BotPower

Seminole Detective Johnny Cypress is at a crossroads. Fiancée Holly Canton, daughter of the local sheriff of Palmetto County, has asked him to retire from the force. As much as she loves him, she’s determined not to lose a second husband in the line of duty. Two years later, after several unsuccessful attempts to take down brutal drug lord, Carlos Santiago, Johnny capitulates and plans to devote the rest of his life to Holly and her thirteen-year-old son, Colin.

Life doesn’t cooperate, however, when Santiago stages a massacre on Sand Key, targeting Johnny. Holly and Colin are slaughtered in the crossfire. Johnny and his loyal police dog, Rex, are gravely wounded.

Enter Enola, the strong, steadfast Seminole nurse who rescues Johnny and Rex from certain death and secrets them off to a tribal village to recuperate. A natural beauty and empathetic spirit, Enola contributes to Johnny’s recovery with more than her knowledge of medicine. Armed with cunning tribal methods and the help of the village elder, Johnny struggles to beat the death sentence imposed by Santiago.

Meanwhile, something’s rotten in the sheriff’s office. No one knew about Johnny’s trip to Sand Key except the sheriff and his coworkers. Johnny suspects each in turn, until his investigative powers flush out the culprit responsible for leaking the information to Santiago and his band of killers. As he heals emotionally and physically, Johnny plots to take down Santiago’s empire. The climax is replete with tension and nail biting action - the perfect and righteous revenge.

There is much more to this riveting novel than a clever plot and magnetic characters. The prose is smooth and engaging, the dialogue is natural, and the sense of place is immediate. The Florida waterways come alive with gators, mosquitoes, buttonwood trees, exotic birds, and thousands of slow moving streams that snake beneath the mossy overhangs. It is with a sense of acute nostalgia combined with satisfaction that the reader turns the last page. Burdick possesses a rare talent - and is my new favorite writer. This book, much like its predecessor, The Margaret Ellen, A Karen Cobia Mystery, lingers in ones life for days after completion, leaving only one question to be answered. When will the next Burdick book be released?

Aaron Paul Lazar is the author of the LeGarde Mystery Series. Double Forte’ is an absorbing tale of love, intrigue, and murder. Upstaged, number two, is available through his website http://www.legardemysteries.com or Amazon.com, etc. Lush and delicious, it’ll leave readers breathless! Contact Aaron at gusandcamille@yahoo.com

When looking for a Web site, many of us simply enter the name of a company or product followed by .com. We assume that will get us to the site we want, and it often works. How will your customers look for you online? Will they all enter the same thing, or are there several ‘identities’ they make try?

Do you know that you can have several domain names all pointing to the same Web site? There are several reasons you may want to have multiple URLs. For example, you might register URLs containing your company name, product name, and descriptive keywords. They could each point to a unique site, or they could all point to the same site or specific landing pages within a site.

I recently had to buy a replacement glass tray for my microwave oven. (Have you ever seen what happens when a heavy piece of glass hits a tile floor? It is actually sort of spectacular, although I do not recommend you try it.) I figured that I would call a few appliance stores and have a replacement in no time. But everyone said it would be weeks to get the tray I needed. I went online and ended up at a site called MicrowaveGlassTray.com. Really. I had the tray in just a few days.

The microwave store I bought from was not named Microwave Glass Tray. They may have several domains registered with keywords for the various products and services they offer. I found them because I was looking for a microwave glass tray. Having keywords for which your customers search in your domain name will help your ranking in search results. And, some people may stumble onto your site by typing in the keywords with a .com at the end.

You may want to register misspellings of your name or business name, so that people who enter the wrong spelling of your company name, for example, still reach your site. If you have changed Web URLs, you could have both the old and the new names pointing to the new site.

The mechanics of this are simple. An easy way is to set up forwarding with your domain registrar. That’s the place where you selected and registered the domain name. Some will allow you to redirect the domain name you registered to any URL.

