Weekend Chatterbox: Were you Suprised of Obama's Nobel Peace Prize?

Today the watercooler and blogosphere have been abuzz over President Brack Obama's 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Win. In an email I received this morning, President Obama state:

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

When I read this email this morning I was shocked. I didn't know he was nominated. So of course this weekend's chatterbox question is three fold:

1. Do you agree with the decision? if not, who should have won?
2. Do you feel like me that this award is ironic for our nation, since we are still bickering over the President's national healthcare initiative and trivializing his presidency?
3. based on his letter what could we do in our own home and community to be a peacemaker?

for me question 3 is something I have been working on I recommend you read Gary Chapman's Love as a Way of Life. It has helped me a lot the past three months.

Now your thoughts? (let me add a housekeeping rule. submit thoughtful comments

Dee

Day 18: FTC Rules for Book Bloggers. Payments & Endorsements

This is Day 18 of 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog.

I will step out of order(we were talking about book blog content,) in order to address a new and important issue for bloggers, especially book bloggers like us. Yesterday I posted on Twitter the new FTC Rules for Bloggers.

Today I want to simplify the rules in terms that we understand, as well as address a common dilemma between veteran book reviewers.

What the new FTC Rules mean?
Book Bloggers who receive payment or in-kind payment for a book review must disclose their relationship with the payor.

What is in-kind payment?

A book of retail value is considered in-kind. An ARC is not, because it cannot be sold and holds no value. The ARC or loose bound manuscript cannot be sold.

What if I do receive the actual book to review?
It's cool. However, in your review you need to add your relationship to the payor. You can write something simple as, "Disclosure: I was provided with this free product by ."

What if I was paid for the review?

You must disclose that you were paid a fee to write the endorsement.

Will this affect my credibility?

Read my next post to find out my answer. It's twofold.

If I don't disclose what will happen to me?
Fines for violating the new rule will run up to $11,000 per post.

paid blogger pic courtesy of media bistro.com

Trailer Park Tuesday: Ted Dekker's Green

This week's Trailer Park Tuesday feature's Ted Dekker's Green.

Dekker related posts:

• Summer Reading Challenge, Dekker's The Lost Books
• Dekker's Commitment to Thomas Nelson
• Ted Dekker's Chosen
  

Booker Prize Finalists Announced

Tonight at 10 Pm the Man Booker Prize announcement will take place at London's Guildhall and will be broadcast by the BBC just after 10pm across television, radio and online.

The Six Finalists are below. J.M. Coetzee may win for the third time, but the favorite for this year's prize is Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. Wolf Hall is Thomas Cromwell's fictional account of the mess that went down when King Henry VIII had to have Anne Boleyn as his wife. A hot mess. IF you're a fan of the Tudors, the Showtime series or The Other Boleyn Girl the movie or a British History buff then you will like it. Thomas Cromwell, the first Earl of Essex was an interesting political figure. I am always amazed at how these people continue to shape society.

An excerpt...

Summer arrives with no intermission for spring, promptly on a Monday morning, like a new servant with a shining face: 13th April. He, Cromwell, is at Lambeth, with Audley and Archbishop Cranmer; as the sun shines strongly through the windows, he stands looking down at the palace gardens. This is how the book Utopia begins: friends, talking in a garden. On the paths below, Hugh Latimer and some of the King's chaplains are play-fighting, pulling each other around like schoolboys, Hugh hanging around the necks of two of his clerical fellows so his feet swing off the ground. All they need is a football to make a proper holiday of it. "Master More," Cromwell says, "why don't you go out and enjoy the sunshine? And we'll call for you again in half an hour, and put the oath to you again: and you'll give us a different answer, yes?"

Read full excerpt here

The Six Man Booker Finalists are:

1. A S Byatt The Children's Book Random House, Chatto and Windus
2. J M Coetzee Summertime Random House, Harvill Secker
3. Adam Foulds The Quickening Maze Random House, Jonathan Cape
4. Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall HarperCollins, Fourth Estate
5. Simon Mawer The Glass Room Little, Brown
6. Sarah Waters The Little Stranger Little, Brown, Virago

October 2009 Top Book Picks Are Announced on Site

Green (The Circle, Book 0: The Beginning and the End)
Ted Dekker (Hardcover - Sep 1, 2009)

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2.

The Ideal Wife
Jacquelin Thomas (Paperback - Oct 6, 2009)

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3.

The Sound of Sleigh Bells
Cindy Woodsmall (Hardcover - Oct 6, 2009)

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4.

Not Guilty of Love
Pat Simmons (Paperback - Sep 1, 2009)

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5.

The Manual (Urban Christian)
Sherryle Kiser Jackson (Paperback - Oct 1, 2009)

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6.

A Slow Burn (Defiance Texas Trilogy, Book 2)
Mary E. DeMuth (Paperback - Oct 1, 2009)

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7.

Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break
Sherri Shepherd (Hardcover - Oct 5, 2009)

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8.

