A Promo Opportunity For All the Rainbow . . .

FOR ALL MY RAINBOW WRITERS OUT THERE . . . AN OPPORTUNITY . . .
A group I am a part of (Marketing For Romance Writers) is putting together a Mini-book to help promote authors and an upcoming Blog Hop and i'm helping organize the project. 

So, what is a mini-book you might ask? It is a book that contains excerpts written by the various authors who are a part of it from works they are promoting.

Now, the catch . . .YOU MUST BE A PART OF THE MFRW GROUP IN ORDER TO BE A PART. But joining the MFRW is FREE and so worth it! Ask me how to join if you are interested . . .

Our first minibook is due to come out in coordination with our next hop, the Rainbow hop. If you write in this category, we would love to promote your book. Submissions will close on May 29th at noon. This is a FREE promotional book for anyone in the MFRW Rainbow category. The book will be published in conjunction with our Rainbow Hop June 14-16.

FIVE COMPLETELY FREE Ways to Increase Your Social Net (And Maybe Your PROFITS!)

Hey guys and gals. . . . My name is Wt Prater and I wanted to let you know about FIVE opportunities to get yourself, your book, or short story out there farther. That's right, five things you can take advantage of that are ABSOLUTELY FREE and open to you.

First, I host a Blog Talk Radio show called Write on the  Edge, where I talk with authors who write edgier projects, like GLBT material. I also cover BDSM and general Erotica authors on this show. This is a relatively new way to promo (at least for me), but it is awesome. If you are interested in scheduling an audio interview just because, or better yet, you have a project coming out, send me an email at wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com

Next, I am also helping organize a Rainbow Blog Hop for our Marketing for Romance Writers yahoo group. This Hop is for exclusively LGBT Books, but we host a different blog hop every other month. AND we are putting together a Mini-book for each Blog Hop. This opportunity is only open to members of the group, but joining MFRW is so easy (not to mention incredibly beneficial)! Again, if you are interested, contact me.

The third chance to get yourself more out there: join me on my blog, which will be starting Author Interviews again soon. (All authors I interview are permanently listed on my website also. So check that out, too at  www.wtprater.com ) I am happy to help cross-promote authors and their projects. My blog is called Just Write and SO Gay. . .and it was established with that purpose in mind. And while it was started for just GLBT writers and projects, I am now ready and willing to interview any authors who would like to be interviewed. So, holla at me if I can help.

The fourth opportunity is based on the Pay It Forward idea. You have done the impossible: You have gotten through the muck and weeds and got published. Now it is time to give back by helping the next generation of writer. The group is called Write It Forward, and it is a "For Authors, By Authors" kinda place. This IS NOT LGBT exclusive, it is a group built for ALL authors. This is an opportunity to get your name out there, but there is NO PROMO allowed in the group!

The fifth opportunity is that I have a small group of authors I meet with monthly in person. This is a chance for us to check in, checking out each other's projects, cheerlead for each other, and if needed, coach each other on how to overcome obstacles in writing.  This group is only for people who want to write seriously, not dabble in the craft. (Not that there is anything wrong with dabbling.)

So if you are interested in any or all FIVE of these FREE opportunities to expand your networking, please contact me via FaceBook, Tumbler, Twitter, or LinkedIn (I am listed as Wt Prater on all of them) or email me at wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com and I will respond as quickly as possible.

Music Monday!! Zazie . . . music to write, listen, and learn from . . .

                                                   
     I would like to introduce people to the beautiful music of Zazie. This French singer first captured my attention in 2003 when I was introduced to her song “Larsen.” I believe that Zazie’s success as an artist goes beyond her melodic voice and the almost hypnotizing music she puts to her lyrics.
     I believe that Zazie transcends the language barrier her international fans might encounter because she communicates tremendous emotion in her voice while she sings. You don’t have to be fluent in French to get the gist of what each song is trying to convey. ----Review by Amanda Miller 

At Amanda's suggestion, I started listening to Zazie and almost immediately became addicted. I researched her at  Wiki . . .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazie

And I also watched some of her videos including this one, which is beautiful and has a surprise ending which got Zazie in a lot of trouble at the time . . .

Zazie - Un point c'est toi

A few things about Zazie . . . She is known for playing with her language, which has led to the coining of the French word zazisme, or "Zazie-ism". She released Za7ie as seven different albums with a total of 49 songs. Her attitude about the GLBT community: Love is love, and all love is normal, which she states in her song "Adam et Yves"

                                                    
Zazie currently has 8 albums (One best of . . . . ), all in French, all emotionally charged, so check them out.

Write It Forward Project and thanks again. . .

