Monday 29 June 2015

ADHD to Honor Roll #FREE book promotion ending soon! What's the story behind it? #RPBP



Get your FREE copy of ADHD To Honor Roll by Soozy Miller today!

Amazon

Here's some of the backstory from the author Soozy Miller.

Is ADHD Real? Doesn’t Matter, Cure the Symptoms

While I was curing my son of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), several people suggested there is no such thing as ADHD. Despite some pushback, it is a popular diagnosis and continues to grow in the United States. In 2011, the latest year of statistics available from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

§  Approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD.

§  The percentage of children with an ADHD diagnosis continues to increase, from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and to 11.0% in 2011.

§  Only half of preschoolers (4-5 years of age) with ADHD received behavioral therapy.

§  About half of preschoolers with ADHD were taking medication for ADHD, and about 1 in 4 were treated only with medication.

In general, ADHD symptoms manifest like this:

·       Difficulty paying attention to details; careless mistakes; producing work that is often messy and careless; difficulty completing tasks that require concentration

·       Easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks with inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities

·       Procrastination

·       Frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one's mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations

·       Fidgeting, squirming when seated; getting up frequently to walk or run around

·       Running or climbing excessively when it's inappropriate (in teens this may appear as restlessness)

·       Having difficulty playing quietly or engaging in quiet leisure activities

·       Talking excessively

These symptoms are real and can interfere with schoolwork, emotional development and overall wellbeing. My son was diagnosed when he was six. He couldn’t concentrate in school, he was kicking the teachers, he couldn’t finish homework after 7pm, and he took a baseball bat to his bedroom door one night.

ADHD symptoms have traditionally been managed with medication, and at first I capitulated. But I read a lot about how unhealthy the medications are. Have you seen the chemicals in ADHD pharmaceuticals? They don’t fix the problem, they just mask the symptoms, and other critical parts of the body—the liver, the stomach, the kidneys, and the heart—can suffer from toxic chemicals. Scientists and doctors are not even sure how the medications work and if they work at all—the drug pamphlets and company websites fully admit this.

However, my son did exhibit ADHD symptoms. There was a source of the problem and I just had to find it.

I found a functional medicine doctor. We discovered many physical issues, including an overload of yeast in his body and a deficit of inositol, a natural brain calmer. We gave him Diflucan for a short time to reduce the yeast and supplements and natural inositol pills to make up for the deficit. We changed his body chemistry; I tossed all the sugar and corn in the house and I adjusted my cooking. The body is a dynamic, agile machine; by changing what he ate we improved general function and, in turn, brain function.

Of course, there are cases in which the child suffers from a brain chemistry imbalance that must be addressed with appropriate drugs. But as a result of my experience curing my son, I might agree with those that say ADHD is not a true condition. Symptoms like those listed above are not necessarily hardcore brain chemistry issues, but may be the result of the brain reacting to other issues inside the body. The source could be food, environment, lifestyle and other influences that affect body function.

My son is now 12, ADHD free and in High Honor Roll. He plays basketball, volleyball, track and baseball. He talks about attending MIT.


I wrote ADHD to Honor Roll to encourage all parents of behaviorally challenged children to consider a route other than pharmaceuticals. If you work with the right practitioner, you consider other factors, and you focus on your child’s responses and behavioral changes, you will find the root of the problem. Whether or not you believe ADHD is a valid diagnosis, you can cure the symptoms naturally.

 
Thank you Soozy for an insightful post. Readers, if you have enjoyed this or have questions for Soozy be sure to comment below and don't forget to get your free copy of ADHD to Honor Roll
 
Connect with Soozy on:
Twitter

Thursday 25 June 2015

Let's take peek over the garden fence into an expat kitchen garden in Charente - for 99c #RPBP


Hello and welcome to Sarah Jane's secret garden!
Yesterday, sitting with Dave and Buster in the garden, I remembered how busy my garden and my kitchen was in the summer of 2013. As the summer weather gives some of us the opportunity to get outdoors it's a great time to share the foraging recipes and funny stories from my French kitchen garden.
Described as 'an amazing and insightful culinary memoir that is a keeper for summers to come' it's now just 99c/99p. So enjoy and eat well, frugally!l


