News From My World

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T18:27:00.000-04:00

As this year comes to a close, I want to take a minute to express my gratitude to the 561 clients and two publishers that I've worked with this year. Thank you so much for helping me to write a new chapter in my life and to EXCEED my goals and expectations this year. I've had the opportunity to work with bestselling authors who I would never have even dreamed would know my name. I've also worked with brand new authors and hopefully, I've helped them to get a good start in the publishing business. I wish all of you a wonderful 2012.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

I'm a kid at heart and probably always will be no matter how old I get. One my favorite Christmas movies that I never miss watching this time of year is A Muppet Christmas Carol. In this song, the Muppets share Christmas love with Scrooge (played brilliantly in this movie by Michael Caine).

From My INBOX - Pictures and Links

2011-11-25T12:03:00.005-04:00

Question: I compressed my interior artwork using the MS Word picture formatting tool, but (Insert name of e-book seller).com still says that my artwork is too big. What am I doing wrong?
Answer:Using the MS Word compression tool won't work, because some of the conversion software that's in use by e-book retailers will read the original information attached to that picture. So if your picture was 300DPI/800 pixels wide originally and you used the MS Word tool to compress it to 96DPI/300 pixels wide, the conversion software is still seeing a 300DPI/800 pixel picture.
If you use MS Word to format your e-book, your artwork needs to be sized correctly, using a program such as Adobe Photoshop (my program of choice), before placing it into the document. Remember, too, that anything over 96DPI can cause .epubcheck errors, so it's very important to have correctly-sized artwork.

Question:I read Expert Promoter's book on how to use my e-book as a promotion tool. He advises to include links to all of our other books where they are sold on the internet. I did this and (Insert name of e-book seller).com rejected my book, asking me to kindly remove the links. Why can't I use the links?
Answer:To answer this question, let's use Amazon as an example. If you upload a book that you want to sell in the Amazon Kindle store and the book is full of live (clickable) links to other book seller's websites, you should probably expect that book to be rejected by Amazon. Another example is a company such as Smashwords that acts as an e-book distributor. They're going to take your book and distribute it to several different e-book sellers such as Apple for their iPad. As with Amazon, Apple doesn't want to sell e-books that contain live links to all of their competitor's websites.
So, here's a better way. Have a website, or if you can't afford a website, start a Facebook page or a blog from one of the many free blogging sites such as Blogger or WordPress. On your website (or blog), list all of your books and where they can be purchased; then put that link, www.mywebsite.com for example, in your e-book along with a simple list of your other titles. This will keep you in compliance with the rules and still help you promote your other books.

New Release For The Holidays

2011-11-17T23:08:00.002-04:00

Christmas Wishes: Two Holiday Stories On sale now in the
Amazon Kindle store.
and in the Barnes and Noble Nook store.
The first story, Lead Me Home, is an inspirational story about former sweethearts Rick and Annie who both return home for very different reasons. Rick is summoned home by his dying grandmother, and Annie has come home to start fresh after losing her soldier husband in Iraq. Both realize that the old feelings are still there, but a secret from their past has to be told and dealt with before a new relationship can blossom.
The second story, In the Nick of Time, is a fun tale about Nick and Julie, two lovers who may allow missed opportunities and misunderstandings to derail what could be the best Christmas of their lives.

My Take on Three Free Ebook Reading Apps for PC

2011-10-08T09:41:00.004-04:00

I've had a chance now to download three popular readings apps for the PC and try them out, so here's what I think.
Kindle for PC—Great reading app for Kindle books. Biggest plus: You can purchase and download Kindle books without having a Kindle device and get pretty much all the bells and whistles. I like the user interface and the fact that you can see the auto-generated Table of Contents in a drop-down menu.
Another plus: if you've created a .prc(MOBI) file (or had someone else create one for you), you can open it in Kindle for PC and see it the way it will look on a Kindle reader before it's upload to Amazon. This is a great way to catch any formatting errors or issues that need to be corrected before that 2-day Amazon publication process. Biggest negative about this: If you're using the Kindle for PC to preview .prc(MOBI) files, you have to open Kindle for PC first and delete the old version from the library. If you don't, Kindle for PC will automatically pull up the old version, and you won't see your revisions.
Nook for PC—This is a nice app for reading. A big plus that I've found with this reader is that you can "drag and drop" .epub files from your computer into the application. It takes a little dexterity and getting the file into the right position in the library, but it's doable. However, it won't save the file in the library, so if you close the program before you finish reading, you'll have to go through the "drag and drop" process again.
But, if you've created an .epub file (or had someone else create one for you), just as with the Kindle, it's a great way to see the file the way it will view on the Nook reader.
One negative that I've found with this app is that the side-panel navigation is a little unruly—it slides in and out with the slightest movement of the cursor, and I can't always get the navigation buttons to work on the first click.
Calibre—This is a versatile, whiz-bang, all you can do with an e-book application. Be forewarned, though, it's not a sit down and get right to business application. You have to at least skim the user manual or study the configuration to even know where to start. I won't get into all of the stuff you can do with editing books and converting books, because this blog is about reading and viewing, and I could have done a whole blog post just on that aspect of Calibre.
If you just want to read books, it's simple. Just click the "Add book" icon in the left hand corner and choose your file. Once the file is dropped into the application, click the "View" icon—the 4th from the left. (This app as 13 icons for different uses, so you have to get used to where everything is.) Calibre then automatically determines the format you've chosen and displays it in a pop-up screen.
The biggest positive about this reading app is the number of different formats you can read—just about every format I know of from .prc to .epub to .lrf. You get a nice reading layout with an accurate picture of how the book will look on the different e-reading devices, and the auto-generated TOC panel is included in all formats. There's one negative that I found. If a cover has been embedded in the .epub format it won't display. However, if a cover has been embedded in the .prc(MOBI), lit or .lrf formats, it does display. I haven't been able to find an answer to that.
Happy reading!

From My INBOX

2011-09-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

Question: When I uploaded my manuscript to InsertNameofEbookPublisher.com, my manuscript lost all of its scene breaks. How did this happen?

Answer: When doing scene breaks, many authors will just insert a blank line (empty paragraph return) or two between scenes. This works well for print reproduction, but e-book formatting poses a special problem. Some e-book publishers have their conversion software set up to eliminate all empty paragraph returns (or blank lines) between paragraphs.
In order to insure that you preserve your scene breaks, it's best to always use a separator such as three asterisks (***).

From My InBOX

2011-07-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

Q.: Can I do an e-book like a slide show or flip book with my text embedded in the pictures and can we add music?
Answer: No. According to Smashwords, all text has to be set so that it can "reflow", so text is not allowed to be embedded within artwork and .wav-type files also can't be embedded in the books.
Apple's position is that e-books with text embedded in artwork will be rejected.
A slide show or animated flip book is really a different medium than an e-book—just as paperback books and movies are two different mediums. For some this new e-reader technology, especially the iPad, may seem to be blurring the lines between the two, but a book is still a book and video is still a video. The latter has to be submitted through a different source than an e-book distributor.

Q.: Can I do any kind of illustrated book for children?
Answer: Yes, as long as the text is set apart from the illustrations and not embedded. I've formatted many of these books and usually the artwork is placed above or below the text it's meant to illustrate. Keep in mind that all interior artwork has to be sized to certain specifications.

Independence Day

2011-07-04T20:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Independence Day, U.S.A.!! This song is a beautiful expression of how a lot of people feel about the U.S., especially those whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents immigrated to this country for a better life. Two of my grandparents were the first of their generations born in the America, and they instilled the love of country in their son, my father.

From My INBOX

2011-06-18T08:54:00.001-04:00

Thomas Edison is often quoted as saying, "To [heck] with the rules. We're trying to accomplish something here." Well, that quote doesn't apply to e-book formatting and for a very good reason.

Question: "I've written my book in several different fonts and styles, but Amazon and Smashwords rejected it. Why can't my book look the way I want it to look?"

Answer: The answer lies in two areas.
1. Most of the major e-book formats are based in HTML coding, which can be a tricky minefield to navigate. In some cases there is no HTML coding for the style you might want to use, and so when the file is converted to Kindle, for example, the style you created will default to either a normal paragraph style or maybe something that looks even worse.
Another thing that's tricky about the HTML based formats is that sometimes a style tag isn't closed properly and this can keep your file from passing .epub validation. See also my blog post on The Sytles and Formatting Palette Isn't Necessarily Your Friend.
2. E-readers are just like our computers in the sense that not every device comes pre-loaded with every font that was ever created or a way to view the 1,000s of fonts that are sold or distributed as free downloads.
I often receive files from authors who have used fonts that I don't have on my computer, and guess what? The font defaults to Courier. Most e-readers use what are called Base14 fonts. Base14 just means standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial and Courier.
Until e-reading devices evolve to the point where a book can be formatted with all the creativity of a print book, we have to—with apologies to Mr. Edison—follow the rules.

Lost In Translation

2011-06-05T08:13:00.001-04:00

Here's another tip for e-book authors from my file of hard-learned lessons.
Converting other types of file formats to MS Word can be done efficiently, but there are problems to look for, because some of the formatting can get lost in translation.
If you use PDFtoWord.com (or another .pdf conversion software) to convert .pdf files of print books, PROOFREAD YOUR FILE carefully before sending it out to be formatted.
PdftoWord.com is a good tool, and I've used it many times myself, but odd things can happen to your manuscript. The blame for this is not so much on the conversion software as it is with the manner in the which the original manuscript was formatted. Nevertheless, you should never convert a .pdf and then just forward the converted file to a formatter without proofreading.
After you've converted your file, look for typos such as uppercase letters in the middle of a word, paragraphs split in the wrong place, missing scene breaks, missingspacesbetweenwords, etc. Also look for words split by hyphens. Again, this isn't a glitch in the conversion software. This can be traced back to the original formatting, because the auto-hyphenation tool wasn't turned off.
It may seem like a lot of extra work, but it's worth it to make your book the best that it can be.

From My INBOX

2011-06-03T08:38:00.002-04:00

"My book was approved by Smashwords 6 months ago. I made changes to it, and now, it won't pass. I'm confused."
"What does it mean when Smashwords says that I need an NCX?"

Answer: The guidelines have recently changed. If you make content changes to books that have already been approved, they'll probably need some formatting changes made to them, as well before you re-submit.
The most common problem: not having a properly formed NCX file for the .epub format. This is done by coding the chapter headings with style tags, so that the iPad and other devices that utilize the .epub format can auto-generate a table of contents.
The auto-generated table of contents is not the same as the "visible" hyperlinked TOC that we've been including in most non-fiction books for the past year. The auto-generated TOC is not visible on the manuscript itself and accessed only through the e-reader software.

For more information about my e-book formatting services, visit LK E-Formatting Service

Change To E-Formatting Service

2011-05-27T10:13:00.002-04:00

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE IN SERVICES OFFERED: Until further notice, I'm not accepting non-fiction* books from new clients. I'm accepting fiction** only.

This change is due to the huge volume of work (and work requests) that I'm receiving right now and the special formatting requirements involved in the different types of books.
Please understand that my ultimate goal is to be able to give fair and prompt turnaround times to all clients. In the near future, I hope to adjust my pricing and scheduling to be able to accommodate non-fiction books again.

*with the exception of biographies/memoirs.
**novels, novellas, short stories and poetry

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:01:00.000-04:00

My mother and I had a very short time together—only 17 years, and I've lived twice as many years without her as I lived with her. I find sometimes that my recollections are her are fading but then some little something will trigger a memory, and it seems as if it happened just yesterday. Here's a special song for all of you who have spent a lifetime with your mothers, and I hope the lyrics ring true for you.

