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Amish Thriller Author Linda Castillo Visits Bay Village Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library

Pictured: Linda Castillo and Tim Zaun

On Thursday June 23, 2011, Amish thriller author, Linda Castillo visited the Bay Village Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library.

Castillo, originally from Ohio and now living in Amarillo, Texas with her husband, was in town to promote her new book entitled, Breaking Silence.

Breaking Silence is the third book in Castillo's series featuring Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, and former member of the Amish community. 

Eighth grade produced Castillo's first book, and, while not great, it ignited her writing interests.

Corporate America was her initial career, yet her passion remained with writing. During her 12-year business employment, Castillo wrote four books on the side. She sold her fifth one in 1999 and quit her job to write full time.

Editors at Berkley and Harlequin Books, two of Castillo's biggest clients, wanted more romance writing and less suspense from Castillo. It was then that she realized she was drawn to pen thrillers.

A 2004 trip to Ohio's Amish country exposed another writing epiphany. The contrast of a slow-moving Amish buggy with the hustle and bustle of Dallas was mind-jolting. 

Castillo loves to juxtaposition bucolic Amish country with crime. She also enjoys developing the police proceedings in the book series. Having graduated from two citizen police academies helps authenticate her writing.

Her research has taken her to creepy places, including the morgue at the now closed, but infamously famous, Charity Hospital in New Orleans. She's also visited a state-of-the-art morgue in Dallas which, despite being new, still lingers of death.

Castillo exclusively reads and answers all of her own fan mail, writes entirely on the computer or laptop (vs. using long-hand); and treats writing as a business.

Her advice for aspiring writers: 

• Don't give up. Rejection is part of the process.
• Read what you want to write, it's the only way you'll know what editors and agents are buying.

Who does Castillo enjoy reading? Among her favorites are:

Lisa Gardener

Tami Hoag

Chevy Stevens

The working title of Castillo's next book is Gone Silent, and is due for submission August 1st. Fans could see its publication this time next year.

Whether you're already a Castillo acolyte, or a new follower, read A-1 literature in Breaking Silence and experience Castillo in-person during her book tour in a city near you.

Cleveland Mystery Author Les Roberts Visits Visible Voice Books in Tremont

Pictured: Les Roberts with Cleveland area bloggers.

On Saturday June 4, 2011, Cleveland mystery author, Les Roberts visited Visible Voice Books in Tremont.

Local bloggers engaged exclusively with Roberts, where he highlighted his new book, The Cleveland Creep.

The event, sponsored by Roberts' publisher David Gray & Company; occurred in the intimate setting of the second floor meeting room at Visible Voice Books. 

The Cleveland Creep is Roberts' 15th book featuring Cleveland detective Milan Jacovich.

Whiskey Island is Roberts' next book, due in the summer of 2012.The main character is a corrupt Cleveland city councilman.

Roberts has lived in Cleveland for 21 years, loves the city; and believes it has much to offer. When asked how he sees the town's future, he included these points:

• We need to stop the brain drain of Cleveland's upcoming talent-young residents or transplants, choosing to be educated here; and then leaving town for larger, more progressive cities. 
• Government needs to make it easier for businesses to locate here with tax incentives, etc.
• Officials who embody the "What's in it for me?" mentality need to be replaced with individuals committed to helping Cleveland thrive.
• We need more writers to promote Cleveland's assets.

Roberts is well connected with other mystery writers. His favorite reads are:

• Dennis Lehane.
• Karin Slaughter (Slaughter will be in Cleveland June 22 at the North Olmsted Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library).

If you enjoy a good mystery book, especially if you live in Northeast Ohio, read Les Roberts' latest offering, entitled, The Cleveland Creep, where fiction meets regional reality.

 

 

Drying For Freedom: International Clothesline Week June 4 to June 11, 2011

Saturday June 4, 2011 begins International Clothesline Week.

International Clothesline Week encourages people to line dry their clothes instead of using gas or electricity.

