[New post] Thrifty fashion: Butterflies, Vintage, and Flowers

janinekspendlove posted: "A couple of things before I get into my fashion post. First off, you know I like to run right? No? Well, I do. If you want a full report on the races I run you can read my awesome husband's running blog, RonRunsDisney.com. Also, I just did a guest post on" New post on Ailionora Thrifty fashion: Butterflies, Vintage, and Flowers by janinekspendlove A couple of things before I get into my fashion post. First off, you know I like to run right? No? Well, I do. If you want a full report on the races I run you can read my awesome husband's running blog, RonRunsDisney.com. Also, I just did a guest post on it (the latter 1/2 of the most recent post in italics - it's all about running gear) so go check it out! Yes, I know I still owe you a RavenCon wrap up.. it's coming, I promise. I started a Pinterest account, so feel free to add me there. And if you're on 365project.org, I've got a project there too (yes I know I'm behind - I'll be catching up shortly). As for War of the Seasons, book 2: The Half-Blood, it's off with my editor, as is Songs of the Seasons, song 2: White Flag. So look for them respectively in June and May. Now, how about a Thrifty fashion post? Now for a bit of Vintage, Butterflies, and Flowers! :) Source: Uploaded by user via Janine on Pinterest You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? Aren't there like a bajillion fashion blogs out there? Why do we need another? We probably don't, and I don't think I'm a fashionista at all, but apparently some of my friends and family do, and they asked me to do one, soooo... I figured this would be kind of fun to do. So there. You can see my first post HERE, where I go into the basics of my style & kind of what my shopping "motto" is (never pay full price for anything), and that patience is a virtue (wait 3 years to find a specific pair of $250 Fluevog shoes for $40? Why yes I did...) ~~~~~ Butterflies, Vintage, and Flowers Special Agenda? Casual Friday on the Hill, though I don't generally go too casual - a pretty shirt dress works for me. Blue/Green wool vintage coat, $10 (Thrift Store) Anthropologie Butterfly shirt dress, $40 (in store clearance) Banana Republic Cardigan, $10 (in store clearance) Banana Republic flowered scarf, $7 (in store sale) Banana Republic brown tights, $5 (in store sale) Green Gianni Bini ballet flats, $15 (end of season clearance) Blue Penny Blossom from BrightCopperPenny, $7.50, (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BrightCopperPenny) Total: $94.50. At full price would have been: approx $492.50. Notes: This is one of those times where patience is a virtue... I'd been eyeballing this dress at Anthropologie for months, but was unwilling to pay the $150+ price for it. Then right before Christmas it went on clearance and then a friend texted me that Anthropologie was having a 50% off all clearance items sale... MY DRESS! I brought it (and many other items) home with me, all for less than the cost of the original dress. YAY! Most of these picture were taken by my lovely friend Sara. ~~~~~ And now for my guest blogger, my dear friend Jen, who I mentioned in my first post as one of my fashion inspirations. If I have any sense of style I can point my finger squarely at her! Everyday Vintage, by Jen Wed Feb 22 5C (41F) to -2C (28F) Any Special Agenda? No, just the Usual. (The Usual Agenda is work in the form of reading/computer-stuff at home, chores, sewing, and a couple outside errands.) Light Blue Sweater, 1950s, no maker given, $42. Blue and Red Plaid Wool Blend Skirt, 1960s, no maker given, $18. Navy Button Ribbed Socks, contemporary, Sock Dreams, $16. Floral Bow Cuff Bracelet, contemporary, made by BoopyDoodle, gift. ($76) Notes: I splurged a little on the blue sweater. It has a couple features that are a bit hard to find in vintage tops: you don't have to iron it, it's not super-short, nor does it need to be tucked in. The socks are also a luxury, but since I wear skirts and dresses through the winter I want to have warm yet interesting legs. ~~~~~ And since this is a writer's blog, here are a couple handy link/blog posts I've come across or had pointed my way: -Publishers still missing the point on ebook prices. -And another from Huffington Post on ebook pricing ~~~~~ Lastly, need a copy of my books? As it happens you can buy them here. janinekspendlove | April 18, 2012 at 5:08 pm | URL: http://wp.me/p3LiH2-85 Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Ailionora. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ailionora.com/2012/04/18/thrifty-fashion-butterflies-vintage-and-flowers/

[New post] Athena’s Daughters Kickstarter Lessons Learned

janinekspendlove posted: "Wow, it's been 2 weeks since the Athena's Daughters Kickstarter, and I still feel like it JUST happened. And of course, I am still looking at the final number and going "whoa." A few people have asked me "how did you run such a successful kickstarter?" W" New post on Ailionora Athena’s Daughters Kickstarter Lessons Learned by janinekspendlove Wow, it's been 2 weeks since the Athena's Daughters Kickstarter, and I still feel like it JUST happened. And of course, I am still looking at the final number and going "whoa." A few people have asked me "how did you run such a successful kickstarter?" Well, the answer is simple. *I* didn't! It truly was a group effort, and without everyone coming together there is absolutely no way we would have gotten the word out nor interest in the project piqued. Everything from one of the authors for Apollo's Daughters tipping off someone he knew at i09, to all the authors' relentless promotion across all forms of social media, to people who stumbled across the Kickstarter page, thought it was cool and told all their friends about it, contributed greatly to the success. Read more of this post janinekspendlove | January 21, 2014 at 8:13 pm | URL: http://wp.me/p3LiH2-n6 Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Ailionora. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ailionora.com/2014/01/21/athenas-daughters-kickstarter-lessons-learned/