Make it easy for your customers to remember you by using simple, descriptive URLs–and use more than one, if that will help customers find you.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. Get reliable cheap domain names and Web site hosting at http://www.GreatDomainsHQ.com/

The author of Be the Leader: Make the Difference, a “manual for leaders,” speaks not from theory and research alone. Paul B. Thornton is a consultant, trainer, and speaker specializing in the areas of management, leadership and team building. He has long assisted organizations in the selection and development of leaders at various levels. He has trained over 7,000 supervisors and managers to be more effective leaders.

Thornton believes that everyone has untapped leadership abilities. Organizations must strive to identify, strengthen, and utilize this tremendous potential in today’s competitive and demanding business world. The author visualizes leadership as a complex puzzle consisting of various pieces such as creating a mission/vision, establishing beliefs/values, gaining alignment, empowering, bench marking, motivating, training, and mentoring to name a few. The test for leaders is determining a way to fit the pieces together. Therefore, the author has created a 3-C Leadership Model (challenge - confidence - coaching) which provides a framework to inform leaders what they should do, how they should do it, and when they should do it. His basic premise is that leaders provide their followers with something they can’t provide themselves. Let’s face it, people need help in seeing what’s possible, confidence to take action, and coaching in how to proceed.

Early in the book, Thornton describes the 3-C Leadership Model itself, explains what leaders do in performing each of the key roles and discusses the relationship of the three components. He goes on to provide in-depth discussion of various techniques leaders can use to challenge people using a step-by-step formula for each technique. He then explains various approaches, including “how-to” examples, that leaders use to build confidence in their associates. He continues by describing when and how leaders perform the role of coach and teacher using stories and examples to highlight some world-class coaches.

Much added value is offered in the form of many revealing case studies and examples involving well-known people and organizations. You’ll also find a “Be the Leader Survey” instrument to assist you in evaluating your own leadership skills. This survey focuses on the seven major aspects of the 3-C Leadership Model and may also be used as a 360 Feedback instrument by having it completed by bosses, peers, team members, customers, and direct reports. You’ll also enjoy an in-depth bibliography and many valuable resources to further your quest for knowledge.

In short, this text provides a practical, concise, easy-to-understand leadership model and valuable guidance on how to develop your leadership skills. It’s a valuable addition to any business or personal library.

More than 100 business book reviews written by Harry K. Jones are available at http://www.AchieveMax.com/books/.

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Your organization may reprint this article for your newsletter, online publication, or mailing list. We ask that you print the:

• article in its entirety;
• byline of the writer;
• information about the writer, which is available at the end of each article; and
• contact information, including our toll-free phone number in the U.S. (800-886-2MAX) and link to our website - www.AchieveMax.com.

We would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy of the articles you reprint.

Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax^®, Inc., a firm specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Harry has made presentations ranging from leadership to employee retention and time management to stress management for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. He can be reached at 800-886-2MAX or by visiting http://www.AchieveMax.com.

The Classical Hero’s Journey is one of the most detailed story structures containing 106 sequences overall and 32 in Act III alone.

A descendant of Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces and containing references to all the normal and less usual Archetypes: Peer Brothers, the Failed Hero and more, it allows the screen or story writer to quickly map out a step outline, template or first draft screenplay.

The Classical Hero’s Journey follows the universal story pattern (”there is in reality only one story”); the first ten sequences are very briefly summarised here:

1. An overview of the environment and context the story will take place in. Usually shots of the city, events, people interactions, events, narrative or some combination of above or similar. Sometimes an explanation is in order depending on the complexity involved.

2. Antagonist captures Princess. Princess sends Heralds to find rescuer - someone with a reputation and history of success against the antagonist; someone who may be able to assist in some way or similar. Often an Old Knight. If Heralds are more than one, they may conflict in some way. Establish evil nature of antagonist. Establish good nature of Princess. Herald(s) may be forced into the journey. Antagonist’s lieutenants may, through a mistake, lack of intelligence, some sort of deception or similar allow the Herald(s) to escape. Antagonist chases Herald’s in the belief (may be mistaken) that they Herald’s are dangerous, are important people, have something important in their possession, cannot let word of the Princess’ capture get out or similar.

