BW Starmer Creations-Author

Constitutional Rights at Work-Tax Protestors and the Tea Party

2010-05-22T18:10:00.000-06:00

Constitutional Rights at Work-Tax Protestors and the Tea Party

Women at Work-Harassment and Promotional Opportunities

2010-05-22T16:51:00.000-06:00

Women at Work-Harassment and Promotional Opportunities

Security Issues for Traveling Women

2010-05-11T00:56:00.000-06:00

Security Issues for Traveling Women

After School Child Supervision for Working Moms

2010-04-29T15:39:00.000-06:00

After School Child Supervision for Working Moms

Does an Author Need a Website?

2010-04-14T12:14:00.002-06:00

Well you have written that magnificent novel. You have polished; copy edited, and tweaked it until you could scream. When you start dreaming dialogue you are ready top proceed to the next step. Is building a website necessary? Chances are you are not computer savvy let alone web savvy. What should you do?

Most of us out in the real world have ideas, helpful hints, and downright good stories to tell. Only a few of you out there will pick up your pen or computer, and put it to paper. Those of you who do may never submit it to a publisher or magazine for fear of rejection. Those of you who manage to jump that emotional hurdle will eventually find acceptance. While you wait for your rejection or acceptance, start on your marketing for that precious piece of work you spent hours creating.

A website for an author is almost compulsory today. Years ago, we relied on the newspaper, word of mouth, and magazines to promote products, but today is another ballgame. If you want to be successful as an author, you need people to find your eBooks, paperbacks, and photo journals quickly and easily. Magazine articles help get your name out there as well. Today many of those are online instead of paper or do both.

Many of us grew up with a computer and mastered the word processing part of it with ease due to the ‘Help’ key and a few classes, but what about building your own website?

Several years ago if you didn’t write HTML, you were out of luck and your checkbook just got a great deal lighter if you wanted to proceed. Graphic designers were in short supply, and there was no such thing easy HTML software. Fortunately, for us things have changed. Anyone can have a website to promote themselves or their budding business for minimal cost. While you anxiously await good news on your novel or article, start promoting yourself with a new website. Your first step is to search free web design templates on the main search engines.

Websites such as Intuit or Free Website Templates. to name a couple have easily downloadable templates where you just fill in the information about yourself, and where to buy your products. Many of them even give you the ability to add shopping carts for check out, purchase of a domain name, email responders, PayPal and much more. If you can read, and follow directions, your website can be finished in a couple of hours. Try to make your domain name the same as your author or penname for people looking for your work.

Once you have the basics you will need to find a few keywords that will point individuals toward your website. Wordtracker is an excellent place to start. It is free, and you can find numerous words with the number of people who search for your specific words. This is imperative in today’s market to see what works best for you product. Keywords or meta tags in your software template are essential to your website traffic success.

Your website is now ready, and if you’ve purchased your domain name, you are ready to hit the ‘Publish’ button. You are now on the web. Make changes every other day even if it’s only a single word, and set your email to Google Alerts for your website and name. Don’t worry if you don’t show up on the search engines for a couple of weeks. Step One is now complete.

Tips on Ebook Marketing

2010-04-09T19:00:00.000-06:00

Ebook marketing and webpage management is a whole different animal. Here I thought I was well versed in marketing, but I'm finding out things change quickly in the electronic world.

First their is the webpage
Second comes you blog
Third comes the Press Release of your book
Fourth comes keyword perfection of your book on blog and webpage
Fifth comes the meta tag insertion and correlating of anchors in your links with proper wording
Sixth comes the writing of ezine articles, extra blogs with back links to all
Seventh comes backlinking to well known sites that the webcrawlers recognize and raise your alexa rank
Eight You have to add other things to sell on your website with shopping carts
Ninth:You finally get to write again on a book.

Here you thought life was going to be filled with time for writing... I am going to look at these over the next few weeks and fill you in on what I have learned. It should be an interesting journey for all.

Catch me on Montana Mysteries and Romantic Synonymous for more sizzling fantasy adventures
.
Barb

Angel and the Lawman Goes Paperback!

2010-03-16T17:13:00.000-06:00

Click here for Purchase $15.50 paperback

Everyone who has been waiting for A&L to go paperback---------the day has arrived. You can get your copy at Amazon.com and B&N. I will give you the link to Amazon below. I haven't found it for B&N but it will be up shortly as well. This was not suppose to happen until April 15th. Guess I had better get on that press release, not that I know where to send it anyway. Anyway, happy reading for all you paperback lovers out there. Let me know what you think!

