Starting Summer 2017 with something new feels great!

Artwork titled: First Day of Summer, artist not known to Alicia Rose.

Greetings! I know it has been quite awhile since Autumn 2016 when I last published a blog on this site. A lot has happened during my hiatus! I have many new plans and goals for the rest of 2017. Some will overshoot into 2018. I am figuratively jumping up and down in my chair filled with excitement for all I foresee to be accomplished in the next few days, weeks, months and rest of this year! Very electrifying! 

First, this is what I have achieved since my last WordPress blog:

1. Winter of 2016, I added on my official author’s website Alicia Rose Shares a new page titled Special Offers Just for YOU! The adorable white dog doing healthful Yoga stretches on this particular page is my dog-nephew Sam who lives in Texas. This dog loving Aunt couldn’t resist using this picture of Sam! I love my dog-nephew very much. Earlier this year Sam visited us with my brother-in-law. I loved smothering Sam with affection and lots of pets. Sam enjoyed all the attention he received from my husband and I. We were accused of spoiling Sam “rotten” by my husband’s Texan brother who has a great sense of humor.
2. January 2017, I became a member of Netgalley. This website gave me a Professional Reader badge since I review books professionally. Definitely an honor to receive! On June 6, 2017 I posted my first review on Netgalley.
3. May 2017, I added a new page to Alicia Rose Shares, as a way to introduce my new official primary blog site, Alicia Rose Online. This took me months to get ready for I was using a new site vendor and had to learn their way to set up pages and add content. Changing venues for this project started off a little rocky, but I did meet my set goals for my new primary official author’s blog. Felt wonderful! Love goal setting, helps me stay on track. Highly recommend writing down (as a list) short, medium and long term goals as a way to stay focused.
4. I tried some new online money making opportunities. Some like CashCrate worked out, and I am still participating. Enjoying the extra cash I received. Some of the new business ones I tried January 2017 to May 2017 did not work out for me; my expectations were not met. Two of them became the kind where one feels like they are siphoning money from one’s bank accounts, kept asking for more and more and more. I put a stop to those and managed to get half of what I put into those programs reimbursed. My fault, in two cases I waited too long to quit. Still am a little upset at myself for not watching the calendar as closely as I should have.

Word of advisement: if you feel overwhelmed by a cost of an opportunity, cancel. The majority of opportunities will give you your money back (for trying their program) during the first 30 to 60 days. I stalwartly read the fine print (terms of service) to see how long this probationary period is for reimbursement eases the pain of disappointment.

Fortunately, one of the new tried opportunities introduced me to something I truly needed! A website that could help me with my marketing needs. Yes, even authors need to succumb to online marketing in order to generate book sales. I also needed to market my online published works via HubPages, etc. I was elated for the introduction to GetResponse for this site would also be able to help me create a much needed newsletter and market it online too! Very exciting! My online footprint will be increasing very soon in a more delightful way than I had thought possible. Great to spread one’s wings! Can hardly wait to soar higher than before! Looking forward to being my newsletter’s Editor-in-Chief.

I have, as you undoubtedly have noticed, discontinued some pages for this site. This is due to revamping Alicia Rose at WordPress into my secondary official author’s blog. I will be covering the Author Lifestyle, how much fun it is and share what I am doing as an author online and off. Just like I am doing in this blog. I plan to share a lot of what I learn professionally; seeing this as a fun and helpful share.

The remaining pages on Alicia Rose at WordPress (here) have been updated, as I felt was needed, so some elder content remains while new has been added. The content that was on the pages unpublished from this site, was transferred to Alicia Rose Online. Half was placed on the page Meet Me under my introduction of myself. The rest was put on the page Tips, Ideas, Offers.  I also added a lot of new content on Alicia Rose Online so if you get the chance, please visit my new primary official blog.

Regarding how often I will be blogging on Alicia Rose at WordPress, well that probably will continue to be seasonally (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). If I do get the opportunity to blog more often on this site, I definitely will.

