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Jodi Desautels Promotes Herself, Her Books, Her Websites, and Her Links

5/14/2014

Hello everyone. I decided that I would market myself and my books today. I haven't done it in quite a while. So, I thought I would take a moment to tell you what I am up to now a days.
I currently have three published books as you can see from the poster. I hope you will check them out. I am also running a chance to win one of my books OR get ONE HOUR of FREE ONLINE TUTORING. You can check out DUO Education's Learning Blog for more information.
Speaking of online tutoring, now is the time to sign up for extra help during the summer. Don't let your child fall behind or lose skills during the summer. Sign up now!
I currently post three blogs a week. I have this author blog, DUO Education's Learning Blog, and Story Starters and Writing Prompts. I hope you will check them out each week.
I am still working on a new schedule for myself, as well as new ways promoting myself and my work. If you have any ideas, I am happy to hear them. Also, in case you don't have them, here is a list of my links. I hope you will get in touch. Thank you.

My Links:
Websites:
www.AuthorJodiDesautels.com
www.ClarindaCloud.com
www.DUOEducation.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/jodi.desautels.author.illustrator.educator
www.facebook.com/Author.Illustrator.Educator.JodiDesautels
www.facebook.com/pages/DUO-Education/421960901218609

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/J_Desautels

Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/108130827656213063141/posts

About.me:
http://about.me/jodidesautels

Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/jodidesautels/

Author Page on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Jodi-Desautels/e/B00B4BXUS8

Sell Links:
Clarinda Cloud:
http://www.amazon.com/Clarinda-Cloud-Jodi-Desautels/dp/1482010607

Clarinda Cloud Activity Book:
http://www.amazon.com/Clarinda-Cloud-Activity-Book-Desautels/dp/1490399011

Johnny’s Adventure Makes Reading Fun:
http://www.amazon.com/Johnnys-Adventure-Makes-Reading-Fun/dp/148398835X

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Sandra L. Portman Guest Posts about How to Make Interactive Ebooks

11/27/2013

1 Comment

Hello everyone! I would like to introduce to you, children's author, Sandra Portman! She has some interesting information on how to make e-books interactive for children. I can't wait to try this out! Thank you, Sandra!

Now that I am retired, I get to play and do things I couldn't do while I was raising a family and working. I guess it's not so much that I couldn't do them, but there never seemed to be enough time and I really wanted to concentrate on my children and my husband. I worked long hours and I spent most of my free time cooking and baking fresh food for the family.

Now that I have "all the time in the world," I wanted to explore my childhood love of reading and writing. Back then, I spent a lot of time with friends making up stories and games for our never-ending list of clubs. I don't remember why this was so important to us, but we always had a new club for some new adventure or hobby. We even made invitations for the new club and went through the neighborhood inviting other kids to join.

My second venture into writing for children came with a new series for pre-school children. I wanted to explore the use of interactive functions within digital books. I could just imagine the fun kids would have choosing the correct answer and clicking on a button. All I needed was bright, colorful pictures ad buttons. Starting from birth, these books could start out with just the pictures from which the kids would learn subliminally.

This would have been a nice series of books for each stage of learning up to kindergarten, but I thought it would be much more fun to have all the books in one volume. Each of my children had a favorite book during those years that they wanted to read all the time. As parents, we quickly become bored and tired of the favorite book, but they don't.

To take advantage of this favorite reading habit of young children, all I did was extend the early concepts to take advantage of the levels of learning from birth to age four. This meant children would have their favorite book with all their favorite pictures that grows with them.

There are two books in the series to learn the numbers and the alphabet. Each book has four levels of learning:

Birth to age one: The goal is to respond to pictures by copying sounds and pointing and patting the pictures.
Up to age three: Answer questions, identify pictures, and attempt to read with "pretend reading."
At age three, children are ready to read by themselves, and perform activities for longer periods of time.
Age four is when children begin to recognize familiar signs and labels, and make up silly phrases and rhymes. At this age, most children can count to ten.

Developing the Books

I don't use fancy software or tools when writing my books. All my books are written using Microsoft Word. In this series, the first two levels mainly use pictures and pointing to introduce children to the concept of numbers and the alphabet. In "Learn the Numbers," level 3 is used to teach children to point to each number in a collage of numbers and say the number.

In level 4, children are introduced to counting. They are presented with multiple pictures on a page and given a multiple choice answer. To answer the question, they press the correct button that corresponds to the number of pictures. If the correct button is pressed to answer the question, they proceed to the next question. If the answer is not correct, they are given the opportunity to answer the question again.