Changes for More Free Stories

2010-03-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well, you can see I have changed my blog layout, so look around and find what you need. I've also added the new Montana Mysteries Link under blog links and under the picture I just adore. Click on it and join the the readers and followers of the the neverending story about Montana. We will have participants from our Montana Romance writers and anyone else who would like to join in. I will be taking names of those that wish to participate and putting them on a calendar to participate in the writing. You are also welcome to let me know if you want a link to your blog or webpage as well. Have fun and write, read and write some more!

Barb

We Have a Winner!

2010-02-18T02:04:00.000-07:00

It was great fun for the seven days of Valentines and we have a winner! Daniel Britten won a free copy of Angel and the Lawman for guessing the correct answer for the designer of my cover. Now I'm sure it was Dawn who sent in the entry as she knows Alexis quite well from AK Designs. I hope you enjoy the book. Thanks to everyone for participating. We had the largest posts of any reading group ever for a week and we gained a few new readers for everyone. We've got some really great writers at Bookstrand. I do hope everyone checks them out.

Thanks for participating!

Barb

Seven Days of Valentines

2010-02-07T16:59:00.003-07:00

Greetings Everyone! Our readers group at SirenBookstrand is setting up a special chat for the Seven Days of Valentines----Starts Monday-Feb 7--- Every day will specialize in a specific type of romance from contemporary to historical. Some great authors like Savannah Kougar, Jan Bowles, Regan Taylor,Corrine Davis, and many-many more are participating. You will get a little insight on some of each of their personal lives and why they write what they write.

I've been asked to participate on Friday with the historical romance section since my last book Angel and the Lawman is based in 1895. Most of the authors are running a contest and offering a prize at the end of the day if you answer their question correctly. SirenBookstrand is offering Strandbucks at the end of the week for the winners as well. So read along each day, make comments and answers the questions if you can. I will offer a free copy of Angel and the LawMan in pdf format to the person who can answer the question at the end of my post.

Please check us out at: Romance Readers Group

First let me say, that I have been writing since I was a teenager, but never tried to get published until recently. I traveled all over the U.S. selling medical equipment and playing tag with my husband of 32 years.....yes, I'm old, but that doesn't mean I'm dead. I love romance and how people get introduced. I met my hubby by smashing a volleyball into his teeth during a water volleyball tournament. I guess blood and the Florence Nightengail syndrome really does work. Now I don't suggest that for everyone, but I felt guilty and he was fascinated by a strong woman who could take him on and win. I suppose that's why all my female characters are strong and independent.

I always wanted to meet a man that would accept me for me and we could share a life together because we wanted to be together instead of needing each other to survive. I've noticed I seem tocreate my heroes with that in mind as well. For years I used to write fanfiction under the pen name StormyNite. I was really quite good in changing the weak characters into strong virile male heroes, and the heroines into independent woman who love romance, but don't need a man to survive. Check out my latest heroine, and all the free stuff at my website BW Starmer Creations. Don't forget to check out my latest novel Angel and the LawMan where Alexandra O'Shay Wild discovers that strength and independence not only gets you in trouble, but makes for some very unusual friends. It never ceases to amaze me where people meet each other. Check it out with this quick peek:

The paper-thin walls of the Hasting House’s dining room filtered minimal noise from the street, so she ignored it out of habit. Without warning, gunfire followed by a woman’s high-pitched scream interrupted her perusal of the menu…so much for eating. Alex sighed and listened to the scuffling sounds on the other side of the swinging doors between the lobby and the dining room. Moments later, chaos erupted throughout the hotel until finally the dining room door burst open.

“Out of my way,” snarled the burly man with a mustache as he pulled the hinges off the door. He ran headlong for the back door and straight toward Alexandra.Shouts, yelling, and pounding footsteps aimed in her direction announced more trouble. Alex moved her chair slightly to see both the front and back entrances, just as the man reached her table. He turned, pulled his gun, and fired at the entry doors now hanging loosely from their hinges.

Without a second thought, Alex shoved her foot in front of the obnoxious man just as he turned. He crashed to the floor at her feet. One swift kick from her foot and the gun, still in his hand, rolled end-over-end toward a table in the corner. Alex stepped sideways out of reach and watched him closely.

“Damn you, bitch!” The man scrambled to his feet. He lunged toward her only to have one knee buckle beneath him. Surprise and instant pain overwhelmed and enraged him further. She slapped him hard across the face as a pistol cocked behind the man’s ear. He froze, staring at Alex’s eyes. She smiled knowingly.