"Don't write unless it's a compulsion you can't overcome."  --Author Bonnie McCune

      So . . .as many of you know, I held a workshop last weekend for people who are serious about writing and having projects published. The workshop was small and allowed for a lot of interaction regarding the research I do, which is a project I call Write It Forward.
      Nowadays, it feels like the internet is growing bigger and bigger and it is very easy to get lost. So I wanted to help however I could. And to that end I started this project. It's mission statement is very simple: To make it easier on the next generation of writers (and maybe even the current gen, too).
      So I did my first survey of writers, asking them what their most useful websites are, what blogs give great advice, and which sites they use for networking with other authors. I also asked for their advice to new authors and if they used writing tools and which ones were the most useful. Then I collected all their data and compiled it together and gave it to other authors, people who had yet to publish anything.
       Doing this survey re-enforced my feelings about my author friends being helpful and overall willing to share their experiences. But I was completely surprised how much I learned (and have to learn) by doing this survey. From the tools I didn't know existed to the blogs that will probably change my writing forever, I am so grateful to all the people who were a part of what I call "The Five" survey.
       In fact, this process has changed me so much I want to learn more and help more, so very soon I will be putting out "The Next Five" survey which will be five more questions that will help authors better navigate the waters of the web and hopefully help the Write It Forward project even farther.
       So, if you are interested in being a part of this incredible project, Join us on FaceBook (the only place the group currently exists . . .RIGHT NOW. . . .) Hope to see you there, whether you want to know something or you have something to share. 
       This will be the only place I post the answers to all the questions I ask in the survey, so please come and join us. This project I hope will be on tremendous value to me and hope to many others.

Sigur Ros, music to write to. . .for Musical Monday!

Greetings and Welcome to Music off the Mainstream. My name is Wt Prater and I am a writer. And I love music. But I do not profess to be an expert at either. I simply have a passion for both. So, thus the journey started. I wanted to find music to write to, and I found that while I could be inspired by Top 40 music, I couldn't write to it because I would find myself singing along, not digging for my own words. So, i started exploring music in Foreign languages, which leads me to my first group: SIGUR ROS.

Now the first thing I do when I find a new group is I check out Wiki, so . . . here's their entry. The main reason i do that is so that I can see with their music is available. There is nothing worse to me then hearing a song, love the artist, and then finding it impossible to find more of their music.

So, Sigur Ros . . . A friend Facebooked (is that a real verb?) one of their videos, Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa,  and almost immediately I became addicted. Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson's voice grabbed me, emotionally, and wouldn't let go. It is worth mentioning that Jonsi also has a solo career, which is worth investigating as while.

Sigur Ros - Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa (translated "nice day for airstrikes") with English subtitles

A few things about the group. . . Jonsi identifies as Bisexual, the group is very GLBT friendly, and if you want to check out Shia LaBoeuf's hot naked body doing ballet type dancing and cross dressing, check out their video, Fjogur piano . . .

Sigur Ros currently has 6 albums, all in Icelandic, all emotionally vulnerable, so check them out. I guarantee you won't regret it. 

Help Not Wanted : A Letter to the Transgender Community

     I feel like I should start this letter off by saying I am Cis-gendered male and I am gay. I have known I was gay since I was five years old and I have never yearned to be female in any way, shape or form. True, I love the female ability to dress wildly and accessorize outrageously, but I would not give up my penis for the world.

    Now, with that said, I am tired of being considered less... by my own community. Because I am  a cis (equals biological) male, I am apparently assumed to be close minded and judgmental about the other parts of the rainbow. I am told that I can never understand what it is like to be a woman, or a black man, or a transgender-ed person because I was not born any of these. I am told that I am unique because I don't take issue with racial or physical differences when looking at my friends and loved ones.

    When I suggested helping start a Transgender support group, I was told I would look like a predator or that my being there would make any trans-men feel uncomfortable.That my being there would be counterproductive of the meeting and that I would be force-ably outing the trans-men in my community. And my question is: If I am a true ally to all, why must I be made to feel that my help, my support is worthless?

   And I am not alone. I have watched as many were told, "We appreciate your support, but you don't understand what it's like?" And one can only be told that so many times before walking away, feeling useless and ashamed that there is nothing we can offer.

   We are all of a life journey to find and realize our true selves. How is it that my experiences are less valuable because I am a cis male and white? Have I never been the minority? Have I never felt unloved or unwanted? I submit that we, as a human species, are all subjected to judgment from the masses, from our families and friends. And to be told that I'm not good enough to help anyone understand is insulting and perpetuates the same anger and frustration that my transgender counterparts feel.

   As a human being, I feel that as long as we continue to fight against each other and even those willing to help, we all lose. As long as we continue to talk about how your struggle is tougher than my struggle, we are not focusing on the things that will help us grow. As long as we tell ourselves and others that their help is not needed, their advice is not wanted, and their life experiences are invalid, we deny ourselves the ability to see the common themes and change so that all people are equal, dignified, and loved.

  This is the final battle: to be able to see and accept love from all who offer it and to believe in good intent even in the hardest of lessons. We will always fight hate in it's various forms, but it is only when we forget the power and healing of love that we are truly lost.

My interview with Shannyn Schroeder

Shannyn Schroeder is the mother of three and an author. Her book, More than This, just came out and is the first of six in The O'Leary Series. Learn about how she balances her real life and her writing, her movitation, and her musical playlist. Check out my interview with her here. . .

MFRW Spotlight presents Write on the Edge w/ host Wt Prater featuring Shannyn Schroeder