To everyone who reached out to me during my hiatus, it was great to hear from you. Appreciated you checking to see if I was still alive, plus your gifted words of encouragement. Makes writing this blog worthwhile. Truly appreciate all of YOU!

Thank you to all new visitors and those who continue to remain loyal to Alicia Rose at WordPress I began in 2010 (my dear readers) for taking the time out of your busy day to read this blog. I am truly grateful!

Great Summer to everyone! It definitely is the sunny season for barbecues and picnics! First day of Summer (June 21st) this year lands on a Wednesday. Enjoy the longest day in the year!

Alicia Rose

dded a new page to Alicia Rose Shares website title

Maintaining updated content is a must!

Hard to believe June and summer are right around the corner. As I write this blog on May 26, 2016 I am amazed by how rapidly half of this year seems to be passing. It feels like the turn of the century (2oth to 21st) happened just yesterday instead of fifteen years ago (in 2001). Hard to believe how much has changed since the 20th century, except for gas prices which this past winter (2015 – 2016) was similar to the 1980’s with this summer being more like 1990’s prices. Thank goodness for this gas price break, especially for my fellow Americans who need their car to get to and from work! There is much to be grateful for while I type this via my laptop…..

Keeping a promise, given since this blog began, to my readers who visit this blog site, today I updated it. There will be some surprises. The biggest is one less page for I removed the page listing what I have published (its content is now on my official author website Alicia Rose Shares). To further shock, I completely restructured, added new content and changed the title to the page formerly known as Sharing with you things I like or recommend to Sharing with you as a friend. 

I look forward to receiving feedback regarding all changes accomplished. Maintaining and updating seasonally, annually or periodically one’s official blog and website is definitely a must! Someone recently sent me feedback informing me they had stopped visiting Alicia Rose at WordPress, because I did not add new content as often as they preferred. This made me realize, I needed to give my official author’s blog more tender loving care by checking all content and updating this site more often. My goal this year is to keep my official blog site as evergreen as is humanly possible. To all who send me feedback, I return with appreciation for without it, I might not have realized it was time to update as I have today.

To my fellow Americans in the USA: fabulous Memorial Day Weekend! For 2016, Memorial day is May 30th! Be safe while celebrating plus remembering to honor those who have fought and lost their lives for our country as well as those who still are active in the US Military. Do not forget to wish all Veterans you know a great big thank you too for many served under extreme extraordinary circumstances while the rest of us stayed safe at home throughout the USA.

This author is very thankful for those brave souls who currently serve for they are our heroes ensuring we are safe! Sincere gratitude to all who are and have been in the US Military (or their own country’s) for to serve one’s country with honor and dignity definitely makes every military personnel a hero!

Thank YOU for visiting, and may the rest of 2016 spring bring you joy plus prosperity!

Alicia Rose

Summer changes can increase happiness

This summer has been full of decision making. It was not easy to make the life changing ones, but after considering all the pros and cons, I was able to make them. Looking back now that it is September with autumn around the corner (September 23rd this year), I am delighted with the changes generated by the important decisions made. Changes can increase a person’s happiness, it did me; lessened the stress levels too. This was truly amazing!

The biggest decision was regarding my online only bookstore. It saddened me to make this website unpublished, delete it off of the Internet. I did make sure to redirect its URL to my new website Alicia Rose Shares born the same day (August 31, 2015). This was truly a mixed blessing day as I said farewell to one beloved project, and introduced my official author’s website for better Internet visibility. For more about this check my page titled History of Alicia’s online only bookstore and her official author’s website.

The best thing about these changes means this blog will be more active; less time between blogs. This is my new goal set. I am determined to become more known as Author, Columnist and Freelance Writer. I look forward to this challenge for writing is something I truly love doing.

Another perk is these new challenges include more time working on my book manuscripts which means less time between each book’s publication date. The sequel to Just Alex is so close to being fully edited that I am bouncing with delight in my chair as I type this; can hardly wait to send the manuscript to my publisher! I appreciate the encouragement from my family, friends and readers. This means a lot to me! Thank you very much!

Wonderful to share this new with you. I did update the pages of this blog today September 10, 2015 to reflect the changes mentioned.