Extract from Chapter 5 - June
As the sun continued to shine, and June arrived, while harvesting my peas I was informed by AndrĂ© and Yvette that my haricot verte (green beans) should be in the ground by now. After months of me being the first to plant and harvest crops, I was now the one who was behind schedule. How did that happen? And why must I call them haricot verte even though they are green beans? Apparently it’s just the way it is here in France, I can call all the other vegetables by their English names but not these beans. I wondered if this had something to do with the numerous varieties of beans, as I remembered as a child that my grandmother always called them French runner beans. On Yvette’s daily inspections of my vegetable patch, she admired my flags that marked and named the rows. For some of the plants, which she recommended, I translated my English labelling into French for which she would give me the thumbs up if it was correct. This was indeed an honour because Yvette speaks ‘patois’ or old French which is thought to originate from rural regional dialects. I wasn’t sure if there was a special way to write this as I couldn’t find any guidance on it. Either way she obviously understood the words. At last I was making some progress with the language, even if it was only in writing it!

The second planting of leeks took place in the area where some of the lettuces had been. The soil is getting richer and improving in drainage with each planting of the various above and below ground crops. On the 10th June, we harvested the first crop of beetroot. I deliberately harvested them while they were small to medium sized as I didn’t want to risk them developing a flavourless, woody texture as I intended to pickle them. We have always enjoyed baby beetroot which are delicious with salads or sandwiches any time of year therefore I was eager to preserve as many as possible. 
**************************
My first garlic plait of 2013
When the girls were young, I used to plait their hair every morning for school just as my mum had done for me when I was a child. Therefore, I did not anticipate any issues with plaiting some dried stalks of garlic. Naive? Most definitely. I sat on my fluorescent green plastic chair in the garden with my box of garlic. I knew what I wanted it to look like, but my mind was completely blank as to how to achieve the layered garlic look with no straggling stalks. After a few failed attempts, I resorted to some internet research. I read and reread the instructions that reminded me of reading a Haynes car mechanic manual; it made no sense to me at all without the pictures. So after some further research I found a YouTube video and then I was ready. 

 In very basic terms you take the three largest bulbs and lay them on a flat surface, you plait the three stems as you would hair to about one inch in length. Take a new bulb and lay it in the centre beneath the middle bulb and add its stalk to the plaiting. Plait again for one turn then add a new bulb to the right, plait again then add a bulb to the left and continue. And so it continues adding one bulb at a time centre, right then left keeping the braid tight. If any of the stalks snap then a simple trick is it to tie a piece of garden string around the plait above the break. Then tie it to the broken off stalk and then continue to plait incorporating the end of the string to keep it looking tidy yet secure. It sounds quite horrendous when you try to write or explain it, but in reality it’s quite easy once you get started. 
Our Frugal Summer in Charente is available at:
It's also on the subscription service Scribd - http://bit.ly/Sbdofsc which offers a 30-day free trial.
If you prefer a paperback it's only £3.99 - http://bit.ly/ofscpbaf

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Who does this for donkeys? #RPBP


Who does a skydive



for donkeys?


Alan Parks - author of Seriously Mum Where's That Donkey?




Next Sunday 21st June Alan will be at The Llama Park in East Sussex! 
Come and meet some alpacas, have a chat and bag yourself a signed book!
He would love to see you!

AND

Did you know that you can get the donkey book FREE right now?

AND

Seriously Mum, What's an Alpaca? (Book 1, Seriously Mum series) is available to download for only $2.99 through 18th June! 
"Seriously Mum, Where's that Donkey?" is Alan Parks' follow-up book to "Seriously Mum, What's an Alpaca?" This book continues the story of Alan and Lorna's induction into Andalucian life and fills in some of the blanks. 
In this book, Alan and Lorna discover that their local town is not quite as sleepy as they had first imagined and that the local ladies will stand by you once their friendship is won. 
Alan and Lorna make some great new friends and have a few more unexpected adventures along the way. Add an appearance on Canadian TV into the mix, plus the trials and tribulations of alpaca farming, and this sequel will bring you bang up to date with the lives of two British expats in rural Spain. 

Also available to download for free - Seriously Mum, Where's that Donkey? The Photo
s!

