The Body Farm (I must share again being it's Halloween)

Body Farm


My second manuscript turned out to be a middle grade novel called Murder on Sprinkle Lake. When I first started writing this, I thought it was going to be a YA novel and had an older audience in mind. In that story there is a murder; a character is hit on the head with a heavy object. I wanted to know what the result of the hit would be like as far as blood and stuff goes. I also had questions about the condition the body would be in if found several hours later. My questions took me to the University of Tennessee where my cousin works in the Forensic Anthropology Dpt. She gave me a very interesting tour (including a room filled with boxes of skeletons all neatly organized). She told me that she could tell an awful lot just by looking at the bones. She used to assist in autopsies and explained about that. Basically, I found out that the character in my story would have been a bloody mess. When the tour inside the college was over, she took us (my husband and two of my adult children were with me) to the Body Farm. Yup the very Body Farm Patricia Cornwell went to when she was writing her book, Body Farm. If you haven't read it, you should. I happen to like her writing in general--keeps you on the edge of your seat. Anyway, the Body Farm is as creepy as it sounds. Interesting though. My cousin is doing research on what sorts of animals munch on the bodies. She wasn't the only one doing research, the FBI had a garbage can with a body in it. They were studying the decomposition rate with the lid closed being they find a lot of bodies in garbage cans I guess. Most of the bodies were pretty decomposed. I guess a gossip magazine got in there once and took pics of the bodies and put them on the internet. Nearly closed the place down. So--now the bodies are covered until they are pretty far along in decomposition. In the end I didn't use much of what I learned that day. It is tucked away in my head, however, and may come out in another story. Maybe the one I'm writing now, who knows? My current writing is for a YA audience. An agent at a conference in Ohio told me that if my protagonist is less that twelve years of age, it is a middle grade novel. This time my protagonist is sixteen.

Posted by Lola at 1:31 PM 0 comments

Saturday, August 29, 2009

How to Market for the Busiest Season

With the holidays fast approaching it’s time to step up your online marketing. There are several ways to use social media to make a good impression and increase your traffic as well as help ensure a successful holiday season.  You’ve all heard the saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ this is especially true when it comes to online marketing. People like and need to see what you’re offering them, so use pictures as often as possible when marketing a design or product. Utilize your facebook business page and your google+ page. Always add pictures to your blog as well. This is probably the most important step that I’ve found really makes a big difference. When using other platforms like Twitter be sure to use  hashtags at the end of your tweets as this makes your comments able to be found much more easily for those searching out specific products or ideas.

Well as you may have noticed I’ve changed up my blog background to a more wintery/holiday theme and changed my intro picture to a winter scene that I captured at a ski mountain.  Do you like the new look?  Well now I’m focusing on creating designs for the holidays… here are some of my latest creations… Designs by Shell

Creepy Halloween Poem

                                                                                                                            

The Poor Dead Witch Watches Bats Fly


She was just a head and couldn’t move

Those cursed bats could groove and groove.

“It wasn’t fair!” she cried.

How her head was chopped and then she died.

To watch bats swing and sway

Was oh so irritating on

Halloween Day .

It was just too much,

she had to plan

she had to touch.

Spell Book!                                                         

Come to me!

Let’s mix a recipe!

“Bosh Bosh Bish Bish”

Let’s make a magic dish,

squash a bat and find my body.

Then sing and dance

And have a pawty

  

This Trick or Treater liked me even when I was just a green head stuck in a bush.



Well  as you can see my spellbook came to me and I got my body back.  The couple on my right were ready for a pawty!





Some of my fans.  They enjoyed my cackle from the bush.



A wonderful Halloween Night!

A Castle In Kentucky

7 Recipe Ideas for Fall and Winter Meals

When the weather turns a little colder do certain comfort foods come to your mind.  Perhaps you think of getting out that crockpot that you haven’t used in awhile or that indoor grill that’s been tucked away. Think of savoury roasts, mouth watering soups, seasonal veggies and oven warmed garlic bread.  You’re getting the idea… here’s a list of 10 recipes  I gathered together, perfect for fall and winter meals. Main entrees, side dishes and maybe even a dessert recipe here.  WARNING – May make you hungry!