...

2011-04-23T20:18:00.001-04:00

Sunday Picture - Spring Has Sprung

2011-04-03T08:49:00.001-04:00

A brand new month and new season are here in full force. As usual, Spring in our part of the country changes from sunny and warm to cold, windy and rainy on a daily basis. But in a few weeks the season will settle in and warm days will be here to stay until the Fall.
March was a huge month for me, and I hate to say it, but I was too busy to blog or to write anything more than a tweet. With my husband's help, I formatted more than 80 e-books last month. The e-publishing market has exploded and the floodgates have opened. As I posted on Facebook last week, "For once in my life I was in the right place at the right time and did the right thing." Needless to say, if this pace keeps up, my blogging will continue to be sporadic. Please follow my Twitter updates through the box in the top left hand corner of this blog or join me on Facebook.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Read An Ebook Week — March 6-12

2011-03-06T08:43:00.000-04:00

Read an Ebook Week is here again. Download a FREE copy of my romantic suspense novel, Front Page News at Smashwords.com Use Code RE100 at checkout.
BLURB: Jess McElroy has always wanted to write front-page news, but she becomes front-page news when a stalker disrupts her life. The suspects include her ex-boyfriend who can't seem to let go of her. Then again, her new boss Parker Montgomery has a secret past that might spell trouble for Jess. When the person hounding her becomes more dangerous, Parker insists that she move in with him for protection. Both Jess and Parker are determined to keep their growing attraction in check, but as the peril increases, so do the sparks between them.
(Offer good only at Smashwords.com)

Everything Old Is New Again

2011-02-24T09:12:00.001-04:00

One trend that I've noticed (since I've been formatting e-books) is that a lot of authors are obtaining digital rights to books they published years ago and self-distributing them in the various e-book venues. I formatted a biography that dated back to the 1970s along with several other former print titles that pre-dated the invention of e-books.
Is this rush to get everything in electronic format an indication that this e-book revolution (or "explosion", as some call it) isn't just a publishing fad or a new portal for self-published authors to have their 15-minutes in the sun?
While a few still seem wary of the shifting tide toward e-books, it seems that some traditionally-published authors are finding that it's a way to introduce their older books to a whole new crop of readers.

...

2011-02-14T08:44:00.002-04:00

2011-02-13T09:51:00.000-04:00

For a short Valentine read that's a little change of pace from the typical boy-meets-girl romance, be sure to download a FREE copy of my short story Not for Me at Smashwords

Enjoy below the You Tube video of the late, great Judy Garland singing the song But Not For Me from the 1930s movie musical, Girl Crazy, featuring the music of the Gershwin brothers.

Sunday Picture

2011-01-30T15:12:00.000-04:00

A cold day in January the beach is deserted except for some hearty sea birds and a few bundled up humans.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Sunday Picture

2011-01-16T17:03:00.001-04:00

Make sure you get my best side.

This seagull was more than happy to pose for a portrait.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Sunday Picture

2011-01-09T17:37:00.000-04:00

Pretty in pink.

A flamingo shows off its beautiful plumage for visitors at the N.C. Zoological Park near Asheboro, N.C.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Sunday Picture

2011-01-02T10:14:00.000-04:00

Walking in a winter wonderland.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Goodbye 2010 — Welcome 2011!

2010-12-31T23:14:00.000-04:00

Saying goodbye to 2010. In some ways this is a year I want to see end. In other ways, I've been so blessed. I have a wonderful husband—a great guy, and we've been to h*ll and back together. I have a caring family and lots of friends. I took a leap of faith and started my own business which took off mid-year, and I've had the opportunity to interact with great people. I'm looking forward with faith and hope to 2011.

Sunday Picture - Let It Snow!

2010-12-26T09:28:00.001-04:00

This probably isn't much of a big deal for some people, but a snow this close to Christmas is rare in our part of the country. My husband and I were trying to remember the last one, and we think that it was 20-years-ago on Christmas Eve 1990.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T09:39:00.001-04:00

May you be blessed with hope, joy, love and the peace of God that passes all understanding.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Ghosts of Christmas Past

2010-12-23T18:38:00.001-04:00

I ran across these pictures from the Christmas of 1968. I was 10-years-old and on top of the world. I've always said that no matter what happens to your in life, you can't trade anything for a good childhood, and I certainly had one.
In the picture below (at left) is my grandmother—the only other person besides my husband that I could call "my soulmate". I'm in the middle and my cousin Jerry is on the right. Jerry was in special training at Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville that Christmas and spent the holidays with us.
In the photo on the right, and he would probably be very upset with me for sharing this picture, is my Daddy coming upstairs to our living room with movie camera in hand and ready to film Christmas Eve present-opening.

Tuesday Video - Christmas Memory

2010-12-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

My mother's favorite singer was Perry Como, and I remember hearing his Christmas album played in our house throughout each Christmas season while she was living.
Here's an old Black & White clip from his 1958 Christmas special. I was 4-months-old, so I don't remember seeing this, but I do remember the music from many subsequent Christmases.

Sunday Picture

2010-12-19T09:33:00.000-04:00

This picture is from Christmas 2004. I like this one because of how precisely the homeowner placed the lights to make a perfect outline of the house. That's a perfectionist at work.
Photo by L.K. Campbell

True Devotion

2010-12-17T09:36:00.001-04:00

It was bitterly cold here Wednesday night when I took this picture below of a live nativity scene. After being out for the just the few minutes it took to snap this, I was ready to run back inside to seek warmth.
This was being presented by the youth group at the church across the street from my house. Now, that's devotion.

Tuesday Video

2010-12-14T16:21:00.001-04:00

When I think about my childhood Christmases, I have to remember A Charlie Brown Christmas. I was seven-years-old when the Peanuts holiday special premiered on T.V., and I don't think I've missed a year since without watching it again.
When I was in my twenties, I started collecting the Peanuts Christmas ornaments from Hallmark. My favorite one is from the early 90s and features Snoopy and Woodstock snuggled together in a Christmas stocking waiting for Santa Claus. It was a gift from a co-worker back when we used to exchange names and have a big company party prior to the holiday.
Enjoy this little snippet from the Christmas classic, and I hope it brings back good memories for you, too.

Sunday Picture

2010-12-12T10:49:00.001-04:00

Continuing the Christmas lights theme...

This one was from last year (2009). I liked it because it was so colorful, and we could see it from three blocks down the street.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Tueday Video

2010-12-07T10:03:00.001-04:00

This video from the sitcom Frazier is for everyone who ever had a really bad day and can now look back on it and laugh.

Sunday Picture

2010-12-05T16:27:00.001-04:00

For as long as my husband and I have been married one of our Christmas traditions is to ride around our town and take pictures of different home lighting displays. For the next few Sundays, I'll share some of my favorites through the years.

From 2005, this one mixed both the religious and secular aspects of Christmas. To the left is a lighted nativity scene with Santa Claus standing guard.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Tuesday Video

2010-11-30T10:25:00.000-04:00

This funny clip from the sitcom Frazier is for everyone who feels as if there isn't enough time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Sunday Picture

2010-11-28T08:29:00.000-04:00

Do you have all of your ducks in a row?

That was one of my mother's favorite expressions, and she would ask us that as we were getting ready to go to school each day.
Now that the holiday season is upon us, a lot of people are probably trying to get their ducks in a row, but the real ducks in the photo above seem to have no problem with that task.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Thank You!

2010-11-25T07:56:00.000-04:00

Since we're celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S. today, I wanted to say thank you today to all of my clients for the work you've sent my way this past year and especially for the referrals and recommendations. My work has given me a glimmer of hope and optimism in the middle of a very difficult year.
I also want to thank my readers and everyone who has purchased and downloaded my books this year. I've been surprised and delighted by the fact that my books seem to have found new life.
I hope that everyone will have a safe and happy holiday.

Tuesday Video - Thanksgiving Edition

2010-11-23T09:15:00.000-04:00

Here's a little Thanksgiving humor Everybody Loves Raymond. In an effort to promote healthy eating, Marie prepares a tofu turkey. Enjoy!

Sunday Picture

2010-11-21T09:42:00.001-04:00

A little wild turkey anyone?

My husband managed to get this shot from his car window while driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the summer of 2005. That year we stayed at lodge right on the parkway, so I think we saw more wildlife up and close and personal than we'd seen in previous trips.

Photo by Bryan Campbell

Tuesday Video

2010-11-16T11:01:00.000-04:00

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I thought I'd post this hilarious clip from an Everybody Loves Raymond Thanksgiving episode. First, Debra and Raymond banter back and forth over who has the worst parents; then she drops the turkey on the floor...
Enjoy!

Sunday Picture

2010-11-07T09:23:00.000-04:00

I need help identifying this beautiful bloom. I snapped this picture in the tropical bird aviary at the North Carolina Zoological Park. I have no idea was kind of plant/flower it is. If anyone knows, please answer in the comment section.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-11-04T10:04:00.002-04:00

This week's musical interlude is another tune that was mentioned in my World War II romance, A Different Tune.

------Excerpt------
The sound of Artie Shaw’s clarinet tooting out Begin the Beguine, accompanied by the chatter of the regular lunch crowd, filled the small dining room. The choice of music being played on the jukebox could only mean that her friend Trixie Carter was there. Girl talk with Trixie would have to wait. She had to tell her mother about the phone call she received.
Surveying the crowd, she spotted her near the front porch entrance, greeting a couple of unfamiliar patrons. Knowing better than to interrupt her mother, she stood by, tapping her sandal-clad foot with the rhythm of the music while her mother ushered the patrons to a small table next to the Koi aquarium.
“Cassie.” Trixie called to her from her booth in the far corner near the restrooms. “Come over and join us.”
She shook her head and pointed toward her mother, mouthing the words “in a minute.” Trixie wrinkled up her nose and sank back against the red vinyl seat to continue her conversation with another girlfriend.

------End Excerpt------
Begin the Beguine, written by the legendary Cole Porter, was one of bandleader Artie Shaw's biggest hits. Recorded in 1938, the song showcases Shaw's phenomenal talent as a clarinetist.
The beguine is a ballroom dance popularized in the 1930s in Martinique and then in Paris. In 1940 Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell re-created it in the movie musical Broadway Melody of 1940, and both the song and the dance enjoyed renewed popularity.
My mother had the original Artie Shaw recording of Begin the Beguine, and I remember hearing this around my house while I was growing up.
The video in the You Tube version below isn't the best, but the sound quality is very good. Enjoy!

For more information about A Different Tune, visit my website.

Sunday Picture

2010-10-31T14:29:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of Price Lake at twilight. The setting sun has created a mirror image on the water, even the pink sky is reflected.

Price Lake is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, N.C.
Photo by L.K. Campbell

A Halloween Story

2010-10-29T08:19:00.001-04:00

An encore presentation of my 2007 Halloween story. Enjoy!

------The House Next Door------

It was just my luck to be stuck in a checkout line behind a dozen other people who were buying last minute Halloween treats. Why did I wait until October thirty-first to buy my candy?
I tapped my foot and hummed to myself while the cashier called for a price check on aisle five. As I glanced around to see if any other lanes were open, my eyes met the gaze of a sexy stranger. His dark brown eyes scanned and scrutinized me as if he knew me on an intimate level. One side of his mouth tilted upward, and he nodded.
His leather jacket was open, revealing a tight t-shirt and just a dusting of brown chest hair peeking out from the garment‘s v-neck. I looked down at my basket to make sure my candy hadn’t melted.
“Hey, lady,” a voice behind me said. “The line’s moving.”
I shook my head and looked back toward the other lane, but he was gone. I stood on my tiptoes to see if he’d moved further down to another register, but I couldn’t see him. Perhaps he was a figment of my imagination. He had to be. I couldn’t be fortunate enough to catch the eye of a guy who was that drop-dead gorgeous. Men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses. That is the old saying, isn’t it?

