Tag Archive: Mylar balloons


The Virtues of Self-hosting?

Filed under: authors, balloons, marketing, Publishing, science fiction / fantasy, Writing — Leave a comment
October 14, 2024

 

 

Barbara Custer loves Mylar balloonsand horror fiction.Back in September 2012, I began to self-host my websites, extolling the virtues of self-hosting in a blog. Well, two weeks ago, I quit self-hosting my website and moved it back to WordPress. My Mylar balloons have been urging me to do so, but I had two book releases forthcoming, so I gutted it out until the books went live. I struggled for months with the technical end of it and foresaw more expenses to keep it going. My watershed moment came when I realized I was going to be paying over a thousand dollars this year to maintain the website. Also, my site got hit by malware twice in the last year despite the security measures I’d taken. The balloons had it right, I thought. So much for the virtues of self-hosting.

Around the time I saw the exhorbitant bill, I got an ad from WordPress offering to migrate my website to their server for free if I subscribed to their business plan ($300/year). WordPress would handle the security measures, the updates, the technical glitches. I could go about my business of writing, publishing new books, and editing the magazine Night to Dawn.

Ah, but there are no free lunches or balloons. Some of my beloved plugins went bye-bye, but thankfully, the ones at WP worked for me. After migration, I ran into a snag and learned that Parabola, the theme I used, had vulnerabilities with security, so it would need to go. That meant finding a new theme and redesigning my website. I wanted a theme that would work like Parabola. Not too many did, and some came with a learning curve. Astra looked great until I tried ordering the pro version, but the company that issues Astra didn’t have a user-friendly website. On to Motion theme, issued by WordPress.

Ah, now, the fun begins. The Mylar balloons and I spent the next three days searching out backgrounds on www.Dreamstime.com. Found several and author L. M. Labat helped me pick one that would work. Next came the job of choosing a font—there are a gazillion fonts—large and readable. Motion came with a white font, which I changed to black for the main body. Next came the purchase of Fonts Plugin Pro, which helped a lot. The website is now secure, as security is WordPress’s headache. I’m in a better place, though the balloons are begging me to swap out that green font for the links and replace it with light purple or blue.

Your thoughts?

Tags: , , ,
Comment

Here There Be Ghosts

Filed under: Writing — Leave a comment
October 27, 2023

Halloween’s coming, and I’d like to share something that makes my skin crawl. Aside from skeletons, ghosts on the walls give me the creeps. Dat’s wight, wabbits, here there be ghosts. At least, that’s my thought when I get a gander at the moonlit shadows waltzing on the walls. Take a good looksee at the photo above and tell me this doesn’t remind you of ghosts. Some specters are beneficent and will watch over you or give you good advice. They might communicate through a medium. Mylar balloons are excellent mediums for spirits to speak, and I often get advice about my diet. Because of early-stage macular degeneration, I gotta limit my sugar intake, and I’ve taken a severe reaming from the balloons or the spirits in them when I strayed from the diet. The main character in my WIP uses balloons to communicate with her dead mother and other late folks who guide her.

However, not all ghosts are kind, and I suspect those on the walls are brutish. I’ve been petrified of those white shadows since I was a kid. Why, I couldn’t tell you. The moonlight never bothered me when I used to drive at night. Maybe because a moving car gave me security. The moonlight in the picture is coming through a window. The window serves as an open gate for these ghosts. Worse are the thin slits of wall shadow seen when curtains breeze apart and when a moving car’s headlights send these figures scurrying along the wall.

I have privacy film and thick curtains in my bedroom to block the moonlight. I used to cover my window with a heavy sheet. On a high note, those reflections gave me plenty of grist for horrific scenes in my stories.

People tell me there are no ghosts on the wall. Enjoy the moonlight; it’s good for you, they say. Intellectually, I know this to be true; however, my heart thuds at seeing those whitish shapes on the wall.

