Monthly Archives: April 2023

The Big Romance Show is Tonight on WhatNot! Here’s $10 to Come Shop!

Hello! If you haven’t checked out any of my shows on WhatNot yet, then this is your chance! The Lost Library’s big romance show is tonight, with book bundles starting at just $1 per book! There will be some giveaways, too, so I’d love it if you’d come and join me. You can find my show here, and if you haven’t signed up for WhatNot yet you can use my link and get $10 to shop with! If you do stop in, let me know how you found my show. Thanks!

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Guest Post: Poetry by Kelly Grettler

Our children grow up so fast, as the talented Kelly Grettler illustrates here.

Kelly Grettler lives in Cibolo, TX with her tolerant husband, their 2 dogs, and 2 cats. (Their 2 boys went off to college.) She is the author of several books for children including: Maisie McGillicuddy’s Sheep Got Muddy, Sweet Tea by the Live Oak Tree, Underneath the Mimosa Tree, and her newest, a goodbye story, Forever Mine. You can find her on Instagram @kelly.grettler or on her website, kellygrettler.com.

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Filed under Guest Posts, Parenting, Poetry

Stop by The Lost Library for Cozy Mysteries Tonight! Here’s Your $10 to Shop!

Hey folks! Tonight is my second show on WhatNot, featuring cozy mysteries! I plan to have one or two giveaways, plus you can get $10 to shop with if you sign up with my referral code. Hope to see you there!

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Guest Post: The Benefits of Batching Content by Serena Cornwall

What do they mean by “batching content?” If only I had known about this earlier.

There are times when I enter the “flow” as I’m writing. It’s a wonderful feeling, and afterward I feel as if I have accomplished something. The energy is just amazing and it just feels so good. But then the story is done. Everything has a beginning and an end. And it’s no different with the stories we are writing.

That’s when batching comes into the picture. I recently came across an article regarding batching content, and I just had to learn more about it. The writer said that thanks to the batching procedure, she is now saving time and yet can write more content now than ever before. That caught my interest.

We all have moments when our writing process is moving slower than we wished for, as well as faster than we can keep up with. So why not take the chance when we end up in the flow of things to batch some content?

Okay, down to business: batching is when you write several articles at the same time around a similar niche. Before now I have been writing down one project, posted it, shared it on social media, then sort of “put away the pen”. That’s so stupid! Yes of course when inspiration strikes, I have written down keywords for other ideas on my phone or sticky notes (somewhere). But that’s it.

Writing can sometimes be like going to the gym:

1: First you warm up by reading things on the internet. Checking in on a favorite blogger, do some research, etc.

2: Then you open up an empty page and write something (anything) down. Sort of beginning to lift some easy weight, just to remind you of how it feels, before moving on to the heavy stuff.

3: But then you are (hopefully) ready to go. That means: let’s do this! On a good day your fingers are flying over the keyboard or your pen is flying over the paper, as if there is nothing in the world that can stop it. Time flies by, and before you know it… Your stomach starts to reject and you notice how late it is.

It’s on those days batching would be a great idea! After all, you are already warmed up. At the same time you as you work on one project, you can work on another one, or when you feel that it’s done (at least for today), then you move on to the next one. Some work on several projects at once, thanks to this method. They make a couple of notes regarding the same subject, then at the same time write about it.

I don’t think this is for everyone. But it’s said to save time, so it might be worth a try. I remember last year when I went on vacation. A few weeks before we left, I wrote a couple of posts that could be published while I was away. All I had to do was (whenever I had time) to go out on media and read some. No pressure. And that’s what batching content is all about. By writing more than one content at a time you can spend more time researching and looking up content for another project. Some mix up long posts with short posts to gain even more time.

These are things I wished I had known from the beginning. But I guess the saying: “better late than never” says it all. Now that I know about it, I will certainly see if I can adapt it to my writing style. I’ve tried it out and in one go have already managed to write three articles! If you don’t believe me, then read these posts, maybe they can convince you to give batching a try:

Content Batching Hacks — How to Plan and Create Content on Several Platforms Without Burning Out

Batching is your friend & here’s why.