A smooth baritone voice oozed over the crowd. “Last I checked, I haven’t missed anything at this range in years.” The uncomfortable silence that followed made the air in the room stifling as everyone held their breath and waited.

“This ain’t none of your business.” The burly man struggled to his feet with a groan as he turned to address the new threat behind him.A swift blow to the jaw greeted him, and he crumpled to the floor unconscious. The adjoining door burst open, and all eyes but Alex’s turned to the sheriff chambering another shell in his rifle as he marched through the room.

A stranger’s cool blue eyes met hers. The room exploded in a mass of voices all talking at once, striving for personal attention from the sheriff. Alexandra O’Shay opted to slip out the back door unnoticed by all…except one.

Win your free copy by answering this question: Who did the cover for Angel and the Lawman? Jinger Heaston does most of the covers for SirenBookstrand, but not this one.Find your answer here. Send your answer to Sandys36@yahoo.com

Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Remember to check us out all week and see how many questions you can answer and win a prize!

Barb

Childrens Stories

2010-02-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm about to take the plunge with my short story called "The Magic Frog" with Highlights for Children. Keep your fingers crossed as I'm looking forward to seeing if they like it or not. My mentor loves it and wants me to submit it. It's the right place and pays better than most and we all need money to fix our basements and pay for health insurance. Who needs to eat anyway.

Wish me luck.

Barb

Trolling for Votes!

2010-02-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit I'm a pathetic writer who is out trolling for votes for my book, but I'm so excited to come home and find my basement flooded and my health insurance canceled. The day did get better as I found out Angel and the Lawman is up for Dark Divia's Reviews book of the month. I'm finally jumping for joy over the day. Anyway, if any of you could, I would appreciate you going to the website on the link below and voting for Angel. I get free advertising for the month and a new banner at no charge for winning and mentioned at the end of the year as well.

I can only be up once and this is it for this book and you have to have the most votes by the public with only one vote per ISP so if you could take a second and vote for Angel and the Lawman, I would greatly appreciate it. Here is the link

http://darkdivasreviews.webs.com/bookofthemonthpoll.htm

Thanks for your votes!

Barb

Kallyn Has a Past

2010-01-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it was my turn to write for RS and I just had to give Kallyn another man in her past. Now the question is will someone else take up the suggestion of her accident. Time will tell. Go check it out. It is so much fun to write one of theses progressive things.

Note for you writers out there. Make sure you tag you books and set up and author central account at Amazon. It will help you sell books there. Email me if you want to know how. Ursula was great about telling me how to do it. Let's play tag with each others' books and maybe it will bring us to the top of the list for purchase.

Barb

New Romance Connections

2010-01-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have added a whole bunch of links for romance authors. I also added several blogs that I follow in my authors group. Check them out and let me know what you think. If one of the links doesn't work, please let me know and link my blog to yours if you have time. Off to write some more.

Barb

Looking for Montana Writers to Review

2010-01-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally caught up with stuff. Still should update lots of other stuff, but I'm back to writing on the SciFi novel called "Redemption". Of course it is romance and I'm looking for Montana Writers that need Reviews that I can post her under a Review Icon: I thought that would be nice to help others out and gives me an idea of what sells here in Montana When Angel goes to print I will hit up the bookstores and do some book signing. I'll also do a press release kit. I don't see the need for one in ebook form. If I'm wrong someone out there should tell me. Most of the press releases are for paperbacks that have ebook. Wish I could say sales are good, but they are pretty slow at the moment. They were okay in November but December sucked but I'm now available in kindle so I hope that helps. There is a delay in posting on those. I do hope it sells better in paperback. It has gotten great reviews.

Oh, well off to write some more and then I'll update here again and add a few more authors to the link. I have hired a search engine company to do adds for me, but only 3 keywords. I couldn't afford the more keyword. Wish I was rich or could win the lottery or something

BWS

Delightful 5 Divia and a Recommended Read

2010-01-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

I'm on cloud nine and jumping up and down.....unreal. My publisher sent my book Angel and the Lawman to Dark Divia's to review. Now DDR usually only does erotica so I didn't expect much. They gave me 5 Delightful Divia an a Recommend Read!!!!

Here's and excerpt. Go Read it if you can: I'm so pleased.

I can't believe it.