It was twilight when I turned my car into the driveway of my small home on the outskirts of town. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of light from the vacant house next door. I stared at it for a few seconds. No lights were visible through any of the windows. Maybe it was my new glasses playing tricks on me. I took them off and rubbed the lenses with the tail end of my shirt and then returned them to their snug perch on the bridge of my nose.
I took one more glance at the house. It was pitch black darkness over there except for the street light that cast a pale glow across the front porch. The former owner, Mrs. Murphy had found her husband in the garage, slumped over the steering wheel of their car and dead as a doornail. The poor lady lost her mind from grief, and soon after her children moved her to a retirement community.
Earlier in the week, I noticed that a local realtor had posted a sign out front. I could never buy a house where someone had died—not that I believe in ghosts, mind you. It would just be too creepy. Suddenly, I saw a dark shadow dart across the yard. I shivered and felt adrenalin rush to my chest. I grabbed my grocery bag and dashed to my door. As soon as I was in my warm, cozy house, I reprimanded myself for being frightened.
“Mr. Murphy is not wandering around over there,” I said aloud while I went from room to room and turned on every light in my house.

I took a quick shower and donned the witch’s costume that I’d rented to wear to a party later that night. Not very original, I know, but it was the sexiest costume in the store. I didn’t want to show up at a singles’ party dressed as R2-D2.
“I’m gonna give-a you candy,” I sang while I smoothed the tight outfit down over my hips and thighs.
I smeared green paint on one side of my face, but the sharp ding of the doorbell caused me to drop the tin on my cream-colored carpet. “Oh, crap! I’ll never get that stain out.”
Ding-ding!
“I’m coming!”
I looked through the peephole and saw three little characters from Pirates of the Caribbean.
“Trick or treat,” they said in unison when I opened the door.
One of the little boys looked at my face and snickered.
“Hey, I’m a witch with a split personality,” I said.
The scowl on this face told me that he didn’t get my joke. He shoved his orange bucket toward me with one hand and made a slashing motion with the plastic hook that was attached to the other.
“Okay, okay. Here’s your candy, you little pirates.”
I backed inside my living room and put my hand on the doorknob, but I stopped cold when an apparition in white seemed to be floating down my driveway. I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so I squinted to get a better look. I might’ve gotten a real fright if the wind hadn’t blown up the hem of the ghost costume to reveal jeans and rollerblades. The ghost stopped at the bottom of my porch steps, and I heard a little girl’s voice say, “Trick or treat.”
She held out a paper sack that was already half full.
“My goodness, you kids started early tonight, didn’t you?”
Her arm stretched out in the direction of the Murphy house. “The man over there gave me a lot of candy.”
A cold gust of air blasted my porch, and I shivered. My costume wasn’t made for warmth. “You must be mistaken,” I said. “That house has been empty for months.”
The ghost shook its head. “I knocked on the door, and the man gave me candy.”
I took a few steps toward the end of my porch and looked at the house. No vehicle was in the driveway, and the windows that faced my house were dark. I turned back to the ghost to question her further, but she’d disappeared. My teeth chattered, and I hurried back into my house.
“There is no man next door,” I repeated. “But where did she get the candy? And why am I talking to myself?”
That was when I made up my mind to face my fear head-on. I’d been spooked by that house long enough. I wrapped a shawl around my shoulders and headed back outside. The night was silent except for the shrieks and giggles of the costumed children, who were now out in full force.
Being careful to stay in the shadows, I crept toward the house. When I neared the garage, A glimmer of light peeked out from a crack under the door. I froze in place when I heard a faint tapping that seemed to be coming from that direction. Mr. Murphy used to spend a lot of time in the garage working on that old riding lawn mower with the loud engine that would wake me up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings.
Screwing up my courage, I moved forward. The tapping grew louder. I remembered that there was a window on the other side of the garage. Being careful where I stepped in the darkness of the side yard, I inched my way toward the window. The blinds were shut, but I could see that the garage was fully lit.
A shadow passed in front of the window, and I held my breath. Then, the shadow took on the shape of a man. Before I could stop myself, I screamed aloud. The blinds started to rise, and I took off running. I would’ve made it back to my house if the fishtail hem of my dress hadn’t caught on something that was protruding from the ground. I couldn’t keep my balance in the stiletto heels I was wearing. I teetered around like a drunk person and then fell face first into a pile of leaves.
I heard the garage door open. I didn't dare move. Play dead, I told myself. It's dark. Maybe I'll blend in with the leaves.
No such luck. A male voice asked, “Aren’t you a little old for trick-or-treat?”
I rolled over and sat up. The tall man was silhouetted against light of the garage. I couldn't make out his features, but one thing was certain—he wasn’t the ghost of old Mr. Murphy.
His head cocked to one side, and he said, “Oh, I get it. You’re a witch with a split personality.”
My nerves relaxed. How could I be afraid of a guy who shared my sense of humor? He stretched out his hand and leaned forward to help me up. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I took the hand of the hunky guy I'd seen in the grocery store.
“Jake McLeod,” he said. “I’m with Pinnacle Real Estate.”
I got to my feet and brushed away the leaves that had stuck to my clothes and tried to remember my name. “I’m Melissa Avery,” I finally said. “I love…I mean…I live next door.” My cheeks blazed hot. “A little girl told me that there was a man over here, and I came to investigate.”
He grinned, and a twinkle lit up his eyes. “And here I am.”
The heat from my flushed cheeks spread to the rest of my body. “Well, I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing over here. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“No bother at all. I’m glad I got to meet you, Melissa Avery.”
The tone of his voice pricked my already tender nerve endings. I wasn’t the kind of girl who could make out with a man I'd just met, but Jake could’ve persuaded me.
“I’d better go. The trick-or-treaters are getting restless,” I said. “If you need anything, I’m right next door.”
He smiled and winked at me. “I’ll remember that.”
I was halfway back to my house before I worked up the courage to go back and give him my phone number.
“Jake, I forgot to give you my…”
I stopped and looked around. Where was he? The garage door was shut, and there was no light visible now. I walked around to the side of the house. It was deathly dark and quiet. The beating of my heart increased until I could hear it pounding in my ears.
“Jake,” I called out again while I circled the house looking for any sign of life.
I ran back home and flipped through the pages of my phonebook. I found no listing for Pinnacle Real Estate or Jake McLeod.
I grabbed my flashlight and marched out to the street where the for sale sign was planted in front of the Murphy house. The name on the sign read, “Broadwell Realtors.” My chest heaved as I struggled to get my breathing under control.
“So whoever Jake was, he lied to me.” Good thing I'd found out before I gave him my phone number, right?
My gaze was suddenly pulled back to the Murphy house again. I couldn't discern the shape of it, but I know that I saw dark shadow rise above it, cross the roof and disappear into the darkness. What was that? The wind whipped through the thin material of my skirt and chilled me to the bone.
------The End—Or Is It?------

Tuesday Video - Halloween Edition

2010-10-26T14:11:00.000-04:00

I've never had a dog that would stand still for being dressed in anything. For those who can (and like to) dress their dogs up for Halloween, the video below has some very cute ideas.

Sunday Picture

2010-10-24T08:25:00.001-04:00

Don't look now, but there's a guy standing behind you with a camera.

For a change, I'm posting a photo taken by my husband.
Winter at the beach can be the best time to take pictures. The air is crisp and clear, giving way to the more vibrant colors that can be hidden behind summer's haze. Instead of the sand being dotted with sunbathing tourists, it's populated with birds and seashells.

Photo by Bryan Campbell

Sunday Picture

2010-10-17T08:32:00.000-04:00

Beyond the misty mountains…
When I first took this picture in 2005, I almost discarded it. It wasn't taken at the right time of day, and the weather conditions weren't perfect. However, every time I look at it, I see something hauntingly beautiful about it.
Photo by L.K. Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-10-14T16:12:00.006-04:00

This week's musical interlude comes from my third World War II romance, A Different Tune. In the book, Cassie Wright is a talented pianist who finds herself torn between her desire to attend a prestigious music conservatory or follow the man she loves to a new job opportunity he's received. In the excerpt below, Scott hears Cassie play for the first time.

------Excerpt (Abridged to avoid spoilers)------
She laid down her fork and looked toward the piano. “I don’t know any popular songs. All I play are hymns and classical music.”
“There’s plenty of sheet music in the bench,” the waitress said. “All the current hits and old favorites. If you’re really good, someone might even put some money in the tip jar.”
“You see there,” Scott said. “Here’s your chance to become a professional.”
“I always dreamed it would be at Carnegie Hall, but I guess the Orange Blossom Restaurant is as good a place as any to start.”
“Atta girl,” he said and gave her kiss on the cheek.
…(Omitted spoiler scene)…
She turned over the sheet music and played Sentimental Journey. More couples came out to dance, and the tip jar filled up. She came back to her seat with both hands full of coins and emptied them on the table.
“You should’ve kept on playin’,” he said. “By the end of the evening we might’ve had enough to pay for our trip.”
-------End of Excerpt------

Written in 1944 by Les Brown (music) and Bud Green (lyrics), Sentimental Journey became a huge hit in March of 1945 with large thanks due to Brown's new, young band singer, Doris Day.
Below is the original recording by Les Brown and His Band of Renown featuring Doris Day. The video also includes photos from the World War II-era. Enjoy!

Use the Kindle for Web viewer below to preview the first two chapters of A Different Tune.

Tuesday Video

2010-10-12T22:44:00.001-04:00

This is one of my favorite scenes from the sitcom Frazier. It features Jane Leeves (Daphne) and David Hyde Pierce (Niles) performing a sultry tango in order to show Niles' former friends that his divorce hasn't sidelined him. Daphne is clueless to the fact that Niles has romantic feelings for her and gets carried away with the dance.
Has Jane Leeves been invited to be on Dancing with the Stars yet? She really should be.

Sunday Picture

2010-10-10T09:14:00.000-04:00

These beautiful orchids bloom amongst the other tropical plants in the natural habitat aviary at the North Carolina Zoo.
Photo by L.K. Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-10-07T10:32:00.003-04:00

For the musical interlude this week, I've chosen a favorite tune from my own childhood that was mentioned in The Life & Times of a Boomer Baby.
When baby boomers remember the 1960s they are hard-pressed not to remember that first appearance of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. I was six-years-old, but my older sister was twelve and full of pre-teen infatuation for the Fab Four.
Below is their performance of I Want To Hold Your Hand. I imagine that someone sitting in the audience would hardly be able to hear the music for all of the screaming going on around them.

For more information about The Life & Times of a Boomer Baby (a FREE ebook download), visit my website.

Sunday Picture

2010-10-03T07:45:00.001-04:00

I get the feeling someone is watching me.

A cougar wakes up from his afternoon nap at the North Carolina Zoo. The N.C. Zoo, located near Asheboro, is a natural habitat zoological park, so you sometimes wonder who is watching whom.