So now, what gives y’all the creeps? I’d love to hear your stories. 🙂

Here There Be Ghosts
Tags: , , ,
Comment

Romancing the Balloons

Filed under: Artists, authors, balloons, Healthcare, people, Publishing, romance, science fiction / fantasy, Writing — 4 Comments
October 14, 2020
Barbara Custer's brand

Since April, when I wrote my first post on the pandemic, gyms and hair salons have reopened, albeit with restrictions. Some of my friends are jumping into activities full force. Others remain in quarantine. Per the discussions with my Mylar balloons, the activities are okay if I can take the risk from a level 10 to a level two. Romancing the balloons at the supermarkets and pharmacies hasn’t stopped; my balloons deemed that activity a level two.

I’ve gone back to my hairstylist, but not the gym. I do ZOOM workouts while Daisy, my Mylar butterfly, becomes my trainer, coaching me on which weights to use. If she thinks I’m slacking off, she lets me know about it. I contemplated getting a traditional trainer, but I have what I need at home.

The pandemic has colored the way I write. My WIP involves a highly contagious virus that had a way larger death toll than corona. This means that, as in real life, my characters have to struggle to find a store that sells toilet paper, disinfectant, and other supplies they need. As in real life, my protagonist has Mylar balloons to guide her on her daily activities.

Since the pandemic started, I’ve noticed that driving’s gone downhill. I’ve seen people blow through red lights and make U-turns on four-lane thoroughfares, despite heavy traffic. Friends tell me that some folks think nothing of driving 100 miles per hour on the turnpike. About a month ago, a van came up to my right to make a U-turn and almost plowed into me. I had to get off the road. So I’ve used the back roads and avoid rush hour traffic as much as possible. The Mylar balloon principle applies: take the risk from a level 10 to a level two.

I never know when I’ll find a unique Mylar balloon. Maybe I’ll go to CVS to pick up a prescription, and a Valentine’s day balloon with lace will beckon from the card aisle. Perhaps I’ll go to the supermarket for bread and milk. If supplies hold up, I’ll get them, but a balloon, soft as a kitten paw, will make its way into my shopping cart. The balloons go into an isolation area for 72 hours at home, then joins the others in my living room.

How are you getting through the pandemic? I’d love to hear your experiences.

A $10 Amazon gift card will be sent to a random commenter after the bloghop.

Tags: , ,
Comment

Killing your Darlings

Filed under: Artists, authors, balloons, marketing, people, Publishing, science fiction / fantasy, Writing — 4 Comments
October 12, 2020

This year, I’ve been taking Your Novel Year with Kathryn Craft, and among other things, I am learning what it means to kill your darlings. No, not my balloons. My Mylar balloons are darlings, and they’re staying right where they are. I’m referring to the darling scenes I have in my WIP. 

The trouble was, my WIP had two protagonists. I started the book with one, Alexis. Maddie was a bit character who sought help from the underground Kryszka people with treatment for her husband’s sickness. However, Maddie wound up stealing the show and became a protagonist. I tried writing with two protagonists, but you can only have one, I found out. Readers will usually sympathize with the character they meet first. I had introduced the villain first, and after a class or two under my belt, I realized I couldn’t do that. So I started with Maddie kicking zombie ass.

After consultation with Kathryn, I saw that I had to completely restructure my book. Several good scenes had to go, as they had nothing to do with Maddie’s goal. What’s more, I had 114,000 words in the book, and genre books shouldn’t be longer than 100K words. So a love scene between Alexis and her partner went. So did a scene where Maddie visits her nephew in prison. It was a touching scene, but it didn’t further the story or relate to Maddie’s goal. 

However, new scenes have cropped up that I like better than the discarded scenes. For starters, Maddie develops a spine and tells off her heartless boss. Now, I may have to change that scene again, but we’ll see. And the Mylar balloons in the story get to stay. There is that. I strongly recommend Kathryn’s course. She’s been running it once a year.

How many times have you had to kill your darlings? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

A $10 Amazon gift card will be sent to a random commenter after the bloghop.

horror fiction by Allan Heller
Tags: , ,
Comment

The Great Pumpkin—Exploring the Senses

Filed under: Artists, authors, food and drink, Publishing, science fiction / fantasy, Writing — 8 Comments
October 10, 2020
horror tales by Barbara Custer and other authors

Amidst my counting masks, paper products, and other supplies to wither the Great Pandemic, my butterfly Mylar balloon whispered, “How about baking a cheesecake? A pumpkin cheesecake. After all, it’s that time of the year.”

