Two book promos at once! :-D

Two of my award-winning Quirky Essay books are only 99 cents right now, yay! I'm Not Talking About You, Of Course is on promo from 10/23-10/27.A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities is on promo from 10/24-10/28. 

Here are the descriptions and links:

I'm Not Talking About You, Of Course:

Winner of the "Indie Book of the Day" award, this short collection of humorous essays explores such quirky topics as annoying pet people (“I’m Not Talking About You, Of Course”), analyzing your inner child (“Irrational Fears”) and how to live like the Amish in the aftermath of a hurricane (“A Jolt of Electricity”).

Included are also stories of just how much damage can be caused by a sneeze (“It All Started with a Loud Sneeze”), why it is so complicated to buy a tube of toothpaste (“Ask Me No Questions”), how not to prepare dinner ("Martha, I Let You Down"), making new friends ("Friends in Low Places"), how a parent’s obsessive hobbies can become an inescapable vortex (“Crazy Hobbies”), and why spending the night in a sleep clinic is like being abducted by probing aliens (“Nightmare at the Sleep Clinic”).

If you don’t see yourself in one of these entertaining essays, then I’m not talking about you, of course...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00821JBBS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i3 

A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities:

This collection of humorous essays explores such quirky topics as disastrous home repairs, ("A Trip to the Hardware Store"), an unfortunate dinner party (“Dinner is Served"), the truth about lazy people ("Lazy Bones"), the weird life of a debt collector ("Your Account is Past Due") and obsessions with gadgets ("Gadget Girl").

You'll also learn how surreal the aging process is (“Where Did the Time Go?"), why you shouldn't judge a person by their job (“Beyond Belief”), and how to complicate simple transactions (“High Finance”).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DH5XFHU/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i2

Free Book Promotion Through March 22nd!

Free Book Promotion through March 22nd!

My award-winning book of humorous essays, "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities" is free on Amazon now through March 22nd if you want to scoop it up.

http://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Calamities-Quirky-Essays-People-ebook/dp/B00DH5XFHU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1426684665&sr=8-9&keywords=barbara+venkataraman

 And check out the Audio version, it's priceless! Well, actually it's $3.95, but it's a bargain at twice the price. :-D

http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/A-Trip-to-the-Hardware-Store-Other-Calamities-Audiobook/B00INB1CD2/ref=a_search_c4_1_4_srTtl?qid=1426684726&sr=1-4

 

 

Check out my guest post on Beck Valley Books! :-)

Thank-you to Sharon for inviting me to write a guest post for her wonderful blog!

http://www.beckvalleybooks.blogspot.com/
Be sure to check out Beck Valley Books for used, rare and out of print books. :-)

Finding hard to find titles, unusual titles, lovely old books and even modern titles was a booklover's dream......There's nothing better than holding a lovely old book in your hands, knowing it has its own unique history.  We have now found ourselves with thousands of used, rare and out of print  books, selling them worldwide on our website at www.beckvalleybooks.co.uk  You can always rely on our friendly service.

Free book promotion-check it out!

My award-winning e-book, "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities" is free now on Amazon through December 24th! Happy Holidays to all!

http://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Calamities-Quirky-Essays-People-ebook/dp/B00DH5XFHU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419264795&sr=8-4&keywords=barbara+Venkataraman

"A Trip to the Hardware Store"-now available in paperback!

My award-winning book of humorous essays, "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities",  is now available in paperback--and just in time for the holidays! Where else can you find so many laughs for under $6.00? Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Calamities-Quirky-Essays-People/dp/1505388570/ref=sr_1_6_twi_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418494994&sr=8-6&keywords=barbara+Venkataraman

Check out this great review of my audiobooks by Mason Canyon!

What a beautiful blog! Check it out:

Thoughts in Progress-A place for my mind to gather its images

http://masoncanyon.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-trip-to-hardware-store-and-death-by.html?showComment=1417636487785#c5026072830392921106

MRS. GRAMMAR PERSON RETURNS

Fear not, Gentle Writer, Mrs. Grammar Person, heeding your cry for help, has returned, delighted to be of service once again. Like you, Mrs. G.P revels in the knowledge that, while fashions may come and go (both the tasteful and the tacky), exceptional grammar never goes out of style. It is her fervent hope that her words of wisdom serve to complement your knowledge so that you receive nothing but compliments in your writing.