3. The Herald(s) journey is full of difficulties. If the Herald’s are more than one, they may be separated for some reason. Some may die before finding help.

4. Antagonist’s lieutenants are hot on the heels of the Herald(s).

5. If Herald’s are separated, they are united. Else they approach the place where help may be at hand and the story reverts to being that of the Hero and not theirs.

6. The Hero is introduced. Along with the Interdictor, Hawks, Doves and perhaps others. The interaction between the characters illustrates their roles.

7. Heralds are not recognised by the Hero. It may be by pure chance that the Hero and Heralds meet. Others may have an interest in blocking the meeting.

8. Hero and Heralds interact in a safe, quiet place. Usually a place where the Hero feels comfortable. Herald’s inform the Hero of their backstory, the World of the Ordeal. There are references to a Mentor. The Heralds present the Hero with a Call to Adventure.

9. The Interdictor presents an interdiction that prevents the Hero from embarking on the adventure. The interdictive nature of the Interdictor is expanded upon. There are references to the Peer Brother - that the Interdictor is preventing the Hero from growing to the level of the Peer Brother. References to the Hero’s mysterious birth, his lack of knowledge of his parenthood and descendents. References to the Mentor. Hawks, Doves and Interdictor may debate the pros and cons of issuing the Interdiction. The secret desire of the Hero to embark on the adventure is illustrated.

10. Through some outside event, the Hero is forced into the adventure. He leaves in the dead of night, aware that he is violating the interdiction and aware of the danger. The danger of breaking the interdiction is expanded.

The Classical Hero’s Journey Story and Screenplay Structure can be found at http://www.managing-creativity.com.

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com

Caps Gowns

For many people, a commencement ceremony without caps, gowns is not meaningful and does not deserve a place in their memory. It is therefore very important that institutions of learning and non academic organizations which offer graduation services consider lining up caps and gowns as part of the ceremony’s attire. It is also customary for the
caps gowns

regalia to be worn in a specified manner.The caps usually go on top and the gowns down. In order to get the best caps, gowns that fit, individuals are encouraged to take their measure more than once to verify its accuracy. Thereafter, one is free to go and start selecting the graduation outfit that suits them. However, if one is still not sure but they know their sizes one should not shy away from asking for help from professionals who will readily give them attire that matches their measurements. Furthermore, one should be careful not to go for worn out attire in case they are hiring the gowns or caps this is because it will not look presentable during their commencement ceremony. It is also advisable that the graduates try to be on the set to verify if they fit before leaving the shop.

GraduationSource, a leader in graduation regalia products since 1960.

Twin Falls Economic Report done by me; Twin Falls, ID has potential for additional car washes, Detail Centers and mobile washing units. Twin Falls has enough water in their reservoirs to make it through the Summer for farmers and agriculture industries. Mike BuRec said recently that even if this winter has a snow pack of 20 feet we will not be back to normal levels. American Falls is at only 14% capacity. Palisades is at 12% and Jackson Lake is at 65%, but remember fires take water too. Water in the rivers and reservoirs is important for many reasons, and realize that 2/3 of all fresh trout worldwide come from Magic Valley South Central Idaho and Snake River. The Shoshone Falls are 212 feet high,

http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfa…tail.php?id=864

higher than Niagara Falls and has often been called the Niagara Falls of the West. If water situations get too bad and not adequate snow pack in 03-04. We had heard of talk from David McAlindin of the City of Twin Falls Economic Development Dept.

http://www.idoc.state.id.us/idcomm/profile…s/TwinFalls.pdf

that he felt comfortable that the water situation is safe and supply good for businesses. They are working hard to help diversify the industries and recruit non-agriculture, cleaner industries. The region grows all kinds of important food items. Sugar Beets, Potatoes, Dairy, Alphalfa, Sheep, Beef, Hay, Grain, Wine, Beans, Wheat, barley, Sweet Corn, Grass Seed, Oats. They need the water. The supply is said to be better than was predicted or feared and that there is more than enough for summer, but this leaves little to spare in case of a mild winter.

