"A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings but a cat does not." -Ernest Hemingway

Sunday, November 13, 2011

May I Have The Envelope Please?

When I started writing The Unknown Author blog on September 27, 2010, I had one main goal in mind; share with other aspiring writers the techniques I had learned and the resources I had discovered when starting out.

Never did I imagine that little over a year later I would have befriended some of the best rising talent in the business, become published or be recognized with a blogger award!


The Versatile Blogger award was given to me by Cindy Keen Reynders, author of The Saucy Lucy Murders and Paws-itively Guilty and the soon to be published, The Seven-Year Witch and A Killer Slice; the newest in her Saucy Lucy series.   

Saucy Lucy Wisdom, is Cindy’s new blog where she and her character, Aunt Gladys, talk about the writing world and other humorous topics life can throw at you. Cindy provides sound advice ranging from overcoming rejection to her seven ingredient recipe for writing story.  You can discover Cindy (here).  Cindy can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.  Thank you Cindy for the award!

Having been bestowed this honor, it is now my turn to engage the rules for receiving this award.  They are, thank and recognize the presenter of the award, reveal seven facts about yourself and, then, pass the award on up to fifteen other bloggers whom you would like to recognize.

And now for seven things you’ve always wanted to know about T.K. Millin and her feline ghostwriter, Efi Loo.

  • Efi Loo’s nickname is Loo Loo and she even has her very own theme song.  It goes:  “Loo Loo, so black she’s blue, is she black or blue?  She’s blue Loo Loo!”  (Except in October, she’s black!)
  • When growing up I used to tell people I was a cherry-blonde instead of a strawberry-blonde. 
  • Efi Loo’s favorite thing to do is drink from the bathroom faucet.  Not wanting to destroy her ego, I continue to let her think that is my only purpose for entering the room.
  • Prior to being a writer I enjoyed many other professions.  They included being a tap dancer and instructor, a claims manager and owning my own interior decorating business.  My favorite over all is being a writer!
  • Things I found scary as a child, and some still to this day, that you will often find in my stories:  Clowns, dolls, ice cream trucks, carnivals, jack in the boxes, ventriloquist, mimes and cemeteries.  
  •  The things I’m most passionate about are my husband, my pets, my family and friends and living in a country in which you have the freedom to pursue your dreams, thanks to individuals who voluntarily sacrifice theirs.

May I have the envelope please?

Before I present the awards I would like to point out two people whom Cindy recognized that I would have and they are Blaze McRob and Stacey Turner.  
Having said that, I would like to present The Versatile Blogger award to:   
Carole Gill - Author of gothic romance such as The House on Blackstone Moor an its upcoming sequel, Unholy Testament.  Carole highlights her stories along with other authors who write scary good books.     
Bessie Mac - Author of Holly’s Story and The Chronicles of Little Bear, Bessie shares heart warming stories about the world of fostering animals and events you can become active in to help our furry friends.
  
Bobbie Pyron - Author of A Dog’s Way Home (click here for Efi Loo's exclusive interview with Bobbie!) and The Ring. Bobbie highlights other authors and their furry muses through her post, Fido and Friends.   

Joseph Pinto - Author of Flowers For Evelene and Dusk and Summer, Joe shares heartwarming and sometimes an occasional scary good read on his blog.  This month, for National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, he has a touching series about his father’s battle with cancer.  

In closing, I personally would like to thank each of the authors highlighted here for their connections and I wish each and every one of you a future filled with fulfilled dreams.  

Until next time,


Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!
T.K. Millin
The Unknown Author

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

From Dreams to Reality: Why The Foundation of Your Platform Matters

If you Google the word “collaboration” you’ll find several different sources defining “working together” in different ways.  What you won’t find is this image . . . 

Image courtesy of Angelic Knight Press


Back in July of this year when the newly formed publisher, Angelic Knight Press, announced they were accepting submissions for their first anthology many writers whom had met by way of Facebook, Twitter, Blog connections and other social media outlets were enthusiastic at collaborating together to work with the brand new publisher.   Why?

If you Google the word “integrity” you’ll again find several different sources defining “adherence to moral and ethical principles” in different ways, but the one common ground they all have in their definition is, honesty.

Let’s explore:

Several years ago I had the unique opportunity to collaborate with two very special people who lived and breathed the word integrity.  One was a decorated General who had not only served in Vietnam, but had led a very successful operation during Desert Storm and the other was a Colonel who had turned several military bases into highly productive operations; thus, keeping them from being shut down.

What does this have to do with the foundation of your platform?  One word; integrity, and the foundation it is built on, honesty.  

I first met author, Blaze McRob, through my connection with author, Carole Gill.  It started out in the usual social media connection way; “Hi, I’m so and so and I write so and so, what do you write?”  Then they respond with links to check out and you respond accordingly.  

Now, back to my collaborating with the General and the Colonel. They taught me to recognize integrity through their every day actions.  Blaze McRob proved his integrity to me through his everyday actions of his words.  

How did I know to trust his words?  Because he always followed through on what he said he was going to do and everything he said he would do he did with conviction.  In other words, he proved he was honest.


As the world becomes smaller, it brings opportunities that never existed before in publishing; both good and bad. That is why the foundation of your platform matters.


If you’re out to make a quick buck and deceive authors out of their hard earned creative work it will not take long for you to be discovered as a fraud and a fake.  But if your foundation is built upon your integrity and willingness to help others succeed so that you may also, then the future in limitless.  How exciting is that!

As the publishing world ventures into new and exciting territories yet to be discovered, it will be publisher’s like Angelic Knight Press who will lead the way in opening up new and exciting opportunities for authors.  Keep your sunglasses handy everyone, the future looks very bright!

In closing, is it any surprise that Blaze McRob is also a veteran who served our great country?  As Veteran’s day fast approaches, don’t forget to thank a Veteran.  

Thank you Blaze McRob, and, thank you General Draude and Colonel Maciewicz.


Until next time,

Keep on thriving, keep on striving  and keep on writing!


T.K. Millin

The Unknown Author