To create this type of book, it's easiest to create a data flow showing where you will take the reader when a button is used. You have two choices, a correct and an incorrect answer. These will be defined in the document with the Insert: Bookmark feature and the Insert: Hyperlink feature. These features are added after your book is completed. Whether you're creating an interactive fiction book or an interactive non-fiction book, create the appropriate headings for the functions. These headings will be used for linking.

Bookmark Feature

The bookmark feature will be used as the target - it's where you want to link to. It's the destination for the reader after they click on a link in the book. The first step is to tag the chapter or section headings in the body as bookmarks. The links are added later.

In my "Learn the Numbers" book, each multiple choice answer must lead the reader to a function; either the answer is correct or it is not. One answer will take the reader to a new section for the next question; the other two buttons will take the reader to the error message section.

Go to each chapter or section in your document, highlight the title, and click on Insert: Bookmark. Give your chapter/section a name and click add. Bookmarks cannot have spaces or odd characters. As an example, if you are adding a bookmark for the title, "This is Question 3," you can create a bookmark for "ThisIsQuestion3," or "this_is_question_3."

Linking to Bookmarks

In my example above, I have a multiple choice answer with three buttons. For each button, highlight the button, right click and select Hyperlink. When a new box opens, click on "Place in Document" on the left menu. You will now see your bookmarks listed in the main window. Select the bookmark to be used and click OK. Repeat this process for all the bookmarked chapters/sections in the document.

Testing Your Links

This is the tedious part, but must be completed to ensure all the links work. Click on each link and make sure it goes to the correct location. If it jumps to the top of your document, it means you are not linking to a valid bookmark. Make sure you're not linking above or below the target destination.

The last step is to test for hidden bookmarks, which can corrupt your document. To locate them, click on Insert: Bookmark and click on the Hidden bookmarks option. Try turning it off and on look for any bookmarks that start with an underline, such as "_Hlt30xxxx" Click the name of the hidden bookmark, then click the delete button on the right to permanently delete it.

Interactive Fiction Books

My new series, "Nathan, Family & Friends" are fiction stories around 2K words. In 2014 I am going to explore the use of interaction to have the reader decide where the story should go. For example, what happens to a character when different choices are made? This simulates real life and will help children learn to think before taking actions which could negatively affect their life.

Sandra's blog: www.sandralportman.com

You can also find her on her social media sites at:
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter
Pinterest

Here are images of Sandra's books. You can press on the images to see them listed on Amazon. You can read the reviews, read the descriptions, see the rankings, and even purchase your own copies.

Notes, Announcements, and Shout Outs

*There is still time to win a copy of the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book." You can find out more information on how to win on this post. Also, Clarinda Cloud reveals more hints as to where the waterfall is on her new "Clarinda Cloud's Feelings Blog."

*I forgot to tell you, Clarinda Cloud has her own blog now! She is going to blog every Wednesday, just like me! Her blog is about feelings. Some of her blogs will be children's books promotions by talking about the character's feelings. If you are interested in having your children's book promoted, please contact me.

*I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Hanukkah this week!

Shout Outs

*My friend, Virginia Wright, has a book titled, "The Chrismas Secret." It is a wonderful children's story with a great Christmas message. Press the link to see the book on Amazon. Maybe I can even get her to guest blog for me here, so you can get to know her better.

*This shout out is for someone who can greatly help authors. It goes out about Choice Social Media Management. Marie Anne is very helpful! She has helped me quite a bit this week!

*My friend, Joyce Van Kirk, has an adorable little book titled, "The Six Forest Friends." The little animals are so cute! And... the message of friendship is a breath of fresh air!

1 Comment

New Release: "Dylan and the Croak Orleans Gang" by Rhonda Patton... as well as Notes, and Shout outs

11/20/2013

2 Comments

Hi everyone! Today, I want to tell you about a new release by Rhonda Patton titled, "Dylan and the Croak Orleans Gang." Rhonda's husband, Chester McDaniel is the illustrator of the book and makes the story come alive with his drawings.
"Dylan and the Croak Orleans Gang" is about a frog who has a dream of playing music in the city of Croak Orleans. Ride along with him to see who he meets and if his dream comes true!
I had the pleasure of formatting this book and have enjoyed reading the story! It is available on Amazon.com or Create Space.
Rhonda Patton is the author of quite a few other books as well! You can check them out at www.thecroak500.com!