The water supply contains arsenic, from natural erosion and also from previous chip manufacturing, Barium, Chromium, Fluoride and Nitrate from excessive fertilizer run off. These are at present levels not in violation, but the NPDES permitting is going into harsher BMPs and enforcement and has caused a few companies, which do food processing to be unable to get permits, costing future jobs; Glandia Foods, Inc. in Gooding.

The local Senators are working on Ethanol to help out and that initiative could be great for ID. McDonalds has been hit by economy and adverse PR from that Bull shit law suit in Canada about people getting fat from eating at Mickey Ds. Recently McDonalds has also called for lessening of Antibiotics, steroids and other growth hormones, which is a little bit of an issue for farmers, since right now with the Beef, Mad Cow, moratorium in Canada some of those cattle come from ID as well as the milk and ID is a huge Dairy State in the Southern area. Learn about the importance of the Dairy industry in the US and in Southern ID;

http://www.dairybusiness.com/links.htm .

Also hurt by the economy and fewer people going out to eat at QSRs, Restaurants are Kraft Foods, McCain Foods (125 people laid off), J.R. Simplot, which closed the Heyburn potato plant and laid off another 50 people at another processing plant. These companies collectively laying off a total of 600 people in the region. Also blamed are the war in Iraq and lessened travel. Paper is a big water user also and Boise Cascade has had other issues with economic issues. Dairy is up about 6-10% over the last year why? Could it be the increase in Starbucks (6000 plus locations) and the crme and milk in the Frappachinos using milk? Yes some is. Also of worry is the NM Case law regarding the minnows and Rio Grande and Heron reservoir, such an issue with low water levels in Idaho would be the same as the Sarbain Oxley issues in the Corporate World, it would be catastrophic for agriculture in South Central Idaho. But all in all things have been good and have had a net gain even with the bad news. Dell has hired 700 people in nine months in Twin Falls. Also hiring have been Home Depot. We talked to a fiber optic multi-plex line installer who could not seem to get a job in his profession and therefore Home Depot gave him a lower level job at $12.00 per hour.

A waste of brain capacity no doubt but certainly enough to live with the cost of living in Twin Falls which is low due to power and water prices really inexpensive. Twin Falls, Jerome and Gooding had substantial growth in housing. One thing that may hurt the area is the move to try to get seniors out of their cars. Elderly are super worried about losing their drivers licensing, it can be a traumatic experience rivaling a lost loved one, meaning their freedom is gone, some would rather just die, it is that serious as I have discussed with many seasoned seniors. They will not be moving into the Gooding Golf Course areas if this persists. But the area is growing. A few of the outskirt cities are not fairing as well. Burley had a recent “Crazy Days” and Regatta Jet Boat Races, which is a good tourist draw to help locals, non-profits and retailers. All in all we saw a lot of good stuff; ISU-Idaho State University is putting in a 50K dollar nursing facility. Which will employ many people. Solo Cup employed an additional 68 people after earlier in the year laying off 100 people. West Farm added 27 people. Davisco hired 10 workers on Monday. Hamilton Manufacturing is hiring 30 additional workers, but they may have a power problem if prices increase?

Teton Wireless is setting up Satellite to WiFi high speed Internet Networks with points throughout the area to help increase the clean industry companies to the area. Kodiak Northwest has got a new snow-removal innovation. And we found many interesting as heck micro market niche manufacturers such as; Golf Swing Aids, Spider Cultivator, Beet Pulp Cattle feed, Plastic Calf Cottages, Yo-yos (seriously, that’s where they make em’), Dome Awnings for homes, Fish Pumps, Basque Smoked Chorizo Sausage (and it is good too), Foam Boxes for Fish, Baler Twine, etc. So there are some strong niches that are helping the area. The Sea Food industry has had a bit of discounting due to the slowing in restaurants, but the Sushi is not any fresher lately. This has hurt the Fresh Trout industry, trout are in nearly all rivers and lakes in ID as well as those, which process the fish in the area. The Local Chamber of Commerce in Twin Falls had done a tremendous job in their recent Hot August Night non-profit fair, where they auctioned a Jeep off, as they profiled local businesses. The Chamber cares about local small businesses. Alamlgated Sugar is buying more 129,000 pound trucks. S and G Produce is Building Warehouses and expanding, over 10% of all the worlds sugar comes from Southern ID. Sugar Beets grow extremely well in ID, better than most anywhere. Gooding also gets in on the non-profit community efforts with events such as the huge “Spuds Festivals.” Wendell and Jerome has had much growth along I-84 than the towns like Buhl, Filer, Castleford, Hagerman.