Mrs. G.P. marvels at the difference a single letter can make! She knows that the effect of her words deeply affect you. Especially once you come to realize that effect is a noun and affect is a verb.

She brings you these tidbits so that you may take them with you, safely ensconced in your heart, along with your affection for your favorite grammarian. Coyly, Mrs. Grammar Person reminds you that you bring things toward you, but take things away from you.

Mrs. G. P. wants you to know that you can always count on her. And speaking of counting, here is a handy rule: when using "fewer" or "less" in a sentence, if you can count it, use the word "fewer", if you cannot, use the word "less".  Another excellent rule to live by is this one:  Less is more. Nobody likes to hear anything twice, so it's best to avoid being repetitious, redundant, reiterative, and duplicative in your writing, dear ones. As Shakespeare taught us, brevity is the soul of wit!

When Mrs. Grammar Person hears of the mistakes her writers frequently make, she feels an attack of the vapors coming on and must immediately lie down. She lays her head on the pillow and waits for her devotees to understand the difference between lie and lay. Lay must always have an object. Thus, you lay the book on the counter, but lie down. One way to remember this is to tell yourself that people lie, but Mrs. G. P. disagrees, believing that most people are honest and good.

Mrs. Grammar Person has enjoyed chatting with you today and hopes that you follow her advice, not out of admiration for her, but because of its own intrinsic worth. Mrs. G. P. will sleep well tonight knowing that you understand "it's" is a contraction of it and is, while "its"is the possessive form and requires no apostrophe. Ever.

Mrs. Grammar Person fondly bids you adieu, Gentle Writers, comforted by the thought that your paths will cross again.  

Check out "The New Book Review" Blog

Check out Carolyn Howard-Johnson's blog, "The New Book Review":

http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/2014/11/barbara-venkataraman-leaves-you-smiling.html  

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning How To Do It Frugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read.

And thanks again, for the great review, Brad Teare!

How I Did It--The Confession of a Mystery Writer

What inspired you to write “Death by Didgeridoo”?

A reluctant lawyer myself, I was trying to teach myself to play the didgeridoo to help me sleep better, which sounds odd, I know, but I was desperate. A didgeridoo is a large, primitive wind instrument invented by Australian Aborigines and it’s tricky to play. It sounds awful if you do it wrong and only a little less awful if you do it right.

One day, I dropped it on a table and broke the glass which led me to think about it as a possible dangerous weapon. The story came to me over time and, luckily, I didn’t have to master the didgeridoo to write it!

How is writing in the mystery genre different from other genres?

“Death by Didgeridoo” is my first mystery, but not my first work of fiction. Writing a mystery is like figuring out a puzzle while watching characters performing in a play--in your head! I started writing this book with one character in mind as the killer. To my surprise, the story changed direction as I got to know my characters and it turned out to be someone else.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Write every day for a set amount of time. Don’t let your self-doubt overwhelm you.

Don’t judge what you write, just keep going.

Write because you love to write. If you get stuck, start asking questions about your story that still need to be answered. As you ask them, you will start to think of the answers. Another trick when you get stuck is to write down all the possible ways your story could go and follow each one to its conclusion in a sentence or two.

Take your favorite books by your favorite authors and try to imitate their styles for practice. That way, you can analyze how they do what they do. Also, read some terrible books and analyze what went wrong.

What inspired you to write “A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities”?

I wanted to make people smile and even-dare I hope?–laugh, as they read my book. We are all so busy with our lives and our laundry and our to-do lists that we forget to have fun. If you watch kids playing, they laugh and smile non-stop, but us, not so much.

So, either sign up for laugh yoga or read my books, people. Or be grouchy, it’s your choice…

How is writing in the humor genre different from other genres?

I try to keep my writing light and full of surprises, even for myself. If I’m not surprised and delighted as I write, you won’t be either, is my thinking. I try to write about topics that everyone can relate to, including funny issues that come up with family, friendships, and marriage. One of my essays deals with planning a dinner party for a group of friends and trying to please everyone, with disastrous results! It was an imaginary dinner party with my very real friends and they all enjoyed being included, even though they didn’t actually get a meal out of it….