Notes and Announcements:

I have quite a few notes and announcements today! The first two concern fabulous news for Clarinda Cloud! Clarinda Cloud will be making an appearance in a cute little Christmas movie titled, "Quigley's Christmas Adventure!" I am very excited and honored to be a small part of this film! I have been promoting it and did a blog post about it not long ago! I think this could be great exposure for Clarinda Cloud, her book, her website, and her brand!
The movie is currently in it's second fundraising campaign. If you would like to help it in any way... you can go to it's new site at www.fnd.us/c/fe2o9. (It may look like a broken link. But... if you push the "home" tab and then search "Quigley"... it will bring you to the correct page.)
The other news about Clarinda Cloud is that she is going to have her own blog! It will be in her voice! Among other things, she will talk about characters and their feelings in children's/MG/YA books to help promote them for their authors. I am hoping it will be a great blog for both parents and children! And, if you are an author of a book in one of these categories, please contact me about possibly promoting your book!

Don't forget to comment for a chance to win a free copy of the Clarinda Cloud Activity Book. I will send a copy to one person who can tell me the name of this waterfall! I will give you a hint. It is in my home state of Vermont. I will give you another hint... It is listed on this list. (I love waterfalls!) Even if you do not know, please comment a name of an elementary school, library, daycare, or children's counselor where I should donate a copy.

Shout outs:

I hope to give a few author or book shout outs in each blog post. If you are an author who wants an interview, book promotion, or shout out....please contact me!

*My friend, author Angie Harris, just got a B.R.A.G. medal for her children's book, "Momma's Little Helpers! Congrats Angie!

*My new friend, Nanlie Sealy and her granddaughter will be doing a book signing and reading of their book "Freddy the White Flamingo" at the Barnes and Noble children's hour from 10:00 to 1:00 on 120th and Washington in Denver, Colorado! You can connect with Nanlie on Facebook under her other name of Lizzie T. Leaf for more information!

*My friend, Ayana Sala Baugh, is holding auditions for: The Loopiehotamus "I Am Not Afraid" musical stage play! So....exciting from this author! She put out this announcement on Facebook: We had a great first audition yesterday for The Loopiethotamus "I Am Not Afraid" Musical Stage Play. So much awesome talent was displayed. I am so excited to continue hosting private auditions until March 1, 2013. If you are interested in auditioning for this play, please contact Author, Ayana Sala Baugh at 804-552-0193 or ayana@loopiethotamus.com. More info on the website: http://www.loopiebooks.com/.

2 Comments

Kelly Hagen's Interview of me for "Clarinda Cloud," Book Giveaway, Shout out about Author Friends

11/13/2013

8 Comments

Hi everyone! I have been interviewed lately on a friend's blog. I would like to thank, Kelly Hagen for the lovely interview. And, hope that you all will go to her site and check it out. at Author Kelly Hagen. Kelly did a wonderful job with the interview.
Networking is very important for authors, especially Indie Authors, like myself. Sometimes it is difficult work and sometimes it is a blast. You meet all kinds of nice people. I enjoy meeting people.
Author Rodica Iova has also been kind enough to post my books on her pages. Here is the link to "Down the Chimney Penguin Joe'" Facebook page. (That is the title of one of her lovely books.) There she has the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book" featured. And...check out the illustration of her penguins! They are so cute! They make me want to read her book! Thank you for posting, Rodica.
I have another friend who just got a new logo for her author page, www.thecroak500.com. Check it out! Rhonda Patton is also a children's author. She has many more books out than I do. And, she loves to market and promote! She is a great resource for all authors.
And, I have another friend who is having a "Release Party" this weekend. If you are near Wakefield, MA on Saturday afternoon... it should be a blast! I hope you will stop by! Here is the link for the Release Party Event for more information. And, what book is she celebrating? Why, "Journey to Jazzland" of course! Great book for music lovers and especially music teachers! Check out her cool site! I wish I were closer to Wakefield, so I could go to the party this weekend.

Giveaway

Authors also will often run giveaways. I am no different! I am giving away a copy of the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book."
I am trying to make it fun by placing a picture of the cover in another image and having people guess where it may be. Do you know where this waterfall is? If you do, please comment the answer below. If you do not, please comment with the name of an elementary school, library, daycare, or children's counselor where you think I should donate the book if nobody guesses the correct answer. (Please, only U.S. addresses at this time.) Go ahead and comment! Make this a fun contest! Thank you!