Photo by L.K Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-09-30T08:10:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite Glenn Miller songs is Moonlight Cocktail. I briefly mentioned the song in Gold Star Wife, but used it to set a scene in A Different Tune. This book is set at the end of World War II. It's the coming-of-age story of Cassie Wright, who thinks she has her future planned very well, but it takes a turn she hadn't expected. The scene below is between Cassie and her "best friend since first grade", who has just eloped with a man she's only known for a few days.
-----Excerpt-----
"Now I know what all those love songs really mean. You know how we used to think that Moonlight Cocktail was about people mixin’ drinks outside under the trees in the middle of the night? It’s really about...” Trixie paused, put her mouth next to Cassie’s ear and whispered, “...s.e.x.”
Cassie bolted up from the bench and ran to the corner of the screened-in porch, giggling like a little girl. Then, it dawned on her that she wasn’t a little girl any more. She was about to leave her family home and go off to school a hundred miles away. Her best friend was now a married lady, sitting on the bench in a navy blue dress with spectator pumps on her feet. Trixie even looked like a grown woman.
“I guess I’m happy for you," Cassie said. "Gee, Trix. I’m really gonna miss you like crazy.”
Water puddled up in Trixie’s eyes, and before Cassie knew it, they were in each other’s arms, holding on as tight as they could.
-----End Excerpt-----
Moonlight Cocktail, written by Kim Gannon and Lucky Roberts, was one of Glenn Miller's biggest hits. From February 28, 1942 until May 2, 1942, it topped the Billboard music charts.
Listen to the original recording below featuring Ray Eberle and The Modernaires. Enjoy!

For more information about A Different Tune, visit my website.

A Review That Made Me Cry…

2010-09-27T08:22:00.003-04:00

…But not for the reason you might think.
This morning I had an email notification from Smashwords that someone had reviewed my book The Life and Times of a Boomer Baby. Like most authors receiving a review, my first thought was, "I hope it's a good one." I wasn't expecting what I read, and it touched me deeply.
-----Excerpt From Review-----
"Was reading this when the author described her MIA POW bracelet of a Hugh A Stafford. One of My Navy pilot husband's best friends was in the Hanoi Hilton for seven years...We called him Al. I asked my husband What Al's first name was. Hugh. Oh my what a Coincidence...He Was a great and interesting guy. He would have Loved to have met her...I'm sure Her prayers helped him."
-----End of Excerpt-----
Click this link to read the whole review.
To give you a little background, in the story that she's referring to, I talked about the POW/MIA bracelet that my sister-in-law had given me to wear in 1972. Each bracelet had the name, rank and date-of-capture of someone who was either a Prisoner of War or a Missing in Action in Vietnam. I told about how much the bracelet came to mean to me and how my mother urged me to send it to Lt. Commander Stafford after he came home. For different reasons, I opted to keep it.
As I got older, I regretted that I never contacted him, but I didn't know how to go about it. A few years ago, I looked for him on the internet and saw that he'd passed away. I took the bracelet out of the box where it was packed and placed it on a shelf in the curio cabinet where my most cherished gifts are kept. It will always mean a lot to me—not just because of what it symbolizes—but now in memory of someone I wish I'd had the courage and tenacity (at that time in my life) to contact.

The Life and Times of a Boomer Baby is a FREE download at Smashwords and for Barnes and Noble's Nook ereader. For more information, visit my website.

Sunday Picture

2010-09-26T08:22:00.007-04:00

Rise and shine.

A crane greets the early morning sun on Lake Barkley in western Kentucky.
Photo by L.K. Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-09-23T10:17:00.001-04:00

This week's musical interlude is from A Soldier's Love. In the scene below, Ron knows that Katie has romantic feelings toward him but is still reluctant to break up with Jimmy. With the purpose of making Katie jealous and bringing her feelings to the surface, he escorts a gorgeous, old girlfriend to the 1941 Thanksgiving Dance.
-----Excerpt-----
A tall, auburn beauty, Pamela could’ve easily passed for a film star. Her dark lipstick accentuated her full lips, and pink rouge showed off the line of her cheekbones. She removed the fur stole from around her shoulders, revealing the extreme plunge of her neckline. The snug fit of her dress was leaving very little of her ample bosom to the imagination. Both Jimmy’s and Billy’s eyes popped open.
“I’m so pleased to meet you,” Katie said to her.
“Likewise,” Pamela answered. “It’s always nice to meet friends of Ronnie’s.”
Ron and Pamela took their seats at the table between the other two couples. Ron sat next to Katie, and Pamela was on his left sitting next to Billy.
“I’ve known Ronnie forever,” Pamela said to Katie. “We grew up together in Hammonton, our hometown. I hadn’t seen him for years until he was posted at Fort Dix.”
“So you and Ron are dating?” Billy asked Pamela.
Katie saw Ron glance at her with a curious smile on his face. She ignored him and fixed her eyes on the band singer who was crooning Isn’t It Romantic.
-----------------
The song Isn't It Romantic was composed by two iconic songwriters of the 20th century, Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics). It was composed specifically for the 1932 movie Love Me Tonight and performed in an innovative sequence, with many extended lyrics, by Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. Afterward, the song became one of the most popular of that era, being recorded numerous times and used as background music in several movies of the 1940s.
In the You Tube video below, it's performed by Broadway and soap opera star, Ron Raines. Enjoy!

Tuesday Video

2010-09-21T08:19:00.001-04:00

The best laid plans often go astray.
This week's video clip is from one of my favorite sitcoms Frazier. In the clip below, brothers Frazier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) decide to open a restaurant together despite their father's advice against it.
Their nit-picking over the menu causes the head chef to walk out on them, and the rest of the staff runs away when someone mentions that the head of the local immigration bureau is in the house.
Frazier enlists the help of their friends and family, and what ensues is hilarious. Enjoy!

Sunday Picture

2010-09-19T08:25:00.000-04:00

Traveling light in the 1930s?

Imagine hitting the road to your favorite vacation spot in this 1930s coupe with everything packed away in the "trunk". Who gets to ride in the rumble seat? Oh, I hope it doesn't rain.

Photo by L.K. Campbell taken at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, N.C.

Nothing Ventured. Nothing Gained

2010-09-18T18:40:00.000-04:00

The following is a lesson in why you should never be afraid to make a leap of faith and take a chance on something new. You'll never know what you can do until you take that first step.

A year ago, Mark Coker of Smashwords sent out a Tweet on Twitter asking if there were Smashwords authors who would be willing to format manuscripts for other authors. Smashwords had just signed its first big distribution deal and had to implement a Premium Distribution Style Guide so that our books would meet the rigorous guidelines of e-book distributors such as Sony and Barnes and Noble. (Since that time, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, KoboBooks and Diesel have also been added to the list of Smashwords distribution points.)
At first, I was hesitant to respond. I'd formatted print books for a romance book publisher, but I hadn't formatted any e-books other than my own. I thought about it over night and kept feeling a nudge to respond. Like a lot of other people these days, I was out-of-work and beginning to feel as if I'd never work again. The next day, I contacted Mark and offered my services. It was slow going at first, and I had a little bit of a rough start, but Mark was very kind and helped me through it. A few months later, with the encouragement of one of the authors I'd worked with, I decided to branch out and offer my formatting services to a broader audience of authors and publishers. Once again, it was a slow start, but over the past few months, it has grown to the point that I've had to start scheduling jobs to keep up with them. But much more than that, I've worked with some great authors, and I've been fortunate to connect with publishers such as Decadent Publishing and StoneHouse Ink. I enjoy working with them immensely, and I appreciate their patience with me while I work through some of the aspects of this new technology by trial and error.
E-Formatting has and continues to be a wonderful learning experience for me. Ten years ago, if someone had told me that I'd be formatting e-books, I would have asked, "What's an e-book?" I think a lot us of would have, but today I can honestly say that publishing my books on Smashwords—in more ways than one—was the best decision I ever made.

Musical Interlude

2010-09-16T08:37:00.003-04:00

Last week, I talked about how, in my novels, I had used the music of the World War II era to help set the scene and get the reader into that time period. This section from Gold Star Wife is a good example of that.
--------------------------
The small, local band Ron hired for the occasion began to play Blue Rain, and a few couples stepped out into the middle of the floor to dance.
“That’s a good song from before the war,” Paul said.
Before the war. Her life then had been interrupted, and in the time since, she’d done nothing more than maintain an existence. She wanted to enjoy life again. She wanted to feel and experience true love again.
“Do you think from now on we’re going to measure time based on prewar and postwar?” she asked.
He didn’t answer right away. He took a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lit one.“Maybe,” he said after a few puffs. “But I’d like to think we could make the latter as good as the former.”
“Yes,” she said. “I’d like to think we could, too.”
--------------------------
Blue Rain isn't one of Glenn Miller's more famous hits, and I had trouble finding a recording of the song. It was written by the great Johnny Mercer with lyrics by Jimmy Van Heusen. This links to the MySpace playlist for the song. Enjoy!

Find more Glenn Miller & His Orchestra songs at Myspace Music

For more information about Gold Star Wife, visit My Website.

Tuesday Video

2010-09-14T08:15:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of Dancing with the Stars and can't wait for the new season to begin next week on ABC.
Since I grew up with The Brady Bunch children, I'm looking forward to see how Florence Henderson, now 76, performs on the show.
On one of the DWTS websites I visit, someone had posted a link to the hilarious You Tube video below. It's from a stage show Henderson did back in 2006. She performs a take-off on the Mama Morton signature song When You're Good To Mama from the musical Chicago.
WARNING: You'll see Henderson in a way you may have never seen her before, and it's little racy, but very good for a laugh.

Sunday Picture

2010-09-12T08:01:00.000-04:00

High-flying flag?

This flag appears to be suspended in mid-air, but it's actually a kite. I snapped this picture on a very windy day at the beach.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Do You Remember Where You Were 9/11/01?

2010-09-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

I was at my desk creating the dummy layout for the B-section of Wednesday's newspaper, as I always did around ten a.m. on Tuesday mornings. I looked up to find one of the reporters standing next to my cubicle wall.
"I can't get onto the AP Wire server," she said. "It's taking forever to load the story I want to pull."
We walked the short distance to the bank of servers that were the lifeblood of our small town daily newspaper. Looking at the screen of our AP (Associated Press) Wire server, I could see stories coming in faster than I'd ever seen them feed in the past. My first thought was did someone change the speed on the story feed?
She and I took a closer look at the screen and caught one of the headlines as the stories scrolled up—Plane Crashes into World Trade Center. We looked at each other and said in unison, "Oh, my God."
We heard a phone ring and then someone yelled out, "Turn on the T.V. in the conference room."
Two or three of us gathered and watched, then more came in. No said a word, we just watched the events unfold. When the second plane hit, there was a collective gasp in the room.
Our editor was a young man who had stepped into the job when our former editor abruptly quit. I'd always questioned whether he had the experience to do the job, but that day he changed my mind. He took control and immediately started re-working our Wednesday edition. He put reporters out on the street to get the reactions of local people, while others began the difficult task of combing through the (now 100s) of stories that had been fed through the wire service.
When the initial shock wore off, I thought about our boss. The newspaper's publisher had been on a mission trip to Guatemala with his church. He was supposed to fly home the next day.
"What if Mike has to stay in Guatemala indefinitely and can't get home?" I asked aloud to the others who were still watching the terrible events unfold on the T.V. in the conference room.
They all stared at me with blank expressions, but one of my co-workers spoke and expressed what everyone was probably feeling.
"I can't imagine what it would be like," she said. "To be in another country and told that I couldn't go home, because crazy people were hi-jacking planes and flying them into buildings."
For the rest of that day, the mood was somber. The usual chatter and banter between our staff of mostly young reporters was replaced with a noticeable silence. I went home and watched the news with my husband until I couldn't stand to see any more of it.
My pastor phoned and told me that he'd called around to the various church members, and they were going to be meeting for a prayer service at 8 p.m. We all gathered, but again, it was mostly in silence. Some of the older ones who remembered December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and the last time our country had been attacked in this way, shared their memories and feelings of that day. We (relatively) younger ones, who had lived in blissful ignorance to the fact that it could ever happen again, were still too much in shock to share our feelings.
I went to bed that night feeling as if I was living in a different world, a different country, than I'd woke up in that morning.

