Posts Tagged Madeira
Linktree, Amazon Book Recommendations and a Competition
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Promotion, Resources, Short Story on March 26, 2024
Most writers have a presence on several social media sites as well as an Amazon page, a website and possibly other types of internet presence as well. We want to make ourselves easy to find and contact via whichever channel our readers prefer. However, listing all these links in a profile or biography looks messy, as well as using up valuable characters where there is a length limitation. 
To solve this problem I’ve recently started using Linktree. Linktree provides one link to insert into your bio, profile or social media post. When clicked, the link will take users to a list of all the ways to connect or contact you. To see a working example, click through to my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/sallysjenkins7. There are various price points offered by Linktree but the basic version (which I’m using) is free. If you’re fed up of listing your different internet connection points, it might be worth a try? One piece of advice if you do set it up: I found that the second half of the link (sallysjenkins7 in my case) needs to be first part of your email address.
One of the things included in my Linktree is my Amazon Author Page. Amazon now encourage authors to add book recommendations to their page. These recommendations can include your own books and those of other authors. Amazon says, “If you submit at least three or more new book recommendations, we will consider sending your recommendations to your followers through email and/or push notifications.” For an example of what these recommendations look like, click through to my page and scroll down. It’s then possible to scroll across the page to see all my recommendations. I’ve done six, three of mine and three from other authors.
The New Writers 1000-Word Short Story Competition 2024 is open for entries until April 30th 2024. There is a top prize of £1,000, a second prize of £300 and a third prize of £200. The entry fee is £10.00 and £1.00 from each entry goes to First Story (England’s leading creative writing charity for young people). There is a 1,000 word limit and stories can be on any theme. Remember to check the full terms and conditions before entering. Subscribers to the NewWriters.org.uk monthly newsletter gain access to exclusive free-to-enter micro, flash and poetry competitions (with cash prizes), book giveaways and the latest writing competition listings.
Finally, the cat illustrating this post, was spotted on a holiday to Madeira earlier this month. My daughter thinks he looks evil. What do you think?
Fundação Livraria Esperança – Madeira
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Travel on March 8, 2017
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and don’t judge a shop by its entrance. Down a backstreet in Funchal this unpromising doorway led to a giant of a bookshop. There were books displayed in twenty rooms across several floors. It was an Aladdin’s cave – I only wish there’d been more than a handful in English!
This book shop is special because all the books are displayed by cover, not spine. So it’s possible to easily see the front cover of every book. The shop was founded in 1886 and has been within the same family ever since. There are around seventy different literary sections covering subjects such as Economics, Childrens, History, Education etc. etc. Even if (like me) you don’t speak Portugese it’s fun to wander around spotting best-selling author names such as John Grisham and the like. And the notices by the door are in English.
For more information see the shop’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FundacaoLivrariaEsperanca/
Thoughts from Madeira
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Travel on February 28, 2016
I’m just back from a week in Madeira.
Before I went I selected a brand new empty notebook from my stash and packed it in my suitcase – ready to fill with wonderful words as I basked in foreign climes. The notebook has returned completely empty. I didn’t write a single word.
But I’m not counting that as a failure. We also took far fewer pictures than usual on holiday. I’d like to think that instead of making a point of recording everything in pictures or words, we were actually living in the moment (and enjoying it!). I have returned with memories of some of the emotions I felt whilst on holiday and I’m hopeful that I can draw on these to add depth to my fiction when trying to imagine how a character might feel in a particular situation. For example:
- The nausea I felt when the pilot tried to land at Funchal airport in high winds (the landing was aborted 3 times before we diverted to Faro). The plane was buffeted from side to side and I had to locate the sick bag, just in case!
- The claustrophobic fear that overcame me when we walked through a 1.4 km long tunnel. It was pitch black, the low, rough ceiling forced us to bend over and we had one tiny torch between us. My husband banged his head and had blood trickling down his face when we finally emerged into the light and … realised we’d gone the wrong way – we should have turned down a path before the tunnel.
- The respect and admiration that was due to the native Madeirans who are trying to eke a living by farming small plots of land on the steep hillsides. They have to walk a long way along steep, rough paths to get to their land and then pay for water from the levadas to irrigate their crops.
It can be good to relish the moment and store away those feelings to pull out a later date.
What about you – do you write whilst on holiday?
Sally Jenkins 