian and Irish food go well together. I also learned that if you think you have everything figured out, life will throw you a curve ball, but that twist can be wonderful in the end.

Watching Movies Over and Over

What is it that makes us watch some movies over and over? I’d like to take the time to figure it out, but I’m buggin’ cause 50 First Dates Just popped up on my Netflix feed, so I’m “Audi.”

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The Crash Seen Round the World

september 11th

It’s hard to believe that 13 years have passed since the sunny September 11th in 2001 when life as we Americans knew it changed dramatically. Although some WWII veterans were still around, the majority of us had never experienced an attack on American soil and no one had experienced an attack of this magnitude from outside terrorists in the continental US.

Ask anyone and they will tell you where they were, what they were doing and the impact seeing that second plane hit the World Trace Center (WTC) had on them.

I Remember the WTC Attack Like it Was Yesterday

Like every other American on September 11th, 2001, it was just a normal weekday for me. I got up, got the oldest off to her elementary school, dropped the youngest at preschool and went home for the few hours a week I enjoyed to myself. One of my routines was to turn on the news, so I flipped it to Fox and saw that a plane had crashed into one of the WTC buildings.

What a tragedy, I thought. So sad. wonder if there were mechanical issues? Wonder if the pilot was suicidal? I hoped the people were okay and started to pay attention to the news more than I would have normally when it was just background noise.

What happened next has been described as throwing most people into a state of shock. Shock is not how I react to crisis. The minute that second plane struck the second tower, I knew in an instant that our country was under attack. No way was that second plane another accident. One was unbelievable enough, but two was an attack.

The scary thing was that you didn’t know how widespread the attack was. Was it just in New York? Was it just big cities? Were the schools going to be attacked? I didn’t pause for shock. I was on my feet and out the door, stopping to get my preschooler who was just up the street and then rushing to the elementary.

They had locked down the elementary and wouldn’t let the few parents there get their children. Now, there are many reasons why I think this is a bad idea, including the fact that I do think terrorists will target our schools at some point. However, at that time, the schools did the best they could in a moment none of us ever imagined. I returned home with my youngest and tried to distract her and keep her from seeing the coverage while I watched as much of it as I could.

What Have We Learned?

Here were are, 13 years later, and on the eve of the worst attack in my memory our president is preparing to speak to the nation about the threat of islamic terrorists, there are multiple planes (11 at last count) missing from Libya and no one has ever accounted for the Malaysian plane that they “think” went down.

But, even though that thought is frightening and it seems as though things could be worse than they were even back a decade, we are different than we were 13 years ago. Gone is the innocence of thinking we are 100% safe on our own soil. We’re more observant. We’re street smart now.

I bet, if you are like me, you’ve even been on an airplane or at a public event and gone through different scenarios and how you’d respond. The terrorists might come after us again, in fact, I would almost guarantee they will. However, our response this time will be vastly different. The military will shoot planes out of the sky. If there are passengers, they will fight back.

This week, as we remember those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks (the heroes who ran into the building or brought down planes and also all those innocent lives that were taken), let’s also remember what makes us Americans and binds us together.

We love our country.

We will always fight for freedom.

We are stronger together.

We aren’t perfect, but we would’t want to live anywhere else.

Tomorrow, I will be praying for those who lost loved ones on 9/11. I’ll also pray for our country and that God protects us. And, even though it is hard for me to do, I will pray for the terrorists and that their eyes are opened and hearts changed. What will you be doing tomorrow? How will you mark the day or will you? Share your thoughts below.

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The Left Side of the Room is Empty

gretchen

It has been a rough few days in the Soard household. My baby dog, almost 14, has finally crossed the rainbow bridge. She was having liver issues and went downhill rapidly. After talking to our regular vet, I knew I could no longer let her suffer in pain. She was miserable and it wasn’t going to get better but worse and suffer more and more pain. There was no way to stop her pain fully but to let her go.

Tonight, the left side of the room is empty and barren. She was always right next to me, day and night. She layed to my left on the couch, snoring as she got older. Her teeth were few in the last couple years and her tongue would hang out. In recent months, we had set up a small portable playpen in the left corner where she could be when I was cooking dinner or doing other work as she was blind and couldn’t be left to her own devices. The last few days, she’d pretty much stayed there as she started to ail more and more.

The left side of the room is empty without her and I’m not sure I’ll ever completely get over this loss. She was a tiny, two-pound puppy when we met. It was love at first sight and while you aren’t supposed to buy pet store dogs, I couldn’t help myself. I insisted my husband buy her “for the girls” and $700 later she was ours. Yes, it might seem ridiculous to pay that amount of money for a dog. However, looking back on it, I am so glad we did. $700 was a very small price to pay for the best friend I’ve ever had.

She was a tiny miniature dachshund. Most of her life, she weighed around 8 pounds. She quickly took up with me and never left my side. She loved me when I was mean, when I was kind, when I was stinky, when I was thin and when I was fat. In her eyes, I was the best thing in this world and she couldn’t get enough of me. I have had many pets I’ve loved over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one that loved me quite as much or as hard as she did. No one else compared in her eyes and some days she didn’t even particularly like anyone but me, especially as she started to feel bad.

She loved to eat cucumbers and McDonald’s French fries. If you had even been in a McDonald’s that day, she would lift her nose and sniff the air. She loved to go “bye bye” and was smart enough to have learned many tricks. When she was younger, she would chase her tail, wave bye bye, dance and high five as well as sit, down, beg, etc. She knew so many words and what they meant that we almost communicated in the same language at times.

When she was about a year, we tried to go to obedience school. She was a little dog who thought she was big and tried to attack the Rotweillers in the class. We were politely told it might be best to not return. If I was gone for more than a day, she was so excited to see me that I had to greet her outside or on solid flooring because she would get so excited she would tinkle.

How empty the left side of the room is without her there. How empty my heart is without her love. My only solace is that I got to tell her goodbye. I got to reminder her how much I love her, how good she is, how I believe I will see her again one day. I got to make the decision that this precious creature would leave this world and no longer be in pain. Although it was a very hard decision to make, because hope always wants to believe there is a chance, I know I did what was best for her under poor circumstances. I honored the love she had for me all these years by giving her the gift of peace. Not for me, but for her.

I’m not sure my heart will ever completely heal from this particular loss, but life goes on. What a blessing to have been loved with such pure devotion and affection. What a gift she was to my life. I love you and miss you, baby dog. I always will.