Musical Interlude

2010-09-09T08:51:00.001-04:00

This week's musical interlude is unusual, because I combed the manuscript of Front Page News, and the only reference I had to a piece of music was a cell phone ringtone.
Since this book is a contemporary romance, I must have felt that I didn't musical references. In my World War II romances, I was utilizing the music of the era to help set the scene.
However, I've decided to give my heroine (post-publication) a song. Given the plot of Front Page News and Jess McElroy's goal/motivation, I've selected the song I Will Survive. The song was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris and was originally released in 1978, at the height of the disco era, by Gloria Gaynor. Below is an updated version by the contemporary British jazz group, The Puppini Sisters. There's no video with this one, only audio, so enjoy the music!

For more information about Front Page News, please visit my website.

Tuesday Video

2010-09-07T08:57:00.004-04:00

I saw this funny commercial yesterday and had to post it, because I think all of us can say, "Been there. Done that."
I won't get on my soapbox about how I feel towards outsourcing either, but we have more than 15 million people unemployed in the U.S. Couldn't we bring jobs, like the one portrayed in the commercial, back home?

Disclaimer: This post isn't intended to be an advertisement for the product mentioned.

Sunday Picture

2010-09-05T08:32:00.002-04:00

A good day for fishing.

This picture was taken off the North Carolina coast near the town of Calabash. The water was still choppy following an early morning storm. I've been told that's a good time for fishing.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

New Addition to my blog. I've added a news ticker to the sidebar (under the Twitter feed) that displays headline news from all of the major news sources.

Musical Interlude

2010-09-02T16:45:00.001-04:00

A couple of week's ago, I introduced you the favorite song of my hero from A Soldier's Love. This week, take a listen to my heroine Katie's favorite song, Stardust.
A Soldier's Love was originally titled The Memory of Love's Refrain—the last five words of Stardust. I changed the title because I felt that there might not be many readers who would recognize the lyrics, and I wanted the title to be easier to remember.
It's first mentioned in this excerpt from Chapter 2:
----------------
“So what do you like to do for fun, Katie?” Jimmy asked.
She kept her eyes fixed on the placemat in front of her. Something about the way he was looking at her made her uncomfortable. His eyes kept traveling down to her bust. She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I like to go to the movies. I like anything with Humphrey Bogart in it. When I go out on a date, I like to go dancing. I have a favorite ballroom down in D.C., where I saw Artie Shaw play a couple of years ago. Stardust is my favorite song.”
She glanced in Ron’s direction, but he and Billy were having their own conversation concerning one of Billy’s classes.
-------------------
And it's mentioned again in this excerpt from Chapter 11:
-------------------
The men stood up when the ladies came back to the table. Ron reached out and put his arm around Katie’s waist.
“Do you feel like dancing?” he asked her. “They’re playing your song.”
He’d given the piano player a five-dollar tip to play Stardust.
------------------
Written by Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parrish, Stardust was first recorded by the great Bing Crosby in 1931. Several years later, clarinetist/bandleader Artie Shaw released an instrumental version that became one of his biggest hits. Over the years, the song has been recorded and released by no less than 34 artists. Most recently, it was recorded by Michael Buble who sings it in the You Tube version below. Enjoy!

For more information about A Soldier's Love visit my website

Tuesday Video

2010-08-31T11:41:00.001-04:00

This week's video clip comes from the 1960s cartoon The Jetsons. I used to watch this cartoon as a kid and think that people would live this way in the not-so-distant 21st century. Some things have come true—video phones, computers in every home—but I'm still waiting for the flying cars.
In this clip, I'm not sure that I like the vision presented of the future—especially the "breakfast" that George is served. There's a lot to be said for the present age.

Sunday Picture

2010-08-29T08:45:00.002-04:00

"Men, we will practice this formation every day until you get it down perfect."

These birds at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. seem to be lined up for a parade march. Perhaps they're practicing for hurricane evacuation. Extra credit: Can you spot the one that's different from the others?

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-08-26T08:41:00.003-04:00

The musical interlude this week is the song For Sentimental Reasons, the favorite song of my hero in A Different Tune.
In this novel, Scott Riley is a soldier coming from World War II in the summer of 1945. He heads straight for a fishing village in the Florida panhandle where his pen pal, Cassie Wright lives. Though the two have never actually met, Scott has fallen in love with her through the letters she's written to him throughout his war experience. Cassie is a talented pianist who has an opportunity to attend the music conservatory where her piano teacher studied. She dreams of becoming a concert pianist, but she doesn't count on falling in love with Scott.
I chose this song for Scott, because I believed that it expressed the sentiments of a time when the war was ending and young men were coming home to the sweethearts they'd left behind.

The song is first mentioned in this excerpt from Chapter 4:

The atmosphere had a warm, cozy feel. Empty Coca Cola bottles served as vases for fresh flowers on the gingham covered tables. The aroma of frying fish permeated the air, and hunger pangs pierced his stomach.
The place was alive with the chatter of patrons discussing boats and surf conditions. But over the din, he could hear something that brought a smile to his lips. The jukebox was playing his favorite song, For Sentimental Reasons. He’d first heard it on Armed Services Radio and imagined that it would be his and Cassie’s song.
He was close enough to reach his arm around her and whisper the words, “I love you for sentimental reasons” in her ear. The idea was driven from his mind by the approach of a smartly-dressed older woman, who looked familiar.

For Sentimental Reasons by William Best was first released in March, 1945 by the quartet The Brown Dots, led by former Ink Spot Ivory "Deek" Watson, who is sometimes credited as a co-author of the song. For Sentimental Reasons has had many more famous versions during the 20th century by artists such as Nat King Cole (1946), Ella Fitzgerald (1947) and Sam Cooke (1958). It's still being heard in the 21st century from Rod Stewart who recorded it in 2004 as part of his Great American Songbook albums.
Below is a You Tube recording of George Benson singing in tribute to Nat King Cole. Enjoy For Sentimental Reasons.

For more information about A Different Tune, please visit my website.

Tuesday Video

2010-08-24T13:06:00.002-04:00

This week's video is from The Andy Griffith Show. The timeless classic celebrates its 50th anniversary on television next month.
Below is a scene featuring the late, great Don Knotts at his Barney best.

Sunday Picture

2010-08-22T08:40:00.002-04:00

One last trip to the favorite fishing spot before going back to school.

When you're a kid, there's nothing like those last few weeks and days before school starts again. You're anxious to see all of your school friends again, but you'd love to make those lazy days last, too.

Photo by L.K. Campbell. Price Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, N.C.

Musical Interlude

2010-08-19T08:18:00.002-04:00

My musical interlude this week is from my first World War II romance, A Soldier's Love. In the excerpted scene, Ron Miller reveals his favorite song to the reader. His choice of song also helps to advance the story, because he's been harboring feelings for Katie that he can't reveal as long as she's dating his roommate, Jimmy Garrett.
Below the excerpt is a modern version of the song (via You Tube) sung by the great Rod Stewart in a duet with Debra Cox. The video also includes the lyrics of this 1938 Hoagy Carmichael/Ned Washington collaboration. That same year, the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the song and turned it into a classic.
Excerpt from Chapter 6
“Well, I hope we’re still friends,” he said.
“I guess so,” she answered with a quick shrug. “If lunch on Tuesdays makes us friends.”
“I’d like to think that we are,” he said. “I enjoy your company.”
It was as close as he’d ever come to telling her how he really felt, but he couldn’t do that as long as she was seeing Jimmy. As if on cue, the band began to play the romantic ballad The Nearness of You—one of his favorites.
Seizing the opportunity, he held out his hand to her. “Since our dates have deserted us, will you dance with me?”
He almost expected a little dissent, but to his surprise, she placed her hand in his and rose from her seat.
He drew her close to him, and she didn’t resist, so he pulled her against him until the whole length of their bodies were touching. Her dress was cut low in the back, and he relished the feel of her silky smooth skin under his palm. He squeezed her hand, and she turned her face toward his. He’d dreamed of touching her this way, and it was all he could do to keep his hand from roaming down to her round bottom. Moved by the music and the moment, he placed a delicate kiss on her forehead.
She placed her hands against his chest and pushed herself away from him. Her face was flushed, and he suspected that it wasn’t caused by the temperature of the room.
“Jimmy was right. It’s really warm in here. I think I need some air,” she said, sputtering out her words.
He watched her sprint to an outside door—nearly knocking over a plant stand as she went. He smiled, knowing without a doubt now, that his feelings for her were reciprocated.

For more information about A Soldier's Love, please visit my website.

Tuesday Video

2010-08-17T08:45:00.001-04:00

I feel like laughing today. Here's one of my favorite clips from one my favorite comedies, Everybody Loves Raymond. Watch and laugh as Ray Romano improvises a jitterbug to the music of Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing.

Sunday Picture

2010-08-15T08:15:00.000-04:00

"I've told you before—you're not getting in until you show me some I.D."

A variety of ducks inhabit the re-created mill stream at The High Country Inn in Boone, N.C. Unlike most guests, they stay for free.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

Musical Interlude

2010-08-12T10:10:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite types of music comes from the Swing Era of the 1930s-40s. It's safe to say that this music is almost a secondary character in my World War II novels. Glenn Miller's The Story of a Starry Night (featured on You Tube video below) played a big role in my novel, Gold Star Wife.
It was my heroine, Janet's favorite song. Excerpt from Chapter 3:
“I love to look at the stars,” he said in a quiet voice. “It makes me feel as if no matter what’s going on down here, everything is still right with the universe.”
She began to hum, and he saw the expression in her eyes deepen.
“There was a Glenn Miller song I used to love called The Story of a Starry Night,” she said. “It’s kind of sad, because it’s a song about lost love, but it’s hopeful, too. It makes you feel that you should never stop searching for true love.”

Excerpt from Chapter 9:
He leaned so close to her that his lips were almost touching her ear, and he whispered, “This next dance is just for you.”
He stood up and reached out for her hand. The sound of the familiar, opening chords of The Story of a Starry Night filled her eyes with tears of joy. He’d remembered her favorite song. How much more perfect could the man get?

The song makes another appearance in the last scene of the book, but that would be a big spoiler to anyone who hasn't read the book, so I won't post it.

Gold Star Wife is available in print and ebook. Visit my website for more information.

Tuesday Video

2010-08-10T07:50:00.004-04:00

I've been a fan of the BBC series, Doctor Who from way back when the series was shown on my local PBS station in the 1970s and 80s. Doctor Who has been around for close to 50 years. (And you thought Star Trek was the longest-running sci-fi franchise ever? Well, I'm a big fan of that one, too.) In brief, the Doctor is a time traveling Time Lord from an extinct race and planet. He travels through time and the universe in a very unusual vehicle and sets right things that have gone wrong in the space/time continuum. He has a particular fondest for our planet and the human race. He also has the ability to regenerate into new incarnations, which is why no less than 11 actors (all great) have portrayed The Doctor over the years.
I was thrilled several years ago when I found that BBC America had resurrected (or regenerated, as the case might be) Doctor Who. Here's a special clip produced for a British charity program back in 2007 that features my favorite Doctor (#5) from the 1980s, Peter Davison, and my most recent favorite Doctor (#10), David Tennant. Enjoy!

Sunday Picture

2010-08-08T07:51:00.004-04:00

The old saying goes, "It's always darkest before the dawn," but just look at the colors in that horizon.