Jordan’s Review: I loved Angel and the Lawman. One of my favorite authors is Linda Lael Miller and this book reminded me of her westerns. That’s as big a compliment as I can give. The characters are fresh and utterly enchanting; the hero suitably macho and mysterious. The story plays out well and with a wonderful plethora of detail that I find totally absorbing. The ending is superb and totally fits in with the story. I had a couple of moments where I wondered if there really would be a happy ending or if I was going to be disappointed. The West comes alive and I got a real feeling for how it must have been to live in the lawless territory of Oklahoma City. How anyone could resist the pull of this story and not want to finish it all in one sitting, I have no idea. I certainly couldn’t. It made for a great afternoon’s read.

Barbara Starmer has a winner in Angel and the Lawman. I’m going to be checking out any other offerings by her to see what other great treasures are available and I will certainly be looking for more by Ms. Starmer in the future.

Rated 5 Delightful Divas and a Recommended Read by Jordan! read more

I guess I will write the sequel now!

Barb

Another Great Review for Angel and the Lawman-4.5 Stars!!!!

2010-01-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

How exciting! Another great review. Maybe I CAN write romance novels!

This is from Cata Romance Reviews and Single Title Reviews Also available from Martha's Bookshelf. Read the whole thing. I'm so excited.

Review: Angel and The Lawman by Barbara W. Starmer

"Strong characters, fast western action and sensual romance make this a great read!"

This story, set in 1895 Oklahoma territory, has great characters and lots of shoot-em up action! The mystery behind the attacks adds extra excitement.
Alexandra O’Shay is a strong, independent Irish beauty. She is used to hard work and protecting herself! This is a wonderful female character! She is perfect for the wild west where women might be tender but they have to learn to be tough enough to survive!

Marshall James Black is also a great (hunky and yummy) character! He is a big, strong, handsome and honorable lawman! As Federal Marshall he has faced a lot of bad men and fortunately has a well developed sixth sense for danger to go along with his fast gun!

I highly recommend this very engaging romance full of old time western action!! This is another new to me author whose books I will be looking up!! read more



Sensuality Rating: Sensuous Star Rating: 4.5 Stars Author's Website: http://www.starmercreativeminds.com/

Webpage Nightmares

2009-12-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's another day and of course I am having webpage difficulties. Finally got a sort of Link up for AK Designs and Alexis nice work on my cover and her logo work. It will eventually get worked out, so go and check it out at my webpage:http://www.starmercreativeminds.com--Click on AK Designs and see if it all works. I've got to redo this thing already. Oh, that's a project for next year. Here's her link. Nice of her to put my cover on it.

http://s2.webstarts.com/AKGraphicDesigns/index.html

Just got word that the Oklahoma City Review picked up my review on Angel and the Lawman----Awesome! Gotta love those Google Alerts. Maybe someone else will buy from Oklahoma since it's based there.

New addition to Romantic Synonomous called Heat Wave-- Check it out. Here's the link:http://judahraine.blogspot.com/

Angel and the Lawman's First Review--4.5 Spicy Books!

2009-12-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

My first review just arrived from: Long and Short Romance Reviews. Click on the link and see the whole review. Here's a short excerpt:

Angel and the Lawman Review by Barbara W. Starmer
Historical Western Romance-Long and Short Romance Reviews

Spicy 4.5 Books-Must Read

The primary antagonist, along with his powerful connections, challenges the marshal and Alexandra with dangers that reach all the way from Boston and San Francisco to Oklahoma City.

Barbara Starmer weaves a fascinating plot full of suspense, mystery, and treachery that grabs the reader’s attention. Among the life-threatening happenings, she weaves in a love that blooms like a rose among the thorns. Her strong heroine and her hero that makes the heart throb make ANGEL AND THE LAWMAN not only a thrilling suspense story but also a redemptive love story that satisfies the heart.

Buy It Now!

The NeverEnding Story

2009-12-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I see Pixie decided to have Odric be the guide. Maybe she can trade off between Odric and Falco and make the shoes really hum. I'm really into red shoes lately so I had to throw them in somewhere. Back to the new book and the childrens book. It's so hard to write both styles. I'm going to have to work out a writing schedule each day and switch off I suppose. I think we are a bit behind on the NE Story though as I look at the schedule. I thought I'd get some ideas from where we are on this, but too many writers in-between for me to think about it now. Read on and find out what happens.

Magic Slippers

2009-11-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I just posted to Romantic Synonmous Blog with my first section on the Never Ending Story. Hope it is okay. I tried to go with the Wizard of Oz theme and Dancing with the Stars. That was way too easy. Maybe next time I'll go a little more Sci Fi.