[New post] How to moderate a panel

janinekspendlove posted: "One of the best moments of DragonCon 2013 for me was following a Phineas and Ferb panel I had just moderated. One of the panel attendees came up to me afterward to thank me for the excellent job I'd done moderating the panel. ....WUT? Seriously??? Wow! " New post on Ailionora How to moderate a panel by janinekspendlove One of the best moments of DragonCon 2013 for me was following a Phineas and Ferb panel I had just moderated. One of the panel attendees came up to me afterward to thank me for the excellent job I'd done moderating the panel. ....WUT? Seriously??? Wow! Cool, thanks! :) Then over the course of the weekend I had several people take the time to let me know that they really appreciated my moderating at different panels, and they specifically called out the fact that I kept things on track, the atmosphere positive & inviting to comment, and I didn't let anyone take over the panel (we've all been there before...). Since then I've had a Con programming directly recently say "I wish you could teach my mod's how to properly moderate a panel."  Don't get me wrong, this is not a "oh hey look at me, I'm an awesome Mod" post, but rather a "I guess I do an OK job at the Mod gig, so I'm going to share with you what I do, since someone asked me to." And honestly it's really not that difficult. What it boils down to is communication. -When I'm asked to moderate a panel the first thing I do is research the topic (or the person if it's a Q&A) and come up with an outline/an idea of what I think the panel would like to discuss (unless it's one of those times where I find out when I show up at a panel that I'm the Mod... then I just role with it - there are always generic questions you can ask like: tell us a bit about yourself/this subject. What is most important to you about this subject/why should I care about it, etc.).   -I try to always start and end panels promptly. That shows that you respect both the panelists and the attendees. Everyone's time at a con is valuable, not just yours (for that matter, if you are a con guest - I don't care if you are the guest of honor, don't be a prima donna. You are there for the attendees/the con. The con does not exist for you). -I start the panel by announcing the subject matter, and then going over the rules. Yes, I have rules, and they are generally: 1. This is a conversation, not a "we talk and you listen" panel, so if you have something you'd like to say, please raise your hand/go up to the mic and I'll call on you so we can all benefit from what you'd got to say. 2. That said, my job is to keep us on topic and away from any rabbit holes, so if I think we're going down one, I'm going to rein us back in. 3. Please keep your thoughts short and to the point and don't dominate the conversation - everyone has something worth contributing, so please don't dominate the time. Again, it's my job to keep the panel moving so if I cut you short, please don't take it personally. 4. If you raise your hand and I don't call on you, please don't be offended. It's not that I don't value what you've got to say, it's that I'm trying to give everyone an opportunity to speak in a limited amount of time, and if you've already spoken I'm going to afford someone else the opportunity to do so first. 5. Lastly, please be respectful to each other. Everyone has an opinion and a right to that opinion. This is not the place to attack each other over differences. I know that all can come off as harsh to some, but I've found that it allows for open, safe spaces, where people feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions, and everyone gets a chance to talk. That said, it only works if you, as the Mod, actually enforce the rules.  BTW, the rules are not there to allow the Mod to force a specific/personal agenda - often we don't make it through the outline I have for a panel because the panel clearly wants to go in a different direction than what I've outlined (but still within the confines of the panel subject) and at that point, you as the Mod, need to have a good enough sense from your audience as to what they want to discuss and what they don't. Don't just listen to their words, watch their body language. Are they bored? Are they excited? You need to cue off of them. Ultimately the panel is for the audience. As long as you remember that, you'll do just fine. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Did you miss the Kickstarter for my newest anthology, Athena's Daughters, a sci-fi and fantasy collection written by women, about women? Good news, you can still order your copy here. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ And in other news, Silence in the Library Publishing has a new kickstarter - it's for an awesome graphic novel called Icarus. The story looks awesome, and the artwork is simply put, STUNNING. Check it out! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Cool stuff plug time! A solar powered flashlight that ALSO charges my phone? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!     P.S. My dad designed this flashlight, so of course it would personally mean a lot to me if you checked it out. :) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  Lastly, need a copy of one of my books or missed the pre-order for War of the Seasons: The Hunter? Don't worry, you can pick it, and my other books up here.  janinekspendlove | January 15, 2014 at 8:04 am | URL: http://wp.me/p3LiH2-mT Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Ailionora. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ailionora.com/2014/01/15/moderate-panel/

[New post] 2013 in review

janinekspendlove posted: "Oh, 2013 I am NOT sorry to see you go. We had some highs and lows together, but professionally you were great to me, so I won't complain. Soooo, let's start with January: I submitted 2 stories to anthologies and began getting a 3rd edited. I also starte" New post on Ailionora 2013 in review by janinekspendlove Oh, 2013 I am NOT sorry to see you go. We had some highs and lows together, but professionally you were great to me, so I won't complain. Soooo, let's start with January: I submitted 2 stories to anthologies and began getting a 3rd edited. I also started writing the final novel in the War of the Seasons trilogy, The Hunter, (something I was both excited and scared to do) I also began putting together my first anthology, A Hero by Any Other Name, which was a bit scary, but fun at the same time - it's was something I'd never done before. I  also attended the Presidential inauguration (a first for me!) and visited SEVERAL countries for the first time: Algeria, Cyprus, Germany (where I met Vice President Biden!), Israel, Morocco, and Turkey (where I met Vice President Biden!). All in all, a VERY busy month. Read more of this post janinekspendlove | January 1, 2014 at 6:57 pm | URL: http://wp.me/p3LiH2-mF Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Ailionora. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ailionora.com/2014/01/01/2013-review/