Shades of Blue
Karen Kingsbury (Paperback - Oct 1, 2009)

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9.

A Deep Dark Secret
Kimberla Lawson Roby (Hardcover - Oct 1, 2009)

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10.

Intervention: A Novel
Terri Blackstock (Paperback - Oct 1, 2009)

Day 17: Book Blog Content: Discussion Chatter

This weekend there was a lot of chatter buzzing on the blogosphere...a lot of reality celebrity bombshells (Chicago looses the 2016 Olympics bid, The Atlanta Real Housewives tragedy, Jon and Kate Gosselin, and Lord knows what else.) On a sidenote: I strongly suggest stop watching cable television it's crazy right now. Besides you don't have to watch, because Youtube and the blogs(like mine sort of) keeps you posted. Which is a great segue for today's 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog post. More Book Blog Content Types: Discussion Chatter.

Discussion Chatter posts are the easiest to create and bring the most hits to your blog. All you need is a hot watercooler topic and you're done. What's so great about having a book blog is that it's very easy to find a hot topic based on the latest book craze. Seriously New Moon, the movie releases next month and you can best believe that chopping it up about that book will bring readers to your door.

If you're a Christian fiction blogger like myself, then Ted Dekker's release of Green should send some chatter your way. I will definitely be talking about this book this week and hope to have Dekker stop by Media Candy in the near future(hint: you all can help me make that happen.)

Below is an example of a hot topic that received and still receives many hits at Christian Fiction Blog:

2 Dead Men Walking



I cannot believe. I cannot believe it. Two of my favorite actors: Gary Dourdan(CSI) and Mekhi Phifer(ER) were killed off their shows last night. I am so done. I'll be writing all day. No TV.

Weekend Chatterbox Question: What's going on? Are AA TV Demographics down? What should I watch in the fall? Is Hill Harper Next?





















Dourdan photo courtesy of CSI: Wetpaint
Harper photo courtesy of BlackMeninAmerica.com

Phifer photo courtesy of ER Headquarters

Also: Don't forget to register for the VIP ONline writer's Conference. we may have to write some shows for these great men. :)

Day 16: Book Blog Content: Publishing Industry News

Christian Fiction News
for the week ending September 30, 2009
Day 16: Book Blog Content: Publishing Industry News Edition

William Safire, The Oracle of English Language Passes

Obituary Note: Author, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and "oracle of language" William Safire died Sunday. He was 79. "There may be many sides in a genteel debate," the New York Times observed, "but in the Safire world of politics and journalism it was simpler: There was his own unambiguous wit and wisdom on one hand and, on the other, the blubber of fools he called 'nattering nabobs of negativism' and 'hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.'"

Whitaker House Latino Christian Reader's Quest

Christian Retailing-- Whitaker House is releasing its first two Spanish fiction titles this month—translations of two contemporary novels by Sharlene MacLaren, the company's top-selling fiction writer: En medio de la tormenta (Through Every Storm, 978-1-603-74165-1, $9.99) and Un largo camino a casa (Long Journey Home 978-1-603-74164-4, $9.99)

"Both Christian and general market retailers have been asking us for good Spanish fiction for quite some time, but we wanted to wait for books that would translate well," said Vice President Bob Whitaker Jr.

This is Day 16 of 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog.

Another example of book blog content is news, specifically literary news. At Christian Fiction Blog we provide Christian publishing news. At your blog you may look at providing literary news to fit your genre. If you are an author, you may also think of providing literary news for your readers. One of the new services DeeGospel PR provide is Reporting/Press Secretary Services. We will report about your current events for you to add to your online press room or we will add your news to our company press room. Out of all the services I have I like this one the most, because for the author you can control your media outreach for the fraction of the cost. This Reporting Service feature began because of the Christian Fiction News feature I provide at this blog.


As you decide the type of content you will provide on your blog understand that providing industry news offer you a few advantages of the other book blogs:

• It builds credibility with your readers and peers
• You become an industry source
• You increase your blog's opportunity to become syndicated
• It increases your blog's subscriber base
• It opens the doors for monetizing your blog

There are many ways to get industry news:

• join industry leader forums
• subscribe to literary news sources like Publisher's Lunch, Publisher's Weekly and Media Bistro
• join a professional organization. I belong to the Atlanta Press Club
• subscribe to newswires like Associated Press and PR Newswire
• meet industry insiders at banquets and conferences. Many of my services I met at The Christys Book Awards Banquet, ACFW Conference, Press Parties in the area
• report on your blog. Provide content only you can provide. Remember my blog began because of articles I couldn't place in the paper. Make your blog your very own column.
  

Your homework assignment for Day 16 is of course to create an Industry News Blog Post. Send the link here and at the group so we can take a peak at it.

If you have not joined 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog, there is still time. We're only on Day 16. I'm taking my time and you can take your time through the course. Click here to join it's free.

As a book blogger, you can add more value to your brand by providing similar content to your blog. In the coming weeks I will be seeking reporters to add to my service. Follow me on Twitter to receive that announcement