“What time of the year?” I rolled my eyes.

“The Great Pumpkin’s coming.”

My balloon had it right. So I started the balloon floating with a pumpkin-flavored latte at Starbucks. Next, a trip to Bath & Body Works for pumpkin-scented soap and hand sanitizer. If I have to use it, I might as well smell like pumpkin.

I’ve got pumpkin-flavored coffee, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin Cheerios. The pumpkin cheesecake tasted better than I remember. I will make a stop at Wawa for the pumpkin smoothies. I’m going for all the senses, so I’ve got room deodorizers and beads to keep the pumpkin scent going between baking brigades. There’s pumpkin-flavored ice cream for sale somewhere. I’m also contemplating a recipe for pumpkin soup. Last year, when I volunteered at the Ben Wilson Senior Center, someone made pumpkin soup. It smelled oh, so good, but it was made with regular flour, so my version will be GF.

Why the fixation with pumpkin? The smell of pumpkin is associated with Thanksgiving and autumnal harvest — a historically prosperous time of year. Pumpkin connotes comfort and warmth as we head into fall and colder weather. Pumpkin pie has become a traditional family recipe, so I think family and love when I smell pumpkin. Contemplate a famous scene in Proust’s masterpiece, “Remembrance Of Things Past,” where the narrator eats a madeleine cookie, and it seems as if he’s transported back to another time and place. Perhaps this happens to me when I have my pumpkin treats. Pumpkin spice takes me back to Thanksgiving as a child, when my mom baked pumpkin pie from scratch. In those days, we didn’t have to worry about Corona. Mom and Pop stores were thriving, and you didn’t have to go through a lot of rigmarole to buy stuff so long as you had the cash.

It could be I just love the smell of pumpkin spice.

With that in mind, I’ll keep my eyes open for pumpkin-shaped Mylar balloons, and I shall continue to enjoy my pumpkin treats through Thanksgiving. Do you have any favorite pumpkin treats? I’d love to hear your stories.

A $10 Amazon gift card will be sent to a random commenter after the bloghop.

Tags: , ,
Comment

Amazon KDP Versus Lulu

Filed under: Writing — 2 Comments
July 22, 2020

Thing is, once I’m done laying out the magazine, the time comes to order proof and contributor copies. This time out, I’m packing at home and then mail all the issues because several times, Amazon has marked certain items “undeliverable” and then refunded me the money. This necessitated going through the ordering process again. I suspect that some drivers get sick along the way, so whatever’s in the truck goes back to the facility. What’s more, the USPS is under new management, which means streamlining costs and eliminating overtime, causing the delay in shipping. I think I really needed that balloon!

I needed a Mylar balloon, at least in principle. I just ordered a print run for Night to Dawn 38, not from Lulu like I’ve done since 2008, but from Amazon KDP. Lulu reports longer shipping times, and I expect some of this with KDP because many postal workers have gotten sick; ergo, fewer people are available to do the job. What’s more, certain countries put a ban on international shipping. In theory, COVID shouldn’t affect NTD’s process unless I get sick. Thankfully, with practical coaching from my Mylar balloons, I’m staying healthy.

I was pleased with the proof, but that’s not the only reason I went with KDP. Lulu has changed its website. The first proof looked good, but after I made some minor changes, an issue came up with the print extending full bleed to the edges of the page. Several tries and swear words later, I found Lulu’s new templates and margin requirements. This will necessitate redoing the layout. I have in mind to rework the file after I mailed all the contributors their issues.

The KDP proof looks good. I don’t have double columns like I did with Lulu, and the cover looks different. When I went through my changes with KDP initially, they wanted an author name on the cover, so I tucked in “Presented by Barbara Custer” in small letters. Copies for the print run will cost a little over $2.00 each—not bad. The reduced price per issue will make up for the increased cost in postage. If things go smoothly with shipping, I will start sending issues through the distributor again.

I never thought I’d see the day I’d choose KDP over Lulu for the Night to Dawn 38. But Night to Dawn 38 is now available through Amazon. So today, I went out and got the Mylar balloon posted below.

featuring Barbara Custer's Night to Dawn 38
Tags: , ,
Comment