Happy Autumn and thank you for visiting,

Alicia Rose

New Year and Spring! 2015 is going fast!

My friend Xenia Bakran-Sunic, a contemporary poet, took this picture. The Primroses bloomed gorgeously this Spring in Croatia.

My loyal visitors, I would like to thank you for continuing to read my author’s blog, plus continue to check the pages so you do not miss any new content or revisions. In January and April 2015, I went through each of the pages and updated them. Added and deleted content to ensure the evergreen aspect of this website.

I sincerely apologize for not writing a blog post since June 2014. A lot had to do with keeping Alicia’s Bookstore and more updated, adding new content (still have more to add) plus maintaining the website as the patrons except. Another aspect for lack of blogging on WordPress was working on Undermining Alex. I place publishing the sequel to Just Alex as top priority. It is not easy to write a book series compared to individual books. I am learning a lot about writing and editing a Science Fiction book series. There is much to maintain consistent per each book. Writing a book series takes more time than I expected, but it is sorting itself out as perseverance produces a quality sequel.

In the interim, I also published new articles on HubPages and as the Oklahoma City Health and Happiness Examiner

. It is very rewarding having loyal readers with the same topical diversified tastes. They have been very encouraging and inspirational. I am very appreciative, and enjoy feedback very much.

2015 has begun at the speed of light for me. Yes, as we all have, real life things off line has kept me from blogging with you as well. Unfortunately, real life issues, concerns, family time, etc. must come first.

There are many things I have planned for my official blog; much I would like to share with you in 2015. Goals have been set (annual, monthly and weekly). I look forward to checking them off as each are completed. May you be successful in completing your 2015 goals, or keeping your New Year’s Resolutions (or both).

Thank you very much for visiting. All visits are immensely appreciated. Best Spring 2015 wishes for you and your family!

Alicia Rose

Tips and more plus a great summer!

Happy Independence Day!

Hard to believe this year is half over! Where did 2014 go? Wow! Firstly, I want to thank my loyal followers and readers on WordPress for realizing this official author’s blog of mine is secondary to my writing and publishing (on and off line). Even though I had every intention of keeping it monthly, that has gone by the wayside due to working diligently on my next book to be published (book 2 of a book series) as well as real life stuff (My husband, sons, grandsons and Dachshund remind me they need time with me too).

February 2014, the online only bookstore’s anniversary month, I was very busy completely revamping this site plus gave it a domain name change. I did this in order to have a shorter domain name, plus it was time to have the same provider for website and domain name (found out it was more cost efficient). The new name I chose was Alicia’s Bookstore and more. I also had to change its business email address twice due to the first chosen had a symbol that caused problems (&) in being used by other email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Comcast, etc). They would not accept it as a valid email address because of the symbol used; very odd (my opinion). All in all February gifted many online learning experiences. Note: This experience taught me it is best to refrain from changing a domain name and initially begin with the same provider for both domain name and website.

Throughout the rest of the interim (March through June), I updated much at Alicia’s Bookstore and more, wrote and published articles on Examiner and HubPages, plus diligently kept up with my entrepreneur projects (shared on Alicia’s tips and money making opportunities for people on a budget – updated June 26, 2014).

The latest for this blog is the following pages were also updated in June 2014:

a) Sharing with you things I like or recommend

b) No Charge to You (truly FREE)

The sharing with you… page is now more multi-topical. I plan to expand this page into sharing a whole lot about many diverse topics from A to Z that cannot be covered in the No Charge to You (truly FREE) page. I am looking forward to sharing much with you.

I am weekly active on my social networking pages, but I need to update my bookstore’s YouTube videos; have it on my “To Do” list. Thank goodness for being organized!

Have a wonderful holiday (July 4th – enjoy the fireworks, I love them!) and stupendous summer!

Alicia Rose

 

Autumn: A Time for Gratitude, You have mine

Sunny Afternoon, artwork by Milen

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I felt it was the perfect time to show my gratitude to everyone who visits, follows and reads Alicia Rose at WordPress. During summer 2013 this website’s stats soared its highest in traffic! I am ecstatic and extremely grateful for this blessing; makes it worthwhile to continue sharing with each of you.

