Wednesday, January 29, 2020

BOOK MARKETING: Sunshine State Book Festival Makes Its Debut In Gainesville, Florida


Author Lorilyn Roberts 
Saturday’s inaugural Sunshine State Book Festival hosted by WAG (Writers Alliance of Gainesville) was a resounding success. I learned a lot about the rich literary history of Gainesville. World-renowned poet Robert Frost and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings once called Gainesville home. Today, over two hundred authors live in the Alachua County environs.

My book table was at the exhibit entrance; I was thrilled to greet book dabblers and story lovers, but no homeschoolers stopped by to check out my books. In hindsight, I should have reached out to that audience on social media before the fair. WAG promoted extensively on television and radio, but most homeschooling families don’t watch TV or listen to the radio.

The books I sold included three copies of my memoir Children of Dreams, one copy of my children’s picture book The Donkey and the King, and two copies of my cookbook Food for Thought. I also gave away dozens of postcards to download Seventh Dimension – The Door for free from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I connected with a librarian who invited me to speak at a local school, and I helped an elderly couple who locked their keys in their car to call for roadside assistance using my AAA card. Most of all, I enjoyed mingling with the authors and learning about their writing pursuits.


If you have an opportunity to visit a book fair, don’t miss out. 

Click to tweet: Reading is a pleasurable pastime and print books are making a comeback—especially among young adults and teens—as the most eco-friendly, sustainable form of entertainment on the planet.


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Tuesday, January 21, 2020

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: “Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life,” by Jen Chillingsworth





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Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life by Jen Chillingsworth shows the reader how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. With cover-to-cover captivating artwork, innovative ideas and suggestions leap off the pages of Live Green.

Topics on sustainability include sprucing up the home with anti-pollutant plants, spicing up the dinner table with wholesome foods, buying natural products for hair and skin,  and creating Christmas decorations from organic materials.

In addition to ideas to encourage a greener lifestyle, the author lists sources of inspiration for those who want to dig deeper.

My favorite chapter, “Eat Green,” challenged me the most. As a two-year breast cancer survivor, the quest to eat healthier stretched me to try healthier foods and forego sweets, deli meats, and soft drinks. I would encourage the reader, if this seems daunting, to incorporate changes slowly. Even for the most determined, it takes time to make significant lifestyle adaptations.  

The underlying theme in Live Green begins with awareness. I recommend starting simple. For example, I began with growing herbs beside our front door and planting lettuce and onions in a winter garden. More strategies in Live Green include how to compost and buy product in bulk.

Modest changes like bagging groceries in hemp or cloth bags instead of plastic ones help the environment. For Christmas, I gifted reusable straws to my daughters. After years of hounding me to recycle, they are impressed with how far I’ve come. Small adaptations help sea creatures not only to survive but thrive.

LiveGreen: Fifty-Two steps for a More Sustainable Life is one giant leap toward helping all of us to live greener. Future generations will thank us, and our oceans, air, forests, birds, honeybees, and animals will reap the benefits of our more sustainable life choices. 

My herb garden                               

To purchase Live Green from Amazon,
click here.
                         



Tuesday, January 7, 2020

BOOK EXCERPT FROM SEVENTH DIMENSION - THE CITY: A Young Adult Fantasy, Book 4




“…and the hated Jews that remain aren’t worth our time. We will move west and south into Israel. Our generals will share reports from the field. We begin with a report from our angel of death.”

The fallen angel raised his wings and shouted. “Oh, my dear angels and demons, good news I bring to you. My human has been very cooperative and listened to my suggestions. He is convinced he can win and defeat the enemy.

“Our agenda to stir up strife in Europe has achieved better-than-expected results. The immigration crisis is increasing conflicts among nations. 

Divisions will lead to decreasing tolerance, enabling us to inflict pain and suffering on more and more of God’s stupid sheep.”

The underlings applauded.

“However, reports from behind enemy lines show the prayers of Christians are stopping our advances in the United States and Israel. We must silence the enemy. When saints pray, we lose ground. If you don’t want to burn in the lake of fire, we must defeat those prayer warriors now.”

Discordant voices united in a dirge of hate-filled propaganda.

We will crush the king of kings and lord of lords,
With cruel hate, conniving deceit, and slashing swords.
The king on high can never win,
Against our occult power of sin.
Persecution, suffering, death, and war.
We will bruise our enemy more and more.
Lucifer, our bright morning star,
The object of our worship near and far.
Praise to our ruler who will once again rise
To defeat the man in white, our enemy, our prize.

