What’s on my iPod: “Echo” by Jason Walker
What I’m reading: Populazzi by Elise Allen
The last person I followed on Twitter: @JGoochHummer

1.  Toby Neal on Alisha Paige’s blog Ruby Vines

Toby Neal – author of BLOOD ORCHIDS – stopped by Alisha Paige’s blog Ruby Vines to give the top 20 things she has learned as a therapist and writer! Here are the first few lessons the writer extends to readers:

1. Niceness: it DOES matter. What kind of world would this be if we all gave into our nasty, jealous, greedy, murderous, slanderous impulses? So, when in doubt be NICE and even though not everyone will like you (that’s inevitable) the world will be a pleasanter place. If you must, get those evil impulses out by writing crime novels, like I do!
2. Global Warming: if it wasn’t that, it’d be something else. Because of #3.
3. Death and Taxes: yep, no matter how you wriggle and squirm, they’ll get you in the end.
4. Gum: chew it often, it makes you smarter. Research shows it increases circulation to the brain.
5. Dreams: they aren’t just too much pizza and beer. Your subconscious is trying to communicate! Listen to it or it’ll keep tossing you off that cliff (or having that bear chase you, etc)

More on BLOOD ORCHIDS

“Blood Orchids is that rarity among debut crime novels, in that it satisfies on every level. A powerful new talent is on the scene.”
– Drew Cross, former police officer and author BiteMarks

Hawaii is palm trees, black sand and blue water— but for policewoman Lei Texeira, there’s a dark side to paradise.

Lei has overcome a scarred past to make a life for herself as a cop in the sleepy Big Island town of Hilo. On a routine patrol she finds two murdered teenagers—one of whom she’d recently busted. The girl’s harsh life and tragic death touches a chord with Lei, and she becomes obsessed with the case. The killer is drawn to her intensity and stalks her, feeding on her vulnerabilities and toying with her sanity.

Steaming volcanoes, black sand beaches and shrouded fern forests are the backdrop to Lei’s quest for answers. She finds herself falling in love for the first time—but the stalker is closer than she can imagine, and threads of the past are tangled in her future. Lei is determined to find the killer—but he already knows where she lives.

2. Dr. Mark McKee on Yahoo! Voices

Award-winning author of RAISING A SUCCESSFUL CHILDS and child psychologist Dr. Mark McKee stopped by Yahoo! Voices to give the “recipe” for success in college in his article “Dad’s Rules for Success in College“. Here are just three of the eight tips McKee said will lead to success in college:

1. Go to every class and always be a few minutes early.
2. As soon as you get the syllabus for a class, read the entire thing—Then write down every due assignment,project,and exam on a calender you will review at the beginning and end of every day.
3. Stay one week ( at least one day) ahead of the syllabus. Always read all readings prior to going to class so you are prepared. It is the professor’s job to discuss and expand on the class assignments—Not to teach you what you should learn from the readings.

More on RAISING A SUCCESSFUL CHILD

The award-winning parenting book, Raising A Successful Child (The Manual), gets to the heart of what every parent needs to know to have a warm,loving relationship with their baby and raise a happy,healthy,secure child. Based on past successful parenting practices, and even more excitingly on recent research findings that point to new directions in parenting, this book provides in clear and simple language a roadmap and tools for raising successful children. “The Manual” introduces parents to the idea of a balanced life for a child–work and play are equally important at all stages of development.

Exploring all the things that can go wrong and what families should do to avoid these problems does little to build confidence in parents or children. Unlike other books which focus on specific diagnoses or “problems,” this book is centered around the theme of building a strong and healthy parent-child relationship.

3. Nomad on Padgadget

Nomad brushes continue to create buzz on the must-have iPad and iPhone accessory lists! Check out what Padgadget had to say in their article “Must Have iPad Accessories for New iPad Owners”

The artists out there will quickly learn how amazing some of the painting, sketching and drawing apps are for the iPad. To take your artistic endeavor to the next level, pick yourself up a Nomad Brush. This fantastic paintbrush stylus will allow users to feel like they are really painting on a canvas. Created by  an artist and architect, the brush is made of natural and synthetic fibers that are highly conductive to touch screens. There are currently three styles of Nomad, short tipped, long tipped and a mini brush. They cost $24 each and can be used on any touch screen device.

Check out more info on Nomad and Nomad brushes here

 

Nomad Bonus! 

Nomad has officially announced their Compose Portrait Siri-ies Challenge! Details from Nomad below:

We have all been reading about, and interacting with, Siri since she came onto the scene last October. But who is she? What does she look like? We’ll be exploring this topic as a part of our Macworld | iWorld Tech Talks on Saturday, January 28th, but why limit the fun to Macworld attendees? We’re inviting all of our fans and enthusiasts to participate, too!

Upload your depiction of Siri (created in any medium, limited only by your imagination) by Friday, February 3 for a chance to win one of three prizes!

 

HERE ARE THE PRIZES:

1st Prize:

• A custom engraved Nomad Compose
• Your work featured here on our blog, in Nomad News, and on our Facebook page
• And, your work printed on a custom 11″ x 17″ canvas!

• 2nd Prize:

• A custom engraved Nomad Compose
• Your work highlighted here on our blog, Nomad News, and on our Facebook page

3rd Prize:

• Your work featured on our Facebook page and in Nomad News

HERE ARE THE RULES:

1. Upload your depiction of Siri by Friday, February 3.
2. Winners will be selected by the number of votes entered for each portrait, so make sure to tell your friends and family to vote for your entry!
3. You can submit as many as 5 portraits – let your imagine run free and increase your chances to win!
4. Winner is responsible for any applicable taxes, including customs duties.

We look forward to seeing all of your Portrait Siri-ies in the coming weeks, and to seeing how different (or similar!) our interpretations are! Stay connected on our Facebook page for more news and updates. And make sure to let us know if you will be at Macworld so we can watch out for you there!

Submit your entry here