3 More Q and A

I haven't done this in a while but I figured I should get some more answers out there for the questions I receive from readers. So here goes.


I know you really enjoy movies, which NEW movie are you most excited about?

This is pretty easy to answer and maybe obvious. I'm most excited about the new WOLVERINE!!! (yes it has to be said in all caps) movie.

I know there were things I didn't like about the last Wolverine movie but as a huge X-men fan and a huge Hugh Jackman fan, how can I not get suckered into loving this film sight unseen? The hope that this film will be better than the last Wolverine film is what is ensuring my seat in the theater on opening day. Okay, maybe not opening day if I'm busy, but def. opening weekend. I know what you're thinking, fool me once...but I'm willing to take the shame of being fooled twice by this franchise. 

What happened to all the Gabby and Chewie comics? Will there be more soon?

I can't say if there will be more soon as comics take a considerable amount of effort (I know, mine don't appear to take much effort as they often show up still quite raw) and I haven't had anything funny to say through comics about the cats as of late. But I'm still drawing and still working on Gabby and Chewie images (such as the rough sketch below) so I hope to eventually get more up on here if not sooner than later.

If you could have any superpower what superpower would it be and why?

There are so many awesome potential powers to choose from so it would be hard to decide. If I were to limit the assortment of powers to something that fit both my past and my personality then invisibility would be the power I would have to choose. Initially, my reasoning for this might seem I guess sad for lack of a better word. I grew up as a middle child between two very bright and outgoing sisters who loved the spotlight while I wandered in shadow. I was a shy kid by nature and as I grew older I got more scared and quiet. Even today I still get anxious talking in front of large groups or even single strangers. I often try to melt into the background of most social situations because it's always been easier to observe than to be the center of attention. So since I've historically felt quite invisible and even worked towards making myself invisible in social situations, I think I could use invisibility to my advantage as a superhero. I already know how to blend into the background and how to observe and use those observations to my advantage. As an invisible superhero I could be a strong asset to any superhero team/league/group that would have me and I could use my already explored invisibility to help fight crime or even save the world.

3 Ways To Fail At Twitter

Recently I started back on Twitter since it seems that most successful self-published authors are on the site. I'm not sure how many sales I'll get from being on Twitter but it makes sense to build up a following before I drop my book in case it does bring in a few sales. Since I've been back (I had signed up originally back in good old 2008) I've noticed some things that seem to work and some that really do not. So if you're an author and want to use Twitter to market your books, here are 3 ways to fail at Twitter, or really 3 things not to do on Twitter.

1. Sell, Sell, Sell
Would you ever return to a store where once you walked in the room someone started yelling at you: "Buy this! Buy this! Buy this! Buy this! Buy this! Buy this!" Probably not, so why would you ever use Twitter that way? If every tweet you post is "Buy my book!" people are not going to buy your book. Even if 50% of your tweets are like that you are still going to turn off a lot of people. A good rule of thumb is 80/20, 80% non-selling, 20% selling or other promotion (such as follow my FB page, or look at my blog tweets).

2. The Forever Tweet
There's a reason it's limited to 140 characters. Do Not post multiple tweets on the same topic with no end in sight. It's okay to carry on a conversation with others but don't just fill your page with a long string of endless tweets on one subject.

This especially doesn't appeal to followers because tweets go in last post order, meaning the first thing posted is at the bottom, so they have to scroll for a long time to see your original thought and then scroll forward to read the entirety of your ridiculously long rant. Imagine if you had to watch a TV show in reverse, it would be annoying just like a never-ending tweet rant.

3. Not Interacting With Others
While the other two are about what you might be doing that turns followers away, this is what you might not be doing which isn't allowing you to attract followers. When you choose to follow someone  it will work to your advantage to re-tweet something they've said, star/favorite something they've said or tweet directly to them with some sort of question or comment (not a direct message, that's different and typically frowned upon). By interacting with others you're directing them to your page and they'll usually follow you back (if your tweets are interesting to them and not examples of 1 or 2 above). Now some people are too busy to follow everyone that follows them and nudges them with a RT or a star but you'll get more followers by interacting with others. Also jumping into a conversation or responding to others is a great way to get noticed and if you're polite (not attacking others online) then you can typically get some followers by joining conversations or even starting conversations. People want to be noticed and when you notice them they'll typically notice you in kind.

So those are the top three things that come to mind when thinking about my experiences so far with Twitter and what seems to work and what doesn't. Hopefully this helps you out as you explore or improve your author Twitter account. :)

Unigons & Dracorns

Over the weekend I had a moment with a pencil, some paper and my always working overactive imagination. I started trying to make a cute baby dragon. So I made really big eyes, but quickly these eyes made my baby dragon look like E.T. So Amanda suggested that I add hair around the face to make the eyes seem smaller. While most dragons don't have hair, I thought it was a good idea and drew some on. Then I realized that my baby dragon had pretty much become a dragon/unicorn hybrid. 

(It's even drooling for added cuteness.)

What exciting uncharted territory I had stumbled upon. What happens when someone finds a creature that hasn't been defined yet? I looked at the Lion/Tiger Lyger/Tigon example to determine what this new creature would be called. So if our unicorn/dragon baby is female it would be referred to as a Unigon and if it was a male it would be a Dracorn. Okay so this is just a theory because I'm not scientist, just a writer with an overactive imagination, a pencil and some paper.