One issue hurting the region is the Beef import Taxes by the Japanese and things might get tough and they are worried about Mad Cow if it comes to the US. We Japan to knock that off right now and possibly increase tariffs on something they sell us. Meanwhile lots of debate on the WTO issues of genetically modified crops. Super Corn is a good deal for the world. These issues with genetically modified foods and possibly modifying wild weeds into killer weeds is not a good debate since we are talking about corn, not mountain grown Sun Flowers, Pumpkins, Squash, Blue Berries, Cranberry which is grown near native vegetations. We are not talking about rice. They are already growing it all over the world anyway. And we have already modified crops of all types by cross breeding, same thing just slower in number of generations. Hell we modify people the same way by our own “Melting Pot.” Mixing Asian, Hispanic and Middle Easterners in Los Angeles? What’s the difference, Arthur C Clark predicts in his book “3001″ we will all be looking quite Asian, which is probably correct seeing as this is how things are going with 3.5 Billion Chinese? The EU and 15 nations are developing criteria and it will probably be where people or consumers have a choice and we will see what they buy? Guaranteed genetically modified will win, people like full fresh looking vegetables and fruit. These issues are putting things in Southern ID at a wait and see point and causing issues with capitalization.

Even so Twin Falls area has had a net gain in jobs, which are non-agriculture. 3750 people went back to work and 3440 lost their jobs in 2003 net gain of 210. It is a slow go, but things are picking up. The increase is mostly due to growth and construction, most of which is box stores in the Twin Falls and the new home construction in Jerome and Gooding. In Pocatello the steel plant laid off 40 people and we are seeing this throughout the North West; Steel Plant Closes in OR.

We are noticing some good downtown renovation on Main street in Twin Falls. On the “Messer Block” they won an award for dedication to Historic preservation. As you know we are excited to see downtown areas revitalize and bring people back to the community and a place to talk and the attitude of hometown meetings seems to be done in conversations with locals and therefore more power to the people and more reasonable and less linear decision making like in the suburbs.

There is a bit of a drug problem there which ranges from 18-40 and has to do with Crystal Meth. But they seem to have a handle on it with a new drug court program to get people o break the addictions, which seems to be working and gets people back to work. Fairly good success rate and better than prisons which is also a big employer outside of Boise area. 86% of the people in that program where between 21-40 and were there for substance abuses with Meth. Others include Weed, LSD, Heroin, Mushrooms, Cocaine, Ecstasy and three time drunk drivers. One person interviewed by the local newspaper said he had a construction job and was back on the right track. Downtown Twin Falls is a bummer to navigate if you are new to the area because if you are looking for a location on Second and Second Street, it could be one of seven corners? Ouch. Even the older locals laughed when the city council wanted to therefore change all the names after the founding fathers of the town and current city leadership? Typical. Either way it is a tough deal, luckily the diagonal streets are not in abundance. Twin Falls has 64,000 population, Jerome 18,400, Gooding 14,000. .

Many cities such as Burley, Burl and others in the area have a zero or negative growth rate. Twin Falls 1.9%, Jerome 1%, Gooding hard to say, guessing 1.6%. The jobs in the area seem to be Retail, services, Farm and Ag and then Professional in that order. White people make up 89%, and the population is just slightly older than in Nampa or Boise and more similar to Lewiston and Pocatello; 45-65 age groups make up 20.9% of population. We also found Carl’s Pressure Washing Supplies in Idaho Falls a superb vendor for assistance and a Landa Steam Cleaner Dealer also.