1) Easy Crockpot Roast Recipe – http://www.squidoo.com/CrockPot-Pot-Roast

2)Traditional Shepherds Pie http://www.squidoo.com/shepherds_pie

3) Baked Acorn and Butternut Squash http://www.squidoo.com/baked_acorn_and_butternut_squash

4) Delicious Crockpot Vegetable Soup – just add biscuits! http://www.squidoo.com/Crockpot-Soup

5) Easy Cheesy Pasta Casserole - http://www.squidoo.com/cheesy_pasta_casserole

6) Best-Ever Chicken Pot Pie http://www.squidoo.com/homemade-chicken-pot-pie

7) Moist and Delicious Chocolate Cake Recipe http://www.squidoo.com/Chocolate-4

Hope you give one a try… I’ve been busy working on some designs for fall and winter too… here are a few of my latest! Stop by Designs by Shell to have a snoop around for other new  themed items.

Ways to Budget for Your Holiday Shopping

Does shopping for the holidays stress you out. It doesn’t have to if you create a budget and stick to it. If you’re not a list maker I suggest you try it for your Christmas shopping it really can take the pressure off.  Here are a few ways that may help you with your shopping this holiday season.

1) Create a list of all the people you plan to buy for, if you plan to buy even a small gift for someone like teachers, hair stylist, etc. right them down too!

2) Now beside each name you’ve written down write the amount that you plan to spend on that person (doesn’t have to be exact)  Add up the amount if it exceeds your budget, then trim down your list. Do you really need to buy a gift for that relative you only see once a year! A nice card may be enough!

3) Use cash to buy your gifts… you can watch your pennies better and may make better choices. Credit cards can get you in trouble here…

4) Start shopping early, keep your list handy at all times. You never know when you might come across the perfect gift for someone!

5) If the malls and stores stress you out. Shop online from the comfort of home, you can find some really unique gifts this way and many sites offer online coupons for savings!

Here are some designs and items I’ve been working on for my store Designs by Shell, come by for a visit and find some unique gifts too… Stock up on gift tags, labels and holiday postage…

7 Marketing Terms and What They Mean

If you are new to on-line marketing or just beginning to understand what it’s all about the breakdown of  these marketing terms may help you along. I remember when I first started my on-line business many of the terms and marketing jargon was beyond my scope of knowledge and I felt quite lost. Through ‘fearless’ learning, experience and listening to others I have gained a lot of useful knowledge.

1)Affiliate Marketing – described as revenue sharing between online merchants/advertisers/authors and sales people.

2)Brand – a design, name, slogan or any other feature that identifies a seller’s goods or services from another.

3)Creative Strategy – a guideline of what your products or business should convey, who it should be conveyed to and how the tone should be set.

4)Direct Marketing – sending out a promotional message directly to consumers.  Using forms such as e-mail, newsletters, consumer websites…

5)Image Advertising -  Attempting to create a desirable mental image of a product or company in the mind of consumers. Familiarity…

6)SEO – Stands for Search Engine Optimization.  Choosing targeted keywords or phrases related to a website to ensure that the site gets ranked by the search engines. (Google,Yahoo,Bing)…

7)Product Placement – form of advertising where goods or services are placed in a setting rather subtly, not in your face marketing.

I was recently interviewed about my business.. here it is if you'd like to learn a little about my journey! ShopeKeeper of the Day Interview

Hope you find some of these marketing terms helpful in your journey. Now in keeping with my updates for my store, here are some of my recent designs and products I’ve been working on.

List of Top 10 Ideas for Indoor Hobbies

What do you do when the weather turns cold and the outdoor activities you usually do are no longer possible? I was thinking about this the other day. Many of us like to keep busy in the evenings and if we’ve been working all day, whether at a physical job or on the computer all day it’s nice to do something a little different. I thought I’d write a list of Top 10 Indoor Hobbies, maybe there’s something you’d never thought of or might like to try.  These may be geared a little more to women but I tried to mix it up a bit!

1) Do a crochet or knitting project – a scarf, or dish cloths are easy to make. Lots of free patterns on-line too.

2) Learn to play an instrument. That guitar that’s in the corner needs some attention!

3) Scrapbooking – great way to organize family pictures. Make a special book as a gift.

4) Carpentry – If you have access to tools and garage space build a simple wall shelf or a bird house. (The birds will thank you)

5) Teach yourself Cake Decorating. Watch on-line tutorials then collect your supplies and jump in.

6) Paint a room. A fun project if you take your time.

7) Read a Novel you’ve been wanting to get too!

8) Purchase a camera and learn all about photography.

9) Learn how to make Candy. Some excellent recipes on-line. Package it up and give as gifts.

10) Plant an indoor herb garden, you’ll have fresh herbs for all your sauces. 

This is just a small list but maybe you’ll come up with some other interesting indoor ideas for the winter months.  Here are some designs I’ve been working on for my store Designs by Shell…