Sorry for delays on posting, but my brother past away and I had to take care of my elderly parents for awhile. They didn't handle it very well.

Blogging to Oblivion

2009-11-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I've added a few more things after taking my 3 hour ride in the mountains on my horse. I will be writing until the wee hours of the morning to make up for taking time off. I've added my favorite blogs and a few more author websites. Siren-Bookstrand has some really active people and they all work hard at connecting people, so I'm trying to do my share.

Also check out Romantics Synonymous for the Never Ending Story. I'm going to be writing on it as well. Such fun in the land of OZ. Click on the blog link or the link at the bottom. WOOHO!!

Good day all around.

Angel and the Lawman Releases Today!

2009-11-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

My release day is today! Very excited as this is my first ebook. We go paperback in March and then it will be on Amazon and B&N. For now you can get it here. Just click on the link and you are off. Happy reading.

http://www.starmercreativeminds.com/BWStarmer_us.html

Excerpt:

With a need to find her unknown father, young Irish Alexandra O’Shay travels west filled with curiosity and passion. A chance encounter with a mysterious man in black creates doubt and hope at the same time. Is this her destiny or downfall? Will misfortune and prejudice follow her even in America? As the railroads advance westward at a rapid pace, violence and death follow close behind. An unexpected train robbery gives Alex a look at a potential future, but only if she is willing to fight beside an extraordinary lawman.With a reputation for honesty and a fast gun, Marshal James Black takes on a new challenge and a new attitude toward women. Alexandra Wild is not only beautiful, but a survivor and that intrigues him more than he likes. Relationships have proven fatal in the past. Would this be any different?

EBook Pirates

2009-11-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Just got a listing of where to file a complaint on ebooks. Go to http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx and report it. This is great news as they say on the website to report it even though you send a cease and desist letter to have things taken down. Go file and link this to anyone who is in the ebook industry. Let's get the word out there!

Barb

Tragedy Today-Young Horse Killed by Hunter

2009-11-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful day here in Montana. A good friend of ours just got her 1.5 year old filly shot this morning by an unknown hunter or malicious person. It frightens us all as horse owners that this could happen. We have started a campaign now to increase awareness of other animals to hunters that are not game and ask all hunters to please be careful when aiming at what you think is your prey.

Don't get me wrong, I am an avid fan of hunters and don't want that right taken away. I feel they serve a purpose to keeping population levels under control and a good food source. I think is should be required that all hunters take a safety course before getting their license and have it renewed every year with a refresher course. Hunters are not the only people using the woods this time of year. We do wear orange as well as our horses, but if you miss your target and I'm 1/4 mile away, I could still be dead or my horse.

Add your thoughts and pass this on. Hunter awareness is crucial at all times!

Book Pirates

2009-11-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm doing research now on how to keep my book from being stolen before it releases. My Author group is seeing a great deal of it now. Any help would be appreciated. I'll post what I find out here.

My First Post

2009-10-29T15:35:00.000-06:00

Well, I finally decided to put up my own blog. My second book is about to be released on November 10 in ebook form and I'm excited. I knew the editing process was slow but it's finally done and ready for everyone to read. I'm not quite sure about what bloggs are for except expressing your opinion. Well, anyone who knows me will let you know I have an opinion on just about everything.

Check out my webpage as I finally have it up and running as well. http://www.starmercreativeminds.com/

The new book Angel and the Lawman can be purchased from there as well as links to my novel Undercover and my short story Mirrors of the Heart. Mirrors is free now at Bookrix. Here's a picture of the new cover by AK Designs. Alexis did a great job with it.

BLURB

With a need to find her unknown father, young Irish Alexandra O’Shay travels west filled with curiosity and passion. A chance encounter with a mysterious man in black creates doubt and hope at the same time. Is this her destiny or downfall? Will misfortune and prejudice follow her even in America? As the railroads advance westward at a rapid pace, violence and death follow close behind. An unexpected train robbery gives Alex a look at a potential future, but only if she is willing to fight beside an extraordinary lawman.With a reputation for honesty and a fast gun, Marshal James Black takes on a new challenge and a new attitude toward women. Alexandra Wild is not only beautiful, but a survivor and that intrigues him more than he likes. Relationships have proven
fatal in the past. Would this be any different?

More to come tomorrow as I muddle my way through. I have to get a new computer as well, since the trusty laptop died. I don't mind working on the desktop for awhile but it limits my creative spirit.