This autumn, I deleted a few opportunities listed on Alicia’s Tips and Money Making Opportunities for People on a Budget. Often times paying websites or programs that plan to be long-term become short term opportunities on the Internet, because of this it is best not to solely rely on one opportunity to generate pay. If you want to create a sustainable income online, it is best to have multiple sources. Do not be afraid to participate in two to ten money making opportunities. It is the wise thing to do when dealing with money making paradigms on the Internet for there are thousands of start-up opportunities that remain, while others that look great at first can go south later. I have seen this happen several times; count myself lucky that the majority I have decided to stick with have not. No one can predict how a money making model will pan out, why many rely on “word of mouth” from people they know and respect before trying an opportunity.

My recommendation is not to stretch further than ten money making opportunities. I would work no more than ten at a time long-term (or for as long as each lasts). Each model accepted will take time for your participation to make money with it; some ten minutes a day while others could daily take up to an hour or more. If something looks like it will take a huge chunk of your daily or weekly time, make certain you have that amount of time to seriously commit. Treat each opportunity accepted as if it is most important.

This autumn is gorgeous! My dachshund and I are enjoying the sunny days even though it has cooled down into the 60’s and low 70’s. The leaves dancing in the wind displaying the variety of autumn colors (red, oranges, yellows, and browns) makes it worthwhile to be outdoors as nature gifts its own ballet; definitely a sight to see!

As usual, busy editing Undermining Alex as well as keeping my online bookstore updated regularly and seasonally. My bookstore’s busiest time began with All Hallows Eve (Halloween) for this is the beginning of the Holiday Season which will end next year, January 2, 2014.

Hope you like my new autumn header picture and appearance for my official author’s blog; thought a new theme was in order. All feedback is welcome – tells me someone out there online is reading what I write. For all who gift feedback, you have my heartfelt thanks and gratitude!

To all a delightful Thanksgiving and joy filled autumn!

Alicia Rose

Summer is a great season for starting something new

Happy Independence Day!

My sincerest apologies to all for the lapse of blogging on this website. I have no excuses. I simply did not have the time to blog monthly this year. There are many writing and business goals I have set that I am determined to accomplish in 2013.

Recently, many visitors to this blog have asked me about making money online. They wanted to know my opinion since I own an online bookstore that also shares several legitimate opportunities that myself or friends of mine are happily participating. In response to their query, I have added a new page after deleting one that had very old news; my blog site definitely needed updating.

The new page titled Alicia’s tips and money making opportunities for people on a budget seriously covers the topic of making money online. The recommendations given on this page are ones I wish someone had taught me before I blundered through the Internet at the end of 2008 in search of something that would give me a real online self-employment income. What is offered on this new page continues to produce excellent results for me.

My goal of this new page is to help others get started in a legitimate business opportunity setting where they can excel plus be rewarded by their effort. As with any money making opportunity, the more you participate the better it generates for you.

The opportunities I have listed on this new page are ones I am currently participating long-term. I have no short-term; no get rich quick type of model to present anyone. Real business and money making opportunities take time and effort to generate success. There are no shortcuts. There are no quick millionaire results; when you join an opportunity view it as a long-term commitment for the life of the business behind it. This will yield superior results for you in the long run.

Looking forward to assisting many with my new page; all feedback is very welcome. I want to know what you think.

Happy summer to all!

Alicia Rose

2013 Spring arrived early in Oklahoma

Spring basket with chocolate eggs and flowers.

This year in the state I reside, spring arrived two weeks earlier than the norm. The sections of Oklahoma where I have lived usually see the very beginning of spring at or a little after the Spring Equinox; this year March 20th. Seventy degree weather before the Spring Equinox is very rare. I do not remember weather this mild in March throughout the years I have lived in Oklahoma. Many Oklahomans, who I have discussed this odd March weather, recall similarly. All of us, however, are smiling because the weather has been unusually mild for the entire winter 2012 – 2013.