• Over 80% of households use a clothes dryer which draws huge amounts of energy.
• If every household participated for even one day, significant amounts of energy and money would be saved.
• Results would include less pollutants and less health consequences associated with coal driven electricity.
• Healthier mentalities, relationships and earth would also appear.
• Ideally, commit to making line drying a lifetime practice.

Hang clothes to dry, and:

• Save up to 10% residential energy. Running a dryer 20 hours a month costs, on average, 100 kilowatt hours. Clotheslines incur zero operating costs.
• Enjoy better smelling (sun and air), and better feeling clothes.
• Extend the life of your clothes (less wear and tear from dryer's tumbling and heat).
• Experience therapy- Hanging clothes allows time for reflection on you, your family, earth, etc.

Is hanging clothes allowed? Maybe not!

• Many municipalities/regions/builders ban line drying clothes in the interest of aesthetics.
• Call your city's zoning and building department to inquire about the regulations. Brainstorm how you may be able to change the law.

Drying For Freedom (DFF) is a documentary that will be released later in 2011.

It chronicles our love affair with energy and the people who are campaigning against it.

DFF explores the rules society has created to sustain energy consumption and the destruction it is causing the planet.

To learn how you can help bring Drying For Freedom to fruition by making a donation and/or securing a screening in your community, friending on Facebook or following on Twitter, visit Drying For Freedom.

Engage Customers with Local Search: Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals' Association (NEOUPA) Presents Fathom Online Marketing

Pictured: Kurt Krejny and Joe Fox

On Tuesday May 24, 2011, the Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals' Association (NEOUPA), featured Kurt Krejny and Joe Fox of Fathom Online Marketing.

Their presentation was entitled, Local Search Marketing Success.

Krejny is the Director of SEM Best Practices at Fathom; and Fox is the Local Product Manager, and Senior Account Executive.

Currently:

• 20% of Google's billions of monthly searches are local. 
• 72.5% million smartphones are in use (and growing rapidly), with 12.5% using local check-in services like, Foursquare).
• Local search is a two-way, value-add:

1. Customers can find appropriate nearby companies (for those businesses willing to invest in search engine optimization (SEO)).
2. Customers can become evangelists for local businesses, helping to increase website rankings, and ultimately, sales. 

Following are highlights of Krejny and Fox's presentation:

Create Content to Attract Local Traffic

• Help national business rank locally with customized link.
• Feature customer photos, videos of events.
• Use Livestream webcam.
• Post Foursquare leaders and winners.
• Highlight nearby attractions, things to do, businesses.
• Feature testimonials, reviews (on-site and off-site).
• Use microformats/Rich Snippets.

Google Places - The Basics

• Claim your business.
• Write naturally-sounding business description, using keywords.
• List business in Yellow Pages, Super Pages, Yelp, for maximum exposure.

Google Places-Analytics

• Research keywords people are using to find your business.

Bing Local.

• User-friendly search engine optimization (similar to Google Places).

Twitter-Local Search

• Tweet about local events, companies.
• Connect with key influencers at companies and in the community.
• Great platform for branding, contests, promotions and data mining.

Facebook Company Profile Page

• Post photos, videos about your company's products and services.
• Post relevant information on company's Facebook Wall.

LinkedIn-Local Search.

Local Search-Check-in Services

• Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Facebook Places.
• Write locally-focused descriptions with keywords.
• Offer deals and check-in bonuses for customers if you can accept walk-ins.

Local Printing of Coupon Offers

• Groupon.
• LivingSocial.
• MerchantCircle.

Build Relationships/Loyalty

• Don't ignore customer feedback.
• People like to be acknowledged online.
• People appreciate transparency.
• Incentivize people to leave reviews.
• Respond with a personalized video.
• Technology is not enough, "humanize" your customer's experience.

What's Next?

• Image recognition (Google Goggles, Bing Vision).
• Ecommerce.
• Mobile payment solutions.
• Search results display.
• In-car systems.
• Social, local and mobile are converging.

If you have an interest in Web design, software applications, or any interface where usability is the key to success, consider joining the Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals' Association. You'll be educated and motivated. To learn more about the organization, visit NEOUPA.