Sunrise at North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Photo by L.K. Campbell

News About Front Page News

2010-08-05T16:22:00.007-04:00

My romantic suspense novel Front Page News is available in print at Lulu.com. From now through Sept. 15, purchase it for 15% off the regular price of $9.99 by entering coupon code NEWREAD305 at checkout.
The ebook price has been reduced to $.99 at Smashwords and is also back on sale in the Amazon Kindle Store at the new low price.
BLURB: Jess McElroy has always wanted to write front-page news, but she becomes front-page news when a stalker disrupts her life. The suspects include her ex-boyfriend who can't seem to let go of her. Then again, her new boss Parker Montgomery has a secret past that might spell trouble for Jess. When the person hounding her becomes more dangerous, Parker insists that she move in with him for protection. Both Jess and Parker are determined to keep their growing attraction in check, but as the peril increases, so do the sparks between them.
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As of August 5, all of my novels are now available in Amazon's U.K. Kindle store.

E-Formatting: Working from OCR Scanned Copy

2010-07-28T11:34:00.003-04:00

Every now and then, I like to pass along tips that I've learned from my work about preparing manuscripts for e-formatting. (To read my other blogs on this subject, click these links: A Learning Process, Paragraph Indents, Styles and Formatting Palette.)
Today I want to discuss my learning experience from formatting OCR scanned copy. The acronym OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, and it's the most common form of text scanning. In other words, transferring copy from a printed page into the computer. Authors and publishers will do this when they want to re-publish older printed books in e-format, but they don't have (or don't have access to) a computer file of the book.
Tip No. 1—If you use this process to e-publish a book, proofread, proofread and proofread again. REASON: OCR scanning is notorious for generating typos—especially if scanning from serif fonts.
For example, I recently formatted a scanned book, and every word that began with "fi" had been changed to "h". So, the word first ended up hrst in every instance where it was used in the book. Likewise, words beginning in "fl" were changed to "H".
Even though those squiggly red lines in MS Word can drive us crazy, pay close attention to them if the copy has been scanned.
Tip No. 2—Copy your document into a program such as NotePad to clear all formatting before saving it into MS Word. Yes, it means extra work, because you'll have to go through the book and replace all italics and other font formatting, but it's worth it because… REASON: OCR scanning can play havoc with formatting.
For instance, if during the printing process, the press (or printer) laid down the black ink too heavily, the scanner can interpret that as bold type. Formatting errors like these aren't always visible to the naked eye.
For example, a book I formatted had about 95 bold html tags scattered throughout the document—some in very odd places such as a period at the end of a sentence. These all had to be weeded out to give the readers a clean, readable copy of the book.
In the end, don't we all want to the give the readers the best possible e-book that we can produce, even if it means a little extra work.

Living Out of Boxes

2010-07-21T19:47:00.004-04:00

It's been a week since we moved, and I'm finally finding some kind of normalcy in all of this. I guess "living out of boxes" is much better than "living in a box", so I'm very thankful that we had a place to go. Every day, I find that I'm looking for something I can't find, and I don't know if it's in the boxes we brought here to my sister's house or packed away in the rented storage room seven miles away. My husband seems to have a better handle on that than I do.
I'm also (happily) getting used to having A/C again. Living without electricity, we used battery-operated fans to keep cool once the weather turned hot. I would've never believed that a person could become acclimated to sweltering heat. However, the first few nights here, I wanted to put a blanket on the bed when I woke up shivering in the middle of the night.
I finally got caught up on my work today and had a little breather to take care of some other things. But I don't want too much of a breather. I love working, and now that I have three publishers, my husband and I are making it a collaborative effort just like old times.
In slow, baby steps, I know that we'll get back on our feet again. This week, we've finally been able to pay off the vehicles and get my husband's truck back on the road after being parked for a year. In spite of everything, I do believe that we've been blessed in many ways—not the least of which was through all of the caring friends, family and neighbors who were so kind to us. I can only hope to be as kind to others in return.

A "Moving" Experience

2010-07-15T07:25:00.007-04:00

We have finally moved out of our former house. It took two exhausting days of completing the packing and two more exhausting days of moving 75% of it to a storage unit. I didn't think we had it in us. I guess the (combined) 52 pounds that we've lost this year helped us with our stamina. As hot as it is here, we probably lost about 10 more in perspiration.
Anyway, it will be a long time before we get back to a normal life but for now, life does go on. After surviving the past nine months, I think we can get through anything.
I'm working very hard and as of yesterday, I now have three publishers that I'm formatting books for as well as numerous individual authors who have given me repeat business. I'm learning new aspects of e-publishing everyday and doing things that I wouldn't have thought possible just a few years ago.
I want to take a moment to say how grateful I am to all of my loyal business clients and to all of the readers who have purchased copies of my books so far this year. You've kept us from starvation—literally—and I hope to never stop learning my craft and always do the best possible work that I can do for you.

Anniversary—14 Years and Counting

2010-07-06T18:21:00.004-04:00

I've been working on formatting a print book today, but I finally have a moment to take a break and wish my husband a happy 14th anniversary.
We never had a song, per se, but on our 5th anniversary, he gave me a book by Steven Curtis Chapman that included a CD with his song, I Will Be Here. (Enjoy the You Tube version below this post.)
I think this song pretty much says it all for us. We've lived through a lot together in the last 14 years—cancer scares, job layoffs and losing almost everything we have except each other. This past year the metal of our relationship has been tested in hardship and in ways that we wouldn't have expected. But we still have our love.

Happy 4th of July, America!

2010-07-02T15:02:00.002-04:00

Enjoy the fun and fireworks. According to the You Tube description, this one was filmed at Epcot Center in 2009.

Life In The Arena

2010-06-09T14:56:00.005-04:00

I ran across this quote today while I was formatting an ebook.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."—Theodore Roosevelt
This quote is special to me, because my brother quoted it in our father's eulogy. It also served as a reminder to me—especially today—of something that I needed to hear and apply to my way of thinking about my life.
So many times in the recent past, I've looked at my life, and I feel that I've failed at a lot things; that I'm a huge disappointment to myself and a other people. But when I think about it the lesson that Roosevelt was trying to convey—to stay in the arena and continue striving—I realize why I'm the kind of the person who never gives up no matter how many times I get knocked down. As Daddy said to me on many occasions, "Baby, you've got to roll with the punches."

Memorial Day

2010-05-28T14:33:00.004-04:00

Below are various pictures of men that Daddy served with in North Africa and Italy during World War II. I wish I knew their names, so that I could honor them all here. As far as I know, all of these photos were taken by my father.

Below is a WWII tribute featuring the music of Glenn Miller and his Army Air Corp. Band playing American Patrol.

If you'd like to see more pictures that Daddy took during the war, along with more information about the war, visit A Peek Into The Past, my World War II tribute site.

Ebook Formatting 101—The Styles and Formatting Pallette Isn't Necessarily Your Friend

2010-05-12T14:51:00.005-04:00

One final tip for ebook formatting—stay away from the Styles and Formatting Pallette in MS Word. While it might be a wonderful tool for other types of publishing, it can make a mess of your work in certain ebook formats.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I first ventured into e-book formatting. Even though I had selected all of the text and changed it to Times New Roman, 12 point and set the paragraph indentions, the HTML conversion showed several different fonts, sizes and formats scattered throughout the document. Upon looking at the Styles and Formatting Pallette, I found that there were about 20 different styles in use in the document.
What happens is that every time a style is created, it leaves hidden tags in the document and sometimes these tags don't close properly. So, when the file is converted to HTML or another format that's based in HTML coding such as the Kindle .prc (MOBI) format, the conversion process will pick up those tags and do all kinds of crazy things to your formatting.
So in conclusion, ebook formatting comes down to one basic rule: Keep it simple.
If you missed my first two posts on ebook formatting, you can find them here and here.

One of the Women Who Raised Me—My Other Mama

2010-05-07T13:54:00.007-04:00

Grandma and me circa 1967.

Grandma was, for all intents and purposes, my other Mama. I’m told that when I was very small, I referred to her that way.
She was raised in a family of ten children, the majority of whom graduated from college during a time when that wasn’t so prevalent in our neck of the woods. Grandma graduated from Carolina College for Women in 1917 with degrees in teaching and business. She had a good head for the subject. She managed the upkeep of her farm and kept the books for my father’s electrical business until a severe heart attack she suffered at age sixty-five forced her to retire. I use the word retire lightly.
Several years ago, one of my cousins gave me a letter that Mama had written to her shortly after Grandma’s heart attack.
Mama refuses to slow down. She still gets up at the crack of dawn and works in that garden for two or three hours a day. I’m afraid that I’ll go out there one morning and find her dead body amongst the tomato plants.
As it turned out, Grandma lived five years longer than Mama did.
We lived with Grandma until Mama and Daddy built a home across the road in 1964. When we moved into the new house, I was upset about leaving Grandma. I used to get up early in the morning, walk across the road and have breakfast with her. I can still remember her open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches, because she’d always put a pinch of sugar on the cheese.
Grandma was my first teacher. When my brother and sister went off to school every day, I’d take my little chalkboard to Grandma and say, “Teach me.” I learned how to read and write before I set foot in public school.
Grandma was the matriarch of her family. Even before her oldest sister Mamie died, Grandma was the one that everyone came to for advice and counseling on all kinds of matters from financing to funeral plans. She was a person who helped many people through difficult times in their lives.
Her great grandchildren remember her as being mean, because she was strict, and she believed in discipline. I remember her saying, “If you have children, remember this: When you finish with them, the rest of the world has to live with them.”
She was stubborn, knew how to get her way and was even a little eccentric, but she was also an incredibly generous woman. I would prefer that her ancestors remember her from a story my mother told me when I was in junior high school.
I was looking through the old family photograph album—the one Grandma had kept since she was married in 1921. Scattered in among Uncle Ott and Mama’s baby pictures were photos of an African-American couple. In one photo the woman was holding Mama. I asked Mama who they were.
“That’s a couple who lived with us for a while,” she said. “During the Depression, they had a little farm up the road from us and lost it for a small debt that they owed to one of the stores in Laurinburg. Your grandma took them in, and they stayed with us until she could find work for them and a place to live.”(Recently, a friend of mine said that he was researching his family history and came across a 1930 census that listed the McAdoo's as members of Grandma and Granddaddy's household.)
Mama told me about other people that Grandma had helped. During World War II, she’d gone to selective service (the draft board) and pleaded the case of a young man whose widowed mother couldn’t afford to lose even one of her two sons. As a result, he was deferred from service. Grandma also helped them financially until they could get along on their own.
At the back of Grandma’s house there was a walk-in closet that could’ve been called Pack Rat Heaven. As a little girl, making a discovery in that room gave me a feeling known only to people like Francisco Pizarro when he came upon the Inca in the jungles of Peru.
As much as my brother, sister and I plundered and pillaged that room as children, we knew that we could only go so far. It wasn’t until after Grandma died in 1980 that all of the contents of the closet were uncovered. We found photograph albums from her college days. We laughed at how Grandma tried to hide her face in the pictures. Like Mama, she hated to have her picture taken. (In the photo above, notice how she refused to look straight at the camera.) One set of photographs showed Grandma as the school May Queen. She stood in the center next to the May Pole while the other girls danced in a circle, wrapping her with ribbons that were attached to the top of the pole.
To our surprise, we learned that she’d had a boyfriend during her college years. She’d never talked about having any boyfriends during that time. He was a dashing young man in World War I army attire, but no name was written on the back of the photograph. We’ll never know who he was.
We came across two items from her childhood that told us things we’d never known about her. One of them was the diary she’d kept as a child. On the day in 1903 when her father brought home the first family car, she wrote, “Papa bought a brand new automobile. We don’t have to ride in the wagon to school no more.”
Then later that same year, their first telephone was installed. “Now we have a telephone just like Uncle Hugh,” she wrote. “Mary [her cousin] and I stayed home from school and talked on it all day long.”
That entry came as no great surprise. Eighty years later, Grandma and Mary could still talk on the phone for hours at a time. My sister used to tease them about gossiping.
“We’re not gossiping,” Grandma said. “We care about those people, and we’re trying to think of ways to help them solve their problems.”
The other item we found, tucked away in an old box of books, was an elementary school spelling primer in which Grandma had drawn a picture of her teacher as an old witch with long, stringy hair and a big wart on the end of her nose. The picture was accompanied by some unflattering remarks about the teacher’s character. What a gem to find. My ladylike grandmother, the font of wisdom and paragon of virtue had once been a typical, rambunctious child.