Once the dissonance subsided, another fallen angel stepped up to the podium.

Without notice, something happened. Doubt crept into my thoughts. Suppose Lucifer won? Suppose my small, insignificant prayers weren’t enough? How much difference could I make against the powers of Sheol?

My eyes read the words in the scriptures, but I couldn’t concentrate. My confidence in God faltered. Hopelessness started to affect my thinking. Depression threatened to usurp my trust. Just as my confidence in God wilted, Daniel leaned over and whispered. “Remember, Satan is a trickster. God keeps him on a tight rope, so don’t despair.”

Daniel must have been reading my mind.

Lucifer announced, “The committee on eugenics has an exciting report to share with you.” A hologram danced across the cave ceiling and disappeared into the river.


Large locusts swarmed in the darkness of the cave. Their luminescence glowed in a brilliant display of power. They appeared like horses, ready for battle.

They wore golden crowns on their heads, and mutilated faces accented their deformed, hideous appearance. Women’s hair, long and stringy, covered their backs, and razor-edged teeth like a lion’s protruded from their mouths.

They wore iron breastplates, and the sounds of horses and chariots reverberated in their wings. The battle cry sounded, and the hologram showed them terrorizing the earth. Their presence was so horrifying, the underlings screeched. I leaned on Daniel’s shoulder.

The powerful creature spoke over the clamor. “In their scorpion-like tail, they can inflict pain on humans for five months. They are waiting for the call—when the end of days begins.”



The hologram disappeared, but the sight of such creatures made me panic. I couldn’t get my breath. Daniel reached over reassuringly. Who could survive the coming calamity?

“That is not all we have to show you,” the fallen angel announced. “Behold our horses and cavalry soldiers—two hundred million in all.”

Another hologram appeared, and a different kind of supernatural creature filled the recesses of the cave. Even more horrifying than the locusts, the riders wore fire-red, iris-blue, and sulfur yellow breastplates. From their mouths spewed fire, smoke, and sulfur.

The demon spoke boastfully. “The plagues from their mouths will destroy one-third of mankind, and their tails will inflict serious injury.”

The vile creatures wielded occult superpower beyond anything imaginable. Weakness of heart overwhelmed me. I languished in pain, imagining the suffering of the afflicted. I clung to my Bible and wept.



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As I look at what is happening in the Middle East, I know war is coming, I know God is in control, and I know the Lord's return is near. 

Books four through six in the Seventh Dimension Series deal with end-time events, including the rise of Islam, the occult, and the fulfillment of prophecy. 

Jesus said, in Matthew 24:6: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."

You can read the entire Seventh Dimension Series for free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited or purchase the six-book series for $9.99 by clicking on this link.



To read more of Lorilyn Roberts’ blogposts, go to LorilynRoberts.com






Sunday, January 5, 2020

BOOK MARKETING: “Why Readers Should Read Books by Indie Authors,” by Lorilyn Roberts

Lorilyn in Juneau, Alaska 2018 volunteering at Echo Bible Camp



Did you know that indie authors are genuinely independent? That is, they do not have the backing of large (or small) publishing houses. For these determined writers, money or fame doesn’t motivate them. Their passion is to write. Indie authors who persevere keep writing even if they sell only a few books. Successful indie authors refuse to give up, sometimes overcoming incredible odds to succeed.

Did you know indie authors tend to discount their e-books more than traditional authors? This is in an effort to entice new readers. Often, indie books are available on Amazon for free through Kindle Unlimited. 

Did you know indie authors often write outside the box? By this I mean the plots of their books often cross multiple genres, and they may even invent an entirely new category. They can take risks because they aren’t constrained by the rules of traditional publishers.

Did you know many famous authors debuted as indie authors? For example, Beatrix Potter, who wrote the Peter Rabbit Series; Darcy Chan whose book, The Mill River Recluse, appeared on the USA Today and New York Times Best-Seller lists for twenty-eight straight weeks; and Amanda Hocking, who was an indie author before she clinched a contract with a traditional publisher for over $2 million.

Did you know readers discovered these extraordinary talents even when traditional publishing houses rejected their books, not once or twice, but dozens of times? Why not make a New Year’s resolution? Read more indie-published books in 2020. You might be surprised by the talent you discover.

Available from Amazon by clicking here

To read more of Lorilyn Roberts’ blogposts, go to LorilynRoberts.com