Our March weather has been unpredictable because of its unusual warm pattern. March weather is usually very cold with inclement weather. As I write this, it is a beautiful warm sunny day of 75 degrees; truly amazing! I am optimistically predicting the Easter Egg Hunts on Sunday March 31st for Oklahoman Christian families will be a fantastic sunny warm day like today; none truly know what the weather will be in The Sooner State, could change by then.

March 8th I was introduced to a brand new website from a good friend of mine who I completely trust. This opportunity website is called JubiRev, “the marketing arm of JubiMax.” This site has been specifically designed for “all income levels;” open to everyone. Those behind the scenes at JubiRev want to truly help others become successful without feeling any financial strain; even if in the past burned by other multi-level marketing or online business opportunities like they have been. This is very exciting; especially from a business and economic view.

The JubiRev accounts are free. There are no sign up or start-up charges; zero hidden fees. Right now, JubiRev is in the Pre-launch phase, but once it officially launches, the expected profits will begin rolling in making JubiMax’s leading profit revenue sharing aspect worth having a JubiRev account (all JubiRev accounts will receive a share of the profit revenue sharing). There is no sponsoring requirement; granted if you sponsor others you will receive more plus bonuses. The level of participation is completely up to the participant. Much is still being added during their Pre-Launch: if you find JubiRev interesting, please click here. It is worth looking into.

I am also busy updating my bookstore and adding a new Featured Selection. I have deleted some banners and content on our Welcome page that was no longer available, current or the company involved asked for removal. More of course will be added to maintain a large diversity in Alicia Harrell’s Bookstore and more website.

Undermining Alex is scheduled to be published sometime this year. There is much involved. I will continue to give updates about this Science Fiction sequel to Just Alex.

Thank you for visiting my blog site. It is a pleasure to share my interests with others. I try to share useful, helpful, interesting and entertaining content. All feedback is welcome. I am a firm believer that we can learn from each other.

Happy March and Spring everyone!

Alicia Rose

The Maya did not predict doomsday – 2013 will happen

A beautiful blue snowflake over an ice skating rink.

Happy Holidays! I am looking forward to 2013 which is practically right around the corner! Very exciting!

For those in fear of December 21, 2012, do not be. There is absolutely no reason to worry or stress over that date. The Maya aka Mayans did not predict any kind of doomsday. The whole doomsday thing is a farce, fallacy. According to my years of research about the Maya and readings on this subject as well as information shared by the magazine Archaeology, published from the Archaeological Institute of America, the Maya were a people who primarily lived in the present. A doomsday scenario is not something they would have wasted their precious time devising. Their culture would have laughed at anyone who had come up with a doomsday event. They would have considered it fictitious as well as from a warped mind; taken the person who thought it up to their equivalent of a psychologist for “help.”

The Maya calendar was mostly used for knowing when the season’s solstices arrived so their agriculture base knew when to plant which plants or seeds (very important for food sources), remembering birthdays, anniversaries, how long their King’s reign was, to determine one’s age (how many years lived), knowing when important religious days or their holidays were, and the like. They used their calendar in the same way we do today. There was nothing mystical or magical about their calendar. It did not have predictive properties included. It was a tool to use exactly like our calendars are today.

The Maya had important present-day issues that were paramount to them. They were primarily interested in ordinary daily issues; like whether or not they had enough to eat, a roof over their head, stuff like that. They were concerned about the needs of their cities and agricultural base. The 2012 Mayan doomsday scare is not based on a proper reading of the Maya Hieroglyphs. Due to erosion of the glyphs, the date could be December 21, 2012 or December 21, 2015 – no one knows for certain which date is correct for the end of the Maya calendar. What is known for certain is that the Maya did not see the end of their calendar as a bad thing with doomsday attached. They merely saw it like one views the seasons, when one ends another begins. Therefore the end of the calendar to the Maya meant a new beginning of a calendar count where one starts completely over in the yearly count. It would be like us going from 2012 to year 1 the next year, and resuming the count forward as the years progressed; just to give an example if our calendar ended with the year 2012.