To find out more about what Alan is up to or to support him via his Justgiving page check out the links below


Good luck Alan :)









Sunday 14 June 2015

We live in a multi-tasking society, who has time to read a book? #RPBP


Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

Recently I have been consulting with authors about perceived seasonal fluctuations in book sales. Some of topic's we discussed were:
Does it occur across all genres? 
Are free & 99c promotions helpful or viable during a 'seasonal' slowdown?
Are the fluctuations worldwide, and if not have we made plans and do we have the resources to sell in other markets?
The ebook marketplaces can appear to be like shifting sands, always changing. This is true of many things in life, nothing stays the same. however, an interesting point was made about how readers may perceive themselves as not having enough time to read. Is this true?
Let's look at the progression of books, from paperback to ebooks/digital format. This enabled  many more people to read on the move while commuting, holidaying, etc., without having to carry heavy or multiple books. This is certainly one reason why I first became a Kindle owner. for a two-week beach holiday with a restricted luggage allowance knowing I would need at least 4 - 5 books! Therefore, now that iPhones, iPads, tablets, etc., are items which many people carry every day regardless of whether or not they intend to read a book, and allow their owners to listen to music, etc., the next progression for authors is simple to spot. Audiobooks!
I would appreciate your opinions on the questions at the beginning of this post and also on this: should all books be available as audiobooks or are there some genre's, topics, etc., that would not fit well into this medium?

I look forward to your feedback and when I do the follow up on this piece on my Rukia Publishing blog in a few weeks time, if I use or refer to your comment I will also add a byline to your book or website as a thank you.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments/feedback, because the sharing of information helps all authors to provide a better service to readers.

Sarah Jane



        Audiobook


Tuesday 2 June 2015

FAN FICTION WRITERS - this is for you! From Juliet B Madison #RPBP


CALLING ALL FAN FICTION WRITERS

I am looking for dedicated people to write a short story about my Detective MC DI Frank Lyle & the other characters in the DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series.

For those of you who already write fan fiction based on movies and TV shows this should be a cinch.

Even if you have only ever read one DI Lyle book it should provide you with plenty of possible DI Lyle fan fiction scenarios. Any kind of fan fiction is your chance to take the story the way you’d like it to have gone rather than the way it actually turned out.

You can write in American or British English, I don’t mind since it’s the individual’s interpretation of the characters and series story arc that matters, not the writing style. I do however prefer the use of the words post-mortem, as opposed to autopsy, and mortuary rather than morgue as these sound inherently more British. Also CSI is modern terminology. In Britain at the time of the DI Lyle series the term SOCO (Scene of Crime Officer) was in far more commonplace use.

I have already written my own contribution, Sudden Impact, and received two more very wonderful stories. I know that there are more whose arrival in my inbox is fairly imminent. The stories do not have to be police procedural, they can be in any genre you choose, provided they feature DI Frank Lyle series characters. I would especially love to read a DI Lyle goes steam punk story.

The winner of the best story will be announced and the winning story published on my website on July 4th, 3 days after the closing date, as well as being announced on Facebook and Twitter. The winner gets a personally signed DI Frank Lyle series paperback of their choice and a special mention in the completed anthology.

I am putting together this anthology to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity close to my heart. There are very few of us today whose lives have not been affected, either directly or indirectly by cancer at some point.  You can find out more about this wonderful charity here

If you’re stuck for information or ideas you can visit my crime author site. If you need to ask any questions then you can email me or PM me on Facebook

You can give cameo roles to your partners, kids, friends and other people important to you. It’s your story so enjoy the experience. Don’t forget to include a brief author bio (do not include it in the total word count of the story)

You can read the full details and T&Cs of the competition here

There is also a Facebook event running from now until June 30th 2015, in which you can participate here

You can visit Surveymonkey to take the DI Lyle anthology Survey 


Thank you Juliet, that sounds amazing and we wish you every success with this please come back and let us know how it's going and maybe give us a sneak preview nearer to release day!
If you would like to connect with Juliet her links ar at the end of this post. 
If you enjoyed this post please comment, share or tweet, every share helps indie authors gain exposure.
Take care,
Sarah Jane

http://julietbmadisoncrimeauthor.weebly.com/

http://difranklylefanz.weebly.com/

https://twitter.com/JulietBMadison

www.facebook.com/JulietMadisonCrimeAuthor