As far as tourism the Falls are worth seeing and draw in some 530,000 visitors to stay for the day and spend money each year. The major employers we found were The Sugar company with 425 people and growing (literally), Circle A Construction 325, Clear Springs foods 430, Dell 700, Independent Meat 216, Glandia Foods 430, Jerome Cheese 150, Lamb Weston 850, Magic Valley Medical Center 1115, Seastrom Manufacturing 170, Seneca Foods 200, Spears 275, Solo Cup 115. All in all the area has the employment base to drive a strong middle class as this economy continues its climb to a rebounding and strong pounding recovery.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

“I just can’t seem to get along with this person!”

Every office has that one difficult person to work with, who
affects productivity due to a terrible attitude, chronic
tardiness, or simply drives everyone else up the wall. Here
is the answer to common problems in conflict management.
Dealing with negative behavior, whether at work or at home,
can be solved with three steps:

Get to the heart of the matter.

Determine what problem-solving methods to avoid so you don’t
perpetuate the conflict.

Choose a different, surprising approach to solve the problem
and keep it solved.

Finally, here is your key to some peace and sanity in the
workplace, drawn from forty years of research and professional
experience in consulting on the prevention and management of
nonproductive behavior.

How difficult behavior is reinforced:

People use the same solution that never brings new results.
The answer is to try something radically different. Employ a
totally new approach and choose your response carefully.

Why we fail to change negative behavior:

1. We are caught in the web of our own logic.

2. We don’t realize we are doing the same things over and over.

3. We can’t think of anything better to try.

This three-question formula can lead you to a new strategy:

1. What is the primary problem? Be specific. How exactly does it affect productivity?

2. What have you been doing about your problem so far? Identify the logic of your favorite solution.

3. What do you need to do instead? You need to undo what your ineffective solution did. Attack with a brand new set of weapons.

Focus on the facts. Figure out what the heart of the matter is:

1. List all the issues affecting you.

2. Decide which issue or who in particular is bothering you the most.

3. Encircle the issue or person’s name on your list.

4. Focus on what you circled. List all the things that bother you about this person.

5. Now pick the problem to work on. If you could only fix one item on the list, and had to live with all the others, what would you choose?

6. Then with the particular problem chosen, spell out specifically: Who is doing what that presents a problem, to whom, and how is this behavior a problem?

The 4 ways to get bogged down in “whys” and therefore confused
by superfluous issues:

1. Focusing on possible reasons for someone’s behavior

2. Speculating about what the person is up to

3. Labeling behavior instead of describing it

4. Worrying about who is right or wrong

Use reverse psychology!

1. Do something unexpected. Sometimes shock tactics or being brutally honest works.

2. Encourage the person to keep doing what it is that is irritating behavior. It is strange but encouraging people to continue their irritating behavior gets them to stop it.

3. Have fun experimenting with your new approaches!

4. Tell someone not to change what he is doing.

5. Create consequences or let the natural consequences of his negative behavior occur.

6. Urge someone to do the annoying actions even more

New Conflict Management Techniques

1. Do not offer a long list of reasons why someone should change. Simply tell them what needs to be done. The more you
rationalize or argue the more they will resist. You will be
wasting time and energy.

2. In the face of constant criticism, silently take note of what is being said, then read the notes back - instead of actively defending each point.

3. Make statements (”Unless it creates a problem for you, I’m
going to do X”)

4. Give a specific compliment to the other party in a conflict.
(”I like the way you presented your report - your lineup of
facts made it easy to follow”) It catches them off-guard and
makes him/her less defensive.

5. Excuse yourself for a minute in the midst of a heated discussion to go to the toilet instead of escalating the argument.