8 Comments

Where in the World is Clarinda Cloud?... And Clarinda Cloud as a Spokescloud

11/6/2013

5 Comments

Hi everyone! Last month I started a monthly giveaway from now until the end of the year. Nobody guessed where Clarinda Cloud was, so I will be donating a copy of "Clarinda Cloud" to a library. By the way, she was at Hartman's Farm Stand in Sheldon, Vermont. (Please stop in, if you are in the area. They have great produce. And, no, I am not related nor do I get paid in anyway for saying that.)
Time for another book giveaway contest! As you can see the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book" is Photoshopped into a picture of a waterfall. Which waterfall is it? Do you know? Where in the world is Clarinda Cloud? Please comment your answer for a chance to get a free copy and if you don't know, please just comment the name of the elementary school, daycare, library, or children's counselor in the U.S. where you would want me to donate it if nobody guesses. (U.S. addresses only at this time, please.) Good luck!

What Else Have I Been Doing?

What else have I ben doing? I am glad you asked. LOL! I have been promoting Clarinda Cloud as spokescloud for Anti-bullying and Bullying Prevention issues.
There is so much bullying these days. Clarinda Cloud wants to help... and so do I! We are trying to raise awareness and give ways to prevent bullying.
October was "Anti-bullying and bullying awareness month." During the month, I created some posters like the one shown here featuring Clarinda Cloud. Please go to www.ClarindaCloud.com or www.DUOEducation.com to search for them. And, if you know away that Clarinda Cloud and I can help, please comment below or contact me. Thank you!

5 Comments

Where in the World is Clarinda Cloud?

10/9/2013

6 Comments

Hi everyone! I would like to introduce a new contest to you. It is called... "Where in the World is Clarinda Cloud?"
I thought this would be a fun way to get some interaction and to get some awareness about this great character and the books in which she is featured. So, each month I will put a picture of one of the books that features Clarinda Cloud on this site and ask where she is. I will send a copy of that book to the first person who can tell me the specific location of this picture.
Don't have a use for a children's book? That is okay. I am doing the same contest on DUO Education, my educational site, on the DUO Education Learning Blog as well. Who ever comments correctly on the DUO Education Learning Blog... can have the book sent to the elementary school, library, daycare, or child counselor of his or her choice.
Yes, this site will be competing against DUO Education as well! There will be one book sent out per month.
Don't know the location????? Comment anyway! Tell me the elementary school, library, or child counselor to which I should send the book. I will the ideas from this site and the ideas from the blog on DUO Education in a hat and choose one!
Please know that this is a trial contest. I will do it for the rest of this year and re-evaluate. Thank you!
Open to only U.S. addresses only at this time, thank you! Good luck!

6 Comments

Me on "Books Over Breakfast"

10/2/2013

0 Comments

Hi. Today I am posting the interview I had on WCAX's segment called "Books Over Breakfast" this morning. I talked about my books "Clarinda Cloud" and "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book." I also mentioned my new site featuring Clarinda Cloud.... www.ClarindaCloud.com. Please check it out! I hope you enjoy it!
Was I tired? YES! Was I nervous? YES! Would I do it again? YES! It was a great learning experience and author experience!
You can watch the clip hear or go to http://www.wcax.com/story/23588471/books-over-breakfast-clarinda-cloud.

WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

0 Comments

My First TV Interview!

9/18/2013

2 Comments

Hi everyone! I have some exciting news!!! I had my first television interview on Sunday night! I was on my local access channel, VCAM, channel 15.
I was interviewed by Cathy Hartley on her program, Art Break. We are both kind of beginners at the whole TV scene. But... we had fun and we look forward to doing it again! I have been told that it was pretty good!
It was strange. I wasn't nervous all week prior to the interview. Then, that night, I was really nervous. I am thankful that Cathy did a great job at calming me down. I appreciate it! Yes... I was still a little nervous, but not nearly as much!
On the show, I talked about my children's books: "Clarinda Cloud," "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book," and "Johnny's Adventure Makes Reading Fun." Our discussion led to their educational and psychological value. I also talked about my passion for education and my educational site, DUO Education. And, of course, I talked about some of my pages and services on the DUO Education site, such as: "The Storyteller's Tale webinar series," "Online Tutoring," and the "DUO Education Learning Blog."
If you are local to Vermont and happened to see it, please leave me a comment or contact me! If you didn't see it, I am hoping to get a DVD copy and then figuring out a way to post a copy or a blip of it on some of my sites. So...stay tuned on more information on that!
I want to thank Cathy for having me on her show! Also... if you are a local artist, author, musician, etc. you can contact Cathy about being on her show by emailing her at artbreakvt@gmail.com.

2 Comments

Author Visit at Bixby Memorial Library: July 2013

7/24/2013

2 Comments

Hi. I just thought I would share some pictures of my author visit at the Bixby Memorial Library in Vergennes. As you may recall, I read "Clarinda Cloud" (shown in the photo at the left) and gave children activity sheets from my latest book, the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book" to enjoy. In the afternoon, I did a presentation on self-publishing. I also want to thank all the people who made this day an enjoyable day for me!