If you want to read more about my Grandma, visit Smashwords.com or Barnes and Noble.com to download a FREE ebook copy of The Life & Times of a Boomer Baby.

Ebook Formatting 101—Paragraph Indentions and Special Characters

2010-05-03T13:07:00.004-04:00

Continuing with my post from last week, here are some more tips and tricks for formatting an ebook so that it will be compatible with almost any ereader.
One of the most common mistakes that authors make when preparing a manuscript is in paragraph indention. Never use tabs to indent a paragraph. In most ebook converters, any tab functions will be ignored. So, paragraphs that have been indented this way will come out with no indention. The best way to format paragraph indentions is the use the paragraph formatting tool in MS Word and set the first line indent to no less than .25 (1/4 inch) and no greater than .50. Also, do not put extra returns between paragraphs. A change in paragraph should always and only be denoted by a new paragraph indention.
Special characters are another fine point of formatting that take a little extra work but will ultimately improve the look of an ebook (or printed book for that matter). Em (—) dashes are always preferable to short dashes (--) or short dashes with extra spaces ( - ). The latter can actually cause text to be split in places where you might not desire it to be. Em dashes can be created by depressing the Alt key while typing 0151 on the number or keypad on a PC. On a Mac, Em dashes are created by depressing the shift and option keys simultaneously and then hitting the dash (-) key.
Likewise elipses (…), alt key & 0133, are better than typing three successive periods. As with the em dash, it will keep the text together that's supposed to be together.
A very good reference for all of the shortcuts to special PC characters can be found at this website.
If you're a self-published author or independent publisher in need for print or ebook formatting, please visit: http://design.lkcampbell.com

Ebook Formatting 101—A Learning Process

2010-04-27T11:56:00.007-04:00

During the past five months, I've been formatting ebooks for self-published authors and independent publishers, so I thought it was time to pass along some of the tried and true lessons that I've learned in the process.
I think the main (number one) thing that I've learned and try to pass along to my clients is that an ebook is a different animal from a printed book. In most cases, an ebook is not just an electronic version of the printed book. Some formatting that works in a printed book won't work in an ebook. For instance, page numbering and page breaks are different for the two separate mediums.
Do not use more than one page break between chapters. While a blank page might look nice in a printed book, readers of e-books get annoyed if they have to scroll through too many blank pages to get to the next chapter.

Keep it simple fits well with ebook formatting. One of the things that I hear from authors is, "What happened to all of my pretty fonts?" Well, the software for some ereaders won't support all of those "pretty" fonts, and they might very well default to something like this. So, it's best to use a standard system font like Times New Roman. Even if it isn't the most exciting or visually appealing font, it will be the most readable font on almost any ereader.
Lastly, some of the auto-formatting functions in MS Word will also get scrambled by some ereader software; e.g. stay away from tabs and separate text boxes to offset portions of the content. You could end up with disappearing content and big white gaps in the book where the extra text box was supposed to be.
Photographs are another form of content that I'm asked about frequently. Most of the ereaders now support color or black and white photos, but be mindful that the photos need to be saved in .jpeg format. Also, most ereaders (and ebook distributors) will have a file-size limit, so photographs need to be sized-down to web/screen resolution of either 72 or 96 dpi and shouldn't exceed the size (in inches) of your page layout. This will keep your manuscript from being larger than 5MB, which is the limit for most ereaders.
That's all for today, but there is more to come in a future blog posts.
If you're a self-published author or independent publisher in need of affordable print or ebook formatting, please visit design.lkcampbell.com for more information.

Just Two Among Millions

2010-04-22T11:05:00.003-04:00

For all of the millions of people who are unemployed…

It's been two long years and still we wait for a change in our situation. We've prayed and hoped for jobs that haven't materialized. We applied in person, applied online, mailed in resumes and still nothing. After a while, we start to believe that we're no longer needed or wanted. Sometimes, we even wonder if we'll ever work again. Three years ago, I had a job that I thought I would retire from one day. Then, the applecart was turned upside down. Now, I'm scratching out a living in the best way that I know how.
There have been days when we didn't know where the next meal would come from, and some days it didn't come at all. We went to bed hungry that night. We've learned to live without a lot of luxuries including electricity, but I have a kind sister who allows us to make ourselves at home for a few hours a day. We will never be able to repay her for the blessing that she has been to us.
But still, we hold on to our hope. Somehow we know that there will be a better day. There has to be.
The worst part of being in an economic downturn—more like a spiraling vortex that leads to oblivion—is the relationships that you lose. You find that you no longer have the friends you once had. They're uncomfortable around you knowing that you can't enjoy all of things you once enjoyed. Even though you've never asked for anything except their love and compassion, family turns away too. They have their peace of mind and don't need/want to be confronted with our reality. It might bring them down. Worst of all, some even believe that we brought our troubles on ourselves—that we haven't tried hard enough to get out of our situation. Yes, I love the way I'm living. It was my ambition in life to end up this way, I want to say.
So, we are awed and humbled by the kindness and compassion of people who are virtual strangers to us. Neighbors that we're ashamed to say we never took the time to get to know come to us and offer helping hands. So something good can come from every bad situation. We're reminded that the relationships we form and commit to ("for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health") are the most important things in life.
And still, we hold to each other and to our hope.
The foreclosure is looming. This time there will be no way out. It's time to accept the inevitable. But where will we go, we ask ourselves. People ride by and take pictures of our house—the house that we worked so hard for and saved for. Now, we understand how the little rabbit feels with the hawk circling overhead. Our dream is dying.
Still, we have each other and we have hope.
In spite of everything, we realize how lucky we are to still reach out and find the other's hand. We know that we're fortunate to still find strength in each other's arms, when couples have separated and divorced over much less than we've been through.
So still, we have hope.
We want to pray, but we know that there are millions of others like us who need our prayers, too. We can only hope that they are surrounded by loving and compassionate people who will help them through these dark days and give them hope, too.
I've found my strength in God—the center of my life—the one who has sustained me day-by-day. When I look back over the past two years, there is no other explanation for how I've survived.
So still, we have hope, and we get up each day and go on… There will be a better day.

Faith of the Heart

2010-04-16T14:17:00.006-04:00

I've been watching reruns of the series Enterprise on the SyFy channel, and I think this is one of the best T.V. theme songs ever—especially now that there's a debate about the future of America's space program. It also speaks to me, personally considering what the past couple of years have been like.

The Valentine Angel - Conclusion

2010-02-12T15:15:00.003-04:00

I'm posting this a couple of days early, because we're expecting a winter storm here tonight. You never know what's going to happen with those things. If I don't get to post again this weekend, I want to wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day.

This serialized Valentine story started out as a deleted scene from one of my novels, A Soldier’s Love. Back in February 2007, I resurrected it as a Valentine story for the Romance Divas ebook challenge. If you missed the first five parts, click here and scroll to bottom of the page.

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She took the box back into the kitchen where Carol was ladling soup into a bowl for her.
“Robbie, go into the living room and turn on the radio for me,” Carol said. “I want to hear the weather report.”
Carol set the bowl of soup on the table along with a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. “I’ll be in the living room,” she said.
Katie watched her go before opening the box. A small card was placed on top of the layers of tissue paper that covered her mysterious gift.
Happy Valentine’s Day to my angel. The moment I saw this, I thought of you.
All my love, Ron.
She removed the tissue paper from the box. Underneath was the most beautiful angel she’d ever laid eyes on. She ran her fingers over the intricate design of the wings. The wood was smooth to the touch. Her hair was carefully detailed—strand-by-strand. Her tunic had been carved to look as if it was fashioned from layers of silk and caught in an imaginary breeze.
Katie found it hard to take her eyes from the delicate features of its face. The angel was smiling at a small bird she held in her hands. She marveled at the amount of love the wood carver had to have put into such a creation.
“Oh, Ron,” she whispered. “I love you so much. Happy Valentine’s Day, darling.”
She turned to see Jeff standing in the doorway. She wiped away her tears with the napkin Carol had laid by the bowl of soup.
“Whatcha lookin’ at, Mommy?”
“It’s a surprise Valentine from Daddy.”
“Can I see?”
“Of course, you can.”
She turned the box so that he could see the angel. A grin spread across his pudgy cheeks.
“She looks like you, Mommy.”
She pulled Jeff to her bosom and hugged him.
“You know something, Jeffrey. This has turned out to be a good Valentine’s Day after all and next year, I just have a feeling that Daddy will be here with us.”

THE END

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The characters in The Valentine Angel are also featured in my novels, A Soldier’s Love and Gold Star Wife. Please visit my website for more information.
You may also purchase a special edition .PDF copy of A Soldier’s Love on this blog. Look for information in the sidebar to the right.

My Freelance Work

2010-02-12T12:35:00.002-04:00

Most of you who follow me know that I format print and ebooks for self-published authors and publishers. I've now created a new website dedicated to my freelance work. If you or anyone you know might be in need of or interested in having ebooks or print books formatted, please direct them to my new website LK Design & Formatting Service. My basic pricing, as well as links to sample of my work, can be found there.

The Valentine Angel - Part V

2010-02-10T13:18:00.004-04:00

This serialized Valentine story started out as a deleted scene from one of my novels, A Soldier’s Love. Until Valentine's Day, I will be posting it in serialized form as a Valentine gift to my readers. If you missed the first four parts, click here to read.

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Ben was sitting up in bed—his heavily bandaged leg propped on several pillows. His oldest son was sitting at the foot of the bed, and Ben was quizzing him from one of his schoolbooks.
Ben looked up and smiled at her. “Robbie, bring me that box off of the dresser,” he said. “And I need to speak with Katie alone for a few minutes.”
“Sure, Pop.”
While Robbie retrieved the box, her curiosity grew. Ben motioned for her to sit down in the chair by the bed.
“I have something for you,” he said and held the box out for her to take it. “Ron sent this home with me and asked me to give it to you on Valentine’s Day.”
She took it from his hand and fought the urge to tear into it right away. Something told her she needed to wait for a private moment.
“What is it?”
“He bought it at a wood carver’s shop in Rome. That’s all I know.”
He paused and shifted his weight. A grimace appeared on his face as he did so.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked.
“No. I’m fine,” he said. “Katie, I want to tell you something. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t talk about how much he loves and misses you.”
Her throat tightened and tears formed puddles in the bottom of her eyes.
“And I’ll tell you something else. I never saw him even look at another woman. One time, the guys were all excited because Dorothy Lamour was coming over to do a USO show, and Ron said, ‘My wife is prettier than Dorothy Lamour’.”
She blushed and then giggled. “Oh, Ben. I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true. I swear on the Virgin.”
“Ben!”
He shifted his weight again, and she heard him groan.
“Anyway, I also wanted to thank you for everything that you do for those guys in the hospital. It means more to them than you might know.”
She drew in a staggered breath. She choked up again.
“Thank you for the things you’ve told me,” she said and stood up to leave. “I think I want to open Ron’s gift in private.”
Before leaving, she did something that she never thought she’d do in a million years. She leaned over and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. In the past, Ben hadn’t been one of her favorite people. She’d often wondered how her husband had chosen him for a friend. Now that he’d been wounded, he was a different man. She could see the change in him.