On that more cheery note, do as I am, look forward to 2013. It will arrive just like all the years before it.  I already have much planned for January and the rest of 2013 which includes publishing Undermining Alex, the sequel to Just Alex. It looks like it will be a great year, something to look toward.

Season’s Greetings to you and your family!

Alicia Rose

A gorgeous holiday tree for all to see!

Having a positive Internet Presence matters!

These are some creative jack-o-lantern ideas for this All Hallows’ Eve!
Source: Google Images/Reuse/fotopedia.com/flickr

September and October have been very fast paced months for me. Things are really rocking, rolling and cooking in my personal universe! Not a whole lot of time to catch my breath, but I am accomplishing much online and off. What a wonderful autumn!

September 2012, I learned more about Internet Presence, the pros of having one. I found out there is still a whole lot to learn. At any time, one can improve one’s Internet Presence. It is never too late to do this and best not to be lackadaisical if you already have a business, blog or official website you are becoming known through. Improving or creating an excellent Internet Presence does take effort, time management and dedication. There are numerous ways to accomplish a great Internet Presence. In this blog, I have decided to share some of the methods I chose for this purpose.

Social Networking ads through social networking sights like LinkedIn and Facebook are a quick way to gain Internet Presence. The whole idea behind Internet Presence is for people to know about you and what you do as positively as can be generated. Social Networking sites who offer ads make certain their ads are excellent for they want to look good at the same time you do as a way of convincing others to use their ads. This method has ad costs; same with Google AdWords. I do not recommend paying for online ads of any kind if one has a small or tight budget. Ads can get expensive.

Another great way to gain Internet Presence is to get involved with a Traffic Exchange program like Profit Clicking offers where one gets paid for advertising by purchasing ad packages and having one’s website listed at no additional charge in the Traffic Exchange aspect. Increasing one’s Internet Presence can further be achieved through an affordable online advertising method like the one offered by Eimimo. These two as examples have worked for me, and generated more traffic to my online bookstore’s website which of course is the goal behind using these.

A unique avenue toward gaining better Internet Presence is to join something like STIFORP that for the price of membership has excellent online business tools. STIFORP’s online business tools include fantastic customizable landing pages that one can use to professionally direct traffic to one’s websites. These landing pages are very useful for Traffic Exchanges, blogging, online advertising and Social Network sites where you wish to give an introduction about your website before directing others to it.

Generating videos on sites like YouTube and blogging on websites like WordPress are common methods to gain Internet Presence. If you have a business website, getting your site listed on key sites like Alexa.com is also highly recommend for a superior Internet Presence. If an author, creating an author’s page on Amazon, Google Books, Goodreads and like sites is a super method to increase one’s Internet Presence. Alicia Harrell’s Bookstore has available a Featured Selections page to ensure free Internet exposure for participating authors.

Many freelance writers, including myself, write for sites like HubPages, Examiner, KnowABit and Yahoo!Voices in order to increase one’s Internet Presence. The nice thing about websites like these is they have a way to pay their participants for writing articles. There are quite a few sites looking for online freelance writers that have a pay-per-view payment method. Some pay better than others. In my experience, it is best to write for only four like these to avoid negative time management issues. You want to choose sites you plan to write many quality articles; the more you write, the greater your pay-per-view payment received.

The key is to become positively noticed on numerous websites without spoiling your brand. Your official, blog or business website content and how your site looks overall matters in the Internet world. Visitors will ignore something seemingly shoddy or has questionable content. You want your online appearance on any site to be professionally outstanding – be something someone would tell others.

One’s positive Internet Presence depends upon on how one’s website initially looks the minute a person clicks onto your site (does not matter what kind) – the first seconds of viewing are crucial. Having an exceptional landing, home, profile or welcome page is extremely vital for a successful Internet Presence as well as official, blog or business website. Your online appearance can make or break the level of Internet success accomplished. There are advantages of having a strong professional positive Internet Presence.

Happy All Hallows’ Eve on October 31^st and enjoy today!

Alicia Rose