6. Hold back for thirty minutes instead of rushing to fix a problem for someone else.

Other “happy workplace” tips:

1. Keep an open mind about why the person behaves in such a manner.

2. See both sides of the situation, not just yours.

3. Be very specific when analyzing the problem. Make a mental
videotape of the behavior.

4. Notice when it isn’t happening. Understand why. You may have
overlooked something you did that didn’t result in the other
person’s annoying behavior.

5. Find someone with immunity and see how he or she successfully handles the troublesome behavior that you’re struggling with.

By: Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla
http://www.bizsum.com
“A Lot Of Great Books….Too Little Time To Read”
Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers and More!

mailto:freenewsletter@bizsum.com
BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.

(c) Copyright 2001-2005, BusinessSummaries.com

Regine Azurin is the President of a company that provides business book summaries of the latest bestsellers for busy executives and entrepreneurs.

The last time Russ Tamblyn and Acadamy Award winner George Chakiris worked together, they ended up dead under a freeway in “West Side Story”. Now they have a new project out with Chakiris playing a Puerto Rican gangster helping Tamblyn track down a dead rock star.

While remaining the best of friends the two actor never got to act together until now on the audio-book, “Hard Rock Lovers”, released this week and available at Amazon.com. With Rod Taylor (The Time Machine) narrating, and a full cast that has Robert Culp (I SPY), James Darren (The Guns of Navarone), and Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), this is the largest production in audio-book history.

The 3.6 hour story is a romantic thriller with a supporting cast of twenty-four actors and has film quality sound effects and music making it an “audio-movie” of sorts.

For information on all the actors and the production of “Hard Rock Lovers” visit HardRockLovers.com.

Paul Kyriazi is a feature film director. “Hard Rock Lovers” is his second novel and first AudioBook production.

The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That’s why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain - step by step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead of climbing gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you’ve gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your ebook.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook’s working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you’ll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader’s queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books - as long as it’s not too cute. For example, Remedies for Insomnia: twenty different ways to count sheep. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape.

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem. All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you’ve built your foundation. From that foundation, your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your book. For example, your thesis statement could read: We’ve all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night’s sleep.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book. Ask yourself some questions:

* Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?

* Will you book positively affect the lives of your readers?

* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?

* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you will be writing to, and this group will dictate many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length. Figure out the age range of your readers, their general gender, what they are most interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can pin down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

How to make your ebook “user friendly”

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up the density of the page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader’s respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don’t hypnotize your readers into sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!

Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a day. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that you must give your reader’s eye a break. You can do this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white space is usually referred to as “negative space.” Reader’s eyes need to rest in the cool white oasis’s you create on your page. If your page is too dense, your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes begin to tear.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that’s easy on the eyes, and stick to that font family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they’ve gotten past your introduction. Use at least one and a half line spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don’t forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don?t mess up a great book by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas. (By the way, that’s called a “comma splice.”)

Last of all, create an index and a bibliography. That’s it! You’ve written a book! Now all you have to do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download request from your website visitors.

Geoff Morris has built up a number of high earning income streams on the internet, including an investment property portfolio worth in excess of $6million in less than 18 months. He and his team are now aiming any similar successes on the internet, and have a number of meaty affiliate opportunities on his main site at http://www.horizondirectservices.com

Change it up

One of the most important aspects to a cardio workout is changing it. Most people get bored with exercise simply because they pop these DVD’s in and do the same thing everyday. Imagine if you had to read the same book everday, would that be fun. No way, so why would you do the same workout everyday. Most people don’t realize what they are doing. You have to make it fun in order for it to work.

Try to have at least 4-6 different exercises.

Intensify

Make sure the you are reaching your target heartrate. If you don’t you are not getting the most out of it. Why do something just to do it. Your goal is to burn fat and it is real difficult to do that without reaching your target zone.

Take it outside

Don’t just stay in the gym. Change it up and take it on the run. Try doing some intense walking or some bike riding. Play some basketball in the park. Make it fun and interesting, that’s the only way you will keep it up.

I hope these two tips help to intensify your cardio workouts. Make sure that when you finish it, you say man that was a great workout. If you don’t you could have done much better.