My display for the reading of "Clarinda Cloud"

A child posed with me

"Clarinda Cloud Activity Book" fun!

My display at the presentation on self-publishing

The people who joined me at the presentation on self-publishing at the table with me

Me signing one of my books for someone who bought it

I had a blast that day! I want to thank all the people at the Bixby Memorial Library for inviting me and making my visit a success! I would also like to thank all the participants at both presentations that day!
If you know of a library or bookstore that would like one of my books or that would like me to come for an author visit, please contact me. Thank you!

2 Comments

Author Blog Hop for Children's Authors, MG Authors, and YA Authors

7/17/2013

4 Comments

Hi everyone. I have been asked and tagged to participate in a blog hop for children's authors, MG authors, and YA authors. I have been tagged by children's author and illustrator Virginia Wright. In order to participate, I answer some interview questions and tag three other authors. You can find Virginia's blog and answers at http://virginiawright.com/blog/.

Here are the interview questions and my answers:

1. What are you working on right now?
I seem to have "many pots in the fire" right now. I just had my first author visit at a local library, which I will post about at another time. So, that has kept me busy. I am also looking for other libraries and for bookstores who would like an author visit from me. I have been working on my education site, DUO Education, at www.DUOEducation.com. I also have other children's books to illustrate and some ideas to write more. On top of all that, I am trying something new and working on a YA novel. I have been busy and excited!

2. How does it differ from other works in it's genre?
The YA novel I am working on is about a girl who gets emotionally abused from her parents. I believe it is an important subject as people do not usually take it as seriously as other forms of abuse, because there are often no outward lying scars. I haven't seen any books like this out.

3. Why do you write what you do?
I write, because I enjoy it! I write the "things I write" because, I either find them to be educational or relatable in some way...as well as enjoyable or interesting. Education is another one of my passions, so some of my books will have an educational component. Others, are things that are relatable, which I feel is very important in a book.

4. How does your writing process work?
I guess I do not have a specific writing process. I write when I have an idea or feel like writing. I illustrate as I build skills and feel like illustrating...or have something to illustrate. I try to market, network, promote, and learn new strategies always! It is difficult sometimes to find a healthy balance of all that writers do. But.... I am learning and working on it!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I would like to thank Virginia for tagging me and thank all of you for stopping by. Please stop by her blog, the blogs of the people I tag (Lisa Cole Orchard, Laura Wintczak Eckroat, and Wendy Nystrom), and the blog of other people in the hop. (The people I have tagged will post theirs next week.) Please show your support by leaving a comment as you hop from site to site! Thank you.
You can find the websites of the people I have tagged by either pressing their names above or by going to the following websites:
*Lisa Cole Orchard's site: lisaorchard.wordpress.com
*Laura Wintczak Eckroat's site: http://lauraeckroat.blogspot.com
*Wendy's site: http://wendysbookcase.com/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While you are here, please explore the site! You can read more about my books here. They are available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online retailers. Please search: "Clarinda Cloud," "Johnny's Adventure Makes Reading Fun," and "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book." You can buy all of these books from this page on my site. Also, please check out my education site, DUO Education at www.DUOEducation.com. Thank you!

*Notice: I am always interested in giving new and talented artists a chance to illustrate one of my books for their portfolio. If you are interested, please contact me. I cannot pay anything at this moment, but will do what I can to promote your work and help get you exposure.

4 Comments

<<Previous

Jodi Desautels Promotes Herself, Her Books, Her Websites, and Her Links

Sandra L. Portman Guest Posts about How to Make Interactive Ebooks

Notes, Announcements, and Shout Outs

New Release: "Dylan and the Croak Orleans Gang" by Rhonda Patton... as well as Notes, and Shout outs

Notes and Announcements:

Shout outs:

Kelly Hagen's Interview of me for "Clarinda Cloud," Book Giveaway, Shout out about Author Friends

Giveaway

Where in the World is Clarinda Cloud?... And Clarinda Cloud as a Spokescloud

What Else Have I Been Doing?

Where in the World is Clarinda Cloud?

Me on "Books Over Breakfast"

My First TV Interview!

Author Visit at Bixby Memorial Library: July 2013

A child posed with me

Author Blog Hop for Children's Authors, MG Authors, and YA Authors

Jodi Desautels

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Jodi Desautels… bringing you books that are inspirational, educational, and relatable!