You can find more about Serena Cornwall here.

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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois.  She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University.  Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside DetectiveHer short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Siren’s Call, and Subcutaneous.  Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world.  You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.

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Filed under Blogging, Guest Posts, On Writing

Here’s $10 to Shop with me on Whatnot!

Hey friends! I hope you’re having a great Friday. I’m just starting out selling on Whatnot, a livestream auction platform. Tonight is my Sci Fi and Fantasy show (mostly Fantasy) at 8pm central time! I’d love it if you all came, and I can even give you $10 to shop with.

Follow this link to register for Whatnot and you get $10 in credit (this counts toward purchases, but not taxes or shipping). You don’t even have to spend the money with me if you don’t want to, but of course it’d be great if you did! If you do pop in, make sure to tell me that you’re coming from my blog.

Books will be starting at $2 to $3. I have lots of Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey as well as some other great finds. Here’s the direct link to the show. Hope to see you there!

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Thursday Things: What are You Reading?

Welcome to Thursday Things, where you might find a rant, a rave, a question, or just about anything else! Let’s scrounge around in the junk drawer of my brain and see what we can find!

What are you reading right now? It could be a book, a magazine, whatever! I’d love to know!

Let me know in the comments!


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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois.  She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University.  Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keepingand The Graveside DetectiveHer short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Siren’s Call, and Subcutaneous.  Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world.  You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please consider using my links to do your shopping and help me out at no extra cost to you!

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Thursday Things: What’s Your Favorite Place to Read?

Welcome to Thursday Things, where you might find a rant, a rave, a question, or just about anything else! Let’s scrounge around in the junk drawer of my brain and see what we can find!

Where’s your favorite place to read?

While I like to think I can read just about anywhere, I have two favorites. The first is the bathtub! There’s something so nice about sinking into a hot, steamy bath with a good book. I just have to make sure it’s one that I won’t be upset about if I accidentally drop in the tub! No vintage out-of-print sci-fi! (I may have sacrificed a few bookmarks this way…)

My other favorite place to read is curled up on the couch with my dog and my cat when it’s snowing or raining outside. There’s just something so cozy about having bad weather outside to make me appreciate not being in it!

Where do you like to read? Let me know in the comments!


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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois.  She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University.  Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keepingand The Graveside DetectiveHer short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Siren’s Call, and Subcutaneous.  Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world.  You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please consider using my links to do your shopping and help me out at no extra cost to you!

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Writing Prompt Wednesday

If you’re looking for a little bit of mid-week motivation, welcome to Writing Prompt Wednesday!

Your prompt: Write a short story using these three words: glory, damn, exile.

If you’re feeling inspired, I’d love to see where this idea leads you. Feel free to leave me a comment! You can also check out my Writers’ Resources page for more help and motivation! I also accept guest post submissions, so if this exercise leads you into a great short story or piece of flash fiction, consider sending it in. Thanks for stopping by!

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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois.  She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University.  Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keepingand The Graveside DetectiveHer short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Siren’s Call, and Subcutaneous.  Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world.  You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please consider using my links to do your shopping and help me out at no extra cost to you!

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Filed under On Writing, Writing Exercises

Guest Post: Poetry by Kelly Grettler

If you’ve ever been in a home that’s a little more than meets the eye, then you’ll definitely appreciate this ‘enchanted’ house. (And you even get to see a pic of the actual house!)

It’s the actual house! How cool is that?

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Kelly Grettler lives in Cibolo, TX with her tolerant husband, their 2 dogs, and 2 cats. (Their 2 boys went off to college.) She is the author of several books for children including: Maisie McGillicuddy’s Sheep Got Muddy, Sweet Tea by the Live Oak Tree, Underneath the Mimosa Tree, and her newest, a goodbye story, Forever Mine. You can find her on Instagram @kelly.grettler or on her website, kellygrettler.com.

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Filed under Guest Posts, Poetry