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The characters in The Valentine Angel are also featured in my novels, A Soldier’s Love and Gold Star Wife. Please visit my website for more information.
You may also purchase a special edition .PDF copy of A Soldier’s Love on this blog. Look for information in the sidebar to the right.

The Valentine Angel - Part IV

2010-02-08T10:19:00.003-04:00

This serialized Valentine story started out as a deleted scene from one of my novels, A Soldier’s Love. Back in February 2007, I resurrected it as a Valentine story for the Romance Divas ebook challenge. Until Valentine's Day, I will be posting a serialized version of the story. If you missed parts Parts I-III, scroll down to read.

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Snow floated down onto the windshield of her car—Ron’s car. I must be in heaven, because you look like an angel. Between the snow and the steady stream of tears running down her cheeks, she hoped she wouldn’t wreck on the way back to Ben and Carol’s. The snow had turned into a white shower of large flakes and was beginning to stick to the road. Such a snow was rare in South Carolina, and she wasn’t used to driving in those conditions.
After she made it home, she sat in the driveway for a few minutes before going inside. She wiped her face dry with a tissue from her purse and patted some powder from her compact on her nose.
She draped her wool scarf over her hat and tied it under her chin to keep the brisk wind from blowing it away. Thank goodness, she didn’t have to walk far to Carol’s front door. For once, the close quarters of army housing came in handy.
“I’m glad to see you,” Carol said. “It’s really coming down out there, and I was worried about you driving back over here from the hospital.”
“I…uhm…didn’t stay as long as I’d planned. I guess it’s a good thing.”
While Carol hung up her coat and hat, Katie warmed herself in front of the kerosene heater in the small living room. Jeff and Brian, Carol’s youngest, were perched on the back of the sofa, watching the snowfall outside the window.
“The boys are mad at me,” Carol said. “Because they wanted to go outside and run around in the snow, but I wouldn’t let them.”
“Please, Mommy. Can I go outside?” Jeff asked.
“We’ll be going outside soon enough,” Katie said. “And believe me, you’ll be glad to get back inside. It’s freezing out there.”
“I kept some soup warm for you,” Carol said. “I figured you might need it.”
“Thank you. You’re a true friend.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Ben said that he wanted to see you when you got back from the hospital.”
She let out a sigh. Her hunger could wait while she visited one more wounded soldier.

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The characters in The Valentine Angel are also featured in my novels, A Soldier’s Love and Gold Star Wife. Please visit my website for more information.
You may also purchase a special edition .PDF copy of A Soldier’s Love on this blog. Look for information in the sidebar to the right.

The Valentine Angel - Part III

2010-02-05T11:44:00.003-04:00

This serialized Valentine story started out as a deleted scene from one of my novels, A Soldier’s Love. Back in February 2007, I resurrected it as a Valentine story for the Romance Divas ebook challenge. Over the next several days, I will be posting it as a Valentine gift to my readers.
If you missed Parts I & II, scroll down past this post to read.

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Katie entered the ward to the sound of whistles from the guys who’d been there a while. She’d been volunteering at the hospital for more than a year and had gotten to know many of the longtime patients on a first name basis.
“Katie,” one of the men called out. “Today must be my lucky day to get a Valentine visit from the sweetest little gal at Fort Jackson.”
The patient in the next bed tossed a balled up napkin at him.
“Just don’t you forget that she’s Captain Miller’s wife.”
She grinned at the exchange. “It’s okay, Joe. I know that Frank is harmless. Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said and handed each of them a card from her sack.
“Aw, now ain’t that pretty. Just like you, Katie,” Joe said.
She worked her way down to the end of the row where she saw the new man. Martha hadn’t exaggerated his condition. He was bandaged from head to foot like mummy. Only one eye and one side of his face were visible. She tiptoed around to the side of his bed to leave her card on the small nightstand. She couldn’t resist staring at the part of his face that she could see. He looked so young.
She started to walk away and then she heard him whisper, “Am I in heaven?”
“No. You’re not in heaven,” she said.
“I must be, because you look like an angel.”
She swallowed back the lump in her throat. Those were almost the same words Ron had spoken before getting on the train that would take him away from her.
“I brought you a Valentine,” she said when she regained her composure, but he didn’t respond. He’d already drifted back to sleep.
The tears were threatening spill out. She couldn’t let the patients see her cry. To dispel her melancholy, she filled her mind with good thoughts and distributed the rest of the cards. She didn’t spend as much time with the patients as she usually did, but she managed to give each one a warm smile and a word of encouragement.

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The characters in The Valentine Angel are also featured in my novels, A Soldier’s Love and Gold Star Wife. Please visit my website for more information.
You may also purchase a special edition .PDF copy of A Soldier’s Love on this blog. Look for information in the sidebar to the right.

The Valentine Angel - Part II

2010-02-03T10:24:00.004-04:00

This serialized Valentine story started out as a deleted scene from one of my novels, A Soldier’s Love. Over the next several days, I will be posting it as a Valentine gift to my readers. If you missed the first part scroll down to read.

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She bundled him up in his wool coat, gloves and toboggan. The wind was picking up, and the weatherman on the radio had predicted a chance of an afternoon snow flurry. They left their little army bungalow and walked next door to Ben and Carol’s.
The aroma of vegetable soup and fresh-baked cornbread filled Carol’s house. Her stomach growled. She and Jeff had eaten baloney sandwiches while she finished cutting out and pasting up her homemade Valentines.
“We just finished lunch, but I still have plenty of soup leftover if you’d like some,” Carol said.
“I would!” Jeff said.
“My little boy isn’t shy, is he?”
Carol grinned. “Well, neither is his Daddy. At least not when it comes to food.”
Katie smiled. “Go ahead and put a bowl on the table for Jeff, but I want to get over to the hospital and deliver these Valentines before the weather gets too bad.”
Carol placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetie, are you sure you want to go over there today of all days?”
She drew in a deep breath. “Doing my little part to help those soldiers is better than sitting at home alone feeling sorry for myself. I’ll be all right.”
While stepping back outside, she pulled the collar of her coat up around her cheeks. The temperature seemed to be dropping by the minute, cold and gray fit her mood. At the hospital, she’d put on her cheerful face to hide the sadness in her heart.
One of her favorite nurses sat behind the desk at the entrance to Ward Number One. She was a young cadet who’d just entered the Nurses Corps. The patients loved her.
“Hi, Martha.”
The girl’s cherry red lips turned up in a smile.
“Katie. I didn’t know that you were volunteering today. I thought it was your day off.”
“It is, but I made Valentines for the patients.”
“How sweet. They’re still eating lunch, but you go on in.”
She took off her hat, gloves and coat and hung them on the coat rack next to the desk.
“Oh, Katie,” Martha said. “I should warn you that we have a new patient. He’s in pretty bad shape, and he just had a dose of morphine a little while ago.”
Clutching the paper bag against her chest, she said, “Thanks for telling me. I’ll just leave his Valentine on the nightstand. He can look at it when he’s able.”

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The characters in The Valentine Angel are also featured in my novels, A Soldier’s Love and Gold Star Wife. Please visit my website for more information.
You may also purchase a special edition .PDF copy of A Soldier’s Love on this blog. Look for information in the sidebar to the right.

The Valentine Angel - Part I

2010-02-01T10:49:00.008-04:00

This serialized Valentine story started out as a deleted scene from one of my novels, A Soldier’s Love. Back in February 2007, I resurrected it as a Valentine story for the Romance Divas ebook challenge. Periodically from now until Valentine's Day, I will be posting it as a Valentine gift to my readers.

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February 14, 1945

Katie struggled to keep from crying while she cut out the paper hearts. It was her third Valentine’s Day without Ron, but she had to keep a brave face for their little boy.
“Mommy, look. I cut out hearts,” Jeff said.
He held up a mangled piece of red tissue paper that didn’t resemble a heart. That one would be taped to the refrigerator door.
“Oh, that’s beautiful, sweetheart,” she said. “I wish your Daddy was here to see it. He’d be so proud.”
On the last Valentine’s Day that she’d spent with Ron, she'd been pregnant with Jeff. They’d both known that they wouldn’t be together much longer, so they’d made the evening as special as possible. After attending the dance at the Officers’ Club, they’d come home and enjoyed their own private dance. She missed the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her, and the warmth of his neck against her cheek. She let out a sigh and gathered up the hearts into a paper sack.
“Come on, Jeffrey. Let’s get dressed, so I can take our Valentine’s to the post hospital.”
“Why?”
She looked at his inquisitive stare. During the last few weeks, why had become Jeff’s favorite word. At times, he used it to the point of exasperation.
“Because I want to cheer up the soldiers who got…hurt…in the war and had to come back home to stay in the hospital.”
His little face brightened up. “Like Be-an?”
“Yes. Like Ben.”
An enemy grenade had wounded her husband’s oldest friend. After six weeks in the hospital, he was finally back at home in the loving care of his wife, Carol.
“As a matter of fact, I’m taking you over to Ben and Carol’s to stay with them while I go to the hospital.”
Jeff stomped his little foot and put his hands on his hips.
“Mommy, I want to go with you.”
She bent down and tousled his sandy blond hair.
“You can’t, honey. Children aren’t allowed at the hospital.” Even if they were, she wasn’t sure that she’d want Jeff there. Some of the men had lost limbs or been disfigured in other ways. Jeff was too young to understand their condition and might be frightened by it.

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The characters in The Valentine Angel are also featured in my novels, A Soldier’s Love and Gold Star Wife. Please visit my website for more information about these novels.
You may also purchase a special edition .PDF copy of A Soldier’s Love on this blog. Look for information in the sidebar to the right.

Grandma's Finely-Honed Snake Killing Skills

2010-01-26T14:40:00.007-04:00

My sweet, gray-haired grandmother was a fearless snake killer. Nothing could make her eyes dance with excitement as much as when someone hollered, “Snake!”
She’d grab the hoe and dash out after her prey like a big-game hunter on safari. Why her preferred weapon was the hoe, I can’t say. She also a pretty fair shot with a pistol. She used to say, “Papa taught all his girls to shoot.”
It always seemed to me that by shooting it, she wouldn’t have to get so close to the horrid creature. Knowing Grandma, she probably found it more of a thrill to ferret out the reptile and come face to face with it.
I witnessed the close encounter of the worst kind between Daddy, Grandma and a copperhead, a deadly poisonous cousin of the rattlesnake.
Now that he’s passed away, I can tell you that Daddy had a fear of snakes. He hated them, and he didn’t care if they were the non-poisonous, beneficial variety. He had no use for them. This particular day, he was digging sweet potatoes in the garden with Grandma. He reached into the hole he’d dug under one plant and put his hand around what he thought was an enormous sweet potato.
“Hey, Mama,” he said. “We’ve really got some good-sized sweet potatoes this year.”
What he yanked from the hole wasn’t a sweet potato. It was a fat copperhead. Accompanied by one loud, terrified shriek, he flung the snake into the air.
It landed about two feet from Grandma who, with finely honed snake killing instincts, chopped its head off with the hoe. She didn’t even flinch, and the poor snake was probably so confused that it never even knew what hit him.
While Daddy clutched his chest and turned various shades of the color spectrum, Grandma issued a warning.
“Now be careful over there. It probably has a mate that will come looking for it.”
She carried on with her digging as if nothing had happened. Grandma knew that such was life in the rural south.

This story was an excerpt from The Life & Times of a Boomer Baby and is available as a free download through Smashwords and Barnes and Noble. Visit my website and click the Free Reads link for more information.